Rubber in my cider!

Cider
1

Hi all,

I put together a cider that fermented out in ten days, then sat for a month in a 5 gal carboy…only problem is that when I was fixing the airlock after transferring from the primary, I lost a rubber bung in the cider (it was just a fraction too small!). I then went into full freak out mode and got to the brew store for another bung that fit.
So this rubber bung has been resting at the bottom of the cider for a month now as I thought it less troublesome than all the O2 I would be introducing with two additional rackings (one would have to be back to the primary, which could not build back up the CO2 as well as a carboy).
I have two questions:

  1. Is it ruined?
  2. I am leaving my home for most of December and had not planned to bottle until January…should I go ahead and bottle after only a month to get it off the plastic?

Any help is welcome. Just so you know, this is a standard rubber bung that you buy from a home brew supply store that fits with an air lock.

2

I think you will be fine as long as it was sanitized.

3

:shock: At first I thought someone molested your carboy. Like BB said, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve pushed them in with no issues other than getting them out. I recommend the universal bungs.