Whiskey In Airlock???

[germanappleboy]

Since I am not a big Vodka drinker I used Evan Williams in the airlock on my first batch, is this a viable alternative to the highly recommended vodka?

 

[Sammy86]

I don't see why not...just don't be surprised if you get some suck back that somewhere on the palette might be some Evan Williams

 

[madk]

I have always found using properly mixed StarSan to be the best bet.

 

[bschot]

Whiskey goes in the brewer. Put StarSan solution in the airlock.

 

[ChuckO]

Whiskey goes in the brewer. Put StarSan solution in the airlock.

Probably the best bet. Years ago I used vodka in a plastic air lock during long term aging of a wine. When I went to bottle it, the air lock was softened from the alcohol. Didn't cause any problem, except for the air lock.

 

[HLSheppard]

I use both Starsan and whiskey based on what my situation is. We currently have some terrible vodka and it is being utilized in my airlocks... When that's gone - back to Starsan!

 

[worlddivides]

You can use whiskey, of course, or any other spirit over 40% ABV since the point is that the liquid will kill any bacteria or organism (such as flies) that tries to get into the fermenter and if suckback pulls some of the liquid into the fermenter, it won't cause any harm since bacteria can't survive in such a high alcohol environment (if, for example, you used just normal water and it got sucked back in, there could be bacteria in the water that survived in that environment and contaminated your batch). Obviously, the reason for the liquid at all is also so that the CO2 can get out of the fermenter but that nothing can get in (suckback being the occasional annoying exception).

The reason why a lot of people (including myself) use vodka is because vodka is basically just ethanol and water, so it won't impart any flavor whatsoever to your beer (while whiskey, rum, tequila, gin, and so on all have flavor compounds other than water and ethanol), and will only up the ABV at a minuscule level. Even if you hate vodka, you shouldn't have a problem with using it in the airlock since it won't add any flavor.

On the other hand, if you prefer using whiskey for your airlock, that's fine, but it's a waste of good whiskey in my opinion, especially since it won't impart any flavor to your beer unless a ton of it gets in there (it might impart some color, though, if you're making a really light colored beer and you have a super dark whiskey).

 

[woo_pig]

You can use whiskey, of course, or any other spirit over 40% ABV since the point is that the liquid will kill any bacteria or organism (such as flies) that tries to get into the fermenter and if suckback pulls some of the liquid into the fermenter, it won't cause any harm since bacteria can't survive in such a high alcohol environment (if, for example, you used just normal water and it got sucked back in, there could be bacteria in the water that survived in that environment and contaminated your batch). Obviously, the reason for the liquid at all is also so that the CO2 can get out of the fermenter but that nothing can get in (suckback being the occasional annoying exception).

The reason why a lot of people (including myself) use vodka is because vodka is basically just ethanol and water, so it won't impart any flavor whatsoever to your beer (while whiskey, rum, tequila, gin, and so on all have flavor compounds other than water and ethanol), and will only up the ABV at a minuscule level. Even if you hate vodka, you shouldn't have a problem with using it in the airlock since it won't add any flavor.

On the other hand, if you prefer using whiskey for your airlock, that's fine, but it's a waste of good whiskey in my opinion, especially since it won't impart any flavor to your beer unless a ton of it gets in there (it might impart some color, though, if you're making a really light colored beer and you have a super dark whiskey).

He said he was using Evan Williams .That's not good whiskey .

 

[worlddivides]

He said he was using Evan Williams .That's not good whiskey .

Whoops. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought it said Elijah Craig, which is pretty damn good whiskey in my opinion (and is apparently made at the same distillery as Evan Williams).

Although I personally am not a fan of Evan Williams, I'm assuming the OP is, so I would assume it would be a waste for someone who likes the brand. While I don't use super cheap vodka in my airlocks, I generally buy mostly mid-ranged bourbons like Buffalo Trace, Basil Hayden's, Old Scout, Woodford Reserve, and so on, which I would think would be a real waste to put somewhere like an airlock. Eh.