Pail Fermenter Snot Sealing

[tomtom]

Hi all, My first post and I have just begun home brewing yesterday.
I bought a pail or bucket type fermenter and mixed everything in it and today it has begun to ferment.
The trouble is that its not bubblng through the airlock as I can smell it around the lid.
I tried to reseal the lid and saw that the brew was foaming so it must be working.
I was wondering if this will cause any problems with the brew, hygiene etc.
Also I am going to use pet bottles, is this OK.
Any help would be much appreciated.......Tony

 

[boingk]

Hi Tony, welcome aboard! You may want to look through the FAQ's section for new brewers in the Kits/Extract forum board. Its got lots of commonly asked questions that'll help you out.

Anyway, the sealing isn't a critical issue. The airlock doesn't have to bubble, and often doesn't simply because either its grommet or the lids seal isn't 100% airtight. You are correct on saying that it is foaming and thus fermenting. Another giveaway is a whitish sludge that settles at the bottom - this is yeast mostly.

PET bottle are fine as long as you keep them out of the light. If they're clear be extra careful to keep them away from the light as traditionally brown bottles give at least some extra protection against UV damage. You know that skungy taste at the bottom of a glass of beer thats been left in the sun? Kinda like tomato-leaf smell? Yeah...thats UV light sending the hops south.

Well, hope that helps. Cheers - boingk

 

[tomtom]

Thanks for the advice, I look forward to spending a couple of hundered hours on here reading all the forums and topics. I might even learn something!

 

[dags333]

g,day tony . i got a coopers kit before xmas and have put 7 brews in it .and the airlock hasn't bubbled once
its never done a thing . i think the lid is out of whack . but every brew i have done gets a nice crust around the fermenter foam on the top .and settlement on the bottom .so i say if it aint broke don't fix it .
just started drinking a few of the german bock (black beer) i brewed in it over 5 weeks ago and its awesome. cant drag myself away from it yum