Toggle sidebar

Well, This beer wasn't fun.

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
Fisher kel Tath

Fisher kel Tath

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 7, 2009
649
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
Got a Northernbrewer Number 8 kit for christmas, and brewed it today.

It tried to break my stove in every way possible.

Hits boil, doesn't boil over, so I figure today was a good day, and add the first hop addition. Go sit at the table and surf the web while waiting, 30ish mins go by, and I get up to check the wort, it's not boiling, but still at 207 degrees, i look under it, burner died.

So switched burners, got back to boiling added 2nd hops. looked at clock, sighed and began to add the 2lbs DME at 15mins, damn thing tried to boil over 5 times on me through the addition of DME, so on the last time took it off heat for a second to fight the boil over, and the burner it was on died.

At this point 5mins remaining so I start adding the 3lbs of sugar, and chill

1.082 OG though

:D
 
Everyone has an occasional bad day at brewing.

My sympathies. I would think the best remedy is:

1) Reach deep into your inventory for one of your finest brews.
2) Uncap or uncork.
3) Pour and admire.
4) Enjoy and unwind.
 
If it tastes as good fermented as it did unfermented, it's gonna be great. It's actually brought me to finally deciding to buy a floor corker for when it comes time to bottle, so I can bottle some in proper Belgian 750mls
 
Fisher kel Tath said:
If it tastes as good fermented as it did unfermented, it's gonna be great. It's actually brought me to finally deciding to buy a floor corker for when it comes time to bottle, so I can bottle some in proper Belgian 750mls
Click to expand...

The right glassware makes all the difference. Corkers aren't that pricey either, unless you're trying for a champagne corker... they're a bit more fandangled.
I say: Go for it! It'll look great if nothing else, and that will make it taste better.
My first JAO spilled out into a couple of Juice PET bottles, and ppl who have tasted it, all agree that the 'bottled batch' is better (even though they were all racked from the same demi) So there's a social experiment that ended well!
 
He'll have to buy a champagne corker, otherwise he won't be able to cork it wired down corks. Trust me, I've tried every possible way to pull this off with a regular corker and there doesn't seem to be any way to do it!
 
AToE said:
He'll have to buy a champagne corker, otherwise he won't be able to cork it wired down corks. Trust me, I've tried every possible way to pull this off with a regular corker and there doesn't seem to be any way to do it!
Click to expand...

I've never gone looking as I just crown cap anything fizzy, but you can probably obtain those plastic mushrooms for champagne bottles, I don't think they need a corker.
 
Chevette Girl said:
I've never gone looking as I just crown cap anything fizzy, but you can probably obtain those plastic mushrooms for champagne bottles, I don't think they need a corker.
Click to expand...

Well yes, but those I don't think are for very long term storage. More than 6 months or so and they should probably get a real cork I think.
 
I went to bed last night and my Number 8 was ticking away in it's airlock. I wake up this morning and come out to the living room (I keep my fermentations there for the first day cause it'll be easier to clean if they explode) and the whole house smells of banana and cloves.

I figure, it's just a good fermentation, at worst it blew out it's airlock.

No, it blew off the whole bucket lid. Krausen splatter about 4ft above where the bucket was stored. The lid looks as if the dog had picked it up and moved it, but given I don't know how big the pop was it is possible to landed their naturally.

But how worried should I be about contamination?

I mixed up a batch of Idophor, and cleaned and sanitized the lid, wiped down the bucket with a sanitized sponge, and took the opportunity to scrap some of the krausen with a sanitized spoon.
 
Damn! I thought my MEA was bad... since then I've heard some horror stories!
I think you've done what you can, and you're buggered if it's contaminated. But then it hurts not at all to just keep going in the chance that it's not.
It probably oxidised a little, but then I've heard that a little is good for a great many meads.
IMHO you'd be crazy to ditch it before it screamed evil at you.
 
I have my doubts it's oxidised, as well but the airlock back in and still get a stream of Co2 from the airlock, that you can physically feel if you sniff it >.>
 
This might just be my personal taste opinion, but contaminating a Belgian beer with some Brett or Pedio sounds down right delicious to me.

I'm guessing that's not your taste/desire for this batch, though. I'd say you're probably fine. Even if it did get something in there, the rapid rise in alcohol should ensure anything that got in there isn't coming out alive. ;) That might be more true for mead than beer, but 1.082 OG makes me think this will be plenty strong enough to kill off other buggers.

What yeast are you using?
 
Wyeast Belgian Abbey II, smack pack and activator so i pitched one hell of a yeast cake :p


It's not that I wouldn't mind doing a sour beer (I'd prefer to plan on souring from the start though) but don't you need to have a complete set of dedicated gear to do them?
 
Fisher kel Tath said:
Wyeast Belgian Abbey II, smack pack and activator so i pitched one hell of a yeast cake :p


It's not that I wouldn't mind doing a sour beer (I'd prefer to plan on souring from the start though) but don't you need to have a complete set of dedicated gear to do them?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're fine then. :)

From what I've read, the only things that need to be dedicated to sour beer making are porous materials that you can't sterilize very well (wooden spoons, possibly plastic too, but I can't be sure). But I'd say, cross that bridge if you get there. If it isn't soured, then you're probably golden.

On a side note, I agree that it's much better to PLAN an infection than to try to deal with one you weren't expecting. ;)
 
I can't believe you didn't wake up when the thing went off!

The beer should be fine. With that much co2 being produced, and at this stage in fermentation, I wouldn't worry to much about contamination or oxidizing. There is a brewing tradition of open fermentation in Germany and Belgium, and some great non-sour beers made this way.

As for the floor corker, the Portuguese does indeed work on the belgian corks and bottles. AToE, I think you're probably imagining the champagne-style corks, which do require a different corker, but these Belgian corks don't have the mushroom head on them and can't be used in champagne bottles.

Hope the beer is worth it in the end!
 
Odds are low of it blowing it's top again right, the fermentation seems to have relaxed a bit. Atleast it's not making a ticking noise from the air lock...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom