I think my Home Brew Shop is giving bad advice, The Three-Piece Airlock is obsolete?
Ok to make a long story short, me and my roommate started making beer a bunch of years ago. We ended up moving out and I gave him all the brewing supplies. A week or so ago I went to my new local Home Brew Shop. Even though it has been a wile since have made my own beer was confident in knowing what equipment I needed to buy and all that. I called up my old roommate and asked him for an old recipe that we used to brew a lot. I later emailed it to the shop and had them get all the ingredients together, so that I could buy the next day. The guy was really shooting me down about my recipe and trying to tell me I didnt know what I was doing. Well I must admit its been 3 years since I brewed last and I have forgot a lot of the terminology but I most defenently got a solid idea of what i’m doing. Please excuse me for going off topic their but when it got to the part were I needed to buy the equipment I grabbed a few fermenting buckets and bottling bucket with a spigot but I could not find air lock lids for them. When I asked the owner for help finding the lids he arrogantly asked me why I needed one. I told him every time I brewed beer I fermented the wort in a air sealed bucket and put a "Three-Piece Airlock" on the lid to monitor the rate at which the bubbles were occurring so you I would have a rough idea of when it was time to bottle or second ferment the beer. At the time I didnt know what they called the Three-Piece Airlock but I described it well enough that he knew what I was talking about. He told me he didn’t sell them and they were obsolete. I told him I didnt understand, I thought that the airlock prevented air from getting in to the ferment but allowed gasses that were made from the brewing process out. He told me that all I needed to do is replace the lid and air lock with plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band. Well that’s what I’m doing now. I just checked the fermenting beer and I can tell the plastic wrap is swelling and air wants to escape. Obviously I am doing a good job not letting foreign air in but am I hurting the beer by not allowing the new gasses to escape?
I just bought one of those airlocks from my homebrew shop like a week ago, I like to have a few extra for when I lose one. That’s really weird that a staff member wouldn’t know the most obvious part of brewing, the airlock. Like how else does the guy think your supposed to let out CO2 without letting in foreign contaminents? What a doosh. Whatever you remember from when you used to brew is still true, and I would suggest getting your advice from a Charlie Papazian book instead of your homebrew shop.
If you’ve never heard of the books, you could start with "The complete joy of homebrewing".
Advice: Until you get your airlock in the mail, ditch the plastic wrap and use the open fermentation method. You just put the lid on the bucket without securing it in place, so it’s just sitting on there loosely (not a lid with a hole for the airlock though). CO2 will escape, and usually keep out most of the baddies. Bottle as soon as its done, or the CO2 won’t be able keep out the outside air. You should do this for no more than 5 days. So obviously only quick fermenting ales will work with this method. It will work better than the wrap, until you find an airlock.
Are you joking? Plastic wrap and rubber bands is for teenagers making anything to get themselves drunk.
You were right to want a proper lid and airlock. Every online store sells them.
My advice would be to be more arrogant to the shop keep and insist on doing things your way.
Me thinks he is not an avid beer fan and maybe prefers the homemade wines. Such is life, deal with him appropriately (ie, harshly) and buy what you actually SHOULD. It’s YOUR recipe, you know how it works and what you used.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation_lock
"Currently, the most popular fermentation lock that mounts on top of the fermentation vessel is the three-piece fermentation lock."
Comment by hrothgar — November 5, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
I am making beer in my basement as we speak, with stuff that I just bought about 2 weeks ago. I have a lid with an airlock. Yes you want the air to escape, this guy does not know what he is talking about. I would find a different brewing supply store or just order online.
References :
Comment by WhiteTrash_Momma — November 5, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
Well, if you’re not exaggerating, he’s an a-hole. . . I’ve been brewing for better than 20 years, and the 3-piece "bubble" air lock is still very popular. The "S" shaped airlocks are fine, but not using plastic wrap like some kind of weak TupperLock. What? Are you supposed to burp your fermenting beer every time it needs to relieve pressure?
You can find bubble air locks at any reputable, note reputable, home
brewing supply store.
I doubt you’ll build up enough pressure to cause issues, at least before
the plastic wrap blows out. Hopefully, by that time, the pH will be low enough to mitigate any wild yeast, bacteria, etc., infections.
References :
Comment by chasgow — November 5, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
I just bought one of those airlocks from my homebrew shop like a week ago, I like to have a few extra for when I lose one. That’s really weird that a staff member wouldn’t know the most obvious part of brewing, the airlock. Like how else does the guy think your supposed to let out CO2 without letting in foreign contaminents? What a doosh. Whatever you remember from when you used to brew is still true, and I would suggest getting your advice from a Charlie Papazian book instead of your homebrew shop.
If you’ve never heard of the books, you could start with "The complete joy of homebrewing".
Advice: Until you get your airlock in the mail, ditch the plastic wrap and use the open fermentation method. You just put the lid on the bucket without securing it in place, so it’s just sitting on there loosely (not a lid with a hole for the airlock though). CO2 will escape, and usually keep out most of the baddies. Bottle as soon as its done, or the CO2 won’t be able keep out the outside air. You should do this for no more than 5 days. So obviously only quick fermenting ales will work with this method. It will work better than the wrap, until you find an airlock.
References :
Comment by Mike — November 5, 2009 @ 2:46 pm