HELP! Cider in my airlock

Hey All,

So I went to check on my cider today and it looks like some made it all into my airlock!! Any idea what happened? Is this correctable or is my cider done for?

I had 5 gallons in a 6 gallon fermenter. I used camden tablets and yeast nutrients followed by pitching the yeast 24 hours later. I'm on day 7 right now.

Thanks
-Matt

Instead of an airlock, you need to use a blow off tube during initial fermentation. It will help release more O2.

Well the blow off tube is a good idea, it will allow more co2 to be vented. No your code is not done for. While its actively fermenting try to think of the airlock as a one way street. With all the co2 coming out, it's a hard bet to get anything IN. Rig up a blow off tube and you'll be fine.

Thanks a million guys. Would there be any problem with taking the lid and airlock off to clean?

BrownBottle said:

Thanks a million guys. Would there be any problem with taking the lid and airlock off to clean?

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no! you will be fine. at some point you will rack the cider, and you will take the lid off. at some point you will bottle it, and you will take the lid off. it's part of the process. clean it out, be as clean as is practically possible, but don't worry.

+1. Yea you will be good! Don't worry.

Happened with a rhubarb strawberry mead I made, the airlock kept filling up with mead, it settled down though, I even had a fruit fly get into an airlock before, the mead was fine. That's the whole reason for an airlock to release pressure and stop anything from getting in. Like it was mentioned above just resanitize your airlock and you are good to go

+1 for the blow off tube. Oh, and heres a pic of one I totally stole from a google search. You can remove it and put an airlock back in after it calms down.

Thanks a MILLION guys. This help tremendously. I think i solved my problem by inadvertently not tightening the lid down all the way after checking on the cider.

If a fruit fly got into the cider is there anything to be worried about except for possibly a fruit fly in one of the bottles eventually?

BrownBottle said:

Thanks a MILLION guys. This help tremendously. I think i solved my problem by inadvertently not tightening the lid down all the way after checking on the cider.

If a fruit fly got into the cider is there anything to be worried about except for possibly a fruit fly in one of the bottles eventually?

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yes, fruit flies are bacterias vehicle of choice. you could possibly end up with 5 gals of apple cider vinegar. which in my opinion isn't a bad thing (i love that stuff).. on a good note you could drink it faster then it would take for the vinegar to take a hold.. it takes a really long time and alot of oxygen contact to make vinegar...

I love the amount of knowledge people have on here. This first brew has been so intimidating.

Would there be any benefit to bottling it earlier? I've been brewing it for 2 weeks now.

As a means to prevent the cider from turning into vinegar that is.

no proceed as planned by the sound of your other posts it sounds like the airlock was doing its job. unless you had an open airway for a long time your fine.

have a drink. give it time. not that cider can't turn to vinegar, but the 'my cider is going to turn to vinegar' panic is right up there with the 'your homebrew is going to poison me' panic.
to get vinegar you first need alcohol, then acetobacter and oxygen. from my few endeavors intentionally making vinegar, it takes quite a bit of oxygen.
if you do get vinegar, age it out a few months, bottle it in a cutesy way with some juniper berries or whatever, tie a ribbon on it and charge a frigging arm and a leg for it at a farmers market

dinnerstick said:

bottle it in a cutesy way with some juniper berries or whatever, tie a ribbon on it and charge a frigging arm and a leg for it at a farmers market

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Thanks all you guys for quelling my fears. :rockin: . We recently found out my wife is pregenant (1 hour after beginning my cider actually) with out first child so I think my worries have been transposing into my first batch of brew

Congrats, maybe you need to brew up a celebratory brew to open in nine months