After 25 batches, this past weekend I had my worst brew day so far. I wasn't really in the right frame of mind to begin with. I needed to get my propane refilled, but got a work phone call in the process of leaving and forgot to put my tanks in trunk. Didn't realize it until I was at the place I swap them out at. "Dumba$$!" Finally got my propane.
I always do two batches when I brew, staggering them 20-45 minutes depending on recipes involved. Right after my first dough in, I dropped and broke my homemade mash paddle. "Oh well, use the boil spoon".
My cheap crappy PH meter would not calibrate and was reading all over the place. "Eh, should be close enough".
I tried a new method to save time. After the mash was done, I added my sparge water right on top of the mash and did one large runoff. Overshot pre-boil volume and was about 12 points low on both batches. "Well, that didn't work like I'd hoped" Added 1lb of DME last 5 minutes of boil to compensate. Numbers still off.
I move the wort from near the garage door to my slop sink when it's time to chill. I always use a foldable cart I have to move it. This time the when I moved the first batch, it wasn't on the cart correctly, and ended up slipping to about a 45 degree angle before hitting the cart. At least a gallon went on the garage floor. "Mother #@&%=!, son of a *×/%$, are you $;/[[!÷} me!" It was pretty late at this point (11pm-ish) so I said a few choice words quietly and moved on.
During clean up I realized I forgot to add whirlflock to the boil. "Whatever, I cold crash and fine with gelatin."
In the end, beer was made. These batches may just be that, beer I have made. Although I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them is spectacular either.
I know this is nothing compared to some experiences from members on here. What are some stories from your worst brew session yet?
I always do two batches when I brew, staggering them 20-45 minutes depending on recipes involved. Right after my first dough in, I dropped and broke my homemade mash paddle. "Oh well, use the boil spoon".
My cheap crappy PH meter would not calibrate and was reading all over the place. "Eh, should be close enough".
I tried a new method to save time. After the mash was done, I added my sparge water right on top of the mash and did one large runoff. Overshot pre-boil volume and was about 12 points low on both batches. "Well, that didn't work like I'd hoped" Added 1lb of DME last 5 minutes of boil to compensate. Numbers still off.
I move the wort from near the garage door to my slop sink when it's time to chill. I always use a foldable cart I have to move it. This time the when I moved the first batch, it wasn't on the cart correctly, and ended up slipping to about a 45 degree angle before hitting the cart. At least a gallon went on the garage floor. "Mother #@&%=!, son of a *×/%$, are you $;/[[!÷} me!" It was pretty late at this point (11pm-ish) so I said a few choice words quietly and moved on.
During clean up I realized I forgot to add whirlflock to the boil. "Whatever, I cold crash and fine with gelatin."
In the end, beer was made. These batches may just be that, beer I have made. Although I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them is spectacular either.
I know this is nothing compared to some experiences from members on here. What are some stories from your worst brew session yet?