Quick sanitation question...

[SauceBoss]

Hey all,

I have a quick question which I am sure can get cleared up quickly. I've read through the forums and I know that while nothing may grow in vodka, it is not to be used as a sanitizer. Well, my dilemma lies in the fact that I brewed a mead on leap year and while at work my roommate decided to take the airlock off my carboy that its been sitting in to smell it and in doing so dropped the stopper and airlock. From what I was told it looks that due to the weight when it hit the carpet it was weighted to the airlock side so that the part of the stopped that touches the carboy didn't touch the ground. While that maybe true I still don't want to believe it totally. Im at work now and cant actually sanitize anything until I get home but my roommate told me he washed the stopper off with vodka (sitting next to the carboy as that's what I use in my airlocks) and put it back on.

Basically my question is, do you think im at a super risk if I wait until I get home to sanitize the stopper or would/could it be too late? Im hoping that because of the higher abv of mead I would have a better chance but this is my first time in this situation. Any advice would be great. Thank you in advance.

 

[scott1147]

I wouldn't be too worried about this. The reason you can't use vodka as a sanitizer is that it is not a high enough ABV to kill everything it touches. It has to be 70% ABV to kill everything on contact. Anything higher and it evaporates too quickly. Anything lower and bacteria can still live. Vodka is about 35% if I'm not mistaken.

In regards to the airlock, I've seen people do open air fermentation (no cover on a steel vessel like a keggle) and have no sanitation problems. If your roommate replaced the airlock/bung just leave it until you get home and clean it up for piece of mind. The chances of contamination are very, very, very small.

Regardless when you get home take some saran wrap and cover the mead. Sanitize the stopper, stick it back in and you're good to go.

Scott

 

[SauceBoss]

Thanks a lot Scott for your comment. It does provide me a piece of mind and while the post was noobish in context I do my very best to ensure all elements of my brewing from start to finished are done as sanitary as possible. It does provide me some peace of mind and now I am just counting down the last few hours of work before I head out. Thank you again and have a great day!

 

[Phyrst]

When you get home follow these steps:

1. remove the airlock
2. resanitize the stopper and airlock
3. reinstall the airlock
4. punch roommate in the head
5. have a beer

 

[ekjohns]

Yeah you will be fine. Even if the vodka did nothing the tiny bit of bacteria if any is not going to grow with all that yeast around. As for % alcohol, 70% is the magic number as stated above. The reason that greater than 70% is not as efficient is not cause evaporation, but some unknown reason.