I touched my cooled wort

[alyanddrew]

I did a quick search and couldn't find anything that answered my question specifically.

I just brewed my first batch of beer. I had a lot of fun during the process, but failed when trying to obtain my original gravity.

First, I took the tube and dunked it in to the cooled wort with my hands. During the cooling phase, I washed my hands 3 times and applied hand sanitizer 3-4 times. What is my likelihood of causing a contamination? What would be indicative of an infection?

Second, when I dunked my tube in to the wort, it was prior to diluting it to 5 gallons. It was concentrated at about 3 gallons so it read 1.084. I'm assuming this is high, since I should have added 2 additional gallons of water with a SG of 1.000. Can I do a simple dilution calculation to obtain my actual OG?

Thanks!

 

[Genjin]

It is ruined. Let it ferment and then bottle and send the bottles to me for proper disposal.

On a serious note, the likelihood is very small that you contaminated the batch if your hands were santized before the dunking. Also, with partial boil extract brews, original gravity readings are pretty close to useless as it is very difficult to get it properly mixed to get an accurate reading. The original gravity that your recipe predicted is likely to be very accurate. However, it is important to get gravity readings after fermentation to see how the yeast did and that fermentation was complete.

Congrats on the first batch and welcome to the obsession! What kind of beer is it?

 

[alyanddrew]

My heart sank when I read, "it is ruined"! Thankfully, I continued reading.

It's an Irish red ale. When I oxygenated it, it had a lot of foam. It was hard to tell where the 5 gallon mark on my bucket was, so I may have diluted it a little more than I should have.

I can see how this hobby could be quite expensive. I don't have a wort chiller, but I think this might be a necessity after the long cool down. I'm sure my brew will be loaded with DMS

 

[Meatyboy]

I did the same thing when I finished up brewing my first batch. Dropped my hydrometer in the fermentor before pitching my yeast, kinda dipped my hand in the wort retrieving my hydrometer, after 9 days in the fermentor I just racked to a secondary. Looks good with some yeast rafts floating around and no infections. Tastes like flat Killians (I did an Irish Red) with a tinge of alcohol taste to it. I think it's gonna come out great.

 

[Beer_Eugenics]

You can us this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/extract-ogfg/ but as stated above with extract you will hit you O.G.

 

[Hulud]

I have done worse haha

I dropped a whisk, that i used to make mashed potatoes, while it cooled in the sink.

I may or may not have had a couple too many while brewing haha

No contamination and the pumpkin ale turned out great

 

[downtown3641]

I've had a couple of occasions when I've had to dunk my sanitized hands into a bottling bucket. I've had no problems.

 

[Calder]

We sanitize everything to reduce the population of microbes that can produce off flavors and spoil the beer, so that the yeast can get going before these microbes can get established. They do reproduce quicker than yeast which is one reason we pitch such a large population of yeast in comparison. Once the yeast starts producing alcohol, most microbes can't survive.

Yes, you will have introduced contamination into your beer, but provided the yeast gets going reasonably quickly you should be fine.

 

[the75]

I normally wait until the wife & kids have left the house to touch my cooled wort.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Once I dropped a bung into the bucket right after pitching yeast. My hands and arms were clean, sanitized, but hadn't been for awhile. I dunked my arm in to the shoulder to fish the bung out... thought I'd killed my beer... I was really worried, waiting to see a monster pellicle of beer eating armpit bacteria to arise... nothing but yeast krausen and good beer came of that batch.

 

[leolee86]

You should be fine, a month or 2 ago a friend dropped his cigarette in my full bottle bucket and then grabed it out..if that can't infect a beer, I'm pretty sure nothing can

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

You should be fine, a month or 2 ago a friend dropped his cigarette in my full bottle bucket and then grabed it out..if that can't infect a beer, I'm pretty sure nothing can

Nice!! Glad to hear I'm not the only brewer who smokes during the process. I try to step away from the brewspace to smoke, but chit happens.

 

[Meatyboy]

You should be fine, a month or 2 ago a friend dropped his cigarette in my full bottle bucket and then grabed it out..if that can't infect a beer, I'm pretty sure nothing can

Bet that had to improve the taste dramatically...

 

[alyanddrew]

Thanks for the responses! I woke up this morning to an aggressively bubbling airlock. Hopefully it too off fast enough to eliminate any potential threats

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Thanks for the responses! I woke up this morning to an aggressively bubbling airlock. Hopefully it too off fast enough to eliminate any potential threats

I think a lot of us here have discovered that it's quite hard to ruin a beer. But it's sure easy to get the jitters, especially on your first batch. Sounds like in your case, the yeast took of like they're s'posed to (and almost always do) and everything's going well. Keep your temps in check and in a couple of weeks you'll be bottling that first batch. Best advice is to RDW and HA commercial B, and read whatever you can here and elsewhere to pass the time 'til the next step.

 

[unionrdr]

Since you got it on you,DO NOT BATHE!! It want's the water! Do that,& you'll wind up like Gordy Verril (Creepshow).
Seriously though,it'll likely be fine. It's amazingly hard to mess up a batch of beer. Just remember to add all the top off water & stir well THEN take your OG measurment.

 

[larrybrewer]

Hah, armpit bacteria and no problems, wow that sounds fortunate. Just think though, people brewed 200 years ago and didn't even understand yeast and microbes the way we do today.

My grandfather made wine, open fermentation in the basement (lambic??). My grandma says once the cat fell in and took a swim in the juice. She says it turned out okay and my grandpa still drank it.

The main thing to worry about next is oxidation. Treat the beer gently, don't splash it around now that it has fermented. Otherwise you will have stability problems and stale cardboard flavors.

 

[SocalNat]

I was bending over my bucket aerating my batch once and my glasses fell off into the bucket and I reached in with my bare hands and plucked them out. Beer turned out great, I called it Bifocal Ale.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I was bending over my bucket aerating my batch once and my glasses fell off into the bucket and I reached in with my bare hands and plucked them out. Beer turned out great, I called it Bifocal Ale.

Nice! Another RDW moment here. Yesterday after the boil I was steeping my flameout hops in their nylon bag. After the steep I usually just pull out the sack and let it strain through a metal strainer before tossing them and chilling the wort. So, in this super steamy, gotta be sanitary moment, the strainer falls into my 7 gal kettle and sinks. Remembering this thread and my armpit beer (which was amazing, BTW), I quickly sprayed my arms down with star san solution (reason #472 to keep a spray bottle handy), reached in and grabbed it. OUCH! But I got it out, finished up cooling, pitched and now the beer's happily burping away in the swamp cooler. Hakuna Matata!

 

[downtown3641]

Nice! Another RDW moment here. Yesterday after the boil I was steeping my flameout hops in their nylon bag. After the steep I usually just pull out the sack and let it strain through a metal strainer before tossing them and chilling the wort. So, in this super steamy, gotta be sanitary moment, the strainer falls into my 7 gal kettle and sinks. Remembering this thread and my armpit beer (which was amazing, BTW), I quickly sprayed my arms down with star san solution (reason #472 to keep a spray bottle handy), reached in and grabbed it. OUCH! But I got it out, finished up cooling, pitched and now the beer's happily burping away in the swamp cooler. Hakuna Matata!

Ouch, indeed. I think I might have tried my spoon or the mash paddle before sticking my arm in hot wort.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Ouch, indeed. I think I might have tried my spoon or the mash paddle before sticking my arm in hot wort.

I tried the mash paddle, no luck, it seemed to be lacking the opposable thumb needed to grab the strainer. Kitchen tongs crossed my mind, but they were in the drawer across the kitchen, and I was thinking the plastic handle on the strainer might not be a good idea in ~200 deg. wort... yeah, I know, like my hand and 200 deg. liquid are a great match. Point of the story is no worries, no burns (although, it hurt like an SOB) and the beer's gonna be fine.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I usually take a gravity reading with my penis. It has become quite sensetive to the viscosity.




I would be more concerned with getting all of that sanitizer in the wort.

The title of this thread screamed epic to me for some reason, lol.

as has been said, it is fine, but don't do it again.

in fact, accidentally break your hydrometer. Best thing that ever happened to my brewing.

 

[thughes]

I don't have a wort chiller, but I think this might be a necessity after the long cool down. I'm sure my brew will be loaded with DMS

Stop worrying about the DMS boogyman and search the term "no-chill".

 

[Sixmilecross]

I usually take a gravity reading with my penis.

Well I guess someone had to say it

 

[Special Hops]

I have on one occasion sprayed my arm down with start-san and reached down to the bottom of the bucket with wort in it to retrieve the rubber gromet.

Beer turned out great.

 

[JonM]

Here's a fun read about people dropping WAY worse stuff in their beer (phones, slobbery dog toys, etc.) and the beer turning out fine.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/wh...where-your-beer-still-turned-out-great-96780/

 

[Hackwood]

I dropped a whisk, that i used to make mashed potatoes, while it cooled in the sink

I actually LOLed when I read that...

 

[DoubleAught]

I touched my wort once.....and went blind

 

[cheezydemon3]

I touched my wort once.....and went blind

You effed up. Not supposed to enjoy it.

 

[alyanddrew]

Well, I just bottled it. I thought for sure I'd have to throw it out after touching it. It looked like beer (no obvious growths floating on top), it smelled like beer and guess what, it TASTED like beer! Thanks for all the help! I've since purchased a beer thief, so I won't have to touch my cooled wort again. Lesson learned, even without having to reap any consequences!

Cheers!