Steven H Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Hi im quite new to brewing and of course bought the Coopers diy kit which comes with the open brewing keg. I have spoken to a few people that brew or have brewed in the past and they were not familiar with the open brewing technique. I went to my local home brew shop and he said that they are not real good as it is much easier to get an infection, so far so good I have not had an infection id love some advice and info on this subject from you gurus out there. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brew Master Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Hi Steven, welcome to the forum. I believe the DIY brew kit comes with a lid but does not have an airlock. This is not open brewing so use it with confidence. You will read in other posts that a lot of the brewers use Cling Wrap in place of the lid & airlock. Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B5 Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Steven, What better way to achieve at a new endeavour than asking good questions. You will have no problems using the current range of Cooper's fermenters. The cling wrap method on screw top fermenters works perfectly also. The brewing process creates a layer of carbon dioxide above the beer which protects against oxidisation and to an extent infection. Sealed fermenters were all used when we started brewing. I'm glad to see the back of them for the cleaning hassles involved. Keep going as you are and you will be happy with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 open fermentation is indeed a process but not really for the homebrew scale, have a read though THIS LINK and for some really surprising and AWESOME photo's do a google images search of "open top fermentation" The co2 layer produced does indeed serve as a barrier to microbial infection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Steve, try this link, scan down the page and you will find a photo of "glad wrap" over the top of fermenter. It is the only way to go. You can see whats going on and after 7-10 days (depending on what temp ypu are brewing at) if there are no bubbles on top then it is ready to bottle. to check, do 2 Hydrometer readings a day apart, if the readings are the same then bottle. Warren http://www.coopers.com.au/the-brewers-guild/talk-brewing?g=posts&t=3270 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 It really peeves me when Home Brew Shops rubbish a product they obviously have no idea about!! When I was looking for a new fermenter my LHBS did the same. They said just about every known thing to try get me to buy one of theirs. Purely because they were after a sale for the way they do things. I bought the DIY kit and to be honest, I think it was the best thing I could have done. I use glad wrap on my other fermenters too. If you decide to get the "old style" fermenter then you really need to get rid of the bubbler thingy!!!... it creates more hassle than its worth. In respect for the DIY kit look at it this way.... You get everything you need to brew equivilant to 2.5 cartons of stubbies. If you are to buy those stubbies you would pay upwards of $100 yet the DIY kit only costs approx $85 so you are in front to start with and you have products in the kit that you reuse. Therefore, give it a go as you have nothing to lose [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven H Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Thanks for that info, very useful so are you saying I should not use the lip and just put glad wrap on the top instead ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David B5 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Steven, Use the lid on the Cooper's DIY kit as supplied. The glad wrap method is only suitable on older style screw top fermenters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 If you get the new DIY Coopers kit then just use that as it is. However, if you decide to go with an older style screw lid fermenter that has the airlock, then don't use the lid. Take the rubber O-ring out of the lid and use it like a big rubber band to hold glad/cling wrap over the opening. Like a big jar of jam [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidP17 Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hey a quick question about the cling wrap method, how does the CO2 get out of the fermenter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hey David, It is said that it just finds it's way out.[wink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 A pin prick in the Glad Wrap is all you need. Easy peesy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 A pin prick in the Glad Wrap is all you need. Easy peesy. No need for a pin prick. Unlikely but if anything, a pin prick just provides more chance for infection. Chad is correct, i.e. the gas finds its way out without any need for holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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