Lid not on tight....is it ruined?

Maybe I was a little tipsy, but after I pitched my yeast into my wort I didn't clamp the lid on my bucket all the way. After two days I didn't notice bubbling in my airlock, and magically I realized the lid wasn't snapped all the way on. What is the likelyhood I'll my beer is contaminated? I know all I can do is keep moving forward, but I want to prepare for a heartbreak.

It's ruined. Please send it to Evan! for disposal.




Actually, there's probably not a damn thing wrong. As long as the lid was on top of the bucket at all, and not sitting on the floor next to it, you are fine.

Your primary mainly creates positive pressure via CO2. You could throw a towel over it and still be good. Well, as long as it is clean.

if you would have searched on here before posting you would have realized your fine. The bubbles are only an indication of co2 being released and it takes a perfect seal for it to come through the airlock. Keep it closed to keep out contamination but your fine- relax and let it run its course. Also keep in mind its pretty hard to ruin a beer but its much harder to make a good beer.

+1 on the towel

dont think ive ever put my lid on properly

As long as you didn't sneeze into the fermenter, you're fine. CO2's heavier than air, so it will displace air/oxygen and leave only CO2 touching the beer.

Here's one of Oomegang's fermenters:



No lid.

The primary I use for 10 gallon batches isn't airtight so that lid is never clamped down. As others have stated the CO2 produced creates a nice little blanket protecting your beer.

Mine doesn't totally seal. I get very little to nothing out the airlock. Once it calms down, I can transfer to a secondary that seals well.

BarleyWater said:

It's ruined. Please send it to Evan! for disposal.




Actually, there's probably not a damn thing wrong. As long as the lid was on top of the bucket at all, and not sitting on the floor next to it, you are fine.

Click to expand...

Now it's on.

Your fine, RDWHAHB!

jhb said:

As long as you didn't sneeze into the fermenter, you're fine. CO2's heavier than air, so it will displace air/oxygen and leave only CO2 touching the beer.

Here's one of Oomegang's fermenters:

No lid.

Click to expand...

is this for a lambic?

I have noticed that a lot of posts talk about the "air lock" on the primary lid.
Around my area (Halifax, NS) , I have never seen a primary lid that would take an air lock.

The homebrew supply shops I've been into usually sell beer equipment kits that include a white plastic pail with a solid lid, and some will include a glass carboy for a secondary along with a bubbler airlock for the secondary.

I have had a lot of trouble finding other pieces of equipment that I have read about on these forums.

I recently started kegging, and I wanted to set up a tower with 2 taps.

Most of the people on this forum have more experience than me, and the general opinion is that the forward sealing - Perlick type tap is the best choice.

The supply shops around here say they have never heard of them or anything like that.

I also asked about a dual regulator so that I could have my 2 active kegs at different pressures. I was told that was a waste of money, and offered a stainless "T" fitting (at $10) to split the gas line . The info I got was that both kegs should be kept at about 4 or 5 psi to dispense and not to try to get different pressures for them.

It seemed to me that the beer gos flat with that little pressure in the head space. When I mentioned that, the solution I was told was to vent the keg to lower the pressure for dispensing and then increase it to keep the gas in solution. (seems like a waste of gas to me).

I also have a problem with other items. I asked about a brush to clean the inside of the liquid out stainless tubes on my kegs and was told to just soak it using the pink powder and rinse it out.
I was also told to use the pink powder to clean and sani the kegs.
That is contrary to info I read about here.

They have never heard of the Keg lube product that gets talked about here,
and I have my doubts about the beer tubing they sell. Seems to yellow over time.

I have been looking online for some items and actually started an order online at Midwest yesterday, I go to check out and I was asked my country. (the only options listed are US and Canada). The order would not process because they do not actually sell to Canada. Why it is offered on the website is a mystery.

Dude, you homebrew shop sucks. If Midwest won't deliver, try NORTHERN BREWER . I bet you could also call them and see what the deal is. But seriously never go back to that place again.

From the Northern Brewer website...

Orders to Alaska, Hawaii, and foreign countries are shipped by UPS. You will be billed for the exact shipping cost — we charge you only what UPS charges us. Customers are solely responsible for paying any duty and brokerage fees.

Click to expand...

And they're in Minnesota, so it shouldn't be that far of a trip to you. I bet www.austinhomebrew.com would also ship to you, but it's in Texas and www.morebeer.com is in California. I think those are probably the top guys that are going to get you the freshest ingredients.