Help! Do I have to pour this batch out!

[glutarded-chris]

I brewed last weekend. Since I work in another city, I did not check on the fermenter until Friday night. The lid had opened up during fermentation exposing it to the air in my fermentation chamber (a freezer with a controller). I does not look bad but it may have been that way for several days. Primary fermentation must have been vigorous but is over as the krausen has fallen back and the beer is clearing. I closed it back up and purged with CO2 and now have to decide what to do. I could pour it out, I could rack it to secondary and go on normally, or I could try to pasteurize it or something to kill any infection that has taken place.

Thoughts?

What happened: With this batch I wanted to improve my temperature control and put in a thermal well. I ferment in big mouth bubblers with screw lids. Never had a problem with them but the lids only have a single port and I needed a second port for the thermal well so I purchase one of the new lids. The new ones just push in. I have a blowoff tube so I don't really worry about explosion. This thing pushed up before the krausen even went into the tube. Not impressed. I will be locking it down for the next batch!

 

[Easycreeper]

Definitely taste it before you consider anything else. You'll likely be fine though...

What kind of beer is it? Is your secondary a glass container? If you rack it and happen to have picked up some sort of contamination, you can use heat or bleach to keep from losing the carboy.

Even if it is contaminated, it may turn out interesting.

 

[grampamark]

I'd just let it finish. Any additional futzing around with it at this point will just provide more opportunities to introduce a contaminant (which you may or may not have now). You're gonna end up with beer; you might as well find out what kind.

 

[RM-MN]

So, without any indication of a problem you are already contemplating discarding a batch of beer? NO WAY!!! Open fermentation has gone on for centuries without all the sanitizers we now have available. Let it go to completion. Taste it. It will very likely be just fine. If not, then ask again about discarding it. Most likely you will be bottling or kegging this batch.

 

[Crisfole]

Nah, no need to pour it. Open fermentation is a thing, you just did it unintentionally.

Let it finish and let us know how it turned out.

 

[Roland_deschain]

I have two big mouth bubblers with the push in style lids. If I don’t tape them down they always pop out. I wouldn’t be too worried, continue and see what happens.

 

[glutarded-chris]

 

[dad23ds]

I don’t like the push-in lid either. I have to hold it down with a strap. You can drill a hole in your original lid and install thermowell with a stopper like below. Hardest part for me was drilling hole in the stopper.

 

[AkTom]

You should be good to go. Never dump without giving it time. I've had beers that I will never brew again. Friends like them, I've never had to dump any.

 

[RM-MN]

So, without any indication of a problem you are already contemplating discarding a batch of beer? NO WAY!!! Open fermentation has gone on for centuries without all the sanitizers we now have available. Let it go to completion. Taste it. It will very likely be just fine. If not, then ask again about discarding it. Most likely you will be bottling or kegging this batch.

 

[DarkStarNJ]

Let it ride

 

[glutarded-chris]

Thanks everyone! This really helps. This was my 52nd batch and never had anything like this happen. I put the lid back on, purged with CO2 and then immediately posted to get advice before doing anything. This is a pale ale with about 40 IBU so it does not have a lot of hop protection.

Yes, Vikings did this without modern technology, but those guys were also tough as nails

I will let it go normally. Hopefully the alcohol content was already high enough to hinder any bacteria that got in there. I will probably rack it right away to get it away from the material in the head space that was exposed for so long.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks everyone! This really helps. This was my 52nd batch and never had anything like this happen. I put the lid back on, purged with CO2 and then immediately posted to get advice before doing anything. This is a pale ale with about 40 IBU so it does not have a lot of hop protection.

Yes, Vikings did this without modern technology, but those guys were also tough as nails

I will let it go normally. Hopefully the alcohol content was already high enough to hinder any bacteria that got in there. I will probably rack it right away to get it away from the material in the head space that was exposed for so long.

There are three factors that make infections in the primary very rare. First off it the relative amounts of the bacteria present compared to the yeast. You probably had millions of bacteria but 100's of billions of yeast cells. That's sort of a lopsided war and the yeast will win. Second is that the wort is acidic and the yeast make it more so. That acidity inhibits the replication of the bacteria. The third factor is the CO2. Most bacteria cannot replicate in an atmosphere that is too heavy in CO2 and the fact that your lid was open but with the fermenter in the fermentation chamber means the atmosphere was still pretty high in CO2.
Add the ability of the hops as a anti-bacterial agent, plus the alcohol. Are you done worrying yet?

 

[glutarded-chris]

I am definitely feeling better about it after racking to the secondary. Gravity was low so it definitely attenuated. Tasted pretty normal to me. Not a professional taster by any means but taste and smell registered as normal. I am sure that while vigorous fermentation was going there was no oxygen at the wart surface because the krausen went to the top and spilled over a bit. My worry was how long it was exposed after the krausen subsided and the freezer fan was dutifully blowing air down on the vessel opening. However, as you say, there must have been a lot of CO2 in the chamber as the entire garage smelled like a brewery. Hopefully the yeast, hops and alcohol have saved the day!

 

[glutarded-chris]

 

[glutarded-chris]

I don’t like the push-in lid either. I have to hold it down with a strap. You can drill a hole in your original lid and install thermowell with a stopper like below. Hardest part for me was drilling hole in the stopper.

I will definitely be modifying one of my original lids, the new one, or both!!!!!!

 

[chris000]

However, as you say, there must have been a lot of CO2 in the chamber as the entire garage smelled like a brewery. Hopefully the yeast, hops and alcohol have saved the day!

you cannot smell CO2. but I, like others said, I wouldn't be overly concerned. CO2 is heavier than air, so if the lid went off during vigorous fermentation or thereafter, I would not worry about O2 at all. having no cover will get you particles on which microorganisms are into the beer. since you have such a nice fridge with a fan perhaps a few more than when the air is stagnant. the number of organism that will can make trouble at this point are only some lactobacillaceae and brettanomyces. your firdge doesn't look like prime habitat to have a lot of them "airborne". if it really turns out sour, pour it out then. chances are it won't

 

[Gameface]

Just as a note, you have quite a bit of liquid in your blow-off jug. The more liquid there the more pressure needed to push a bubble through it. If you only had 2-3" of liquid there would have been far less pressure needed in the fermenter before it would pass that pressure through the blow-off tube and maybe wouldn't have blown the lid off.

 

[glutarded-chris]

you cannot smell CO2. but I, like others said, I wouldn't be overly concerned. CO2 is heavier than air, so if the lid went off during vigorous fermentation or thereafter, I would not worry about O2 at all. having no cover will get you particles on which microorganisms are into the beer. since you have such a nice fridge with a fan perhaps a few more than when the air is stagnant. the number of organism that will can make trouble at this point are only some lactobacillaceae and brettanomyces. your firdge doesn't look like prime habitat to have a lot of them "airborne". if it really turns out sour, pour it out then. chances are it won't

Correct, you can't smell the CO2 but the brewery smell sort of indicated that there was a lot of discharge and hopefully displaced a fair amount of oxygen in the ferementation chamber. I usually spray and wipe down the interior surfaces of the chamber with sanitizer before fermentation just in case, so hopefully that kept the available bugs for infection at a minimum. Fingers crossed!

Just as a note, you have quite a bit of liquid in your blow-off jug. The more liquid there the more pressure needed to push a bubble through it. If you only had 2-3" of liquid there would have been far less pressure needed in the fermenter before it would pass that pressure through the blow-off tube and maybe wouldn't have blown the lid off.

Good point on the blow-off jug depth. Have to dial that in. I added plenty of starsan water to be sure that the tube shifted it did not end up above the surface, but I could improve on that.

 

[RM-MN]

I am definitely feeling better about it after racking to the secondary. Gravity was low so it definitely attenuated. Tasted pretty normal to me. Not a professional taster by any means but taste and smell registered as normal. I am sure that while vigorous fermentation was going there was no oxygen at the wart surface because the krausen went to the top and spilled over a bit. My worry was how long it was exposed after the krausen subsided and the freezer fan was dutifully blowing air down on the vessel opening. However, as you say, there must have been a lot of CO2 in the chamber as the entire garage smelled like a brewery. Hopefully the yeast, hops and alcohol have saved the day!

When you racked the beer to secondary you increased the chance of infection many fold over what you had with the cap off the primary fermenter. Unless you are adding fruit or doing a long term aging, skip the secondary as it doesn't really help and does give a bigger chance of infection and oxidation.

 

[chris000]

When you racked the beer to secondary you increased the chance of infection many fold over what you had with the cap off the primary fermenter. Unless you are adding fruit or doing a long term aging, skip the secondary as it doesn't really help and does give a bigger chance of infection and oxidation.

x2 the siphon hose is the #1 cause for contamination.
I went to fermenting in stainless, and since I'm cheap I use kegs (ca. 3/4 full). Easy to clean, no O2 problems, just a very short jumper that can easily be cleaned and dries fast. pressure fermentation is an option. no broken glass etc. etc.

 

[glutarded-chris]

I have made my modifications, and i think I am all set now. This batch is cold crashing for kegging on Saturday. Might brew another batch Saturday so I think I am all set. Basically cut the new lid to match the screw ring for the original system. Put some painters tape on the top to be able to make marks, centered the center section of the old lid over the new lid, scribed for cutting, cut with a hand scroll saw and then filed and sanded for finish. The new lid will seal better than the old one and will not pop off!!!!