[martylap]

Hi, i did my second batch of beer this Saturday (all grain). I got a surprise, during the cooling the wort with my copper wort chiller, i saw some water go out from the jonction of the tube and the copper, the problem is because the screw was not tight enough. Maybe one 1/2 cup drop in the wort during the cooling.

i read it can be a source of contamination. Can i know before bottling if my beer is ruined? What is the % of chance my beer will be good?

Thank you for you answers!

Martin

[Stevie]

Not ideal, but it will be fine. Let it ride and taste it before bottling

[santoch]

Yeah, not exactly ideal, but you will likely be ok.
I let my chiller sit in the boil for 10 mins or so before turning on the water
There usually is enough heat to cause steam in the coils (I run a little through to test for leaks, etc, beforehand).

Be sure to seal things up for next time, but try to relax and likely the heat was enough to kill any nasties that were inside the chiller.

HTH-

[kramerog]

Drinking water is a pretty unlikely source of microbial contamination as the type of bacteria in the water are unlikely to be beer spoilers.  Chlorine and other disinfactants are not beneficial, but probably not a big deal since not much water went into the wort.

[Visor]

   My BK set-up isn't doesn't allow easy use of a immersion chiller, so I have a bucket I use for chilling. More than once I have had water leak from one of the connections into the cooling wort, without any noticeable ill effects. As others have said, not ideal but probably not a big deal.
  As a FWIW, I have to partially dismantle my two chiller set-up after use, and have come to the conclusion that with plastic tubing and hose clamps, it isn't wise to re-clamp the same section of tubing more than once or twice as it just doesn't seal worth a damn, so I cut off the used section of tubing after every use or two.
   

[brewinhard]

I think you will be fine as stated above, especially if you aerated and pitched enough healthy viable yeast cells to quickly "own the wort". The added potential chloramine/chlorine (at that small amount) will probably be undetectable too. But, be sure to taste prior to spending all that time packaging to ensure a good final product.

[santoch]

To clarify, it's not so much the tap water but rather the innards of the chiller that worry me in this case.  The chiller has been sitting unsanitized since last use.  God knows what may have grown inside.  Sitting it in the boil for 10 or 15 mins will heat it up and should kill the nasties, both inside and out.

[martylap]

Tx all of you, i did my transfert to a secondary and it look fine.

[ynotbrusum]

Tx all of you, i did my transfert to a secondary and it look fine.

Now try to just primary ferment - the extra racking exposes the beer to more chance of oxidation and spoliation than just leaving it on the yeast cake for a few extra days.  Then check gravity a few days in a row and when it doesn't budge even a bit, it is done and can be racked to the bottling bucket or keg.

Cheers and enjoy your brew!

[martylap]

just to make a follow up on this post.

My beer is great! So this water didn't ruin my beer!

Tx all!

Martin

[flars]

Great that your beer is okay.  Have you considered adding some length to the inlet and outlet of your chiller to bring the connections below the rim of the boil kettle?  Just in case there would be another leak the water can't get into the chilling wort.