Dried out airlock

[imacoming]

F%^&
I had 2 carboys of wine and beer aging while I was away on vacation. Came back to the air lock (blow off tubes in a water bucket) being bone dry.
I will be tasting these to make sure that they are not ruined. I figure that both will have oxidization problems.
Am I correct with that assumption?
Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[DannyW]

I had an airlock dry out on a mead aging in a corny once. No idea how long it was dry, but the keg was in the back of of the closet for months. It was fine.

If they were still fermenting at all, and you don't see dead fruit flies floating on the surface, then you are almost certainly fine. Even if they were not fermenting, you are probably fine anyway, for a week or two. If it was months, probably not so much.

Heck, taste it at bottling and you will know.

[Mylo]

To add to what Danny said... Unless the carboy is subject to significant temp swings (in which case you will have issues anyway) - there will not be any air exchange. While there will not be any positive pressure left in the blow off tube, the headspace in the carboy will probably still be rich in CO2. I think the booze will be fine.


Mylo

[Brew Engineer]

As long as you have a positive pressure on the carboy from teh CO2, Mylo's right, there shouldn't be air exchange. The only concern is bugs, but even a dry airlock prevents bugs from floating into the beer. Unless you've got crawling bugs, you should be ok!

[imacoming]

I am stuck at work and want to test the brews badly.
So, as it stands the beer should be fine but does the same go for the wine?

[whiteManCanHop]

I am stuck at work and want to test the brews badly.
So, as it stands the beer should be fine but does the same go for the wine?

yep

[wunderbier]

Huh, I'd think that Dalton's Law (partial pressures) would say that your brews are going to be oxidized, but I'd love to be wrong.

[Sent From My iPhone]

Huh, I'd think that Dalton's Law (partial pressures) would say that your brews are going to be oxidized, but I'd love to be wrong.

I believe you're correct. The blanket of CO2, if not held in place by liquid in the airlock, will dissipate over time. The extent of oxidation depends on how long the airlocks has been dry.