Is it bad to brew when sick?

[DeathBrewer]

I was thinking of brewing the RIS 08/08/08 today.

i have a bad cough and have to run to the bathroom everyone once in a while, which shouldn't really affect my brewing.

I took the day off werk because i am sick and figured i needed the rest (plus my guys have everything covered) but now i'm itching to brew.

so whatchyall think? will being sick affect the brew? am i carrying more bacteria than usual? should i cover my mouth with something when the boil is finished?

this would be my first AG at my pad...i'm splitting it into two pots.

 

[Desert_Sky]

sure, just don't sneeze into cooled wort.

 

[Evan!]

I'm no chem scientist or anything, but I'd guess that the germs that are making you sick are not the kind of germs that thrive on wort sugar. Just to be safe, I'd keep a bottle of hand sanitizer around at all times after the wort is cooled, and be sure not to cough into the bucket/carboy. Other than that, I wouldn't worry. Just make sure you're not gonna get more sick. Nothing is worse than felling temporarily better, deciding to take on a project, then discovering halfway through said project that you're still sick.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I hope it's fine. My familiy passed around a 24 hour flu bug that didn't hit me until last week when I had just started the boil on my sweet imperial stout. I spent the rest of the brew session tossing my cookies every 30 minutes or so, but I got it done - and I didn't get any in the beer.

 

[DeathBrewer]

sweet. all what i pretty much figured.

i'm heading to a morebeer in a bit then

 

[mrkristofo]

brew away. sanitation is sanitation, sick or not.

 

[denimglen]

I was wondering the same thing the other day, brewed a batch when I had a bad cold. I thought the germies might be keen on taking over the wort but everything seems to be fine with the batch so far.

 

[z987k]

I believe no known pathogens can survive in beer. That's a reason everyone used to drink beer... back when water was questionable or unsafe.

 

[GloHoppa]

I believe no known pathogens can survive in beer. That's a reason everyone used to drink beer... back when water was questionable or unsafe.

however, its the whole getting it to be beer that's the tricky part:fro:

 

[z987k]

well a virus is not going to eat any sugars so you wouldn't get an "infection" if the wort was somehow laden with the cold virus say, I'm guessing the alcohol produced by the yeast would kill it.

 

[DeathBrewer]

yeah, i was able to hold back my coughing so it didn't get in the wort. you should check out the 080808 thread to see the progress...tons of pictures and quite the session!

 

[z987k]

I don't know. I'm not making it, just doesn't seem like it'd taste good to me, and even if I did like it, I'd be the only one, and it's occupy a keg for ~12months.

 

[flyboy]

I looked it up in "The Complete Handbook of Home Brewing" by Dave Miller and he says that the pathogens that make your beer sick don't make you sick. And visa versa. (p178) Just sanitize and your beer will be fine. Drink plenty of liquids (aka. beer) and you'll be fine, too.

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

I did it yesterday. The major problem is being almost too tiered to finish thre let alone cleanup