I've got it all in a jar and fermenting. Should I leave room for it to breathe, or should I seal the jar up? It's a Mason jar, btw...
So I just started brewing some beer...
- Thread starter thehstrybean
- Start date
you want CO2 to be able to escape, but no air to get in. I use an airlock (something like this) that is filled with water (or vodka if you're very serious about it) so that both chambers are half full. CO2 will form a bubble and continually exit out the red cap, but air can't come in (it might introduce bacteria in the brew)
If you're asking this question now, you've already ruined that batch.
Get some proper supplies (should be <$20), and do your research online, and you should have a better go at it next time.
Get some proper supplies (should be <$20), and do your research online, and you should have a better go at it next time.
Well, I guess I've fvcked this one up...time to wait till Wednesday and start brewing when my local shop opens...
Brewing is actually a pretty robust process, and hard to fvck up.
That being said the fact that you're doing it in a mason jar and don't know what an airlock is, isn't promising.
You're going to need a fermentation vessel that's been sanitized, and can be closed with a method of allowing gas to escape.
If you seal it and fermentation is successful the vessel will explode, and that's not desirable.
Do you have a recipe or something, or just going on luck and discovery channel?
That being said the fact that you're doing it in a mason jar and don't know what an airlock is, isn't promising.
You're going to need a fermentation vessel that's been sanitized, and can be closed with a method of allowing gas to escape.
If you seal it and fermentation is successful the vessel will explode, and that's not desirable.
Do you have a recipe or something, or just going on luck and discovery channel?
dj: yeah, I'm goin good next time. Local homebrew store, here I come...
I have a recipe
jhayx: google
I have a recipe
jhayx: google
How to Brew
This guy wrote a book on brewing beer, then decided to post everything for free on the Internet. I ended up buying a copy of his book just because I used the site so much when I was starting out. The homebrewing forums at Real Beer are pretty good, too. It's a hobby not at all like computers...no one makes you feel like an ass when you ask questions
Hit up your local Homebrewing supply shop, and buy one of the kits. It'll come with everything you need to get started, sans ingredients, bottles, and brewpot, and should run less than $60. You can pick up a five-gallon enamel-ware kettle from K-mart for $20 or so. Buy one of the ingredient packs when you get your brewing kit for another $25 or so, and it'll come with everything you need to make the beer, plus enough caps for two cases of bottles. The total start-up cost should be around $100, plus bottles.
If you're cheap like me, go buy two cases of cheap beer in returnable bottles, and just don't return them. Or, use it as an excuse to buy two cases of decent beer (the bottles can't be twist off...the neck's too narrow and prone to cracking when you cap, and you run the significant risk of creating bottle bombs), and drink 'em all before you're ready to bottle.
Your brew might still be OK. The biggest risk in leaving the container open is contamination, but if the fermentation started quickly, the "good" yeast already has an advantage, and the alcohol will quickly take care of the rest of the nasties. The other risk is oxidation...oxygen will kill the taste of your brew, leaving it tasting flat and papery...but the carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation might provide enough of a cushion to keep the oxygen out.
I wouldn't pitch it yet. At the worst, you've created a vile brew that will still get you drunk if you're desperate. At best, you've got an alcoholic concoction that might actually taste OK, and you've begun a very entertaining and rewarding hobby.
Find something to seal off the container that will still let air escape. If you can, drill a hole in the lid and put in an airlock. Failing that, find a large balloon or latex glove than you can slip over the opening, and make sure to release the pressure a couple times a day.
This guy wrote a book on brewing beer, then decided to post everything for free on the Internet. I ended up buying a copy of his book just because I used the site so much when I was starting out. The homebrewing forums at Real Beer are pretty good, too. It's a hobby not at all like computers...no one makes you feel like an ass when you ask questions
Hit up your local Homebrewing supply shop, and buy one of the kits. It'll come with everything you need to get started, sans ingredients, bottles, and brewpot, and should run less than $60. You can pick up a five-gallon enamel-ware kettle from K-mart for $20 or so. Buy one of the ingredient packs when you get your brewing kit for another $25 or so, and it'll come with everything you need to make the beer, plus enough caps for two cases of bottles. The total start-up cost should be around $100, plus bottles.
If you're cheap like me, go buy two cases of cheap beer in returnable bottles, and just don't return them. Or, use it as an excuse to buy two cases of decent beer (the bottles can't be twist off...the neck's too narrow and prone to cracking when you cap, and you run the significant risk of creating bottle bombs), and drink 'em all before you're ready to bottle.
Your brew might still be OK. The biggest risk in leaving the container open is contamination, but if the fermentation started quickly, the "good" yeast already has an advantage, and the alcohol will quickly take care of the rest of the nasties. The other risk is oxidation...oxygen will kill the taste of your brew, leaving it tasting flat and papery...but the carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation might provide enough of a cushion to keep the oxygen out.
I wouldn't pitch it yet. At the worst, you've created a vile brew that will still get you drunk if you're desperate. At best, you've got an alcoholic concoction that might actually taste OK, and you've begun a very entertaining and rewarding hobby.
Find something to seal off the container that will still let air escape. If you can, drill a hole in the lid and put in an airlock. Failing that, find a large balloon or latex glove than you can slip over the opening, and make sure to release the pressure a couple times a day.
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