Yesterday made me question my sanity. I needed to get 2 batches brewed so I would have beer ready in time for a couple of functions. One was an Irish red and the other was a cranberry saison. Should have been a great day. Nice weather, lot's of football, and beer to be made.
The day is going well until I realize I only have leaf hops for the Irish red. Without thinking I dump 2 ounces of leaf hops into the kettle with no hop bag or spider. What I would have given for my brain to engage about 15 seconds earlier and stop me from the disaster I just made. That much hop matter plugs up the drain, the pump, the chillers, and no level of trying to fish it out with a strainer makes it any better. So I end up having to hand transfer with a measuring cup into my fermenter. First brew takes about 2 hours longer than normal. Took everything apart and cleaned it and got it all functioning again. I would have called it day but I had already started the mash for beer number 2.
Next up is the saison. Things go as planned for the boil. Hop bag this time. Start to cool and the pump jams right at the beginning. Somehow I missed a stray stem from the leaf hops. The pump is too hot to touch so no re-circulation while I cool. Now I realize with no pump once again I will have to hand transfer. Frustrated I pick up the now cool boil kettle and heft 10 gallons of wort up on the table. Didn't even think about the weight until I was committed and had no way to turn back. Got it into the fermenter and decided to call it a day.
Thankfully days like that don't happen very often. If they did I would give up on brewing. My wife just watches me and shakes her head. Thankfully she is a special education teacher so she knows how to deal with my brew days.
The day is going well until I realize I only have leaf hops for the Irish red. Without thinking I dump 2 ounces of leaf hops into the kettle with no hop bag or spider. What I would have given for my brain to engage about 15 seconds earlier and stop me from the disaster I just made. That much hop matter plugs up the drain, the pump, the chillers, and no level of trying to fish it out with a strainer makes it any better. So I end up having to hand transfer with a measuring cup into my fermenter. First brew takes about 2 hours longer than normal. Took everything apart and cleaned it and got it all functioning again. I would have called it day but I had already started the mash for beer number 2.
Next up is the saison. Things go as planned for the boil. Hop bag this time. Start to cool and the pump jams right at the beginning. Somehow I missed a stray stem from the leaf hops. The pump is too hot to touch so no re-circulation while I cool. Now I realize with no pump once again I will have to hand transfer. Frustrated I pick up the now cool boil kettle and heft 10 gallons of wort up on the table. Didn't even think about the weight until I was committed and had no way to turn back. Got it into the fermenter and decided to call it a day.
Thankfully days like that don't happen very often. If they did I would give up on brewing. My wife just watches me and shakes her head. Thankfully she is a special education teacher so she knows how to deal with my brew days.
