Just realized that we forgot to put the piece on the airlock that keeps outside air out but lets excess gasses out.
We put the water in and put the perforated plastic lid on - but neglected the little piece that floats in the water over the vent to keep outside air out.
The beer has been fermenting for 4 days (since Sunday evening)
How big of a deal is this? Is the batch worth keeping or is there a good chance that it went bad?
If active fermentation is still going. you should be ok. The co2 is keeping the oxgyen out.
Absolutely not a lost cause. It’s probably just fine and even if there’s “bonus material” it will probably be fine as long as you drink it young. When fermentation is rolling the window for infection is pretty much closed.
If your fermentation area is clean you can ferment without a lid! Its all good…
It will be fine. Get that 3rd part in there ASAP as the CO2 production has probably died down a lot. Even then CO2 is heavier than air so you have a blanket of protection against anything happening.
