is this batch ruined? I think I experienced negative pressure in the carboy

[omazing1]

ok, so here is a quick summary.

• i brewed a 5G batch, the ingredient is as follows (6lbs of golden briess, 1.5 oz of Saaz hops, and T58 yeast). very basic setup.
• my carboy is a PET plastic, i put in the airlock but to avoid spillover, i connected the airlock to a hose that's connected to a small jug (about 1G of water in it). the jug is exposed to open air obviously, the water i used was i think bottled water or tap water (i don't remember).
• after a month, i opened the closet and much to my dismay, i saw the carboy (crushed), its like someone kicked it from the side. i also noticed the water in the jug was considerably low, its like there is now about 200ml or so in it (barely covering the tip of the hose).
• it didn't take me long to realize i have negative pressure in the carboy, like an idiot i removed the hose from the jug and all the water that was inside the hose went into the carboy
• like an idiot again, i put the hose back in the jug and it siphoned every more water from the jug. i quickly disconnected everything and the carboy quickly assumed its normal shape (now that there is no negative pressure)
• i poured a glass of it and tasted it, it tasted like... ehmm i don't know really, it was odd, but didn't feel ruined. but again i never actually drank flat beer before
• i'm sharing 2 pictures if that help (of the drink and the carboy). i feel the color is way darker than its supposed to be.
• so hit me with your best guess, is my batch ruined???

 

[tracer bullet]

Even after brewing a long time you can learn something from each batch, so don't be too surprised something went awry.

Surprised the carboy cratered in on itself, not super surprised somethign went backwards form the blow-off though especially if the temp dropped at some point. There are a variety of anti suck-back devices you can look into for next time. Also be sure to have a Star-San mixture so that if it does go backwards it'll be 1) safe and 2) "clean", relatively speaking though never a guarantee.

OK for the beer itself, go with it. Keg or bottle it, carb it up, and cross your fingers. Far more often than not the added water might make it a little weak but won't actually hurt anything. Sure it could be spoiled but for all the times someone's posted something like this it always seems to turn out fine.

 

[MaxStout]

Don't give up on a beer until you are certain it's ruined. It'll be diluted, and there's the chance of infection, but you won't know until you try it later. Wait and see.

Meanwhile, this may be the best $20 you spend. No more suckback and less O2 exposure.

 

[Jag75]

Was your blow off jar higher or lower then your carboy? To get that kind of suck back that temp would have to be substantial imo. I've never seen a carboy implode like that. In a blow off jar you dont need a gallon of water , that's too much . I dont even use that much in a 3bbl batch.

 

[omazing1]

Was your blow off jar higher or lower then your carboy? To get that kind of suck back that temp would have to be substantial imo. I've never seen a carboy implode like that. In a blow off jar you dont need a gallon of water , that's too much . I dont even use that much in a 3bbl batch.

it was on the same level as the carboy. as for the gallon of water, i just added it to the jug, didn't think much of it at the time to be honest. the hose is lose and i wanted to make sure its as deep as possible

 

[omazing1]

Don't give up on a beer until you are certain it's ruined. It'll be diluted, and there's the chance of infection, but you won't know until you try it later. Wait and see.

Meanwhile, this may be the best $20 you spend. No more suckback and less O2 exposure.

sorry for the noob question, will it suddenly infect? as in if i keg it and i try it after 2 weeks and its drinkable, would it contaminate then? i guess what i'm trying to say is if the contamination process is long or not

 

[Jag75]

Have you tasted it? If it taste fine keg it up and enjoy.

 

[MaxStout]

sorry for the noob question, will it suddenly infect? as in if i keg it and i try it after 2 weeks and its drinkable, would it contaminate then? i guess what i'm trying to say is if the contamination process is long or not

Infections can set in quickly, or they can creep up slowly. Depends on what got in there, and how well the yeast can out-compete them, how much alcohol, etc.

Wish I had a better answer, but the best I can say is it depends. @Jag75 suggested the best course of action: keg it and drink it. If it tastes OK now it just might continue to taste good.