Weirdest thing to wind up in your wort

[Oceanbear1]

So this is pretty odd, but I thought you guys might find it funny.

So Sunday evening I'm brewing. I'm currently boiling my wort. I have an Andes mint lying around, and I decide to eat it. Anyhow, I finish my boil, throw in the flame out hops, and move the pot to the ice bath. And as soon as I move it what floats tot he top? the Andes mint wrapper! I can't figure out how the heck it got in there, and 2 days later I still only think that maybe it was stuck on my sleeve. Only hoping it didn't impart any flavors into my beer.

so that's the weirdest thing to accidently get into my wort. You guys have any stories?

 

[jodell]

I made a honey amber ale that turned out really well one time,

After month though my sister opened up a bottle and poured out a fly, not a super weird thing to end up in it but it was gross that this thing was marinating in there for 6 weeks...

 

[sleepspeaking]

Did a brew on Halloween two years ago.
A spider ended up in the pot somehow, but I figured it was fitting even if it was a little gross.
The beer was great though.

 

[smurfjuice]

Stink bugs ...

 

[woo_pig]

I had 3 wasp in mine. They flew in during the boil.

 

[raysmithtx]

I live in North Texas and brew in my shop, usually with the door open. It's not unusual for there to be quite a few honey bees in my shop as I am boiling the wort. Apparently they are attracted to the sweet smell. On more than one occasion I have had to fish a honey bee or two out of the kettle.

Shhhhhhh.... no one knows but me.

 

[Pantherjon]

I had 3 wasp in mine. They flew in during the boil.

At least they got sanitized in the process!

 

[csurowiec]

I haven't had anything more odd than leaves end up in my kettle luckily.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

As I was stirring wort for a Belgian style in an ice bath I noticed something... It turned out to be a pantry moth larvae and it was wiggling... The kettle went back on the stove and I brought it to a boil again. There was no more ice, so I sealed the lid with Saran and let it cool over night. I'm not sure how it dropped in, but the ale is really good.

 

[JohnSand]

Bugs, leaves, hop package. I dropped my digital thermometer into the mash once. It lived up to it's claim of water resistance.

 

[Murphys_Law]

My flashlight! Was brewing at night and dropped it in the kettle.

 

[Sillybilly]

My 3yo son threw half of a grilled cheese sandwich in at flameout. Brewing outside I will occasionally get a fly or bee in my mash tun.

 

[tzaccario]

Nothing too crazy yet.. I had a leaf or 2 land in my kettle on my first outdoor brew day, and at least once I have dropped a hop pack into the boil.

 

[JohnSand]

My 3yo son threw half of a grilled cheese sandwich in at flameout. Brewing outside I will occasionally get a fly or bee in my mash tun.

How did it turn out, and what did you name it?
I might try this.

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

My glasses...


gave a new meaning to 'beer goggles'

 

[oceanic_brew]

Breaking the rules a little bit but my large digital thermometer fill into my burner and was completely engulfed before I noticed.

Ruined the brew experience with that smell of burned plastic

 

[Sillybilly]

How did it turn out, and what did you name it?
I might try this.

Nut'n Cheddar Brown Ale. Turned out pretty good, although you may want to add an entire sandwich if you want the processed cheese to really shine through.

 

[Murphys_Law]

Nut'n Cheddar Brown Ale. Turned out pretty good, although you may want to add an entire sandwich if you want the processed cheese to really shine through.

You may want to think about "dry cheesing" next time.

 

[DaWhip]

I'm pretty sure I have some percentage of dog hair in every wort. I like to think that the gelatin takes care of it...

I went to bottle a batch I had fermenting in a carboy and what did I find in the bottom of the carboy? A handful of pens and pencils, a drumstick, and a guitar pick. I built my toddler proof ferm chamber for the next batch and haven't had those troubles again since. The beer turned out fine, surprisingly.

 

[Yooper]

One time I found a screwdriver at the bottom of my fermenter with the trub, after racking the beer.

Another time, I found a complete three piece airlock in the trub.

Aside from wondering how those things got in there, I didn't think about it too much.

 

[passedpawn]

lizard, maggots, you choose the weirder. One was hiding in a kettle fitting (which I store outdoors), the other came out of my plate chiller.

 

[Drk93TT]

Few yrs back .... A dirty screwdriver in my ESB. Was tightening my old leaky immersion chiller fitting..... Turned out just fine too. lol

 

[Thorsbrew]

Yuck, all these stories just reinforce my decision to get a cover for my kettle while brewing (one of those splatter screens). When its boiling the splatter screen is on and all other times the lid is on (only time its really exposed is when chilling with the immersion chiller and even then i tend to drape some foil over top).

 

[Twotaureanbrewing]

I once found a mouse in a bottle of beer a.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Nobody remembers the story about the pee dirty baby diaper falling into the fermentor?

 

[JohnSand]

I think this thread has turned bad.

 

[catdaddy66]

I opened my primary once and saw what looked just like an old dish rag in the beer!! I was like, "How in hell did I leave a towel in my wort??"

I went to fish it out with a sanitized spoon and it broke apart!! It was coagulated protein, that's all. Whew!

 

[pshankstar]

Nothing too surprising here but one time the one ounce hop bag fell into the boil. As someone else said earlier and I'm in the same category, but I bet there is some dog hair in my brews. We have three dogs (two shed) so I'm sure the fur finds its way to my brews in some how.