Spent several hours today doing a smash ale with some hops a friend provided. After pitching the yeast and what I thought was a satisfying brew day I found myself on the couch falling asleep while watching the Brewer game. When I awoke I had an epiphany realizing I forgot to mill the grain at the brew store when I bought it in hurry the day before. I probably should have realized it when doing the mash, but did not and did not bother with any gravity readings. I'm kicking myself for this F-Up!
Monumental f-up
- Thread starter sbsmann
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A highly sessionable session ale 
There's still time to at least get an OG.
It would be interesting to know what a "No Crush" gravity is.
You should do it...FOR SCIENCE!
There's still time to at least get an OG.
It would be interesting to know what a "No Crush" gravity is.
You should do it...FOR SCIENCE!
Lol grind and mash again add enzymes too....ah not worth it.
Serve it as a low/no alcohol brew.
This is truly a great f up
The only way to top this would be forgetting to add the grain lol
How's your eyesight? Never occurred to you that these grains look WHOLE
Serve it as a low/no alcohol brew.
This is truly a great f up
The only way to top this would be forgetting to add the grain lol
How's your eyesight? Never occurred to you that these grains look WHOLE
Op silently in his mind -
"Brewers are playing.
Brewers.
I'm a brewer.
I wonder if any of the Brewers are brewers.
Ha, ha. That's funny.
They'd be a Brewers brewer.
I'm just a brewer.
Not a real Brewer.
Well I'm a real ......OH ****.!!!!"
"Brewers are playing.
Brewers.
I'm a brewer.
I wonder if any of the Brewers are brewers.
Ha, ha. That's funny.
They'd be a Brewers brewer.
I'm just a brewer.
Not a real Brewer.
Well I'm a real ......OH ****.!!!!"
13 points out of - what - 50-something? ~25% extract efficiency seems amazing for totally unmilled barley.
Props to the OP for having the courage to post this for our entertainment
Props to the OP for having the courage to post this for our entertainment
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Boil some extract and add it to the fermenter.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Sorry to hear, but thanks for sharing and glad we all know now how little sugar is extracted. Just a thought, since the water is hopped, maybe add dme or sugar? Get it to 3 or 4 percent. Maybe boil dme in a little water to dissolve and add to fermenter.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
Funny, I was thinking if there would be any way to salvage the beer in the fermenter at this point or whether I should dump it and just do a quick extract brew today instead. I won't be able to brew for about a month, so I needed to make some this weekend.
I would love to salvage this beer, but do we think it's realistic with DME to get my brown water up to an appropriate level to make something somewhat decent? My 6 gallon fermentor has about 5 gallons in it so I don't have a ton of room for more water. Anyone have any ideas how much Dry malt extract would need to be boiled up to get 4-5 points?
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
Lol grind and mash again add enzymes too....ah not worth it.
Serve it as a low/no alcohol brew.
This is truly a great f up
The only way to top this would be forgetting to add the grain lol
How's your eyesight? Never occurred to you that these grains look WHOLE
I wear glasses with bifocals, so I have no vision excuse. I was not hung over, sick or tired. I got no good excuses whatsoever. Completely embarrassing and from one who HATES to waste time, this whole incident really hurt me!
Silver_Is_Money
Larry Sayre, Developer of 'Mash Made Easy'
4 lbs. of DME should get you something drinkable.
You could remove a gallon from the fermenter, simmmer 4-5 lbs of extract in 3 quarts to pasteurize and add to fermenter.
If it's worth it or not is debatable???
Edit ... or better yet use wort removed to simmer the extract....note that there will be a volume of weak wort to discard varying if you use LME or DME.
If it's worth it or not is debatable???
Edit ... or better yet use wort removed to simmer the extract....note that there will be a volume of weak wort to discard varying if you use LME or DME.
you could get some lme and just boil the cans in water before opening to sterilise, no need to add water then
it's not a monumental f-up, that would be leaving the tap on your fermenting bucket open and messing with the top while several liters spill over your nice clean floor.....
it's not a monumental f-up, that would be leaving the tap on your fermenting bucket open and messing with the top while several liters spill over your nice clean floor.....
you could get some lme and just boil the cans in water before opening to sterilise, no need to add water then
it's not a monumental f-up, that would be leaving the tap on your fermenting bucket open and messing with the top while several liters spill over your nice clean floor.....
I would be very careful heating sealed cans due to safety issues creating internal pressure in the cans. This could make the first mistake look minor.
Hahaha. If it makes you feel any better, I had the worst brew day of my life Friday night. Everything went wrong: volumes way off, grains floating in the boil, wort down the side of fermenter an all over the floor, yeast stir bar into the fermenter, heating pad in fermentation fridge didn't work, sparge cooler smelled and tasted like plastic. Don't know what the hell was happening...One thing after another...
Lefou
Danged rascally furt
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...or, if you decide to do so, using LME at the ratio of 1.1lb/gallon water will increase your gravity by 40 gravity points. That's approximately one-third container of Briess LME for every gallon of wort. One can of the Briess equals 3.3lb of extract. One 3.3lb can costs around $12, so it might be an expensive option.
Boiling LME not a great idea, but soaking the plastic container in hot water around typical mash temps would make it easier to dispense, but a possible mess waiting to happen, as I see it. It would be like pouring liquid caramel, more or less if not diluted enough.
If you're tight on volume, using a siphon to get wort would work but would do a number on your yeast. You'd definitely have to re-pitch extra after adding the extract.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
This is getting interesting. It seems like I would need a lot of water to boil up that much dry malt extract? I would be okay dumping some of the wort out of the fermentor, but I'm not sure how much? Ideas?
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
It almost seems to me, I'd have to empty most of the fermentor, add about 4 lbs of DME in 4 gallons and add that back to the one remaining gallon. Seems like a fair amount of work for something that may or may not turn out drinkable. It seems like doing an extract beer from scratch would be as much work and more likely to be a winner.
Lefou
Danged rascally furt
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At the ratio I quoted you for LME, you would need 1.1lb/gallon of wort or water for every gallon to get 40 gravity points. To get the needed 4-5 points per gallon, divide that LME weight by 10 to get your required extract weight. It may not be a total bust if you only really want 4-5 gravity points per gallon.
Not sure how much DME it would take for the same gravity. The guys who do dry extract could give a faster, better answer.
Not sure how much DME it would take for the same gravity. The guys who do dry extract could give a faster, better answer.
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Silver_Is_Money
Larry Sayre, Developer of 'Mash Made Easy'
Heat 2 gallons of your wort to 185 degrees, take off heat, and add 4 lbs. DME slowly and stir to get it all dissolved. Then hold at 165 degrees for 20 minutes to Pasteurize it, cool, and add back to the fermenter.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
I may actually try this. What would u do for yeast. Would I pitch another/new full packet of the Wyeast 1056 American Ale or some percentage of the full pack?
Silver_Is_Money
Larry Sayre, Developer of 'Mash Made Easy'
I'm going to assume that you already have yeast activity. If so you should not need any additional yeast. In the end, if it tastes good, don't call it a mistake, promote it as a feature. Many great discoveries were initially what might otherwise be misconstrued as mistakes.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
Yes, I have yeast activity, but I'd be taking out 2 gallons and heating that up which I assume would kill any yeast in that portion, leaving me only the yeast left in the fermenter with 3 gallons. I guess maybe that would be enough?
Silver_Is_Money
Larry Sayre, Developer of 'Mash Made Easy'
Yeast multiply like there is no tomorrow. But no tomorrow only comes when they run out of sugar to eat.
Your yeast should be fine. The yeast you pitched yesterday will expand when they get the fresh wort. Also I'm sure you could get 5 lbs DME to dissolve in 1 gallon of wort. Stir constantly over low heat at first so you don't score it. Chill in an ice bath and return it to the fermenter.
dttk0009
Well-Known Member
I'd leave it as it is! You might end up with a really great session / low abv beer, which definitely also has its preferences and uses. If you get higher than 1.005 you could potentially consider it an almost non-alcoholic beer. Just see what happens!
I had a really big **** up with the mash on a previous beer (wit) and thought the batch was ruined. In the end it turned out amazing despite not hitting OG and some other mistakes.
RDWHAHB
I had a really big **** up with the mash on a previous beer (wit) and thought the batch was ruined. In the end it turned out amazing despite not hitting OG and some other mistakes.
RDWHAHB
applescrap
Be the ball!
This seems the way to go, I thought dme was more sterile than that. Dk, have never used it. For op dme is made by boiling wort down to powder. Thats why no need to boil. Dont throw out the hoppy water. If ot were me I would already be back from lhbs with my dme.
What kind of beer was it? Dry hopping could help it to.
applescrap
Be the ball!
I was wondering about less volume to dissolve.
brewbama
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done it a few times with kits I wasn't certain about, as long as you are slow with the heating, the cans can easily take it.
We do something similar with canned goods that we store over winter and can ourselves, but using glass "weck" cans.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
That's why I love this forum. I expected more mocking of me, but instead when I was about to dump it all out and say F-it, people starting offering quality suggestions. Because of you guys I kept this batch alive and breathing. I'll keep everyone updated with progress and here is what I did today....
1) Siphoned 2 gallons from primary (which had active yeast) into brew kettle.
2) Heat 2 gallons to 185. Removed heat & added 5 lbs of Amber dried malt extract slowly while stirring.
3) After that was dissolved I kept it at 165 for about 20 minutes.
4) Moved the brew kettle to the sink with ice and got the 2 gallons down to 70 degrees in 30 minutes.
5) Dumped 2 gallons back into primary glass carboy (shook it up a little..probably not enough)
6) Took primary down to Man-Cave, installed blow-off tube (just in case) & stored it in the dark at 68 degrees.
Thanks again to everyone including "Silver_Is_Money" who's option I am basically following!
1) Siphoned 2 gallons from primary (which had active yeast) into brew kettle.
2) Heat 2 gallons to 185. Removed heat & added 5 lbs of Amber dried malt extract slowly while stirring.
3) After that was dissolved I kept it at 165 for about 20 minutes.
4) Moved the brew kettle to the sink with ice and got the 2 gallons down to 70 degrees in 30 minutes.
5) Dumped 2 gallons back into primary glass carboy (shook it up a little..probably not enough)
6) Took primary down to Man-Cave, installed blow-off tube (just in case) & stored it in the dark at 68 degrees.
Thanks again to everyone including "Silver_Is_Money" who's option I am basically following!
Amber DME is good stuff, I think you'll be pleased.
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
Had to check up on the Franken-Brew first thing this morning before leaving for work and it looks like it's got a full-on, healthy fermentation going with krausen just starting to enter the blow-off tube. No idea how it'll taste or how strong (weak) it'll be, but in a weird way I'm really looking forward to see how it turns out!
OP
OP
sbsmann
Well-Known Member
Based on this crazy brew, any guestimates on what the gravity would be? Basically I had 5 gallons at 1.016. I took 2 gallons out and added 5lbs of DME before adding it back to the fermenter. I know 4lbs of DME in 1 gallon of water equates to about 1.045, but not sure how it equates to 2 gallons of wort that was already at 1.016? And then combining it all back to the 3 gallons at 1.016 really confuses me and my math skills. Any smart people out there would know how to calculate this type of thing?
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