What a Brew Day

[Col224]

So I did my first All Grain brew yesterday. Made an IPA with 2-row, Munich, and Crystal 77 Grains and, according to brew house efficiency calculator, hit about 85% efficiency. Great start!

...And then everything went south. During my cooldown, my immersion chiller popped a leak, spitting (a little) water into the wort. Not a huge deal except that I now had no way to cool my beer since my first all grain day went a little slower than normal and I had gotten a late start meaning that I'm trying to cool beer at 9pm and nothing is open around me to go and buy ice or anything else to "fix" this.

I tried cooling it in my kegerator for a bit but that didn't work either (or at least I thought I was going to burn out the dang thing) and ended up just letting it cool naturally overnight.

I pitched it this morning and the Burned Corn odor was definitely there so I expect a pretty sub-par beer when this is all said and done.

My question to the brewcrew out there is - how bad is this going to be? Is it even worth letting it ferment out or do I pour it and maybe try again next weekend?

 

[Riverevir]

At this point you’ve worked too hard to not let it ferment - what’s another 4-6 days in a bucket?

Curious how it will turn out —
I’ll be rooting for you!

 

[Sparkncode]

Its pitched so you have spent money on it so let it ride and see what happens.

It might not be great if burnt but its your first AG batch so wait and see, all you have to loose is time.

You can always get another fermenter if you are in a hurry to try again.

 

[Pkrd]

Lots of people do no-chill brewing and it turns out fine.
RDWHAHB

 

[Pappers_]

Trying to discern aromas and flavors from wort, before fermentation, is really difficult. I wouldn't do anything based on what I do or don't taste or smell pre-fermentation.

Congratulations on your first all-grain batch! What are you thinking of brewing next?

 

[RM-MN]

The biggest reason to use fast chilling is to preserve the flavor and aroma from late addition hops. If your recipe doesn't have hops added in the last 15 minutes the slow cooling won't matter a great deal. I'd worry a bit about the burned odor but you can't do anything about that so pitch the yeast and let it do its fermentation. You might be surprised how this turns out.

 

[brewcat]

Should be fine. It is an IPA. A dry hop probably will mask any off flavors.

 

[Col224]

Trying to discern aromas and flavors from wort, before fermentation, is really difficult. I wouldn't do anything based on what I do or don't taste or smell pre-fermentation.

Congratulations on your first all-grain batch! What are you thinking of brewing next?

Thanks! I did a coffee blonde a few months ago that turned out great (think light bodied ale with just a hint of coffee) and I'd like to try it AG. That or something a little more summer since it's June in Florida.

 

[Col224]

Thank you all for your positive encouragement, I took your advice and let it ride and it actually turned out pretty good. Maybe not my best beer ever but noticeably free of that extract twang...pretty pumped to be AG now.

 

[brewgar]

@ Col224 You got beer. BREW ON MAN.

 

[Pappers_]

Thank you all for your positive encouragement, I took your advice and let it ride and it actually turned out pretty good. Maybe not my best beer ever but noticeably free of that extract twang...pretty pumped to be AG now.

Fantastic!

 

[mongoose33]

Thanks! I did a coffee blonde a few months ago that turned out great (think light bodied ale with just a hint of coffee) and I'd like to try it AG. That or something a little more summer since it's June in Florida.

It's June everywhere.

 

[00Seven]

FWIW since you are in a southern climate as I am there are several better options to cool wort than a wort chiller. My ground water down here in south Texas is 80+. I have two screw top milk jugs that are frozen solid. I dunk them in my sanitizer and use that to chill wort combined with a water/ice bath. I can from boiling to 80 degrees in 20 minutes flat on 5.3 gallons of wort. There is also something called an ice paddle that works fantastic, costs about $30

 

[eric19312]

First OP congrats on 85% efficiency. Keep doing exactly what you did on mashing to make sure it wasn't a fluke but at least looks like you aren't going to have to start one of those fix my mash debates.

Maybe good opportunity to upgrade your chiller. I got one of these https://www.nybrewsupply.com/collec...with-garden-hose-fittings?variant=42199978772
and it works great but kinda wish I'd ponied up a bit more cash and gotten a Jaded hydra because chilling 1/2 barrel batches is still pretty slow. Not sure if the Jaded would be that much faster but everytime I'm chilling in the summer I'm imagining it must be so.

Not sure about a burnt corn odor. I think you may be thinking of the cooked corn odor that is indicator of DMS and understand DMS can be assiciated with slow chilling. But the malts you use don't suggest DMS as a concern (usually Pilsner gets people worried not 2-row) and there are lots of people that practice no chill methods and don't seem to have issues with DMS. If it is actually a burned odor that could be indication that you scorched the wort or grain somewhere in the process. Did the beer come out darker than expected? Did you see any signs of scorched grain or wort in your mash tun or brew kettle? If you are using a RIMS or other electric system might want to open it up and take a look at the element.

Welcome to AG and brew on!