Brew problems

[stevenrl]

Hi folks,

Forgive me if this isn't the right place to post this.... I'm new here!

Just done a brew (all-grain) of my favourite beer, but using hops from a new supplier (ie not my regular one).

When I added the hops, I noticed a couple of bits of twigs and a bit of string, so fished them out.

At the end of the boil, transferred everything to the fermenter, and left in the bottom of the pot were a dozen or so stones, ranging from a lump approx 3x1x1cm, down to some tiny little stones (a couple of mm in diameter). There were also some deposits in there that looked like bits of clay, although I didn't investigate too much.

What do I do?

I pitched the yeast anyway, and it's fermenting away, but I'm a bit nervous about keeping it. Is it worth keeping? Do I risk there being whatever else in there? Or chuck the batch away and write off the £25 or so of ingredients, plus a brew day.

Opinions please!


Thanks

Steve

[ManseMasher]

It's all been boiled, keep it but have a word with who you got the hops from would be my advice - got to be worth something, and the hop packer needs to know too.

[Chug]

Yes definitely tell whomever you got the 'hops n field' from about it its not very good quality control

[Kev888]

Bits of stalk aren't that unusual in whole hops, but I never had any large stones. I realise they're a natural product but that definitely seems to de-value the pack, which will presumably have been filled by weight. As would your recipe quantities.

Personally i wouldn't worry too much about the safety of the beer; it sounds like you just got a bit of field in the pack and its been boiled afterwards. Not sure what flavours clay/soil would impart though, with any luck perhaps what you were seeing could have been break and/or flour.

Thankfully you didn't use them to dry hop; lumps of soil and stones in the FV would have upset me rather more.

[Tony01]

Interesting, like to know where they came from... As said above, it's all been boiled up and not to mention that not a great deal could survive squashed up with a load of hops for any length of time!

[borischarlton]

They came from me, you would be amazed at what we find in hops! All the hops are gone through by hand so we find almost everything, on this occasion it must have slipped through. Obviously we have replaced the hops, I am sure that the beer will be just fine, imagine what ends up in commercial beer where they are further seperated from the ingredients!!
Cheers

Rob

[Dennis King]

I guess because the hops are picked by machine anything can get picked up.

[borischarlton]

Indeed, you can really tell the difference in the quality of the machinery used. US and NZ hops have nowhere near the amount of trash in them, UK hops are the worst for it unfortunately.

[Tony01]

Apologies Boris, didn't mean supplier... but geographically!

[stevenrl]

Hi folks,

Many thanks for the replies on this one.

In the end, I've thrown the batch away - the beer was for a talk I'm giving at a local club, and I wanted it to be the best it could be. I've still got 2 months until the talk, so I figured the safest thing to do is to start again whilst I have the time.

Many thanks to Rob from the Malt Miller, who immediately replaced the hops in question - first class service even when things are going wrong! Can't ask for more.


Steve

[Matt in Birdham]

Man I wouldn't have chucked it away! I can't imagine a few stones will do anything, and I doubt the clay would have done much (hey - some sorts of clay are even used as a fining agent!).

[guypettigrew]

What-you threw it away?!!!! It may have tasted lovely, but now you'll never know. And two months is long enough to have drunk it and still have a second one ready for the talk.

Guy

[jaroporter]

They came from me, you would be amazed at what we find in hops!

amazed might not be the one word if it's anything like what we've found in rounds of hay..

i'll always remember the day the porn mag dropped out..

[ManseMasher]

I think I would have been tempted to keep the brew. Not so sure about the mag though.....