A sad day.. I think my first batch is getting dumped...

I've thought about this quite a bit today after researching for hours... and it seems like my batch is ruined. I'm going to take a good long look at it whe. I get home, but I think I'm going to dump it. This is my first batch and I've made a few mistakes:

1. I boiled hopped extract, because the directions with my kit told me to do so

2. I stirred in yeast rather than letting it sit for 15 minutes because "How to Brew" said to do it in the beginner insructions. In a later chapter (that i read after pitching the yeast) it says to wait 15 minutes to stir just like the instructions on the yeast did.

3. Fermentation got up to 74 degrees in my first spot. I had the carboy wrapped in a blanket and a black shirt over it to block light, but didn't realize it was just a couple feet away from a vent blasting warm air. I moved the Carboy to a closet which is probably the coldest spot in our house in the winter.

4. When the fermometer read 63-64, I moved it again.... into our bedroom. It was again a few feet from a vent (farther than the first time), so I left the blanket off and only had the shirt protecting he beer. Now something smells like a skunk in my room, and it must be the beer. I thought I had used too much starsan for the amount of water when I prepared forma hydrometer test and the new solution I put in the airlock was the culprit, but researching all morning has discovered no other cases of people thinking starsan smells like this. This smell was first noticed a week after brewing.

I'm doing my best to prepare for what I'll have to do tonight, but I'm really depressed about the whole thing. I'm not getting much work done today... What a waste...

1) not a big deal, just be a lil more bitter

2) nothing wrong

3) a bit high, but depending on the yeast, may not be an issue. probably has some extra esters and maybe some fusels, nothing crazy

4) fermentation can produce some awful aromas, but they generally fade. only yhing that can skunk a beer is UV and flourescents, so its probably just sulfur which isn't an uncommon byproduct.

I see no reason to dump this unless it actually tastes skunked.

It wants to be beer so bad. Don't give up on it yet.

None of the things you mentioned above should have messed up your beer:

1) Boiling extract is fine as long as you stirred it like a crazy man. The only issue here would have been if it sit on the bottom long enough to start to burn, i.e. carmelize, the sugars.

2) Stiring in the yeast is fine, and even perferred to help oxidate the solution. I throw my yeast in and then shake the crap out of them.

3) The 74 degree fermentation is a little high, but isn't going to cause any problems that can't be fixed. Worst case, you'd have a bit of off flavors like fusel alcohols, which can be conditioned out with an extra few weeks of conditioning.

4) The skunk smell you smelled was probably carbon dioxide, which is a natural product of fermentation.

How long have you had this in your fermenter? Once it has been in there about 4 weeks, pull a sample, and if it tastes anywhere close to beer, then the batch is fine.

It is rather difficult to ruin a batch of beer. DON'T DUMP IT!!!

No dumping beer! I swear there is a sticky about this somewhere. And none of what you describe seems horribly wrong to me. You still have beer.

dcp27 said:

1) not a big deal, just be a lil more bitter

2) nothing wrong

3) a bit high, but depending on the yeast, may not be an issue. probably has some extra esters and maybe some fusels, nothing crazy

4) fermentation can produce some awful aromas, but they generally fade. only yhing that can skunk a beer is UV and flourescents, so its probably just sulfur which isn't an uncommon byproduct.

I see no reason to dump this unless it actually tastes skunked.

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Agreed on all points.

I would stop moving the carboy/fermenting bucket around. Try to keep the temp stable. But it seems to me you are making beer.

My first beer I just dumped in the dry yeast. No rehydrating. No stirring. After 24 or so hours, fermentation started that I could visibly see (was in a glass carboy) I pitched the yeast at about 80 degrees. The whole fermentation was probably a bit too warm. And it came out just fine.

RDWHAHB

I'm a total newbie.. only a few posts here and only 3 batches under my belt, but I've been reading religiously for over a month now. Your batch isn't ruined, to the best of my knowledge.. you may have some off flavors from fermenting at too high a temp originally, but the 63-64 degree room you moved it to at one point is probably perfect (depending on yeast strain). You can't go by the smell of the fermentation.... Also, from what I've read, never dumb a batch. Let it do it's thing, be patient, and RDWHAHB... Good luck!

ok so you did a few things wrong. What about the people thousands of years ago? They didn't know half the crap you did when you started and they made beer.

Don't dump it, I think you're going to get a drinkable product. It may not be "as good as it could have been" but now you know for next time. The important part is, you're learning.

One of Revvy's good posts about not dumping beer:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/blogs/revvy/time-heals-all-things-even-beer-99/

Let me see if I can't talk you down from the ledge here:

1. You don't have to boil pre-hopped extract, but doing so won't necessarily ruin your beer. I wouldn't worry too much about that, honestly.

2. This will not have a dramatic impact either way, I wouldn't worry about it.

3. If it got too hot, you'll have some off-flavors - how bad they are depends on how hot it got and for how long and what type of yeast you were using. Overall, though, it should still be perfectly drinkable beer, just not the greatest brew you've ever tasted. Maybe it will taste a little like bananas or bubblegum or something else a little weird, but most likely it won't be an overpowering thing.

4. The smell could very well just be a byproduct of your fermentation, which often smells and looks really nasty. Your yeast have released a lot of gas in the process of devouring sugars, and the process is not exactly neat and tidy. For me, every fermentation has looked and smelled a little different, but I've never caught a whiff of my airlock bubbling and thought: mmmm, yummy! The key is, after all the bubbling and foaming and what not have died down, to actually taste the luke-warm, flat beer. It should taste pretty decent, albeit flat. If that's the case, you know you're on the right track and have nothing to worry about.

My suggestion - don't dump it. Let it sit for another week or so until you start getting consistent hydrometer readings over 2-3 day periods. Then bottle it up and wait for it to carb. Crack one open after a couple of weeks - you'll have beer. Like I said, it may not be the best one you've ever tasted, but I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

One a higher level note - we've all been here before. Your first few batches are the source of endless consternation and worry. It's natural, after spending time and money on trying to do something, to want it to come out well. And it's natural, just sitting there looking at the carboy, to feel a little helpless if you think things aren't going well inside. After a few batches, you'll learn that yeast are surprisingly good at their job and that you have to do something really, monumentally stupid to make your beer utterly undrinkable. In most cases, my beer comes out a bit above average - better than most, but not an award winner by any means. Sometimes, it comes out great and I have a huge sense of accomplishment. Every time, I get a bunch of beer out of the deal, so it's really a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned. Just be patient and try not to worry.

I must add my voice to the chorus. Don't do it, man! Just let 'er ride.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I'll give it time as long as the smell doesn't get out of control. I'm sorry for freaking out. I'm sure there are countless threads like this...

A simple case of "Noobitus Hypochondritus" is a terrible thing to spill your beer over.

I took yesterday off to bottle this batch and brew up my second. The smell is completely gone and it tastes really good considering it's flat! I'm excited to see what it's like in a few weeks!

I was going to say like the others, don't give up on it. Bottle it up and set it aside to condition for a while. Time heals most things when it comes to this hobby. I thought my first beer was complete SH*T after 2 weeks in the bottle. I did a lot of the same mistakes as you did. Boiled my pre-hopped can of extract, fermented in my bedroom where it was in the low 70s. Basically, everything you described minus the star san. Even after a few weeks in the bottle it was worth dumping. 3 months later, I remember them and put them in the fridge. Opened one up after about a week in the fridge and was completely blown away. I had a buddy taste one without telling him it was the same beer we both poured out at the 2 week mark. He too was blown away and said it would compete with anything he drinks bought from the store. Morale of the story, time heals, just be patient.

justinthehull said:

I took yesterday off to bottle this batch and brew up my second. The smell is completely gone and it tastes really good considering it's flat! I'm excited to see what it's like in a few weeks!

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Oh yea, now you're talking! I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised in 3 or 4 weeks when you're kicking back, sipping on your own creation and it tastes great! Good luck with your second brew!

unionrdr said:

I just have to say it again. never boil pre-hopped extract! It first drives off the hop profile,then will start to caramelize,giving that extract twang,in the case of pre-hopped LME's particularly. Otherwise,it was curable,as you've seen.

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I do agree with this, but even when I did and had the twang, 3 months in the bottles and it is now not noticeable and VERY good beer. I'd feel comfortable with anyone drinking one of my first brews that I screwed up much like the OP

justinthehull said:

I took yesterday off to bottle this batch and brew up my second. The smell is completely gone and it tastes really good considering it's flat! I'm excited to see what it's like in a few weeks!

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One thing you need to understand is some yeasts do smell like rancid farts. Nothing you can do about it and it is totally normal. On the other hand some yeasts smell awesome while they are doing their thing. Don't EVER toss something just cause the smell coming out of the airlock is peeling paint.

Prematurely dumping a batch of homebrew is possibly the worst form of alcohol abuse that exists.

About the only way I'm going to consider dumping a batch before it's been in the keg / bottle for a couple of months is if it comes alive and tries to kill someone.

I do recall my first batch, must have been nearly 20 years ago - a prehopped kit in a can + corn sugar - and I made just about every mistake you possible could. Yep, it was pretty bad - but it was beer. Though it didn't meet my unreasonable expectations, it was still drinkable. I reminded myself that it was probably better tasting than some of the crappier beers at the supermarket.

For whatever it's worth, I'd pretty much always see it through to the end - you aren't going to learn without making some mistakes, and it's helpful to understand what mistakes taste like.

Glad to hear that you didn't dump it. Everyone has been through that scene at least once. It will go from being a major disappointment to a cool brewing story.

I don't know what kind of yeast you used, but that second spot at 63-64 degrees was probably fine. Put it back and leave the beer alone for a while - it's probably okay. Don't go by smell. All kinds of stank comes off of perfectly good beer at various stages. If you dump every batch that worries you, you'll never have any beer.

The beer turned out pretty well. Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Toldya So....It usually does.



New brewers always seem to think dumping a beer is an answer, when MOST of the time, there isn't even a problem to begin with.

justinthehull said:

I've thought about this quite a bit today after researching for hours... and it seems like my batch is ruined. I'm going to take a good long look at it whe. I get home, but I think I'm going to dump it. This is my first batch and I've made a few mistakes:

1. I boiled hopped extract, because the directions with my kit told me to do so

2. I stirred in yeast rather than letting it sit for 15 minutes because "How to Brew" said to do it in the beginner insructions. In a later chapter (that i read after pitching the yeast) it says to wait 15 minutes to stir just like the instructions on the yeast did.

3. Fermentation got up to 74 degrees in my first spot. I had the carboy wrapped in a blanket and a black shirt over it to block light, but didn't realize it was just a couple feet away from a vent blasting warm air. I moved the Carboy to a closet which is probably the coldest spot in our house in the winter.

4. When the fermometer read 63-64, I moved it again.... into our bedroom. It was again a few feet from a vent (farther than the first time), so I left the blanket off and only had the shirt protecting he beer. Now something smells like a skunk in my room, and it must be the beer. I thought I had used too much starsan for the amount of water when I prepared forma hydrometer test and the new solution I put in the airlock was the culprit, but researching all morning has discovered no other cases of people thinking starsan smells like this. This smell was first noticed a week after brewing.

I'm doing my best to prepare for what I'll have to do tonight, but I'm really depressed about the whole thing. I'm not getting much work done today... What a waste...

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Im no expert, actually im still fermenting my first batch. But no matter the out come i had fun on brew day and i will bottle my brew. If comes out tasting bad im still going to drink avsix pack. If its contaminated oh well maybe ill have a hallucinations lol. Shoot i wouldn't even mind experiencing a bottle bomb or two. J/k

Ummm I totally boiled pre-hopped LME my 2nd batch (didnt realize it was prehopped and followed the noob instructions) which was an English Amber, and after 3 weeks in primary and 3 weeks conditioned, it wasnt just good, it was great. However, those bitter notes were really prominent until about the 2 weeks in bottles mark.

Glad to hear you let it ride man, now you'll truly understand what it means to RDWHAHB.

My own two cents worth of very noob thoughts: I know how you feel; I was personally terrified after I rushed my first batch to bottle a month or so ago (despite all the veteran and not-so-veteran voices on this wonderful forum advocating patience) I had visions of exploding bottles and bad dreams about foggy, yeasty beer with sludge in it, and friends laughing at me at some future party....
But after testing a few green bottles, and noting the changes as mine have bottle conditioned, I understand that in the magical, wonderful world of beer, things sometimes DO fix themselves.
Don't dump. Relax. Maybe drink some MBC and remind yourself that, whatever you've made, it HAS to be more satisfying than that....
Also, I tend toward ales, and I ferment all of my beer thus far around 70-72 and while that requires a bit more of a cold-crash and longer conditoning time, all have turned out fine thus far...no overly fruity or eye-watering alcohol warmth.

Be of good cheer! Oh, and IMHO, take lots of good notes. It really does help you plan and succeed in the future.

Cheers and good luck.