raunnating
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- Apr 2, 2009
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At the cost of exposing myself as just another paranoid first-time-brewer, I digress: Being my first time brewing, I have a few questions for the experienced brewers out there.
I am brewing a Belgian style wheat ale (I used Belgian Wheat yeast). Since I have never brewed before, I brewed a double batch with a more experienced brewer. Everything went perfect until we parted ways and I brought the beer home to ferment.
Did I mention that in addition to being a noobie to brewing, that I am an idiot too? Well it's true, because when I set up my carboy in a cooler full of water, I made the mistake of putting way too much ice in along with it, taking the temperature down to around 15 degrees.
After 2 days with no signs of life, I realized that my bath might be too cold, so I drained the water and ice out, leaving it overnight with nothing to cool it. The next morning I noticed a little foam and thought I must be on the right track, leaving the carboy un-cooled for the rest of the day.
Now, I mentioned that I was an idiot, but this just goes above and beyond. I had my air lock on this entire time, but I never put any water in it. When I got home that evening, I put water in my air lock and filled the cooler back up with water and added a 2 liter of ice. That was on day 3.
Now it has been 6 days and things seem to be on track. Fermentation is continuing to occur slowly with 8-9 seconds between air lock bubbling. However, I am starting to notice and my wort smells off. The best way I can describe it is smelling like sour milk in a garden hose. If it smells this bad, I hate to see what it tastes like.
I'm hoping that this is completely normal. However, given all the mistakes I made, is this something to worry about? And if so, is there anything I can do at this point to salvage it?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
An Idiot.
I am brewing a Belgian style wheat ale (I used Belgian Wheat yeast). Since I have never brewed before, I brewed a double batch with a more experienced brewer. Everything went perfect until we parted ways and I brought the beer home to ferment.
Did I mention that in addition to being a noobie to brewing, that I am an idiot too? Well it's true, because when I set up my carboy in a cooler full of water, I made the mistake of putting way too much ice in along with it, taking the temperature down to around 15 degrees.
After 2 days with no signs of life, I realized that my bath might be too cold, so I drained the water and ice out, leaving it overnight with nothing to cool it. The next morning I noticed a little foam and thought I must be on the right track, leaving the carboy un-cooled for the rest of the day.
Now, I mentioned that I was an idiot, but this just goes above and beyond. I had my air lock on this entire time, but I never put any water in it. When I got home that evening, I put water in my air lock and filled the cooler back up with water and added a 2 liter of ice. That was on day 3.
Now it has been 6 days and things seem to be on track. Fermentation is continuing to occur slowly with 8-9 seconds between air lock bubbling. However, I am starting to notice and my wort smells off. The best way I can describe it is smelling like sour milk in a garden hose. If it smells this bad, I hate to see what it tastes like.
I'm hoping that this is completely normal. However, given all the mistakes I made, is this something to worry about? And if so, is there anything I can do at this point to salvage it?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
An Idiot.