wort chiller leak!

[buzzman003]

So we were brewing a NB Bourbon Porter all grain. Everything was going according to plan when I noticed a leak with the work chiller about 2.5 gallons leaked into the tun until we realized it. I elected to put it back on the burner to re boil down to the 5 gallons that was needed. I transfered the wort to another tun in order to get as much of the hops out which I did get about 90 percent of it.

Unfortunately, I had an event in the day and by the time ever thing was said and done, it was a 6.2 hour boil! I made a yeast starter. The target O.G. was 1.065 and the wort was at 1.064.

What are the odds that this will still turn out okay? The transferring did oxygenate the wort while at a high temp but then I did another boil for 5 hours. Will that still effect it? Should I just give up or should I add the toasted oak cubes and makers mark to the secondary?

Please. Experts. Help me!

Thanks!

 

[PoorInRain]

My SWMBO and I did the same thing. Because I run the garden hose through the window into the kitchen, it took me a while to run back outside to turn off the spigot. All the while, hosewater was being added to the wort and kitchen. Quite funny. We just tightened the hose clamps and proceeded. We now have our very own "Hosewater IPA" on tap. It's delicious and I wouldn't worry about your beer.

As to the question of hot side aeration before a five hour boil, I am just not sure if you would see any off flavors.

 

[runningweird]

the biggest impact will be that your bitterness will jump higher than it would have been since almost all your hops will be bittering hops now. don't dump it, go through with fermentation and aging. it will be beer, you will drink it, it will probably still taste good,
and you learned a valuable lesson.

 

[brick]

I keep reading about chillers springing leaks. What kind of chiller do you use, and where did it spring the leak?

 

[buzzman003]

Copper. Near the tube connections. I think the heat loosened the connection.

 

[kharper6]

Mine has leaked more than once, I give them a quick tighten before I run water through them every few brews now. I'm worried that I'm going to tighten through the tubing eventually, but, if I don't do this, it will continue to leak unfortunately.

 

[bobeer]

I had a leak in the chiller I use. It was where the tubing connected to the copper. I just used 2 zipties and tightened it up and it the leak stopped. I have no idea how many beers I chilled with hose water leaking into the wort, or how much water was added, but all the beers I did turned out ok.

 

[PoorInRain]

Although the beer has been seemingly unaware of the leak (I'm typing with Hosewater IPA on my breath), I don't like it. Eventually, I will use my current IC, that I constantly have to tighten, as a pre-chiller for a plate chiller or counterflow chiller.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I've had it happen but its usually a dribble or so and doesnt really affect the volume... i see no issue with it.

Its no different than making a 3 gallon batch and adding 2 gallons of top up water....

 

[dracus]

My only concerns in that non food grade hoses are often contaminated with lead, and the water could likely have a bunch of chlorine in it.

Hoses are not for drinking for sure....

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

You'll be fine...most of the lead scare for hoses is due to them testing it after leaving it in a hot environment and then sampling the first water out of the hose thats been stagnant in the hose for who knows how long. You were using water that had presumably been flowing for quite a while...in which case its going to be pretty much as pure as what came out the wall.

In the future you should be using a RV/Boat hose anyways that are lead free...i source all of my water through one for my beers and never had an issue.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I417JM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[c-hodge15]

I'm just curious how the beer turned out? I just had the exact same thing happen to me and ended up with 2.5 gallons of water leaking into my kettle before I realized what was happening. I brought the wort back to boil and boiled for an additional 2 hours to get back down to 5 gallons.

 

[OzzyBrew]

My first batch I experienced the same thing. The only problem is that my water is groder, full of iron and rotten egg smell. After tasting my first beer I dang near gave up homebrewing....and no amount of aging made that particular beer better! Heat does funny things to tubing......just remember to keep those hoses snug.

 

[Jim311]

I formed the copper of my chiller so that the hose connections hang over the side of the pot, that way any spills just fall to the ground unless they're really extreme!