Warning! (leaving Fresh Wort Out)

[boogie]

Hey guys,

Discovered a bit of a blunder I made tonight and thought I'd share it in the hopes that no ones else makes the same mistake.

Last Saturday I mashed a bunch of grain but ran out of time to do the boil etc. so I left it sitting in one of my fermenters (a coppers plastic one) until tonight (Friday).
I went to pour the wort into my kettle get to get the boil underway and noticed it was moving in a circular motion. I removed the lid and received a blast of Co2 to the face and discovered it had been fermenting without my knowledge.

I didn't take a SG reading before the boil but according to my mash schedule it was estimated to be around 1.056 pre boil. I took a SG tonight and it had fermented down to 1.020 so I felt I had no choice but to dump it, and that was painful.

Not 100% sure how any yeast got into the wort. Possibly some residual yeast was present around the thread of the tap or the rubber seals of the lid? Only other thing I could think of wound be some airborne kind getting in but that seems pretty unlikely. Needless to say it must have been pretty lively to have survived the mash temp of around the high 60's and then managed to ferment the wort down to 1.020 in 6 days.

Anyway I won't be leaving wort out for any extended period of time from now on. Lesson learned!

Glenn

 

[mwd]

Don't forget there are all kinds of things in grain which is why the liquor needs a good boil to kill off all the nasties.

 

[ekul]

So you left the wort that had only been mashed, not boiled, in a fermenter for 6 days, without innoculating it with anything? If i understand what you are saying this is just asking for trouble. I;m pretty sure that if you made this a regular thing this would result in infections all the time.

 

[brotom7]

Loads of nasty stuff in the wort before boil that comes from the grains, boil as soon as you can and pitch yeast as soon it has reached fermenting temperature and keep it sealed in the time between. I use glad wrap to cover the kettle as soon as the boil has stopped.

I'll let you in on another experience I made (so you don't have to), don't let your spent grain sit either, it goes smelly in a day and absolutely discusting in two days, same nasties I would imagine. Clean your mash tun as soon as possible.

 

[avaneyk]

One of the reasons to boil wort is to sterilise it - malt is full of bacteria. It's pretty likely that your wort was sour - did it smell ok?

Edit: beaten to it...

 

[manticle]

Only other thing I could think of wound be some airborne kind getting in but that seems pretty unlikely.

Why?


Even boiled wort left for 6 days without deliberately added yeast I would expect to be a breeding ground for microorganisms which will happily eat all your wort's sugar.

Why are you surprised?

 

[jyo]

This is a joke, yes? Yes?

 

[Cocko]

You should have put the lid back on and let it ferment out.... Who knows, you could've brewed a fosters clone!

By the hand of lambic or whatever it is!

Seriously tho, surely some wild yeasts bring some good results! I don't have the balls myself.

 

[beersatan]

Are you going to ferment it out completely and taste it? You may have stumbled on the holy grail! :super:

 

[MattC]

Anyway I won't be leaving wort out for any extended period of time from now on. Lesson learned!

This is the most important thing about your post.....as you say - lesson learned. Thanks for sharing your experiences with everyone even though most already knew the inevitable result. Out of habit, I wouldn't start a brew that I wasnt sure I could boil the same day. Not worth the time, effort and money to pour down the drain. Good luck in future Wignall, it can be a steep learning curve at times but you're on the way to better beer.

Cheers

 

[fcmcg]

Hey guys,

Discovered a bit of a blunder I made tonight and thought I'd share it in the hopes that no ones else makes the same mistake.

Last Saturday I mashed a bunch of grain but ran out of time to do the boil etc. so I left it sitting in one of my fermenters (a coppers plastic one) until tonight (Friday).
I went to pour the wort into my kettle get to get the boil underway and noticed it was moving in a circular motion. I removed the lid and received a blast of Co2 to the face and discovered it had been fermenting without my knowledge.

I didn't take a SG reading before the boil but according to my mash schedule it was estimated to be around 1.056 pre boil. I took a SG tonight and it had fermented down to 1.020 so I felt I had no choice but to dump it, and that was painful.

Not 100% sure how any yeast got into the wort. Possibly some residual yeast was present around the thread of the tap or the rubber seals of the lid? Only other thing I could think of wound be some airborne kind getting in but that seems pretty unlikely. Needless to say it must have been pretty lively to have survived the mash temp of around the high 60's and then managed to ferment the wort down to 1.020 in 6 days.

Anyway I won't be leaving wort out for any extended period of time from now on. Lesson learned!

Glenn

Mate ....
In 1516 , the Germans invented a purity law....
It said what went into beer ( they didn't include yeast as that was the devils business until the late 1800's)...I'm guessing they KNEW how to make it when they made the law...
The Krauts can't win wars but they would never do what you did....
Do you know why you do the things you do , when you make wort ??? No offence , but it may just pay to find out...
I'm sorry..we have a new baby in the house...i have had no sleep...i am tired...i've had 2 pints of Irish red...but really...in the last 3 months , there has been far too many people on here who are posting on how they would like to take short cuts and try to re-invent the wheel... do your research and do what WE have been doing for hundreds of years...there is no other way...you must understand WHY you do the things you do , when you brew....FFS..it hurts to throw a brew...please promise me , you will read John Palmers how to brew and not do this again....
A tired...
Half cut
Delerious Ferg
oh...and Join a brew club

 

[bum]

in the last 3 months there has been far too many people on here who are posting on how they would like to take short cuts and try to re-invent the wheel

Muuuuuuuuuuuch longer than this. I think it is just more obvious now because almost everything else is gone.

Nothing wrong with innovation, of course, but it must come from an understanding of what you're doing.

 

[fcmcg]

Muuuuuuuuuuuch longer than this. I think it is just more obvious now because almost everything else is gone.

Nothing wrong with innovation, of course, but it must come from an understanding of what you're doing.

And he's made 4 posts in 12 months....maybe lurked a little too much...NEWBIES...research and ask questions...we don't bite....much

 

[Charst]

Reading the above posts could leave you felling a little foolish and to the experienced brewer I concur, but fair go. if a bloke doesn't know then he doesn't know. I've read every book i can get a hold of and think i understand enough theory to put my 2 bob in on topics occasionally but i still manage to make mistakes and every batch i learn something else that i fked up, but it's a mistake that leaves me one batch closer to making top notch sherbet.

this blokes on the same journey were all on, and while it appears he's a fckn long way back it'll only take reading a good book ala "how to brew" and he'll have improved in 2 months way more than i could from my position in that period. Keep at it mate and every batch you cock up is one closer to a fking nice beer.

cheers

 

[JulieRush]

regarding nasties in the wort pre-boil... I found this out the hard way last weekend.

I had just finished the mash on a weizen and took a pre-boil sample to get an SG reading. I figured why waste it and tasted it to see what it was like.

it tasted ok. a bit wort-y (surprise surprise) but I'd never made a weizen before so was keen to taste it.

That sample sip took eight minutes to go straight through me, liquefying everything in my gut before explosiverly evacuating my body out the back end.

not prolonged agony, days of illness, just nothing for 7 mins, then some gurgling for 30 secs, a little cramp, then BLAM.

lesson learnt - DON'T ever EVER EVER taste a pre-boil wort sample. you will pee out of your bum and it will come on so quickly you'll get a fright.

 

[Charst]

regarding nasties in the wort pre-boil... I found this out the hard way last weekend.

I had just finished the mash on a weizen and took a pre-boil sample to get an SG reading. I figured why waste it and tasted it to see what it was like.

it tasted ok. a bit wort-y (surprise surprise) but I'd never made a weizen before so was keen to taste it.

That sample sip took eight minutes to go straight through me, liquefying everything in my gut before explosiverly evacuating my body out the back end.

not prolonged agony, days of illness, just nothing for 7 mins, then some gurgling for 30 secs, a little cramp, then BLAM.

lesson learnt - DON'T ever EVER EVER taste a pre-boil wort sample. you will pee out of your bum and it will come on so quickly you'll get a fright.

Cant say that's my experience drinking the pre boiled Wort Darren, I had 3 "Hot Scotchie's" pre boil on my last brew day and aside from being half cut at 11:30 it went down a treat"

 

[fcmcg]

Reading the above posts could leave you felling a little foolish and to the experienced brewer I concur, but fair go. if a bloke doesn't know then he doesn't know. I've read every book i can get a hold of and think i understand enough theory to put my 2 bob in on topics occasionally but i still manage to make mistakes and every batch i learn something else that i fked up, but it's a mistake that leaves me one batch closer to making top notch sherbet.

this blokes on the same journey were all on, and while it appears he's a fckn long way back it'll only take reading a good book ala "how to brew" and he'll have improved in 2 months way more than i could from my position in that period. Keep at it mate and every batch you cock up is one closer to a fking nice beer.

cheers

Charst...
Your right...
I'm being harsh...and this experinced brewer is also still learning ( thrown out 2 batches this year...long story)
I guess if it was me , before i'd done left a mash that long , i'd have got on here ( and probably got flamed) and asked questions...
I'm not trying to have a go...just feeling the blokes frustration at having turfed a batch ( ok...as i also said...new baby in the house and i am soooo tired...)
I'm sorry i came accross like a dill
Really my bad...
Bloke...keep brewing...just make sure you have enough time in a day to devote to doing a brew.....
Ferg

 

[Charst]

Charst...
Your right...
I'm being harsh...and this experinced brewer is also still learning ( thrown out 2 batches this year...long story)
I guess if it was me , before i'd done left a mash that long , i'd have got on here ( and probably got flamed) and asked questions...
I'm not trying to have a go...just feeling the blokes frustration at having turfed a batch ( ok...as i also said...new baby in the house and i am soooo tired...)
I'm sorry i came accross like a dill
Really my bad...
Bloke...keep brewing...just make sure you have enough time in a day to devote to doing a brew.....
Ferg

Just show's the level your at mate. I've bottled a few batchs knowing, but hoping they were ok, when i really should have just fed them to the lemon tree.

 

[manticle]

Charst - it seems to be a little bit common nowadays (might just be my perception of recent times) that people use advanced brewing methods without basic understanding.

I'm one of the first people to be willing to aid people with that basic understanding and answer any questions I can, no matter how simple.

It's the running before you can walk thing that confuses me
(and I'll still offer help where I can but may express confusion or frustration).

No malice intended but you get the point.

 

[Wolfy]

regarding nasties in the wort pre-boil... I found this out the hard way last weekend.

I had just finished the mash on a weizen and took a pre-boil sample to get an SG reading. I figured why waste it and tasted it to see what it was like.
it tasted ok. a bit wort-y (surprise surprise) but I'd never made a weizen before so was keen to taste it.
That sample sip took eight minutes to go straight through me, liquefying everything in my gut before explosiverly evacuating my body out the back end.
not prolonged agony, days of illness, just nothing for 7 mins, then some gurgling for 30 secs, a little cramp, then BLAM.
lesson learnt - DON'T ever EVER EVER taste a pre-boil wort sample. you will pee out of your bum and it will come on so quickly you'll get a fright.

I reckon your mum should have let you eat more dirt when you were young.
Either that or your batch of grain had a bit more mouse-poo in it than usual, nothing wrong with sampling wort pre-boil if you ask me.