airlocks, and brewing in the summer

[mb]

afternoon,

well, this time last week i was googling for the address of the rake in borough market, stumbled upon stonch's blog, read his homebrew reports, followed the links here, got over excited and ordered a coopers micro brewery kit.

i've just put an australian bitter into primary fermentation, amazed at how straightforward it all is - and how much fun.

however, i made a schoolboy error and managed to drop my airlock gromit into the brew. it had been sanitized, so i don't think it'll do any harm in there, but this leaves me without an airlock. i've improvised by covering the lid of the bin with clingfilm. is this going to be ok? and should i make some pinholes in it?

another question. i'm keen to have another go at something a bit more ambitious, but i gather that summer is not the best time for home brewing. does the 27C upper limit at which you're light session bitter starts turning to special brew apply only to primary fermentation? if i keep an eye on the weather forecast i reckon i can sneak another one, maybe two kits in before we get into high summer, but is a hot spell going to also affect secondary fermentation and conditioning? and are there any particular brews better suited to the summer brewing?

any advice/suggestions, gratefully received.

[Stonch]

Good luck with it! Very happy to see my blog has introduced someone to homebrew!

We're doing a Cooper's kit tomorrow - the stout.

[mb]

thanks for the tips. plugging the airlock with cotton wool did the trick. the primary fermentation seems to have gone well, gravity down from 1032 to 1008, and i've bottled it today. i had a taste and was very pleased, it's a very bitter bitter, which is how i like it.

think i'm going to have a bash at the brupaks wheat beer next, weather permitting.