First blowoff

[Chuu]

OK...so to begin with I'm going to admit I was an idiot. Yes I was one of those people who said ehhhhhh I don't need a blowoff tube. I primary in a carboy and this was my lowest OG beer yet so I figured I was in the clear. Except I used a starter for once. And this Belgian yeast was fiesty....long story short. I leave the house this morning, some nice krausen, so off i go on my way. Come home (3 hours later)....**** all over my wall and the foam filled airlock on the floor...

What I want to know is, is this screwed? How will I know if it infected? What can I do?

EDIT: This is a low OG (1.043) Belgian session beer I made. So I guess if it gets infected I just consider it accidental souring?

 

[brewkinger]

RDWHAHB.

Initial fermentation is venting a lot of pressure and doubtful that any nasties could get in if it was vigorous enough to blow out the airlock.

Clean and sanitize the airlock; better yet clean, sanitize and use your blowoff hose. Replace the airlock when ferment is way slow.

I tried an experiment once with a blown airlock and I could see the krausen in the neck of the carboy so I let it open ferment for another day (kept my eye on it) and then put airlock back in and created one of the best tasting beers yet.

 

[dozer5454]

Probably not infected at all. What is happening is the fermentation is pushing things out not drawing them in. Just sanitize a cap for the carboy, put a tube on it and let it finish its process. Many people have had this problem when we were starting out and their beer turned out fine. I'm sure yours will be the same.