Beer in my Bubbler

[b_rak]

Several questions in here. Any insight by anyone would be greatly appreciated.

I brewed a recipe i found online that seemed to be missing a few steps so i made my best guess, now i worry i was wrong.

First off, i brewed last night. Placed it in my primary and this morning and around lunchtime the bubbler was going along just fine. I went down to look at it about an hour ago and my beer has come up into my bubbler.

Will i have to worry about contamination? Will this ruin my batch? Should i scrap it now and start over?

I was making a Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Ale. The recipe calls for frozen strawberries and rhubarb but doesnt tell you where to add them in the recipe.

I boiled my word then at the end of the boil i added the frozen fruit to the wort. The temperature dropped to 75C. I did not return the wort to a boil. (My local homebrew store said that since the fruit was frozen then i didnt have to worry about bacteria).

After my primary fermentation i was planning to remove the fruit and then do my secondary in my carboy.

Did I add my fruit at the correct time? Or should I have added it at the secondary fermentation stage?

 

[ong]

Don't scrap it! It's totally normal for beer to come up into the airlock. Just dump it, sanitize it, refill with starsan or vodka or water, and stick it back on (ideally covering the open mouth with some starsan dipped foil while you do this). Maybe think about using a blow-off next time, but this is not a big deal at all.

I prefer to add fruit in secondary or in primary after main fermentation has ended. It's a matter of recipe and personal preference, though. I'd get it off the fruit after 5-7 days if I were you. Also, 75 degrees Celsius is still hot enough to sanitize, so you should be fine.

 

[JonM]

Agree with all of the above. Next time, in addition to adding a blowoff tube, add a couple drops of Fermcap-S, which is a lifesaver and it costs like $3 for a bottle that lasts for dozens of batches.

 

[Revvy]

Every homebrewer has had that happen on occasion...Just clean it up, either put on a blowoff tube or clean, resanitize, and replace the airlock...

But please please please, do not be THAT kind of new brewer who thinks about dumping his beer the instant he thinks something's wrong, our beer is much hardier than most noobs think it is..

Please read these threads....

What are some of the mistakes you made...where your beer still turned out great?

Never dump your beer!!! Patience IS a virtue!!! Time heals all things, even beer!

Have Faith in Your Beer

Beer is pretty resilient, it can take most everything we throw at it before before going bad...so just relax, don't be a helicopter parent panicking at everything... Your beer will be fine.

 

[b_rak]

Thanks for all the feedback. I did add a blowoff tube and it is bubbling like crazy.

Do i have to worry about my alcohol content getting out of control? I added my extract syrups plus now my several pounds of fruit which also provide sugars for the yeast to convert to alcohol.

 

[ong]

Thanks for all the feedback. I did add a blowoff tube and it is bubbling like crazy.

Do i have to worry about my alcohol content getting out of control? I added my extract syrups plus now my several pounds of fruit which also provide sugars for the yeast to convert to alcohol.

Fruit won't add a ton. Even if you've added 2 lbs per gallon, maybe a 1% increase. Rhubarb especially has very little sugar.