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Author Topic: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....  (Read 12065 times)

Offline mswilliams1975

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Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« on: January 19, 2013, 12:48:37 pm »
Ok so I use vodka in my airlock and today when I sealed my new brew to start fermentation some vodka dripped into the carboy. Will this kill the fermentation? Did I just kill my new batch of brew? It has been 2 hours and I have no bubbling in the air lock.
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Offline Titanium Brewing

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2013, 12:58:57 pm »
A little vodka shouldn't be a problem. I've been using cheap vodka in my air locks for years with out issue. You should not use air lock activity as a sign of fermentation. 2 hours is not nearly enough time to determine if there is fermentation. I'd leave it for a day or two before even worrying.
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Offline skrag6713

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2013, 01:00:50 pm »
how much dripped in there?  a liter? 2?  if it less than that i wouldn't worry.  and 2 hours for lag time isn't bad.  in fact it's pretty good.

Offline davidgzach

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2013, 01:02:26 pm »
RDWHAHB!
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Offline redbeerman

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2013, 01:10:07 pm »
RDWHAHB!

It will be fine.  Well any problems won't be due to the vodka anyway! ;)
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2013, 03:45:04 pm »
chillax
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Offline majorvices

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Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2013, 05:58:26 pm »
If you are having a two hour lag you are pitching far, far too warm. 12 - 24 hour lag is standard and what you want. Super short lag time does not = good beer.

And vodka would be sanitary. No worries there. And certainly won't kill yeast unless you dosed the actual slurry in vodka.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2013, 06:01:27 pm by majorvices »

Offline mswilliams1975

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2013, 07:54:33 pm »
Thanks guys. It was about a half a shots worth of vodka that made it in the beer before I caught it. I will watch it over the next few days for activity.
Anything worth having is worth hard to achieve.

Offline garc_mall

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2013, 09:04:42 pm »
The reason many people use vodka in their airlocks (including me) is because vodka is basically flavorless, and the alcohol will kill bacteria or wild yeast if they fall in. Once the vodka has been diluted (3/4 oz in 5 gal) that far, there isn't enough alcohol to kill the yeast. RDWHAHB. If there is some problem with your yeast not starting, it won't be because of the vodka.

Offline deepsouth

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2013, 09:10:49 pm »
i've got vodka in my airlock right now. 
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Offline alcaponejunior

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2013, 07:54:40 am »
one of my buckets never bubbles.  I don't think it seals perfectly along the edges.  It works fine tho and hasn't ever gotten infected.

the other bucket doesn't fit in the freezer with a standard airlock, so I have a special setup that involves tinfoil and a flat top of a frying pan, along with sanitizer.  so I never see bubbling.  beers always come out good.

I don't have vodka in my martinis, BTW.  Strictly gin.  Extra olives.  8)

Offline denny

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2013, 12:04:50 pm »
When I started brewing I used vodka in the airlock.  When the bottle ran out I switched to tap water.  In hundreds of batches it's never been a problem to use tap water.
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Offline davidgzach

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2013, 12:41:03 pm »
When I started brewing I used vodka in the airlock.  When the bottle ran out I switched to tap water.  In hundreds of batches it's never been a problem to use tap water.

+1.  I now put 1-2 sprays of my stan stan bottle up the stem and a top with tap water.  No issues.

Dave
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Offline jamminbrew

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2013, 01:06:12 pm »
I just use some star san in the airlock. Even if some gets sucked into the carboy, I have never had any problem. Besides, an airlock full of vodka won't hurt your brew whatsoever.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Brew ruined??? Vodka drip in wort....
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2013, 09:03:41 am »
I just use some star san in the airlock. Even if some gets sucked into the carboy, I have never had any problem. Besides, an airlock full of vodka won't hurt your brew whatsoever.

I use star san too. Mainly because I have a spray bottle handy. Makes it pretty easy to top off my airlocks if they start to run dry. I've had some sucked into my fermenter before, but I've never noticed any off flavors.
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