Air Lock blew off!!!

[Fuggles]

I made the mistake of not starting out with a blowoff tube in a new carboy that is almost full. I woke up at about three a.m. last night to find the air lock full of beer and pouring a little over the side. I quickly cleaned the air lock and rubber stopper and put it back in - went back to bed. This morning it had happened again - whereupon I started using the blow off hose. My question is, do you think that this will affect the quality of my beer (a belgian wit) or potentially infect it?

 

[SwAMi75]

If your fermentation was going strong the whole time, the pressure inside your carboy probably kept any nasties from settling into it. If your ferment stagnated or stopped while the airlock was off, I think that's where you'd run the greatest chance of infection.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Fuggles]

If your fermentation was going strong the whole time, the pressure inside your carboy probably kept any nasties from settling into it. If your ferment stagnated or stopped while the airlock was off, I think that's where you'd run the greatest chance of infection.

Welcome to the forum!

No it was definitely going strong. It is sitting at home with a blow off hose on it now draining into a steel pot. Hopefully by the time I get home fermentation has slowed enough to put the air lock back on.

 

[Tony]

A friend of mine's primary was going along fine until he decided to move it, and it decided to blow the lid right off when the airlock clogged up and the yeast went crazy. (Full extract)

I havent had that active a ferment yet to blow anything off.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i had a wheat blow the top off my primary twice one night. it was funny at 1130 pm, not so funny at 230 am. i now use a 6.5 gallon carboy. that wheat was my first all-grain, and it tasted awesome. as long the activity is strong like that, no worries of contamination. just clean and sanitize everything before you put it back on. the beer will be fine.