Hey everyone bare with me, so what I did was transfer from the primary into the carboy I put the rubber plug and made it airtight not knowing I needed am airlock I came home 2 days later and saw the rubber popped off and air has been circulating this whole time, is my batch ruined
can i still save it
- Thread starter cwag001
- Start date
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Our beer is hardier than most folks think. If there was co2 coming out of it because you racked it, more than likely you'll be okay. The only way to know is to taste it when you get ready to bottle and see. We can't really answer any better for you. You'll ultimately be the only one to know.
metanoia
Well-Known Member
Revvy has spoken.
maybe yes, maybe no... no way of knowing for certain. so bottle/keg that batch as soon as you can and see how it tastes once ready. if i had to guess, i'd say you're OK. if you got an infection it would take a while to take hold, so bottle/keg ASAP and drink ASAP. you might be able to consume it all before the bugs can do any damage. alternately, there could be nothing wrong with your beer and you will proceed as normal 
the fact that the stopper popped out is somewhat worrisome. one reason the rubber stopper might have popped out is because fermentation wasn't complete - how long was it in primary? another potential reason is that you splashed a lot and that released CO2 contained in the brew. this isn't a good thing either, since splashing = oxidization.
you may want to consider skipping secondary in the future. many people here use a single vessel, the primary, for making beer. others swear by a secondary vessel, there are arguments in favor of each but one thing that primary-only has going for it is that you reduce the chance of infection.
edit: dammit, beaten by Revvy. again. and in fewer words.
the fact that the stopper popped out is somewhat worrisome. one reason the rubber stopper might have popped out is because fermentation wasn't complete - how long was it in primary? another potential reason is that you splashed a lot and that released CO2 contained in the brew. this isn't a good thing either, since splashing = oxidization.
you may want to consider skipping secondary in the future. many people here use a single vessel, the primary, for making beer. others swear by a secondary vessel, there are arguments in favor of each but one thing that primary-only has going for it is that you reduce the chance of infection.
edit: dammit, beaten by Revvy. again. and in fewer words.
dadshomebrewing
Well-Known Member
Just ride it out, bottle it, and taste it at each step.
If nothing else it will give you practice with the process.
And you will probably be pleasantly surprised with the result.
Hang in there, take good notes, and learn from it.
If nothing else it will give you practice with the process.
And you will probably be pleasantly surprised with the result.
Hang in there, take good notes, and learn from it.
on the upside, you're learning
4 days is generally too little for primary. never trust any recipe/directions that give you an exact number of days for fermentation. fermentations aren't all the same. some are faster and some are slower - but unless you're really good, chances are pretty low that primary will take less than a week or two. primary is done when you get consistent gravity (hydrometer) readings over 3 days. because you pulled yours off the yeast after only 4 days, there is a good chance the beer didn't finish all its fermentation. you were likely 90% there, but your beer might turn out just a touch sweeter than it might have had you let the beer sit in there for 2 weeks. personally, 2 weeks is the minimum i'll leave a beer in primary with 3-4 weeks being my average.
get some liquid in that airlock next time. water is OK, but sanitizer fluid or cheap vodka/spirits is even better. that way nothing bad can grow in the liquid, and nothing bad can happen if some gets sucked back into the vessel.
