Air lock question

[reaper36a]

1st time brewer long time drinker.

Well I think I just blew it. My kid grabbed the airlock right after I put it in the airlock hole. The sterile water came out and stupid me, I filled it (airlock) up with water from the tap. I saw some go back into the wort. I am on day two of the fermintation process. Am I screwed?

Also, after everything settled, I noticed I only had 4 gallons in and not 5. Is this ok? I was thinking when I boiled some water and sugar just prior to bottling I could make it up then?

Any advice is appreciated.

best,

Joe

 

[Evan!]

First off, no, you didn't ruin your beer. The chances that that little bit of tap water infected your beer are very slim. In the future, get yourself a cheap (read: Popov) bottled of vodka and use that in the airlock...because even if your water is boiled and sanitized when it goes into the airlock, it won't stay that way at room temp. Vodka can't support any bacteria, etc., and if a little bit gets into your beer, it won't hurt it.

Secondly, don't worry about the volume. Boil a gallon of water for 15 mins, then cool to 60f or so, and add it. Anytime. I'd do it sooner rather than later, though. Not at bottling, just so the rest of the wort/beer has time to mix well enough with it.

 

[pahiker6]

I wouldn't worry about the airlock - getting tap water into the wort. Just let it ferment to completion and see what happens.

I'm not sure what you can do about not having a full 5 gallons. On my first batch, I forgot to top off, and had 4 to 4.5 gallons in the primary. I just let it go, and the beer turned out fine. If you let it go as is, be careful when adding priming sugar. I added the usual amount for a 5 gallon batch, and ended up with gushers. They got under control after a good chilling though.

 

[Orfy]

Tap water is fine.

You don't need to add sugar.

If you have used the correct extract and less water then you will have a higher gravity wort. So adding water will just reduce the gravity to the correct amount.

 

[reaper36a]

Folks,

Thanks for the fantastic advice fellas. I feel much better now.

This is a great site. I am glad it is out there.

Joe