Plastic Melted into Wort!!! Oh Noo!

[Delaney]

Haha,

So I'm a noob/retard....I didn't consider that my plastic stirring spoon (the one that came with my wine kit) would melt in 180F water. I was doing the Requiem Raspberry recipe, and had just finished steeping...I then brought water to a boil, and was stirring with the spoon while pouring my Malt in. The Malt was liquid, not dry, the store near my house makes their own....So anyways I'm stirring away and I feel something thick and gooey on the bottom, so I try to scrape it off with my spoon...little do I realize the gooey feeling was my spoon melting and not malt extract.

There is a small amount of plastic that melted off the spoon...maybe 1 gram?...Im hoping it didnt melt into small particles all over in my wort. I immediately transferred the contents to a clean pot, and there was some burnt stuff on the bottom, which I presume was from my spoon action.

Is my beer a goner or does it have a chance? Should I still drink this if it tastes alright??? Will this have a negative effect on the yeast activity? The raspberries are expensive so I don't want to add them if it's doomed.

Thanks for helping a noob out! If I have to restart so be it, I just wanna know if it's a write-off at this point.

 

[RMitch]

I definitely wouldn't risk it. Unless the melted part is somehow still in one piece. But if its gooey? Plastic is the last thing you want in your body.

Keep the raspberries, start a new batch.

 

[hops2it]

Maybe try pouring it through a paint strainer and see what's left behind. If you can account for spoon parts, I wouldn't worry about it. Get it cool first though so any plastic has a chance to firm up and be deposited.

 

[janivar123]

Any clue what kind of plastic it is?
PVC would probably be worse then PP/PE

 

[dwarven_stout]

I tried to rack wort fresh off the flame with a clear plastic racking cane one time. That didn't work so well, but I drank the beer it made. No cancer yet.

Plastic is the last thing you want in your body.

Really? I can think of a few other things.

 

[Thehopguy]

Get one of these: http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/18-plastic-paddle.html

 

[HexKrak]

This is one of those rare occasions where I'll say dump it. Plastics are no good for the body, and even if the plastic is still in bits, I can only imagine how many chemicals were leached from the spoon as it started to become molten.

 

[Delaney]

seriously?? Holy cow I was expecting a different answer...its really not that much plastic...it's fermenting so nicely though...

Damn man that was $30 of ingredients...money doesn't grow on trees

 

[Boleslaus]

Why would they sell a spoon that melts in wort....kinda defeats the purpose.

 

[beerandloathinginaustin]

Drink it. We're all going to get cancer anyway. Drinking this batch might even force you to take care of yourself a little more. This could be the healthiest thing you've ever done.

 

[Delaney]

im going to call the store that sold me the spoon and ask if its food grade plastic in the morning...

 

[Delaney]

note: the meltage appears to have occured only where I was pressing the spoon against bottom of pot.

 

[RMitch]

seriously?? Holy cow I was expecting a different answer...its really not that much plastic...it's fermenting so nicely though...

Damn man that was $30 of ingredients...money doesn't grow on trees

Correct. Technically it grows in bushes.

(Cotton)

 

[dwarven_stout]

Drink the damn beer.

 

[KsHopHead]

seriously?? Holy cow I was expecting a different answer...its really not that much plastic...it's fermenting so nicely though...

Damn man that was $30 of ingredients...money doesn't grow on trees

Sounds like you made up your mind before you posted......so WTF, just drink it! You're probably exposed to WAY worse through the course of everyday life anyway. Let us know in 30 years how it all turns out.

 

[grendle77]

I unfortunate have a plastic spoon/ stir stick. I would not drink a single brew if the plastic melted into a batch.

 

[Tholan]

If it sinks the plastic is probably with the trub. I would suggest somekind of fining or straining of product is in order. Sterilize cheese cloth and then the beer through it before bottling. Given the dose I would only be concerned with rough rigid pieces getting into my digestive tract.

 

[douglasbarbin]

+1 for keep it and at least try to drink it. I can't imagine that much plastic making it into your beer, if any. Like others have said, you are probably exposed to much worse things every day. If it tastes ok, I say keep it.

 

[onipar]

I felt so bad about this that I was trying to think of *any* reason for you to keep the brew. In fact, the first thing I thought of was that hey, maybe the spoon didn't melt at all. Maybe it was just some of the LME that got stuck and burned at the bottom of the pot, and you were stirring it with the spoon and it stuck to the spoon, so you thought the spoon melted.

I'm sure that's not the case; I'm guessing the spoon has actually changed shape and lost a bunch from the end. But like I said, I was just trying to think of any reason you should go ahead and drink it.

Let us know how this turns out and what you decide.

 

[Boleslaus]

You'll probably die eventually...

 

[Germelli1]

The spoon melted most likely because it was in direct contact with the heated botom of the pot which was wayyy hotter than the wort!

 

[samc]

I'd probably drink it even though I am pretty anal about that kind of stuff. If you knew what went on in food plants, restaurants & breweries, you wouldn't eat anything. You eat all sorts of animals and veggies that have ingested all sorts of toxic crap, whats a little spoon bit going to do to you. How about a Tuna Mercury sandwich?

One of my college roommates worked in a Minute Maid OJ bottling plant, I won't ever buy MM OJ after the stories. But in reality I'm sure it's no different than any other plant.

 

[Delaney]

Hum....I guess there is no solid answer if studies haven't been performed regarding the consumption of melted plastics...

It's really a shame because the brew smells so good and the yeasties are loving it...I think Im going to re-do this today and junk the current batch. To truly enjoy it my mind should be at ease...

 

[Germelli1]

I personally would have no problem drinking it. I doubt 1 batch of beer with a little plastic would hurt anything. Plus the yeast may have already cleaned it up.

Everything is a carcenogen if you look at it hard enough

 

[Delaney]

i dumped it

 

[geneb]

That's a crying shame.

For the record, I would have drank it without a second thought.

 

[usfmikeb]

Melting plastic gives off all kinds of toxic petrochemicals. You did the right thing, nothing is more important than your health.

 

[Tholan]

Damn man that was $30 of ingredients...money doesn't grow on trees

i dumped it

The duality of man.