I would like to say I am new to forums, and I am rather embarrassed the situation described below happened. Any help would be appreciated.
I am in the process of brewing an American Cream Ale. This past Saturday (April 24, 2010), I racked the beer from the primary to secondary fermenter. Then, I sanitized my air lock and rubber stopper, and assembled the two together prior to inserting them into the mouth of the 5-gallon glass carboy (secondary fermenter). While inserting the stopper/air lock, the rubber stopper slipped through the mouth of the carboy. I was able to pull up on the stopper with the air lock to create a seal and prevent contamination from the ambient air. However, the rubber stopper cannot be removed from the carboy, and will need to be pushed into the beer prior to siphoning the beer into my bottling bucket. Should I be concerned about potential contamination from the rubber stopper while siphoning, or has the concern been eliminated because it was sanitized prior to use?
Thank you.
