Quick intro: I'm a re-tread homebrew noob (brewed two batches back in 2002 - was a little too young/impatient to appreciate the hobby). I started brewing again last fall, and I just brewed my fourth batch over the weekend. Confession: I am a HBT lurker, and have been since last November. I lurk, read, absorb, laugh, cry with all of you guys. The vets around here give terrific advice (I lean on their admonishments for patience), and I feel all of my fellow noobs' pain.
Until now, though, I didn't feel I had much to share/contribute/offer. Until now, I had not brewed Batch 4: Evil Brown Ale (AHS Mini Mash kit).
Brew day went normally, everything was smooth, and then I got to sealing up my primary fermenter (7 gal 'Ale Pail'). When I went to seal my airlock, I realized that the black rubber o-ring that seals the hole in the lid had worn through, and the bottom half (inside the lid) had partially fallen into the beer while I was pushing the airlock into place. The top of the seal was still intact, though, and it looked like I had an airtight seal. I said "No worries" and put it away.
After 48 hours, I was having no airlock activity, and I was getting Noob Nerves. I decided that I was going to rack the beer to a 5 gal carboy to ensure that I had an airtight, sanitary environment for the fermentation to complete. When I cracked open the bucket, I saw that krausen was well underway. I racked to the carboy and felt good about life. I put the beer back in the brew closet.
An hour later (as I'm sure you've already assumed), the krausen had surged through the airlock and was happily foaming down the sides of the carboy. I had anticipated this - the fresh circulation of air while racking was sure to stir things up, but I was still wowed to actually witness this phenomenon - until this point, I had only read about it and seen pictures on HBT!
Long story too long, I let the krausen subside overnight. This morning, I removed the contaminated airlock and replaced it with a sanitized spare, cleaned the sides of the carboy, and saw that everything looks normal.
At last, my two questions:
1) What would the vets say my chances are that contamination set in while I let the krausen "foam off" overnight? The carboy is now sealed with a sanitized airlock, but I'm curious about the 12 hours spent with the foam coursing through the previous airlock.
2) Should I have bothered racking? When I opened the bucket, it was obvious that fermentation was underway. Should I have just assumed that there was a negligible leak in my airlock seal on the lid and given it another couple days, let the krausen subside, and racked normally?
Sorry for the long first post - just wanted to give as much info as possible. Thanks for all the great info here - HBT has given me a ton of confidence and info, so I'm hoping my tale can help someone else!
Until now, though, I didn't feel I had much to share/contribute/offer. Until now, I had not brewed Batch 4: Evil Brown Ale (AHS Mini Mash kit).
Brew day went normally, everything was smooth, and then I got to sealing up my primary fermenter (7 gal 'Ale Pail'). When I went to seal my airlock, I realized that the black rubber o-ring that seals the hole in the lid had worn through, and the bottom half (inside the lid) had partially fallen into the beer while I was pushing the airlock into place. The top of the seal was still intact, though, and it looked like I had an airtight seal. I said "No worries" and put it away.
After 48 hours, I was having no airlock activity, and I was getting Noob Nerves. I decided that I was going to rack the beer to a 5 gal carboy to ensure that I had an airtight, sanitary environment for the fermentation to complete. When I cracked open the bucket, I saw that krausen was well underway. I racked to the carboy and felt good about life. I put the beer back in the brew closet.
An hour later (as I'm sure you've already assumed), the krausen had surged through the airlock and was happily foaming down the sides of the carboy. I had anticipated this - the fresh circulation of air while racking was sure to stir things up, but I was still wowed to actually witness this phenomenon - until this point, I had only read about it and seen pictures on HBT!
Long story too long, I let the krausen subside overnight. This morning, I removed the contaminated airlock and replaced it with a sanitized spare, cleaned the sides of the carboy, and saw that everything looks normal.
At last, my two questions:
1) What would the vets say my chances are that contamination set in while I let the krausen "foam off" overnight? The carboy is now sealed with a sanitized airlock, but I'm curious about the 12 hours spent with the foam coursing through the previous airlock.
2) Should I have bothered racking? When I opened the bucket, it was obvious that fermentation was underway. Should I have just assumed that there was a negligible leak in my airlock seal on the lid and given it another couple days, let the krausen subside, and racked normally?
Sorry for the long first post - just wanted to give as much info as possible. Thanks for all the great info here - HBT has given me a ton of confidence and info, so I'm hoping my tale can help someone else!
