First brew, a few mis-steps...

[papi91]

Well today I decided to try my first brew. All went really well until I went to put the airlock in and the rubber stopper fell right into my wart. I panicked a bit and tried to fish it out with a strainer( a freshly cleaned one) and my hand touched the wart(is this a big deal if they were clean as well?) Then i decided to strain the wart into my other container which I cleaned out with dish soap which I heard works pretty well. I rinsed the container out about 5 times and tried some of the final cleaning water to see if it tasted "soapy" and it did not. Then I returned the wart to the original container and all seems well. I tasted the wart which was bitter which didn't really surprise me the only thing I'm worried about is was it hoppy bitter or soapy bitter, I guess time will tell.


Take Care,Hector

 

[basilchef]

you should just be fine, time will tell though. it could be bitter from your hop additions. what were the additions (time and weight)?

 

[gandalfiii]

Well it's probably going to be fine. Of course, using unsanitized equipment will increase your chances of infection, but I use things well washed plenty without any problems. Keep an eye on it for a few days and see how it goes. Just out of curiosity, why did you strain the wort from the first container into another and then back again?

 

[papi91]

Well it's probably going to be fine. Of course, using unsanitized equipment will increase your chances of infection, but I use things well washed plenty without any problems. Keep an eye on it for a few days and see how it goes. Just out of curiosity, why did you strain the wort from the first container into another and then back again?

I did this in order to retrieve the air lock gasket that fell into the wart. I made a 2.5 gallon batch and used 1 oz of cascade hops, I added half during the last 15 min of boiling. Thanks for all the info.

 

[gandalfiii]

Oh, I was thinking it would be floating on top, but I guess not.

 

[papi91]

Oh, I was thinking it would be floating on top, but I guess not.

If only it were that easy lol.

 

[papi91]

Well I saw online that I should take a pre fermentation hydrometer reading. If I'm reading this right it came out to about 1.009 after temp correction. Does this sound right?

 

[gandalfiii]

Well I saw online that I should take a pre fermentation hydrometer reading. If I'm reading this right it came out to about 1.009 after temp correction. Does this sound right?

No. That is way low! That is more like a final reading. Are you sure you're reading that correctly?

 

[Draken]

Invest in sanitizer. Dish soap is not one.

 

[papi91]

No. That is way low! That is more like a final reading. Are you sure you're reading that correctly?

I thouht I was. The hydrometer was only sticking up out of the wart a little. I used the tube that the hydrometer came in is that ok?

 

[lumpher]

if you ended up with 1.009 wort, you have coors.. i mean water. as gandalfiii says, that's a good final reading for many types.

 

[BrettFitz]

papi, don't worry.
Sounds like you have a few tricks to learn yet, but they will come with time.

As for sanitizing, yes you ought to buy one of the many true sanitizers out there and use them exclusively. But you are probably OK for this batch. Just remember, nothing will grow in there that will kill you. ...I think. So don't worry.

There is something wacky about your initial reading, for sure. Did you say you filled the tube it comes in and floated it in THAT? Mebbe I read that wrong, and for all I know that is what you are supposed to do but me, I take the easy way out. I keep a bucket by me with sanitizer in it, and keep a few things soaking in it. The hydrometer is one of them. Then I float that sucker directly in the bucket once it is chilled. Maybe not the prettiest way to go, but it works for me. For you? Relax, don't worry.

When I brewed my first batch (recently, by the way), I made at least a half dozen mistakes that were so amazingly stupid each of them was worth 25 floggings with a wet noodle. The biggest offense was indefensible... I fermented in the bottling bucket. (In my defense, ahem, I brewed 25 years ago and there was no "bottling bucket" with a spigot. I saw this and thought, 'oh, how cool, I don't have to siphon...' Long story short, I fermented that batch in my office [wood floors, oriental rug] and when I was getting ready to put it in bottles I must have tapped the spigot with my foot and opened it a bit. Three hours later when I walked in to grab it, it was 2/3 empty! The rug was saturated, the office smelled heavenly, and my wife was coming home in 30 minutes.

In the end, I still had 9 bombers in that batch that were damn tasty! And I learned several lessons that batch - critical points that I will never have issues with again. So far every batch since has been darn near perfect.

Here's to your first batch, I hope it is tasty! And no matter what, I know your second will be even better.

Cheers-

 

[gandalfiii]

Just remember, nothing will grow in there that will kill you. ...I think. So don't worry.
-

According to the American Dietetic Association, this statement is absolutely true. No matter how bad your beer may be, it won't kill you...well nothing growing in it will kill you. The alcohol might.

 

[CBXBob]

I thouht I was. The hydrometer was only sticking up out of the wart a little. I used the tube that the hydrometer came in is that ok?

I don't think you had enough wort in the tube, and the hydrometer wasn't floating all the way ( a mistake I made once). Take another reading in a week.

 

[papi91]

Thanks guys. I had no illusions that this would go perfect but as long as I end up with something it will be worth it. Even if its not drinkable I sure learned a lot!

 

[dnslater]

I've heard that dish soap residue MIT effect head retention. I always use a food grade cleaner. Your beer should be good and oxygenated after all this. Yeast should beat other bacteria to the punch.... Hopefully.

 

[papi91]

Well a second reading read 1.004 or so I think it was 2 notches below 1.000, am I reading this right? I did notice that it smelled much stronger than it did last week, is that normal?

Thanks