Made a brewing mistake

What went wrong? Was this supposed to happen? Should I throw it out? What do I do now?

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wolf67672
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2004 9:26 pm

Made a brewing mistake

Post by wolf67672 »

Hi,my father is trying his hand at beer brewing,and believes that he made 2 mistakes,and was wondering if this batch is lost.

His mistakes were,now I am not sure of the terminology,but I think it would be something akin to proofing the yeast before adding it to the batch.He didnt.
The other mistake was he didnt prepare the hops according to direction,I guess he just added them the way they came,which was pellet form.

He still has a few more weeks before the beer is done,but do these mistakes mean the end to this batch,or is there something he can do to savew it.
I really have no clue what I am talking about here,so any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.
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Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

More Info Needed...

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

As far as "proofing" the yeast, dry yeast will work quicker if it is hydrated for 15-20 minutes in warm (95-100) degree water, but it will also work if simply sprinkled into the pre-beer ("wort").

Now... "preparing hops"? There are many applications of hops that vary given the desired outcome. To impart bitterness, hops are added early into the boil, to impart flavor, midway into the boil and for aroma, at the end of the boil. If a grassy, "dry hop" aroma is desired, hops are added to a secondary conditioning vessel and the fermented out beer is transfered on top of the hops. You don't want to dry hop in the first fermenter where active fermentation is taking place because the aroma will be driven off by the CO2.

To help you further, I need a blow-by-blow description of the proceedures your father did and how the beer seems to be progressing.

Eric
wolf67672
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2004 9:26 pm

will get more info :)

Post by wolf67672 »

Thanks for the reply.

I will be seeing my father omn Saturday,and will ask him what it is he feels he forgot to do to the hops,and what steps he took to get where he is.
And I am glad to hear that dry yeast is not a terrible thing!! :)
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