DublinOhioBrewer
Well-Known Member
So, I'm a pretty new homebrewer, in fact on Sunday I brewed for the very first time and quite frankly it was a disaster and I'm completely embarrassed about it. However I figured I would introduce myself to all of you with a story that will surely make you all laugh and shake your heads in either disgust or hilarity. Probably a little bit of both.
So I got my front porch pale ale extract kit that came with my Midwest Supplies equipment kit and I proceeded to steep My grains, bring it to a boil, add my extract and my hops for 60 minutes and then hook up my wort chiller to the sink and drop it 15 minutes before the end of the boil while adding my whirlfoc tablets and my yeast nutrient. After 20 minutes with the wort chiller it was down to about 74 degrees. I transferred it through a funnel into my six and a half gallon carboy and added three more gallons of cold distilled water. Unfortunately though, this dropped my wort down to 52 degrees.
This is where my numbskullness kicks in. I decide to put my 60 degree six and a half gallon Carboy on the stove with a light Flame to try to warm the Wort back up to a safe pitching temperature and it ends up shattering on my stove dumping 5 gallons of pale ale all over my floor not to mention hundreds of pieces of glass. I was demoralized.
Now, before you berate me and scream at me, it should be noted that never in my life have I ever been told or had any reason to know that putting glass on heat would cause it to explode. So I feel pretty stupid about that not to mention the fact that I'm an imbecile for ruining 5 gallons of perfectly good wort.
Here I was paranoid and worried about not having a blow off tube... and yet my yeast never even made it into my wort.
So I guess the moral of the story for you new Brewers is don't make the same mistake that I did. $85 later I will never make that mistake again.
My buddy who was an accomplice to this horrible crime and I, have decided that once we redo this pale ale this weekend, Sans the carboy on the stove, we will name it broken glass pale ale and it will live in infamy forever. I will probably keep an unopened bottle with the broken glass pale ale label on it for posterity sake.
Having thoroughly embarrassed myself it's a pleasure being part of this community and I look forward to hopefully sharing good results not terrible situations like this past one.
May the berating commence
So I got my front porch pale ale extract kit that came with my Midwest Supplies equipment kit and I proceeded to steep My grains, bring it to a boil, add my extract and my hops for 60 minutes and then hook up my wort chiller to the sink and drop it 15 minutes before the end of the boil while adding my whirlfoc tablets and my yeast nutrient. After 20 minutes with the wort chiller it was down to about 74 degrees. I transferred it through a funnel into my six and a half gallon carboy and added three more gallons of cold distilled water. Unfortunately though, this dropped my wort down to 52 degrees.
This is where my numbskullness kicks in. I decide to put my 60 degree six and a half gallon Carboy on the stove with a light Flame to try to warm the Wort back up to a safe pitching temperature and it ends up shattering on my stove dumping 5 gallons of pale ale all over my floor not to mention hundreds of pieces of glass. I was demoralized.
Now, before you berate me and scream at me, it should be noted that never in my life have I ever been told or had any reason to know that putting glass on heat would cause it to explode. So I feel pretty stupid about that not to mention the fact that I'm an imbecile for ruining 5 gallons of perfectly good wort.
Here I was paranoid and worried about not having a blow off tube... and yet my yeast never even made it into my wort.
So I guess the moral of the story for you new Brewers is don't make the same mistake that I did. $85 later I will never make that mistake again.
My buddy who was an accomplice to this horrible crime and I, have decided that once we redo this pale ale this weekend, Sans the carboy on the stove, we will name it broken glass pale ale and it will live in infamy forever. I will probably keep an unopened bottle with the broken glass pale ale label on it for posterity sake.
Having thoroughly embarrassed myself it's a pleasure being part of this community and I look forward to hopefully sharing good results not terrible situations like this past one.
May the berating commence