Question on Drew Beechum’s statement in the saison article in the Sep/Oct 2011 issue…
"Conducting your primary ferment with a covering of sanitized foil keeps the pressure down and the yeast happier than… "
I’ve used foil during the first one or two days of a big beer ferment… mainly for easy access during additional shots of O2, but I’ve always switched to an airlock or BBBOT while the yeast is heavy into fermentation. So my question is… how long is okay for a covering of only foil? I would think foil during the entire primary fermentation risks the introduction of O2 and subsequent oxidation, once fermentation slows down (particularly with saison yeast and the inevitable stalls and 4-5 week ferments).
I happen to have a freshly brewed saison in its 28th hour of fermentation, covered only by foil over the neck of the carboy. Just wondering how long I can go before switching over to an airlock.
I have kept carboys covered by foil only for a month with no ill effects.
I also don’t go disturbing them until it’s time to rack
Thank you, Drew. I will give it a go then.
Okay… 5 days into the ferment, and I’ve nudged it (naturally and assisted, in the last few days) from 64F → 88F. Now I’m wondering about the cool-down. I plan to let it sit at this elevated temp for at least a couple more weeks, but when it’s finally time to move forward, I’ll need to cool it back down to my basement temp of around 70F. I see three choices for topping off the carboy…
1. air lock - but the cooling will probably suck the vodka right out of the airlock and into the carboy
2. blowoff tube - but the cooling will probably suck the sanitizer out of the blowoff bucket and into the carboy (I’ve experienced this one before… almost)
3. leave the foil over the neck - but I’m wondering about oxygen being sucked under the foil and into the carboy.
Anyone have any tips on how to deal with the vacuum created by the cooling?
Back to the lazy B approach, I don’t worry about cooling it until I’ve gone into keg.
Yet another reason to keg, I guess.
I practice open fermentation and never have a problem with oxidation. There will still be a blanket of co2 even when the ferment cools. I’d have a saison in the bottle or keg in about two weeks if laziness doesn’t take over. The transfer is the danger point.