Dropped the o-ring from the airlock into the beer

[brewillini]

Obviously this is my first time brewing.

I am brewing the Autumn Amber Ale from Midwest and the airlock stopped bubbling after 20 hours. I thought it had to do with the temperature of the room since it fluctuated from 62-75 but now I don't think that was the case. Tonight I opened the lid to see what was going on. When i put the lid back on, the airlock seemed loose. As a result, I pushed the airlock down, dislodging the o-ring out of place. Unfortunately, the o-ring went straight into the beer and I couldn't find it. At this point, the beer had been in the primary for 3 days and like I said, stopped having visible bubbles in the airlock after 1 day. Did I contaminate and ruin my beer?

Thanks

 

[bovineblitz]

It's probably fine. People drop o-rings, stir bars, thermometers, all sorts of things into their beers and the vast majority of the time they still make good beer.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

The beer is probably fine. Unless there was something disgusting on the top part of the o-ring you are still good.

Hydrometer is your friend. Use this tool for figuring out if you are done fermenting or not.

As for the bubbles stopping, there could still be fermentation occurring. If there is any foam on top of the beer then fermentation is still active.

Stick with the brewing schedule (2 weeks primary, recommended 3 weeks), and don't keep opening up the carboy. You are more likely to contaminate it that way, or at least disturb the nice CO2 layer on top.

Leave it be, and re-visit it when it is bottling time.

Hope this helped!

 

[prrriiide]

Did I contaminate and ruin my beer?

Doubtful.

Take some hydrometer readings. It might already be done. If the hydrometer reads the same on consecutive days, it's done. Put a piece of tape over the hole in the lid and let it sit for another couple of weeks to let the yeasties clean up after themselves, then bottle.

 

[brewillini]

Thankfully the o-ring was relatively clean... not sanitized but it didn't have any dirt on it

I'll be sure to take a hydromoter reading soon. I'll let the wort sit tight a few days until I open the lid again and start messing with it. Unfortunately, I think my s.g. was off since it was 1.030 when it was supposed to be 1.042. Midwest told me that my hydrometer either is off and/or I don't know how to read it. In hindsight, I misread the hydrometer now that I know a little bit more about taking readings.

As for the fermenting....there isn't any more foam. I stirred it around when i opened the lid to kick start it if it needed more oxygen. I figured it couldn't hurt.

Thanks for the help

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Actually, stirring it around once fermentation is done CAN hurt, especially to add oxygen. Once fermentation is done, oxygen in your beer is your enemy. This is oxidizing, which can lead to a stale cardboard taste in your beer. This is why when racking to a secondary or to a bottling bucket you need to do so very carefully.

When you hear folks say to stir up the beer or shake the carboy, they mean with the lid on, as you will then keep the protective CO2 layer. This is not to add oxygen but to stir up the yeast that has settled onto the bottom of the fermenter. And you only do that if you know your fermentation is stuck.

The most important thing to know is not to mess with your beer unless you KNOW it is in trouble. You think the fermentation is stopped, but it might still be going. And even if it did stop, in might be done, so there is nothing more needed to be done! Most situations you need to wait a day or two before acting, to make sure you aren't jumping the gun as it were.

If you added oxygen to the wort before you put in the yeast (poured into bucket from a higher spot, stirred it really good, etc.), added the yeast when the wort was cool enough, and your brew kept at a reasonable temperature then you really shouldn't have any fermentation problems.

edit: If you need help reading your hydrometer, post a picture of the sample in question. Also, you need to measure it around 70F or you will have to correct for temperature. But it sounds like you may have figured out what you did wrong.

 

[PIGMAN]

Dropping the o-ring into the wort is a common thing, don't worry. You can get replacement rings in a hardware store to have on hand in case it happens again. I think it's a good idea to pop out the ring and sanitize it, along with the hole in the lid, before putting the lid on the fermenter.

 

[Goblism]

You will just have some tasty beer thats all, really like that autumn ale!

 

[GreenDragon]

I pushed through the entire rubber stopper trying to insert the air lock on one brew, it still came out fine.

 

[cook1969]

I fermen in corny kegs and i dropped the O ring for the lid in. No problem. Id say racking it to another bucket to get your o ring is way riskier than just leaving it.

 

[PVH]

Obviously this is my first time brewing.

Not really. You will never stop dropping items into the beer. The longer you brew, the longer the list will become!

 

[mikee]

did the same on one of my beers. Totally threw off the flavor. Tasted like a rubber tire.

 

[NorthRiverS]

Get one of these.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...d=924&osCsid=43b0b29a2611b230e019debf991b1062

NRS

 

[Jayman931]

I pushed through the entire rubber stopper trying to insert the air lock on one brew, it still came out fine.

Thats good to know....I brewed my first batch yesterday and did the same thing...I felt like a idiot...lol I figured it'll be just fine!