Brew-Day SNAFU: Forgot to Steep

[Iowa Brewer]

So I was trying out my new eBIAB system on Sunday, brewing 10gal of witbier.
Everything was going great.

• Mash was a success with a great gravity reading
• Boil went according to plan
• New immersion chiller was working like a dream

Then that zero-gravity feeling hit!
In the midst of playing with my new toys—and after wort had hit 95F—I saw the plate of orange peel and coriander I'd forgotten to steep :/

*sigh*

Didn't find much to help me online, so I decided to crank it back up to boiling, re-sanitized the chiller for 10min (like a fool I'd taken it out and put it in the sink). Did my steep. Chilled. Put it in the fermenter.

The fermentation is going great, but I wonder if there will be any noticeable effects from reheating the wort. Has anyone else has done something like this and have insights? Or... if you just want to hazard a guess, prophecies are more than welcome

Thanks and happy brewing, all!

 

[Wables]

I’ve never done it, but you should be fine. You may be missing some of the late addition hop scents and flavors, but it should be drinkable!

 

[day_trippr]

Right, the potential down-side would be attenuated aroma and taste characters.
In this specific case, one doesn't pound a lot of hops into a wit (or much else, either), so maybe there won't be a noticeable effect...

Cheers!

 

[Rish]

Hopefully it won't happen again but if so you might try taking a half gallon wort and do your steep on the stove top.

 

[IslandLizard]

Hopefully it won't happen again but if so you might try taking a half gallon wort and do your steep on the stove top.

And at a reduced temperature, no need to boil those zests. 15-20 minutes at around 150-160F is plenty hot and may give better flavor while retaining more aroma.

Instead, you could have added them after the fermentation had finished, similar to a dry hop, for 3 days or so.
Whatever method you use, the results will be different, not necessarily better or worse, it's all brewer's preference.

RDWHAHB!

On a side note, I read the title in the sidebar (Latest posts list) as:
[...] Forgot to sleep

That actually piqued my interest.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

I’ve never done it, but you should be fine. You may be missing some of the late addition hop scents and flavors, but it should be drinkable!

Thanks, Wables! Good to hear!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Right, the potential down-side would be attenuated aroma and taste characters.
In this specific case, one doesn't pound a lot of hops into a wit (or much else, either), so maybe there won't be a noticeable effect...

Cheers!

Yeah, it should be fine. This recipe uses a 60min Saaz addition, and that's all that happens before the steep. Thanks!

 

[Iowa Brewer]

Hopefully it won't happen again but if so you might try taking a half gallon wort and do your steep on the stove top.

Good call, Dan! I hadn't thought of that.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

And at a reduced temperature, no need to boil those zests. 15-20 minutes at around 150-160F is plenty hot and may give better flavor while retaining more aroma.

Instead, you could have added them after the fermentation had finished, similar to a dry hop, for 3 days or so.
Whatever method you use, the results will be different, not necessarily better or worse, it's all brewer's preference.

RDWHAHB!

On a side note, I read the title in the sidebar (Latest posts list) as:
[...] Forgot to sleep

That actually piqued my interest.

Yes, I suppose sleep depravity could lead to even greater brewing mishaps

Cheers for the tips, IslandLizard. I hadn't thought of doing it as a dry hop. I might try that on a small batch, just to see how it turns out.