cvstrat
Well-Known Member
Update: So I went to my LHBS for some bottle caps yesterday and I asked him if I was doing something wrong, or did the caps just not fit. He checked and sure enough the orange caps are too big, the maroon caps are too small. He said something about the design of the BB changing slightly and that he was unaware the caps no longer fit. He said he'd take them back for a refund.
So for the apfelwein and "blood of the D - Rainman Amber Ale" that were fermenting with the ghetto orange cap/tape I replaced those caps w/rubber stoppers and airlock like I should have used from the beginning. During the time when I had the orange caps I noticed fermentation, but 0 bubbles in the airlock. My guess is that even w/the tape, the CO2 was finding a way out other than the airlock. I believe since the Apfelwein has pretty solid fermentation for a long time, and the blood of the D was in it's initial stages w/significant krausen going on, wouldn't I not have to worry about any extra oxidation from O2 contact, since the CO2 was probably perpetually expelling whatever hole there was? Note: they are both bubbling happily away w/the new stopper.
Original:
Ok this is going to sound idiotic, but I have been brewing with glass carboys as secondary. I decided to brew some apfelwein and picked up a 6 gal better bottle and the orange rubber cap thing.
Anyway I managed to squeeze the airlock in the cap, but the cap itself doesn't fit very snugly at all on the top of the better bottle. I tried pushing it on pretty hard but it doesn't click or snap in place. I almost feel like it's too big, but I looked and i only see one size that fits 3/5/6 gallon bb's.
Am I not pushing hard enough, or is that just how it is supposed to fit? I don't really have access to a bung that will fit and I already pitched the yeast for the apfelwein. I left it to start fermenting but I wanted to make sure it's airtight.. Any ideas?
So for the apfelwein and "blood of the D - Rainman Amber Ale" that were fermenting with the ghetto orange cap/tape I replaced those caps w/rubber stoppers and airlock like I should have used from the beginning. During the time when I had the orange caps I noticed fermentation, but 0 bubbles in the airlock. My guess is that even w/the tape, the CO2 was finding a way out other than the airlock. I believe since the Apfelwein has pretty solid fermentation for a long time, and the blood of the D was in it's initial stages w/significant krausen going on, wouldn't I not have to worry about any extra oxidation from O2 contact, since the CO2 was probably perpetually expelling whatever hole there was? Note: they are both bubbling happily away w/the new stopper.
Original:
Ok this is going to sound idiotic, but I have been brewing with glass carboys as secondary. I decided to brew some apfelwein and picked up a 6 gal better bottle and the orange rubber cap thing.
Anyway I managed to squeeze the airlock in the cap, but the cap itself doesn't fit very snugly at all on the top of the better bottle. I tried pushing it on pretty hard but it doesn't click or snap in place. I almost feel like it's too big, but I looked and i only see one size that fits 3/5/6 gallon bb's.
Am I not pushing hard enough, or is that just how it is supposed to fit? I don't really have access to a bung that will fit and I already pitched the yeast for the apfelwein. I left it to start fermenting but I wanted to make sure it's airtight.. Any ideas?