How Much Trouble Am I In?

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stewart194

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I was brewing a batch of beer today and everything was going along great...until it came time to cool the wort with my wort chiller. I tightened the water hose connection a little too tight and it broke off. I didn't have a way to fix it, nor was I able to go fetch ice....so I just had to let it sit and cool on it's own.

It took 5 hours to get down to 100, then I transferred it to my glass carboy and put it in the swamp cooler.

How much trouble am I in? I know the beer won't be clear, but I'm not worried about that. I had the lid on my brew kettle the whole time and am hoping I don't get an infection. I'm also worried about DMS and the off flavors that is causes. I read it's more of an issue with a beer with Pilsner Malt, but this is a simple Wheat beer with 2-row and White Wheat.

What do you think? What are the odds that I'll get a beer that tastes like creamed corn?

Thanks!
 
My guess is that the beer will clear nicely (as much as any wheat beer) and you will have a very good one. There are a lot of brewers who do no chill - let it cool over night then pitch.
 
"It took 5 hours to get down to 100, then I transferred it to my glass carboy and put it in the swamp cooler."

Next time bring it inside, have your wife sit there and stir it while you go to the store for some ice.
 
I've used the kitchen sink before filled with ice. Got the stink eye from the SWMBO and some decent beer.

I think you'll most likely be ok, worse has been done before. But what's done is done, let's see what comes out! Report back to the collective will you?
 
"It took 5 hours to get down to 100, then I transferred it to my glass carboy and put it in the swamp cooler."

Next time bring it inside, have your wife sit there and stir it while you go to the store for some ice.

Ha! I tell her you said that! Seriously though, she would have probably done that, or went after ice for me while I stirred, but she was out of town. My son was napping and I just didn't think it would take that long to cool down. I have a converted keg as a brew kettle with the ball valve sticking out of the side, and I don't think it would fit in my swamp cooler. If that happens again, I will find a way to get some ice and find a container that my brew kettle will fit in. Actually, I could have transferred the beer into my old 7.5 gallon turkey fryer kettle and put that into the swamp cooler container. Oh well, live and learn.
 
My guess is that the beer will clear nicely (as much as any wheat beer) and you will have a very good one. There are a lot of brewers who do no chill - let it cool over night then pitch.

Thanks! I hope so! Time will tell...
 
I've used the kitchen sink before filled with ice. Got the stink eye from the SWMBO and some decent beer.

I think you'll most likely be ok, worse has been done before. But what's done is done, let's see what comes out! Report back to the collective will you?

My wife is actually pretty cool with it. I usually wake up and start at 5:00am and am done by 11:00 so the day isn't totally taken up. This Wheat beer was for her also, so she better be cool with it! Haha.
 
I checked it out this morning. No sign of infection yet. I did smell a distinct smell of vegetables / corn though. Not bad but definitely there. I aerated and pitched the yeast, so now I wait.

I will definitely reply to this though and let you guys know how it turns out. In the meantime, I'm going to beef up the connections on my wort chiller and make sure that never happens again.
 
>>>"How Much Trouble Am I In?"<<<

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Actually, I've been in the same boat as you and mine turned out good enough that the beer bums wanted it, and gave it good ratings.

You should be fine, it might not be the best you brew, but it should still be good brew.

pb

P.S. You might want to age it longer though.
 
>>>"How Much Trouble Am I In?"<<<

1sz-UEqmN_NfaF7AeZcnWeRaMLzGie43bf7bGoeZfpk=w265-h264-p-no


Actually, I've been in the same boat as you and mine turned out good enough that the beer bums wanted it, and gave it good ratings.

You should be fine, it might not be the best you brew, but it should still be good brew.

pb

P.S. You might want to age it longer though.

Haha! Awesome! That's how I felt during the whole debacle. Oh well. Time will tell. I might try the beer while it's green just to see how it's going, but I'll definitely let it age as long as it takes. Glad to hear your beer turned out OK. Thanks for the reply!
 
I told everyone I would report back, so I am. I bottled this beer a few weeks ago and it turned out fine. When I bottled it and tasted the flat beer, there was no vegetable taste or smell whatsoever. It's still a little green obviously, but after almost 2 weeks carbing up in bottles, it tastes great! I will try my best not to let this happen again, but it's good to know that if it does it doesn't automatically mean that my beer is ruined. Thanks again to everyone who replied!
 
Glad to hear it turned out well! For the future, the DMS is driven off during the boil, so covering it post-boil shouldn't cause any issues with the corn flavor.
 
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