Argh - forgot to put hop strainer on!

[davidmpye]

Hi guys,

Just a quick question: Half way through my first AG brew, so far so good...

BUT..

Just realised I have forgotten to put the hop strainer onto the inside of the boiler tap, which I'm guessing is going to block the tap once I start to drain the boiled wort out of the boiler. Obviously I can't put my hand in now as it's boiling vigorously, but will I be able to do that once I've cooled it? How great is the contamination risk of me putting a well washed hand (and arm) into the cool wort for a few secs to attach the hop strainer?

Cheers,

David

[Jerry Cornelius]

My hop strainer came loose last brew when I was running the wort off. I sprayed my arms with Star-san and re-fitted it. So far, so good, been fermenting for a week and I haven't noticed any infection. You've not got a lot of choice really, you need to get the stuff out!

[pas8280]

If you have a tube you could syphon it out as Jerry says you cant leave it in but a sterile syphone tube would reduce the risk of infection.or failing that dependant on the weight you could pour it out slowly through a sieve a small amount of trub will settle during fermentation.

[harry_mac]

Once it's cooled down, try the tap anyway & you might get away with it. It's what I do when I forget. The flow rate can get really slow but it gets there eventually. You can tilt the boiler when the level drops to minimise wort loss from under tap level.

e2a: Even if you only drain off some of it this way, it's less liquid to dip your arm in if you want to fit the strainer.

[Jim]

You only do that once!

When it happened to me I transferred the wort to a fermenter, fitted the hop strainer to the boiler and returned the wort. IIRC the wort hadn't got up to the boil, which was the only good thing.

[davidmpye]

In the end I gave myself the best surgical scrub I could, stuck my arm in ye olde sanitising fluid as well, quick rinse then did the deed

Time will tell whether I got away with it! But yeah, definitely won't do it again! I might as well just leave it on right from the start!

[RichParker]

Last time that happened to me (over 10 years ago) was a lager that got christened Pilsener Oh Hell. I sterilised a large pan and bailed the wort into the FV through a (sterilised) sieve.

[grmills]

Probably too late now but when I forgot the filter (as suggested, you'll only do it once) I jugged the wort, hops 'n' all, into the FV until the boiler was light enough to up-end and pour the rest safely, fitted the filter then jug/poured it back before continuing the boil. No need to sterilise anything.