Stupidest thing you ever did brew related

[ChshreCat]

First attempt at brewing years ago. Was starting the siphon from fermenting bucket to bottling bucket. Sucked in a nice mouthful of beer, panicked and spit it into the, yep, bottling bucket. Continued to transfer the beer and bottle. Couple weeks later cracked a nice beer flavored vinegar. drank probably close to a twelver before admitting defeat. Just started brewing again and am looking forward to all the grand screw up I know are coming.

When you make 5 gallons of malt vinegar, you don't have to admit defeat.

Just go out and buy 100 lbs of french fries and fish sticks.

 

[Fluffhead]

Here's a stupid mistake I've made several times: Since I can't fit a pot or carboy in my sink, I usually put them on the floor, then put a pitcher in the sink and fill it up with sink water. From there, I autosiphon the water from the pitcher into the carboy and let the sink water continue to go into the pitcher to keep a steady flow going while I'm siphoning. Problem is, I like to walk away when I'm doing this and get distracted, sometimes letting gallons and gallons of sink water just pour out onto the floor as the carboy overflows! I even had an issue once where I really forgot about it and the water on the floor started leaking through my neighbor's roof!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I told my wife brewing would be cheap. 4 years, 20 kegs, a keezer, and a Brew-Magic later.....

She says I lied!

 

[Johnny9]

Back in my extract days, I used to submerge the extract container in hot water so it would be easier to pour. I would do in this our laundry room.

So I start to fill the sink....get distracted...leave the room and go about other chores, heating water yada yada.

bout 10 mins later it hits me, I left the water running. Flooded the laundry room with about 1/2 inch of water.

SWMBO was pissed. But she got over it and actually named the offending beer after the warped hard wood floor in the hall next to the laundry room.....Buckled Wood

I think I moved to AG right after that

 

[azscoob]

Currently stuck using plastic bottles for some of my beer, with screw-on caps. Had a friend over to help with bottling; I'd fill, he'd screw the caps on.

I didn't realize until the next day when checking my bottles that he apparently has the hand strength of a 5-year old child with broken wrists. So all my bottles didn't have the plastic caps screwed on tight at all... makes me worried that my beer may not carb properly.

But we'll see >_>

I am honestly laughing out loud at this one, I get a great mental picture here that I cannot even begin to describe!

 

[hotbrew]

I love how the vast majority of these stories involve someone getting distracted.

Anyway, my biggest mistake wasn't really my fault. I was still extract brewing at the time and I hated having to bottle my beers. So instead of investing in a real keg and kegerator, I bought a Party Pig. I thought it would revolutionize how I stored beer. On one particular brew day, everything was going right. I was so proud of myself.

I transferred some beer to the party pig, and starting bottling the rest of the batch. All of a sudden a heard a PSST! noise and felt the back of my head get wet. Apparently after the pressure sack in the party pig completely inflated, the rubber gasket decided to slip and fail. My party pig was spraying beer all over my kitchen and was tumbling around on my kitchen table. AWESOME! Just what I needed. And wait... there is more!

I ended up throwing it outside on the deck and letting it spray until it ran out of beer. I came back to it the next morning and tried to take it apart and depressurize it. Well apparently I didn't depressurize it enough and when I was unscrewing it, the front popped out a little bit. It scared me and I bashed my nose with my fist. That was the last time I use a party pig.

 

[azscoob]

The other day I was pulling a pint and thought that it was flowing a bit fast and a little foamy, I check and sure enough I forgot to lock the nut down on the regulator, the reg slowly creeps up in pressure for whatever reason when I do this, I have beer at 21psi for who knows how many days, I turn down and lock in place at 12psi, I now have 3 kegs flowing foam because of the differential I created. I did not disconnect and de-gas when I figured it out, so I am now enjoying 1/2 inch of beer and 4 1/4 inches of foam in a beer with a head that simply will not quit. A stupid mistake that would already be corrected if I had de-gassed and followed my own advice I have posted on here several times for overcarbed beer.

I am off to get another pint of foam, BRB.....

 

[Zacharias]

Once I brewed some beer over at my friends house to teach him how, and left it in his charge. He popped the airlock grommet into the beer and decided to reach in and try to fish it out.

 

[Whut]

Had just finished cleaning the lines and faucets. Turned the CO2 back on and then and only then did I realize I hadn't reattached the faucets to the shanks. Needless to say homebrew shot across the laundry room in epic proportions.

Boys and girls you learn this lesson only once!

I am off to get another pint of foam, BRB.....

I'll be right over!

 

[AwesomeSquad]

A little while ago I acquired 2 sanke kegs, and due to the excitement i took an early lunch went home and decided i would open them and start the oxi soak. They had been laying around for years one was about half way full of beer. I ended up getting the smart idea of pushing the ball lock in to de-pressurize it. Rotten stinky beer spews out under pressure and lands right on my face and body, I instantly start vomiting.

Sadly this idiotic story is not over. I stop vomiting and decide to hose off a bit and give it another go. This time I get a long bar and think if I push the ball lock again from a bit of a distance I will be fine. So I proceed to do this, and yet again get sprayed with rotten beer, and proceed to vomit again. I clean up again and realize I can stick a steel bar in the ground flip the keg over and take all the beer out in a separate direction. I ended up taking a shower again during my lunch.

sad stuff indeed.

That is so very awesome.

 

[vandeg]

My first Mr. Beer brew was the Octoberfest Vienna Lager, which at that time I was doing it in the dorms. Leaving a window cracked open I was able to keep the room about 40dF and everything looked good. Since I didn't have any glass bottles or a capper at that time I used plastic pop bottles. Great thing is that beer was bottled, worst thing was that there was a pronounced soapy flavor. On the up side, the soap had a citrusy flavor.

Overall though, it was barely drinkable and I quickly learned how important it is to clean properly and don't half arse everything...

 

[mrmekon]

I've had good luck with homebrewing so far, but recently installed a professional direct draw 5-keg fridge at my friend's bar. I've never used a keg before in my life, but I read a lot before hand. I get all the lines cut and run, everything seems to be hooked up perfectly. I'm knelt down in front of the middle of the fridge, reach in, twist on the coupler. I check everything 10 more times, but I'm still terrified something is going to explode. Moment of truth: I pull the lever down to engage the keg... and nothing spills! Only one more step... threw the valve open on the CO2 regulator, and instantly get a freaking Bell's Two-Hearted beer shower all over my head. I left the damned tap handle open!!

 

[zanemoseley]

A little while ago I acquired 2 sanke kegs, and due to the excitement i took an early lunch went home and decided i would open them and start the oxi soak. They had been laying around for years one was about half way full of beer. I ended up getting the smart idea of pushing the ball lock in to de-pressurize it. Rotten stinky beer spews out under pressure and lands right on my face and body, I instantly start vomiting.

Sadly this idiotic story is not over. I stop vomiting and decide to hose off a bit and give it another go. This time I get a long bar and think if I push the ball lock again from a bit of a distance I will be fine. So I proceed to do this, and yet again get sprayed with rotten beer, and proceed to vomit again. I clean up again and realize I can stick a steel bar in the ground flip the keg over and take all the beer out in a separate direction. I ended up taking a shower again during my lunch.

sad stuff indeed.

EPIC!!! I would have paid good money to see this in action.

 

[Bottenbrew]

My worst issue was when I had a full bottling buckets on the floor and had to run into the other room for a second. I came back to my dog head deep in the bucket sucking down Irish Red for all he was worth. I got him outside only to come back and see the OTHER dog with her head in the bucket sucking down my sweet sweet brew. Needless to say I bottle with the dogs in their cages now.

On a side note, watching my dogs stumble around drunk was pretty hilarious.

 

[fullstop22]

I just bottled an IPA. When it was towards the end of the boil just after the last hop addition I thought I hope all these hops don't plug the stainless braids on the keggle. Next thought OH! NO! forgot to put braid in.

 

[hammacks]

"LOL" always bugged me. I mean are you really laughing out loud? I don't use that crap...

But -

A little while ago I acquired 2 sanke kegs, and due to the excitement i took an early lunch went home and decided i would open them and start the oxi soak. They had been laying around for years one was about half way full of beer. I ended up getting the smart idea of pushing the ball lock in to de-pressurize it. Rotten stinky beer spews out under pressure and lands right on my face and body, I instantly start vomiting.

Sadly this idiotic story is not over. I stop vomiting and decide to hose off a bit and give it another go. This time I get a long bar and think if I push the ball lock again from a bit of a distance I will be fine. So I proceed to do this, and yet again get sprayed with rotten beer, and proceed to vomit again. I clean up again and realize I can stick a steel bar in the ground flip the keg over and take all the beer out in a separate direction. I ended up taking a shower again during my lunch.

sad stuff indeed.

LMFAO.

 

[sportscrazed2]

"LOL" always bugged me. I mean are you really laughing out loud? I don't use that crap...

But -


LMFAO.

how about col? for chuckling out loud? that would be more adequate or mgbiswf? mildly grinning because it's somewhat funny?

 

[LuckyRVA]

Sitting at work hungover today, this thread made my day!! I can't really contribute yet as I haven't brewed enough to make any epic mistakes. But, I'm sure I'll be sharing one day.

 

[nebben]

I shot iodine onto my ceiling...luckily missing my eyes in the process. The bottle was kind of sticky, and I couldn't get any iodine out. I squeezed and squeezed, and BOOM...My white ceiling is now iodine colored right above my sink. SWMBO didn't recognize it, but her mom did when she was in town last time.

That's a fun one to explain......"Yea, we were drinking while making beer a few months ago, and it was probably about midnight because we were just sanitizing the fermenter towards the end of the brewing process..." ... yeaaa...

 

[crypt0]

My last brew day, as I was doughing in, I realized I forgot to attach my stainless braid to the bulkhead. Easily the dumbest thing ive done yet, and I hadn't even had a homebrew!

Ended up attaching the braid to the boil kettle, picking up and dumping the MT into the BK (10 gallon batch), washing the MT, using the MT as a BK. Floors are nicely sticky now.

WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN.