tja1980 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 This year 4 hydro meters 2 thermometers and used the wrong malt in a 60 minute boil give or take around couple of hundred bucks down the drain and in the trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#granted+brew Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 hours ago, Tommy1525230200 said: Exactly same thing happened to me .... oh welll..... need to turn the tap on and off each time as well I still haven't replaced mine yet.. probably won't bother. I only just took PB2's advice about just using the clear wand part without the little blue bit on the end. I tried it last batch and only dripped a few times over the entire 23litres CHEERS, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Perfectly calculated colour for a Red Rye Ale... ...forgot to adjust for volume I hope this Redback malt is also super tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Lao Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Fifth brew on the Robobrew yesterday and it almost turned to disaster! Was using the pump after doughing in the grain, but didn't have the top screen on. The silicone tube from the sparge arm was a bit long and was submersed beneath the top of the grain / wort. For some reason I stopped the pump and when you do this there is usually a bit of suction back down the silicone tube and sparge arm to the pump outlet. So the sparge arm pipe filled with grain and I could not get the pump to re-circulate any wort. Had to undo the sparge arm, plug the pump outlet that was pissing out with 66degC wort and get the missus to clean the grain out of the stainless tube / sparge arm. Lucky I had some heavy duty cleaning gloves nearby, and the missus hadn't left for the shops yet! Got the sparge arm back on but could not get the silicone washer on, so had to nip up the fitting - metal to metal. There was a slight drip but held until the brew was finished. Then when chilling with immersion chiller from the garden hose there was a slight drip from the garden hose that made it into the wort. Nipped up the hose clamp and it was OK. Hopefully that won't affect the brew!? Anyway I hit my numbers of 1.060 at 76% efficiency according to Beer Smith. Lessons learnt - make sure the Re-circ tube is out of the wort when stopping pump! And make sure hose clamps are tight enough on the immersion chiller! Cheers James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoppy81 Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 7 minutes ago, James Lao said: Fifth brew on the Robobrew yesterday and it almost turned to disaster! Was using the pump after doughing in the grain, but didn't have the top screen on. The silicone tube from the sparge arm was a bit long and was submersed beneath the top of the grain / wort. For some reason I stopped the pump and when you do this there is usually a bit of suction back down the silicone tube and sparge arm to the pump outlet. So the sparge arm pipe filled with grain and I could not get the pump to re-circulate any wort. Had to undo the sparge arm, plug the pump outlet that was pissing out with 66degC wort and get the missus to clean the grain out of the stainless tube / sparge arm. Lucky I had some heavy duty cleaning gloves nearby, and the missus hadn't left for the shops yet! Got the sparge arm back on but could not get the silicone washer on, so had to nip up the fitting - metal to metal. There was a slight drip but held until the brew was finished. Then when chilling with immersion chiller from the garden hose there was a slight drip from the garden hose that made it into the wort. Nipped up the hose clamp and it was OK. Hopefully that won't affect the brew!? Anyway I hit my numbers of 1.060 at 76% efficiency according to Beer Smith. Lessons learnt - make sure the Re-circ tube is out of the wort when stopping pump! And make sure hose clamps are tight enough on the immersion chiller! Cheers James Sounds like a very interesting day James Haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Back on the 22/3/15 I bottled an experimental two-can (Toucan) brew I thought might work well. It used the now obsolete Thomas Coopers Draught kit 1.7kg, Coopers AUS Pale Ale kit 1.7kg, LDM 500gms, CaraMalt 200gms. Cascade & Chinook 20gms @ flameout Cascade 30gms dry hopped. Fermented to 26 litres using re-activated Coopers Commercial Ale yeast. Back then I was & am still learning about IBU vs bitterness @ the glass. At the time, the numbers stacked up nicely for an IPA bitterness-wise against what I had read for the style & brewed at the time, but given I had increased the ferment volume, it thinned the malt character & made the beer overly bitter. Enough so that it was barely drinkable back then. At the time I had read that bitterness subsides over time with beer, so I left almost all of the bottled batch alone for a year, then opened & tasted one, etc. for the last 3½ years. I had one a month or two ago & realised the reason I had persevered with this batch. The beer has changed dramatically from what it was when first bottled. From this overly bitter, hollow malted beer to what it is today is quite remarkable IMHO actually. That malt & hop aspects of the beer have morphed considerably. The malt character is sweeter & the bitterness has mellowed to a nice level. The aromatics are wonderful despite some of my own forward views on longevity of hop-based aromas subduing over time. The aromatics of this beer once you've cracked the top are of stewed stone fruits, very apricot-like, lasting, & damn yummy. The malt profile has shifted to a sherry-like, almost light licorice flavour that I've heard PB2 describe in the past about the ESVA & that I have personally experienced when aged sufficiently. If I had to describe this beer it is a very, very loose cross between the ESVA, a Pale Ale/IPA, & a lighter version of a barleywine. It's quite unique & something like I've never tasted before. The ABV% is certainly up there but I have NFI of what it truly is now, but It has a good kick. Not all failed brews need to be tipped if you understand what is wrong with them in the first place. Cheerin' atm, Lusty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#granted+brew Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I like this thread, it's good for us newbies to learn from our mistakes and others fails too so may as well bring it back up.. My recent brewing of the famous 'toucan stout' resulted in a couple small fails for me. After reading up plenty on the topic I still failed to take notice of all the recommendations about filling the F.V up to only 18 or so litres and topping up to 23 litres once the krausen had dropped. Also I fermented in my F.V. with the least headroom rather than my new Coopers F.V. Needless to say from about 24 hrs in I had a constant flow of krausen out the lid (screw top F.V. with lid backed off a bit and duct tape over the airlock hole) messy, messy.. leaked for a few days. Then, once the time came for bottling I forgot that if bottling this stout at fermenting temps you have about 3 seconds to get the carb drop/s in, then crown seal on and get it under the capper before you have an eruption I only had 2 let loose all over the place! Next time I brew this beer I'll aim for no fails. Cheers, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XR6Graham Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 14 minutes ago, #granted+brew said: Then, once the time came for bottling I forgot that if bottling this stout at fermenting temps you have about 3 seconds to get the carb drop/s in, then crown seal on and get it under the capper before you have an eruption I only had 2 let loose all over the place! Can you just put the carb drops in first, and gently pour the beer in via bottling wand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Just cold crash the beer and bottle it cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 I win I think. Thought I'd have a go at fast carbing. I had read that it was good to use a liquid disconnect for this. Whatever.... Gas disconnect attached to liquid post, bubble the gas through the beer, help the gas dissolve. All good. Back off the gas, regulator full of beer. OOPS. Strip down and clean regulator. Some gas coming out of the vent hole... it appeared to stop? Left on overnight. The leak was not fixed. The diaphragm was not seated properly. Half a bottle gone. OUCH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 I've never had that happen with that method although I don't use it anymore because it's unnecessary for my situation. Always a good idea to have a non return valve between the regulator and the kegs though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 I do in the manifold in the keezeer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Fair enough. I have them on the manifold as well but have another one between it and the regulator. Probably not really necessary anymore since I only use the gas in post for carbonating but I suppose it's good to have backup if something goes wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supernerdy Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 This thread should be a top thread Good to know everyone has bad days and brews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 5 hours ago, Ben 10 said: I win I think. Thought I'd have a go at fast carbing. I had read that it was good to use a liquid disconnect for this. Whatever.... Gas disconnect attached to liquid post, bubble the gas through the beer, help the gas dissolve. All good. Back off the gas, regulator full of beer. OOPS. This is why I always fast carb the keg through the gas-in line (on the keg) & invert the keg to have it bubble up through the liquid. Once the keg is gassed up leave the gas on & turn the keg back upright, then turn off the gas &/or disconnect if required. When upright, the gas-in line has some head space between it & the beer inside the keg, whereas the beer-out with the dip tube does not. The non-return valve is a must if your value your regulator. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 15, 2018 Share Posted October 15, 2018 It can be done through the liquid out post as well without getting beer in the gas line or regulator. I did it a few times in my early kegging days and while I mucked up the carbonation itself a bit, I didn't get any beer flowing back up the gas line, let alone all the way to the regulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silmaril Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Sanitising my second FV this evening, the Blue bunnings cube. Have read about problems occurring from poorly cleaned taps. Swishing it about in the Stellar San, thinking about the issue. Brainwave! Surely 60 seconds in the microwave would kill anything lurking in the innards? Turns out the rubber o-rings on these taps love to burst into flame in the microwave. Ooops. House absolutely stinks. Very lucky I had acquired a new tap the other day for a water carrying vessel... brew evening was able to go ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joolbag Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 This harks back to a brewday a couple of weeks back. I have only found the downtime to post my fail just now. I brewed a Gose, the second of this style that I have brewed. I find Gose beers perfect for summer. Not super high ABV, light pilsner and wheat malt base, hint of sourness and salt and spice and I carbonate mine to rather spritzy levels. I didn't muck around with variations and just brewed it as per the recipe on BYO. No crazy fruit additions (yet) or hopped up versions, just the standard brew with a small bitterness charge at 60min of Hallertau Mittelfreuh. Brewery went exactly to plan and I transferred to my second cube because the first one has a Centennial/Mosaic Pale Ale in it, ready to be fermented. Filled the cube, went to squeeze out the air and I couldn't get a good seal. Hmmmm . Tried again. No seal. Noticed a small trickle of bubbles entering the cube from one corner. CUBE DOWN, REPEAT CUBE DOWN! I panicked for a minute and was running around like a headless chook. Pitch the cube of APA to free it up? Plug the dodgy cube somehow? I finally settled on an option that is not recommended but I have read that others have done. Transferred the Gose into a clean FV and put the lid on very tight and let it sit overnight until the temp came down to pitching temp. This took over 14 hours, even with the brew fridge running. I had spun up a starter of US-05 for the APA and had no choice but to pitch this into my Gose. I had planned to ferment this cube with WLP029 Kolsch yeast, but I was in no position to be choosy. Good news is that the fermentation took off quickly, and from the two gravity samples I took mid and post-fermentation, I could not pick any off flavours or infection. PHEW. Brew is currently cold crashing and I will bottle it next week. That was an experience I am in no hurry to repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 So half a fail lol. Reminds me a bit of pitching 1469 yeast into a Bohemian pilsner wort because the cube of ESB it was meant for blew up the day before it was due to be pitched. Yeast was ready with nothing but that wort to go into. I called it a pommy bastard pilsner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tja1980 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Blew the power board that sits above the oven when I had a boil over $300+ for a new board, not including labor to replace it... Tristan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 I win, again. Urn to strike temp, ergon shut the power off for maintenance. Hmm, I forgot that was happening. Oh well, the temp is good, i'll throw some grains in. power comes back on, half an hour later, hmm, smells like boiling wort. shit, it is. boiling 30 litres with 6 kilograms of grain in it. dump. the. lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Ben 10 said: I win, again. Urn to strike temp, ergon shut the power off for maintenance. Hmm, I forgot that was happening. Oh well, the temp is good, i'll throw some grains in. power comes back on, half an hour later, hmm, smells like boiling wort. shit, it is. boiling 30 litres with 6 kilograms of grain in it. dump. the. lot Sheesus Ben you don’t have the greatest luck do ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 A lesser brewer would have quit by now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 16 hours ago, Ben 10 said: I win, again. Urn to strike temp, ergon shut the power off for maintenance. Hmm, I forgot that was happening. Oh well, the temp is good, i'll throw some grains in. power comes back on, half an hour later, hmm, smells like boiling wort. shit, it is. boiling 30 litres with 6 kilograms of grain in it. dump. the. lot Now there's an argument for a gas burner right there. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 Don't think a gas burner would work well with an urn though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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