R.I.P. German Boch Lager :(

I was getting ready for work this morning, and decided to check in on my lager... see if it needed any ice or anything. Get downstairs, and indeed it did. However the bucket that it was in was already full with water.

This is when **** started going downhill!
So I grab a bucket to scoop the water out with, and come back get setup over the carboy to yank it out. I've done this time and time again, and not had a problem. I grab onto the carboy, and lift it out. I get past the water and it slips a little... to be expected as things are "lighter" in water (more boyant). I rotate 90* and start setting it down, when all fo the sudden... *slip* *crash*

it's been a long day, and it's only 8:30 AM!

R.I.P. German Bock Lager

My sincere condolences.

Man, that's a bummer. I feel for you!

Hey, Pistolero, we posted at the same time. Why are you working? Get to work!

billybrew said:

Hey, Pistolero, we posted at the same time. Why are you working? Get to work!

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I am at work.

thats a bummer. i almost broke my secondary saturday. i was dumping the sanitation solution out in the bath tub and set it down to dry the outside off. when i went to pick it up it was slightly under the bathroom sink and CLANG. the sound resonated throughout the house. woke the baby up. i was just glad it didnt break.

Did you suffer any injuries? There are lots of stories about how people dropped carboys and suffered nasty cuts. If you escaped unscathed, consider youself to be lucky. Sorry about the Lager though. I've been lucky with my carboys... So far.

Last night I was bottling my strong spiced english ale, (a batch with a history of problems) and I forgot to close the valve on the bottling bucket before siphoning into it. I didn't notice until there was a 8 foot wide puddle of precious brown liquid on the basement floor. I probably lost about 7 bottles worth to the floor, and the dogs. They seemed happy about my misfortune.

The first time I tried to brew the English ale, the yeast was dead, the beer got an infection, and became vinegar. This time around, I waste a sixer of the stuff.

Andre, you should call it Albatross Spiced Ale!

El Pistolero said:

I am at work.

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Yeah, that's what I meant. Get off the internet and get to work! Just messing around with ya!

Hey, at least you've got a short work week, huh?

DeRoux's Broux said:

Andre, you should call it Albatross Spiced Ale!

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Or if it turns out really good, Phoenix Spiced Ale.

I think I'll probably be calling the batch, "That Which I Will Not Brew Again..." (Unless my luck changes, or my wife requests more, of course.)

My sincere condolences to your fine lager.

*plays "Cadence to Arms" on the pipes*

Breaking glass carboys is yet another reason I want to move to Better Bottles. Plastic, non oxygen permeable PET plastic. I forget what was special about the PET they used.. but it was different from Ozarka bottles and whatnot.

I felt a disturbance in the foam.

I hate glass!

david_42 said:

I hate glass!

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Me too.

Next year I'm biting the bullet and buying a large conical.

what makes it worse is that I would've used the siphen, except that it was already on the ground... so gravity would've been null, and therefore, it was unpossible

*still pissed!!*

After just completing the cleanup from this morning's tragedy I've decided taht it was a mixed curse (rather than mixed blessing.. that just sounds too positive). While I did lose 5 gallons of (what smelled like) very tasty lager (GODAMNIT!), because of the travesty, I was forced to clean the brew room rather extensively. In the process, I got rid of much of my father's old boxes, fininings (which were probably bad) and other wine making ingredients / equipment that is no longer needed/obsolete/no longer any good. I now have much more room, and after the floor dries up, I plan to rearrange a little bit, to allow me ample room to lager with the tub off the ground.,... giving me the ability to siphon the water off next time.

so, now that I'm done with this... time to go get bitched at by my father (you may ask "what 23 year old gets yelled at by their father?" oh yeah... that's me!)

FWIW, I place all of my heavy stuff on dolly's, i.e., carboys (in milk crates) my malt (4 X 55 lb boxes), cases of beer (2 side-by-side and stacked as high as I want).

This way I can move them from one room to the other without any hassle.

FrewBrew said:

time to go get bitched at by my father (you may ask "what 23 year old gets yelled at by their father?" oh yeah... that's me!)

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Hell, my dad still yells at me from time to time, and I'll be 31 in a couple weeks!

-walker