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That $15 airlock from Amazon almost ruined my batch of habanero hot sauce
I figured I'd save a few bucks and bought this cheap plastic airlock off Amazon instead of the $8 one from my local brew shop. Three weeks into fermenting a 5-gallon batch of habanero hot sauce I made from peppers I grew in my backyard, I noticed the water level dropped funny. Pulled the airlock apart and the inner chamber was cracked, letting oxygen in. Lost the whole batch to mold on top, probably $40 worth of peppers and salt plus my time. The smell alone was enough to make me sick. Now I only buy the name brand ones from the store a few blocks away. Anyone else get burned by cheap fermentation gear?
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fionanguyen6d ago
My buddy tried that same cheap airlock on a batch of kimchi. He found little cracks after a week and a half, same as you, but he didn't notice until the whole crock had this weird fuzzy layer on top. He said his kitchen smelled like a dead animal for three days after he dumped it. Now he drives those extra few blocks to the brew shop just to be safe.
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parker_hall56d agoMost Upvoted
Three dead animal smells from kimchi? That's absolutely brutal.
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