BIGGEST Balls up to date!, what’s your biggest fail?

[LeeH]

I hopped my kettle sour last week on the first boil, no idea why, I’ve made a few so know the process well.

Surprise surprise it didn’t sour and the first ever batch that has gone down the drain.

 

[Druss]

Oh, I had a spectacular one recently.

I think it was around mid May, I decided to make a load of sparkling melomel, I'd already brewed a few gallons and instead of pasteurising and bottling as I normally would, I just went ahead and back sweetened in beer bottles before capping and putting it all in my shed.

I'd forgotten all about it, there was around fifty (500ml, glass) bottles in total, note I said was.

Cut to a couple of weeks ago, sitting in the living room watching TV with swmbo, we heard an almighty boom and the unmistakable sound of tinkling glass. I didn't think much of it, our neighbours are often up to shenanigans so I just chalked it up to that.

Went into the shed the next day to sort some other brewing stuff out and found it wall to wall covered in shattered glass and the unmistakable smell of spilled booze.

In my haste to both back sweeten and prime, I'd added 25g of honey to each 500ml bottle...I've been brewing for 30 years, I really should have known better!

Two weeks on and I'm still finding chunks of glass here and there

 

[marshbrewer]

I recently lovingly brewed a historical Aussie stout from Peter Symons. Bulk aged it. Smelt lovely.

Sanitised a clean cornie with Videne. Racked the stout into the cornie with priming. Looking forward to this.

Why is my sanitiser jug empty? Oh......

 

[Tony Dyer]

I recently lovingly brewed a historical Aussie stout from Peter Symons. Bulk aged it. Smelt lovely.

Sanitised a clean cornie with Videne. Racked the stout into the cornie with priming. Looking forward to this.

Why is my sanitiser jug empty? Oh......

A while ago I had a nice Bohemian Pilsener that I'd fermented in the cellar (cool) for 2 weeks and then racked off to mature in the fridge for 6 weeks. So far so good. I then bottled about 24 x 500ml bottles. Nice. I had a little left in the transfer vessel so I gave it a taste - luckily. It tasted a bit odd - kind of soapy and salty - which was when I realised that I'd primed the brew with sanitiser instead of priming sugar. Down the drain it went. I'm more careful with my white powders now.

Also, my last brew, I put water and grain for my Christmas Beast into my Brewzilla only to realise that I'd forgotten the malt tube. I didn't trust the pump not to clog with allthat unfiltered malt sloshing around, not to mention the problems I would have had sparging so I had to pour it all out and clean out the BZ before starting the mash again.

 

[Rodcx500z]

Bin there done that

I'd forgotten the malt tube. I didn't trust the pump not to clog with allthat unfiltered malt sloshing around, not to mention the problems I would ha

 

[micklupulo]

Not sure yet how this ranks on a failure scale. It is extract based but I first of all steeped 200gms of dextrin which I then boiled with challenger then added citra hops later. Been bottled a month now and looks like it will never clear. Not sure why. Will it clear in time and in the meantime will it give me the screamers? Tastes OK!

 

[prog99]

I made a purple neipa. Classic oxidisation, there’s a post somewhere on here of it.

 

[micklupulo]

Not sure yet how this ranks on a failure scale. It is extract based but I first of all steeped 200gms of dextrin which I then boiled with challenger then added citra hops later. Been bottled a month now and looks like it will never clear. Not sure why. Will it clear in time and in the meantime will it give me the screamers? Tastes OK!View attachment 102766

Does anyone have any idea why this has happened and if so whether it will eventually clear? I should add that I used one clear bottle which has cleared about an inch from the top (in four weeks).