Secondary with no Airlock. What should I watch for?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ohio-Ed

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
2,058
Reaction score
25
I started using a small kegorator for a fermentation chamber. I ran a piece of tubing down the tower and use a stopper in the bucket/carboy and an airlock on the outside so I don't have to open the door to keep an eye on it. This has been working great.

Friday night I racked from a primary bucket into a carboy.

Saturday, I noticed no activity in the bubbler airlock, and just thought it must have nearly finished it the primary... not too worried.

Sunday afternoon, still no activity, zero pressure in the airlock, and the light bulb went off in my head... I peeked inside and the stopper was completely out of the carboy.

So... I think it sat there at about 68 degrees, in an open carboy for almost 48 hours.

It is an extract that was in the primary for about a week. OG ~1.046 and was around 1.013 when racked into the secondary.

Any suggestions on what I should watch for, or expect?

Thanks,
Ed
 
Your beer should be fine. It was just an open fermentation. In my experience infections smell like Bush's Baked Beans and I have had that smell out of primary. If you can avoid such a smell you really should be fine.
 
Back
Top