Brewing mistakes you really wish you'd avoided...

[Griff097]

Buying an AIO! 11brews in and still can't get decent beer out of the damn thing.
3v system which served me well for many years is going to get dusted down and put back in to service.

I considered going to a 3V system but with the space taken up, the faff with pumps and hoses and cleaning, I got extra AIO instead.

I hear some talk about temperature inaccuracies which could affect your mash?

I find my BZs superb.

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have my BZ35L nailed down to +1 -1

 

[Sozzled Sab]

I considered going to a 3V system but with the space taken up, the faff with pumps and hoses and cleaning, I got extra AIO instead.
I hear some talk about temperature inaccuracies which could affect your mash?
I find my BZs superb.

I know that it's down to the operator and not the Bz. I lied in the original post when I said that I've never made a decent brew with it. I did make a good lager with it which is odd as it's only the second one i've ever made. Normally it's ales/bitters. I feel I have got mash temps nailed down now. I have read so many great reviews on it so I will persever with it. Onwards and upwards.

 

[Adrian Miller]

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Brewing mistakes you really wish you'd avoided...​

The messiest was overtightened tap on electrim boiler and going to answer phone and it jumped the thread when it heated up and poured hot wort all over floor. Weirdest was using half a pound of black Malt in a recipe instead of the half ounce required. Ended up with a pint that looked like Guinness but tasted like a pale ale

 

[scottydog.]

I made elderberry wine in a gallon demi-john , unfortunately a couple of berries were in there while fermenting and blocked the air lock.lying in bed and said to the. wife did you hear a noise no she said.Went in to the spare room and found the ceiling and walls covered in wine.Wife wetting herself laughing. Took oil based paint and several coats to hide it.

 

[dad_of_jon]

That requires one to remember which colour denotes each

green for gas and blue for beer?

 

[marshbrewer]

I think I may have told this tale before, but here goes. About ten years ago, I brewed a batch of elderberry wine, and had racked it into its first demijohn. Then, I went away for the weekend to Nottingham, for a wedding I think. While I was their I purchased a nice shirt (again, if memory serves me right, from Paul Smith - so it was back when I was considerably thinner) which I happened to be wearing when I returned home. When I walked in, I could hear a hissing sound coming from somewhere.

I walked up to the demijohn, and the gunk from the elderberries had blocked the airlock.

Hisssssssssss....

I wonder if it's making the hissing sound?


Hissssssssssssssssss.........

I'll give it a wiggle to see...


BANG!

The airlock and bung shot up into the ceiling, covering it, the walls, and my brand new shirt with elderberry stains.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Biggest brewing mistake so far, was today. I've done 2 dipas and I need to take 2 litres of treated water out of the equation so I ended up with 21l instead of 19 litres because I forgot to subtract the increased volume 4kg of DME gives . Just to make things worse I tipped the sample tube. so no actually OG reading

At that point I gave up. I am hoping someone can rescue the situation with a clever calc. because brewtarget is well pants.

So previous brews were 19l in fv 4kg of DME = 1.080og

19.3l - 4kg of DME = 1.079og
20.8l - 4KG of DME = ??

My very rough guess is 1.074?

 

[RichardM]

I planned to brew a Marzen last Sunday. On Saturday I made up a yeast starter and put it on the stir plate in my fermentation fridge. On Sunday morning I got the brew going then went to check on the yeast. It was frozen solid.
The temperature controller was set at 11 centigrade but the temperature probe wasn't in the fridge. It was warmer than 11centigrade in the room so the controller was telling the fridge to chill.

At least I know my fridge thermostat bypass works and the fridge will get to very cold!

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

went to check on the yeast. It was frozen solid.

Oh nooooo!

 

[marshbrewer]

Oh nooooo!

Let it go, let it go....

 

[Twostage]

I planned to brew a Marzen last Sunday. On Saturday I made up a yeast starter and put it on the stir plate in my fermentation fridge. On Sunday morning I got the brew going then went to check on the yeast. It was frozen solid.
The temperature controller was set at 11 centigrade but the temperature probe wasn't in the fridge. It was warmer than 11centigrade in the room so the controller was telling the fridge to chill.

At least I know my fridge thermostat bypass works and the fridge will get to very cold!

I did a similar thing. Conditioning bottles in a chest freezer brew fridge and left the temp probe dangling outside. Lolly bottles when I looked the next day. They all survived though.