Mistakes - Did I Contaminate?

[galbzilla]

Hey Guys,

I brewed a dunkelweizen this weekend, but I made several mistakes that I fear may have lead to contamination:

1.I forgot to do my wort cooling techniques, and the wort sat in my primary for several hours at about 90 ~ 100 degrees F.

2. I had to pitch the yeast at 90 degrees, most likely leading to less yeast surviving the temperature shock and giving the yeast less of a head start on other bacteria.

3. I feared the yeast would over flow (33% head space requirement for this strain of yeast) and I attempted to do a blow off for the first time. The tubing I used for the blow off wasn't large enough and there was no bubbling for approximately the first 12 hours. After 12 hours, I switched to an air lock.

Do you think the beer is contaminated?

Thanks,
Galbzilla

 

[XXguy]

No.

Relax- spend some time reading up on swamp coolers, ice baths, how to make you own wort chiller, or some other project.

Your beer will be fine.

 

[Sixmilecross]

The yeast should still be around at that temp, primary fermentation may just take a little longer if any yeast died. I somehow pitched yeast at around 120F my first time and had fermentation about a day later. Just make sure your gravity is steady before bottling. You may still want to keep a blowoff tube on for when the yeast start kickin'

 

[galbzilla]

Thanks guys! You have definitely eased my mind. If I wasn't at work I'd be relaxing and having a home brew.

 

[dfc]

R, DW. HAHB. After work of course.

 

[galbzilla]

By the way, my cooling methods work fairly well and I'd like to share it with anyone that may need it.

I'm mostly extract and a steep a few specialty grains for flavor, aroma, body and head. My pre-boil volume is 2.5Gal, and I usually need about 3Gal to get up to 5Gal batch size. Before I start brewing I place 3Gal of bottled, spring water in my freezer. Once I've completed my boil, I move the brew kettle into my sink which is filled with ice and give it a couple of good stirs. I leave it there for about five minutes and it comes down to about 160 F. Then I slowly pour it into my primary and add the cold 3Gals. I did this yesterday at a friend's house (Rosemary IPA) and it was at 74 F within 10 minutes.

 

[Smithman]

By the way, my cooling methods work fairly well and I'd like to share it with anyone that may need it.

I'm mostly extract and a steep a few specialty grains for flavor, aroma, body and head. My pre-boil volume is 2.5Gal, and I usually need about 3Gal to get up to 5Gal batch size. Before I start brewing I place 3Gal of bottled, spring water in my freezer. Once I've completed my boil, I move the brew kettle into my sink which is filled with ice and give it a couple of good stirs. I leave it there for about five minutes and it comes down to about 160 F. Then I slowly pour it into my primary and add the cold 3Gals. I did this yesterday at a friend's house (Rosemary IPA) and it was at 74 F within 10 minutes.

I do almost the same thing. I put the cold water into my fermenter and pour the wort in on top. I get the same outcome.