One of those brew days...

[Hamner Brewhouse]

If something could go wrong it seemed like it did. Tuesday I was brewing a Kolsch using BIAB method. 1st time trying a step mash. Step 1 & 2 went off with out a hitch. Step 3 I attempted to get to 159F. With adding boiling water I achieved 151F. Pulled bag & added flame. 9lbs grain & the water it holds is heavy. Achieved 156F, called it good. Got the kettle lid on & towels wrapped to retain heat. Turned my back and crash, the kettle was on the ground. Right side up miraculously, so nothing spilled. One of the legs on my burner failed.

Lugged the kettle up stairs to the stove and waited for the mash to finish. Did I mention this stuff is heavy. I knew I would be pressed for time, so I skipped the mashout step. The stove takes a lot longer to bring to a boil, and I wouldn't call it vigorous. With the added time I had only 10 minutes to attempt cooling down with chiller. I got it to 110F, wife was getting after me that we were going to be late. I poured into sanitized bucket, closed, & added an airlock.

Three hours later it is only down to 98F. I stupidly shake to aerate the wort thinking it will cool down & I can pitch. Realize that was stupid, closed it up went back to it in the morning.I

11:30 AM it was 69F & I said the heck with waiting longer. Aerated again and pitched US-05.

On the bright side I saw signs of fermentation 24 hours after pitching.

 

[Nosybear]

There will be days like this....

 

[BOB357]

Ah! Murphy's law strikes at random and without mercy. I think most of us have experienced days like that. On the bright side, if everything goes wrong with one brew, chances are that the next few will come off without a hitch.

 

[Mase]

/\ /\ Amen!

 

[Nosybear]

Many times I've had crappy brew days turn into great beers. I don't see anything in your description that would destroy the beer so, let us know how it turns out!

 

[BOB357]

Same here. A couple of disastrous brew days turned out some great beers. The biggest problem was being too busy putting out the fires that I didn't take notes, so have no idea how to reproduce the resulting beers.
Speaking of beer. It's about time for one.

 

[Hamner Brewhouse]

Same here. A couple of disastrous brew days turned out some great beers. The biggest problem was being too busy putting out the fires that I didn't take notes, so have no idea how to reproduce the resulting beers.
Speaking of beer. It's about time for one.

I did manage to take notes, so if it turns out good, woohoo. But I'll avoid the kettle hitting the ground to try and reproduce it.

Now to decide if I buy a new burner or just look to build and attach stronger legs. The actual burner is fine.

 

[Craigerrr]

I did manage to take notes, so if it turns out good, woohoo. But I'll avoid the kettle hitting the ground to try and reproduce it.

Now to decide if I buy a new burner or just look to build and attach stronger legs. The actual burner is fine.

I recommend having a beer and thinking about it, at the very least, have a beer!

 

[J A]

11:30 AM it was 69F & I said the heck with waiting longer. Aerated again and pitched US-05.

That temp is quite fine for pitch temp. Hopefully it won't get a lot hotter during fermentation but if your room temp is reasonable, you won't have any trouble.
As long as your extended cool-down didn't give opportunity for infection, you'll have a nice beer out of it.

 

[Hamner Brewhouse]

My basement can range from 60F-67F. Warmest I saw on Fermotemp after pitching was 67.1. It got down to 63F. Now it climbed back up to 66.7F.

Yeah my biggest concerns are infection, DMS, & hot side aeration.

 

[BOB357]

May as well cross hot side aeration off your list. It really doesn't seem to be an issue. I seem to recall Charlie Bamforth saying that when interviewed by Brad Smith some time ago. I'm anal when it comes to sanitizing, but truly believe that infections aren't usually as big of a threat as many believe.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Wow lucky you wernt near that thing when it let go musta made one heck of a crash when it hit the ground. Could call it free fall ale or something.

 

[Hamner Brewhouse]

Wow lucky you wernt near that thing when it let go musta made one heck of a crash when it hit the ground. Could call it free fall ale or something.

I was about 4 feet away. Freaked me out & I expected to see a major spill. I'm guessing what saved it was my bench/fermentation chamber. Top of kettle probably hit that and prevented it from continuing to fall forward.

Free Fall Ale... I might use that.

 

[Hawkbox]

I'd worry about the sanitation, the DMS thing seems to be overblown too these days. Keep things clean and you should be A-ok.

 

[Hogarthe]

Lucky you weren't hurt. Big pots of hot liquid falling tend to cause injuries but I think your beer should be ok. Lots of people wait to pitch the next day and have made good beer.

 

[Craigerrr]

Lucky you weren't hurt. Big pots of hot liquid falling tend to cause injuries but I think your beer should be ok. Lots of people wait to pitch the next day and have made good beer.

That is what I did with my last batch. With the hot weather, and the warm ground water, I had no choice. Beer turned out exactly as intended.