Blow off

[skyace00]

I'm pretty new to brewing, I have done 2 mr beers with decent success. And decided to upgrade to a 5 gallon system. I chose a simple heffeweisen. The fermentation went perfect and decided to add bananas to a secondary after 5 days. I woke up this morning to my airlock and stopper across the basement. I'm going to get a blow off tube. But my question is. Since I'm not sure how long the airlock was off will the exposure to the air ruin my batch?

 

[johnnybrew]

I'm pretty new to brewing, I have done 2 mr beers with decent success. And decided to upgrade to a 5 gallon system. I chose a simple heffeweisen. The fermentation went perfect and decided to add bananas to a secondary after 5 days. I woke up this morning to my airlock and stopper across the basement. I'm going to get a blow off tube. But my question is. Since I'm not sure how long the airlock was off will the exposure to the air ruin my batch?

You might be OK as if the fermentation was still active. But, there is a risk of infection. Use some StarSan on the neck of the carboy and sanitize your blow off tube assembly.

For future reference, the classic banana and clove aromas and flavors for a heffe are derived from the yeast, not by adding actual banana and clove. Both Wyeast and WL make great strains. If you can, ferment them on the lower side, it will produce a great brew.

Good luck.

 

[Calder]

Your beer will be fine. It's day 5, there will be alcohol protecting it from anything that might have gotten in. Sanitize and replace the airlock.

 

[skyace00]

Thanks for the quick replies. I sanitized and replaced the airlock first thing. I added the banana for a more pronounced flavor. As I have read in some recipes. It seems to be still active so fingers crossed

 

[unionrdr]

At 5 days in,it will still be fermenting,even though the initial fermentation that made all the bubbles & krausen will likely be over. So you should be ok.

 

[Love2BrewCrew]

FYI - Guide to making an easy blow off tube: http://www.love2brew.com/Articles.asp?ID=279