How bad did I screw it up?

I just finished attempting to brew my first batch. I got through to the end of the boil just fine (plenty of headspace, so I watched Over the Hedge to pass the time). But then I ran into tons of problems.

First, my immersion cooler wouldn't submerge much at all, so I ended up pouring the wort into my fermenter and dunked it in there and used tap water (we have good clean pipes and the book said it was fine, hope it was right) to fill to the full 5 gallons. But just as I started the cooling my yeast (which was ready to toss in) got poured in and I'm hoping the heat wasn't too much for it. I managed to get it down to just under 80F when all was said and done. Remembering that bacteria does best at 90-140 I called it okay enough and sat it on my garage floor til tomorrow morning to bring it down to the low 70s. Before I came back to my room, there were a very slow formation of bubbles on the airlock walls.

It all got very hectic and I'm horribly worried that I completely screwed the batch, although my cooler was sanitized and had had hot water ran through it for about 5 minutes earlier when I was filling the fermenter with sanitizer and wasn't unhooked since then, though I did purge the hot with cool water. Our water tastes fine and has no noticable cholorine flavor.

So how badly did it go for my first time? Is it likely to turn out okay as is, or will I probably have to pitch more yeast, or worse toss it and try again?

Thanks for any input, Telain

--------------= Posted using GrabIt =----------------

------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =---------

-= Get GrabIt for free from

formatting link

the boil just fine (plenty of headspace, so I watched Over the Hedge to pass the time). But then I ran into tons of problems.

the wort into my fermenter and dunked it in there and used tap water (we have good clean pipes and the book said it was fine, hope it was right) to fill to the full 5 gallons. But just as I started the cooling my yeast (which was ready to toss in) got poured in and I'm hoping the heat wasn't too much for it. I managed to get it down to just under 80F when all was said and done. Remembering that bacteria does best at 90-140 I called it okay enough and sat it on my garage floor til tomorrow morning to bring it down to the low 70s. Before I came back to my room, there were a very slow formation of bubbles on the airlock walls.

batch, although my cooler was sanitized and had had hot water ran through it for about 5 minutes earlier when I was filling the fermenter with sanitizer and wasn't unhooked since then, though I did purge the hot with cool water. Our water tastes fine and has no noticable cholorine flavor.

or will I probably have to pitch more yeast, or worse toss it and try again?

Some room for improvement, for sure:

Pouring it hot from the pot to the fermenter. This creates the wrong kind of oxidation, nor does it allow any separation of the trub.
Adding Tap water may have been OK, but I never try it.
You may have killed a lot of yeast.
The yeast may reproduce (assuming you didn't kill it all) but if you start with a poor culture it gives unfriendlies the chance to move in and take over before the yeast can reestablish itself.

Only time will tell.