Brewing myths

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rewster452

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I love Mythbusters on Discovery. It's pretty much my favorite show and my dream job would be to work there.

I've been trying to think of myths they could test that relate to brewing, but the best I can come up with is bottle bombs, and its kind of lame.

Anybody got anything good?
 
bottle bombs aren't a myth though. i've never had them, but i've seen pictures!
 
you could do your own experiment. bottle right after you pitch the yeast, then hold the bottle close to your head to see if you can hear it working.:D
 
i do agree though. myth busters is a sweet show and i wold like to see a beer myths episode. they did have one about the fastest way to chill a beer, it was pretty cool. i would like to see more.
 
They also did a great one where they chilled a beer almost to the point of freezing and then clunked the bottom of the glass bottle on a hard surface and made ice crystals instantly create a chain reaction, turning the whole beer to ice.

That was great on both scientific and entertainment levels, which is kind of the show's genius.

What about a keg explosion? Is there a myth about that? And if there isn't, can we create one now? Would it be possible to keg a beer prematurely, while the yeast is active, and explode a keg? Sanke or corny.
 
yeah, the instant freeze thing was cool.

if there isn't one we can certainly create one now. we just have to start telling people that our kegs exploded from premature racking. i'm sure they could explode, but i don't know at what pressure. and i don't know what kind of pressure yeast would create before they pooped out, or if the keg would leak before it exploded. i'm curious now. we could send it in and see what they say
 
Some suggestions:

1. Does secondary fermentation improve beer?
2. Does leaving beer on yeast for prolonged periods have dire consequences for the beer?
3. Does beer get you drunk or is it just a coincidence?
 
Thing is, I kinda think I saw them do an exploding keg too, where they put a mostly empty keg on a fire. But realistically those things are built to withstand a lot of pressure. Yeast couldn't do it.

Let's think outside the box. I think we can create a genuinely good myth that would be fun to test and see on the show. I'd like to see this thread stay alive long enough for someone to think of something good, and to that end, I'll point out the elements I'm playing with in my head:

Propane burners, boiling hot sugar/water syrups, carboy bombs, unattended boils...

All that has to be done is we think of a plausible story, like "I walked away from a boil and the hot liquid boiled over and melted the line from the propane tank to the burner, it spewed out propane, which caught fire and turned into a flame thrower... etc.
 
Some suggestions:

1. Does secondary fermentation improve beer?
2. Does leaving beer on yeast for prolonged periods have dire consequences for the beer?
3. Does beer get you drunk or is it just a coincidence?

Those are great questions for hbt, but only the last one has entertainment value.

But the last one DOES have entertainment value.
 
Propane burners, boiling hot sugar/water syrups, carboy bombs, unattended boils...
Are you sure you're shooting for Mythbusters? Those sound more like props for the Darwin Awards. :eek:

And bottle bombs aren't a myth...I've been close enough to a couple to hear them blow...tho I suppose that could have been gremlins busting them then disappearing before I turned around.
 
they did bottle bombs, kinda. they did one with a wine truck that caught on fire and shot corks such and such a distance and were supposed to sound like a machine gun and so on. not exactly the same, but it was kinda cool.
 
Some suggestions:

1. Does secondary fermentation improve beer?
2. Does leaving beer on yeast for prolonged periods have dire consequences for the beer?
3. Does beer get you drunk or is it just a coincidence?

My thoughts exactly @ numbers 1 & 2.

BTW, bottle bombs are no myth. A friend of mine had half of a batch pop on him.
 
3. Does beer get you drunk or is it just a coincidence?

They did one on "Beer Goggles," though - does that count? Adam, Jamie, and Kari got drunk in an empty bar and they each basically went on "Hot Or Not?" as they became progressively more loaded.

EDIT:

 
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Exploding kegs are rare, but not a myth... A few folks have been killed by them through the years. Yeast produce a LOT of gas during fermentation. I think it is conceivable that an un-vented keg fermenter could explode.
 
Exploding kegs are rare, but not a myth... A few folks have been killed by them through the years. Yeast produce a LOT of gas during fermentation. I think it is conceivable that an un-vented keg fermenter could explode.

If you claim that's true it becomes a myth when enough people agree. I for one don't think it could happen.
 
What about the exploding keg story that's a DIY sticky something about a keggle that didn't have the 4 pressure relief holes in the top rim and the heat from the propane burner caused it to exploded ( I'm pretty sure that's how the story went ) right after I read that I looked at my keggle to see if I could try this out for science
 
rewster452 said:
If you claim that's true it becomes a myth when enough people agree. I for one don't think it could happen.

Kegs have exploded in the past, with fatal results in at least two cases that I've read about. The question is whether yeast can produce enough gas to do it. You say yeast can't, I say they can. Both opinions have the same weight, and myth forming potential, without scientific evidence to back either view.

I for one will not risk one of my kegs (or my life) testing the "myth."
 
Bottlebombs are true, I've seen that happen
Keg blows are true
There is a negative effect of leaving beer on the yeast too long in the fermenter with bigger sized breweries. Just doesn't apply to homebrewing as much.
Secondary issues would be too subjective...
Most of that show is half crap even when they prove something true or false because they leave out too many variables. Neat, but getting information from it is like keeping your hands clean picking up the clean end of a turd.

A Color busting beer one would be ok and neat.

Myth: Light colored beers are lighter and more drinkable, and darker beers are heavier and less drinkable.
 
Some suggestions:

1. Does secondary fermentation improve beer?
2. Does leaving beer on yeast for prolonged periods have dire consequences for the beer?
3. Does beer get you drunk or is it just a coincidence?

I think the first two have both been tackled by Basic Brewing Radio/ BYO Magazine collaborative experiments.
 
Most of that show is half crap even when they prove something true or false because they leave out too many variables. Neat, but getting information from it is like keeping your hands clean picking up the clean end of a turd.

Truth
 
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