What do with with batch gone wrong

TonyTX05

New Member
Trial Member
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
So, I started with this recipe from my local supply shop for a 5 gallon batch:

  • 5.5 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Wheat
    2 lb Torrified Wheat
    1 lb American - Pale 2-Row
    0.8 lb Canadian - Honey Malt
    0.5 lb American - Caramel / Crystal 10L
I asked them to scale it down for a 1 gallon batch, and this is what I got:

  • 1 lb Dry Malt Extract - Wheat
    1 lb Torrified Wheat
    3 oz American - Pale 2-Row
    3 oz Canadian - Honey Malt
    1 oz American - Caramel / Crystal 10L

As you might notice in bold, they failed to scale the torrified wheat properly, which completely threw everything off. I went ahead and bottled just to see how it would turn out, and I got something that doesn't taste terrible but is lacking in hops and way too sweet. So the question is now I have 9 bottles of this stuff left, is there anything I can do with it like using it in making a future batch of beer, or should I just dump it down the drain?
 
In 20 years of brewing, I dumped my first batch down the drain just last month. Screwed up recipe that my friend was in charge of. I'm certainly not blaming myself! It was supposed to be a Fat Tire clone (found here at this site). I named it Flat Tire. It was a 5 gallon batch. I bet there's 2 kinds of homebrewers: those who have dumped a batch, and those who will.
 
Ha! Yeah, I think you're probably right.

Actually, my wife had a bottle tonight with some grapefruit shrub. The sourness/bitterness of the shrub seems to help balance it out some. Guess I'll leave to her to "dispose" of!
 
If it's sweet, try making ice cream floats. Seriously.
 
Agreed, look for some way to use it. When I get around to it, I'm dumping a batch of Porter, yes, all the bottles I have left of it, due to a mashing error. I added chalk to the mash to bring the pH down. Later found that doing that encourages formation of microscopic crystals of apatite - calcium phosphate. Imagine dropping a Mentos into your beer and you have a good idea of what happens when I open one. Moral is we all screw up from time to time. Accept it, live with it, learn from it and, if you have a lawn, you can at least use a bad batch as earthworm food - the microbes they eat just absolutely love beer and aren't picky about the quality.
 
Don't dump it if you can help it. Nothing worse than a bunch of drunk, out of control earthworms and microbes!
 
Use it in a beef stew recipe! Pour a bottle and add a dash of cardamom or some other spice. I would play with each bottle just to see what might make for a neat combo in terms of your next attempt. Experiment the heck out of it! - I'd only dump if it were sour...

I've been to a pub where they were "dry hopping" right in the glass they poured for you. You could try the same. BUy some hop pellets and use a tea ball (steeper) to dry hop in the poured glass. YOu might just be surprised with what you come up with.
 

Back
Top