To err is human!

Ok, admit it...we've all make really stupid mistakes in our homebrew adventures that are so stupid that, in retrospect, are quite hilarious! Case in point - I am almost 2 weeks into fermenting my fest beer (see recipe here https://www.seasonsofthebrew.com/post/seriously-it-s-time-to-brew-the-festbier-lager)

Everything is going exactly to plan. I hit final gravity yesterday and turned the temp up to 66F for a diacetyl rest before cold crashing and then lagering for the 4 weeks remaining before the official start of Oktoberfest. I walked by the fermentation chamber (a re-purposed wine fridge in my dining room) and noticed that the floor was wet. Hmmm...not a good sign.

Opened up the fridge and was hit by a strong acidic aroma, akin to vinegar, yet strangely (must be my imagination) with a hint of ginger. Anyway, I go into full freak-out mode and am fully convinced that the beer is contaminated and will have to be dumped. Heck, even the Star San container attached to the blow-off tube is off-colored with a faint smell of vinegar. I decided that there was probably a seal leak and took off the lid to take a look (...I ferment in a keg - more on that in another post). Interesting...everything looks fine and, remarkably, there is absolutely no vinegar smell whatsoever. Decided to have a taste - near the sink mind you as I was fully expecting to have to spit it out! Lo and behold, it tasted amazing! No vinegar, no diacetyl, no off flavors whatsoever! What the heck is going on?

Well, here is where the dumb ass part comes to play. It turns out that someone in my household (undoubtedly me!) had at some point put a few bottles of honey ginger kombucha on the top rack of the wine fridge above where the keg was fermenting. Raising the temp triggered the kombucha to start to re-ferment which caused the cap to expand and the contents to blow out all over the fridge! Well, I guess that explains the mysterious ginger aroma!

What misadventures in homebrewing have you experienced? Feel free to post below.