Help! I siphoned air into secondary

[mullenium]

My first homebrew batch, an IPA.

Had the bucket in a closet for 10 days at roughly 61-63 ambient degrees using safale us-05 yeast. the krausen fell, and airlock bubbles were 1 every 80 seconds or so. I dont have a hygrometer so that wasnt an option.

I wanted to goto secondary just so I can see my beer lol, I know It probably wasnt needed but it was killing me looking at that white bucket!

I used an autosiphon racking cane (the pump style) and i noticed towards the end co2 from secondary carboy started coming back out and up the tube, i tried to restart the siphon but each time the siphon seemed like it would stop and the co2 would come back up the tube.

my biggest issue is one of those times i tried to restart the siphon i accidentially lifted it totally out of the primary bucket's liquid and siphoned a good ammnt of air which went through to the secondary carboy and bubbled up like a jaccuzzi.

After that i said screw it and left the remining 2 inches of beer in the primary with the trub and sealed off my secondary carboy.

did that big air blast totally screw up my brew???

 

[BryceL]

I wouldn't say you totally screwed it up. Worst case, you might get some oxidation which can have a stale/cardboard taste to it...depending on how much air you might have gotten in there. More than likely it will still turn out perfectly fine.

 

[kwingert]

No, you should be fine. Any O2 that is dissolved into the beer will be taken up by the yeast and the rest of the O2 should be pushed up by CO2 coming out of the beer.

Besides, it takes a while for O2 to make beer taste bad and you'll probably have it drank well before that will happen.

 

[mullenium]

alright cool, yeah it wasnt like a massive ammnt of air.. but it definitely made the beer sitting in the carboy bubble up. reminded me of jacuzzi bubbles for a split second.

I wasnt looking inside primary bucket and thought to myself 'why are these co2 bubbles coming up the hose'.. so i repumped the racking cane and it was sitting out of the beer.. so basically one pump's worth of that siphon sent that air to my beer

next time im not going to move the siphon, just set it and forget it and when its done its done lol

 

[lowtones84]

I agree that you should be fine. I siphoned more air than what it sounds like you did into a batch one time. Granted that was into a bottling bucket but still, it was a lot. It was a stout that is now almost 18 months old, and whenever I have a bottle it still tastes great!

Just let it be a learning experience, but I bet the beer will forgive you this time.

 

[unionrdr]

Racking at 10 days,I doubt it was done fermenting with the average packet of yeast pitched. If it starts fermenting again,concider yourself fortunate. And get a hydrometer for next time & you'll know when it's done. Too bad about that last 2" of beer that's a couple bottles worth. That's why my fermenters all have spigots. And I strain into primary to get the compacted trub to no more than 3/8" or so. Well below spigot level.

 

[mullenium]

Racking at 10 days,I doubt it was done fermenting with the average packet of yeast pitched. If it starts fermenting again,concider yourself fortunate. And get a hydrometer for next time & you'll know when it's done. Too bad about that last 2" of beer that's a couple bottles worth. That's why my fermenters all have spigots. And I strain into primary to get the compacted trub to no more than 3/8" or so. Well below spigot level.

well I poured a glass out of that last 2 inches, it was cloudy but drinkable and even a little carbonated.

was actually quite good, not really strong though.

also yeah 10 days may have jumped the gun, especially fermenting at a low temp? but the krausen dropped.. isnt that an indicator? I looked at the secondary carboy this morning and the airlock has some slow activity.

should I move the carboy out to a warmer spot to try and induce more of an active fermentation again?

 

[unionrdr]

well I poured a glass out of that last 2 inches, it was cloudy but drinkable and even a little carbonated.

was actually quite good, not really strong though.

also yeah 10 days may have jumped the gun, especially fermenting at a low temp? but the krausen dropped.. isnt that an indicator? I looked at the secondary carboy this morning and the airlock has some slow activity.

should I move the carboy out to a warmer spot to try and induce fermentation again?

Good sign that it tasted agreeable. When the krausen drops,it's usually right after the fast bubbling of initial fermentation is done. It'll then slowly,uneventfully creep down to FG. Then I give it 3-7 days to clean up fermentation by products & settle out clear or slightly misty.
That secondary could well be finishing up. But it could also just be off gassing dissolved co2. Only your hydrometer knows for sure.

 

[mullenium]

Only your hydrometer knows for sure.

guess i need one for next time around.. u think the chances of having an enjoyable brew with this batch are pretty good?

i dont plan to bottle age it or anything

 

[unionrdr]

There's a reasonable chance,sure. And def allow 3-4 weeks carbonation & conditioning time at 70F or a bit more. Then 1 week fridge time minimum to clear up any chill haze & get co2 well into solution. & the yeast will settle to the bottom,taking anu remaining off flavor with them if there wasn't a ton of it to begin with.

 

[mullenium]

There's a reasonable chance,sure. And def allow 3-4 weeks carbonation & conditioning time at 70F or a bit more. Then 1 week fridge time minimum to clear up any chill haze & get co2 well into solution. & the yeast will settle to the bottom,taking anu remaining off flavor with them if there wasn't a ton of it to begin with.

it finished up to FG from what the recipe stated (just bought a hydrometer)

the FG stayed the same after 3 days so i bottled it lastnight.

only time will tell now

 

[seigex]

Something you will learn with time. Impatience is the enemy to good beer! I'd rather look at a white bucket for weeks or months than look at a keg full of bad beer, and having to open my wallet for new grains, yeast and hops