What should I use as a fermentor cover?

[RadicalEd]

So in the pursuits of making my own sake, I've been ruthlessly scouring the local craigslist and ebay for a decent stoneware crock in which I could ferment. My tireless efforts finally paid off and I managed to get my grubby paws on an 8 gallon crock very similar to this one, only a few times larger :

But, there is one glaring little issue with sing such a crock as a fermentor...What on earth do I use as a cover? I know that a fermentor cover doesn't need to be absolutely airtight, but certainly I would like to keep any drafts from getting in there.

Compounding the issue, the crock, due to it's handmade origins, hardly has a flat or perfectly round top. So any solution would need to overcome those challenges as well.

I'd post pics but the computer with the camera's interface driver is kinda dead right now ...

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

[david_42]

Callipoola Brewing uses plastic palleting wrap on their 500 gallon "cheese tank" fermenters.

 

[Rick_R]

Well, if you want to stay stoneware'ish, I'd use a stoneware flowerpot saucer. Get one big enough to sit upside down over the top. It wouldn't be airtight, but it would at least cover the top. Of course, plastic wrap or sanitized aluminum foil would work.

Rick

 

[Revvy]

+1 on the flowerpot saucer...you can get them in the house and garden section of a big box hardware store...They come glazed and unglazed. And some of them are huge.

Are you using a sake kit? I just got an email newsletter from my LHBS mentioning he had Sake ingredients kits for sale...sounds cool

The crock reminds me of the articles I've been reading about the "Prohibition Pilsner" recipes that you ordered from Blue ribbon to use with their malt extract cans...

Here's one...I don't recommend it though...

Prohibition Pilsner Ingredients
1 cn Hop-flavored malt syrup
3/4 lb Granulated sugar
Compressed Dry lageryeast (or Vierka) 1 Cake

Instructions for Prohibition Pilsner
Dissolve syrup and sugar in boiling hot water---pour into cold water to make five gallons---allow to further cool for two hours, then add one cake yeast. Cover crock or other fermenting vessel with clean cloth. Keep in a cool, dark place. Watch carefully and when bubbles of gas cease coming to surface fermentation has been completed and liquor should be quite clear (approximately four days). Now siphon off clear liquid to another clean crock, leaving the thick sediment behind. To the liquor in the second crock add 1/4 pound granu- lated sugar and stir until dissolved. Fill into bottle by siphoning or pouring. Cap and immediately store in a cool dark place. The beverage will be ready for use when clear---requires one to two weeks. One crock can be eliminated if the liquid is siphoned directly into the bottles from the fermented crock. In this case, place 1/2 teaspoon sugar in each pint or one teaspoon in each quart bottle. Best consistent re- sults can be obtained if a five gallon bottle is used instead of a crock for the fermenting vessel, using a water seal. All vessels and tubing should be entirely clear and sanitary before use. A 2-3% warm lye solu- tion is an excellent one for the purpose. Rinse with water after the use of lye solution. Use of Hydrometer is not necessary if the above direc- tions are followed. The specific gravity at the time of bottling will however, be 1.012 - 1.016. This is the third and final installment of traditional "Prohibition Pilsner" recipes received anonymously, presumably from the makers of Blue Ribbon malt syrup, in the mid-1970s. Previous installments of Historical Homebrew appeared in Homebrew Digest # 795 and # 800. This is posted here purely for historical interest, and not as a recommended recipe, although the techniques called for here seem to be much closer to currently recommended procedures for beginning brewers, than in the earlier historical postings.

 

[RadicalEd]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I like the flowerpot saucer idea a lot, though I might have to use the plastic wrap for a day until I get it .

Revvy: actually, other than Fred ekhardt's store, I couldn't find a place with a quality sake kit, and the shipping was a killer. So I bought koji kin and made my own malt rice, and been following fred's recipe in spirit, if not to the letter .

The look I got at one of the local asian stores was pretty priceless when I was checking out a 20 lb bag of rice .

 

[wilserbrewer]

What i do when I "open ferment" in my stainless 11 gal. brew kettle is to put the lid on, and then use the bottom half of a 13 gal. plastic bag. place the bag over the fermenter and then wrap a long string twice around the vessel and tie. This method keeps a slight positive pressure through the fermentation.

 

[Revvy]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I like the flowerpot saucer idea a lot, though I might have to use the plastic wrap for a day until I get it .

Revvy: actually, other than Fred ekhardt's store, I couldn't find a place with a quality sake kit, and the shipping was a killer. So I bought koji kin and made my own malt rice, and been following fred's recipe in spirit, if not to the letter .

The look I got at one of the local asian stores was pretty priceless when I was checking out a 20 lb bag of rice .

Here's what my LHBS is selling...

For those who may be interested in making sake I now
have sake brewing kits in stock. These kits come with 10 gm
of Koji-Kin and instructions for beginner through advanced
recipes. Koji-Kin is the material containing the mould seeds
that will grow on rice to make malt-rice (Kome-Koji) and
create complex and interesting flavors, similar to mould use
in cheese making. Using the malt-rice you can then further
convert more rice starch to sugar.
A Typical recipe consist of chlorine, iron free water, Short
or medium grain rice, malt rice, citric acid and a wine/champagne
yeast. Makes approximately 22 liters of sake
Price $10.40

If your interested in it, he may be willing to ship, he's got a small shop connected to his printing business.....He's small so he may be willing to mail you the kit for P&H (He's across from the post office)

Here's his email addy..His name is.Todd Hale, owner of Eastern Shores Brewing supply; [email protected]