Noob Question

[DeBrewNoob]

So while I was chilling the wort I turned around for half a second and a paper towel fell into the wort..only the corner though and it was clean(was using it to stop a drip coming from the wort chiller). Is this batch doomed or is there still hope. How susceptible is the wart to infection?

Oh one more question...after I pitched the yeast into the 6.5 gallon carboy ..it just seemed to clump up in the middle..i mixed it up with a spoon but it doesnt look like its disolving and sinking like I would imagine...is this ok?

 

[Jupapabear]

RDWHAHB.

But seriously, you should be fine. I've done worse without an infection forming.

As for the yeast(I'm assuming you pitched dry yeast, not that it matters), just give them time and they will do their part. I pitch my dry yeast and do not stir, nor do I wait to see when they fall. You just made them a fantastic feast, just wait for the bubbles!

 

[ronjonacron]

It will get in there after a few minutes / couple of hours. I think manufacturers usually advise against mixing and just sprinkling when using straight dry yeast, iirc

I wouldn't sweat the paper towel.

Look into rehydrating yeast for optimum yeast performance.

 

[rspeer87]

For real, from one noob to another. I'm sitting here drinking my first bottle of homebrew. An oatmeal stout that should be all jacked up. I mashed at too high a temp, lost a ton of volume due to screw ups and not knowing how to bottle, literally put an unsanitized frozen gallon of water straight into the wort and it still came out pretty darn good. I even missed my gravity readings by a mile and it's still a beer that I'm really enjoying and doesn't have any signs of infection whatsoever. I would say there's always hope.

 

[DeBrewNoob]

Thanks for the replys. So far its looking good.

 

[SlickTX]

Imagine how I felt when the valve on my bottling bucket started leaking like a screen door on a submarine. I put my whole unsanitized arm in the bucket to tighten things up.

The beer still turned out fantastic.

 

[Yooper]

I dropped a dirty, unsanitized screwdriver right into my bucket fermenter right after pitching the yeast. That beer was fine.

One time, and I still have NO idea how this happened, after I racked the beer out of the fermenter, I found a complete three piece airlock in the bottom of the fermenter right in the yeast cake. I was like, "Now, how did THAT get in there?!?!". That beer was fine as well.

I'm sure I've accidentally stirred with an unsanitized item or done other things over the years. It's good that beer is amazingly resilient!

 

[ronjonacron]

I frequently get cigarette ash and leaves in my cooling wort. Not usually an issue. Even kids dirty mits "helping" out. Pitch a good out of yeast and I think it's pretty hard to mess up.

 

[ericbw]

Leaves and accidents are one thing... cigarette ashes??? That's funny.

 

[ronjonacron]

It's windy and I'm a smoker! For now, been off and on for a few years now. Sheesh it's hard to kick

 

[JimEb]

In a brain dead moment I checked my cooling wort's temperature with an unsanitized meat thermometer I use for grilling.

This was an electronic one that just gets 'wiped off' after sticking it in a piece of meat. Somehow the beer turned out fine.

 

[ronjonacron]

****, I just lick the thermometer between mashing and cooling.