Airlock sucking in air?

[MMM,BEER]

Hi i was just wondering why my brew is starting to suck in air through the airlock, its been brewing for 8 days and i thought it was about to stop so i could bottle it, But no, its become a real SUCKER, or maybe its just me. What souuld i do and will it effect my brew?

[MMM,BEER]

ok 6 hours later and its stopped, will the brew be ok?

[JSGilbert]

Your beer will most likely be fine. It just depends on the liquid that was in your airlock.

Did you boil the water that you used in your airlock? If the water in the airlock wasn't bacteria free then you could have a problem; however, at the end of fermentation, the alcohol and hops (depending on your particular brew) seem to ward off infection.

The reason that the airlock is sucking in is because of a decrease in gas molecules inside the carboy which results in a lower pressure than outside the carboy, and the water gets pushed or sucked in. The decrease in gas molecules is a pretty good sign that no gas is being produced, i.e. fermentation has ended.

[Dr Strangebrew]

I put cheap vodka in my airlock. This way do need not worry about contamination. Though, vodka does evaporate faster than water.

Nate

[MMM,BEER]

i used sodium metabisulphate solution in the airlock so there shouldnt be any contamination there, thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I took an sg and it was 1.008 so ive now bottled it, hehe it tasted nice too, i cant make myself waste any so i drank the sg test. Its a Newcastle Brown Ale.

"If they will cheat then so will I, but Ill make sure that my cheating is better."