First attempt disaster. Can I salvage?

[Drinksahoy]

So I've been making mead, wine, and ciders for a few months now and just bought a beer kit to try out. It is an imperial stout.

The instructions read to first steep the grains at 150-170 F.
Right when I started this step I get called into work.
Because that's how my life works lol. If it can go wrong it will.
So I upped the temp to speed things up and steeped them at around 190 for 20 minutes.

I pulled the bag out and got burnt and half the liquid coming out spilled on the stove but I let the rest drain into the pot. I brought it up to boil, and added my malt extract. Added my 12g hops. Instead of waiting 40 minutes I waited 15 and added the second and then had to leave.

My girlfriend is going to, in 10 minutes, turn the stove off for me and put a lid with a vent on the pot where it will wait for me until I get home tonight in about 5/6 hours.

Do I have any hope of ending up with a beer out of this?

 

[SlitheryDee]

So I'm thinking what you're going to get here is mostly an imperial stout. I bet your spillage didn't really affect anything noticeably, but the changeup to the hop schedule probably did.

If I understand your timeline correctly, your 60 minute hops addition became something like a 25 minute addition, and your 20 minute addition became something like a 10 minute addition. The difference that should make is that the stout will be less bitter because of decreased isomerization of the hops, but will retain more of the hops aromatics and flavor for the same reason.

You're also at an increased risk of contamination due to the pot sitting on the stove for a while waiting for you to return and pitch the yeast. That part "probably" isn't that big of a concern, but it's something to think about if things taste off later on.

Now, I'm at least as new to this as you are, so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but this is my understanding of how things work. I wouldn't blame you if you looked to more experienced brewers for verification lol.

Edit: Oh and make sure she sanitizes the lid she's going to put on the pot first.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

You might miss the OG if the grains were supposed to contribute fermentable sugars, which is unlikely, most steeping grains are for flavor. Adding the second hops means you will be more bitter and less flavor or aroma. I'd put a solid lid on to keep out wild yeasts while it is cooling.

It won't be the beer intended, but it will be drinkable and may even be better.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

There is supposed to be a "early" after the "second hops"

 

[SlitheryDee]

You might miss the OG if the grains were supposed to contribute fermentable sugars, which is unlikely, most steeping grains are for flavor. Adding the second hops means you will be more bitter and less flavor or aroma. I'd put a solid lid on to keep out wild yeasts while it is cooling.

It won't be the beer intended, but it will be drinkable and may even be better.

This is correct if your girlfriend allowed the remainder of the full 60 minute boil to occur. I didn't think of that. [emoji15]

 

[cswis86]

My advice in the future... just bail on the brew day and buy more specialty grain for next time. You should never rush brewing. It should be relaxing and enjoyable not a source of more stress!

You might get more astringency from steeping your grain at the higher temp and less bitterness from the hops because of the shorter boil time as mentioned above but it won't be awful. You don't need to worry about it sitting out as long you keep everything sanitary that the wort/beer comes into contact with. The yeast, hops, and alcohol all act as buffers to prevent bacteria and wild yeasts from contaminating the beer.

 

[Drinksahoy]

I sanitized the lid ahead of time and that is still my main concern. When I put it on to test before I left it let steam out so it's not air tight.

Would it be worth throwing a campden tablet in there and waiting a day before pitching my yeast? Being a wine maker I have plenty of that **** lol

 

[cswis86]

No, just pitch the yeast.

 

[Calder]

I think you are going to be fine.

High steeping temp is not recommended, but if you ever get to read Dave Line's book, 'Brewing beer like those you buy', his process is to leave the grain in during the boil. It is out of date, but it supposedly produced good beer at the time. Yes, you did it wrong, and yes, you risk bringing out tannins, but I bet it will not be noticeable especially in an Imperial Stout.

Lost some grain liquid. Some goodness, in that if you did leach tannins, there is some that didn't make it into the pot. But you will lose some of the roast/caramel flavors too. I don't see it as a big deal.

Your boil was short, but you left it hot with the lid on. A short boil will reduce the extraction of AAs (bittering of beer), but the recipe is based on a rapid cooling of the wort. You left it hot with the lid on. At temperatures above 175, you will continue to extract bittering oils from the hops. Good news, is that you cannot over-do it, The 60 minute boil is pretty efficient of taking most of the bittering out of the hops, so a long hot steep will not extract too much. You should be fine.

With the long hot steep, you will lose any flavor hops ..... but who needs that in am Imperial Stout anyway.

No worries about contamination if the wort was covered. Over 160 F and anything gets pasteurized in 5 seconds. Over 140 F and it takes 20 minutes. If covered while cooling, it should be fine.

Pitch yeast, put on airlock and see what happens. I think you will be fine.

Remember to aerate well before you pitch the yeast (or very shorty afterwards) to help the yeast.

 

[FatDragon]

You're going to learn a lot from this experience, but the most important thing you're going to learn is this: Beer wants to be made. You messed up the process in a number of ways, but your finished beer is almost definitely going to end up within a margin of error of what you expected it to be when you bought the kit (unless you ferment hot or get an infection). Part of the learning process of brewing is to learn that RDWHAHB (Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew) is more than just a cliche, it's actual good advice, because most of the time when you think everything's gone wrong, you end up discovering that the beer turns out all right in the end anyway.

 

[MaryB]

Best bet is follow the instructions! You made beer but it may not be anywhere close in flavor to the kits designers intent! Ferment it, drink it, note any off flavors and report back.

 

[dantose]

So I've been making mead, wine, and ciders for a few months now and just bought a beer kit to try out. It is an imperial stout.

The instructions read to first steep the grains at 150-170 F.
Right when I started this step I get called into work.
Because that's how my life works lol. If it can go wrong it will.
So I upped the temp to speed things up and steeped them at around 190 for 20 minutes.

I pulled the bag out and got burnt and half the liquid coming out spilled on the stove but I let the rest drain into the pot. I brought it up to boil, and added my malt extract. Added my 12g hops. Instead of waiting 40 minutes I waited 15 and added the second and then had to leave.

My girlfriend is going to, in 10 minutes, turn the stove off for me and put a lid with a vent on the pot where it will wait for me until I get home tonight in about 5/6 hours.

Do I have any hope of ending up with a beer out of this?

You'll be fine.

The beer might end up a bit sweet tasting, but you can fix this if you have some spare hops. (If you order now you should be fine) After fermentation, sterilize a ladle or a wine thief and sample the flat beer. If it tastes overly sweet, bio some hops in a small sauce pan for 60 minutes and add that in. Based on what you said, get half of what your first addition was and use that, again, only if your beer tastes too sweet after fermentation is complete.

 

[RM-MN]

Unless you have made this exact kit before I doubt the errors made will have enough impact on the beer for you to notice. Keep it cool while fermenting (60 to 65 F. is what I would try for) and give it time in the bottle to mature and you'll end up with a good beer.

One of the advantages of doing an extract kit is it can be quite lenient with its requirements. The major area where things can go wrong is in making the extract and that is done for you. Were this an all grain kit or recipe, then rushing it like you needed to do would have a much bigger impact.

If your girlfriend cleaned up the spilled wort you owe her extra.

 

[Drinksahoy]

Haha no no I cleaned up the spilled wort. She would have killed me if I left it.
Anyway, I got home and took an OG of 1.063 and pitched the yeast and it's already bubbling away now, 10 hours later!

 

[Calder]

The beer might end up a bit sweet tasting, but you can fix this if you have some spare hops. (If you order now you should be fine) After fermentation, sterilize a ladle or a wine thief and sample the flat beer. If it tastes overly sweet, bio some hops in a small sauce pan for 60 minutes and add that in. Based on what you said, get half of what your first addition was and use that, again, only if your beer tastes too sweet after fermentation is complete.

I'm trying to learn. Why would the beer end up a bit sweet? and what would the extra hops do?

 

[MaryB]

Higher mash temps result in a sweeter beer, lower a dryer beer. http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/12/the-mash-high-vs-low-temperature-exbeeriment-results/

The extra hops will add bittering that can help offset the sweetness if it is to much.

 

[Calder]

Higher mash temps result in a sweeter beer, lower a dryer beer. http://brulosophy.com/2015/10/12/the-mash-high-vs-low-temperature-exbeeriment-results/

The extra hops will add bittering that can help offset the sweetness if it is to much.

He is not mashing, he is steeping. At 180/190, all the enzymes are dead, so if there was any pale malt (which I suspect there wasn't), there would be nothing to create sugars.

 

[MaryB]

Depends on the grains and temps used... if i use an extract kit(hey when they are $20 in winter...beats frozen fingers brewing outside) I hold the additional grains at mash temps. Usually gain a couple points over the kit instructions as far as OG. And if the original LME was made at higher temps it can provide he sweeter backbone he asked about. Same process except he isn't doing the mashing. Never hurts to learn the science behind it.