HELP! Burping and curing

[mwr71264]

When you're burping your mason jars during the cure, how long do you leave the lid off? I say 15-20 minutes but a guy i know says open it, count to 10 and close it back up.

[Bowhunterwoody]

For me it depends on the rh in the jar. Too high and I leave them off for a while. Later once they've settled into the proper rh I just refresh for about 15 seconds with a gentle swirl and cap it.

[golfnrl]

That's what I do as well. If I've misjudged the RH and it stays high I might spread the contents out for 1/2 a day and rejar. I like a steady 62 to cure. I don't have a set period of time. We're just looking for an air exchange, however long that takes. Sometimes it a few minutes, sometimes longer.

[Ckbrew]

It depends on how you like the cure. I prefer RH about 58%. It is easier to jar them higher than that, then remove them for further air drying until the RH is where I like it, than it is to try and rehydrate them. I recommend using some small digital hygrometers in at least some of the jars to monitor RH. After the desired RH is achieved, I air them out enough to exchange the air in the jar, about 10 minutes. It also will depend on what the ambient RH is. Once the desired RH is achieved and or several weeks have passed, shorter times are sufficient.