What a terrible first thread - grommet in my wort

[KidDynamite]

Hey folks - I'm embarrassed that this is my virgin thread after lurking for a while.

here's the issue:

I brewed this today:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1148717/...s/brooklyn-brew-bbq-beer-partial-mash-version

but the recipe shouldn't really be important. The problem is that after all my hard work, as I put the brand new lid on my brand new fermenting bucket (this is my 6th batch, but new Tru Brew 6.5 gallon bucket with grommeted lid), I pushed the airlock through the grommet.

the friggin' grommet popped out and down into my wort!

Now, I didn't want to try to fish it out - I thought that might make things worse. I grabbed another grommet off of an old lid, and remedied the airlock issue, but now I have a little rubber grommet in my wort.

so, the question is this: do I:
1) leave it in there or
2) fish it out?

I'm not going to rack into another container, remove it, and rack back... If I fish it out, it's basically "Sanitize my arm and reach in"...

will the grommet in the fermenter give me a funky flavor?

thanks in advance...

 

[jester5120]

if it was going to do anything bad in there it's already too late. I'd just leave it in there until the beer is done and keep your fingers crossed. the grommet should be atleast half sanitized anyhow. don't worry until it gives you something to worry about (weird flavor, or smell)

 

[Beardedterror]

My first batch, the same thing happened. Instead of thinking rationally about it, I just reached my whole unsanitized arm in the bucket. The beer turned out fine. Don't worry about it!

 

[BrewerinBR]

I bet it is going to be just fine... RDWHAHB!

 

[Yooper]

Oh my gosh- THAT was my first post on this forum, too! Believe it or not, that's exactly what happened to me. The sanitized lid made the grommet slippery, and plop! in it went. I didn't know what to do, so I duct taped the airlock in place and found this forum.

The beer will be fine.

I bought another grommet, and it never happened again. Well, the reason it never happened again is that someone told me, "Put the airlock on the bucket lid, THEN the lid on the bucket." Aha! So now I sound like Rain Man on brewday, "Put the airlock on the lid, then the lid on the bucket" muttering to myself.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Yeah I use 1 gallon paint strainer bags to dry hop and I secure the hops in the back with a grommet. Never tasted anything different.

 

[KidDynamite]

thanks for the replies. I wrote this post in such a hurry that I didn't even realize that the ol' "grommet in the fermenter" is a rite of passage for noobs. After I posted, I found several posts on the subject.

 

[Naptown]

Brooklyn Grommet Brew

 

[Shavingfoams]

Brooklyn 'Gromm and bear et'

 

[beergolf]

I once pushed a stopper into a carboy. Just grabbed another and let it ferment out. No problem..

Getting a stopper out of a carboy is a good trick.

 

[AdamPag]

Dude, it happens all the time. In fact I just did it with my dunkel so I reached on in and fished it out. Apart from a few pieces of me I probably left behind, its great, im actually drinking it right meow.

 

[swenocha]

Slightly old thread, but just want to point out that today, on my 66th brew, I had this happen for the first time. I usually use 3 gallon better bottles, but I had a few friends over for Teach a Friend to Brew Day, and thus I used the 5 gallon bucket that I rarely use. All went well yesterday... 5 gallons of potential IPA in the fermenter, lid/airlock added, and into the fermenting fridge. This morning I woke to a gooped airlock and a blown off lid. No worries... I've been here before. I'll just set up an blow-off (didn't really think I'd need it with a 5.5% beer, but no matter). But, when I went to pull off the goopy airlock to replace with a clean one, plop... the grommet falls off into the fermenting wort. I went ahead and set up a blowoff (used a wider tube to fill the now larger hole instead of attaching it to a fresh, sanitized airlock as I intended) and am inclined to let things be at this point. The responses above confirm this decision. I'll go to the LHBS or hardware store tomorrow and get a new grommet, and when it calms down I'll add it (and a clean airlock)...