Wort left out over night, should I reboil ?

[Nic]

Good morning,

I brewed an IPA last night and was too tired to wait out the temp drop, I left the wort in the brew kettle and put a lid on it. I really need a chiller.

Should I bring the wort back to a boil before pitching the yeast ?

Also my yeast was warmed and then put back in the fridge, any reasons to worry there ?

Thanks

 

[Hammer]

Good morning,

I brewed an IPA last night and was too tired to wait out the temp drop, I left the wort in the brew kettle and put a lid on it. I really need a chiller.

Should I bring the wort back to a boil before pitching the yeast ?

Also my yeast was warmed and then put back in the fridge, any reasons to worry there ?

Thanks

There's no need to reboil your wort. All the micro-organisms that can infect your beer are airborne, and can only get there thru an open top, or be carried on an instrument put in the wort.
The yeast warmed and returned to the fridge is less active, but still very much alive. Just return it to wort temp and pitch it.
My son and I have both used the overnight method of cooling wort. I now have a plate chiller, so don't need to wait anymore, but it's OK to do it, just not quite as invasion proof as a quick cool and pitch.

 

[WBC]

Boil again to stop any nasties. 20 to 30 minutes should do that. Cool to 80F as quickly as possible. Make sure you warm the yeast up a bit to be within 10 degrees of the wort so you don't shock them.

 

[Liquidicem]

No. Don't reboil. You will drive off any aroma hop oils and possibly some of the flavor hops as well. Just warm the yeast to pitching temp and get fermentation going.

 

[Brakeman_Brewing]

This is a good example of the need to make sure youve got enough time to complete your brew process entirely without interuption, including sleepyness

I wont brew unless I know for sure Ive got enough time and no forseeable interuptions from mash to cleanup.

If you just pitch your yeast and get fermentation going you shouldnt have too many problems.

 

[Nic]

Yeast Pitched on Sunday morning as of Monday afternoon all appears to be well.

Would there be any visible indications of an infection ?

 

[Bruiz54]

I do not forsee any problems with reboiling, other then you will losethe hop Aroma. However if you do not reboil just know you will encounter chill haze as you did not properly achieve cold break. No big deal just looks hazy. Well you should be fine on nay counts. Beer is a very forgiving thing Cheers

 

[Nic]

After the boil I put the beer outside, nights are still cold in Colorado, cleaned up and moved the wort into an ice bath for about 30 minutes. It was still too hot for yeast and

How cold does it need to be for the cold break ?

 

[WBC]

You can adjust hops easily by sampling (taste) and add hops at the end of your reboil. This will not add bitterness if cooled quickly but it will restore hop flavor and aroma.

 

[FlyingHorse]

Yeast Pitched on Sunday morning as of Monday afternoon all appears to be well.

Would there be any visible indications of an infection ?

The most likely infections would be lactobacillus or acetobactor, both of which would act fairly quickly and which would give a sour (lacto) or vinegary (aceto) taste/smell. I suspect you'd know by the first hydrometer sampling.

Another concern, if this was an all-grain batch: slow cooling + lid = invitation for the production of DMS (dimethyl sulfide).

 

[Bombo80]

Prior to buying my IC, I would do this with all my brews. I just pour them into my cleaned and sterilized primary, to airate, then put the lid on it, with a long blowoff tube, and let it sit in the breezeway, overnight to cool. This is also one of the main reasons I brewed in the winter time. I never had a batch go bad. EVER.

IMO, you should be OK.

 

[TexLaw]

You would not need to boil it. If you wanted to do anything, just bring it up to about 160, and you should be set.

You really do need a chiller, and you also need to make starters.


TL

 

[WBC]

You would not need to boil it. If you wanted to do anything, just bring it up to about 160, and you should be set.

You really do need a chiller, and you also need to make starters.


TL

Tex,
I agree somewhat that 160F would help although I have seen wort that was 212f placed into sanitized ball jars and stored at room temp to see if it would start an infection and it did indeed have a stringy growth after 1 day in some cases. Just to be sure a boil is a good idea in MHO (I did the infection test several times in my past testing). The hops being boiled off can be fixed at the end of the boil. Yes it may be somewhat darker but I would rather have an darker uninfected IPA. I always err on the side of caution when dealing with questionable wort being sanitary before fermentation. I have never had to throw out any beer so far.

 

[Nic]

It was a partial mash recipe:

4 lb grain
6 lb LME

 

[TexLaw]

Tex,
I agree somewhat that 160F would help although I have seen wort that was 212f placed into sanitized ball jars and stored at room temp to see if it would start an infection

That probably had more to do with the jar than the wort. If you had added the wort to a sterile jar, that would actually tell you whether the microbial growth came from the wort or the jar. Did you do a sorta-control by removing some of the wort when it was at 160F or some lower temperature and putting it a jar santized in the same way? Did you do another where you pitched a proportional amount of yeast? The primary reason we can get away with sanitary fermenters, rather than sterile ones, is because we pitch a boatload of yeast into that fermenter and never give the other bugs a chance to take hold and just smother out the ones that got a start.

I'm not trying to jump on you, WBC. I'm all for being safe, and I'm even for overkill at times while brewing. However, I see so many homebrewers draw conclusions based on poor information, rumor, or just plain incorrect information, and I see a whole lot of pseudo-science. I haven't been brewing even half as long as you, so I know you know what I am talking about. You do not need to bring your wort back up to a boil to get it safe for pitching.

The funny part is that, the more I think about it, boiling it for 20-30 minutes might not be such a bad idea, since that gives you a chance to add your flavor and aroma hops all over again. However, I expect that you could avoid wasting time, wort, and hops by just bringing it up 160, cutting the fire, and starting to chill it a few minutes later, then pitching as normal.

I have never had to throw out any beer so far.[/QUOTE]

That is more than admirable. That is downright excellent. I've only had one, myself, and I'm still not quite convinced it was contaminated (I know, not smart to do).


TL

 

[WBC]

TexLaw,
Thanks for the nice reply. I guess I did not convey the fact that I was testing wort that sat a while ( hours in a closed container after the boil before going into the sterile jar and a fermenter). What I wanted to know is "if I was making 30 gallons could I just collect wort from each batch that had been quickly cooled to 80F without infection over a period of 8 hours in a single fermentor before pitching the yeast into the single fermentor". Bigger batches was the aim and my brew system is only 12 gallons (15 gallon kettle). I really need a 50 gallon boiler though. Yes, I am trying to make do just like everyone else but know better so I have not brewed any more than 12 gallons in one day and I am so tired by that time I clean up that I know not to try bigger batches. You see I am 67 now and my energy just is not there any more. I need a system that is more CIP and less lifting and would love to have a steam generator to clean everything. Less lifting and all stainless is the goal.