sanitizer on hand while agitating wort

[mrplanters]

Hi there - I hate to do it, but I have a beginner "did I ruin it" question: I have a kit from the Brooklyn Brew Shop and am following their recipe for a Peanut Butter Porter. After pitching the yeast, I sanitized my hand with a C-Brite and water solution. What I realize now is that I did not dry my hand off, so when I placed it on the top of the fermenter and shook, the wort may have come into contact with the solution on my hand. Is this a problem? Will the beer be safe to drink when finished or should I start over now? Also, the fermentation started on the night of the first day, but it's been about 40 hours and the bubbles are consistent but about 30 seconds or more apart. I am wondering if this is due to not drying my hand. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

 

[webby45wr]

I haven't used C-Brite, but from what I found on this thread, I think you'll be fine.

The bubbles you describe sound like a normal fermentation. I think your fine. Also, don't trust the bubbles as an indicator of a done fermentation. You will want to take gravity readings to determine that.

Relax, don't worry, have a home brew!

 

[Colorowdy]

You are fine. Leave it in the fermenter for a couple more weeks and take a hydrometer reading.

 

[flars]

You don't have anything to worry about. The small amount of the cleanser/sanitizer in the beer will have no effect on the yeast or taste.
Would be worth the money to get a no rinse sanitizer though. A product like Starsan can be saved and reused if no dirt or other crud is put into it.

 

[MrHadack]

Being sanitized and careful is always the way to go, but a lot of newer brewers like yourself can get nervous over the little things that really don't matter. Here's a story to make you feel better:

One summer I was cooling a batch of beer after the boil and a couple of very large black beetles fell into my wort. They had been flying around all night (I was brewing on my deck) and I don't know how they both happened to fall in at the same time, but they did. They were floating around on the top, and without thinking, I reached in with my unsanitized hand and scooped them out. I finished cooling, pitched my yeast, and a few weeks later I had really great beer.

Bad things can happen, and you should always be careful. But beer is more resilient than you might think.

 

[cubalz]

Yeah it is tough to not be nervous about every little thing when you first start out. If it makes you feel any better, I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning but none of my beers ended up being undrinkable.

 

[ianw58]

Another way of looking at it...

Think of the small amount of liquid on your hand when you clamped it over the fermenter opening. If that much juice ruined your beer, it would have ripped a hole in your hand too.

I maintain sanitary practices, but am not completely anal about it. I stated brewing in 1995, but had a hiatus in there are a divorce. In unknown number of batches, I've never had an infection in my beer.

Take away...

Relax! Clean. Sanitize. Be careful. But remember, it's a hobby! People have been brewing successfully for millennia before the concept of germ theory was even developed.

 

[mrplanters]

Just wanted to give a late thank you to everyone who responded so quickly to my question. I uncapped my first bottle on Monday and am pleased to report that for my first batch I'm all-around pleased. I wish the peanut butter flavor was a little more pronounced but I'll just have to fix that in the next batch!

Thanks again!

 

[flars]

Just wanted to give a late thank you to everyone who responded so quickly to my question. I uncapped my first bottle on Monday and am pleased to report that for my first batch I'm all-around pleased. I wish the peanut butter flavor was a little more pronounced but I'll just have to fix that in the next batch!

Thanks again!

Until you do your next brew, eat a little peanut butter before a glass of beer for more of the flavor.
Welcome to brewing.