Greetings fellow homebrewers....I'm here to admit that I am a dumba**.
So, I made a quick collar Friday for my 5.0 cu/ft freezer that I use as a fermentation chamber along with a temp controller. I needed more headroom to be able to fit a 6.5 gal bucket along with a 5 gal carboy. This way, I can have 2 brews fermenting at the same time.
Well, I proceeded to tack down the collar with some liquid nails and even drilled my hole for the temp probe, then reattached the lid. I then set some weights on the lid so the collar can dry and hold. Now here's the good part...I FORGOT TO PUT THE TEMP PROBE BACK IN!!!!
Since Friday night (approx. 36 hrs), the temp probe has been sitting at room temp and my freezer has ran below freezing. One big problem....I have 2 brews in the freezer.
1st brew is a Vanilla Bourbon Porter that is in the carboy. It was in the primary for 2 weeks, then racked on top of my vanilla beans and bourbon. It has been in the secondary for a week. The stopper along with the 3 piece airlock has been blown out. It is a frozen mess.
2nd brew is a Kolsch in the primary that I brewed Thursday night. I was bubbling along for approx. 24 hours before my mishap. The airlock is still intact on this one.
So, what should I do? I have taken both out to let them thaw. I put a rag soaked with Star-san over the top of the porter. My thinking is as it thaws, the rag will be covering the opening. What about my Kolsch that was in the middle of fermenting? What's gonna happen once it comes back up to room temp?
Any comments or answers would be helpful. And don't be afraid to call me names. I deserve it.
So, I made a quick collar Friday for my 5.0 cu/ft freezer that I use as a fermentation chamber along with a temp controller. I needed more headroom to be able to fit a 6.5 gal bucket along with a 5 gal carboy. This way, I can have 2 brews fermenting at the same time.
Well, I proceeded to tack down the collar with some liquid nails and even drilled my hole for the temp probe, then reattached the lid. I then set some weights on the lid so the collar can dry and hold. Now here's the good part...I FORGOT TO PUT THE TEMP PROBE BACK IN!!!!
Since Friday night (approx. 36 hrs), the temp probe has been sitting at room temp and my freezer has ran below freezing. One big problem....I have 2 brews in the freezer.
1st brew is a Vanilla Bourbon Porter that is in the carboy. It was in the primary for 2 weeks, then racked on top of my vanilla beans and bourbon. It has been in the secondary for a week. The stopper along with the 3 piece airlock has been blown out. It is a frozen mess.
2nd brew is a Kolsch in the primary that I brewed Thursday night. I was bubbling along for approx. 24 hours before my mishap. The airlock is still intact on this one.
So, what should I do? I have taken both out to let them thaw. I put a rag soaked with Star-san over the top of the porter. My thinking is as it thaws, the rag will be covering the opening. What about my Kolsch that was in the middle of fermenting? What's gonna happen once it comes back up to room temp?
Any comments or answers would be helpful. And don't be afraid to call me names. I deserve it.