After some measurement confusion, I got the idea that my ale is probably done fermenting. Someone mentioned the possibility of losing the CO2 over the beer in the fermenter and exposing it to oxygen. Here I was, with days between me and the arrival of my Cornys. It made me nervous. I fermented the beer with a loose lid, and CO2 isn't much heavier than air, so I was concerned.
I have CO2 tanks, but I was fooling around with a handheld charger that uses cartridges. I have a huge bag of Crosman cartridges, and I thought people who were afraid of them were probably just hysterical. I shot a blast of CO2 in the bucket and shut the lid. I figured a little added CO2 would not hurt.
At about the same time, I pumped up a bottle of Coke.
When I tried the Coke, it tasted the way a discharged Crosman cartridge smells, so I decided not to drink it.
I scooped some beer off the top of the batch, and it tastes great. Does this mean it's okay or just that the oil is harder to taste in 5 gallons of beer than it is in a liter of Coke? I do not know.
Anyway, I am not thrilled about it, but I suppose it's not a disaster. This was my Braumeister shakedown cruise, I was learning to use a refractometer, and I was also trying to recover basic brewing skills after my years away, so worst case scenario: $25 worth of ingredients will now be considered tuition.
For science, I shot an entire cartridge of CO2 against the side of a utility sink, and there was no residue whatsoever. I suppose this means whatever makes it smell is present in amounts so tiny they're unlikely to hurt anyone. Not advising anyone to drink Crosman beer. Maybe you'll die.
I have CO2 tanks, but I was fooling around with a handheld charger that uses cartridges. I have a huge bag of Crosman cartridges, and I thought people who were afraid of them were probably just hysterical. I shot a blast of CO2 in the bucket and shut the lid. I figured a little added CO2 would not hurt.
At about the same time, I pumped up a bottle of Coke.
When I tried the Coke, it tasted the way a discharged Crosman cartridge smells, so I decided not to drink it.
I scooped some beer off the top of the batch, and it tastes great. Does this mean it's okay or just that the oil is harder to taste in 5 gallons of beer than it is in a liter of Coke? I do not know.
Anyway, I am not thrilled about it, but I suppose it's not a disaster. This was my Braumeister shakedown cruise, I was learning to use a refractometer, and I was also trying to recover basic brewing skills after my years away, so worst case scenario: $25 worth of ingredients will now be considered tuition.
For science, I shot an entire cartridge of CO2 against the side of a utility sink, and there was no residue whatsoever. I suppose this means whatever makes it smell is present in amounts so tiny they're unlikely to hurt anyone. Not advising anyone to drink Crosman beer. Maybe you'll die.
