Forgot the bubbler!

[oldhouse]

I brewed last night and I had a few mishaps. This is my second batch so I still have a lot of learning. I was holding my hydrometer in my hand and I was putting the lid on the fermentor to move it and I broke the hydrometer in my hand. I did not get to check to OG but that is not the big problem. I put the airlock in and filled it with vodka and put the cap on. I forgot to put the bubbler in and I did not realize it until this morning, I sanitized the bubbler and put it in. What should I do? I have a strong fermentation going on right now. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Yooper]

I'm not quite following- what do you mean by "bubbler"? Do you have an s-shaped airlock, or a three piece airlock, and is it on the fermentor?

 

[oldhouse]

Three piece air lock...I forgot the second piece.

 

[Alamo_Beer]

nothing you can do now......if it took off as you said it did then i think your ok

plus the cap was on so nothing could really fall into it.....

i think your fine

 

[oldhouse]

It took off within 14 hours.

 

[Alamo_Beer]

How long was the "bubbler" off?

14hrs is a decent lag time....

everyday after I brew I call my girlfriend while I'm at work asking "is it bubbling yet?!" on my Strawberry Ale (which I just found out is a light IPA bc i screwed up the hops....) took nearly 24hrs to start....i was freaked out but it turned out ok


RDWHAHB(saw some caps the other day that said that....thought it was pretty cool)

 

[oldhouse]

The center part of the 3 piece air lock was out for about 12 hours.

 

[fiddup_is_a_middup]

You should be fine. There is a slight possibility of infection. Be Patient and see how it smells and tastes in a few weeks. Have a Homebrew

 

[Alamo_Beer]

even if it did cause problems theres nothing you could do about it now...

but in all honesty your ok...

the heavy weissen I'm brewing right now I found out there was a crack in the lid of the bucket where the airlock bung goes....nothing a little ducktape couldn't handle until i got to HD to get a new lid......which ended up splitting in half.....so some more duct tape....finaly a new lid

it's all good

 

[treehouse]

You will be fine...Don't forget they have been brewing in open vats for hundreds of years (thousands?). They still do in Belgium. Fermentation will provide protection. Don't sweat it too much.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Yea, your cool, some bacteria would have to want into your fermenter REALLY bad to get through those pin holes on the top of the airlock.

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

The chance it got infected is extremely slim.

One of the ways your brew avoids infection is by the yeast growing fast enough to out crowd the bacterial strains. Unless you have fruit flys having a pool party in there, you'll most likey be fine.