TOFTT: The Start of a Totally F'd Up Beer

[hardpack]

So, yeah, I'm a newbie here. My first batch. And, boy, do I think it's gonna be a winner. I searched the forums for, "I totally f'd up my first batch," but came up with nothing, so I figure I'll start it up...

First off, I started with Victory Hop Wallop followed by Dogfish 90-Minute IPAs. So even though I read the instructions a dozen times, it was all a blur...

Everything started out OK... I got the water up to 170ish with the bag of crushed stuff. Steeped for 20 min. Then removed the bag, brought it to boil, stirring, only boiled over once. Put the yeast in the warm water in a sterilized mug, covered. Boiled, added hops, boiled for 55 minutes. Added hops, boiled for 5 minutes. All good.

Took the pot out, immersed it in cold water from the tap. Decided to let the water run over the top of the pot--cover on--and that seemed to cool things down fast. Went to the bathroom. Came back, and the water had leaked into the pot, and dark beauty started spilling into the sink. Awesome.

Shut off the tap, poured off some of the excess, took the top off to let it cool off faster... Then realized that keeping the top off exposed it to bacteria, then slammed it shut. Kept water running, but took the temperature of my "cool" water, and it was a cool 79 degrees. Cooled the stuff down to about 85 degrees and then decided to siphon. (That's the beer talking there.)

Totally f'd up the siphoning, spilled all over the floor, had the plug tap open, ran out of rinsing solution, just decided to use tap water to start the siphon, and finally got most of the brew into the fermenter. Damn.

Threw the hydrometer in... It hit bottom. No reading. Whatever. I have a mess in the kitchen, and I'm drunk. Pop that top on, throw it in a dark, cool, corner, and we'll see what happens.

Am I destined for swill and bellyaches? Or is there any hope? Can I be part of some tradition of hillbilly drunks stumbling around to candlelight trying to get a brew going amongst the dust and dirt of Appalachian-Heaven, and then end up with some palatable?

P

 

[Arneba28]

hahhaha. SOrry didnt mean to laugh..wait...yes I did. Good intentions I guess. The hydrometer should not of hit bottom even if you diluted your beer so much that it was just beer. Well wait and see. Who knows what you SG is now? wait. Maybe you will have a nice near beer!!!

 

[carnevoodoo]

How much volume did you end up with that your hydrometer hit bottom? What are you fermenting in?

It will probably turn out just fine. Probably better than you expect. You've run a risk of infection with the water getting in there, but we've all made some awful mistakes that really made no difference. Just relax and it'll be ok.

 

[hardpack]

I had 2.5 gallons in a 6.5 gallon tub. More specifically, I boiled 1.5 gallons, then probably spilled about 0.5 gallons of tap water into it. Then I added another 0.5 gallons to the cooled off mixture.

I like to think that people have been doing this for centuries, and I can't be the worst screw up in history. Or maybe we all drank swill.

P

 

[BADS197]

eh.. one bad day of brewing.... it wont always be like that.

Grab a notepad just for brewing and write all this down as bullet points, so you have something to refer to.

you'd be surprised whats come in handy between my first and second batch, referring to my notes.

 

[Tankard]

Sorry to hear your first batch was a disappointing experience.

I think your biggest mistake was doing your first batch while drunk. Never brew "drunk" especially if it is your first batch. If you do drink, stop when you're buzzed unless you are REALLY good at brewing.

If the beer does turn out bad, I hope you can use this as a learning experience and not give up brewing. Some people try brewing, do poorly, and never brew again. Don't make this same mistake. Learn from your mistakes and your beer will only improve with experience.

 

[HOOTER]

Cooled the stuff down to about 85 degrees and then decided to siphon. (That's the beer talking there.)

Totally f'd up the siphoning, spilled all over the floor, had the plug tap open, ran out of rinsing solution, just decided to use tap water to start the siphon, and finally got most of the brew into the fermenter. Damn.

This part confused me. Are you saying you siphoned your cooled wort from your boil pot into your fermenter instead of just dumping it in? Why?

 

[BarleyWater]

Dude, www.howtobrew.com

 

[Brew-Happy]

This part confused me. Are you saying you siphoned your cooled wort from your boil pot into your fermenter instead of just dumping it in? Why?

These are the reasons why I'm sure:

it was all a blur...

(That's the beer talking there.)

I have a mess in the kitchen, and I'm drunk.

I'm sure there are FEW posts on here about mixing brewing with heavy drinking.

It might help of he would save the brew for after brewing.

 

[hardpack]

This part confused me. Are you saying you siphoned your cooled wort from your boil pot into your fermenter instead of just dumping it in? Why?

The instructions said "Pour or siphon brewpot contents..." So I siphoned. Honest mistake, I would think, for my first time. Next time I'll follow this:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-2.html

And in my defense, I was being facetious with my references to being "drunk..." Though I was drinking beer, I thought the whole travesty would be better told with an inebriated excuse. My mistake for attempting levity.

Furthermore, I figure some people (like me) learn better from others' mistakes. I have no shame in showing the world my screw-ups. Successes can always be replicated, but creativity takes controlled mistakes. It's the control part I have to learn right now.

P

 

[hardpack]

Another honest question:

At what point can you tell or should you check whether your batch is going to be bad? When you transfer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket? After bottling? Right after bottling? After three weeks?

Thanks!

P

 

[HOOTER]

And in my defense, I was being facetious with my references to being "drunk..." Though I was drinking beer, I thought the whole travesty would be better told with an inebriated excuse. My mistake for attempting levity.

Furthermore, I figure some people (like me) learn better from others' mistakes. I have no shame in showing the world my screw-ups. Successes can always be replicated, but creativity takes controlled mistakes. It's the control part I have to learn right now.

No worries. We've all made silly mistakes. The key is to learn from them. Thanks for having the cahones to share with us. NOW DON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!

 

[HOOTER]

At what point can you tell or should you check whether your batch is going to be bad? When you transfer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket? After bottling? Right after bottling? After three weeks?

You need to see this thing through, unless of course you have some funky stuff growing in your fermenter that clearly shouldn't be there. Ride it out and see what happens and you quite possibly may end up with some great beer.

 

[McGarnigle]

Not to kick a guy when he's down, but this is why something like a DFH90 or Hop Wallop clone isn't an ideal first batch. Your screw ups are more expensive.

And others are correct about siphoning. The siphoning kitchen flood is supposed to occur on bottling day, not brewing day.

 

[rurounikitsune]

I siphon from the brewpot into the fermenter.

I use the "olive oil" method so I don't need to aerate...

I use a 6.5g carboy as a primary fermenter so I'd have to use a funnel...

I find it easier to leave hot break and hops behind with a siphon...

I tend to spill things when I pour them...

 

[Rezilynt]

Another honest question:

At what point can you tell or should you check whether your batch is going to be bad? When you transfer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket? After bottling? Right after bottling? After three weeks?
Thanks!P

Just go with it. You can never tell until it has aged. Check out Revvy's post here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73254

I hope it turns out good!

 

[neilb]

No offense to the OP but I'm always surprised at how complicated some people make their first batch. KISS is a great method to use when first brewing.

You will get flustered easily and that leads to making silly mistakes. While making a kit and kilo no-boil batch won't produce award winning beer it does get you used to things like "make sure fermenter tap is closed", "next time don't let ice water get in fermenter", and "remember to sanitize that". Next time you won't be as flustered.

Homebrewing requires a lot of patience and in my opinion you are best off starting simple and building up your brewing skills - add one new thing each time you brew.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Sticky: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=74520

 

[Pete08]

No offense to the OP but I'm always surprised at how complicated some people make their first batch. KISS is a great method to use when first brewing.

You will get flustered easily and that leads to making silly mistakes. While making a kit and kilo no-boil batch won't produce award winning beer it does get you used to things like "make sure fermenter tap is closed", "next time don't let ice water get in fermenter", and "remember to sanitize that". Next time you won't be as flustered.

Homebrewing requires a lot of patience and in my opinion you are best off starting simple and building up your brewing skills - add one new thing each time you brew.

Not to argue, my first batch was simple, 3.3 lbs. hopped lme, 3 lbs. of dme, rehydrated yeast, and into the fermenter, was quite tasty.

My second batch was a 1.130 barleywine (extract/steeped grains) that was racked into a secondary with oak chips soaked in three ounces of whiskey. I didn't use a computer recipe checker until weeks later, I see I missed the HBUs by a bit, but my samples sure do agree with my taste buds!! I will dry hop the last week in the secondary, before kegging for more aging. The owner of the LHBA made some comments about me trying such a complex beer so soon, I don't go back to him. There is another LBHS in the same town.

With the knowledge you may have a screw up, don't be afraid to try more complex recipes/beers. I am very careful about sanitizing, etc. So far, so good!! My third batch ever, a porter, is terrific!