Probably messed it up but oh well...

[mrgto]

The Witches Brew :: View topic - Wish me luck...

Thread from another forum....but this is what is happening with me.

Brewed my first batch on Tuesday. I'm hoping I didn't screw it up by doing something very dumb.

I sterilized everything before I brewed. BUT, when I learned I didn't have a long enough spoon to stir in the malts, I taped two clean wooden spoons together and used that to stir. It boiled for another full hour but I'm afraid I might have contaminated the wort with the tape. DUMB DUMB DUMB.

So, I placed the wort in the fermenting bucket and this morning I heard the clicking of the air lock so something is happening.

Instructions said to let it sit for 2 weeks at 65 degrees or so....

I guess it isn't the end of the world if it comes out lousy...live and learn i guess....
_________________

 

[HOP-HEAD]

I'm a newbie myself, so while nothing I state is gospel, I've always heard that there's no real need to sanitize anything going into the hot wort because it'll boil out anything of concern. Once it's cooled, then yes, everything needs to be sanitized.

PS) Note the difference between sanitizing and sterilizing. Most of what we do essentially sanitizes our equipment... not sterilizes it.

 

[Parker36]

I'm a newbie myself, so while nothing I state is gospel, I've always heard that there's no real need to sanitize anything going into the hot wort because it'll boil out anything of concern. Once it's cooled, then yes, everything needs to be sanitized.

PS) Note the difference between sanitizing and sterilizing. Everything we do essentially sanitizes our equipment... not sterilizes it.

True, but the tape may have given off some not so nice flavors. I wouldn't worry too much about it, though

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Your fine. You boiled it youll be fine.

 

[Sheep_Dog]

Infection wise you should be ok as long as the spoon(s) were introduced while the wort was boiling. On the other hand you might have caused some off flavors from the tape on the spoon(s).

 

[BlindLemonLars]

You're fine...even if that tape was dripping with typhoid, influenza and ebola virus, the boil would have killed them all. After the boil is when you need to kick into sanitizing overdrive.

Welcome to the board. What did you brew for your first batch?

EDIT: While composing my reply, I see FOUR others replied! That's amazing, and I'm a pretty fast typist!

 

[Deacon240]

Wait so you brewed it Tuesday and kegged it when? Wednesday? If so that's why it doesn't resemble beer. It didn't have time to ferment.

EDIT:: Gathered this from the posts on the other forum you linked to. Just trying to understand what the timeline of everything is.

 

[BarleyWater]

Wait so you brewed it Tuesday and kegged it when? Wednesday? If so that's why it doesn't resemble beer. It didn't have time to ferment.

EDIT:: Gathered this from the posts on the other forum you linked to. Just trying to understand what the timeline of everything is.

He said the airlock is clicking away this morning and he was waiting 2 weeks at 65, I don't thnink it's kegged yet.

Like everyone else said, you will have no problems due to the tape, but you may want to find a better stirrer before next brewday.

EDIT: Checking the link posted, this batch was NOT brewed this Tuesday, but rather Tuesday 17 days ago according to the time stamps on the posts from the other forum. The OP didn't bother to change the post from the one he made on the other board a couple weeks ago. Without giving us proper info, you aren't going to get proper responses. Taste the damn thing, if it tastes like tape, you f-ed up, if not, your fine.

 

[Deacon240]

Just checked dates again and my first idea of the timeline was wrong. Sorry lol. Still havent woken up

 

[Corey_James]

20 bucks will get you a spoon big enough to handle what you are brewing.

 

[mrgto]

Thanks all. Yea, I waited 14 days per instruction of the kit to ferment. Took the wort into the basement, lifted lid...looked like beer. Added a bit to the Hydrometer holding thing...hydrometer sank to the bottom.
I tried to siphon it out but I noticed a LOT of silt....so I strained it through a funnel. That was cleaned as well as the keg. I added 2/3 the sugar per the kit....then added the CO2.

After one day in the keg it looked like motor oil...very thick, silty, etc. Could have been the sugar not dissolved...

mrgto/Beer - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

As far as brewing, the spoons only touched the boiling water.

I did wait 14 days between pitching yeast and kegging per the instructions.

The beer is Fireside Ale from Williams Brewing...FYI.