Cap blew (?) off 3-month old RIS - Toss it?

[grimstuff]

I walk into the garage this afternoon and my heart dropped. My RIS that I labored over, that I brewed about three months ago and that has been sitting in a secondary, with zero activity exploded. About a month ago, I took the airlock off and replaced it with a solid stopper, thinking that any fermentation was long done with. Readings were flat. I had previously racked it off the trub (at 1.032), then put in some champagne yeast bringing it down to 1.027. Then flat for weeks. Then I took the airlock off and put a solid stopper on.

Splashes of beer are in about 5-foot radius, with the cap laying a few feet away. At first I thought it was rodents, but after close inspection I don't think so. There's a lot of beer splashes on the floor, and absolutely no pest marks or prints in the liquid. I've never had a pest problem in the garage before. However, I'm seriously worried about contamination. There are flies in the garage, and I know what strong beer does for flies. The cap has probably been off for at least 12 hours.

Should I toss it? I had plans to age this for another 6 months or so for winter, and don't want something sitting around that long for nothing. What would you do?

 

[atom]

clean up the mess and keep conditioning.

 

[Kingfish]

clean up the mess and keep conditioning.

This. Why would you even consider tossing it?

 

[grimstuff]

This. Why would you even consider tossing it?

I don't know. It just looks nasty and contaminated... but then all beer sort of looks nasty before it's done conditioning. I guess it's because now I feel like it's out of my control and quite possibly contaminated. It's not like the cap was off for a few minutes. It's been sitting all night and most of the day in a garage with flies buzzing around.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Lesson learned. Don't use a stopper. Even after primary is over, there are still byproducts and stuff in the trub that the yeast can eat. And, if nothing else, there is residual CO2 dissolved in the beer from primary. Changes in air pressure or temperauture can cause this to come out of solution and build up pressure inside the fermenter. Always keep an air lock on it. That said, I wouldn't toss it. Slap an air lock on there and taste it in a few weeks. If it tastes ok, other than needing more time to condition, then keep it.

 

[homebrewdad]

Puhlease. Put an airlock on to prevent this from happeneing again, clean up the mess, and forget it for a few more months. Make sure you don't rack any flies to the bottling bucket, but uness they bring in some lacto, you probably have nothing to fear - booze will kill the bacteria on 'em.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Taste it (stuff in the carboy, not the floor). If it tasty like beer, then keep it going.

 

[sfrisby]

They are all wrong. Let it sit another 3 months, bottle it, send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you.

 

[grimstuff]

They are all wrong. Let it sit another 3 months, bottle it, send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you.

Lol... well I feel better now, I guess this was just my little Beer Panic... always seen others have it, never had it myself. Now I'm embarrassed. Actually I really think it was the Co2 coming out like BBL_Brewer explained above--in the past couple days the temperature has risen quite a bit, and I think the solution came up about 8-10 degrees. Now kicking myself for using a stopper in the first place, and for not having a cooler.

 

[Calder]

I think that if it were me (having not actually seen it), I would rack it to a clean fermenter/storage-container, leaving the last pint behind (leave anything from the surface ....... stick an airlock on it and go find a beer.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I think that if it were me (having not actually seen it), I would rack it to a clean fermenter/storage-container, leaving the last pint behind (leave anything from the surface ....... stick an airlock on it and go find a beer.

Honestly, I think that would be pretty pointless. Racking it would only expose it to yet more chance for contamination and more oxygen. I would just leave it be.

 

[Calder]

Honestly, I think that would be pretty pointless. Racking it would only expose it to yet more chance for contamination and more oxygen. I would just leave it be.

I'd be concerned that something might be on top of the wort, that could get to work over time. Might be paranoid, but that's my thought.

Personally, I use a secondary on every beer (personal preference), and after over 200 beers and countless ciders, I have never had any contamination or oxygen problem. As far as I am concerned, racking is perfectly safe.

 

[pabloj13]

I'd be concerned that something might be on top of the wort, that could get to work over time. Might be paranoid, but that's my thought.

Personally, I use a secondary on every beer (personal preference), and after over 200 beers and countless ciders, I have never had any contamination or oxygen problem. As far as I am concerned, racking is perfectly safe.

I don't think there is any way you could rack from underneath contaminants without them tagging along. Plus, it would take something nasty to infect a RIS. I vote for leaving it.

 

[grimstuff]

I don't think there is any way you could rack from underneath contaminants without them tagging along. Plus, it would take something nasty to infect a RIS. I vote for leaving it.

I'm just gonna leave it be. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[sfrisby]

Honestly, I think that would be pretty pointless. Racking it would only expose it to yet more chance for contamination and more oxygen. I would just leave it be.

This.

Even though the airlock came off, there is a layer of co2 between the beer and the outside. Soak an airlock in sanitizer, put it in, and go find something to do for 3 months.

I'll bet you a bottle of my RIS vs yours it turns out awesome.