Burping Jars?

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Lifer
Sep 23, 2022
1,614
2,677
41
United States Of America
I was discussing this topic with Gervais, and we both wanted more feedback from others on this topic. As most know Cigar humijars need to be burped once or twice a month to release gases naturally built up from the tobacco. I've personally never heard anyone suggest burping a pipe tobacco jar.


So do any of you burp the jar? If not why? As a cigar smoker I do burp the jars, but could this be nonsense cigar smokers just believed and do for no reason, or maybe pipe tobacco doesn't produce gases. What's your take?
 
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AJL67

Lifer
May 26, 2022
4,489
24,340
Florida - Space Coast
I was discussing this topic with Gervais, and we both wanted more feedback from others on this topic. As most know Cigar humijars need to be burped once or twice a month to release gases naturally built up from the tobacco. I've personally never heard anyone suggest burping a pipe tobacco jar.


So do any of you burp the jar? If not why? As a cigar smoker I do burp the jars, but could this be nonsense cigar smokers just believed and do for no reason, or maybe pipe tobacco doesn't produce gases. What's your take?
Never heard that in my 30 years of smoking and storing cigars. I guess I'm not most. Storing in a jar should be no different than storing anywhere else with humidity that is acceptable to you.
 
Dec 3, 2021
4,792
40,295
Pennsylvania & New York
With cigars, it’s a good practice to get fresh air into the humidor maybe once a week, otherwise, the sticks tend to get musty. It doesn’t hurt to rotate sticks as well, but, that’s more because of the humidification device and its proximity to cigars under it getting moved around so that they don’t swell always being in the same spot.
 
Feb 12, 2022
3,404
46,942
31
North Georgia mountains.
I've heard both sides. I've heard of those who open their jars a time or a couple per year and move the tobacco around.
Then I've heard that opening them stops any aging that's going on.
Wish I could remember what episode Brian discussed this on his podcast. It was an interesting take. He even gives some of his jars "sun time" via the window.

I just leave mine alone - until proven otherwise.
 

Boognish

Lurker
Apr 3, 2021
27
62
Maine
Never done it with tobacco as it’s already cured. They get fresh air exchange when I go to pack a bowl. Burping jars of the other stuff was done during the cure but now many growers use special bags which let gas/vapors out by itself, no burping required.
 
The idea for aging came from people buying tins, stockpiling them, and then realizing that older tins that had remained closed tasted so much better. And, at no point is a tin opened to "burp" it. So, we immolate what was happening in those tins, using jars for bulk tobaccos.

Cigars are structurally engineered devices. They are ready made to be snipped and smoked. The aging of those isn't really the same. First off, yo0u have to worry about the cigars losing their structure that allows them to be smoked. Other than that, I am not sure what other worries one would have. My cigars have been in a humidor that I haven't opened since August.
 

Winnipeger

Lifer
Sep 9, 2022
1,288
9,667
Winnipeg
Canning jars with snap lids allow gasses to escape which increases the internal pressure, thus sealing the lid in place. They're self-sealing. In theory, once the lid is sealed and no air can get IN, gasses can still force their way OUT, further sealing the lid. If the lid is concave and you can't pop it in and out by pressing on it, it's sealed. At that point, IN THEORY, anaerobic fermentation can take place, further sweetening and mellowing the tobacco over time, especially for Virginias. This is generally considered to be a GOOD THING. If you burp your jars, you are halting this process and not allowing the anaerobic fermentation to get underway. If you don't care about aging your tobacco and are just using the jars to store what you're smoking on an ongoing basis, then anaerobic fermentation is a moot point. Either way, burping is A. Not necessary, and B. Not generally desirable. YMMV.