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.
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.
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.
RDWHAHB!
It will be fine. Well any problems won’t be due to the vodka anyway! 
chillax
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.
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.
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.
i’ve got vodka in my airlock right now.
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)
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
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.
It seems all it OK as of now the beer has started to ferment and is off to the races. Thank you all for the input.
Just remember, it was less than an ounce of vodka. An ounce of 40% ABV vodka diluted in 5 gallons of liquid will increase the alcohol of the liquid by about 0.06%.
And finally, Tom shows up with the math I was too lazy to do. Thanks Tom! ;D
This is why people use vodka. Water is fine in the airlock unless some of it gets sucked back in - then who knows what bugs drifted into the water that is now in the beer. Vodka can get sucked in without worry as it will kill anything airborn that lands on it.
+1, this is exactly what I do.