[PAYCHECK]

OMG, not sure what is going to happen but I am really mad at myself, when I cold crashed my Kristallweizen the vacuum hose sucked up the sanitized air lock water into the beer, appears it was only a few drops but I am wondering if anyone else has had that problem and if so did you just toss the beer and not even bottle it?

I am sick about this and wondering for the future how to do this without jeopardizing the beer by removing the air lock during crashing.

[mchrispen]

Taste the beer and make a decision. I think most of us have accidentally done that a few times. Honestly, I just replace the airlock with foil during cold crashing... Never seen a problem with it.

[HoosierBrew]

I wouldn't dump - a few drops of water (or StarSan for that matter) isn't an issue whatsoever in a batch of beer. Airlock suck back is annoying but not as big an issue as it would seem. I've never gotten oxidized beer from when I did this.

Regardless there are options to avoid it: You can replace the airlock with a solid stopper to prevent suck back, you could use an 'S' airlock which won't prevent suck back but also won't pull water/sanitizer back into the fermenter. Or if you keg (like I do) you just keg the beer before you crash. No worries.

[majorvices]

Most likely you will be fine, especially since the beer was cold. Highly doubt you will have any issue what so ever.

[PAYCHECK]

Thank you guys for the moral support, I am going to bottle it up today and will get back to you in month once I have had a chance to taste the product.  Wish me luck.  Oh ps. saw a great video from Tony Yates on Northern Rock Brewery, love this guy, and he has a b****en solution for airlock suck back.  Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiVc-XjgU18 or skip to the part at 2:23 into the video and watch that section.  I knew their was a solution, I just wished I had watched this before I crashed and burned. :-)

Thanks again until next month.

[toby]

You didn't say what you were using in the airlock, but unless you were only making a one gallon batch, you should be more than fine.  Starsan at recommended dilution tastes like weak lemonade.  There isn't much flavor difference it's going to make at airlock volumes in a 5 gallon batch.  You are not the first to have this happen, and you surely won't be the last. 

[Stevie]

If you use an s-type airlock with the little lid, air can flow both ways without bringing sanitizer with it. The lid will keep most anything out. While his solution works, it's not 100% needed either.

I use sold stoppers when I cold crash. Deforms my better bottles, but they spring back when it's removed.

[ynotbrusum]

Never a problem with the larger Speidel airlocks

http://www.morebeer.com/products/replacement-airlock-speidel-plastic-fermenters.html

[denny]

The solution is to not use an airlock when you cold crash...yes, it's really that simple!  Fermentation is done, you don't need an airlock.  Just seal the fermenter.

[PAYCHECK]

The solution is to not use an airlock when you cold crash...yes, it's really that simple!  Fermentation is done, you don't need an airlock.  Just seal the fermenter.

Good point especially since I am using a glass carboy no risk of it caving.

[denny]

The solution is to not use an airlock when you cold crash...yes, it's really that simple!  Fermentation is done, you don't need an airlock.  Just seal the fermenter.

Good point especially since I am using a glass carboy no risk of it caving.

Put some foil on the top and put a rubber band around it...Bob's yer uncle.

[brewinhard]

+1 to the Denny method above.  Foil over the mouth of the carboy with a rubber band and good to go. 

[toby]

Put some foil on the top and put a rubber band around it...Bob's yer uncle.

Yeah, this.  I have the better bottle waterless ones, but if I cold crash in the bottles, I take them out because I've caved in the bottles otherwise.  They pop out, but I don't want them to crease.

[norcaljp]

Same here, I just use foil to prevent it. I've forgotten once or twice, and the beer was just fine.

[JohnnyC]

I use one of these https://www.midwestsupplies.com/carboy-cap-3-5-6-gallon-carboys.html?utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=google&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsNyxBRDBuKrMhsbt3vwBEiQAdRgPspwLCIdZGy3o8pQsWT0TKZmBa4y66hRLBBe2CYqu2FMaAr8v8P8HAQ