30 seconds from disaster

Last night, I brewed my second batch, a red ale. I did everything right. Cooled the wort, got it in my fermenter, put it in my spare bedroom, and covered it w/ a jacket to keep the light away. Went back into the kitchen to clean up. When I was drying my kettle, ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! There's an unopened pouch of yeast sitting on my counter!!!!!!

So, now I'm running around like a chicken w/ my head cut off and a yeast pouch in my hand. I run down to the fermenter, cut the pouch open, pop the top of the fermenter, and pour the yeast in. ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Forgot to shake up the pouch before opening, most of the yeast is still in the pouch. Run back to the kitchen, find a room temperature bottle of spring water, pour a little in, run back down to the spare bedroom, shake the pouch, and pour the yeast back in.

This morning, it's bubbling away. We'll see in a couple of weeks if there is any damage done. I don't think so, but we'll see.

Well, at least I got one screw up out of the way. I'm sure there will be more to come, but I bet they won't be forgetting the yeast. I'll probably double and triple check that and forget something else. But that's all part of learning.

RDWHAHB!!!!

Everybody who has forgotten to pitch yeast before closing up the fermenter, raise your hands!






(sheepishly raising mine....)

Sounds like it's fine. Nice save - just think, if you'd forgotten and left it in the fridge, you probably wouldn't have noticed until you wondered why it wasn't bubbling after three days...

I'm just getting all my mistakes out of the way before I open up my microbrewery, then macrobrewery, then overtake Anheiser Busch as KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!! (in my best mad scientist voice) AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Don't feel bad, that's not as messed up as bottling the brew with caps and all and then realizing that I forgot to add the corn sugar......

Add me to that list X2
Leo

I'm too freaked out about pitching in general to ever forget the yeast, but that seems like a really REALLY minor error. It's not like you forgot to add malt and/or hops, or broke a thermometer in your wort, or let a dead animal fall into it. You'll be golden!

Torchiest said:

It's not like you forgot to add malt ...

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Did that.

There's a thread on it.

Too emabarassed to find the link.

Wow, I bet that was a REALLY slow fermentation! :fro:

olllllo said:

Did that.

There's a thread on it.

Too emabarassed to find the link.

Click to expand...

Here you go...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13759

You're welcome





(ain't I a *****?)

My most recent bone-headed move was trying to cool the wort without turning off the propane burner...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20753

Its really not too big of a deal. The only thing I would worry about is the spring water that you used - did you boil that first to sanitize it?

Again, I wouldn't worry too much overall - sounds like a fairly minor problem. I was talking to a very experienced home brewer who actually lets his beer cool overnight before he pitches. That's definitely not for me, but it goes to show that you can do all sorts of interesting things and still have your beer turn out right.

the_bird said:

Here you go...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13759

You're welcome

(ain't I a *****?)

Click to expand...

You're a peach.

the_bird said:

Everybody who has forgotten to pitch yeast before closing up the fermenter, raise your hands!

Click to expand...

Right here even a couple times!

One time during the boil, my assistant decided that my wort needed a little sanitizer...the beer turned out great though!

OneStep for life!

In my extract days, we put a plastic bag of LME in the pot while the grains were steeping to help it pour out better. Took the grains out. Turned the burner back out. Left plastic bag in.

The corner of the bag melted away, and little bits of plastic rose to the surface later in the boil. Turned out great though... Low Expectations Pale Ale.

In my experience... it takes more than you'd think to completely ruin a batch.

(other than tossing in a bowlful of mint leaves)

Don't feel too bad, I've added the yeast pouch and all before! Dropped the hop baggy in there too more than once. The beer's hasn't spoiled yet after fishing out the foreign object with sanitized arm...

Most of us aren't members of MENSA and have had our share of mistakes. Best thing is to learn to relax and take everything in stride.

boo boo said:

Most of us aren't members of MENSA and have had our share of mistakes. Best thing is to learn to relax and take everything in stride.

Click to expand...

Being a member of MENSA doesn't mean that I'm not a bit dim-witted at times. Think absent minded professor..........with no math skills.

Let's see- I've dropped the only bung that fit that carboy into the carboy full of wort, siphoned 7 gallons of beer into a 5.5 gallon carboy, started a siphon and turned my back for only a moment and shot streams of beer throughout my kitchen, had sanitizer in the tubing suck back into the beer, had an airlock plug up and make a huge mess, broke a 3 gallon glass carboy, burned myself with hot wort trying to cool it, etc. And, forgot the yeast. Usually, it involves major clean up duty when I'm done. No worries- RDWHAHB.