Did I ruin my beer? Controller 10deg off!

[Reaver]

HAHAHA... sorry, I couldn't resist...
I just came upstairs from checking my chest freezer fermentation chamber and found the blow-off water (where I have a floating themometer) @ 50*F despite the 60*F setpoint on my Freebie controller. All I could do was laugh about it, and adjust the stat up higher. I just built it yesterday, brewed today and didn't even get a chance to test it out. I never got to make my "Did I ruin my beer" NooB style post so I wanted to toss it out there just for fun.

Now that I think about it... I probably have every reason to freak out since NOTHING in this brew has gone right.

LHBS was out of the Malt+Yeast I wanted, so I adjusted on the fly for a different recipe.

I got a call from a fellow brewer offering me Fresh Cascade. He said they peaked last weekend, but he had a bine back in a corner that matured slower. So I made ANOTHER recipe change on the fly for Fresh Hops after I picked 18ozs.

I mis-calculated my sparge water and ended up a little short. (didn't account for absorption)

I built a Hose Style CFC this week, and but the kettle hops clogged my kettle drain since I wasn't planning to do fresh hops... I didn't have a drain block. So I pulled out the IC after 15 min's of screwing around.

After all that.... I found the Controller off 10*F as above. Still pretty chill!

 

[Nightshade]

It should be fine but may have a different flavor because of the temp or ferment a lot slower than expected.

 

[RM-MN]

Are you certain it is your controller that is 10 degrees off and not your floating thermometer?

 

[Reaver]

I've checked the thermometer. I 'calibrated' it to icewater+boiling water and it's close enough. I moved the temp sensor probe to contact the side of the nearest carboy. I imagine that might have had an effect as well. Not too concerned about it. Just thought it was another funny note to a rough brewday. I still had LOTS of fun brewing!

 

[BrewWhat]

I always tape some foam insulation to the side of my carboy and put the sensor between the foam and the carboy. That way the ferment chamber runs based on the carboy temp instead of the ambient temp. It holds my fermenting beer to about a 2 degree range even at peak fermentation.

 

[Reaver]

Yeah this controller isn't designed for this so it doesn't easily have a good way to connect to a carboy. I'm working on solutions for it off and on today. Right now I have it held against a sanke spear I cut out of my keggle.