Hi everyone - firstly, thank you to all the regular contributors. I've been lurking for the last year or so, gaining all kinds of great knowledge, and thus far I've managed to "relax, don't worry, have a homebrew" sufficiently that I haven't felt the need to post!
I started brewing after trying "Fin du Monde" for the first time. I realized I really preferred tasty Belgians and saisons, but I felt like my options (and wallet!) were somewhat limited. I decided to try my hand at a few kits and extract batches before getting up the confidence to do my own Belgian trippel.
After doing some research, I landed on this recipe with some slight modifications. Brew day went well, I managed to nail my target OG of 1.080, and pitched a very healthy starter of wyeast 1388. Within 24 hours I was rewarded with the biggest, fluffiest krausen I've seen yet.
I decided after doing some more reading to leave it in the primary for eight weeks, since my basement is a bit on the cool side, and 1388 can apparently take some time to do its job. This is where things hit a bit of a snag - my wife and I bought a new house! Of course my first thought is, seeing as all my bottles are full of brown ale and EdWort's apfelwein, how am I going to move my Belgian up one flight of stairs, several city blocks, then down another flight of stairs without inviting disaster?
I've been using a (food grade) plastic garbage can type of primary fermenter which is both bulky and somewhat floppy, so I decided to rack the beer to a glass carboy. The carboy would be heavier but a little more sturdy, hopefully more spill proof and easier to get up and down the stairs. I took a small sample and measured the gravity at 1.014 - perfect! The beer was smooth, nice alcohol warmth, citrusy with just a hint of banana. I rack the beer to the carboy while thinking about how delicious it's going to be once it's bottled and carbed. I cover the carboy with a black garbage bag to protect it from sunlight during the move.
Immediately after picking up the carboy, I realize there is absolutely no way I can move it without some serious sloshing going on. I stand at the bottom of my basement stairs, sweat beginning to bead on my forehead, cursing under my breath. I manage to haul the carboy to the back of my truck without dropping it. I'm starting to imagine the O2 molecules laying siege to my delicious brew.
As I drive to the new house, I realize that the roads in my new neighborhood are being re-paved. I drive with one eye on the road, the other on the carboy, which is rocking gently back and forth with each bump. Beneath the garbage bag I visualize a toilet bowl style whirlwind of yeast, beer and dastardly oxygen molecules.
I arrive at the new house and decide that a glass of apfelwein is warranted given the trauma I've just been through. I bring the glass outside to see my wife standing in the bed of the truck over the carboy. "I think I might have done something to this..." she says. I sigh.
I lug the carboy into the new house, down the stairs and into my new brew room. After removed the plastic, I see that my wife has accidentally shoved the airlock bung about halfway down the neck of the carboy. At least she didn't push it all the way in. I'll deal with it on bottling day.
So the short version of my very long winded question is - what are the chances my beer survived the move? Should I be at all worried about oxidation? At this point, should I bottle as soon as possible or just let it continue to do it's thing?
Thanks in advance, and thanks again for your knowledge and hospitality! (I hope you've enjoyed my story somewhat
). My next brew is going to be a wheat saison using Deathbrewer's awesome partial mash guide, with wyeast 3711, and hopefully no moves in between!
I started brewing after trying "Fin du Monde" for the first time. I realized I really preferred tasty Belgians and saisons, but I felt like my options (and wallet!) were somewhat limited. I decided to try my hand at a few kits and extract batches before getting up the confidence to do my own Belgian trippel.
After doing some research, I landed on this recipe with some slight modifications. Brew day went well, I managed to nail my target OG of 1.080, and pitched a very healthy starter of wyeast 1388. Within 24 hours I was rewarded with the biggest, fluffiest krausen I've seen yet.
I decided after doing some more reading to leave it in the primary for eight weeks, since my basement is a bit on the cool side, and 1388 can apparently take some time to do its job. This is where things hit a bit of a snag - my wife and I bought a new house! Of course my first thought is, seeing as all my bottles are full of brown ale and EdWort's apfelwein, how am I going to move my Belgian up one flight of stairs, several city blocks, then down another flight of stairs without inviting disaster?
I've been using a (food grade) plastic garbage can type of primary fermenter which is both bulky and somewhat floppy, so I decided to rack the beer to a glass carboy. The carboy would be heavier but a little more sturdy, hopefully more spill proof and easier to get up and down the stairs. I took a small sample and measured the gravity at 1.014 - perfect! The beer was smooth, nice alcohol warmth, citrusy with just a hint of banana. I rack the beer to the carboy while thinking about how delicious it's going to be once it's bottled and carbed. I cover the carboy with a black garbage bag to protect it from sunlight during the move.
Immediately after picking up the carboy, I realize there is absolutely no way I can move it without some serious sloshing going on. I stand at the bottom of my basement stairs, sweat beginning to bead on my forehead, cursing under my breath. I manage to haul the carboy to the back of my truck without dropping it. I'm starting to imagine the O2 molecules laying siege to my delicious brew.
As I drive to the new house, I realize that the roads in my new neighborhood are being re-paved. I drive with one eye on the road, the other on the carboy, which is rocking gently back and forth with each bump. Beneath the garbage bag I visualize a toilet bowl style whirlwind of yeast, beer and dastardly oxygen molecules.
I arrive at the new house and decide that a glass of apfelwein is warranted given the trauma I've just been through. I bring the glass outside to see my wife standing in the bed of the truck over the carboy. "I think I might have done something to this..." she says. I sigh.
I lug the carboy into the new house, down the stairs and into my new brew room. After removed the plastic, I see that my wife has accidentally shoved the airlock bung about halfway down the neck of the carboy. At least she didn't push it all the way in. I'll deal with it on bottling day.
So the short version of my very long winded question is - what are the chances my beer survived the move? Should I be at all worried about oxidation? At this point, should I bottle as soon as possible or just let it continue to do it's thing?
Thanks in advance, and thanks again for your knowledge and hospitality! (I hope you've enjoyed my story somewhat
). My next brew is going to be a wheat saison using Deathbrewer's awesome partial mash guide, with wyeast 3711, and hopefully no moves in between!
