1st All-Grain - Disaster?

Urk. Yesterday I brewed my first all-grain beer, and I was all proud of how my home-made mash/lauter tin worked and marveling at how wonderful it smelled, and after I finished the boil and cooled the wort and poured it into the fermenter, I noticed something strange in the bottom of my brewing pot.

Little shards of glass and chunks of iron. The bottom of my floating thermometer had broken at some point during the process, and I hadn't noticed.

The glass I know will sink to the bottom of the fermenter, and if I'm willing to lose the last gallon or so, it should be safe to rack. But what about the iron bits? I'm sure there are a few tiny fragments of iron that got into the fermenter as well. Are they going to destroy the beer? Should I just pour out the whole batch and chalk it up to experience? Or is it safe to allow it to ferment, as long as I'm careful with the racking?

The part of the thermometer that holds the mercury was still intact, btw.

Anyone know what to do? I hate to lose all the work and care that went into this batch, but I don't want anyone getting sick either.

Oh, and it took much longer than usual to start bubbling, and is proceeding slower than usual as well.

Have I ruined this batch?

ME: let it ferment out, then pour through a paint strainer before bottling and call it good. Yes, it will oxygenate it (not too good). Whatever. I am not going to chuck a first AG EVER! But I am a bit loose on the whole sensitive thing.

What I would do is let it ferment, rack to a clear secondary and leave an inch or two of beer at the bottom of the primary (so hopefully nothing gets sucked up, yes you will waste some beer, but oh well) and leave it in the secondary only for a day or so, so you can physically see if there is anything still in it, then bottle/keg.

I personally would dump it. Just not worth the risk of picking up a random glass shard on accident. Can't imagine it would be too fun digesting that.

Mercury poisoning?

Actually, do modern thermometers use mercury?

Is the mercury still intact? If not, is the small amount enough to dump it?

VB

EDIT: duh...read the post....i am dumb....carry on.

everything that has broken off into the beer will sink to the bottom. I would NOT dump it, if it were mine. Racking off the top after fermentation and leaving an inch or two at the bottom should allow you to be pretty safe that everything broken off would not be in the beer.

I'm on the fence with this one. I personally think if I were in your shoes, I would dump it and start over. Take a mulligan, so to speak. It's easier said than done, though - I haven't been in that position! You'll probably be fine with keeping the 1-2 inches at racking time but is it really worth the gamble? Glass is no joke going down the hatch... It's really your call - you've seen both sides here.

I did the same thing last night with my first all-grain batch. Luckily I autosiphoned it from the stock pot to my fermenting vessel, so all of the beads stayed at the bottom.

My advice for you and my next time: buy a better thermometer.

+1 to the paint strainer. Anything that gets past it would be way too small to do any harm. As for the mercury issue, I believe it isn't being used all that much anymore. If you just recently bought it, go back and find another one exactlly the same and see if it used mercury or not. Also, this is one of the reasons I use metal thermometers, and don't leave ANYTHING in the tun while I'm brewing.

Are you seriously more worried about the iron than the glass? How will you know for sure you got every last bit of glass? Any bit of powdered glass will not be filtered out with a paint strainer. Yes, powdered glass is dangerous. Are you willing to risk your health or the health of you friends?

Please give proof that powdered glass (size that could pass a paint strainer) is dangerous. I am not trolling but genuinely interested
Thanks
PS mercury thermometers ( silver liquid metal inside) should have no home with the homebrewer.

Actually, do modern thermometers use mercury?

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If the color of the liquid is red it is not mercury. I believe red ones are called Alcohol Thermometers. Who knows what type of alcohol.

Unless your floating thermometer is 10 years old (or you specifically ordered a mercury thermometer), then it's not mercury, but ethanol.

Bottom line, continue as normal.

I'm not going to look this up. If anyone wants to believe that ingesting even the smallest bit of glass doesn't have the potential for serious harm, go ahead.

itsme6582 said:

I'm not going to look this up. If anyone wants to believe that ingesting even the smallest bit of glass doesn't have the potential for serious harm, go ahead.

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I don't think anybody will argue that.

But glass sinks.

All the OP has to do is be careful not to suck from the bottom of the fermenter when racking and leave the last 1" or so of beer on top of the yeast to be extra careful.

When your thermometer breaks, you can poor out your 5g of beer. But there's no need.

I'm sorry to say, but my 2 pennies would say dump it.

Sure, it sucks, but its well worth the peace of mind if you dump it vs. the risk of injuring yourself / someone if something freakish happens.

Chalk it up to a learning experience. I know we've all had one in the world of homebrewing.

I think the best thing for you to do, if you want to keep this batch, is to auto siphon it through a coffee filter or two. It will take time to do that but that will catch even the smallest piece of glass.

Yeah this is a tough one...sounds like people have done it before without ill effect, but there is always the potential for a freak accident. Go with your gut...if you don't dump it, just be sure to be super careful not to stir things up when moving your fermenter before racking...you might want to consider moving it and letting sit a day or so to settle.

no way would I chance it .. I would dump it .. you said the whole process went really well so you can do it again !!! .. don't chance this .. I am a Noob tho (4 beers in) so take that into account when you listen to what I am saying .. good luck ... I just did my first all grain too 3 days ago .. cheers !!!

Toss it, and make a new one.

what if he rubber banded or zip tied a piece of cheese cloth over the bottom of his racking cane?

I'm getting a digital thermometer before my next batch.

let a few inches in the bottom go and stop using those crappy floating thermometers.. I killed a starter with one once.. I redid it but sad to hear a whole batch is at risk.

since the mercury is in tact the only real worry is glass. The iron won't hurt anything too bad and it will easily stay at the bottom when you rack. The glass is another story. I would be very cautious on that front. Go with the paint strainer or attach a hop bag to the end of your hose when you rack to be safe.. and leave a few inches of beer at the bottom... maybe even a good gallon. Glass will rip through your insides like nobody's business. Beer just isn't worth that risk.

I wouldn't share this batch around. And drink it quick so it doesn't oxidize too terribly and taste horrible.

I might be odd but I won't take any chances on safety when I give beer to others. Any risk of glass = no sharing. The only person I can risk with something like that is me.

I might be odd but I won't take any chances on safety when I give beer to others. Any risk of glass = no sharing. The only person I can risk with something like that is me.[/QUOTE]

I understand that point, but listen to what you just said .. don't even risk injury with yourself .. just dump it and brew again ... it's just not worth it IMO

A glass thermometer broke in your beer. Powedered glass is in something that you will drink.

What does common sense dictates ?

when your primary is done after 4 weeks, move it to a cold place and cold crash it. after 2 days put a paint strainer bag in the bottom of your bottling bucket and carefully siphon from primary into bottling bucket making sure not to touch the trub on the bottom. the glass is going to settle out with everything else. you just need to be very careful and patient while racking. I doubt a very small amount of powdered glass would hurt you anyway.

jfr1111 said:

A glass thermometer broke in your beer. Powedered glass is in something that you will drink.

What does common sense dictates ?

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Common sense dictates that:
1) fragments of thermometer glass shall be either larger than the pores of a paint strainer bag or so small as to be inert in the bowel and not pose a perforation risk.
2) "red" alcohol thermometers are filled with an organic compound that is non toxic and even beyond the range of detection in 5 gal of beer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_thermometer
3) any amount of mercury in contact with a foodstuff makes it unfit for human consumption
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)#Toxicity_and_safety

Snopes says powdered glass won't hurt you. Various science sites agree.

I'm inclined to go with a filter that will catch any fragments large enough to do harm - possibly a drip coffee filter. Anything that gets through that will be small enough to be harmless.

I'll update this thread after racking.

ok .. so it looks like you are going to go ahead and drink it .. so here's one last thing I would do if I drank some of it .. I would even pour the final product into my glass through a coffee filter ... after all that filtering I really think it probably would be ok if you are sure powdered glass is cool .. good luck and cheers !!

Personally I would worry more about what the iron bits will do than the glass. And those thermometers are NOT mercury.

If I did this, I would rack to secondary thru a filter, and then thru another filter at bottling/kegging.

itsme6582 said:

I'm not going to look this up. If anyone wants to believe that ingesting even the smallest bit of glass doesn't have the potential for serious harm, go ahead.

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Glass is inert so it certainly wont poison you. Injuries from ingesting sharp glass shards are urban legends, not true medical case reports. If you filter the beer there is zero risk of harm from the glass, if you don't filter it there is really little to no risk as long as you siphon and decant it as usual. Exen if a small piece got in your glass it will sink. If somehow a piece finally got in your mouth you would notice it since your tongue and mouth is extremely sensitive to changes in texture, shape. If somehow after all this you swallowed a piece, it would almost certainly pass through you with no damage at all.

This is a definite RDWHAHB moment.

Another vote for keep it, rack carefully through a paint straining bag (as has been suggested). You routinely come in contact with "powdered glass" and other much more harmful bits in your drinking water i would wager. The particulates in this case will be so small the risk is nonexistent, besides, any of the residual magic fairy dust glass should settle out to the bottom of the bottles (if bottled) and your beer should be poured off the top, leaving it with the yeast. life's too short to be worried about hypothetical glass dust and it's ability to lacerate your innards. (my .02)

Has nobody here ever drank from a chipped beer bottle or mug??? I like the taste of a little glass in my beer!

Did the same thing and I am still alive.

When I did it, I just moved to a secondary (which I normally don't out of laziness) and then moved to a different container to bottle. Each time leaving a bit extra in the bottom. The glass and other crap will sink so it didn't get moved. I also made sure that before moving any liquids I let it sit for at least a good 20-30 minutes to make sure everything settled.