[saintjimmy]

Ok, so it's not a complete emergency.... but it's still a minor emergency...

I have a couple of brews in the secondary fermenters, and decided, that since the wife and kids are away for Christmas, that I'll brew a 3rd batch while they are away.  And then I realized, I only have two air locks

Can I take off one air lock (the brew still has 3 weeks in the secondary, the other just in tonight) and seal the carboy with some press 'n' seal, or do I have to use the air lock?

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!!!

[santoch]

Relax

Cover it with aluminum foil, and you'll be fine.
Hit the foil with sanitizer first.  Bugs can't fall up inter the foil and in.  They only fall down.

HTH-

[GS]

Don't worry.

Just cover the hole with something sanitized.

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[Ellismr]

I would use sanitized plastic wrap and a rubber band.  The foil will allow oxygen in that is not your friend after primary fermentation is over.


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[JT]

What are you brewing for your 3rd batch?  That's likely the beer I'd just cover with foil and leave the air locks where they are.  Don't sweat this at all.

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[romunda_murphy]

Do you have a black rubber cork that'll fit the hole snuggly, a small diameter 3/8 maybe an a soda bottle. Drill a hole in the cork shove the hose into it, tie the soda bottle that has water in it to the carboy, temporary air lock

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[klickitat jim]

I concur with using foil on the new beer.

A bunch of older recipes and instructions call for transferring to secondary. The prime reason is to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis  (dying and repturing) but that usually takes a long time to start happening. Most Ale and lager yeasts will be totally good to go plenty long enough to not need to be racked. I look at the need for a secondary fermenter being more useful if you are going to do a second fermentation, such as adding fruit.

In my opinion, based on experience, people do more harm than good by following those old instructions and racking the beer off the yeast before it's done. Look at it this way. We need the yeast to finish their job. Why fire most them when they are only half done. Not to mention the oxygen that usually gets introduced by doing so... by racking to secondary we really just decrease the chance of fully fermenting the beer and increase the risk of it staling quicker.

Plus it's less work and the less you fuss with it the less you risk introducing contamination

[bboy9000]

I agree with Jim.   Use foil on the new beer and leave the airlock on the older beer.

[saintjimmy]

Foil on the new brew it is, which is going to be a Scottish Heavy.

Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a Winter Beerical!!

-James

[Steve Ruch]

More importantly, why do you only have two airlocks? 

[kramerog]

What the hell Santa? Get this man a fermentation lock.

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[BrewBama]

Once one of the other two have positive pressure from CO2 I don't think you'd need an air lock for it. I'd use one of them.


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[saintjimmy]

A friend is lending me a third airlock, so I'm good. 

I've never brewed this much beer before, we just moved, and I'm into turbo mode now!  I'm averaging two batches a month (while balancing work, a 2.5yr old, an 8 month old, and a wife!!!)  but recently the brews have been longer aging winter beers.

[saintjimmy]

I concur with using foil on the new beer.

A bunch of older recipes and instructions call for transferring to secondary. The prime reason is to prevent off flavors from yeast autolysis  (dying and repturing) but that usually takes a long time to start happening. Most Ale and lager yeasts will be totally good to go plenty long enough to not need to be racked. I look at the need for a secondary fermenter being more useful if you are going to do a second fermentation, such as adding fruit.

In my opinion, based on experience, people do more harm than good by following those old instructions and racking the beer off the yeast before it's done. Look at it this way. We need the yeast to finish their job. Why fire most them when they are only half done. Not to mention the oxygen that usually gets introduced by doing so... by racking to secondary we really just decrease the chance of fully fermenting the beer and increase the risk of it staling quicker.

Plus it's less work and the less you fuss with it the less you risk introducing contamination

So, would you dry hop in the primary as well?  I'm in the middle of a couple of brews I ordered from Budweiser... I mean Northern Brewer, which one is the oak aged bourbon porter, the other is the Belgian Tripel IPA (wife's birthday brew).  Both have been racked to the secondary.  But the one I'm doing tomorrow, you figure to leave it in the primary for 6 weeks (or so), until I bottle?

[klickitat jim]

I dry hop in primary, which I just call fermenter because if ever I secondary I just use a fermenter... so, I think they are fermenters.

6 weeks is totally fine for a Belgian strain, I wouldn't worry about that. I would dry hop for the final 4-7 days before packaging