Well... just brewed my second batch. Might've also borked my first!

[C38368]

(Not my first batch, which turned out nicely. This might be the first that I wind up having to throw out.)

I've got finals coming up next week, and really wanted to get my second batch going before they started, so that I could at least let it sit in primary (or secondary) until June or even July, if necessary. I happened to have a four hour block of time this afternoon, so I dove right in...

I'm trying to clone a clone of Widmer's Pitch Black IPA, as I happen to have both the recipe and six ounces of their Alchemy hops.

Aside from the approximately eighteen-thousand boilovers that I had during the process, things went well. That is, until I ran out of time while chilling it! I got the wort down to about 82°F before I had to leave for an hour. It's chilling again now, and at about 80°F as I type this. But I'm afraid that I might've had some bacteria settle in, or maybe a few of those nasty chemicals that show up if you don't cool fast enough. We'll see, I suppose.

In the interim, if anyone has any suggestions as to how to minimize the chance that something bad happens... I'm all ears!

 

[RobInOre]

I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but here's my $.02.
Act like nothing's wrong.
I pitched at around 80-85* once or maybe twice. I still ended up with beer. There's lots of science and chemistry involved, blah, blah, blah. You made beer, good job.

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

RDWHAHB. "That's all I have to say about that!"

 

[C38368]

RDWHAHB. "That's all I have to say about that!"

Did that

It's in the fermenter now, so we'll see how it turns out. The only reason I really wanted to ask is because Alchemy hops aren't commercially available, and it would be a bloody shame to not get good beer from them!

Well, that and the fact that I also decided to try the whole yeast starter thing with this batch. Not sure how that went, either

 

[Chuck_Swillery]

I agree... just roll with it. Was it ideal? No Will you create beer? Yup Will it be good beer? To Be Determined. You learned something in the process - that makes it all worth it.

 

[C38368]

Cheers!

I just took a look at my carboy this morning, about 13 hours after filling it...

Lots of krausen already! Plenty of bubbling! Looks like the yeasties are happy and healthy, and I'm rather chuffed about that. (For the sake of comparison, batch #1 involved a packet of Nottingham dry yeast, re-hydrated and added and then shaken for five minutes. Batch #2 involved a packet of liquid yeast--Wyeast 1056--fed twice in 1L starters, and aeration with genuine oxygen. What a difference!)

 

[Getzinator]

I have just about the least efficient cooling system known to man. 25 minutes or less is a hilarious joke to me. My first brew, I actually ended up leaving the pot sit in the sink for around 4 hours when I went to dinner with my fiance and some friends.

It eventually cooled and the beer tasted great.

 

[bds3]

I probably pitch at 80 degrees for my first 5 brews, before I got better with cooling the wort. Every one was still a good beer. Don't worry about it.