Hi, i wanted to ask the pros around here for an opinion.
I went ahead with an amber ale for a first time malt extract brew and the boil went well. I think its important to note that i had an especially large kettle so i did a full 5 gallon boil off the bat. It did take me a few hours to chill the wort to acceptable pitching level and up until that point i was conducting things pretty well with regards to sanitation.
Then came the transfer to the primary, i tried to funnel it all through with the screen and eventually i got to the last inch or so which kept clogging the funnel and i ultimately started to panic with regards to sanitation as the funnel kept falling in (which i had to keep touching) and i was getting sloppy. I didnt realize at that point i couldve just dumped the final inch with all the trub into the primary, but again, i panicked and just got rid of the last inch altogether. The primary was up to 4 gallons and I ended up having to fill the final gallon with water to get it to 5 gallons.
In addition when i was doing the boil, after i poured in all of the LME, the bottle seemed empty but apparently after letting it sit and sap down the sides, there was probably a half of a cup left over that didnt get used. Couldve been less, it didnt seem like a ton at the time.
Ok, take all of that in combination and thats where i am right now, one day later the primary's airlock is bubbling away so I assume fermenting is proceeding at a decent clip but im wondering about the ABV and possible contamination and overall flavor. Any ideas?
I went ahead with an amber ale for a first time malt extract brew and the boil went well. I think its important to note that i had an especially large kettle so i did a full 5 gallon boil off the bat. It did take me a few hours to chill the wort to acceptable pitching level and up until that point i was conducting things pretty well with regards to sanitation.
Then came the transfer to the primary, i tried to funnel it all through with the screen and eventually i got to the last inch or so which kept clogging the funnel and i ultimately started to panic with regards to sanitation as the funnel kept falling in (which i had to keep touching) and i was getting sloppy. I didnt realize at that point i couldve just dumped the final inch with all the trub into the primary, but again, i panicked and just got rid of the last inch altogether. The primary was up to 4 gallons and I ended up having to fill the final gallon with water to get it to 5 gallons.
In addition when i was doing the boil, after i poured in all of the LME, the bottle seemed empty but apparently after letting it sit and sap down the sides, there was probably a half of a cup left over that didnt get used. Couldve been less, it didnt seem like a ton at the time.
Ok, take all of that in combination and thats where i am right now, one day later the primary's airlock is bubbling away so I assume fermenting is proceeding at a decent clip but im wondering about the ABV and possible contamination and overall flavor. Any ideas?