Forgot to switch to airlock

[meaghanl]

Hey all - first time brewer and poster here. Bought a starter kit from Craft-A-Brew and brewed the wort and put it with the included yeast into our 1-gallon carboy. We topped it with a rubber stopper with a small hole (sanitized) and set up a blow off tube into a glass of water. The problem is we forgot to switch to the airlock after a few days per the directions and just let it sit with the blow off tube into the same glass of water for two weeks.
The question: is the beer safe to bottle and drink? I've been reading about bacteria and CO2 and getting freaked out by infections growing getting us sick. Any answers greatly appreciated!

 

[kpr121]

Should be totally fine


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[m1batt1]

Unless water from the glass was drawn up the tube and into the beer you shouldn't have a problem. And as the CO2 being pumped out by the yeast should have kept more than enough positive pressure in the jar to prevent that from happening.

Additionally assuming you were rigorous with your sanitation throughout the brew process anything introduced after fermentation will only cause off flavors and won't make you sick. Unless it produces an off flavor that makes you gag

Go ahead with your bottling and enjoy your first beer!

Also in essence a blowoff tube submerged in water and an airlock are the same thing. They prevent anything from getting in. Blowoffs are there for an over active fermentation that might cause it to foam over. With a tube in a tub of water the foam and liquid expelled has somewhere to collect. Whereas an airlock will leave that stuff running down the sides of your fermenter and all over your floor.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Hammy71]

Also in essence a blowoff tube submerged in water and an airlock are the same thing. They prevent anything from getting in. Blowoffs are there for an over active fermentation that might cause it to foam over. With a tube in a tub of water the foam and liquid expelled has somewhere to collect. Whereas an airlock will leave that stuff running down the sides of your fermenter and all over your floor.

This

 

[llvllayhem]

First of all, nothing that grows in beer can kill you. The worst thing you can get is some harmless mold. The bacteria that does grow in beer, some people introduce purposefully to add sour flavors to the brew. You should be fine with your blow off, it's you added a sanitizer to it like star san.

 

[akillys]

It will be fine, but in the future don't use water in the air lock or where you have your blow off tube going into. Instead use starsan, it is better at keeping unwanted things out of your wort.

 

[knyland]

left the blow off tube in star san a dozen times no big deal.

 

[car421]

I never use an airlock, always just leave a blow-off into a bucket of starsan.

 

[fury413rb]

Hey all - first time brewer and poster here. Bought a starter kit from Craft-A-Brew and brewed the wort and put it with the included yeast into our 1-gallon carboy. We topped it with a rubber stopper with a small hole (sanitized) and set up a blow off tube into a glass of water. The problem is we forgot to switch to the airlock after a few days per the directions and just let it sit with the blow off tube into the same glass of water for two weeks.
The question: is the beer safe to bottle and drink? I've been reading about bacteria and CO2 and getting freaked out by infections growing getting us sick. Any answers greatly appreciated!

I just did a craft a brew kit as well. Mine only had an airlock not a blow down tube.

 

[cluckk]

You'll be fine. I seldom bother replacing the blowoff with an airlock. I only do it when I need the hose for another batch. I've seen guys completely ferment out a beer with nothing but foil over the opening. I don't recommend it, but the positive pressure of the CO2 keeps everything out.