Lawrence Brewers Guild

I put the batch into primary fermentation Saturday around 4pm. I checked it about 1am that night and everything seemed to be going well, bubbling away nicely. At some point between 1am Sunday and 4pm Monday the airlock became clogged and was popped out of the hole in the lid. The lid also became unseated but still coverd the whole bucket and there was no overflow. So the only way something could have got into the batch would have been the airlock hole. Is 48 hours after the yest is pitched enough time for it to get a good foothold? I might be a little paranoid about it being ruined, but I like to think it was producing enough CO2 that there was a pretty good buffer at the airlock opening.

Thanks for any replies,
Marc

its ruined. I'll be by to pick it up and properly dispose of it for you

Marc, it's fine. Even if you didn't re-sanitize the airlock before putting it back on, you are probably still fine. Let it ferment out, condition it and taste it. Regardless of what happens, you are still going to have beer. RDWHAHB

Thanks! I've never had the airlock or lid pop out before. Guess I just needed someone else to tell me it was still good to go.

Bill is right. You probably had enough "positive pressure" from the CO2 created by your yeasties to have a outward "venting" effect, which tends to keep any microbials from getting into your beer. Hell, a few brewers in the guild don't even use airtight lids for that very reason, and they produce excellent beers.

I'm sure you'll be fine. But if you think you'll have a violent fermentation in the future, you might consider a blow-off tube instead of a bubbler.

Matt

No worries. Bill and Matt nailed it.