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Hello all.
I know lots of you guys use cling wrap on the top of your fermentors. My questions are do you or can you still use an airlock? How do you seal it? If no airlock where does the CO2 go? Basically all how and why questions?
I want to get a better view of what my yeast is up too, while not letting infections in.
Cheers

There is no airlock with the gladwrap method. Basically you just cover the fermenter opening with the wrap and put something around the thread at the top to fix it there (the o-ring from the lid works best for this but people use all sorts - anything elastic and pretty tight will do). The gas will find its way out but the wrap will puff out some but that isn't any issue at all. You'll see many people talking about pricking pin holes - this is completely unnecessary.

If you're really interested in watching the yeast do its thing get a glass carboy or a Better Bottle.

I use it on all my ales that I ferment for two weeks or so but lagers still get the lid treatment. Easy, removes another item to clean and make viewing easier.

When I used to do it over a decade ago I pinned pricked it but now I just leave it be and the c02 finds a way to escape.

+1 on what Bum said.
I am a devoted Cling wrapper of many years for exactly as you have described, you can see exactly what the beer is doing,
As Bum said, just cover with the cling wrap, put the "O" Ring or other elastic object over it & the Co2 will escape through the grooves of the thread, no need for holes.
Don't panic about infections as the layer of Co2 will protect your brew as long as you don't disturb it, particularily late in the ferment when things slow down.
On that Note:-

One other advantage of using Cling wrap is that you can drop a hydrometer in after the high Krausen has died down, leave it there & monitor the Sg whenever you want, without ever having to tap some off or suck filthy air in when you do draw some off for a sample. Your Sg is just sitting there ready to be read at a glance!!

Cheers, Mick.

I switched to gladwrap recently and love being able to see what is happening in the fermenter. I went to a hospitality supplies and bought the wider catering wrap to make it easier to cover fermenters with a wider opening. It could be a bit thicker than the standard stuff as well. One of my fermenters never sealed properly anyway so I'm not missing the blup-blup of the airlock with that one anyway.

On one of my fermenters the thread doesn't go all the way down so its easier to get the fermenter o-ring to sit flat, on the other ones the thread does go all the way down so the fermenter o-ring sits a bit funny over the thread. I wouldn't worry about this except that I occasionally get small insects (maybe vinegar flies) in my fermenting fridge, to solve the problem I use 2 fermenter o-rings on it.

Same... Clingwrap, and havent had an infection, and find it interesting to see the krausen differences with different yeasts etc.

Hey Mick, I like the idea of leaving the hydrometer in there

cheers,
Chris

Thanks guys. I will miss the 'blup blup' for a while. I have found myself trying to see more of the yeast lately, especially after i recently took the lid off to check if the brew was fermenting, and saw 'high krausen' for the first time. It looked cool.
Cheers

If you leave the hydrometer in the fermenter then CO2 will be trapped underneath it.

This may push your hydrometer up giving you a higher reading than expected.

Someone had to play the devil's advocate

I draw out samples through the tap on a regular basis. I check the SG and taste the wort/beer. There is a layer of CO2 covering the wort so the infection risk is minute.

And given that i top crop regularly which involves removing the cling film, scooping out the yeast with a sanitised ladle and then replacing the cling film the infection risk is minimal. Once fermentation has stopped then its probably not advisable to open up the fermenter too often.

Many commercial english brewers open ferment. White rabbit in Healesville, Victoria do also.

The west yorky yeast (WY1469) is a smart cookie. I top crop it leaving almost no yeast on the surface and by the next morning a fresh krausen is there protecting the wort! Yet another reason to love this yeast.

Rotten

I moved to clingwrap last summer. My big esky will fit 2 fermenters, but not with airlocks. I like to be able to watch the ferment as well (a quick tap on the film and the condensation drops off leaving a clear window).

Doc
AHB had a lengthy thread last year sometime about hydros left in the brew. The consensus was that it would provide a relative reading to determine whether ferment was finished, but no an absolute FG due to the CO2 acting on it. The theory was that the CO2 in suspension would remain roughly constant as the ferment neared the end. Not that it concerns me, as I like to draw of a sample and have a taste.

Hey Planner,

Just a tip...
If you are drawing off samples regularly and tasting, but finding that you only end up with 5 Litres of brew to bottle or keg - thats a sign you are taking too many samples, and have a problem.

there are people that can help (not that i ever want to meet them)


Grog

Another vote for clingwrap. It's one of only 2 ways I can fit a fermenter in my brew fridge.
For wheats I still use the lid, but fit a blowoff tube. I can just get the fermenter in the fridge that way.

An airlock is great for beginning brewers to see the bubbles and hear the bloop, but once you figure when your fermentations are underway, it's nice to see what actually happens. It can be surprising how active the brew can be.

Grog wrote:thats a sign you are taking too many samples, and have a problem.

Thanks for the concern Grog, but I don't have a problem. The first step is admitting you have a problem, and I admit nothing

I don't miss the bloop of the airlock, none of my 3 fermenter lids ever sealed properly. In 45 brews I've only ever heard a couple of burps from the airlock. Mum and Dads house is another matter, Dad keeps 2 fermenters (with airlocks) in the living room permanently (much to Mums disgust).

same here Planner, fermenter lids have to screw on that damn tight to seal, its not worth the messing around.

great to hear you dont have a problem, i was a bit worried...

Nahhh!!! The gladwrap doesn't work!!! Here's the evidence after placing a 23L brew upon an entire 66L Kolsch II yeastcake




Seriously, looking back, I can't believe how many brews I must have bottled after 14 days thinking that they would have had to be well and truely done, even with a hydrometer reading. A picture is worth a thousand words, 'and through the clingwrap' I can now see that many brews might have been over but had no where flocked out. The cling wrap not only lets you see where your yeast is at, but lets you learn the idiosyncrasies of particular yeast strains.

Clingwrap: one of my best advancements
Cheers

Hirns

hirns wrote:Nahhh!!! The gladwrap doesn't work!!! Here's the evidence after placing a 23L brew upon an entire 66L Kolsch II yeastcake

Isn't it fun to learn the hard way sometimes Hirns

It's also fun to learn from other peoples experiences, bad or good!

Cheers (insert beer drinking icon)

P.S I still can't get that Kolsch 11 yeast, looks like you've got plenty

drsmurto wrote:If you leave the hydrometer in the fermenter then CO2 will be trapped underneath it.

This may push your hydrometer up giving you a higher reading than expected.

Someone had to play the devil's advocate
.

For the same reason, if it gets a bit of Krausen on it, it will give an inaccurate reading of the actual Sg,

As Planner said further down, it will still give you a comparitive reading of wether it is still dropping or not!

I just give it a clean & drop it back in on bottling day to get an accurate Fg.

Mick.

Man, I really miss that <1/4 cup of beer from my sample that I drank anyway.

The main reason for putting the hydrometer in the top is because I use an old deep freezer for a brew box & would have to lift it out to tap some off.



Cheers, Mick.

Looks like we use the same labelling system Mick. Black nikko on gold caps.

billybushcook wrote:The main reason for putting the hydrometer in the top is because I use an old deep freezer for a brew box & would have to lift it out to tap some off.



Cheers, Mick.

Mick tell us about your plate chiller/AKA air conditioning condenser there on the freezer lid!

Cheers

Hirns