This is the part where you say welcome to the board dummy...

[DublinOhioBrewer]

So, I'm a pretty new homebrewer, in fact on Sunday I brewed for the very first time and quite frankly it was a disaster and I'm completely embarrassed about it. However I figured I would introduce myself to all of you with a story that will surely make you all laugh and shake your heads in either disgust or hilarity. Probably a little bit of both.

So I got my front porch pale ale extract kit that came with my Midwest Supplies equipment kit and I proceeded to steep My grains, bring it to a boil, add my extract and my hops for 60 minutes and then hook up my wort chiller to the sink and drop it 15 minutes before the end of the boil while adding my whirlfoc tablets and my yeast nutrient. After 20 minutes with the wort chiller it was down to about 74 degrees. I transferred it through a funnel into my six and a half gallon carboy and added three more gallons of cold distilled water. Unfortunately though, this dropped my wort down to 52 degrees.

This is where my numbskullness kicks in. I decide to put my 60 degree six and a half gallon Carboy on the stove with a light Flame to try to warm the Wort back up to a safe pitching temperature and it ends up shattering on my stove dumping 5 gallons of pale ale all over my floor not to mention hundreds of pieces of glass. I was demoralized.

Now, before you berate me and scream at me, it should be noted that never in my life have I ever been told or had any reason to know that putting glass on heat would cause it to explode. So I feel pretty stupid about that not to mention the fact that I'm an imbecile for ruining 5 gallons of perfectly good wort.

Here I was paranoid and worried about not having a blow off tube... and yet my yeast never even made it into my wort.

So I guess the moral of the story for you new Brewers is don't make the same mistake that I did. $85 later I will never make that mistake again.

My buddy who was an accomplice to this horrible crime and I, have decided that once we redo this pale ale this weekend, Sans the carboy on the stove, we will name it broken glass pale ale and it will live in infamy forever. I will probably keep an unopened bottle with the broken glass pale ale label on it for posterity sake.

Having thoroughly embarrassed myself it's a pleasure being part of this community and I look forward to hopefully sharing good results not terrible situations like this past one.

May the berating commence

 

[ancientmariner52]

Unlike you and your friend, we were all born knowing this important safety tip.

Honestly , how can you be expected to know this, with no experience and no training in this field? How hard would it be to attach a tag with handling instructions to a new carboy?

With that being said, forget glass. It's just too dangerous, and there are plenty of inexpensive alternatives. I wouldn't have a problem with one gallon jugs, but no larger. You still can't heat them, though. Welcome to the hobby. Obsession. Madness. Thing.

 

[jcav]

Great first post! Welcome to the community, you will learn a lot here and I bet your next brew day goes off without a hitch!

Best of luck,

John

 

[DublinOhioBrewer]

My equipment kit came with a five gallon fermenting bucket but maybe I have a hang up about plastic so I decided to get a glass Carboy instead.

In terms of the rest of your response... the mockery is definitely warranted LOL

 

[DublinOhioBrewer]

Great first post! Welcome to the community, you will learn a lot here and I bet your next brew day goes off without a hitch!

Best of luck,

John

I think thats pretty much a garuntee John... im the Cleveland Browns of home brewing right now... hahaha

 

[triethylborane]

That is pretty ****ing stupid. You didnt die from a glass shard severing a femoral artery (or such) and didnt have to go to the hospital so you live another day. And hopefully youll brew another batch, but without heating the glass carboy.

Ive used glass carboys for over 10 years now, still have the same ones, no broken carboys or other issues. If you are careful (or just not negligent) glass carboys will serve you well.

 

[MaxStout]

Bet you had to dig deep to admit that. Thanks for sharing. Luckily, no one was hurt. Other people involved in glass carboy mishaps haven't been as fortunate.

I use glass carboys. Never broken one. You'll find many people around here who don't like them--personal preference. But I use an abundance of caution and am willing to take the risks.

Be careful. Brewing isn't supposed to be dangerous.

 

[Jtk78]

Props to you for sharing the story. Luckily no one was hurt. I'm sure you now know you would have been fine pitching the yeast into 60F wort. And I wouldn't quite call yourself the Cleveland Browns yet. Not until you mess up 15 more batches in a row.

 

[soccerdad]

Do you have a significant other? I'd be dead.

 

[mongoose33]

So, I'm a pretty new homebrewer, in fact on Sunday I brewed for the very first time and quite frankly it was a disaster and I'm completely embarrassed about it. However I figured I would introduce myself to all of you with a story that will surely make you all laugh and shake your heads in either disgust or hilarity. Probably a little bit of both.

So I got my front porch pale ale extract kit that came with my Midwest Supplies equipment kit and I proceeded to steep My grains, bring it to a boil, add my extract and my hops for 60 minutes and then hook up my wort chiller to the sink and drop it 15 minutes before the end of the boil while adding my whirlfoc tablets and my yeast nutrient. After 20 minutes with the wort chiller it was down to about 74 degrees. I transferred it through a funnel into my six and a half gallon carboy and added three more gallons of cold distilled water. Unfortunately though, this dropped my wort down to 52 degrees.

This is where my numbskullness kicks in. I decide to put my 60 degree six and a half gallon Carboy on the stove with a light Flame to try to warm the Wort back up to a safe pitching temperature and it ends up shattering on my stove dumping 5 gallons of pale ale all over my floor not to mention hundreds of pieces of glass. I was demoralized.

Now, before you berate me and scream at me, it should be noted that never in my life have I ever been told or had any reason to know that putting glass on heat would cause it to explode. So I feel pretty stupid about that not to mention the fact that I'm an imbecile for ruining 5 gallons of perfectly good wort.

Here I was paranoid and worried about not having a blow off tube... and yet my yeast never even made it into my wort.

So I guess the moral of the story for you new Brewers is don't make the same mistake that I did. $85 later I will never make that mistake again.

My buddy who was an accomplice to this horrible crime and I, have decided that once we redo this pale ale this weekend, Sans the carboy on the stove, we will name it broken glass pale ale and it will live in infamy forever. I will probably keep an unopened bottle with the broken glass pale ale label on it for posterity sake.

Having thoroughly embarrassed myself it's a pleasure being part of this community and I look forward to hopefully sharing good results not terrible situations like this past one.

May the berating commence

I nominate this for "Post of the Year!"

Wait, the year is only 2 days old.....so maybe it's not that impressive after all.

Here's the best thing about your experiences: things can only get better, so you can look forward to that. You'll get better and better--in fact, I'd like to suggest you follow exactly that process as you gain experience: each and every time you brew, try to do something better than last time. Brewing, at some levels, is simple, but it's not simplistic. There are many moving parts, and trying to get them all to behave takes a certain commitment to that.

Something else that might help, if you can do it, is to find a local homebrewer who will either allow you to watch a brew day, or to help walk you through your own. This will accelerate the learning curve, and you'll enjoy the process more.

Good luck, and as you may have already surmised, we're not here to berate you. Rather, this is a rather impressive community of people who will help. Berating doesn't accomplish that.

 

[madscientist451]

Pretty much tops the list of brewing disasters I've heard. I guess that water was pretty cold when you dumped it in. I've never done partial boils but if I ever do I guess I'll check the temp of the top up water.
The good news is is that you did BREW your first batch, it just didn't get fermented.

 

[hagar]

Do you have a significant other? I'd be dead.

Same here. All my brewing stuff would be on the carport. Me with it, too, most likely.

My buddy who was an accomplice to this horrible crime and I, have decided that once we redo this pale ale this weekend, Sans the carboy on the stove, we will name it broken glass pale ale and it will live in infamy forever. I will probably keep an unopened bottle with the broken glass pale ale label on it for posterity sake.

Be sure to let us know how the redo turns out! And welcome to home brewing!

 

[jalc6927]

That’s incredible!! It will only get better from here

Try a speidel fermenter, much easier to use and clean than glass

Plus it won’t blow up on the stove, just melt, lol

Seriously they are great fermenters

Welcome

 

[Murphys_Law]

About what you’d expect from a dumb&$$ in Ohio!











Oh wait...I grew up in Columbus and my dad just sold his house in Dublin and bought a townhome over in Hillard. [emoji3]

Good luck in the next brew!! And watch the glass!!!

 

[kylevester]

It’s not all glass, just some. A flask or beaker can take direct flame, and Pyrex can go in the oven (but not direct flame). It just matters the type and shape whether it can handle direct flame.

Glad you learned a lesson and no injuries.

 

[grampamark]

Welcome to the board, dummy!

Oh, and-this thread is worthless without pictures.

Mark

 

[JDXX1971]

Good one!! I have done some stupid ****, but you sir, are a dumb ass. Seriously though, loved that story, glad you lived (glass or SWMBO) to brew another day. Joking about the dumb ass part. Well kinda.

 

[Morrey]

You are a good sport, and those who learn from their mistakes are well on their way to many successful brew days ahead. Your positive attitude shows as you eagerly prepare to brew again this weekend. Will be looking for a post about your success!

 

[passedpawn]

Welcome aboard, dummy! We've all been there.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Can't begin to tell you the collected works of sweet moves I've made that brought it close to me ending up....in another place. Until you accidentally shoot yourself with a crossbow, you can stand tall.Thanks for sharing, glad you're OK.

Welcome, Dublin, nothing to hide here, an absolutely fantastic group of people and I hope you enjoy your stay as much as I have.

 

[mongoose33]

Do you have a significant other? I'd be dead.

I was wrong. THIS is the post of the year!

 

[myelo]

With that being said, forget glass. It's just too dangerous, and there are plenty of inexpensive alternatives.

I'm not sure it would have ended any better when he put his plastic bucket full of wort on the stove.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

You survived! Welcome to your new obsession *******! Oh, and every one of you who said you've never broken a carboy in 150 years of brewing have cursed yourselves. I don't know when. I don't know how. But you WILL break a carboy [emoji16]
Please, please, please don't hurt yourselves when it happens. The punishment should fit the crime [emoji482]

 

[pshankstar]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing the story! Usually with glass carboys breaking it leads to trips to the hospital and what not, so I am happy to see you and your friend didn't end up there!

Like another poster said, it's ok to pitch most ale yeast around 60 degrees. If it's a little cooler, let it sit and warm up on its own for a little bit before pitching the yeast. But now you know moving forward. I would consider switching to a fermonster fermenter. I know you mentioned something about not using plastic, but they are great and don't break like glass carboys do. They are also very easy to clean too!

I'm glad with all of the build up and what not, than having your bubble burst (or should I say carboy burst) didn't make you want to give up trying again! Do everything the same except for warming the wort up on the stove top. Brew on!

PS - so do you have a significant other and what did she think? That's the million dollar question there.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Well, the good news is, it sounded like you did everything correct until you got it into the carboy.
In retrospect, you could've stopped chilling the wort at 100 degrees and then added the top off water, and maybe ended up at 70 degrees, right?
Glad nobody got hurt.
Brew on !

 

[Br3w4u]

You should submit your story to the basic brewing radio Homebrew disaster stories. I would say you have a good chance at winning LOL

 

[Zimm9]

Glad no one was hurt and it hasn't scared you off from brewing! Man, I thought I did a boneheaded thing by pouring into a bucket without first checking that the spigot was off. Luckily it was just Star San and water because it went under every appliance in the kitchen.

 

[Homercidal]

We've all been there!








HA HA HA! NO WE HAVEN'T!

But there have been plenty of minor mishaps by most everyone here.

My advice for next time is to keep the beer in the fridge until after you done brewing. Things tend to go much smoother that way.

 

[mongoose33]

Last night I had a mini-mishap. Had a keg of my Amber in the fermchamber fridge, serving w/ a picnic tap. Kegged my LODO Pils yesterday, and set it in the same fridge to force carb.

Kegged at noon; at 11pm, I just had to test the Pils, so I took the picnic tap off the Amber and transferred it to the Pils. Pils tasted great. I go to bed.

This morning, I wake up to a small rivulet of beer from the fridge to the drain. Turns out the poppet for the Amber didn't seal tight when I removed the picnic tap, and there was a slow leak during the night.

I estimate I might have lost a couple bottles worth, so not a major disaster, but a pain to clean up this morning, but what's worse, I absolutely HATE losing beer like that.

 

[Nokt]

Glad that no one was hurt, other than your pride.

 

[cmpk24]

welcome to the board dummy!

 

[SEndorf]

Loved your story... and your humor.
We've all made mistakes. Fortunately no disaster with injury.
Don't think you'll find berating and screaming here. You've GOT to post your follow up re-try brew day.
I'm sure it will go smoother.. and you'll have beer!

 

[jacketsfans]

Unlike you and your friend, we were all born knowing this important safety tip.

This made me snort beer through my nose.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you survived this big, big mistake, then posted it for all to ( insert emotion/thought here) really, glad you are unharmed. Now you'll remember the only glass like vessels pots/cookware that can go on the stove and in the oven are corningware and Pyrex (sometimes the Pyrex cracks if it is too cold ). Those buckets for fine, and protect your brew from getting lightstruck and skunky, but I understand as a new brewer you want to see the marvel of fermentables becoming beer. Clear plastic carboys work fine and they don't break if you drop them. Again, welcome. Cheers

 

[bleme]

Great story and definitely beats my First Brew Fail.

On a related note, you really need a big rope tub like below. You will use it for everything! If your temp is too low, put the fermentor in and fill the tub with hot water. If you are fermenting and it gets too warm, fill the tub with cool water. Use it to wash bottles, sanitize bottles or bucket lids. It is the cheapest and most used item of equipment that I have.

 

[cubalz]

Wow. I am just glad that you were not hurt. A definite life lesson there. Look at it this way, you probably wont do much worse going forward. Welcome to the obsession.

 

[DublinOhioBrewer]

I appreciate all the kind words and advice. I would have responded earlier but i had already hit my 5 post n00b maximum.

As far as the wife goes... she gave me a big hug and told me things will go better next time.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I appreciate all the kind words and advice. I would have responded earlier but i had already hit my 5 post n00b maximum.

As far as the wife goes... she gave me a big hug and told me things will go better next time.

You're a very lucky man! I have an awesome wife and she'd'a killed me. Then resurrect me and make me clean the kitchen. Then kill me again [emoji43]

 

[DublinOhioBrewer]

I think that deep down she was probably royally pissed off but she could see how distraught I was and she knew how much work I put into it and I think she felt bad for me so she probably went easy on me because of all that. If I do something stupid like that again though she'll probably be picking out a coffin for me.

Needless to say I think that the whole glass Carboy thing has kind of steered me towards safer equipment for now. I ordered two 7 gallon fermonsters and I'm going to use those for the foreseeable future. I may go back to glass carboys one day but for now I think Im scared enough.

 

[passedpawn]

I appreciate all the kind words and advice. I would have responded earlier but i had already hit my 5 post n00b maximum.

As far as the wife goes... she gave me a big hug and told me things will go better next time.

That limit only lasts for 2 days. Or 3, can't remember. One of those.

I see you're selling some glass carboys elsewhere on this forum. Related to your incident?