My buddy just called and it sounds like he didn’t remove his blow off tube when he cold crashed. He was using an iodophor solution. He’s worried that it’s not going to be safe to drink anymore.
I’ve only ever used StarSan, and am having difficulty finding anything I trust on the subject of iodophor. What do you all think? I don’t really know what to tell him. Is it most likely safe to drink or is this one a dumper?
There seem to be a lot of people cold crashing with a blow off tube lately. Anyway, If its his last nickle and last chance to ever get drunk again, then who cares if its safe? But I can tell you that I would be dumping and learning my lesson.
He’s not that hard up, but it’s only his third brew. I’d hate for him to get discouraged in the hobby if he dumps the batch, especially if it’s not going to be harmful.
Apparently he had 5 gallons worth of the iodophor solution in a bucket that his blow off tube was leading into. Looks like he got more sucked in then I’ve ever seen. He took a pic and showed me how much he sucked up, and it wasn’t a small amount. Looks close to a half gallon. Which surprises me. I’ll probably stop by his place tomorrow and make sure his plastic carboy isn’t sucked up and making the beer line rise as a result.
Probably going to be a dump. 
Fortunately its just beer. Hard lesson, but now he knows. Even if it hadn’t sucked it back, making a beer force its co2 through 5 gallons is probably not a good idea anyway. As soon as a blow off tube is no longer needed it should be replaced with an airlock.
Yeah, I’ve seen professional breweries use less than that in their blowoff bucket. Since I’ve switched to Speidel fermenters I haven’t had a beer get close to blowing off. I’m sure it will happen at some point, but it’s now rare enough, I barely even think about it.
Dump that beer!
Idophor has a pretty low toxicity, so it probably won’t hurt to give it a try at least. I mean I’ve used iodine tablets to disinfect water while camping before. Realistically, the alcohol is probably more dangerous. The taste however might not be great. You might try driving off the iodine by heating to ~150F though.
Of course I’m neither a chemist nor a Dr. so, at your own risk and all. ;D
+1. A small amount of Star San ( not the 2 qts from the other thread, assuming it all went into the beer) would probably be ok with me, but I’d dump the iodophor beer in a minute. It’s only beer.
I don’t put much sanitizer in my blowoff. Maybe two ounces. With that small amount suck back shouldn’t be an issue as the vacuum would be broken once the liquid is in the tube.
I switch out to a solid stopped before I chill the beer down. It crushes my better bottles, but I haven’t seen any ill effects over the years.
I pull my stopper and just put sanitized aluminum foil over it when I cold crash.
+1. Nothing is being off-gassed and there’s plenty of CO2 above the beer at that point.
After a week or two in an open container, there won’t be much iodine left. I’d at least taste it.
Print out a list of the symptoms of iodine poisoning to give to the doctor just in case: burning pain in the mouth and esophagus, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, delirium, shock, nephritis, laryngeal edema, and circulatory collapse.
OR JUST DUMP THE BATCH
What do you think the amount is? A teaspoon or less in 5 gallons? Sitting in an open container for a week off gassing? I’d be more worried about diluting the beer with extra water than with that much iodine.
Interesting discussion. But here’s another angle to view it from. How many would brew a beer recipe that called for iodine? Not me. It was an oopsy and I wouldn’t drink it. I wonder how many people that say they would drink it, would also say that they would not drink a BMC if their life depended on it. Seems counterintuitive. Im in the dump it and learn the lesson camp.
But Jim, there are a lot of things we put into beer that I would not want to consume straight. Does your beer call for lactic acid or gelatin or calcium chloride?
Fortunately my life does not depend on what beer I am going to drink, but it makes sense to me to taste a sample before tossing the batch.
A taste would add to the education, sure. I know that I wouldn’t bother bottling it.
First off…I will never cold crash again…but I use scotch or vodka in my air locks so a mishap won’t be undrinkable…just fine warm in the keg and a week later you have clear beer…If you are a bottler…kettle fine hard…to prevent loose trub in the bottle…
Pretend it’s an Islay Scotch.