1st batch questions

[Metsbrew]

Just made my first batch. It's fermenting right now. As I was pouring the wort, I realized I forgot to sanitize the strainer? Is this the end of the world? I'm really mad at my self, everything else seemed to be going so good. Also when I tried to read the hydrometer it was a little foamy it was hard to read. Is this normal? Right now I'm just waiting for the first bubble.

 

[dbreienrk1]

Hard to tell. Where was the strainer kept prior to brewing? Was it part of your kit or is it your everyday strainer used for cooking? Bacteria resides everywhere (obviously), but sanitizing reduces the chance that there will be a contamination. You could brew an entire batch without sanitizing anything, but there chances of contamination are way higher.

 

[Revvy]

Your beer is hardier than most new brewers think it is, read these stories here to see how despite what we do, it manages to turn out ok.

Folks have sunk body parts in their fermenters and it still turns out. It doesn't mean we should shirk sanitization, it just means that usually we get lucky if we screw up.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

And as for airlock bubbling, it may be good entertainment, but if it doesn't bubble don't worry about it, I have 9 different fermenters and I get airlock bubbling only about 50% of the time, but I have never had a fermentation not happen.

Your beer will ferment whether or not your airlock bubbles......

 

[nebben]

Unless a meteor is hurling towards us and will strike the earth imminently, I doubt it's the end of the world.

The strainer was clean, right? Then you probably have little to worry about. You pitched a lot more yeast cells into the wort than was introduced by the strainer. No worries. At least you recognized the slip-up for next time, 'eh? Also don't worry about the foam on the hydrometer. If you got a rough idea, that's good. Knowing the beginning gravity is helpful, but not critical. Later on when you bottle/keg, the hydrometer will help judge when fermentation is truly done. There should be less/no foam then.

Congratulations on your first brewday! What's next?

 

[Cart]

I've never had an infection, despite several slip-ups like this. I'm given to believe (more experienced brewers, feel free to chime in) that most infections result from incomplete cleaning and sanitizing of residual material from previous batches.

 

[Metsbrew]

Thanks for the help. It was our strainer we us for everything. But it was washed through the dish washer so hopefully everything will be ok. We brewed a white belgian today. We are planning on another batch next saturday. Not sure what yet. We'll decide next Friday after making a trip to the home brew shop.