Brewing Master

Question:

As a rule, should the lid be losely placed over the bin? I’ve got a plastic fermentation bin. What effects could this have?

Response:

I just use plastic cling film over my primary fermenter — that way you can see what is going on inside the fermenter . After the main part of the fermentation is over , you can either transfer to a secondary or use the lid for the primary with an airlock Barry — My website at http://www.powerup.com.au/~baz is all about the area in which I live – From Brisbane to the Gold Coast, Queensland (and a bit more)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – As a rule, should the lid be losely placed over the bin? I’ve got a plastic fermentation bin. What effects could this have?

Response:

As a rule, should the lid be losely placed over the bin? I’ve got a plastic fermentation bin. What effects could this have?

  It should be as tight as possible.  The one I use is about a year old and the lid no longer forms an air-tight seal.  So air escapes throught the tiny space between the lid and bucket edge instead of through the airlock.  Eric

Response:

Once a solid head has formed I remove the lid or leave it about half on until the head dies down. The US contingent seem obsessed with sealing everything, but on this side of the ogin beer has been brewed in the open for hundreds of years. Maybe they have more flies and nasty bugs

Response:

Once a solid head has formed I remove the lid or leave it about half on until the head dies down. The US contingent seem obsessed with sealing everything, but on this side of the ogin beer has been brewed in the open for hundreds of years. Maybe they have more flies and nasty bugs

  Well, considering some of the weather differences, it’s possible.  I was more open-minded about it.  However, I recently tried brewing in a 20 gallon fish tank.   I put plexiglass over the top which did not form an air-tight seal.  I went out of town for 5 days.  When I came back it had become a fruit fly love nest.   Eric N.

Response:

  Has anyone ever tried using oil as a seal?  Pouring oil over the top of your beer would make it air-tight.  I’m not sure about whether or not it would cling to the sides of the container sufficiently, though.  But the CO2 produced should bubble up through the oil barrier.   That’s probably going to be my next brewing experiment.   Eric N.

Response:

 Has anyone ever tried using oil as a seal?  Pouring oil over the top of your beer would make it air-tight.  I’m not sure about whether or not it would cling to the sides of the container sufficiently, though.  But the CO2 produced should bubble up through the oil barrier.

   Seems to me at least some of that oil would end up in your finished beer, and would wreak havoc on heading properties. — Joel Plutchak      "The world is mostly composed of pleasant people. They                     them. This is now some kind of secret wisdom."                                     – Jon Carroll, San Francico Chronicle

Response:

Some thirty years ago I used to do all my fermentation in open vats. However in one batch I got some vinegar beasties growing and ended up with more malt vinegar than I’d ever need instead of beer! I tried some open vat batches after that and all went to vinegar. Since the vinegar beasties are aerobes they can’t grow under the CO2 and a water seal. Bottom line is sealed vats are cheap insurance if you want to assure the quality of your brew. Having said that; Brewing is, of course, art as well as science. If other folks make a grand beer in open vats, more power to them! More flies and nasty bugs, Mike? Naw, just a higher level of culture and more discriminating taste! Jim Once a solid head has formed I remove the lid or leave it about half on until the head dies down. The US contingent seem obsessed with sealing everything, but on this side of the ogin beer has been brewed in the open for hundreds of years. Maybe they have more flies and nasty bugs

– Jim O’Neil, North Pole, Alaska 99705

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