This is my story....

[danath34]

I'm only saying that it is LIKELY not going to be his finest work. As in, don't be discouraged if the beer has all kinds of off flavors and stales after a week.

Is this not applicable to every single first time brewer in history? That is, unless they are fortunate enough to already know an experienced brewer who lets them use all of their equipment and takes them by the hand and walks them through every bit of the process.

From the FB page, it sounds like the earliest the wort was cooled was around 3pm. So from 3pm on the 26th to 1am on the 28th, that's 34 hours. Naw. I don't buy it for a second that that's long enough for staling, considering the yeast haven't been pitched.

 

[J187]

Is this not applicable to every single first time brewer in history? That is, unless they are fortunate enough to already know an experienced brewer who lets them use all of their equipment and takes them by the hand and walks them through every bit of the process.

From the FB page, it sounds like the earliest the wort was cooled was around 3pm. So from 3pm on the 26th to 1am on the 28th, that's 34 hours. Naw. I don't buy it for a second that that's long enough for staling, considering the yeast haven't been pitched.

The yeast not having been pitched IS the problem. The reason it is ok to oxidizing cool wort is because the yeast will then take up that oxygen during the lag phase. Oxygenating the wort and then not pitching yeast will leave that oxidation in there to accelerate the oxidation process. This is why no chill brewers go to such great lengths to transfer their wort near boiling and remove the headspace from the storage container. It's also why we are so careful not to introduce oxygen to our beers during transfers... it matters. And yes, it's ok to aerate your wort IF you are putting yeast in there right away. And you are right, most of us did not produce our finest work the first time out. The only point is that this is more likely than your average first-time brew to not be a good beer. I wouldn't be surprised if it is pretty decent - especially depending on the palate of the drinker, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is horrible or infected. One thing that MOST first time brewers do is take good care of their wort on the cold side. Chilling and pitching right away and putting it away cold and dark right away are, IMHO, really important to even decent beer. Most first time brewers screw up their gravity or forget to aerate, or forget to fill the airlock or take an improper hydrometer reading...they forget to rehydrate dry yeast or they don't stir in top off water enough... but they usually don't leave wort without yeast for long periods, and yes, almost 2 days is a long period. At least it's a darker style beer... Either way, don't you at least admit that it's dumb that the poor kid has to log into a chat forum a day later because he was "given no instructions on what to do with the wort"?

Remember how impatient most new brewers are... I'd feel badly for this dude if scrambles around to get this going, waits 2 weeks, buys all the necessary equipment to bottle it, and then finds out after the fact that it's infected or horrible.

To reiterate my position once again, I'm not at all dismissive of the notion that might turn out ok... but I think we shouldn't be dismissive of the potential for disaster here either. I just want the OP to be prepared that things beyond his knowledge and control are factoring in on the quality of the finished product. I'd advise him to get some equipment and start another batch. Learn the process and that way he won't have to wait another 30 days after this one is done before he can taste the fruits (or esters) of his labor. I just know if it was me and I brought this home last week and got all excited about brewing, it would suck if it was 60 or more days from now until I could taste a good beer that I brewed.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Can't you state your advice that would help him to achieve the best out of this situation without going on about how it's a dumb competition and it's probably going to suck?

Didn't Heretic also do a wort give away at an AHA rally? Was that a dumb idea too?


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[brewkinger]

Something just does not feel right about this.
What type of establishment is the Alehouse?
Winning a five gallon "jug" of unfermented wort with none of the necessary additional items is just plain odd.
The instructions are lacking.

Winning a 5 gal jug of beer is also odd. Given that a 64oz growler is good for less than a week once opened, 5 gal is gonna be tough in a week.

Agreed that if you want to get into the hobby of brewing, read through this forum and decide your plan of action.

I just reviewed this thread because I was concerned that I was guilty of being a nay-sayer....

I concur with my original post thoughts. Handing a 5 gallon carboy/pail of unfermented wort to an individual with little to no instructions is indeed odd.

To address the Heretic / AHA post:
Handing 5 gallons of wort (or beer) to an individual standing at an AHA rally is, although very similar, in NO way the same as this.
The individual at the rally has (we hope) a good idea of what it is, where to put it and how to take care of it.

Perhaps if the OP had been at the event, he would have learned the specifics and this would not have happened.

Perhaps if the GF had been interested in the presentation, she would have gained the knowledge necessary. (Perhaps she did)

The bottom line is simple:

This would not be the way that I would want to be introduced to the homebrewing hobby. Thankfully, the OP had enough sense to go directly to a reputable source of information and ask.

I just wanted to make sure that I was not giving the wrong impression. I think it is a great thing that he (she) won a prize that provides a great opportunity as a result. I just think it is a cruel / unusual way to do it and the very process is not well thought out.