What superstitions have snuck their way into your brewday?

[lootcorp]

Anyone have any interesting/unusual things you do during brewdays to invoke the blessing of the beer gods, ward off the evil spirits of contamination and stuck fermentations, or just because you feel like it, even though science and logic tells you it won't make any difference to the final product?

One of mine: When I started brewing and trying to make various styles I would always buy a commercial example of the style I was brewing and sip it during the brew session for inspiration. At some point I started dumping a sip's worth of the commercial beer into my kettle at the beginning of the boil -- serving as a sort of inspiration for the wort-to-be, I guess.

Call it silly, call it a waste of perfectly good beer, but I've kept the tradition and pour a touch of beer into every kettle of beer I brew.

Hoping I'm not the only crazy one here...let's hear some of your brewday quirks!

 

[Gentle Jesus]

Hmmm. . . I am not sure if I would call it a superstition, but I tend to rinse a bit of the star-san foam out of my carboy with sanitized water.

I know the saying "don't fear the foam" but it just seems spooky to let chemical soap bubble stuff in my carboy. Probably a pointless concern but, oh well.

 

[fizzix]

Until I got an outdoor cooker, the kitchen stove handled my beer and water (for yeast hydration, etc.) boils,
and the pots had to be on certain burners. Hydration water on left front. Beer on right front.
I possess no other OCD in life, but those pots had to be arranged just so.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

superstition?
Like spritzing star san like it's holy water on every brew day?

I use the same container to get my harvested yeasts ready for the next batch.
I use the same giant sized bottle of cheap vodka to fill my fermentation locks that I used 20yrs ago when I brewed in college.

otherwise, i'm KISS all the way. Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

[DHomebrews]

Not necessarily a superstition, but something I do more out of fun. I always wear t-shirts of female pop singers. My Lady Gaga shirt has always helped me produce the best beers. Next weekend, my daughter (4 years old) and I will be wearing our new Taylor Swift shirts to brew a nice milk stout.

 

[GoeHaarden]

Superstitions are bad luck...

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Mm take a half day off work so that it's all done or near done by the time the wife and kids get home from school? Not really a superstition more of a habit.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'm hyper-paranoid about infections so I tend to hold my breath kinda involuntarily when my wort starts chilling. Then I become super paranoid about keeping the lid in place and eliminating any source of a draft passing across the kettle, to the point of banning my wife from the kitchen. When I watch YouTube videos of people brewing outside and rinsing gear with tap water it kinda makes me feel like I'm being silly about sanitation.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Not necessarily a superstition, but something I do more out of fun. I always wear t-shirts of female pop singers. My Lady Gaga shirt has always helped me produce the best beers. Next weekend, my daughter (4 years old) and I will be wearing our new Taylor Swift shirts to brew a nice milk stout.

Wait...you have Lady Gaga and T Swift shirts? Maybe you should be making wine coolers or something!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Not necessarily a superstition, but something I do more out of fun. I always wear t-shirts of female pop singers. My Lady Gaga shirt has always helped me produce the best beers. Next weekend, my daughter (4 years old) and I will be wearing our new Taylor Swift shirts to brew a nice milk stout.

I always brew with my Crystal Gayle t-shirt on, and a live cougar in the back seat. Feeling the fear makes for great beer.

 

[DHomebrews]

Wait...you have Lady Gaga and T Swift shirts? Maybe you should be making wine coolers or something!

Wait, you DON’T have any? The smell of milled grain and dank hops, some 80s big hair metal on the sound system, and Lady Gaga on your chest watching you brew... what a liberating experience.


P.S. Have any good wine cooler recipes?

 

[ancientmariner52]

Bottles must be rinsed three time. Not four. Not two, unless you proceed to three. Five is RIGHT OUT!

 

[catdaddy66]

Bottles must be rinsed three time. Not four. Not two, unless you proceed to three. Five is RIGHT OUT!

Upon completion a silly walk is required.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Bottles must be rinsed three time. Not four. Not two, unless you proceed to three. Five is RIGHT OUT!

a most excellent monty python reference.

 

[Smellyglove]

Ask a Norwegian who ferments with Kveik, they must scream down into the wort to drive off any bad spirits.

 

[Schwabizzle]

I take detailed notes,including what I'm listening to. If it's a game, Irecord the scores. If my team loses,I'm worried my beer will be bad. Stupid, I know, but that's part of the fun right?

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I always brew with my Crystal Gayle t-shirt on, and a live cougar in the back seat. Feeling the fear makes for great beer.

Would a Pretenders shirt and my neighbor's ill-tempered cat suffice? I'm brewing this weekend and I'm looking for that extra edge!

 

[November]

 

[Jayjay1976]

Yessss!!!

 

[SEndorf]

I'm hyper-paranoid about infections so I tend to hold my breath kinda involuntarily when my wort starts chilling. Then I become super paranoid about keeping the lid in place and eliminating any source of a draft passing across the kettle, to the point of banning my wife from the kitchen. When I watch YouTube videos of people brewing outside and rinsing gear with tap water it kinda makes me feel like I'm being silly about sanitation.

Yeah.... I try to keep the ash from my cigar outta the kettle as much as possible, but I let my Cohiba drop in the boil once and made the best Vienna lager I ever made......

 

[Jayjay1976]

Yeah.... I try to keep the ash from my cigar outta the kettle as much as possible, but I let my Cohiba drop in the boil once and made the best Vienna lager I ever made......

Cohiba! now you're speaking my language! I used to bring them back when I would visit China, they were really good and fresh but not at all cheap, and still couldn't compare to the ones I used to get through an Italian friend of mine who once told me how much less risky and more profitable smuggling Cuban cigars were compared to narcotics. IMHO Cuban cigars are not one bit overrated, and truly worth every penny. I love Dominican cigars, but nobody beats the Cubans at cigar making.

 

[bronzdragon]

I always start my brews off listing to the Mardi Gras Mambo or They All Asked For You. While not a superstition, I believe that it starts the brew off with good vibes and definitely puts me in a better mood for the work to come. /cheers

 

[ancientmariner52]

I don't know if you would call it superstion, but I take extreme precautions any time I open a fermenter. First I shower and put on clean clothes. I sanitize the outside of the fermenter and of course any tools I'll be using. I never lean over the opening, and nothing passes over the opening without a good reason. I believe, without evidence, that I am avoiding infections. So I guess it is superstitious. But I'll keep doing it that way.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I always run my adjuncts through the mill along with all the grain that needs crushing believing it will magically "marry" them to ensure a bountiful conversion during the mash.

I also 'sacrifice' several frozen white castle cheeseburgers to the tummy gods during the boil, but all that seems to ensures is a brisk and bountiful BM.

 

[6Tap]

I wear my “will work for Beer shirt” and eat a Togo’s sandwich prior to starting my brew day.
Why? I really don’t know but it just happens every time.

 

[SEndorf]

At the beginning of the mash, I shout Miserere at the top of my lungs, invoking the beer god to favor mash at 152 in lieu of burnt offerings.........

Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam. Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem. Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

 

[brewcat]

This thread is giving me anxiety.

 

[SEndorf]

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Part superstition part historical evidence, but if I don't think my boil can be started by 7am at the latest, brewday is canceled. The more of the brewday that happens during the daylight, the more that goes wrong.

 

[homebrewer_99]

i'm KISS all the way. Keep It Simple Stupid.

I like brewing to reggae music. When I do, my KISS method becomes "KEEP I SOBER STUPID".

 

[gunhaus]

First: I always consult the all knowing all powerful Oracle - If she deems that there are no pressing chores, then brew day can commence.

Second: I ALWAYS say three "hail Barley's" While making the sign of the cross with my church key, before opening my grain bins less i should be short a vital ingredient.

Third: I place a ceremonial bowl of milk and slice of bread on the back porch to discourage brownies and evil sprites from casting spells on my wort (AND to keep them from selling me the cookies that i don't really need)

Fourth: I ALWAYS stir everything clockwise. Nothing superstitious here. It is just the way i do it.

Last: I never EVER look at the weather forecast on brew day. It is a proven FACT that if you consult the weather service and they say "blue skies and sunshine" It WILL Immediately begin to rain on you right as you begin your mash in, or your boil. I do not care so much for myself on this one - but i hate to think I am ruining everyone else's Sunday!

 

[Nokt]

Third: I place a ceremonial bowl of milk and slice of bread on the back porch to discourage brownies and evil sprites from casting spells on my wort (AND to keep them from selling me the cookies that i don't really need)

I should have done this last weekend. Brew day did not go well.

 

[gunhaus]

It's ALL about the little details my friend!

 

[jcav]

My system has tri clover clamps all over and at every connection. It's a little OCD of me but I when I set up for brew day I like to make sure that I point all of the tri clover clamps in the same direction, usually with the wing nut part pointing down..... It makes for great beer!

John

 

[Sparkncode]

Drink one glass of a previous brew during the boil but no more untill its in the fermenter.

Of course an accidental blood offering is also appreciated by the beer gods.

 

[Nokt]

Of course an accidental blood offering is also appreciated by the beer gods.

Another one that I missed. Aegir was displeased with me.

 

[SEndorf]

Of course, I'm stating the obvious...
It's required that every brewer start the mash playing this song by Bobby Pickett

 

[snoman6115]

Boy now I feel like my sacrifice of a virgin chicken that's been blessed by the pope is a little overkill... they're kinda pricey but haven't made a bad beer since I started doing it!

 

[seatazzz]

My best brew days have been all due to the music I listen to. Gotta be Queen on Pandora. Belting out "Somebody to Love" at the top of my lungs makes my wort happy. OCD-wise, have to crush my campden tablets in my lucky Seahawks shot glass (only two, not one, three is overkill). One cup of coffee at the start, then it's slow sipping of whatever I have on tap. I also have to do everything in order; crush campden, fill HLT, start HLT, weigh grain, set up mash tun, etc. etc. etc. If one step is out of order I get flummoxed and am likely to forget something.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Anyone have any interesting/unusual things you do during brewdays to invoke the blessing of the beer gods, ward off the evil spirits of contamination and stuck fermentations, or just because you feel like it, even though science and logic tells you it won't make any difference to the final product?

One of mine: When I started brewing and trying to make various styles I would always buy a commercial example of the style I was brewing and sip it during the brew session for inspiration. At some point I started dumping a sip's worth of the commercial beer into my kettle at the beginning of the boil -- serving as a sort of inspiration for the wort-to-be, I guess.

Call it silly, call it a waste of perfectly good beer, but I've kept the tradition and pour a touch of beer into every kettle of beer I brew.

Hoping I'm not the only crazy one here...let's hear some of your brewday quirks!

Great post.

My brewing superstitions are similar:
- I never crack open my first beer before the hot break
- I always pour a little home-brew in the boil and say "Home-brew to home-brew: here's to a good batch."