The RDWHAH experiment

While brewing today, I got to thinking, what if every RDWHAH mistake was done on the same batch? So, in the interest of science (and beer), I propose the RDWHAH experiment.

I will be intentionally make as many 'mistakes' brewing as possible, to include:
No sanitization of ANY brewing equipment.
No airlock or yeast the first 24 hours
No boil of the wort (hops will be boiled separately in plain water)
Mash at 165
LONG primary sit
Primary kept in room with no temp control (no heat, no AC)
Start syphon by mouth
Drop a cheese curl in the primary

And, of course, RDWHAH every mistake

I'm looking for other ideas of what i could do wrong for this as well.

Recipe:
10 lbs 2 row
1 oz chinook
salvaged yeast from last batch (nottingham)

I vote for mashing at 165 degrees.

I vote you send those ingredients my way and I'll make a good beer instead of wasting them on something that you know won't turn out good.

In keeping with your experiment though...
1. Leave it in primary for 2 months, or a few days...
2. Don't cool the wort down.

Please do a mini batch... just in case... shame to see wasted beer if it all goes horribly wrong. That being said, beer dates pretty much to the dawn of agriculture, so, at the risk of sounding like a geico commercial, a caveman should be able to do it, and at least make beer.

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

I vote you send those ingredients my way and I'll make a good beer instead of wasting them on something that you know won't turn out good.

In keeping with your experiment though...
1. Leave it in primary for 2 months, or a few days...
2. Don't cool the wort down.

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#2 is incompatible to forgeting the yeast for a day or two. I've pitched yeast early more than once though and never had an issue.

The other suggestions have been added though

Leave your fermenter out in the garage, no temp control at all...

strat_thru_marshall said:

Leave your fermenter out in the garage, no temp control at all...

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No garage, but have a room with no heat/AC. It will go in there

Throw the hops in the mash and don't boil them at all separately.

well i can see where this may actually be a pretty decent brew as brewing was done and nearly perfected before ANY of the forementioned were even possible to control

This won't work. You need to swear convincingly at every turn.

There is a lot of talk about how beer has been brewed for centuries, most of them without any of the science we all now use.
Nobody said it was GOOD beer.

...probably beat the swill that passes for beer these days (snark). Or people didn't mind simultaneously filling their guts with 3% abv and 2.5% acetic acid.... one of the two

Make sure to brew it with a nagging wife telling you should be mowing the lawn or trimming the hedges. It adds to mistakes that you arent even planning.

I like your grit! you make the biggest mess you want and damn the outcome, ITS FOR SCIENCE!

back off of dantose he is doing something that homebrewing is based off of... defying the average. at the very least this could be called a very 'classic' brew. hes doin sumtin that hasnt been done in many years bringin it to the very basics and apparently beer was even better back then. im noit sayin itll work out perfect but hes takin a chance and credit should be givin for the risk not a s**ting on



.

demonrichie said:

back off of dantose he is doing something that homebrewing is based off of... defying the average. at the very least this could be called a very 'classic' brew. hes doin sumtin that hasnt been done in many years bringin it to the very basics and apparently beer was even better back then. im noit sayin itll work out perfect but hes takin a chance and credit should be givin for the risk not a s**ting on



.

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I'm assuming the same is true for the others, but all I'm offering is some good natured ribbing. I'm sure the OP expected nothing less.

ok cart i understand ur point but i hope u get my poiint too

demonrichie said:

well i can see where this may actually be a pretty decent brew as brewing was done and nearly perfected before ANY of the forementioned were even possible to control

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demonrichie said:

hes doin sumtin that hasnt been done in many years bringin it to the very basics and apparently beer was even better back then.

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I don't have a problem with what the OP is proffering, but I'm going to have to disagree stongly with the claims that you're throwing around.

Make sure it is outside and gets plenty of sunlight!

Make sure every time you intentionally make a "mistake"
You actually drink a home brew.

- being outside getting light, my last brew session was basically this. Including the nagging wife.

So far it has come out fine. The way I was able to have both pitch to hot and have it sit for too long was to do the mash the day before, not have enough time (nagging wife) and having to boil the next day. Followed by pitching too soon (nagging wife).

In the end it seems like it is going to be a great beer anyway. I think there is a lot of over thinking/not taking chances that happens here.

I think I tried a no-boil Berliner Weisse that was pretty much the same procedure, except I added Orval dregs. After six months in secondary, it tasted like someone puked in a bowl of chicken broth. I was gagging as I dumped it down the basement sink. *shudder*

Can't wait to see how this turns out. A few more suggestions:
1) Start your siphon with your mouth
2) Use clear bottles
3) Stick your un-sanatized hands in the wort (post boil) a couple of times

Rent someone's two-year-old to "help you brew" because it'll be a good father-son bonding experience.

That ought to do it.

olllllo said:

I don't have a problem with what the OP is proffering, but I'm going to have to disagree stongly with the claims that you're throwing around.

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[citation needed]

Would boiling the hops separately in a little water and combining after the boil be the same effect as dry hopping?

Throw a boil over in there as well. That's always fun.

pcollins said:

Throw a boil over in there as well. That's always fun.

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Ouch. This is a science experiment not a lesson in cleaning up.

Make sure when you keg or bottle this stinky mess after fermentation that you mix it up with air nicely, too. Gotta oxygenate properly, you know.

Don't forget a soggy Cheeto in Primary.

Neat idea but what about just screwing up a few processes and not all of them? Seems like with so many "mess ups" your odds for failure are unfairly high and would in a perceived sense prove that RDWHAB is made up concept and won't magically protect your brew from any unfathomable thing(s) you can do to it.

With a few screw ups, it'll probably still turn out fine and you can say you RDWHAHB'd and everything was fine.

dzlater said:

Make sure every time you intentionally make a "mistake"
You actually drink a home brew.

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This friends is what known as an independent variable.


as ingestion of homebrew increases, occurrences of mistakes shall rise exponentially.



also, why not mix the wort with your hands?

But if the test is to see that RDWHAHB is effective, you must actually relax, not worry and have a home brew after each "mistake."

sound like an idea....
but i have to say if you mash but dont boil
this will not turn out good,
malt is full of bacteria molds and yeast
that are uneffected by a 165 mash and they will have been growing happy from the start of the mash unlike the yeast you will pitch 1 day later with no airlock
all that oxygen will let acetobacter and lactobacillus run crazy

even cave men knew you had to boil the wort.
its my contention that you can get away with just about any mistake with a proper boil and a large enough yeast starter.

there have been many batches i made were a moth or fruit fly, landed in the kettel during chilling and got dumped in to the carboy and the beer was fine , but i was pissed when i saw it floating there.

Write down everything you do wrong. In the end post a "Is My Beer Ruined" thread that reads like this.

so i made some beer yesterday and am not for sure if it will turn out i forgot to add the yeast until this morning didn't have any hops so i used tea bags was out of bleach and then used comet to sanitize but didnt rinse...............

Three words: "Hot side aeration". Make sure you get some of this.

PS: This reminds me of the dude who spit in a couple of bottles as he bottled his brew. What ever happened there? I can't find the thread.

Edit: This - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/beer-bottle-sanatitation-test-163376/index2.html

vgoreham said:

Three words: "Hot side aeration". Make sure you get some of this.

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I think you can get that from Bigfoot or the Tooth Fairy.

smizak said:

I think you can get that from Bigfoot or the Tooth Fairy.

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Exactly, a risk free addition to his list.

I like a few of the ideas here..."drop" something in the wort prior to pitching and after it's cool, then fish it out without sanitizing your hand.

Guys, this is getting way over our heads. This is a definitely a job for MYTHBUSTERS!!!!!