Stupidest Mistake You've Ever Made

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2) Forgetting to pull the blow off tube out of the bottle of Starsan before I started racking the finished beer in my bottling bucket... In my defence, I was distracted by my wife talking to me whilst I did it. She isn't usually in the room when I rack ready to bottle. lol Still, the beer has carbonated nicely and tastes delicious. lmao

We've all done that, it's part of the initiation process. :laugh8:
 
Mashing in and forgetting to put the grain filter in the bottom of the mash tun. Pouring 17kg of hit porridge into a bucket and back is not funny. In the event it made a lovely beer
 
if I started with my stupid mistakes, ill be still typing this time tomorrow!
but the usual ones...like:
not checking the taps on my SS brewbucket..and bottling bucket!!
started carbing up too early..
overshot the mash temps using my GF...whilst answering a call! (both element on!)
forgot what much priming sugar I was using..was supposed to be 1/2tsp in a 500ml bottle..ended up a teaspoon full..n a bit.
making hooch in the desert! without proper temp control....all I say I.E.D.
setting up a day early for a brewday! 5am got up setup...thought the delivery was this morning...but it was the next morning..back in the day when mobiles were scares!
latest one, the wrong yeast....supposed to be a ale...then I piched lager yeast!!!
all I can say if this is not possible just read my signature lol...
my battered brain gets me into some scrapes I tell you...
bri
 
Wow, I don't feel so bad about my mistakes. A recent couple of mine, which were annoying on a double batch:

Cheap temp probe from eBay meaning inconsistent mash on every brew = poor tasting beer.

Using tights as hop socks... They are just too tight for the amount of hops in a double batch, so lack luster hoping = poor tasting beer!!
 
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My latest fail. A face full of beer.

I was wondering why I was having trouble fitting the beer-out disconnect to one of my kegs so, after a few homebrews I thought I'd prod the out-poppet with a screwdriver to see if it was jammed. It wasn't. Oh boy it wasn't. And it caught below the lip and latched open. Cue a pressurised beer fountain right in my eyes and face. Eyes stinging I couldn't see to pull the pressure release valve until I got out of the spray and wiped my face by which time the garage was soaked from floor to wall to ceiling.

Turned out that on my two kegs I'd stupidly attached two beer-out connectors to one keg and two gas-in connectors to the other. I summoned the wherewithal to put some latex gloves on, spray up with starsan and swap over the connectors before purging the one keg whose lid I removed and putting them both back in the fridge and mopping up.

I'm off for a shower because I stink of german pilsner right now.
 
@foxbat that sounds like a nightmare. At least it was in the garage and not the house. I keep my kegs in the kitchen and I an only imagine the mess if one emptied itself inside.
 
I managed to have my own exploding beer (wort) issue the other day. I was making a starter for a bitter I'm making this weekend and it was boiling away nicely in an Erlenmeyer flask when I realised that I hadn't put any yeast nutrient in.

"Never mind" I thought, "I'll just add it now". I carefully removed the foil lid and chucked in a large pinch of nutrient granules. Cue a 2 foot high eruption of boiling wort out of the top of the flask and all over the counter top and floor of my brew shed.

After lots of mopping up and swearing, I topped it back up with more DME and water and boiled it again. Hopefully it will turn out alright.
 
I've recently come to realise that my biggest mistake is drinking my brew too early. I made a decidedly average stout in March which is now great but I've only 3 x 330ml bottles left. I also made a red ale in January which I nearly threw out as it went all wrong. It improved to be perfectly drinkable in 3 months. My centennial IPA was good to start with but it has also developed into a better brew with time in the bottle. So next week I am starting to brew my Xmas and winter stock.
 
Using my Burco boiler for the first time and having it set to a rolling boil at the back of the house.
Took a phone call and then rushed to pick up my daughter, hoping to be back at the end of the hour.
Came back in through the front door and knew from the over-powering sweet malt smell that something wasn't quite right.
Had a geat 'sticky' time cleaning the boiler, kitchen units and floor before the wife got back.....:no:
 
I managed to have my own exploding beer (wort) issue the other day. I was making a starter for a bitter I'm making this weekend and it was boiling away nicely in an Erlenmeyer flask when I realised that I hadn't put any yeast nutrient in.

On that note, it took well over a year of using liquid yeast before I discovered adding hops to starter wort stopped foam boiling over and out of the flask.



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