fermentation lock / sanitizer

[endlessnights]

Hi all.. I have a totally newbie question!

Brewed my first batch of beer for the first time last night. I filled the fermentation lock with sanitizer about 3/4 full. I checked it this morning and the sanitizer is almost gone. What do I do? I have another fermentation lock that I can swap out?

Also should it be filled with straight sanitizer or the mix of sanitizer / water???

Thanks!

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Rinse it and fill with water. Where did the original sanitizer go? Did the krausin push it out the top? If so, ok, no problem. Or, way your mash a little warm and as it cooled it sucked the sanitizer into your new beer? Not so good, sanitizer kills yeast.

 

[WileECoyote]

Hi all.. I have a totally newbie question!

Brewed my first batch of beer for the first time last night. I filled the fermentation lock with sanitizer about 3/4 full. I checked it this morning and the sanitizer is almost gone. What do I do? I have another fermentation lock that I can swap out?

Also should it be filled with straight sanitizer or the mix of sanitizer / water???

Thanks!

Hello, I use vodka in all of my airlocks that way a little suck back is no problem, if you use sanitizer it should be used at the same mix that you use it to sanitize your equipment with.

Cheers

 

[The542]

I too use alcohol in my bubbler (everclear) just in case of suck back when I put the carboy into the ferm freezer. Really makes your nose tinkle when you go to smell your fermenting bubbles though!

 

[endlessnights]

I too use alcohol in my bubbler (everclear) just in case of suck back when I put the carboy into the ferm freezer. Really makes your nose tinkle when you go to smell your fermenting bubbles though!

Gotcha! Thanks for the advice.. Should I resantize it then fill it with vodka?

 

[ncbrewer]

Star San solution is OK, too. With a 3-piece airlock, have it a little on the low side - about 1/3 full - and it won't suck back. The small amount that you had suck back won't kill the yeast because it is extremely dilute (assuming you used the standard dilution to start with).

 

[BigFloyd]

Not so good, sanitizer kills yeast.

No way that little bit of diluted StarSan in the airlock has a negative effect on the yeast or the beer. Other sanitizers (except for cheap booze), I'd not want to risk it.

If you get a vigorous push of CO2 through the airlock, over time it can decrease the sanitizer in there. I suppose that's either via vaporizing it or just evaporation. I've had that happen a few times (including the current batch of premium bitter on WY1968ESB). With an S-airlock, you can simply pop the cap and add a little more sanitizer without removing the whole airlock.

 

[Odin_Brews]

With an S-airlock, you can simply pop the cap and add a little more sanitizer without removing the whole airlock.

Why do you have a cap on top of your airlock when it's fermenting and needs to be open to let out CO2?

To answer the OP, I live in a dry place so some sanitizer evaporates. Couple that with vigorous, good fermentations pushing some sanitizer up out of the airlock. When fermentation calms down a bit (after first few days) I usually top up like Big Floyd suggests. I keep a spray bottle of sanitizer around all the time and just pour a bit more into my airlock as needed.

 

[endlessnights]

No way that little bit of diluted StarSan in the airlock has a negative effect on the yeast or the beer. Other sanitizers (except for cheap booze), I'd not want to risk it.

If you get a vigorous push of CO2 through the airlock, over time it can decrease the sanitizer in there. I suppose that's either via vaporizing it or just evaporation. I've had that happen a few times (including the current batch of premium bitter on WY1968ESB). With an S-airlock, you can simply pop the cap and add a little more sanitizer without removing the whole airlock.

Great thanks for answering my question I'll just add a little more diluted star San!

 

[BigFloyd]

Why do you have a cap on top of your airlock when it's fermenting and needs to be open to let out CO2?

The S-airlocks I use have soft plastic caps on the top with tiny holes. They let CO2 out with no problems, but help keep junk from getting in there and lessen evaporation.

 

[Odin_Brews]

The S-airlocks I use have soft plastic caps on the top with tiny holes. They let CO2 out with no problems, but help keep junk from getting in there and lessen evaporation.

Gotcha.