air lock came out

Help

I had a air lock come out of a 5 gal. carboy some how. For how long I do not know maybe as much as 3-4 days. Is this batch ruined? Thanks for an input.

Signed Very Concerned

Reply to
JM
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It's probably fine, but put the air lock back in.

Truitt

Reply to
truitt

Hi JM

It's happened to many of us. Just put it back.

The batch should be o.k. Taste it. Any oxidation at this point should be slight. Check the sulphite and bring up to the correct level.

All will be well.

Regards

Frank

Reply to
Frank Mirigliano

Check out the appearance and taste. The only access the oxygen has to the wine is to diffuse through the top so the surface to volume area is fortunately quiet small. Chances are there is little or no perceptible damage particularly if your sulfite level is adequate and should be at least

20 ppm free sulfite depending on the pH of your wine. If there is a distinct browning that's a bad sign. The taste of an over-oxidized wine is very characteristic (madeirized) but if it looks and tastes fine at this point there should be no problem.

The most common reason for this is when the bung is not the proper size. Most of us have made the mistake of using a bung that is too large for the carboy opening and we force it it hence, the risk of it popping out. Also when doing several procedures in the wine cellar, particularly if you have several carboys going, there is the risk of leaving one without a bung in it. Check carefully each time you leave the wine cellar.

Good luck.

Glen Duff

Reply to
Glen Duff

What was the carboy doing? Was it fermenting hard or slowly? Was it bulk aging. Had you just racked it and which racking? All indicators of how important the slip up might have been. But as commented above, it probably was not fatal and there is little reason to cry over spilt milk. Just clean it up but putting the air lock back on and hope for the best. For all we moan and worry about air contact, a seemingly disastrous blunder like this will seldom be noticed in the final product. This is really a very forgiving hobby! I find an airlock off of one of my 20 or so carboys about once every year or two and I have never lost a batch to it yet.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

Very Concerned,

Gasses dissolve in liquids. Chemical reactions are not necessary. The gas molecules occupy space between the liquid molecules. However, only small quantities of gases can dissolve in liquids because little room exists. When all of the space has been used, the liquid becomes saturated, and no more gas can be dissolved. Air contains about 21 percent oxygen, and when wine is exposed to air, oxygen dissolves in the wine. But once the wine is saturated, no more oxygen can be dissolved.

Under normal cellar condition, oxygen dissolves quickly until wine becomes saturated. The dissolved oxygen then reacts with several wine substances, and the dissolved oxygen disappears from the wine as these reactions occur. But, many of these oxidation reactions occur very slowly, so considerable time is required for the dissolved oxygen to disappear from wine. Depending on storage conditions, several days to a few weeks may be required before all of the dissolved oxygen is consumed by the chemical reactions. Of course, once the dissolved oxygen is gone, wine can become saturated again if it is exposed to additional air.

Novice winemakers often panic when they discover a bung laying on the floor because they are afraid the wine in the open barrel or carboy will be oxidized. Depending on storage conditions, wine in an open barrel becomes saturated with oxygen quickly, but once the wine is saturated little more oxygen can enter. Some of the dissolved oxygen reacts slowly with sulfur dioxide or other materials in the wine. The dissolved oxygen disappears slowly, so the wine in the open barrel remains saturated or nearly saturated. Once the bung is replaced, sulfur dioxide continues to scavenge oxygen. Consequently, a barrel or carboy of wine may be open to the air for a day or so, but the saturation effect often prevents excessive wine damage. Of course, catastrophic oxidation can occur if the sulfur dioxide content of the wine is low or a wine container remains open for an extended time.

Lum Del Mar, California, USA

Reply to
Lum

Thanks Lum, this thoughtful and knowledgeabl answer is why people like you and Tom S should be nominated to the newsgroups "Hall of Fame."

Reply to
Glen Duff

I gotta' question though.

If the wine is already saturated with C02 (indicated by bubbles in the airlock) then will exposure to oxygen gas cause significant absorbtion into the liquid?

Chris

Reply to
Chris

Yes. each gas has it's own partial pressure in the fluid. The CO2 will help protect it but will not prevent the O2 from getting in.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

Someone who remembers Charles' Law from Chem 101. Ray, I'm impressed. ;)

Mike MTM, Cokesbury, New Jersey, USA

Reply to
Mike McGeough

However, my memory is that the partial pressure applies to the gasses above, not the liquids. Isn't it about the ability of the liquid to release molecules that will be in the vapor state, rather than the ability of the liquid to absorb gas?

hawk

Reply to
Dr. Richard E. Hawkins

I'll toss in the advice I'd offer if this were beer, partly because it may be relevant, and partly because I'm wondering how it relates to wine.

With beer, the big concern wouldn't be oxidation but mold (and other contaminants). Wine is a much more hostile environment, far better able to take care of itself against nasties . . .

Anyway, the molds that hit beer, and some of the bacteria, start as surface colonies, and are quite visible. I "solved" these by siphoning out from the bottom, and leaving an inch or two behind. I'd also massively "dry hop" the beer. This not only helped mask the taste, but helped retard growth. I'd also immediately chill it and then put it on tap. I don't know of any comparable additive for wine. Also keep in mind that I was engaged in damage control at this point, rather than good practice . . .

(Hmm, add brandy to make a port?).

Again, what I'm talking about is infection, not oxidation. I really have nothing to say about that concern, but forntuantely many more have.

Cats.

Damnit.

:)

One of the best beers I've ever made was my "Cat's Death Stout." Two

6.5 gallon fermenters, and he knocked the bung off one. How good was the other? Best of Show at a major regional . . .

hawk

Reply to
Dr. Richard E. Hawkins

Nope, Applies just as well to gasses dissolved in liquids. Ask any petroleum engineer. He is always concerned with the partial pressures of the gasses dissolved in the liquids he is dealing with.

Ray

Reply to
Ray Calvert

Your memory is correct, in that gases above the liquid is usually what they're teaching at the time, and their using the liquid as the "infinite source" of the substance. Here you have the reverse, where the introduced gas (air, dropping to the liquid surface with the removal of the airlock) is the infinite source, but the mechanics are the same.

I hadn't really thought about this, but when this happens during fermentation in an open-top fermenter or carboy, the CO2 forming over the must not only covers the wine to prevent oxidation, but I think it would draw O2 out of the must following Charles' law.

Rob

Reply to
Rob

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