dumb friend dropped something in beer!

[ZamaMan]

Hey all
Just got done brewing my first beer. A duvel Belgium golden ale. All went well and I was being a sanitizing nazi. But one of my freinds who was helping dropped his sweaters draw string in the wort when he was smelling it. It was already in the primary about 70° what do you think could that contaminate the batch?

Also original gravity was too low. Supposed to be 1.080-1.081 but was 1.072. Which I assume is close enough. Some of the malt was hard and stuck to bag so I didn't get all of it out but added a couple oz of corn sugar to make up for it.

 

[NorthRiverS]

It "should" be okay. At this point I think it is best just to wait and see how it turns out. Good luck.

NRS

 

[LakewoodBrew]

Unless he had been sucking on the drawstring or had dipped it in something unsavory beforehand I wouldn't get worried about it.

8 points is a pretty big difference in OG so there will be a noticeable difference in ABV and flavor should it finish at the expected attenuation. I like to keep light DME around just in case I need to boost gravity at the end of a boil. Rarely ever have to do that anymore but when I first switched to brewing all grain it was a common occurrence. I did it a few times brewing extract as well.

 

[McGreen]

the hoodie string should make for an interesting cotton taste to the beer!

but in all seriousness, I have read so many posts about people going shoulder deep into the primary to fish grommets out or just to stir. honestly, it should be fine.

 

[ZamaMan]

Okay well ill try not to get too mad at him "yet" since hes gonna help brew 2 batches next Saturday. The receipe calls for 8 oz of corn sugar and another pack of yeast to be added when I rack to the secondary. Was thinking of boiling a .5lb of dme to add to the corn sugar yeast dose to help get the ABV back up. What you think?

 

[bovineblitz]

Okay well ill try not to get too mad at him "yet" since hes gonna help brew 2 batches next Saturday. The receipe calls for 8 oz of corn sugar and another pack of yeast to be added when I rack to the secondary. Was thinking of boiling a .5lb of dme to add to the corn sugar yeast dose to help get the ABV back up. What you think?

Sounds like a pretty good idea. You should use a calculator like the one in Beersmith, that way you can figure out what volume of water and amount of DME to use to get the right gravity.

 

[C-Rider]

But why put in secondary? Most of the experts here say it's not needed unless you are adding something after the fermenting is done.

 

[arnoldk2]

Just to make you feel better... I dropped something in my cool wort that had to get out asap. So I stuck my hand in iodopher solution for 15 seconds and reached in the wort and grabbed the item that fell in. The brew turned out very tasty. Just relax, chances are it will be fine.

 

[likwidbliss]

I walked by my wort briskly and a breeze got into my wort once. I was blown away by the results!

Really though. It will be fine. As far as a secondary, that is personal choice. I used to do it all the time when I had an extra carboy, but now they are all full of wine (30 gals) and the beer sits in the buckets for about 3 - 4 weeks. I don't notice a difference in taste. Have fun and welcome to beer-Valhalla!

 

[Shaneoco1981]

I walked by my wort briskly and a breeze got into my wort once. I was blown away by the results!

HAHAHA!

 

[Shaneoco1981]

i walked by my wort briskly and a breeze got into my wort once. I was blown away by the results!

hahahaha!

 

[ZamaMan]

Haha that's awesome. Ill try to relax, its been 13 hours and I got bubbles about every 3 seconds =]

Oh the reason I decided to follow the receipe and rack it is because there's so many ways of doing stuff, so ill start with the directions and explore from there.

I was surprised at how much sediment was at the bottom of the pot. We filled my strainer 2 times and still had ssome gunk in the bottom. Next week I'm gonna try a partial mash =]

 

[mikebowman]

This hasn't been mentioned et and it's worth considering. Was this an extract brew? If so, the chances of missing your OG is slim, unless you didn't add the right amount of top-off water. In any case, it's probably just that you fist quite mix the boiled wort and top off water, and the sample you pulled had more water then wort. This isn't a problem, it'll mix itself up during fermentation. I'd hold off on the extra sugar though, as you may end up with a much higher gravity brew than intended

As for the hoodie, I wouldn't stress it

 

[brewhaha1964]

I think you've missed a golden opportunity to call your brew "no strings attached" golden ale

 

[abbot555]

I think you've missed a golden opportunity to call your brew "no strings attached" golden ale

Beat me to it LOL. I was going to say best thing to do is change the name. :rockin:

 

[lumpher]

secondaries? isn't that just another term for more primaries?

 

[ZamaMan]

ROFL

I think you've missed a golden opportunity to call your brew "no strings attached" golden ale

Rofl that's so awesome! Its the official new name.

To awnser the previous question it was an extract brew but not a kit. But probably lost 1/2 lb of DME in bag due to moisture.

 

[apkman]

This is my second post. I am an absolute neophyte. That said, I have an observation/question.

Hydrometers are calibrated to be read at a specific temperature. I have been faithful to take my readings at the temp for my hydrometer.

Could that make the difference you got for this batch? Should I be so anal about waiting until the wort reaches 68* before taking a measurement?

I'm not sure how big a temp dif there has to be to give different readings, especially 8 pts worth so I could be way off base. Just a thought.

 

[Rentachik]

This is my second post. I am an absolute neophyte. That said, I have an observation/question.

Hydrometers are calibrated to be read at a specific temperature. I have been faithful to take my readings at the temp for my hydrometer.

Could that make the difference you got for this batch? Should I be so anal about waiting until the wort reaches 68* before taking a measurement?

I'm not sure how big a temp dif there has to be to give different readings, especially 8 pts worth so I could be way off base. Just a thought.

Na... Just use a SG correction calculator online to correct for temp difference.

This will work -- Just make sure you set the proper calibration.
http://widcombehomebrew.com/alcocalc.php

Also... The funniest think that I every dropped into a fermenter was the other half of a cupcake I was eating. I left it in there. Figured I couldn't get it out now. It sunk to the bottom after a few seconds. All turned out well.

 

[dirtyjerz]

Na... Just use a SG correction calculator online to correct for temp difference.

This will work -- Just make sure you set the proper calibration.
http://widcombehomebrew.com/alcocalc.php

Also... The funniest think that I every dropped into a fermenter was the other half of a cupcake I was eating. I left it in there. Figured I couldn't get it out now. It sunk to the bottom after a few seconds. All turned out well.

Did you name that brew " my little cupcake".