Poured HOT wort into Fermenter. How/When to know if it's ruined?

On my third beer batch, doing an Imperial Stout, and in a rush, I totally blanked and stopped the boil and then strained the beer right into a food grade plastic bucket. It wasn't until I was cooling it in an ice bath did I realize that I needed to cool it before I moved it to the fermenter. My question is a) how badly did I just jack this up, b) when should I be able to taste it to determine if it's all jacked up with oxidation?

On a separate note, I used a yeast starter and fermentation spun up in just a few hours. Even had to move to a blow off tube.

At those temps the liquid definitely took on some stuff from the bucket. Either bad flavors and/or chemicals that probably aren't good to ingest.

I probably wouldn't be in a hurry to drink that beer or use that bucket again.

Good question, I haven't read much on hot side aeration, which I assume is your basic question, since initial aeration of the cooled wort is a good thing.

From Palmer:
"Over time, these compounds will break down, freeing atomic oxygen back into the beer where it can oxidize the alcohols and hop compounds producing off-flavors and aromas like wet cardboard or sherry-like flavors."

Based on this I would think you have a chance of off flavors until well into conditioning. Maybe it would be better to have a slow ferment in this case so that the late release of the atomic oxygen can be used up by yeast rather than totally contributing to oxidation of the wort/beer.
Wish I had more to contribute, kinda just responding to sub the thread and get educated.

IMO I would be optimistic about it. I have always been amazed at the resiliency of beer as a whole. There are some brewers that do no chill (pour wort into 212 deg food grade collapsible cubes or jerry cans and let cool naturally and beers turn out fine. Not saying I would make it a every brewday practice.... RDWHAHB

Because I had read about what things you just couldn't do or they would ruin your beer but others said that they were alright I decided to do an experimental batch doing everything wrong to see what the results would be. To make this a fair experiment I brewed the recipe first the right way as a control.

I mashed for only 30 minutes, boiled the wort for 20, poured it from as high as I could comfortably hold the pot while the wort was still boiling into my plastic fermenter pail. Then I put a sanitized lid on the pail. About 30 hours later it had cooled to pitching temperature so I dumped in a packet of dry yeast without aerating the wort and let it ferment as usual. 3 months later I can't tell any difference in the two batches. YMMV

Xpertskir said:

At those temps the liquid definitely took on some stuff from the bucket. Either bad flavors and/or chemicals that probably aren't good to ingest.

I probably wouldn't be in a hurry to drink that beer or use that bucket again.

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The one bit I forgot to mention is that I had two gallons of cool water sitting in the bucket when I poured in the wort. The thermometer went in after I poured it and it was at about 120 F. Supposedly this food grade plastic can withstand some heat, but definitely cautious. Just worried about oxidation. Hoping Stouts are forgiving...it's my first one...

RM-MN said:

Because I had read about what things you just couldn't do or they would ruin your beer but others said that they were alright I decided to do an experimental batch doing everything wrong to see what the results would be. To make this a fair experiment I brewed the recipe first the right way as a control.

I mashed for only 30 minutes, boiled the wort for 20, poured it from as high as I could comfortably hold the pot while the wort was still boiling into my plastic fermenter pail. Then I put a sanitized lid on the pail. About 30 hours later it had cooled to pitching temperature so I dumped in a packet of dry yeast without aerating the wort and let it ferment as usual. 3 months later I can't tell any difference in the two batches. YMMV

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What kind of beer? And that test was an awesome idea... Thank you for sharing. Definitely helps put this in perspective.

120? You are golden. Don't worry about a thing. Lots of brewers here use plastic mash tuns that get much higher than that during the mash/mash out/sparge. I even use an old primary bucket to collect my wort before transferring over to my kettle. As long as you cooled it before pitching your yeast, you'll be alright.

Edit: about hot side aeration, a lot of homebrewers argue it is a much bigger problem for breweries than for small scale homebrewing. There has been many debates on here about that subject. For now, RDWHAHB!

jasonerichard said:

What kind of beer? And that test was an awesome idea... Thank you for sharing. Definitely helps put this in perspective.

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I modified the recipe from an extract kit from Midwest Supplies for an Irish red because I brew all grain. My OG was a bit higher than called for because my efficiency was a bit higher than planned.

old/http://fivegallonideas.com/plastic-types-old/

RDWHAB.

as long as you didn't throw yeast into boiling liquid you will certainly turn out a good product.

Charlie Papazian pioneered the use of buckets as a mash tun. I wouldn't be too concerned. With that said I don't like the idea of any hot liquids and plastic. You just have to decide how much you care.

RM-MN said:

Because I had read about what things you just couldn't do or they would ruin your beer but others said that they were alright I decided to do an experimental batch doing everything wrong to see what the results would be. To make this a fair experiment I brewed the recipe first the right way as a control.

I mashed for only 30 minutes, boiled the wort for 20, poured it from as high as I could comfortably hold the pot while the wort was still boiling into my plastic fermenter pail. Then I put a sanitized lid on the pail. About 30 hours later it had cooled to pitching temperature so I dumped in a packet of dry yeast without aerating the wort and let it ferment as usual. 3 months later I can't tell any difference in the two batches. YMMV

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OK, that's just freaking cool! Props to you for that experiment
In my experience you can mess up pretty much anything you like and it won't matter nearly as much as temperature control and sanitation. Pitching rate is next but in my experience it's definitely in third place. I'm not saying you can't make your beer just that much better by following every best case scenario and instruction to the letter, but if you sanitize everything and control your temps you will be covering the first two of what I consider the top three rules of brewing:

1 - Clean and sanitize everything.

2 - Control your fermentation temps.

3 - Pitch the proper amount of yeast.

I wouldn't worry about a damn thing!!!

Perfect, thank you guys for the support.