I got lazy...will my batch be ok?

Ok, so instead of boiling anything I just dumped my 2 cans of warmed extract in with some water, sloshed it about, pitched, and left it to sit. There is definitely some activity going on, but I've noticed that a lot of the extract is sitting at the bottom of the BB fermentor. Will the yeast (Munton's ale yeast) be able to ferment everything and mix it up enough?

Richard said:

Ok, so instead of boiling anything I just dumped my 2 cans of warmed extract in with some water, sloshed it about, pitched, and left it to sit. There is definitely some activity going on, but I've noticed that a lot of the extract is sitting at the bottom of the BB fermentor. Will the yeast (Munton's ale yeast) be able to ferment everything and mix it up enough?

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The point of boiling is to kill any bacteria and equally important...to bring the different liquids to a temperature high enough to allow them to dissolve and mix thoroughly.

The yeast is likely to do its job, but it could take a lot longer if the sweet wort is compacted at the bottom of the fermenter.

I would get a sanitized stirring spoon and...very gently...give the mix a stir without sloshing or aerating the mix. You want that concentrate to get diluted and suspended in the rest of the mix.

If you do nothing...it'll probably be fine, but will take some time.

I'm assuming that you are talking about pre-hopped extract. I would be worried myself as there is no real way to tell if it will be ok or not. But being that you didn't boil anything, there is a good chance of infection. From what I've read malt extract is one of the likely places for wild bacteria, or yeasts. I would assume that the yeast will eventually mix the extract in as well. Only time will tell I think.

why even bother?
Next time, don't get high before brewing

Even if the wort is free of nasties like bacteria, your brew just isn't going to turn out. If you never mixed in the LME, and it is all sitting at the bottom of the fermenter, the yeast just won't be able to get access to all those sugars to ferment. The viscosity at the bottom sounds like it is going to be too thick to allow the yeast to mix in, unless you leave it for a REALLY long time (months and months, I am guessing).

Worse yet, if you do mix all this up again at bottling time, you will be likely to expose a lot of unfermented sugars and create a bunch of bottle bombs.

As one poster suggested above, you are going to have to try to get those sugars into solution (without aerating the beer). Stir, stir, stir -- I think it is going to be absolutely necessary.

Please let us know how it turns out, though. I am really curious (and this isn't an experiment I want to do on purpose).

I did the same thing with a couple of cans of Coopers Stout and Coopers Dark malt, and the beer turned out fine. It did have a month in primary though. I'm hoping that means this batch will be fine after a month. The dark malt probably obscured the stuff at the bottom of the stout mix, so it wasn't as visible as with this current batch. When I bottled the stout everything had fermented properly though.

I mean no disrespect, but if you're too lazy to merely boil some water on the stove, then perhaps this ain't the right hobby for you. My brew sessions routinely take 6 hours or more, and every step of the way is painstaking and exacting.

If dumping extract in warm water and adding yeast is the best you can do, then may I suggest just buying some commercial brews at the store instead? This may sound like EACism at its height, but making good beer takes some effort on your part.

I've made plenty of other brews that included a boil, and I wanted to experiment. So far everything has turned out well. If I thought making beer was too much trouble I wouldn't bother at all.

Richard said:

I've made plenty of other brews that included a boil, and I wanted to experiment. So far everything has turned out well. If I thought making beer was too much trouble I wouldn't bother at all.

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To each his own, but I would have asked around here before undertaking your experiment. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing ended up infected. Where'd your water come from?

It sounds like I have offended some people on here. Too bad for them.

Evan! said:

To each his own, but I would have asked around here before undertaking your experiment. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing ended up infected. Where'd your water come from?

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From a Poland Spring bottle.

I think you should be fine. Extract has a high enough sugar content that it should be naturally antibiotic, like jelly or honey. I think you should be fine. Boiling is probably acutally detrimental to pre-hopped extract kits as it would boil off more of the volatiles from the hops. I think RDWHAHB

I'm not too worried. As I said, the stout I made using the same method turned out fine. Still, I plan on doing at least a quick boil on everything from now on.

Maybe by titling your post "Experiment" instead of "Lazy" would have generated more postive responses... just my thoughts.

Richard said:

It sounds like I have offended some people on here. Too bad for them.

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You've not offended me. Like I said, to each his own.

Just giving you sound advice. I'm pretty easy going, and don't really have the time or energy to get offended by anonymous online forums . I'm honestly trying to help you here, dude. You asked if your batch would be okay, and there's no way to answer that for sure at this point. Yes, you should stir it up with a sanitized spoon. Other than that, you'll have to wait awhile to find out if it's infected. And in the future, my advice is that you boil it, if only for 15 minutes. That boil will kill any potential nasties that might screw up your beer. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

Richard said:

From a Poland Spring bottle.

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Well, you got that working in your favor. That's likely not contaminated with bacteria or wild yeast.

No worries Evan. No hard feelings mate.

Yes, I reckon the Poland Spring water should be pretty clean. It was from a previously unopened 5 gallon bottle. I'm going to let this one sit for a while...maybe 5 or 6 weeks. No more though, I don't want autolysis to set in.

Richard said:

No worries Evan. No hard feelings mate.

Yes, I reckon the Poland Spring water should be pretty clean. It was from a previously unopened 5 gallon bottle. I'm going to let this one sit for a while...maybe 5 or 6 weeks. No more though, I don't want autolysis to set in.

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Word.

Autolysis will take much longer that that to happen, though.

I'll keep an eye on it then. If things are still unfermented at the bottom after a month I'll let it go for longer.

from what i understood, the process of making malt extracts killed most of the bacteria so when they are packaged they shouldn't have much wild yeast or bacteria.

i think the only part to really worry about is just the dissolving of the extract, which could be fine mixing it up like stated before.

Please correct me if i'm wrong here.

You have got to be ****ting me!

That is all.

I recently brewed an IPA and everything went fine but right before I pitched the yeast I took a crap in the primary... is this going to affect my beer?

TIA
Hopleaf

I kid I kid

This forum certainly doesn't suffer from a shortage of anal retentives.

How dare I try to take brewing shortcuts! I must now prostrate myself before the Beer Gods and beg for forgiveness! *bow* *scrape* *grovel* *plead* *wail*

Richard said:

This forum certainly doesn't suffer from a shortage of anal retentives.

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Like I said before...coulda been worse.

You coulda posted:

"Too Lazy To Pitch My Yeast...Will My Beer Be Okay?"

Homebrewing spans the gammit of casual brewer to purist fanatic. If you keep on brewing, you'll innevitably move from the left to right on that spectrum.

The more you brew...the more you want to brew...the more you want to brew...the more you want to learn about the intricacies about brewing...

Not that boiling water is that much of an intricacy...

Richard said:

This forum certainly doesn't suffer from a shortage of anal retentives.

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i agree (but I could be one of them also)
People tend to be more comfortable making negative and rude comments in an anonymous settings like online forums, its a psychological thing.

anyways, im also lazy... and I like to experiment....but the boil is a decently important part of the process. But you tried it once and it worked for ya....so what the hell. ( I wouldnt recommend it becoming common practice though)

Evan! said:

And in the future, my advice is that you boil it, if only for 15 minutes. That boil will kill any potential nasties that might screw up your beer. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

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Not to intrude or nitpick here, but...
Actually, the *minimum* time of boiling to have "sterile" (and I use those quotes on purpose) liquid is 30 minutes. 15 minutes will definitely make sure that *most* of the nasties are gone, and that's especially true if you heat shocked them by sending them from cold (less than room temp) to hot. However, anything less than 30 minutes risks infection, though it's not too likely, as the yeast you pitch has a chance to out-compete the wild yeast for nutrients.
Bacteria, though, are a whole new ballgame. They replicate *much* faster than yeast, and can take over a culture (i.e. your wort) before your yeast has a chance to blink.

I'm sorry. I majored in bacteriology and genetics in college (micro-biology basically).
Again...I don't like to be "one of those nitpicky guys" but if you want to be sure of "sanitary conditions" boiling the wort for 30 minutes, minimum is the way to go. Like I said though, it'd probably be ok at 15 minutes if you heat shocked it.

[hijack]

Actually, gman, thanks for that. I need to add some malt to some overhopped ales I have and I was planning on just a 15 minute boil. I thought that was sufficient for sterilization, but I can let it go another 15 to be sure. I NEED this beer to turn out.

[/hijack]

gman said:

Not to intrude or nitpick here, but...
Actually, the *minimum* time of boiling to have "sterile" (and I use those quotes on purpose) liquid is 30 minutes. 15 minutes will definitely make sure that *most* of the nasties are gone, and that's especially true if you heat shocked them by sending them from cold (less than room temp) to hot. However, anything less than 30 minutes risks infection, though it's not too likely, as the yeast you pitch has a chance to out-compete the wild yeast for nutrients.
Bacteria, though, are a whole new ballgame. They replicate *much* faster than yeast, and can take over a culture (i.e. your wort) before your yeast has a chance to blink.

I'm sorry. I majored in bacteriology and genetics in college (micro-biology basically).
Again...I don't like to be "one of those nitpicky guys" but if you want to be sure of "sanitary conditions" boiling the wort for 30 minutes, minimum is the way to go. Like I said though, it'd probably be ok at 15 minutes if you heat shocked it.

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Doesn't this also reduce the taste of the hops? I suppose that can be fixed later though.

Yeast Infection said:

i agree (but I could be one of them also)
People tend to be more comfortable making negative and rude comments in an anonymous settings like online forums, its a psychological thing.

anyways, im also lazy... and I like to experiment....but the boil is a decently important part of the process. But you tried it once and it worked for ya....so what the hell. ( I wouldnt recommend it becoming common practice though)

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Yeah, I don't think I'll brew without boiling after this. I don't want to have to worry, and I want everything mixed in properly.

Fermentation on my batch is still steady. There is a bit of krausen, and bubbling continues. I'm curious to see if everything ferments out properly or not.

gman said:

Not to intrude or nitpick here, but...
Actually, the *minimum* time of boiling to have "sterile" (and I use those quotes on purpose) liquid is 30 minutes. 15 minutes will definitely make sure that *most* of the nasties are gone, and that's especially true if you heat shocked them by sending them from cold (less than room temp) to hot. However, anything less than 30 minutes risks infection, though it's not too likely, as the yeast you pitch has a chance to out-compete the wild yeast for nutrients.
Bacteria, though, are a whole new ballgame. They replicate *much* faster than yeast, and can take over a culture (i.e. your wort) before your yeast has a chance to blink.

I'm sorry. I majored in bacteriology and genetics in college (micro-biology basically).
Again...I don't like to be "one of those nitpicky guys" but if you want to be sure of "sanitary conditions" boiling the wort for 30 minutes, minimum is the way to go. Like I said though, it'd probably be ok at 15 minutes if you heat shocked it.

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We're not sterilizing, we're sanitizing. Big difference. And I've done countless priming boils that were 15 minutes and not a second more. Papazian (and Palmer too, I believe) instruct you to boil your priming solution for 15 minutes. Apparently this is sufficient sanitizing time for homebrewing. In a sterile laboratory environment, maybe not, but I doubt there are too many people who brew in such conditions.

I superheat my priming solution in the microwave. Surely that takes care of any nasties.

Making beer is a labor of love.

Richard said:

How dare I try to take brewing shortcuts! I must now prostrate myself before the Beer Gods and beg for forgiveness! *bow* *scrape* *grovel* *plead* *wail*

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jeez, dude, chill out. You asked us for our advice. Sorry you didn't hear exactly what you wanted to hear, but such is life.

The reality is this: most people here are dedicated to making the best beer possible. They spend hours and hours being careful and precise. So when someone rolls up and wants to know how lazy he can be and still have an okay batch of beer, they're not going to get a lot of cheerleaders. If people seem anal-retentive, it's because they are...because that's what this hobby requires if you want great beer. And they naturally project that anal-retentiveness onto others. You don't have to follow our advice. You can make whatever kind of drink you want. You can shortcut all the important stuff if your heart so desires...because it's your beer. But don't expect cheers and applause from a group of people who pride themselves on precision and care. We're gonna tell you just what we think: if you want good beer, there are certain "shortcuts" that you shouldn't take. But, again, nobody is forcing you to do anything. If you want sound advice, cool, you've come to the right place. If you want sunshine blown up yer arse, this ain't the place. I've had my fair share of lambastings and lectures from seasoned veterans, and most of them have made me a better brewer. Don't take it personally.

Evan! said:

We're not sterilizing, we're sanitizing. Big difference. And I've done countless priming boils that were 15 minutes and not a second more. Papazian (and Palmer too, I believe) instruct you to boil your priming solution for 15 minutes. Apparently this is sufficient sanitizing time for homebrewing. In a sterile laboratory environment, maybe not, but I doubt there are too many people who brew in such conditions.

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Oh, I agree.

Again, I'm sorry, I'm just pretty anal about the entire boiling/sanitizing thing because of what I did in school. 15 minutes should be fine (especially for priming sugar for instance, but that has less to do with the nasties but more with a lack of nutrients, plus an established yeast colony in the beer).