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Hi everyone, I made some nettle beer, and without me knowing my OH decanted it from the bottle into a jug to get some of the sediment out then tipped it back into the bottle - I don't know why he did this, but anyway... the jug was washed but not sterilised! I'm always mad about sterilising everything, but I'm not sure of what happens if you don't? Will it be ok?

I think only time will tell! Really difficult to say; I wouldn't chuck it all out, though - not before waiting a bit to see if there are unwanted developments. (I tend to be not so mad about sterilising - and things have rarely gone wrong.)

Thanks Ina that's made me feel a bit better! I think the only solution is to drink it asap and make some more!!

mrsmiggins wrote:Thanks Ina that's made me feel a bit better! I think the only solution is to drink it asap

I think your OH only wanted that excuse!

ina wrote:
I think your OH only wanted that excuse!

Hmm... I might need to ask him about that!!

Hi MrsMiggins

In days long, long ago, drinking water meant you stood a good chance of dying of unspeakable disease. Being clever, our ancestors invented a way of sterilising the stuff and keeping it drinkable - they boiled the water and then poured it over other stuff to give it a flavour and then allowed it to ferment, and they called it ale. Mind you, they would then keep the ale in unsterilised containers - but the alcohol present in the drink usually meant that everything was still OK. They didn't actually know anything about the system they'd invented, just that it meant they could make water drinkable and then keep it drinkable for a couple of weeks. Clever sods, eh?

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that if the jug was washed and therefore reasonably clean, you will be terribly unlucky if anything untoward happens to your nettle beer.

Enjoy it!!!!

Mike

MKG wrote:Hi MrsMiggins

In days long, long ago, drinking water meant you stood a good chance of dying of unspeakable disease. Being clever, our ancestors invented a way of sterilising the stuff and keeping it drinkable - they boiled the water and then poured it over other stuff to give it a flavour and then allowed it to ferment, and they called it ale. Mind you, they would then keep the ale in unsterilised containers - but the alcohol present in the drink usually meant that everything was still OK. They didn't actually know anything about the system they'd invented, just that it meant they could make water drinkable and then keep it drinkable for a couple of weeks. Clever sods, eh?

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that if the jug was washed and therefore reasonably clean, you will be terribly unlucky if anything untoward happens to your nettle beer.

Enjoy it!!!!

Mike

Thanks Mike! Perhaps I'm being a little OTT with the sterilising. We drank it and it was so strong I don't think anything would have survived!!

mrsmiggins wrote:Thanks Mike! Perhaps I'm being a little OTT with the sterilising. We drank it and it was so strong I don't think anything would have survived!!

We'll check on you tomorrow...

As long as your not storing it for long then any possible bacteria won't have time to develop, what recipe did you use btw?