Stupid things that happen to everyone at some point

[pfgonzo]

Just feeling frustrated. I'm a cautious guy, but sometimes the dumbest things happen, and instead of thinking through the problem for the best solution, I compound the problem.

Case in point: I kegged an IPA this weekend, burst method. Because I shake the keg, I didn't want to add my dry hops (I leave my hops in the keg until it kicks) and end up with a ton of hop particles coming out and floating around. So I hold the dry hops for a day or two, and add them later.

I went to add my dry hops this morning, and when I released the pressure and and unlocked the lid, the large rubber O-ring stayed stuck to the top of the keg. Naturally it fell off, and into the beer as soon as I removed the lid.

Damn thing should float! But it doesn't!

Instead of sanitizing my racking cane and fishing it out (which would have been the smart thing to do... LFMF), I stuck my arm in my starsan bucket for a minute and reached up to my shoulder in my keg full of beer to get the damn thing.

Stupid.

I'm not going to tell anyone I serve it to.

Anyone else do something stupid lately they wish they would have thought about first?

 

[endorphine44]

lol, it's got alcohol in it, it'll be fine. I also assume you weren't sweating profusely when you did this, either way you now have an nice hoppy Armpit IPA to serve your guests.

 

[MindenMan]

lol, it's got alcohol in it, it'll be fine. I also assume you weren't sweating profusely when you did this, either way you now have an nice hoppy Armpit IPA to serve your guests.

That there's funny, I don't care who you are.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'm not sure that my fat, i mean, muscular arm would fit into a keg.

I had this happen to me and just left it. Obviously this only works if you have an extra. In which case, you should have some extras!

 

[firerat]

I'm not sure that my fat, i mean, muscular arm would fit into a keg.

I had this happen to me and just left it. Obviously this only works if you have an extra. In which case, you should have some extras!

Yeah that's would I would do.

Lesson learned, always keep spare o-rings, gaskets, etc... around for just such occasions.

 

[pfgonzo]

Yeah... I have plenty of rebuild packages actually. Another thing to stop and think about. Never occurred to me to just leave it there.

 

[fuzzy2133]

Just remember hind sight is always 20/20. All will be well, this stuff just adds character and wisdom to a person.

 

[The_Bishop]

I once started racking beer into my bottling bucket when the spigot was still open. Didn't notice until I saw the puddle, then I did my best angry sailor impression.

 

[pfgonzo]

Oh sure. I've also filled kettles with the ball valves wide open. Nothing starts a brew day off quite like wet feet.

 

[2drunk2]

I racked sanitizer into my bottling bucket, which was where my priming sugar was. Nobody noticed

 

[jverlinden]

Oh sure. I've also filled kettles with the ball valves wide open. Nothing starts a brew day off quite like wet feet.

Last week I did this with a MO Amarillo SMaSH. Argh!

 

[Hoppity]

Chilled wort draining into ferm bucket with valve open. Nothing ends a day worse than losing half a 10 gallon batch. Doh!

 

[MindenMan]

I have left the valves open on more than one occasion when racking, and miscalculated the priming sugar amount, both short and heavy. Flat or fountain. Flat is easier to remedy, fill a syringe with your under carbonated beer, shake syringe, and blast into glass of beer. I know, I didn't believe it either when I heard about it. Give it a try...

 

[Braufessor]

hahahahaha....... that is funny.

*I have left the burner on my mash and boiled it.
*I dropped a glass carboy through the bottom of my plastic washtub sink and onto the tile floor - where it exploded.
*I knocked over a fermenting bucket while I was transferring chilled wort from boil kettle..... at least it only had 5.5 gallons in it
*I closed my fermentation freezer on a picnic tap hooked to a keg - drained 2.5 gallons of beer and a 5lb CO2 tank it was hooked to.
*I probably have done a lot of other stupid crap too.......
*I have even had the lid ring on a keg fall into my keg like you.

BUT....... I can say I have never shoved my arm into a keg of beer That one is all yours

 

[smccarter]

Just feeling frustrated. I'm a cautious guy, but sometimes the dumbest things happen, and instead of thinking through the problem for the best solution, I compound the problem.

Case in point: I kegged an IPA this weekend, burst method. Because I shake the keg, I didn't want to add my dry hops (I leave my hops in the keg until it kicks) and end up with a ton of hop particles coming out and floating around. So I hold the dry hops for a day or two, and add them later.

I went to add my dry hops this morning, and when I released the pressure and and unlocked the lid, the large rubber O-ring stayed stuck to the top of the keg. Naturally it fell off, and into the beer as soon as I removed the lid.

Damn thing should float! But it doesn't!

Instead of sanitizing my racking cane and fishing it out (which would have been the smart thing to do... LFMF), I stuck my arm in my starsan bucket for a minute and reached up to my shoulder in my keg full of beer to get the damn thing.

Stupid.

I'm not going to tell anyone I serve it to.

Anyone else do something stupid lately they wish they would have thought about first?

lol.. Not really....

Take a moment.... settle down and take a deep breath. You're going to be fine.

We're not brewmasters, and we're not dependent on our hobby to make ends meet. We're hobbyists. We don't brew to make money, we brew because it brings us happiness.

Keep that in mind the next you're elbow deep in a keg trying to fish out an o-ring!!!!

That's all I'm saying.

 

[psymonkey]

I'm not sure that my fat, i mean, muscular arm would fit into a keg.

I had this happen to me and just left it. Obviously this only works if you have an extra. In which case, you should have some extras!

So this just happened to me as well. Turns out I had a poppet leak. But, while inspecting things I pulled the lid, thought - dude, really, no Gasket? How could you forget, then PLOP, in it went. It was stuck to the inside of the keg.

Anyway, I had another, lubed it up and pressurized. Replaced the poppet and things are holding.

So to those who have left it - any off flavors? This is a special beer to my family and I. I want to fish it out, but keep going back and forth on the risks. I wish I had an empty, but my pipeline be full.

 

[te-wa]

im sure someone else has doughed in with 12 lbs of grain in a 10 gal mash tun, then realized the false bottom is sitting on the counter.. i cant just be me..

 

[beernutz]

if you brew long enough you'll do something dumb. I think that applies to both amateur and professional brewers, and I sure as heck know it applies to me.

 

[Queequeg]

I have connected my hose to my plate chiller without having the drain tubing connected. The cut off for the hose was in the garden. A wet kitchen. Also after I drain my mash tub to kettle and I want to disconnect the pump&grant I always forget to close the ball valve to the tun.

 

[RM-MN]

if you brew long enough you'll do something dumb. I think that applies to both amateur and professional brewers, and I sure as heck know it applies to me.

I had a boss once tell me that if you aren't making some mistakes it's because you aren't doing anything. Just try to keep the mistakes minimum and inexpensive.

 

[watermelon83]

I recently did my first batch in over ten years. Somehow the hot break completely slipped my mind. I have never seen a boilover rise so quickly. I bottled my slighty less bitter Irish Red last weekend.

I also had forgotten how important it is to wipe up malt and hops from a boilover while still wet. I think my arm is still tired from scrubbing.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, let's see...I've left the spigot open while racking to the bottling bucket once. Forgot the ice when I put the kettle in the sink once. Ran out of caps while bottling once. Passed out after the bittering addition once too. ad the power go out during the boil once. Live & learn I guess?...

 

[william_shakes_beer]

...Instead of sanitizing my racking cane and fishing it out (which would have been the smart thing to do... LFMF), I stuck my arm in my starsan bucket for a minute and reached up to my shoulder in my keg full of beer to get the damn thing.

Stupid.

I'm not going to tell anyone I serve it to.

Just paste an arm and hammer logo on the bottle and see who notices first. It's be our little secret.

 

[unionrdr]

Or "armed & hammered"...

 

[mdbrewer1]

I forgot to turn off the burner the first time I used my immersion chiller. It took a good 10 minutes of fiddling with the thing and trying to figure out why it wasn't cooling before I finally noticed that the pot was still steaming and put 2 and 2 together. That's probably the dumbest thing I've done.... so far.

 

[fsr_racer]

I once started racking beer into my bottling bucket when the spigot was still open. Didn't notice until I saw the puddle, then I did my best angry sailor impression.

Been there. I now put an old towel under the bucket regardless of whether or not I check the spigot.

 

[Hello]

The spigot on the bottling bucket or the valve on any HLT/BK/MLT are mistakes I have made more than once. My floor gets abused by the amount of beer/wort/water I dump on it on any given brew day.

 

[MTimonin]

Put my racking cane into overly warm sanitizer, and bent it, slightly... Plus, that pesky tap on the bottling bucket...

 

[iamperplexed]

Yesterday I hooked up a picnic tap to a keg that was already on the gas. Unfortunately, the picnic tap was still open from cleaning and draining. It's amazing how much of a mess a few seconds of free flowing stout can make in the kegerator and on the kitchen floor. My girlfriend came home to a very clean house including freshly mopped floors.

 

[j1n]

that large rubber o ring seems to always get stuck to the top of the keg. Mine is always on there pretty tight though, never had it fall off. It seems to stick more after i lube it up with keg lube.