Need Help Please

[Mitchum]

So Im brand new to home brewing, and brewed my first solo batch Tuesday night. I did an All Grain Amber ale.
Everything went smooth, got it into a 6g glass carboywith rubber stopper and airlock. Last night when I checked it before bed it was fermenting rapidly and had blown most of the sanitizer out of the airlock. I filled it back up and went to bed. 7 hours later it was almost completely empty. I had to work early this morning so in a panic, as I was trying to get the rubber stopper out (I was getting late for work) the rubber stopper got pushed into the carboy.
I put a blow off tube in and went to work.

My question is... Is the stopper going to contaminate my first brew?

 

[Hello]

If it was sanitized, probably not. Just let it ride and see what happens. At this point, this is all that you can do.
Going forward, if you don't have a ton of headspace in a carboy, use a blow off tube. If you see that the airlock was filled with krausen then remove that and use a blow off tube. Cleaning it and putting it back only gives it another chance to do exactly what your beer did.

How hot are you fermenting?

 

[Takuie]

Possible, but I doubt it. If it was sanitized you should be ok. I have found beer to be very forgiving, especially once fermentation takes off.

 

[m00ps]

Nah it'll be fine. Trust me. As long as you got a blowoff rigged up and its airtight youll be good. I acutally filmed my buddy and I brewing for a homebrewing class back in college (5pm on a friday but you were allowed to drink beer during it) and the very last seconds of the video was my friend pushing too hard on the stopper and it falling into the carboy, he looks up at me (the camera) and just goes "oh sh-" and i cut it off there. beer turned out fine

 

[LazyLab]

Only time will tell. I wouldn't stress over it. Did you sanitize the stopper before putting it on the carboy? I'd probably get the beer out of the primary as soon as possible but really there is nothing you can do. RDWHAHB

 

[Mitchum]

If it was sanitized, probably not. Just let it ride and see what happens. At this point, this is all that you can do.
Going forward, if you don't have a ton of headspace in a carboy, use a blow off tube. If you see that the airlock was filled with krausen then remove that and use a blow off tube. Cleaning it and putting it back only gives it another chance to do exactly what your beer did.

How hot are you fermenting?

Ok good ive been stressing about it at work all day.
The stopper was sanitized, and there was no krausen in the airlock. I think maybe the star san solution I made didnt have enough water in it, because it was foaming up and coming out of the airlock???
There was plenty of airspace in the carboy.
As for temp, it was between 65 and 70. Never over 70.

Thanks everyone I feel alot more calm now lol

 

[Mitchum]

Lol that's funny. Did you ever get the stopper out? Im worried about that too

 

[bacgabe]

Although I have never done it because I ferment in buckets, I believe I have heard it suggested, in the event you get your stopper stuck in your carboy, to insert a thin dishrag halfway into the opening of the carboy, then turn it upside down so that the stopper comes to rest on the dishrag. Then you should be able to pull it out as the dishrag essentially pinches down on the stopper as it passes through the opening. Someone who has actually done this correct me if I am wrong.


[Edit to add, do the above when the carboy is empty of course]

 

[Hello]

Ok good ive been stressing about it at work all day.
The stopper was sanitized, and there was no krausen in the airlock. I think maybe the star san solution I made didnt have enough water in it, because it was foaming up and coming out of the airlock???
There was plenty of airspace in the carboy.
As for temp, it was between 65 and 70. Never over 70.

Thanks everyone I feel alot more calm now lol

Star San foams. So it was just foam, clear foam? You were okay. I thought it was beer basically. 65-70 is a pretty large shift. Try to pick a temp and keep it steady.

 

[jdauria]

To avoid Star-San from bubbling all out of the airlock, you can always put vodka in there instead, after sanitizing the airlock first.

 

[Mitchum]

Star San foams. So it was just foam, clear foam? You were okay. I thought it was beer basically. 65-70 is a pretty large shift. Try to pick a temp and keep it steady.

Yes it was just the clear. When I woke up there was nothing left in the airlock. I was worried about the temp as well. It got pretty cold at night and the house temp dropped to 65, so my girlfriend turnedthe heater Up to 70. Its been at 68 since then. Ive been looking at making a fermentation chambe, butdont have the funds yet. Is there another (cheaper) way to keep a constant temp. Im not worried now but when it gets hot out it will be a challenge.

Thanks for your help

 

[Hello]

Yes it was just the clear. When I woke up there was nothing left in the airlock. I was worried about the temp as well. It got pretty cold at night and the house temp dropped to 65, so my girlfriend turnedthe heater Up to 70. Its been at 68 since then. Ive been looking at making a fermentation chambe, butdont have the funds yet. Is there another (cheaper) way to keep a constant temp. Im not worried now but when it gets hot out it will be a challenge.



Thanks for your help

Check out "swamp cooler" it's oddly useful.

 

[RayZab]

Although I have never done it because I ferment in buckets, I believe I have heard it suggested, in the event you get your stopper stuck in your carboy, to insert a thin dishrag halfway into the opening of the carboy, then turn it upside down so that the stopper comes to rest on the dishrag. Then you should be able to pull it out as the dishrag essentially pinches down on the stopper as it passes through the opening. Someone who has actually done this correct me if I am wrong.


[Edit to add, do the above when the carboy is empty of course]

+1 Jamil recommends this on brew strong. Basically the dishrag or handkerchief increases the friction between the stopper and glass so it can be pulled out.

 

[Brew_G]

Nah it'll be fine. Trust me. As long as you got a blowoff rigged up and its airtight youll be good. I acutally filmed my buddy and I brewing for a homebrewing class back in college (5pm on a friday but you were allowed to drink beer during it) and the very last seconds of the video was my friend pushing too hard on the stopper and it falling into the carboy, he looks up at me (the camera) and just goes "oh sh-" and i cut it off there. beer turned out fine

Homebrew class? You can't be serious...

 

[m00ps]

Yeah, there was a wine brewing class too. Pretty ridiculous. I only had 6 credits needed to complete my Mechanical Engineering degree so I was looking up the best blowoff classes (haha get it?) to stay a full time student. This one fit the bill just perfect