Quick sanitation question/concern

[kef300]

I brewed a batch of an all-grain Red Ale last Saturday night. I followed adequate sanitation procedures. However, after taking the OG measurement, sealing the fermenting bucket, while placing the airlock on the lid, I accidentally pushed the rubber gasket that comes around the hole the lid has for the airlock. The gasket sank to the bottom of the liquid. I tried fishing it out with a sanitized spoon with no luck. Since I didn't want the bucket to be open for long, I dipped my arm inside a pot filled with a sanitizer solution and then pulled the gasket out with my own hand
What concerns me is that I only dipped my arm in the sanitizing solution for a few seconds.
Should I be worried about contamination/infection?

 

[Mirilis]

its a possibiliy.. I have had that same thing happen to me before I just plugged the hole since active fermentation hasnt started yet and ran to get a vinyl tube .. sanitized it and forced it into the hole then ran it as blow off.

best luck!! I would wait till fermentation is about over then pull a sample and taste it.

 

[i4ourgot]

Yeah I would say next time leave it and do something along the lines of the post above. Your arm has way more cracks and crevices for bacteria then a stainless steel or plastic spoon. If you pitched enough yeast though I think you will be fine.

 

[jrgtr42]

I think this has happened to all of us at one time or another.
For me it was my first brew.
After running screaming around the house a couple times, I calmed down, popped the top and when I didn't see the gasket, sealed it right back up and put some tin foil over the hole. (didn't sanitize, since it wasn;t going to touch the beer, which may or may not have been a mistake)
I then took an old wine cork, carved it down to fit the hole in the lid, and drilled through for the airlock. I did dunk that into sanitizer. Didn't have any problems that I could directly attribute to that, being my first brew, and I;m sure there were other things that I could have done better.

 

[kh54s10]

Buy some more of the grommets. Then the next time leave the fallen one in the beer until you bottle and install a new one.

 

[Sandbag58d]

My very first note in my recipe book is "Airlock first then lid...". Yes, I did the exact same thing as have many others on this board. Beer came out great!

 

[kef300]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Not what I wanted to hear, was hoping to get more "it should be fine, don't worry about it" haha, but it is what it is. I will pick up some more grommets for the next batch. I was hoping the yeast could have killed any bacteria introduced by my arm. I pitched an 11.5g packet of Safale S-04 directly from the packet, no starter.

Are there any signs I could identify by the way my beer looks at this point (5 days after brewing) or before I bottle it? Any visual clues of contamination?

 

[hokieguy95]

Thanks for the replies, guys. Not what I wanted to hear, was hoping to get more "it should be fine, don't worry about it" haha, but it is what it is.

Ok. Well here ya go.

Best beer I made was the one I pushed the rubber stopper for the airlock into the carboy. (It was wet and slick from sanitizer and when pushing the airlock in it went kerplunk) If you santized your bucket top or the stopper, it will probably be just fine.

If the beer sample you take before bottling tastes and smells pretty good, you'll probably be good to go.