Blown Top

So I brewed my imperial wit on Tuesday and I went downstairs to go check on the fermenter and the top was blown clean off! I know i should have used a blow-off tube, especially when brewing an imperial. Can I simply clean the lid and the air lock or is my brew screwed?

 

You are fine. Many great beers are brewed in open vats. You really need the protective cover both before any activity starts, and when it starts to slow down.

 

You are gonna have to resanitize the lid and lock anyway so go ahead and do that. There's always the small chance you could get an infection, but it sounds like you've got a very healthy fermentation with enough yeast to dominate the food chain in there so I wouldn't be terribly concerned right now. Let it ferment out and see. The infection I had before formed a pellicle when in secondary. My understanding is that the infections usually show up after active fermentation sooooo sorry to say it is wait and see. Don't sweat it though, it'll probably be fine.