Complete Newbie... obviously

OK, well I made beer for the first time last night, or at least I started the process. I used Morgan's Canadian India Pale Ale kit. Here are a few of my concerns.

1. When mixing the ingredients I used hot water heated on the stove, but nowhere near boiling. After checking out some tutorials online, almost everyone brings it to almost a boil before mixing.

2. After pitching the yeast it said to loosely fit the pail lid and let sit for 3 - 4 days (Morgan's instructions). The pail I used has a lid with 2in or so hole in the center for the plug and airlock. We left the plug and airlock out for a good couple of hours before I decided to look it up online. I realize now I should had that in there almost immediatly. Is this going to ruin my beer.

3. Immediately after pitching my idiot friend stuck an unsanitized turkey baster in the brew to get some out to check the gravity. Trust me, I was pissed.

Anyways, with just these 3 factors.. I'm wondering if it's even worth waiting for a week to see if its contaminated or if I should just start again.

I hoping some of you expert advice can point me in the right direction.

You will most likely be fine with your sanitation mistakes. It's not quite as easy as it sounds to infect your beer.....It just pays to take every precaution possible. Please punch your friend in the ribs for me.

Does your kit instructions tell you to boil? If not, then boiling isn't necessary. There are some kits that are prehopped in a can where you add sugar to them, and boiling is actually not good because it can ruin the hops flavor.

No airlock is fine for a while, as long as fruitflies and other critters didn't go into it. Air won't hurt it.

An unsanitized baster isn't great, but probably didn't do any damage. It's good to be sanitary of course, but you may skate by without any infections. Try to not to worry.

1: Yeah, you really should have boiled. I won't get in to all the many, many reasons why you should have. While you're waiting on this batch, read How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction before you start your second batch.

2: A few hours uncovered isn't the end of the world. No, that's not likely to ruin your beer.

3: You want to check the OG before you pitch yeast, not after. As you already know, you should never let anything unsanitized touch your beer post-boil.

With just one of these three things, I'd tell you that your beer will be fine and that infection is unlikely. With all three of them, I'm not so sure. I will say, even with a chance to become infected, the only way to know is to wait it out and see. There's nothing to be gained by pouring this batch out before you know what the finished product is going to taste like.

Seriously though, read the book (it's free online) in the link I posted. It should be a mandatory prerequisite for anyone who's trying to brew IMHO. Read, learn, and even if something does go wrong with this batch, you'll know how to make it better next time.

Edited: Forget #1. I wasn't thinking about prehopped extract.

Those are so minor. SO minor. You have nothing to worry about whatsoever.

1. Hotter water = easier mixing. Otherwise it doesn't matter.

2. Yeah, get the airlock on asap, but I wouldn't expect any harm done.

3. Probably the worst offense, but I've used unsanitized measuring cups to rehydrate yeast, and never an infection. The beer will be fine probably 99 our of 100 times.

If those are all your mistakes on the first batch, you had a very successful first batch.

I do not know much but i read a forum last night. It was about all the worst things that have happened during a brew and it still turn out great. I mean there was a guy who drop a phone in his fermenter, another guy stuck his whole hand in fermenter to stop a leak (and it was not sanitized). Yours sounds nothing compared to what these people went through. I wish i could find it again but i cannot. I also read the book by John Palmer it helped me out a lot on my first brew.

GodsStepBrother said:

I do not know much but i read a forum last night. It was about all the worst things that have happened during a brew and it still turn out great. I mean there was a guy who drop a phone in his fermenter, another guy stuck his whole hand in fermenter to stop a leak (and it was not sanitized). Yours sounds nothing compared to what these people went through. I wish i could find it again but i cannot. I also read the book by John Palmer it helped me out a lot on my first brew.

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Is there anyone here that has NOT done that one, for some reason or another!?

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Is there anyone here that has NOT done that one!?

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I haven't, but I did once stick a much less sanitary body part in there once.

thanks alot guys... I feel better about my brew and probably won't punch my friend in neck now

I appreciate the responses and will be sure to let you guys know how it turns out.

It's my plan to do this for the rest of my life, so expect more stupid questions to come.

Thanks again guys

w1nk5 said:

thanks alot guys... I feel better about my brew and probably won't punch my friend in neck now

I appreciate the responses and will be sure to let you guys know how it turns out.

It's my plan to do this for the rest of my life, so expect more stupid questions to come.

Thanks again guys

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You're welcome! Take a look around, and check out the various recipes we have (even for beginners) in the recipe database.

There are many types of kits, from the kind in a can you don't boil, kits you boil and hops to, and then partial mash kits. My favorite kits have come from online homebrew stores, like Midwest, Northernbrewer, and Austinhomebrew. They are "real" stores, but have great online customer service. For just about an hour more of your time, you can make a clone of just about any beer you can think of, in any style.

Let us know if you have questions!

(And, by the way, some of us aren't "guys"!)

YooperBrew said:

(And, by the way, some of us aren't "guys"!)

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Between your new avatar, and your new user title, it's an easy mistake to make.

llazy_llama said:

Between your new avatar, and your new user title, it's an easy mistake to make.

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Yeah, Yooper is confusing my own sexuality with her ambiguity .:cross:

llazy_llama said:

Between your new avatar, and your new user title, it's an easy mistake to make.

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But, wasn't it you who mentioned that I'm the "Red Green" of homebrewing? Or one of my other imaginary friends.

YooperBrew said:

But, wasn't it you who mentioned that I'm the "Red Green" of homebrewing? Or one of my other imaginary friends.

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That wasn't me. You are mistaken sir.

Alright- sorry we "stole" your thread, w1nk5. That's against the rules around here, so I either have to add some helpful information or ban myself.

Read, Read, Read......and this is a good place to start reading: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Introduction

That's one of my favorite pieces of reference material. I still read it and refer to it all of the time (I have the "real" book) Also, ask any questions you want to- there really aren't any dumb questions so feel free to ask. We have a wiki (see above in the header for the link) and that's also very helpful.

Welcome to HBT!

Just call it Canadian Turkey Pale Ale and I second the punch in the ribs for the friend.