Can I Brew a Batch of Beer and Then Brew Again the Next Day and Ferment in the Same Fermenter?

When is my homebrew ruined across repair?

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a batch of beer. From under carbonation to bacterial contagion, at that place are many things that can steer your beer from its intended course.

Still, just considering your grade changes along the manner does not mean y'all tin can't end up at your intended destination, or perchance even somewhere better.

The 2 "Is it ruined?" questions brewers get most involve contamination and stuck fermentation. We'll go over both of these along with some additional scenarios and hopefully make you feel a bit more than comfortable about your batch of beer.

Possible Contamination

The almost common "Is it ruined?" question new brewers ask goes something like this:

"I totally messed up and feel like an idiot. I finished my showtime extract batch and was pitching my yeast when I dropped my [insert random unsanitized brewery item] into the beer. Should I just spare myself 3 weeks of anxiety and dump it now?"

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The answer to this question is e'er no. While every brewer should be constantly mindful of cleanliness and sanitation, it is not necessary to presume that a breach in sanitation will result in a ruined beer.

As an case, I know who accidentally dropped an unsanitized airlock into his beer. He called me, concerned, and asked if he should just dump the batch. He even considered going to purchase more yeast, humid the entire batch again, and and then chilling and repitching his new yeast.

I brash him to just become with it and see how the beer turned out. After which he let it ferment, tasted it, and then bottled it. Information technology turned out to be a delicious beer and showed no signs of contamination at all.

And that's a very common story. From dropping an unsanitized gallon of distilled water to having a leaf fall off their tree into the fermenter, there are all kinds of things that could contaminate your beer, but virtually of the time, you'll be fine as long every bit you don't go out them in there and the balance of your procedures are sound.

Hither's why: You are already doing everything you can to give your yeast every advantage. When it gets into the wort at a proper pitching rate, the incredibly pocket-size corporeality of microorganisms that go added when you drop your airlock in the wort don't stand a chance against the yeast which has been bred to thrive in your beer. The entire surroundings you create when you brand beer is designed to make yeast happy, not other leaner. While some leaner or wild yeasts may desire to eat your wort, the ones that will win the battle will be your yeast, assuming you are pitching the right amount.

In essence, you lot should almost never assume that some small-scale mistake will contaminate your whole batch across repair. If your yeast is healthy and yous have a skilful pitching charge per unit, it volition outpace most contaminators and even so make practiced beer.

When to Dump a Contaminated Batch

On the other mitt, I one time competed with my homebrew society in a contest which involved brewing with breakfast cereal. My recipe involved adding cereal to secondary. This was a huge fault, as the cereal floated on top of the beer and immune a lovely mold to develop. Over the 14 years I have been brewing, that is the only batch I have ever had to dump. And, no, I didn't taste it first.

In other words, if it is obvious you take an unwanted infection in there, it's perfectly fine to dump it.

Stuck Fermentation

A homebrewer experiences a stuck fermentation when his beer, which seemed then happy at first, all of a sudden stops fermenting. Sometimes, temperature changes tin trigger this. Sometimes, information technology's unhealthy yeast. Sometimes, fermentations stop for no obvious reason.

But don't dump that batch just yet. There are a lot of things you can do before writing off the batch.

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The start step is to wait. If it has been less than 14 days since you pitched your yeast, wait. It may not exist done.

Attempt racking information technology to secondary. Make sure you take your gravity reading beginning and brand a note of it. The human activity of racking will stir up some of the yeast and may kick start fermentation without any additional intervention on your part. If the recipe calls for dry-hopping, I recommend property off on that office until you can verify if the beer needs further interaction.

If your last gravity is within a reasonable range and you are sure it is done fermenting (at least three days without a change in gravity reading), yous can then package it and potable it. Your beer may exist a fleck maltier and lower in alcohol than intended, but that may not be a bad thing. If you'd rather have some action to endeavor and lower it, read on.

If it doesn't start later all of this, y'all can ever pitch with some additional yeast. This is especially constructive if yous are concerned that your original yeast may have been compromised or unhealthy.

When to Dump a Stuck Batch

Never, unless it tastes awful. If it really is finished at the college gravity, so taste it. If it's passable, package it and beverage it. Even if information technology'south not what you expected it to be, it should still exist beer. As my friend, Todd, ever says, "More beer is amend than less beer."

Other Mistakes

There are any variety of mistakes that can happen to your beer, from forgetting to add together an ingredient or not sealing a fermenter to blowing the chapeau off a fermenter in a geyser of foamy stickiness. Each of them have their risks, of class, but most of them don't necessarily hateful your beer will be ruined.

• Forget the Irish moss? Your beer might be a piddling hazy.
• Forget to add your smell hops? Leave them out or dry-hop with them instead.
• Agape you may have introduced oxygen while siphoning into secondary? No worries. Let it finish and try it when bottling.
• Accidentally get out a gallon of iodine sanitizer in the fermenter and add your beer anyway? Dump it. No 1 wants iodine poisoning.

When to dump it

There are a few instances when dumping it will exist necessary. Every one of these instances involved knowing beyond a doubt that the beer is ruined. Most of the time, this can exist adamant by tasting the beer mail service-fermentation, but on occasion you'll simply know. If you have to enquire if your batch is ruined, let it ride. Remember, even if a beer doesn't come out as expected, it doesn't mean it will be a bad beer.

7 Steps to Correcting Your "Ruined" Beer

1. Practise not panic.
2. Do not give up on your beer.
3. Never dump a batch unless it has mold or you are positive that it is infected. If you lot are not sure, information technology is non infected.
4. Reserve judgment until the beer is carbonated. If information technology tastes odd, requite it some time in the canteen. Fourth dimension heals all beers.
5. Your beer is not a delicate blossom. Pocket-size mistakes don't ruin beer.
6. Let your yeast exercise their business concern. Never rush them, and assume they know what they are doing. It is literally in their Dna.
7. Patience, patience, patience.

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Source: https://learn.kegerator.com/dump-bad-batch-beer/

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