DOH! Forgot to clean new wort chiller...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

mfaulkner07

New Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Fayetteville
Well I finally got a wort chiller and now am wondering if I screwed my first batch with it.
Typical me being dumb and not reading the directions I hooked her up and plopped in the wort with 5-10 minutes left of boil. I had about 2 gallons of wort left at this point.
Worked like a charm...afterwards I did notice a mild sheen on the wort, then of course went back and read where and how I should have cleaned the wort chiller.
Any chance I ruined my wort? Or will poison myself/others?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
 
mfaulkner07 said:
Well I finally got a wort chiller and now am wondering if I screwed my first batch with it.
Typical me being dumb and not reading the directions I hooked her up and plopped in the wort with 5-10 minutes left of boil. I had about 2 gallons of wort left at this point.
Worked like a charm...afterwards I did notice a mild sheen on the wort, then of course went back and read where and how I should have cleaned the wort chiller.
Any chance I ruined my wort? Or will poison myself/others?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

There may be some oil residue left on the chiller from the manufacturer; which may explain the sheen in your wort.

Regardless the amount in there was likely minimal. Let it ferment out and taste it before bottling.
 
It's not going to hurt much. You might have a weird taste in your beer if there was something on the chiller from the manufacturer. But if your asking about bacterial infections, the whole reason you place your chiller in the wort 5-10 mins before flame out is to kill everything on the chiller. You sanitized it so your good to go.
 
After primary fermentation settles out, if you are still worried about the sheen, you can try racking to a secondary. If you do it gently with a siphon and sacrifice and inch or so of volume, you should be able to leave the sheen behind. It is likely from a very thin coating of oil or similar organic substance to protect the copper from corrosion / verdigris formation during storage.
 
Thanks for the replies! Great stuff,
I can now sleep easier tonight...
Will try to siphon off as suggested going to secondary.

Thanks again!
 

Similar threads

S
Cleaning Counterflow Chiller?
Replies
6
Views
2K
Tom R
Tom R
WortMonger
E-volution, yep I went electric... mostly!
Replies
19
Views
2K
WortMonger
WortMonger
B
Beer Turned Out Bitter & Sour
Replies
24
Views
2K
hottpeper13
H
M
HERMS Step Mashing
Replies
8
Views
2K
Surfmase
S
Deadalus
American Chestnut Keezer with Iron Pipe Tower
Replies
1
Views
785
Deadalus
Deadalus

Latest posts

Back
Top