Scherven brengen geluk! (The Dutch version) I had no idea that this also is a saying in English. And apparently also in German: “Scherben bringen Glück”.
The Dutch experts on language seem to have different thoughts about the origin and meaning, and I am not going to speculate.
One thing is for sure; shards usually do not make beer or wine makers happy.
Which brings me to the failure of today:
I found this picture on the internet. I have not made this failure but other people did so I fit it in the failures series.
The person wanted to clean several old dirty demijohns. By the writing style I am going to assume it is a woman. (Excuse me if I’m wrong) She used boiling water and one of the demijohns broke. She explained that she did not use the hot water on the outside of the demijohn but only on the inside. Her advice therefore is: Also use the hot water on the outside.
Well, here is my advice: DO NOT USE HOT WATER TO CLEAN DEMIJOHNS!
They are not made for it. They are not meant for hot water and you also cannot put hot wort in them! You will not be the first who has to clean the best beer ever made from your kitchen floor.
I have to give her credit for one thing though. She found that cleaning the demijohns with vinegar and uncooked rice worked very well. I have not tried it myself because I never had any problems with stubborn dirt in demijohns but I will definitely try it if needed.
Hans
