Is it OK to move my secondary into the refrigerator with the air lock in place?
is it the ‘S’ style airlock?
sometimes dropping the temperature will suck the sanitizer/alcohol through the airlock into the fermenter. if you have a ‘S’ style airlock it should be fine. if not, a sanitized piece of foil over the top of the fermenter should be enough
What about a foam air stopper (like in the link) until the volume of beer has reached temp then re-place back to your normal airlock. It may be overkill but I think about the mold I know about in MY fridge.
Maybe just don’t use my fridge… but on the other hand… go ahead and put that beer in there, I’ll keep a close eye on it.
VK
You’re cold crashing the beer…fermentation is done…why even bother with an airlock? Use foil.
Good point. 
:cheers:
VK
[quote=“Brew On”] Good point.
:cheers:
VK[/quote]
Don’t worry…I say enough stupid stuff that could never happen!
Yeah, I replace my airlock with a sanitizer dampened paper towel covered in plastic wrap and held in place with an elastic. Your vessel will suck in whatever is in the airlock. First time I cold crashed, I went thru about 5 shots of vodka before I figured that one out.
Use the foil as mentioned above or plastic snack bag. Use a rubberband to hold the snack bag against the neck of the carboy.
LOL, Barney, was that 5 shots of vodka in the airlock, or down the hatch?
LOL, Barney, was that 5 shots of vodka in the airlock, or down the hatch?[/quote]
Not down the hatch. The vodka was the cheap stuff. Meh, I upped the abv of the beer a bit. But not my bloodstream. :roll: (I usually send scotch down my airlock straight up. 18 yr old glenfiddich)
I forgot to mention that I leave the stopper in the carboy. Just pull the airlock and proceed as I said before.
What about introducing oxygen into the beer? Is this a worry without an airlock?
I’ve been cold-crashing in the fridge for the last 10 batches or so. I use a bucket. I keep my 3-piece airlock in place and haven’t really noticed anything getting sucked into the fermenter. There could be some, but there’s always sanitizer left in the airlock.
I listened to a Jamil podcast recently that recommended cold-crashing in the keg, but the whole reason I keep mine in the fermenter is to drop everything out of suspension before kegging.
What about introducing oxygen into the beer? Is this a worry without an airlock?
[/quote]
it happens with an airlock too. but i have never had an issue with oxidation. unless you were splashing the beer it shouldn’t be an issue
What about introducing oxygen into the beer? Is this a worry without an airlock?
[/quote]
it happens with an airlock too. but i have never had an issue with oxidation. unless you were splashing the beer it shouldn’t be an issue[/quote]
Good to know. Thanks.
I was thinking that this is one of those things that is probably not as big an issue as some make it.
+1 on the " s " stopper, I have gone almost full time to these . I also use foil as my cold crashes are usually five or so days at33* and the o2 is not a concern at that point
