CowboyShootist
Well-Known Member
Greeetings,
well the lager is in the fermentation bucket and bubbling away in the garage. Once this is done I'll rack over to my carboy but I was wondering about the process to do that.
I was under the impression that once you start things fermenting that you want to avoid exposing the brew to any air until you're ready to bottle. Given that I have to unseal the fermentation bucket to get the racking cane in I can't possibly avoid some contact with air.
Is it ok, once fermentation has subsided, to get some exposure to air? It must be since you cannot avoid this prior to bottling. Should I leave the top on the fermentation bucket and put the racking cane through the hole in the lid for the airlock?
On a related note, how do you take hydrometer readings without unsealing the fermentation vessel? To a certain extent you're going to expose the brew to some air if you do that. Again I assume that you wait for the bubbling to subside and then test with the hydrometer to make sure fermentation has finished.
Anything I should be aware of here, other than the obvious sanitation issues?
Thanks in advance.
well the lager is in the fermentation bucket and bubbling away in the garage. Once this is done I'll rack over to my carboy but I was wondering about the process to do that.
I was under the impression that once you start things fermenting that you want to avoid exposing the brew to any air until you're ready to bottle. Given that I have to unseal the fermentation bucket to get the racking cane in I can't possibly avoid some contact with air.
Is it ok, once fermentation has subsided, to get some exposure to air? It must be since you cannot avoid this prior to bottling. Should I leave the top on the fermentation bucket and put the racking cane through the hole in the lid for the airlock?
On a related note, how do you take hydrometer readings without unsealing the fermentation vessel? To a certain extent you're going to expose the brew to some air if you do that. Again I assume that you wait for the bubbling to subside and then test with the hydrometer to make sure fermentation has finished.
Anything I should be aware of here, other than the obvious sanitation issues?
Thanks in advance.