Mistakes you've made while brewing....

[mr hoppy]

Is that from personal experience?

Don't really use bottles anymore but never had problems when I put bottles in the dishwasher. Mind, always rinsed after use, only did it to clean and then just with water and sanitised after. Seem to vaguely remember something about a risk of etching bottles if cleaning in the dishwasher but can't remember if the risk was detergent, or using the dishwasher >70C.

[Shanna]

Is that from personal experience?

Don't really use bottles anymore but never had problems when I put bottles in the dishwasher. Mind, always rinsed after use, only did it to clean and then just with water and sanitised after. Seem to vaguely remember something about a risk of etching bottles if cleaning in the dishwasher but can't remember if the risk was detergent, or using the dishwasher >70C.

My experience was that bottles stored for a period of time can have dirt in them that the dish washer won't remove. It probably says something about the bottle storage & length of time they are stored for also. I had bought/received nearly 400 bottles over the years & so it can take a while between bottles being used even if they are washed out, sometimes things have stuck on dirt that is impossible to spot in a brown bottle. Personally I can't argue with the results & would not recommend it.

Shanna

[LASERBOY147]

So using the btl washer and hot soapy water the way to go?

[johnrm]

Soap will kill head retention.

[molc]

For bottle washing, I have a few tricks. First, I never let my bottles dry. After use, I fill them with water and put them somewhere. Once there's about 19 I do a soak in warm tao water with lidl W5 oxi for about 20 mins, then a quick run through a bottle brush and 3 thorough rinses. Cling film then goes over the tops to keep dust out until I need to bottle.

On bottling day, it's a quick shot of starsan with my bottling tree attachment and then off I go.

[Leann ull]

I don't clean old bottles anymore because I keg and new clean ones are so cheap.
When I did with the 2k from the group bottle buy the only real way of removing crud was to put them in a builders bucket, a pinch of W5 in each and and inch of hot water, leave 20 mins to remove the heavy stuff and top up with water and leave   
overnight.
It shifts everything then a good rinse to be absolutely sure everything has gone and then the starsan and bottle tree.

   

[nigel_c]

I really don't miss bottling at all. The only bottles I fill are the ones I bring along to meet ups.

[Will_D]

Err, not making enough!

[Oh Crap]

Err, not making enough!

Nah nah nah...that's not a mistake....that's an outright sin

[ronnieb]

Forgetting to turn off the element once I had reached strike temp for my mash whilst doing BIAB....

[BrewDorg]

Not a huge mistake, but probably my silliest. Went to shake out excess wort from my hydrometer test jar, but completely forgot I had put my hydrometer back into it. Cue hydrometer being fired like a missile across the room and smashing off the wall. Took me a second to realise what the hell I'd just done!

[Simon_]

Was ramping a Saison up to 27° using a heat wrap. Checked it about 8 hours later and the probe had fallen away giving an ambient temp reading so the heat never switched off. Could feel the warmth coming from the fermenter 2 foot away. It was at 48c. Racked it off the yeast straight away and it turned out fine because I think it had finished fermenting anyway by that point.

[Ohnidog]

On a recent brewday I got everything up to the boil and I knowing I had 45 mins to my next step, I went out to the shop to grab some lunch. I got about 2 meters past my gate before the panic hit me...I'd left my keys in the back door!! I ran around to the back lane to see if I could climb over the garage..no luck. So I started banging on neighbours doors. No one seemed to be home in the first few I tried but eventually I found someone who was. They brought me out their back garden and gave me a step ladder to get over the wall...I just about managed to jump  clear of the gooseberry bush on the otherside and made it back just in time for the next hop addition!

[itsclinto]

First extract brew of mine was fun.  Started it in the evening, didn't think about extracting the steam and after a while the steam built up like a mist in the kitchen.  Realised my mistake but I wasn't gonna stop now, so i opened all the windows and back door.  That didn't do much good and so i was left with walls dripping with condensation.  Lucky for me the wife was asleep in the sitting room, while i was out with a towel drying the walls    Never again

[delzep]

Just started a brew now. Grain measured out and mash water heating - drill battery needs charging