bad brew nite

Brewed an IPA tonite. Started out with my trusty companion but he bailed (15hr work day). I went it solo tonite. When my bud bailed that should have been an ominous sign. First sign of trouble, it began to darken outside and I began to get kamakaze bugs aiming for my boil. I covered with lid. Then my boil went over and glazed the side of my pot. *sigh*. Im good though - no worries. Here we go with all the hops. I should have bagged from the start but I figured, eh, they're just pellets - they will settle. Then I get to thinking, 6oz cascade fully absorbed with wort will take a lot of space at the bottom along with the other misc settling. A bright idea pops into my head. I will strain into the primary and catch it all there. Began to chill the wort w/ my handy-dandy wort chiller. An hour later I cant get it to go lower than 85F. Its always cooled to 70's within 30 min max. I figure the 90+ deg temp outside this evening played a roll in that. I decided to go ahead and transfer to primary and strain the hops pellets remnants there. Bad move. All that hops clogged the nylon bag preventing the wort from straining through. My dumb @$# squeezes the bag with my hands and in the process wash my hands in the wort. Great. I dump the bag in the primary and say the heck with it. Add cold water to get it to 5 1/4 gal and hoping that it will reach at least 79F. I get 85. Now the dilemma - pitch at 85 and hope the yeast gets a good start (I got it going in a starter earlier in the day) or wait for 79F and chance bacteria growth from my hand washing episode. Worst brew nite Ive ever had. Hope it turns out good. Input anyone? Starting gravity - 1.070

Ashamed,

TxT

The hops in the fermenter won't hurt anything, so don't worry about that.

I wasnt really worried about the hops in the fermenter. I just didnt want it taking up all that space as it settles. I never made an IPA before so the amount of hops I was using had me concerned that by the time all settling has occured, the level that my spigot on the fermenter is at will be under the sediment level and I will end up having to siphon. Bleh.

Thx,

TxT

yeah dude i do 10 gal aat and dont use any bags
just wirlpool and siphone
the added protein makes for a solid fermentaion

I'd say get your temp. down before pitching, unless you know your yeast strain can handle 85F without much off flavors. I think off flavors from the yeast is more likely then a bacteria infection, but it really depends on the strain. Some strains will produce bad results at 85F where as a bacteria infection is only a possibility.

I have pitched yeast at 90 F. Yeast are remarkably hardy. You haven't killed them.

the batch is ruined!! You've officially destroyed your beer.

Go ahead and wait 3 weeks ignoring any signs of fermentation (because it's not really fermenting...remember, you ruined it). Then continue and bottle as normal and mail them to my address. I'll dispose of the disgusting, vial beer that you've created.

It's not a question of killing the yeast. Heck, you can pitch at 115F and not kill the yeast. It's a question of what flavors the yeast will produce in your beer. Some strains will make a nasty beer at 85F. ( I know, I've done it.) Some strains will make a perfectly fine beer at 85F.

Ive pitched yeast at higher temp to get them a kick start and lowered the temp to more normal levels within first 12 hours. IMO the off flavors you get are during active fermentation and not initial stages. A higher starting temp will wake up the yeasties faster and get them hyped up for working up the big sweat of fermentation.

Thanks for everyone's input. I wasnt worried about killing the yeast either. My biggest concern was the possibility of bacteria from my hand washing in the wort. Since I couldn't get it chilled any lower than 85 after waiting one hour (it was getting late too - almost midnight) I decided to go ahead and double pitch. As Pivzavod pointed out, I was thinking that exact same thing. The slightly higher temp would get the guys kick started as the wort cools to the mid 70's. I guess I feel a little confident that it will turn out ok. I was just venting my bad brew night - one mistake after the next and I hadn't even had any beer that night while I was brewing. Such rookie mistakes .

This morning however, I did notice the airlock shooting off and no foul odors so far. Thanks again for chiming in. By the way, the yeast type was wyeast london ale 1028 liquid

TxT

txtaquito said:

Thanks for everyone's input. I wasnt worried about killing the yeast either. My biggest concern was the possibility of bacteria from my hand washing in the wort. Since I couldn't get it chilled any lower than 85 after waiting one hour (it was getting late too - almost midnight) I decided to go ahead and double pitch. As Pivzavod pointed out, I was thinking that exact same thing. The slightly higher temp would get the guys kick started as the wort cools to the mid 70's. I guess I feel a little confident that it will turn out ok. I was just venting my bad brew night - one mistake after the next and I hadn't even had any beer that night while I was brewing. Such rookie mistakes .

This morning however, I did notice the airlock shooting off and no foul odors so far. Thanks again for chiming in. By the way, the yeast type was wyeast london ale 1028 liquid

TxT

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I don't know how well that yeast preforms at high temperatures. If it works great, make a note of it so you'll know for next time. Same if you get bubble gum beer.

The problem I've found with pitching at high temps is that the yeast can get going so quick that much of the fermentation is done before the temperature comes down. If your using an ice bath for cooling, you can probably bring it down pretty quick, but if your just letting it air cool, it can take a while.
I've had batches finish in a couple of days when pitching at 85F. Fortunately, I was using a vary forgiving strain of yeast.

Actually, I was using the copper coil wort chiller. I usually have a batch cooled to 70's by 30 minutes MAX. This one just refused to get any cooler. At any rate, my experience now gets worse!!

This morning, I found the airlock filling with blowoff and I did not have a blowoff hose in place. It appeared to just have recently started and only a little was on top of the bucket. I went to grab my hose and had it ready to fit over the inner part of the airlock but it wouldnt slide on so I had to remove the airlock to do it. As soon as I opened the top of the airlock, I got a face full (LOL) as it bucket let off pressure. Then I pulled out the airlock and (crap) the rubber grommet fell into the wort. DoH! How nice.... This IPA will have a rainbow of flavours when its all said and done! I love when my beer tastes like hands with a hint of grommet...

TxT

brian_g said:

I don't know how well that yeast preforms at high temperatures. If it works great, make a note of it so you'll know for next time. Same if you get bubble gum beer.

The problem I've found with pitching at high temps is that the yeast can get going so quick that much of the fermentation is done before the temperature comes down. If your using an ice bath for cooling, you can probably bring it down pretty quick, but if your just letting it air cool, it can take a while.
I've had batches finish in a couple of days when pitching at 85F. Fortunately, I was using a vary forgiving strain of yeast.

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If memory serves me right, I used this same yeast for my imperial stout and they held up quite well but not at that starting temp. The wort had cooled down to 79' by the next morning and activity had just barely started and now its going nuts at 74'.

TxT

I feel for you, bad brew days happen to everyone. Hope it turns out ok for you in the end.

I use my hands to wring out my strainer bag all the time. Just dip my hands in a bucket of starsan and scrub up to my elbows. I pour through the strainer into my bucket and roll the bag around to get all the liquid out. Done it half a dozen times w/ no infection or ill effects.

johnnyc said:

I use my hands to wring out my strainer bag all the time. Just dip my hands in a bucket of starsan and scrub up to my elbows. I pour through the strainer into my bucket and roll the bag around to get all the liquid out. Done it half a dozen times w/ no infection or ill effects.

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Key word in there was sanitize. I didnt wash before handling that wort. I had earlier but I handled several things since that time that were dirty. I didnt anticipate getting my hands involved and I just acted before thinking.....

I think a good name for this batch should be "Don't Worry Be Hoppy"

TxT

Whelp, after a week dry hopping in the carboy (secondary), I noticed little white floaties on surface, suspened and on bottom of brew. I hopped in a bag so I know it wasnt from the hops. It appears to be an infection or so I assume. The beer smells fine and tastes ok I guess. I siphoned off what I could - lost about a gallon to the floaties. Now its in a tertiary conditioning in the fridge at about 45-50 deg. I did that so the cold will help any other sediment settle quickly. I sanitized the heck out of the carboy and soaked my bag about an hour in star san. Dont know where those guys came from. Time will tell I guess.....

TxT