Can a dirty tube ruin my batch

[OkieTrappist]

I just spent a bunch of time running searches on here. I'm sure this has been asked, but I couldn't find it.

New brewer - 3 batches done so far.
I bottled a 5-gal batch yesterday. I believe the tube had film on the inside that I didn't catch. I had used the tube several days before as a blow-off tube, and krausen got into it, and though I soaked it in starsan, I guess I didn't clean it properly.
I also soaked it in starsan for several hours leading up to bottling, but for some reason I didn't notice the film inside the tube.
So, as my Westvleteren 12 clone conditions in the bottles, I'm wondering if I messed up big-time.....
Thanks!

 

[Conan]

As 5-Star Chemicals says, (paraphrased) sanitizer can't sanitize what isn't clean.

I wouldn't fret over it too much at this point. Soak the tube in some PBW and flush the film out if possible. Then rinse with clean water, and lastly buy a separate tube for your blow-off. One thing to keep note on for your bottles is the potential for bottle bombs. If you've introduced bacteria to the bottles through that tube they could over-carbonate and cause quite the mess. Again, RDWHAHB.

What size fermenter are you using? For a 5-gallon batch, using an 8-9 gal. fermenter should leave plenty of room to avoid the need for a blow-off tube on most batches. Kyle

 

[OkieTrappist]

Thanks for the reply. I have the bottles in their original boxes, enclosed with a strong trash bag. And I think the fermenter is 6.5 or 7.5. Going to LHBS tomorrow for a bunch of new tubing. It will be a shame if I ruined this batch. I tasted it during bottling and it was amazing.

 

[daksin]

Honestly, it's a big beer- if this was just at bottling you are probably ok. That much alcohol is going to prevent most things from growing. If you did get something in there, well, just keep things wrapped up like you have them and taste a bottle every once in a while. If things seem to be going south, toss them all in the fridge and drink them quickly!