Aghh!!!

So my trappist quad was bubbling away, for about a week. I go out of town on a business trip, when I get home, somehow the bottle filling valve on the bottom had loosened up. (I don't know if maybe I over tightened it or what?) Well a fair bit, maybe 1/2 cup or so of beer has leaked out. I am in the process of racking to a secondary carboy, do you think this could contaminate my beer?

Cheers...

Did you taste it when you transferred it to secondary? That would tell you if it's infected or not. If it tastes good, it isn't infected. (More than likely it isn't) Also, I would recommend you get another bucket and keep your bottling bucket for bottling only. I found out, as you just have, that the spigot is not necessarily designed to hold five gallons for a long period of time.

I bet you're fine. It's like blood in a cut - as long as it's going out nothing bad can get in.

Yep, last time I use that bucket for anything other than on brew day, to hold sanitizer etc.

Also, FWIW it still tastes good. But who knows when this happened. How quickly does an infection generally show itself? I have never had one?

Well, I figured out why it was leaking. Somehow the valve got a crack in it.... Had to have been either the fact that the valve was old and fatigued or pressure from fermentation / 5 gal on it... Wild... After racking it, I lightly turned it with my hand, and it just started pouring trub out... The head practically fell out into my hand. I am soo happy I checked it today. 5gal of beer would have SUCKED to clean up...