Stirred in yeast/ should i dump?

[googoochummer]

Just did my first attempt at homebrewing. Got a Hefeweizen kit from local homebrewing store. (Thomas Coopers Hefe Kit) After mixing the can with water per instructions, I topped off with water to 70 degreess. I forgot to add the Malt extract and corn sugar and went ahead and added the yeast. I also forgot to take gravity. I immediately noticed my mistake and just poured the malt and corn sugar in through the yeast. I was worried about the sugar not being distributed, so I stirred the whole mix. Will this stirring the yeast ruin the batch?

 

[rsmith179]

Does that mean that the malt extract and corn sugar were not boiled? Sounds like someone needs to slow down and take it easy when brewing. Don't rush through the process, or you'll make mistakes. Depending on if you boiled or not, I would probably call this batch a loss. You may want to keep it around to taste it down the road, but you'd be better off just getting a new kit and doing it the right way if you didn't boil malt extract. Also, wasn't that corn sugar for priming your bottles? You may not have wanted to add that in until bottling time. Wouldn't hurt the beer, just make it stronger.

 

[PseudoChef]

I bet everything is fine. I would never advocate dumping a beer until fermentation is complete, it is bottled/kegged, and carbonated appropriately.

 

[googoochummer]

The kit I bought had a can of liquid similar to molasses in consistency. There were no instructions to boil anything. It just said "dissolve contents of can and other fermentable sugars in 2 liters of boiling water" top up fermenter with cold water to 20 liters mix then top up to 23 liters with either hot or cold water or ice to arrive at 70-80 degree temp. take gravity reading and add yeast" The addition of the malt and corn sugar to the kit were suggestions of the salesperson at the brewing supply place. I do know now about the priming stage, but hopefully it's not ruined. SG was 1.066

 

[chumprock]

Right.. and that will make "beer". Maybe not the best, and there's a good chance you'll have an infected batch, but it will be "drinkable".

If you want to make good beer, I'd suggest a little reading to familiarize yourself with the standard process most use when brewing with extracts or all-grain.

Spend some time here, it's an amazing resource. Also, check out this:

How to Brew - By John Palmer

 

[Yooper]

The kit I bought had a can of liquid similar to molasses in consistency. There were no instructions to boil anything. It just said "dissolve contents of can and other fermentable sugars in 2 liters of boiling water" top up fermenter with cold water to 20 liters mix then top up to 23 liters with either hot or cold water or ice to arrive at 70-80 degree temp. take gravity reading and add yeast" The addition of the malt and corn sugar to the kit were suggestions of the salesperson at the brewing supply place. I do know now about the priming stage, but hopefully it's not ruined. SG was 1.066

That sounds like a typical no-boil kit so as long as you sanitized the fermenter, you'll be fine. You can always stir the sugar and stuff, it won't matter. The time to not stir is after fermentation is going, since oxygen is good for the yeast at the beginning stages, but not after it's started. After fermentation, stirring is a big no-no because it can oxidize the beer.

Many of us aren't very familiar with those no-boil prehopped kits, but I've seen them a couple of times. You should be fine, and have a drinkable beer when it's done.

 

[BADS197]

Location: Alaska



You get the process nailed down the next few times, your in the perfect place to lager.

 

[googoochummer]

What does infected batch mean?

 

[googoochummer]

Thanks for the resource. You're right, gotta slow down.

 

[googoochummer]

Very relieved to read your post. Thanks so much

 

[Vuarra]

I use the cooper's kits on a regular basis. I do warm the water quite a bit so I can get as much of the extract as possible, but what you've done will *eventually* mix and produce a beer. Don't let the lifers here get you down... everyone has done an extract, some just don't remember it

 

[DRoyLenz]

+1 on the How to Brew by John Palmer. I read through almost half of that book before I even started my first batch. I'm still new, so I still freak out about a few little things, but that book really gives some great insight in to what is ACTUALLY going on with the brew process, which ties in "step-by-step" instructions nicely. The website is free, but it is outdated, he has a new version in paperback form, and that is what I've been working from.

 

[Gremlyn]

So if you didn't add the malt or the sugar and put yeast in.... did you add yeast to straight water?

I'd let it ferment out and see how it goes. Never dump the batch until you KNOW it has an infection. Speaking of which, an infection is an unwanted growth of bacteria or mold in your beer. It should be pretty obvious if you have one, though if it is in the early stages it might just make the beer taste terrible. Don't worry, it won't hurt you to drink a little infected beer, other than having just had terrible tasting beer.

 

[carbon111]

Next time, take the same kit, use DME instead of corn sugar, and do a 60 minute boil.
Steep some grains at the beginning and add some finishing hops at the end.

You'll be surprised how much better your beer will be than just a "naked" kit!