Vodka in airlock
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brandonlovesbeer
BrandonLovesBeer
I see bubbles when I use vodka.
Maybe you need to use a more expensive vodka.
Maybe you need to use a more expensive vodka.
eetu
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you have an air leak somewhere.
I assume by "can't see" you mean a layer of bubbles at the top of the liquid in the airlock. I'm not sure but I believe it has to do with surface tension.
When a bubble reaches the surface through a star stan filled airlock the surface tension holds it together for some amount of time. If the rate is fast enough, the bubbles will pile up.
With vodka, the surface tension is so much less that the bubble disintegrates as soon as it surfaces.
When a bubble reaches the surface through a star stan filled airlock the surface tension holds it together for some amount of time. If the rate is fast enough, the bubbles will pile up.
With vodka, the surface tension is so much less that the bubble disintegrates as soon as it surfaces.
davidabcd
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Vodka, because it's alcohol. If it got sucked down into the beer, no big deal.
HomeBrewMasterRace
Enthusiastic Homebrewer
It doesn't really matter if water with starsan gets sucked back into the fermenter either. You should also have plenty left over from when you clean the fermenter.
It does if it's a half a gallon of the stuff! Small air lock, not so much. Starsan also freezes, and Vodka doesn't (at least at cold crash temps).
+1 all the vodka at my place goes away way quicker than Starsan too.
Are you talking about in a blow-off jug or three-piece airlock?
When I use a three-piece bubbler neither the vodka or stars evaporate at all.
Now that I think about it, my blow off jug with starsan doesn't really evaporate either.
davidabcd
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Yeah, I agree (I use Starsan); that's why I haven't bothered using alcohol. I keep a cup of Starsan in the fridge (don't know if it's good, bad or unnecessary but I do it) for the first three or four days during fermentation; some of my more active fermentations cause the Starsan to foam enough so that it becomes low. I bring it back up as needed.
Way back when, I lifted a plastic fermenter and set it down--goodbye Starsan down the air lock. Of course I panicked but then read up that it's nothing to worry about. That only happened one time.
I always crack the lid before moving the fermenter to avoid having the liquid sucked into the bucket. I only move it two times anyway: down to the basement after adding the yeast where I wait to add the air lock and then when I bring it upstairs from the basement for bottling.
davidabcd
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That's a good point. I don't know much about cold crashing but isn't fermentation done by the time you do that?
davidabcd
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I mentioned above that Starsan can foam during a good fermentation and seep out the top. I only primary for three weeks so I haven't noticed evaporation with it. I can see how vodka may evaporate but, like I said in another post, I don't have experience with vodka.
Because "one for me, one for the airlock" doesn't really work with Star San.
HomeBrewMasterRace
Enthusiastic Homebrewer
Are you meaning getting half a gallon of Star San water in the fermenter? If you got that much vodka in it too, I'd think it would definitely impart flavor in the beer.
It will freeze if you could crash below 32 degrees and vodka won't, that's true
GreenTerror
Well-Known Member
It does evaporate faster but I always use vodka and when it is done I drink it for a tasty infused vodka shot
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