[Wheat_Brewer]

So I was starting my sparging with the first running of my imperial stout I'm currently making when I realize that my run-off is really grainy and slow.  Wondering what's going on I start tinkering, while tinkering I happen to glance at the counter to find my neatly put together manifold sitting on the counter and not in my cooler...If you're one of my neighbors and is wondering what that loud thump was followed by swear words it was me smacking my head against the wall in frustration.  Luckily I was able to overcome it...I think. 

And in case your keeping track I've also done this with: my smack pack being left on the counter for 2 days and wondering why there's no fermentation, leaving the spout on "open" and wondering where the beer on the floor is coming from, and my favorite...leaving my priming sugar on the counter and days later wondering why the newly bottled beer is flat...

Yes, the learning by making bone headed mistakes is continuing...

[tubercle]

You need to develop a checklist

[corkybstewart]

Do you drink while you brew?  l learned many years ago to save the drinking for the post brewing celebration known as cleanup.   There are too many details to miss and to many dangers to be half drunk when brewing.  That's another reason I don't like people brewing with me, they think it's a great time to slam one beer after another.

[Wheat_Brewer]

That's the funny part I was totally sober!  I learned the value of sobriety while brewing after I left the smack pack out    Maybe I just need a checklist with everything from "put the manifold in the cooler" to "tie shoes before carrying carboy"...or maybe I just need to hire somebody to watch me and double check everything I do. 

[theoman]

I'm torn between lobbing insults for the "boneheadednes" and admiration for your willingness to admit and share said boneheadedness.

[kgs]

Technically, those aren't mistakes, they're slips and lapses. You know what to do, but you end up not doing it (like me leaving off the inner part of the airlock several batches ago). To me it's interesting how many of these stories involve leaving out the yeast--a critical component of fermentation, but one that appears several hours into a very involved task.

I too do not BUI (and I brew alone) and yet I have still caught myself about to pour hot water in a mash tun with a ball valve set to full open, etc. I wonder if it's a case of a complex task performed just frequently enough to establish a routine but not quite frequently enough to gain the muscle-memory to perform it automatically when our mind drifts elsewhere for a moment.

Anyhoo, I recommend checklists -- in your case, with pictures and equipment manifests     

[tubercle]

I have left the mash vessel valve open so many times that I am now OCD about it.

Check valve - take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve.....

[jeffy]

I have left the mash vessel valve open so many times that I am now OCD about it.

Check valve - take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve
take two steps - turn around an recheck valve.....

Same here.  It is so disappointing to see a big puddle of fresh wort on the floor.

[bluesssman]

Ouch!! It does sound like a check list might be your best friend. I think many of us have had these lapses in concentration and the more you brew the better you will remember all there is to do during a brewing session.

Gary

[Slowbrew]

Just make sure you have only one checklist per beer.  I can't count the number of times I've put the wrong ingredient in the first brew of the day because I picked up the wrong sheet.

Just last week I was making a Belgian Ale and a American Wheat.  I had just added the first hop addition to Belgian and measured out the rest of the hop adds when I suddenly convinced myself I was using the wrong hop schedule.  Luckily I have been through this so many times I forced myself to step back and recall what I had just added, pickup the printout and reread it (yes out loud) only to realize I was using the correct list.  I almost convinced myself to screw up. 

And no, I never drink while I brew.  Some days I think it would help.

Welcome to the club.  8^)

Paul

[corkybstewart]

I have left the MASH vessel valve open so many times that I am now OCD about it.

I've never done that, but I have left the kettle valve open way too often.