I was brewing with a friend today. The strike water was ready. I asked my friend to start putting the grain into the water. As he was putting the first scoop into the mash tun I realized I hadn’t crushed the grain yet. Later on I was weighing out the bittering hops (whole, homegrown Nugget). I kept putting more hops into the bowl thinking I wouldn’t have enough hops only to realize I needed 14 gm not 150 gm. I guess that is what I get for getting up at 3am for work then brewing afterward.
Besides running off into a kettle that the spigot was turned to the “open postion” at least a million times, several years ago I was brewing with a friend and we were running the wort through the chiller. He had been getting kind of bored anyway, but the session was about to wrap up and I went inside to do something and just asked him to “keep an eye on it”. When I came back five minutes later he was standing there right next to the BK looking off in the distance not noticing that the (CFC) chiller tube had slipped off the valve and wort was just pouring on the ground.
Another time (much more recent), using my IC chiller and a recirc with a pump, I started the chilling process and went inside to help the wife with something, came back about 10 or 15 minutes later and noticed the wort temp was still at 180 degrees. Thought it was odd as it usually cools down to that point in a few minutes but didn;t give it much thought. Then came back another 15-20 min. later and it was STILL at 180 degrees. Now I was definitely in “what the hell?” mode. Turns out I had the chiller running, but left the burner on. Pretty amazed that it was able to hold the beer at 180 degrees for about a half an hour with the burner on and the chiller running!
I would say dropping carboys. I can still see the wave of Stout flowing across the carpet and crashing into the couch. I had to pull up the carpet and pad to clean up.
Then I dropped a 61/2 gal carboy slippery from cleaner. No beer loss but dangerous.
In my early days I had a container full of fermenting wine detonate next to my white germen shepherd. It actually stained the dog. Of course we called him spot for a week or so.
I got stinking drunk while brewing once. Ended up with a minor burn on my hand, found the bag of 20 minute hops the next day, forgot the Irish moss, and didn’t write my recipe down. The beer still turned out OK but since then I stay sober until I start the cleanup.
I also tried to brew a batch without grinding the grain. What made it worse was that it was at Big Brew. Our club always gets together at one home & we all brew batches together. I had already ground the grain for my batch, but someone came late & I gave them that grain & started to put together another kit. In my rush to get it done I measured accurately, but forgot to grind it. Didn’t notice till I’d poured it into the tun.
As you can imagine, even though a number of years have passed, my buddies never forget to remind me about that. I tell them that it just lowers efficiency, and that’s highly over-rated. They don’t buy that Neither do I, but what else can ya say?
If the pot is on the burner and is stable, leave it alone. Once, after a full boil was going, it appeared that the kettle wasn’t centered good enough so Tubercle tried to adjust it. Of course, it toppled over when I set it back down too far to one side and 6-1/2 gallons of boiling wort came crashing down. Tubercle may have been drinking at the time. No injuries thankfully.
Have you ever heard the sound of boiling wort hitting the ground? It sounds a lot like OH! F^@&!!! but a whole lot louder and a much higher pitch… :o
Mine was helping a new brewer. He had several failed attempts with beer and brewing and had 2-3 initial
infected beers. As in, his first batches were all infected. Star-san was involved before we found the
screw cap bottles had been crimped on caps…Oxidation galore. But the last batch that I was helping
with, The beer was in the bottling bucket, the corn sugar was cooling on the stove…30-45 min later
we are within 2-3 bottles of the last ones to be capped when I spot the corn sugar still colling on the
stove…
you all make me sound like a genius. i think the worst I’ve done is a couple boil overs. i brewed on friday however only to realize that in order to have somewhere to put the wort, I had to bottle a dubbel…
Filling them with wort and picking them up is incorrect? Cleaning them in a sink is incorrect? All when I was completely sober? Tell me, Jim, how do you use them? ;)
I was making two 5 gallon batches as always. First I used the grain for one beer, the mash schedule for the other beer, half the hops went in the wrong beers and of course I pitched the wrong yeast in each beer. The worst part was that both beers were awesome and I have no idea how I made either one. :
And all of this was done completely sober but not, necessarily, awake. I usually brew really early in the morning so I never drink anything but coffee and water until I’m done.
Lautering 14 gallons of wort into the brand-new 80qt kettle sitting on the floor, then realizing I had no way/strength/ability to dead-lift it up to the kitchen stove- which wouldn’t boil it anyway.
And leaving the spigot open in the fermenter when filling it. Yup pulled that one and various others a few times. Found out the hard way to leave off drinking until the brewday is done.
