Did she screw it?

Last night I brewed an extract American IPA. I was going to use a copper coil heat exchanger, but it sprung a leak, so I had to go the ol' ice bath route in the kitchen sink. My wife accidentally spilled about 1 to 2 oz. of tap water into the cooling wort when it was at about 135F.

I went ahead with the batch as planned, and this morning, I have decent (expected) activity in the blow off.

Question: Did she screw it? I know it's possible to use pure tap water and not screw it up (with bacteria), and it's possible to be extremely careful and sanitary and still screw it up, but what are my chances? Also, what should I look for to tell me whether the batch is hosed? Will a taste test when racking to secondary be good enough to decide? Should I simply stick my nose over the blow off in a day or 2 and see what smell is coming out?

I want to follow RDWHAHB, but I also don't want to put up with a CLEARLY screwed up batch.

Thanks!

There's no 'puting up with' it. Let it sit and see what it looks like in a couple weeks. Take it and go from there. It's not like you have to do anything with it.
And it will 99% be fine

I think it's highly unlikely that the tap water will mess up your beer.

I've brewed partial-boil batches where I put gallons of tap water into the cooled wort! Came out just fine.

it will be fine ... people use tap water to top off all the time. If it city water its treated even if it's well water you can drink it can't you .

I always top off with tap water--it helps cool the wort and I don't have the kettle capacity to do a full boil. I've done 3 batches now and no problems.

Yeah, I'm actually a little suspect of our water, so we normally go through the Brita or buy water from the store.

Still, I'll let it be and see what happens.

Irregular, sure, there's "putting up with it." If it's funky and infected, letting it go 2 or 3 weeks past that point keeps me from doing another batch, right?

If it IS infected, what will I see when I go to rack to secondary? White stuff floating on top? I've never had an infected batch...

Make 2 fists and ask her, head or stomach.

Yeah, I'll let you know how that goes...

Yeah,
Like JC said:

I've brewed partial-boil batches where I put gallons of tap water into the cooled wort! Came out just fine.

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Me too. As a matter of fact, years ago, we went to the store and bought ice and dumped it directly into the wort. Will it affect the taste of your beer? Probably. Is your palate "educated" enough to know the difference? Possibly. Mine probably isn't. Don't worry, you'll enjoy it. Also, if you don't let SWMBO know you can milk it for all it's worth(J/K). - Dwain

From the title of this thread, I am severely disappointed with it's content.

Like I said, I'm not too worried, but I don't want to let this thing sit for weeks after it's obviously screwed.

So, what are the signs to look for?

Also, what's SWMBO?

Found it: She Who Must Be Obeyed

OOP, Wildwest beat me to it!

Irregular, sure, there's "putting up with it." If it's funky and infected, letting it go 2 or 3 weeks past that point keeps me from doing another batch, right?

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No, now's a good time to buy that second fermenter and secondary fermenter so you can get the pipeline full.

If it IS infected, what will I see when I go to rack to secondary? White stuff floating on top? I've never had an infected batch

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You'll notice a smell and you can also give it a taste, you'll know. Remember, no pathogens can live in beer so it won't kill you. Let us know how it turns out - Dwain

Dwain,

I've already got a full pipeline. 2 full lines going at once with no room to add more (yet).

Geez, why does everyone assume I'm an idiot and can't possibly know that I really don't want a funky batch hanging around unnecessarily for a few weeks? Sorry to vent, but it's frustrating to ask a question and get 30 answers unrelated to the question.

What I'd like to know is the following:
1. What are the chances that a small amount of bad water screws up a batch?
2. If a batch is screwed up, what signs, sight and smell, indicate it?

Thanks!

1. Very small - the amount of bacteria in municipal water supplies is just this side of none and you only added a couple of ounces.

2. This is where the wait and see happens. The chances for infections go down if your yeast gets a good foot hold and can get some alcohol in there. Some infection are quick forming and others are slow. Some ruin beer, others are slight in their presence. Since the rate and appearance of a fermentation can vary it is really hard to describe an infection because some look like an abnormal fermentation.

But it's pretty obvious by the time racking to secondary rolls around? I mean, I've heard that if a beer's infected, it's so bad that you can't even drink it. True?

Like everyone said, you are probably safe. Even still though, when I top off I boil the water first, I would hate for my top off water to cause an infection. I have however topped off with cold tap water before just because I was being lazy, never had an infection.

MBM30075 said:

Yeah, I'm actually a little suspect of our water, so we normally go through the Brita or buy water from the store.

Still, I'll let it be and see what happens.

Irregular, sure, there's "putting up with it." If it's funky and infected, letting it go 2 or 3 weeks past that point keeps me from doing another batch, right?

If it IS infected, what will I see when I go to rack to secondary? White stuff floating on top? I've never had an infected batch...

Click to expand...

MBM30075 said:

Dwain,

I've already got a full pipeline. 2 full lines going at once with no room to add more (yet).

Geez, why does everyone assume I'm an idiot and can't possibly know that I really don't want a funky batch hanging around unnecessarily for a few weeks? Sorry to vent, but it's frustrating to ask a question and get 30 answers unrelated to the question.

What I'd like to know is the following:
1. What are the chances that a small amount of bad water screws up a batch?
2. If a batch is screwed up, what signs, sight and smell, indicate it?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Relax even if your water is suspect a Britta filter doesn't filter out bacteria ,chlorine and heavy metals yes . And 1-2 oz of water isn't going to do a thing to the beer.

MBM30075 said:

1. What are the chances that a small amount of bad water screws up a batch?

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Nil to improbable.

2. If a batch is screwed up, what signs, sight and smell, indicate it?

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Mold or bacterial growth on the surface are a good indicator.



You should be fine. RDWHAHB!

Dude,

Geez, why does everyone assume I'm an idiot and can't possibly know that I really don't want a funky batch hanging around unnecessarily for a few weeks? Sorry to vent, but it's frustrating to ask a question and get 30 answers unrelated to the question.

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Think that's a tad harsh? I don't think anyone thought you were an idiot. From your question and your profile, I presumed that you were relatively new to this. The first four answers said not to worry about it. As far as smart a$$ed comments, there almost always in good humor. I'm sorry if I offended you, that was not my intent. - Dwain

Whenever I brew a bad beer, I always blame it on my wife.

I've screwed up royally on two occasions extract brewing. I missed gravity and post boil volume. (hind sight tells me that I just didn't start with enough water). Anyway, I topped up both times with about a gallon of water straight from the tap and it had no ill effects.

I always used tap water for top off water now that I think about it. Granted I only did two extract batches. But they were fine.