Trust Your Airlock

[mmb]

For most of it's history people made beer without hydrometers...or even thermometers. They did it by being observant. The notion that you have to be some sort of Yeast Whisperer or Beer Savant to do this is ridiculous imo.

Thank you. It twists my knickers to no end when folks are so dead set into one process to brew. Use any and all resources available to you. Ignoring a "pressure relief" device because it doesn't have a graduated scale on it is ignoring data. Brewing is art AND science and always has been. Use your senses to see where things are in the process as well as "modern" tools available to you.

To ignore one aspect or the other doesn't make any sense to me at all.

 

[flyangler18]

Someone needs to walk away from the keyboard.

These childish temper tantrums are happening too damn much.

I'm disappointed.

mmb,

Very well stated and it was the point that I was trying to make as well; as much as I like using scientific instruments like my hydrometer and my refractometer, I still take the time to use my senses to make observations rather than just cold readings.

 

[AnOldUR]

It was bad enough that Squirrely decided to take out whatever sh!T was going on yesterday out on me. That's why I pretty much ignored this what did he just call it, "little game", 'casue I knew I didn't do anything to warrant it.


But don't you ever ****ing call me a liar again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I don't see airlock buubling I don't see airlcok bubbling, several OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD HAVE SAID THEY DON'T OFTEN SEE AIRLOCK BUBBLING. So shove it up your ass!!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true....where the **** do you THINK I got the IDEA NOT TO TRUST THE DAMN THING ANYWAY, from my own observations.

I am totally with you on this. Revvy has gone above and beyond to help the beginners who come to this forum. All this banter aside, that's something that gets my respect. Had my share of homebrew last night and mellowed out. Hope we can all start this new day as friends.

It was a rough game, but thanks for playing.

Or not . . .

signed Squirrely

 

[janzik]

IBL or before Yooper/Orfy/o||||||||||||||||||||o regulate this mofo...

 

[mmb]

Or accuse me of being "misleading."

If I don't see airlock bubbling I don't see airlcok bubbling, several OTHER PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD HAVE SAID THEY DON'T OFTEN SEE AIRLOCK BUBBLING. So shove it up your##

I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true....where the **** do you THINK I got the IDEA NOT TO TRUST THE DAMN THING ANYWAY, from my own observations.

I have 9 different fermenters, buckets, carboys, water bottles, whatever, and I have seen airlock bubling maybe half the time....

To me, that would be an equipment fault and I'd strive to fix it. I've never had a batch ferment where there wasn't airlock activity. If the airlock wasn't bubbling, it wasn't doing the job of letting pressure out without letting outside air in.

You know your equipment. The n00b that says it's not bubbling might not know how to use the equipment and saying "It's alright, sometimes it doesn't bubble" doesn't help them use the equipment the right way. You might have a leak in bucket/lid/stopper/whatever that you are aware of. The n00b doesn't know that.

Not had your morning coffee yet?

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

Jeez guys, calm down.

 

[Tonedef131]

lolin in dis thread

 

[AnOldUR]

It was bad enough that Squirrely . . .

I have 9 different fermenters, buckets, carboys, water bottles, whatever, and I have seen airlock bubling maybe half the time....

Must be that damn Squirrely chewing holes in your equipment.









(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

 

[janzik]

Thank you. It twists my knickers to no end when folks are so dead set into one process to brew. Use any and all resources available to you. Ignoring a "pressure relief" device because it doesn't have a graduated scale on it is ignoring data. Brewing is art AND science and always has been. Use your senses to see where things are in the process as well as "modern" tools available to you.

To ignore one aspect or the other doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I don't ignore per se, but I don't take too much stock in it. The OP, regardless of the pretense *I* believe came with it, believes that the primary to secondary gravity reading is unnecessary and that we (gravity takers as a whole) are using it as a step to play with our beer. Also, I read it as he believes the gravity readings are just to see attenuation/brew efficiency, after the fact. That's my interpretation of what he wrote.

My 3 issues with what he said were that he assumes we're playing around for the sake of playing (as I said in another reply, I have *my* reasons), new brewers aren't sanitary and that this thread appeared to be for the sake of debunking something that Revvy preaches.

The thread deteriorated into making it sound like the OP was insinuating people were taking daily/hourly gravity readings. I don't think he implied that. I think he was just referring to that one extra reading. So I think he got an unfair shake on that.

I'm of the opinion, based on what I got out of his first post, that it is bad advice that he is giving (but who the hell am I?). He's got an opinion, I've got one. I'm willing to agree to disagree.

For those saying, "they've done it without hydrometers for 1000s of years"... Didn't people used to also practice bloodletting? Or how about how they used to help the Civil War soldiers with their gun shots... a bottle of whiskey and a hacksaw. I suppose they're all fine, but I'd rather not eyeball it...

 

[mmb]

I believe that racking to secondary is mostly unnecessary as well, but let's not open THAT can of worms...

Gravity readings after fermentation, for me, are just to see attenuation and ABV. I'm not going to pitch champagne yeast or beano to try to attenate the beer more and ruin what I already have. It's done. My process is such that if I hit my temps on brewday and my OG reading I have no issues during fermentation.

For those saying, "they've done it without hydrometers for 1000s of years"... Didn't people used to also practice bloodletting? Or how about how they used to help the Civil War soldiers with their gun shots... a bottle of whiskey and a hacksaw. I suppose they're all fine, but I'd rather not eyeball it...

This old chestnut again. Brewing science and process has been refined over the years, but nothing in the actual process has changed. We boil the wort, add yeast one way or the other and let things progress from there. History might not have known exactly WHY something worked, but it worked and we really haven't changed it.

*chuckle* bloodletting....

 

[ThickHead]

To me, that would be an equipment fault and I'd strive to fix it. I've never had a batch ferment where there wasn't airlock activity. If the airlock wasn't bubbling, it wasn't doing the job of letting pressure out without letting outside air in.

You know your equipment. The n00b that says it's not bubbling might not know how to use the equipment and saying "It's alright, sometimes it doesn't bubble" doesn't help them use the equipment the right way. You might have a leak in bucket/lid/stopper/whatever that you are aware of. The n00b doesn't know that.

Not had your morning coffee yet?

As I mentioned before, there has been no visible airlock activity (or none within any timeframe I have observed) over the past 6 days now. The krausen fell completely 4 days ago, however, in that same amount of time my Oktoberfest has gone from 1.026 to a now 1.020.

I am not stating this in Revvy's defense specifically but adding my experience (though I admit it is not extensive) and observation to this debate. There is nothing wrong with the equipment I am using, it is in perfect condition. I will concede that it is very possible that the fermentation is so slow that the space of time in which i observed my airlock was insufficient enough (and I have stared a good long time) to see the activity that is actually taking place. However, as I am unwilling to waste more time staring at the airlock when it takes less time to gather a hydrometer reading, the more efficienct and active choice is clear.

There is no reason why a brewer cannot make perfectly good beer by never using a hydrometer. However, when it comes down to it, speculation and/or intuition are not worthy sciences. This is the Science forum afterall. Airlock activity can give you quality information indeed. Airlocks are trusty tools of the brewing trade, they were just never designed to measure the completeness of fermentation. So relying completely on such a device to gather that information is not going to give one consistent results.

The right tool for the job is most often the best tool for the job. I've seen statues carved with a chainsaw that are cool as hell, but I am unlikely to hear about those in the same conversation as those at the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.

 

[FireNightFly]

Wow, is this thread serious or some kind of joke? Why dont you use both the airlock visual and a hydrometer to test?

Also, science will tell us, just because something isnt bubbling, doesnt mean that gas is no longer being released. If fermentation is slowed, gas is released in small amounts with very little pressure, this would equate to more gas in the liquid in your airlock, usually shown by small bubbles on the inside walls of your airlock. Given so many molecules in the gas, the gas would release without a sound or visuals.

I may be new at brewing but this is 6th grade science last I remember. Besides, science tells us to use "all" the tools available to us in order to achieve the maximum possible results. The human mind with the proper tools is superior to any guesswork alone.

Just my 2cents. Take it for what its worth.

 

[chumprock]

I almost wanna call April fool's, but it's September.

 

[Yooper]

Ok, enough is enough. Capital letters (yelling), name calling, etc. are too much to take.

It's hard to believe that the majority of you are grown men. I've seen better behavior on gaming forums loaded with teenagers.

You guys are ****ing unbelievable.