Open fermenters/ airlocks
Open fermenters/ airlocks
I took a spin around a microbrewery (great day out) and their fermenters (1000liter) were open. No airlock in sight just a loose top. As homebrewers we spend all our time keeping the nasty atmosphere away from our beer. Anybody know why the total difference?
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Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
Breweries tend to be clean places, with the necessary precautions taken to keep flies, small hands etc from making contact with their fermenting beer. In addition they pitch large amounts of yeast, with means that the time taken for their fermenting beer to aquire a protective cover i.e the fermenting crust, is a lot quicker then sprinkling dried yeast on the top of your homebrew would take. This reduces the risks of exposure to the elements etc.
As a homebrewer, there's nothing to stop you using an open fermenter (just start off with a loose fitting lid), if you follow some of the tips above. One thing brewers need to taking into account when brewing in open fermenters is the risk of CO2 poisioning i.e they'll be required to have some method of removing this + some method of detecting the build up of CO2.
As a homebrewer, there's nothing to stop you using an open fermenter (just start off with a loose fitting lid), if you follow some of the tips above. One thing brewers need to taking into account when brewing in open fermenters is the risk of CO2 poisioning i.e they'll be required to have some method of removing this + some method of detecting the build up of CO2.
Fermenting - Nothing
Conditioning - Nothing
Drinking - Tea
Planning - Everything, if only I had the time ... !!
Conditioning - Nothing
Drinking - Tea
Planning - Everything, if only I had the time ... !!
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
Will 20 litres of beer really create enough CO2 to poison anyone?
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
When you take the lid off the bucket, the CO2 is what makes that sharp smell that stings your nose - it dissolves in the mucus in your nasal passages to form carbonic acid. You could pass out if you breathed enough of it
- OldSpeckledBadger
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Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
No. If you were brewing 100s of litres in a cellar you could run the risk of asphyxiation but the amount that 99% of here brew isn't a problem.Invalid Stout wrote:Will 20 litres of beer really create enough CO2 to poison anyone?
Best wishes
OldSpeckledBadger
OldSpeckledBadger
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Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
I like airlocks! Its theraputic to hear your beer talking to you as its brewing.
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
I agree, i like nothing better than the sound of an airlock firing in the morning.simple one wrote:I like airlocks! Its theraputic to hear your beer talking to you as its brewing.
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
Or the sound of an airlock being ejected from a demijohn because the airlock has bunged up with yeast - so far that's only happened with some ginger beer.
I've started using a blowoff tube which goes into a plastic milk bottle half-full of water. It makes a good noise, a bit like f*rting in the bath every few seconds. Otherwise I just use a brewing bucket with a snap-on lid, and any over-pressure oozes out of the lid.
I've started using a blowoff tube which goes into a plastic milk bottle half-full of water. It makes a good noise, a bit like f*rting in the bath every few seconds. Otherwise I just use a brewing bucket with a snap-on lid, and any over-pressure oozes out of the lid.
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
I use the same and when fermenting well there seems to be a lull and then a sudden rush of built up Co2 and it certainly has that "What about the water bottle wallaby" soundedit1now wrote:
I've started using a blowoff tube which goes into a plastic milk bottle half-full of water. It makes a good noise, a bit like f*rting in the bath every few seconds.
Re: Open fermenters/ airlocks
I wondered what the nasty smell that burnt my nose was!! I did wonder if it was the co2, i did ask on a forum somewhere but they said that shouldnt have happened!edit1now wrote:When you take the lid off the bucket, the CO2 is what makes that sharp smell that stings your nose - it dissolves in the mucus in your nasal passages to form carbonic acid. You could pass out if you breathed enough of it