How many times opening the fermenter is too much?

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jd410

jd410

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I tend to get overly excited about a batch fermenting and open it a lot just to look and smell it.
Is it bad to do this a lot?
 
Personally, I don't do it. I just wait two weeks. I do, however, occasionally sniff my airlock. It's probably time for you to buy a carboy for your primary. I've been wanting one for no other reason, but to watch the fermentation process.
 
After pitching yeast and closing, I would say three times is too many. Once to check gravity, a second to check gravity and (if stable) bottle.

But I think you already knew that and were making a point of how excited you are. Understandable. Just don't sneeze into the fermenter and I would say contamination likelihood is still pretty low.

I will also second the previous post...I'm an airlock sniffer. :)
 
jd410 said:
I tend to get overly excited about a batch fermenting and open it a lot just to look and smell it.
Is it bad to do this a lot?
Click to expand...

Opening the fermenter too much can expose the beer to oxygen which can be detrimental to the flavor. While the beer is fermenting it produces enough CO2 to purge all of the oxygen out of the headspace. If you open the lid too much (especially after active fermentation) you'll lose that CO2 and replace it with air. My advice would be open as little as possible. I usually only open it when I package it. Also, as someone else said, get a carboy (glass or better bottle). Then you can always watch that sweet action!!
 
I will also second the previous post...I'm an airlock sniffer. :)[/QUOTE]

+1 on the airlock sniffing. I thought I was the weird one.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Time to get a carboy, then you can watch without opening.
Another airlock sniffer here too! I assumed it was a normal part of brewing. Shrug
 
If you have to ask if it's too much, it's too much.

(And just throwing this out there, a clear better bottle lets you see all the swirling and whirling inside the beer without opening the top. :rockin:)
 
Check out Northern Brewers Bubbler, it has a lot of good reviews. If you get it just make sure you cover it up or keep it out of the light.
 
I'm the non-beer-drinking home brewer. I love to sniff the airlock!! I also love to sniff beer! I'm getting pretty good at recognizing the hops just by sniffing.
Yeah. I am strange.
Just call me the red haired hop sniffer. I brew for my husband!!
 
It doesn't matter as long as you aren't letting too much fall in (dust, saliva, tears of joy).

Chris White from White Labs recommends not using an airlock at all and just placing a piece of sanitized foil loosely over the carboy opening.

If active fermentation is occurring, any oxygen that you may introduce will be pushed out by the CO2 being produced by the yeast. CO2 will cover your beer in a nice blanket after fermentation is over.
 
KarenHauck said:
I'm the non-beer-drinking home brewer. I love to sniff the airlock!! I also love to sniff beer! I'm getting pretty good at recognizing the hops just by sniffing.
Yeah. I am strange.
Just call me the red haired hop sniffer. I brew for my husband!!
Click to expand...

"Red haired hop sniffer!"

Tell hubby we're all jealous. :)

Cheers,
Rick
 
I don't open it between the time I seal it and when I open to test before bottling.
You may be lucky, but opening it randomly for no real reason (IE, additions, dryhopping and so forth) is just asking for oxidation, possible infection, and the lid eventually not sealing right.
Really, next time you feel like popping the top just to look: Stop. Walk away. Leave the beer alone. Go get another, already bottled beer and drink that.
 
i take hydrometer samples several times during fermentation and have never introduced an infection. taking your lid off for curiosity's sake isn't super dangerous, but you might get a face full of krausen if it's at all pressurized. it's never happened to me personally, but my wife got blasted after taking the stopper off my primary fermenter to rig a blow off due to a particularly active fermentation.
 
Batch #1 chocolate milk stout 7 days in the fermenter... my wife keeps telling at me... JUST LEAVE IT ALONE! Haven't opened it yet... it's going to every ounce of my strength to stay away for another week before I make my addition

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Home Brew mobile app
 
Haha, my air locks are routinely sniffed as well. Even though I've been brewing for a couple years now, I still enjoy watching active fermentation, how long it takes to begin, and seeing when the krausen has fallen. Those things are good for my notes and reasons why I don't like using a bucket unless I have to.
 
I almost never open mine until kegging day. I will take the airlock out and take a quick look inside, but very rarely. Usually that's enough for me. Otherwise it sits for three or four weeks until it's time to keg it.

My first homebrew, I opened the lid a lot (probably four or five times) and it didn't have any effect on it. These days I just let it sit.
 
hodge said:
It doesn't matter as long as you aren't letting too much fall in (dust, saliva, tears of joy).



Chris White from White Labs recommends not using an airlock at all and just placing a piece of sanitized foil loosely over the carboy opening.



If active fermentation is occurring, any oxygen that you may introduce will be pushed out by the CO2 being produced by the yeast. CO2 will cover your beer in a nice blanket after fermentation is over.
Click to expand...


+1

Open fermentation is still practiced by some commercial breweries. I sometimes just use plastic wrap.
 
tomheff said:
+1

Open fermentation is still practiced by some commercial breweries. I sometimes just use plastic wrap.
Click to expand...

Having started with winemaking, the progressing to cider and now beer, I still primary for a few days in a plastic fermenter tub and then transfer to glass after the SG has dropped a good bit but still active. I just spritz a fresh paper towel with starsan and put that over the airlock hole on my fermenter lid. Seems to work for me.
 
I started brewing using the Brooklyn Brew Shop kit with the clear 1 gallon fermenter . I'm glad I did, because I got all that "deer in headlights, need to watch" plague out of my system. Now I use buckets, and after I pitch I do my best to ignore my primaries until I am certain that my beer is done-done-done and ready for packaging, most often 3-4 weeks or more. Too many things can go wrong by popping the lid, losing your CO2 blanket, introducing infection, oxidation, etc, etc.

The only time this goes a-muck is when I have a lid leak and there is no airlock motion (and only after ignoring for at least 3 days). Paranoia kicks in at that point (even though I've never had a beer not ferment ever). In that case I pull the air lock, shine a bright flashlight on the fermenter and look down the hole to make sure things are moving.

And yes, I am a sniffer. Lord know why, but we all do it. We do. Right?:cross:

I think everyone starting out should either do some 1 gallon batches in glass jugs or full batches in better bottles so they can watch. I don't think anyone should ever use large glass carboys, because those things are dangerous, but that is a topic for another thread....
 
Honestly, if I want to really get to know a beer or a particular type of yeast, I take samples daily to test gravity and flavors during active fermentation and beyond. I realize that this runs counter to a lot of what is discussed here, but as long as you are clean you really aren't going to mess up your beer. I forget where I got the idea, but I've really become less of a freak about opening my primary and have learned a lot about how particular yeast strains behave during and after active fermentation. I guess it's something that interests me.
 
When you ask someone "how much is too much?" the safest answer they can give is "any!" But really, don't eff with beer if it's bulk aging, that's when it's most susceptible to contamination and oxidation. Otherwise you're in the clear, just don't introduce a bunch of dust or anything else to contaminate it by direct contact. Wives' tales aside, most bacterial contamination (in any discipline) is direct, not airborne. Sniffing a one-week or two-week old beer once a day is very unlikely to harm it unless you have raw grain dust all over your hands or something.

Same goes for airlocks, but nobody wants to start that conversation again, I'm sure.
 
hodge said:
Honestly, if I want to really get to know a beer or a particular type of yeast, I take samples daily to test gravity and flavors during active fermentation and beyond.
Click to expand...

My wife's pretty sick of me handing her cloudy brown stuff from fermenters and saying "Taste this!"
 
Rhumbline said:
I never remove the lid, but I do pull the airlock to test gravity.
Click to expand...


What do you use to pull a sample? The hole for my airlock is only 3/8", then the grommet takes up some of that diameter. So you sample with a straw or something?
 
freisste said:
What do you use to pull a sample? The hole for my airlock is only 3/8", then the grommet takes up some of that diameter. So you sample with a straw or something?
Click to expand...

This method would only really work if you had a refractometer (or a giant bung hole O_O). The one I bought came with a 6ish inch eye dropper
 
fearwig said:
My wife's pretty sick of me handing her cloudy brown stuff from fermenters and saying "Taste this!"
Click to expand...

I could've said the exact same thing... after "taste this", I follow with "what do you think?". She always says nice things, probably just to make me feel good.
 
When I do need to open the bucket I have a bucket wrench my husband gave to me, because when I close it, I use a rubber hammer to get it on tightly!!
 
IMO, any time that you don't actually need to open the fermentor but do anyway is an unnecessary risk. It's not an alarmingly high risk, but it's a risk. The caveat with this is that if you are going to drink this beer really fast, like kick the keg in two weeks, you're probably just fine. If you are going to age the beer then IMO you should take every step you can to avoid contamination, which includes not opening the fermentor.
 
zarfus said:
This method would only really work if you had a refractometer (or a giant bung hole O_O). The one I bought came with a 6ish inch eye dropper
Click to expand...

Refractometers are only accurate prior to fermentation. After that, it's all hydrometer.
 
my airlock usually just smells like vodka.

also, breezy is right. the refractometer is only useful before there's alcohol in the beer.
 
Well my first batch I've brewed is still fermenting been a little afraid to take the lid off but the airlock does smell good. Im patient enough to wait but it would be cool to see the yeast at work. What's the best way to take a sample before bottling to make sure it's good to go?
 

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