Sometimes things just go horribly wrong. On my way back from picking up a new mast for my shipwreck I visited Marks Home Brew shop and picked up a Hoegaarden kit. Today I scrupulously cleaned all the gear, mixed up the ingredients and put it into an immaculate barrel. The brew was a little hot so I had to cool it down with some ice before adding the yeast. It's a hot day so it would not cool down even after I used all the ice. Bugger. Oh well, add the yeast anyway, should be okay. As I popped the lid on I dropped a small rubber washer in. Double bugger. Tried to fish it out with my scrupulously clean stirrer. No luck. Gah... rinsed a sieve and used that to fish out the washer. Whacked lid on quick.

Now I feel like I stuffed up that brew, too hot for the yeast, fishing around for the washer. Ah well I'll let you know if it starts to froth....