I messed up!

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stormywsmn

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Hey all, this is my first post. Last night I tried to brew my first batch of beer. I have kids and kept getting distracted while reading the directions. Long story short, I did not cool my wort before adding it to the carboy filled with cool water. It also splashed a little on the way down through the funnel.

So, what's the damage? Thanks in advance!
 
What you describe doesn't sound bad at all.

BUT...what was the temperature of the wort when you pitched the yeast?
 
How hot was the wort? I see a few potential problems if the wort was really hot. First, hot wort and glass carboys don't mix, even if the bottom is filled with cool water. Pouring hot wort into a glass carboy is probably in the top 2 reasons for shattering carboys. Second, while it is necessary to aerate your COLD wort prior to pitching the yeast, you want to avoid aerating hot wort (there are potential, albeit obscure, side effects). Third, if you didn't mix the hot wort and cold water, you may have thermally shocked your yeast when you pitched. Watch fermentation closely, and be ready to re-pitch your yeast if you don't see activity after 2 or 3 days.

Having said all of that, homebrew is typically a very resilient thing. I bet your beer turns out OK, regardless. Cheers!
 
Yeah, what they said about the temp before pitching. You want it near 80 degrees or so before pitching. I'm not sure how high of temp will kill the yeast, but probably not less than 90 deg F or so.

About how much cool water was there compared to about how much wort?

I guess you are lucky your carboy didn't crack (if you are even using glass).

Now, just wait a couple of days for it to begin fermenting. You can check it a few times a day just to see. Or you can be obsessive, like most of us when we first started, and check it like every half hour! :cross:

Good job for taking the plunge, and welcome to the forum! Now the hardest part--the waiting. ;)

Edit: Flyguy beat me to it.
 
phew! I was so worried. The 2.5 gal wort had just finished boiling when I put it in the glass carboy with 2 gallons of cold water. I pitched the yeast at about 79 degrees.

I read somewhere that splashing before pitching the yeast can cause oxidation and I was worried about off flavors that shocking the hot wort with cold water might cause.

Now the hard part - the waiting :cross: I have another carboy and ingredients to make a stout so I may try and tackle that this week too. Thanks guys!
 
Well, you WANT to aerate the wort before pitching. It's the only time you want air mixed into your beer.
 
No, you did it just right, it sounds like. You want to splash as much as possible, actually, to oxygenate the wort. The yeast need oxygen to achieve good metabolism. In fact, many people (myself included) use oxygenation or aeration kits to mechanically oxygenate the wort prior to pitching. So splash all you want, but make sure that the wort isn't HOT before you oxygenate/splash it around.

(Not to mention, pouring hot liquid into a cool glass carboy can result in, um, a disaster that you'd rather not have to deal with.)

You want to minimize splashing/aeration before cooling and after fermentation. Otherwise, it's all good.

Congrats on yer first brew.
 
I'm not sure how much it takes to give your beer a hot-side aeration problem.

I pour all of my HOT wort through a nylon net to catch the hops then sparge it with cold water. I've been doing this for 13+ years.

Pouring into a funnel probably aerates even les than my method.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd be more concerned with cracking the carboy and wasting that batch.

My best advice is to get a plastic primary bucket.
 
A plastic bucket with a lid came with my kit. I thought the bucket was for primary fermentation but I couldn't find any instructions that mentioned the bucket so I called the brew store. They told me the bucket was just for bottling. According to them, you only ferment in one container.

Would it be better to transfer my brew into the other carboy after a few days or go ahead and make the second batch?
 
One more thing...I didn't really know how to aerate it so I just shook it...after I added the yeast. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time, I really hope this turns out good :mug:
 
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