HOMEBREW Digest #1065 Thu 28 January 1993

Digest #1064 Digest #1066


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Propensity Pilsner Lagering Questions (Marc Tamsky)
  Cops  (Kurt Swanson)
  Semi Annual Wort Chiller diatribe (Mike Zentner)
  Weinhenstephan Wheat yeast (Michael T. Lobo)
  Culturing Sierra Nevada Dregs (Joseph Nathan Hall)
  Diastatic Power of Wheat Malt (Joseph Nathan Hall)
  Articles on Malting Methods (Glenn Raudins)
  re:doughing in water onto malt (Jim Busch)
  n.amine,dough-in (Russ Gelinas)
  nitrosamines (KLIGERMAN)
  Old trub, New wort story (Randall Holt)
  Source for caps for Champagne bottles. (Corby Bacco)
  Bay area Brewoff Results ("Bob Jones")
  Re: pvc v. copper (atl)
  Double BOck anyone??? (Michael Reinhorn)
  And now, a beer for cats! (Phillip Seitz)
  Re: freezing pellets, low pilsner yield (larryba)
  Homebrew Digest #1063 (January 26, 1993) (Ray Peck)
  Hop Storage; Brewers Publications (Glenn Raudins)
  Central Florida brewers? (Guy McConnell)
  nitro-what? ("Knight,Jonathan G")
  Re: Colour Units (korz)
  re-using yeast in fermenter (Peter Maxwell)
  Yeast Culturing Questions (Hardy M. Cook)
  turpentine/solvents (Rob Bradley)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 00:06:05 -0800 From: finette!tamsky at hub.ucsb.edu (Marc Tamsky) Subject: Propensity Pilsner Lagering Questions I am posting for a friend, but he made the following, and has a few questions: Propensity Pilsner (from Papazian's NCJOHB) Wyeast #2007 (I think it's a bavarian lager, but the # is definitely correct.) OG: 1055 Primary Ferment for one week at 52F. Racked to secondary. Secondary Ferment is currently on it's NINTH week at 40F. Still getting glugs every 60 seconds from normal 3-piece airlock. Bottom of carboy currently has ~1 inch of all-one-color trub. Color is crystal clear. Questions: Is this too long of a ferment? Should this be re-racked into a third carboy to get it off the trub? With 60sec/glug does he need to wait any longer before bottling? If he bottles now, should he use less priming sugar since it's not finished? Thanks [post replies to here or to me with cc: to pauljj at aol.com (the brewer of the batch)] tamsky at finette.UUCP || tamsky at crash.cts.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 11:14:05 +0000 (GMT) From: Kurt Swanson <Kurt.Swanson at dna.lth.se> Subject: Cops After reading Mr. Barbour's response to his hate mail, I tend to agree with him - up to a limit... The TV show cannot be expected to know all the ins & outs of homebrewing, hang-gliding, tiddlywinks, and other pursuits. And "Cinema Verite" is worth preserving - BUT it should be prefaced as such. I think the show ought to begin with a disclaimer - "we show it as it is - without any justification, morally or legally, on our part." Just my thought - if you find it distasteful you can send your hate mail to: Kurt Swanson K|rb{rsv{gen 26 S-223 55 LUND, Sweden - -- Kurt Swanson, Dept. of Computer Science, Lunds universitet. Kurt.Swanson at dna.lth.se Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 08:28:01 -0500 From: zentner at ecn.purdue.edu (Mike Zentner) Subject: Semi Annual Wort Chiller diatribe Mike Zulaf asks about tubing in ice chillers. Mike, while I haven't built one of these specifically, I have seen one work and can offer some general advice which may be of use to other readers as well. In general, don't go with any tubing smaller than 3/8" OD unless your tubing length is very short (I built a counter flow chiller with 1/4" and was sorry I wasted my time). Because I use tap-temperature water, I have a 30' length counterflow chiller. If you are going to use ice (and keep it icy) you can get away with less. If ever in doubt about your length, install a valve at the outlet of your copper coil so you can slow down the flow if the outlet is not cold enough. A friend of mine who uses a chiller of the type you mentioned is convinced the 10' length he used is too short. MOST IMPORTANT! Before you coil any tubing, take a q-tip, dip it in rubbing alcohol, and swab around on the inside of the tubing. If you get black goo on the end, you've got machining oils inside and don't want your beer to be in contact with that. You need to clean out the tubing by snaking a very stiff wire through it, lubricated with lots of dish soap. Pull a string through the tubing, tie cotton balls on the string and pull them back and forth to scour the inside of the tubing. Rinse the soap out (leaving the string in) and repeat the cotton ball exercise. If anyone wants my plans for a counter-flow chiller, send me email. Mike Zentner Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 08:37:48 EST From: mlobo at sentry.foxboro.com (Michael T. Lobo) Subject: Weinhenstephan Wheat yeast Can anyone tell me where I can get some Weinhenstephan Wheat yeast? My last 2 packages of Wyeast 3056 have behaved strangely, and I'd rather not waste mt time making a wheat ale... There is probably no need to waste HBD space on a reply, so just e-mail me at mlobo at foxboro.com Thanks! Michael T. Lobo 508 549 2487 Foxboro Co. mlobo at foxboro.com "I Love beer, beer loves me; when I drink too much, my beer speaks for me" -Monty Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 08:55:44 EDT From: joseph at joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall) Subject: Culturing Sierra Nevada Dregs Someone says: ) Rob Bradley asked about culturing Sierra Nevada dregs. Isn't there three ) different strains involved in the fermentation, as well as three initially ) in the Wyeast 1056 pouch? The first strain starts rapidly, but isn't ) tolerant to ethanol and settles out rapidly, and then a second strain takes ) over. The third strain starts very slowly, but is responsible for the ) bottle conditioning. I have heard of very slooow fermentations from ) yeast cultured from SNPA dregs, so maybe only the third strain is viable ) at that time. Any comments? My experience with 1056 and cultured Sierra Nevada is that they both perform similarly (at least when neither is infected), are more attenuative than 1098 and 1028, and generally finish more quickly than less attenuative yeasts, particularly when the wort is dextrinous. Even if your SNPA is a little old, you can still make a fine culture from it. The last one I did took several days to start up in a small culture flask. Fresh ones take only a day or two, or so they tell me. I've never seen a brand new SNPA out this way, although they still taste just fine. :-) As another poster said, you must be confusing the Whitbread yeast with SNPA/Chico/1056. Now, what I remain confused on is whether the real Whitbread triple strain is used in the Wyeast cultures. My current understanding is that it is not, that 1098 is a single strain. I know I've heard the answer to this several times over the past year here, but it just doesn't sink in ... :-( Finally, on a slightly different topic, has anyone here tried using 1084 (Irish) for purposes other than stouts and porters? I feel like trying it in bitter and mild ... perhaps it might make a good alt yeast, too? ================O Fortuna, velut Luna, statu variabilis================ uunet!joebloe!joseph (609) 273-8200 day joseph%joebloe at uunet.uu.net 2102 Ryan's Run East Rt 38 & 41 Maple Shade NJ 08052 Copyright 1993 by Joseph N. Hall. Permission granted to copy and redistribute freely over USENET and by email. Commercial use prohibited. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 08:36:45 EDT From: joseph at joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall) Subject: Diastatic Power of Wheat Malt James Dipamla writes: ) Hi All, ) ) In HBD #1062, Scott Bickham writes: ) ) >So the Munich malt not only converted itself, but also the ) >5 lbs. of malted wheat. ) ) I read somewhere that wheat malt itself contains sufficient enzymes ) for conversion. Does anyone know if it does or not?? Well, I just made a crystal-clear beer with 100% (domestic) wheat malt, so I guess the answer must be "yes." More on this later. ================O Fortuna, velut Luna, statu variabilis================ uunet!joebloe!joseph (609) 273-8200 day joseph%joebloe at uunet.uu.net 2102 Ryan's Run East Rt 38 & 41 Maple Shade NJ 08052 Copyright 1993 by Joseph N. Hall. Permission granted to copy and redistribute freely over USENET and by email. Commercial use prohibited. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 7:57:30 CST From: raudins at galt.b11.ingr.com (Glenn Raudins) Subject: Articles on Malting Methods Does someone know of any articles on the current practices in the malting industry? I have read the Malting & Brewing Science, and Practicle Brewer. I am looking for more up to date information, on current malting companies. I would suspect magazines such as the New Brewer, Brewers Digest, etc would have some. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Glenn Raudins raudins at galt.b11.ingr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 9:42:27 EST From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: re:doughing in water onto malt In the last digest Al Korz wrote: <For the record, "doughing-in" is the addition of water to the grist <(which is highly recommended) not vice versa. Adding the grist to <the strike liquor will work, but will create much more balled starch <than the opposite (see Noonan's "Brewing Lager Beer"). This is indeed what Noonan preaches. I have always wondered about the importance and significance of adding water to malt as opposed to the converse. Ok, so one can get "balled starch", wont it then hydrate and become "non balled"? Cant you just stir enough to completely mix the mash? Since I do an upward step mash, the protein rest provides a 30 minute hydration period for the grains. Wont this hydrolyze the grains and liquify the starches? Also, who has ever seen a professional brewery doing this?? All of the breweries I can recall visiting do what most homebrewers do, raise a volume of water to a given temp, and add the crushed grains onto the water. This is one of the "Noonanisms" that I feel is rather un- important to the overall beer quality. THere are so many other places for brewers to make significant improvements to quality in brewing like malt/hops/yeast choices and even water chemistry. Maybe I missed something somewhere.... Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 9:52:23 -0500 (EST) From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas) Subject: n.amine,dough-in >From George Fix: >The work that first showed that nitrosamine is a potential carcinogen is >summarized in the following: > Environmental Aspects of N-nitroso Compounds, Proceedings of a > Working Conference held at the NE Center for Continuing Education, > Univ. of New Hampshire, 22-24 Aug. 1977, IARC Publ. No. 19 (1978) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Coincidence? I think not! (look at my e-mail address). Interesting about the drinkers of Rauchbier. I wonder how much their diet (other than beer) affects their cancer rate, ie. if a lot of beta-carotene vegetables (sauerkraut perhaps?) negates the effects of the n.amines. >From Al: >For the record, "doughing-in" is the addition of water to the grist >(which is highly recommended) not vice versa. Adding the grist to >the strike liquor will work, but will create much more balled starch >than the opposite (see Noonan's "Brewing Lager Beer"). Curious. I add the grist to the liquor, and get what seems to be a fine dough-in. It seems to allow for better mixing -> no dry spots. How does Noonan determine that it creates more "balled starch"? Just what is "balled starch"? Obviously I don't have the book..... Russ G OPAL/ESP UNH Return to table of contents
Date: 27 Jan 1993 10:18:40 -0400 (EDT) From: KLIGERMAN at herlvx.rtpnc.epa.gov Subject: nitrosamines To continue the thread concerning nitrosoamines (specifically N-nitrosodimethylamine), they are indeed potent carcinogens but their level in beer is relatively small (ave. 2 ppb) compared to such products as frankfurters (0 - 84 ppb), fish and fish products (4 - 26 ppb), cheeses (2 - 26 ppb), and various meat products (1 to 80 ppb). They are also found in tobacco smoke and are produced in the human body from reactions between nitrates and protein. In reality, some of the more prominent carcinogens we should worry about are tobacco smoke both main and side-stream, grilled meat and fish products which contain potent heterocyclic amines, alcohol in excess, mycotoxins found in moldy grain, and UV light. Andy Kligerman [These are of course my own opinions and do not represent those of any Agency I may belong to.!] Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 11:36:04 -0500 From: rxh6 at po.CWRU.Edu (Randall Holt) Subject: Old trub, New wort story Had to add my data point to the re-usable trub methodolgy. Made a nice lager in my 50 degree basement, and decided to try out the method of trub recycling. First I dumped the trub into a sterile pot, and covered it, then washed and sterilized the fermenter (I use plastic for the first stage, but only have one usable bucket). Brewed up another batch, let cool, and pitched the wort. Okay so far. As reported, the first stage takes off like a house afire, even at 50F, it looked like it would be ready within 5 days to rack to secondary. But, around the fifth day, while making my customary wort check, I noticed that the whole basement smelled of dirty diapers. And when I stepped into the little side room that I keep my fermenters, the smell was overpowering. (insert sound of sinking spirits) Well, loathe that I am to dump $20 of malt down the drain, I waited one more day and then racked it to secondary. And while checking the gravity, I tasted the tube full of beer, and _no odd flavors_! The secondary seemed to be clearing just fine, BUT, the odd smell persisted in the fermentation room. To make a long story short, the ferment room is right next to the downstairs bathroom, which we almost never use. The p-trap in the shower had dried out, allowing sewer gas to seep out into the ferment room through the plumbing access hole. Running the shower for a few minutes solved the problem. The end of the story, is that the final product, a bitter lager turned out beautifully, and I'm convinced that re-using trub is a viable alternative but I would recommend it only for low temperature fermentation because of the extremely fast start. And run your basement shower every month or so to keep the p-trap primed. Bibo ergo sum. - -- Randall W. Holt rxh6 at po.cwru.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 09:41:53 -0700 From: cbacco at ursa5.cs.utah.edu (Corby Bacco) Subject: Source for caps for Champagne bottles. Greetings, I was wondering if anyone can give me a source for caps for Champagne bottles (28 mm?). My roommate works at a restuarant and has been bringing home a nice supply of champagne bottles which I would love to be able to cap. My capper does have the proper fittings to handle the larger caps (as well as the standard ones) so all I need are the caps and I'm in business. I've checked with my local shops (all 2 of them) and with William's mail order and so far have struck out. Any ideas? Cheers, Corby Bacco Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 09:08:26 PST From: "Bob Jones" <bjones at novax.llnl.gov> Subject: Bay area Brewoff Results For those that like to see their name in lights, here are the winners of the Bay area Brewoff. Pale Ale - 32 entries 1 - Ray Call 2 - Larry & Marty 3 - Paul Marshall IPA - 18 entries 1 - Al Branch 2 - Gerry Burke 3 - Micah Millspaw Amber Lager - 13 entries 1 - David Sapsis 2 - John Arends 3 - Len Lemicup (sp) Barley Wine - 10 entries 1 - Tom Altenbach 2 - Ray Call 3 - Micah Millspaw Stout - 18 entries 1 - David Lose 2 - Kirk Ware 3 - Dave Rose Porter - 29 entries 1 - Harry Graham 2 - Gary Burcell 3 - Scott & Siegfried Bigelow Holiday - 31 entries 1 - John Hartman 2 - Pete Gotts 3 - John Leichel Mead - 8 entreis 1 - Ray Call 2 - Bruce Brazil 3 - Tom Lorelle A good time was had by all........... Bob Jones Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 09:12:36 -0800 From: atl at kpc.com Subject: Re: pvc v. copper > hey now- anybody out there have a cooler tun using a pvc manifold instead o f > copper? positive/negative comments? anyone? anyone? I am using a six gallon Ropak bucket with a PVC manifold at the bottom for my lauter tun. There is a half inch adapter for PVC that screws directly into the small spigot sold at my local brewshop. This piece, a cross fitting, three end caps and the 12 or so inches of PVC needed cost me a grand total of about $2.50. I slotted the bottom similarly to the copper coil method. It works fine, and seems to have improved my yields over the Zapap method. I attribute this to the elimination of the 1-1.5 gallon space between the two buckets in the Zapap system. Then again, I've only got about 6 all grain batches under my belt :-), and experience may be what is increasing my yields. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 12:13:07 -0500 From: hosehead at acs.bu.edu (Michael Reinhorn) Subject: Double BOck anyone??? If anyone out thewe knows of a good recipe for a blond double bock, I would appreciate it very much if they could post it, or send it directly to me. I had a very ggood sample at the Chapter HOuse in Ithaca, so if there is anyone in the COrnell area who might have a clue as to how to make this beer, I would love to try to make some myself. Thanks to all in advance. Cheers from BOston. Micki Reinhorn Hosehead at acs.bu.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 16:22 GMT From: Phillip Seitz <0004531571 at mcimail.com> Subject: And now, a beer for cats! HBD readers might be interested in the following, which was distributed by the Associated Press: "Brewery Markets Energy Drink for Pets "Strasbourg, France: A French brewery hopes to capture the pet market with its latest product--a non-alchoholic, high energy drink for cats and dogs. "The Pecheur brewery's latest creation is made from ingredients left over from the beer-making process and enriched with vitamins and mineral salts, said Marc Arbogast, the brewery's technicaltechnical director. "The drink will be marketed in Japan. If Japanese pets give it a paws- up, it will be introduced in France in March, then in Germany. "The drink comes in cartons and costs about the same as mineral water. "Pecheur has previously experimented with a beer containing malt whisky and another promoted as an aphrodisiac." I've seen what I belived is the last product mentioned, which is packaged in a contain I could easily have mistaken for a men's cologne. Unfortunately I can't say which paper this appeared in or on what date. I received this clipping from a relative. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 13:12:38 -0500 From: polstra!larryba at uunet.UU.NET Subject: Re: freezing pellets, low pilsner yield In HBD #1064 James Dipalma writes: > > I use pellets exclusively, and always store them in the freezer. Pellets >tend to keep better than whole hops, storing them in the freezer seems to >prolong the shelf life even further. I've used pellets that were stored in >this manner for 4 to 5 months, the beers came out fine, I didn't *notice* >any funny flavors or effect on hop utilization. On the other hand, I`ve >read that sub-freezing temperatures can rupture the lupilin glands. >Assuming for the moment that this is true, how much of a problem would this >be with pellets? IMHO, the milling and pressing processes used to make >pellets would rupture the glands anyway. Comments, anyone?? > In fact, Pellet hops have all the glands ruptured by the pellitization process. The reason pellets are more stable is that they are highly compresses an d that naturally excludes oxygen infiltration. The completely ruptured glands are the reason pellets have higher utilization rates in the boil. - -- Larry Barello uunet!polstra!larryba Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 09:55:10 -0800 From: rpeck at pure.com (Ray Peck) Subject: Homebrew Digest #1063 (January 26, 1993) Verify address before sending writes: >From: bickham at msc2.msc.cornell.edu (Scott Bickham) >Subject: COPs replies: > >Soon after the COPS incident was discussed here, I sent a letter to the >local FOX station and the producers of COPS explaining that I thought >homebrewing had been misrepresented. Today, I received the following >reply: Yesterday, I got an identical reply. Nice to know they don't waste their time with individual letters. . . Verite by ass. Propaganda != Art. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 12:28:03 CST From: raudins at galt.b11.ingr.com (Glenn Raudins) Subject: Hop Storage; Brewers Publications Re: Hop Storage Hopefully, with enough data, the storage loss of alpha acid can be fit to a nice curve for each type ( and form: pellet, whole, plug) Anyone have enough data to make an approximation? Re: Brewers Publications Now, not long ago, we lost our membership discount in return for a wider availability of the books. Has anyone seen the books in a book store or any place new since this change? I haven't, and am wondering if I am the only one. Does this mean we can go to the book store and order them? What does this get us? No Shipping? Glenn Raudins raudins at galt.b11.ingr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 13:05:04 CST From: gdmcconn at mspe5.b11.ingr.com (Guy McConnell) Subject: Central Florida brewers? Do we have any brewers in Central Florida (Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Lake Buena Vista, etc.) who read the Homebrew Digest? If so, please contact me via email. Thanks! - -- Guy McConnell gdmcconn at mspe5.b11.ingr.com or b11!mspe5!gdmcconn "All I need is a pint a day" Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 11:45:14 cdt From: "Knight,Jonathan G" <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU> Subject: nitro-what? How about this: >>RELAX, DON'T WORRY -- HAVE SOME NITROSAMINES!<< Works for me..... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 13:05 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Re: Colour Units Murray writes: >I have just found a new supplier for my grain requirements who has data >sheets on the malt available. Specifically, it mentions a colour rating >expressed in degrees EBC as opposed to degrees LOVIBOND. What is the conversion >factor between the two units. > >Also the product specification mentions the following: > >SPECIFICATION PALE MALT WHEAT MALT > >Colour 2.7 degrees LOVIBOND 4.5 degrees LOVIBOND >Total protein eg 11.5% 14.5% >Soluble protein eg 5.0% 8.5% >Kolbach index eg 43 (no units) 61 (no units) >Diastatic power 70 degrees L 160 degrees L >Viscosity 1.65 cp 1.60 cp I don't have a conversion, but here are some L/EBC pairs from Siebel's -- perhaps you can figure out your own conversion factor: Lov EBC 3.21 8 7.83 15 25.7 55 7.87 15 21.65 45 77.5 155 221 500 22.5 55 497.5 1100 557.5 1400 601 1400 Looks slightly non-linear at the ends, but roughly 1:2 in the middle. Regarding the quality of this malt, I'd say it's quite good. To compare, the DeWolf-Cosyns Pale Ale Malt is: 3.21 degrees Lovibond 10.00% total protein 3.94% soluble protein 60 degrees Lintner (diastatic power) Schreier 2-row Brewer's Malt is: 1.78 degrees Lovibond 12.4% total protein 5.10% soluble protein 131 degrees Lintner Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 13:26:25 -0800 (PST) From: Peter Maxwell <peterm at aoraki.dtc.hp.com> Subject: re-using yeast in fermenter Ron Karwoski writes about his experiences in pouring new wort over existing yeast in the fermenter. My questions relate to doing the same thing with the secondary fermenter: 1. If the secondary has been sitting a while (say a week or two) is the sediment still viable yeast? 2. After I've racked off for bottling, how long could I safely leave the remnants? I thought of just putting back the airlock and leaving it untouched until the next brew. 3. If I do 2 above, will it be necessary to "start" the yeast by adding a small amount of sterile wort as per WYEAST starters? Peter Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 17:04:10 EST From: hmcook at boe00.minc.umd.edu (Hardy M. Cook) Subject: Yeast Culturing Questions I'm a new reader of HBD, and some recent discussions about culturing yeast prompt me to ask a few questions. I started culturing yeasts a few weeks ago. I began with an ale and a lager strain that I purchased in slants from the mail order supply store I use. I then had a microbiologist make me slants and petri dishes of solidified worts as per Paul Farnsworth's culturing article in the ZYMURGY Yeast and Beer Special Issue. I inoculated two petri dishes with these strains, but of course I didn't want to stop there. Next, I took the sediment from a Trippel I had brewed using Wyeast #1214 (Belgium Ale), cultured it, and inoculated another petri dish. Then, I brewed a lager with a Whitbread Dry Lager Yeast and an ale with a Whitbread Dry Ale Yeast. I first inoculated slants from the starter cultures I had made by rehydrating these two in sterile wort. I had inoculated slants of the other three strains too, but all five of these slants were not as solidified as the petri dishes and I did not like what saw, so I disposed of them. I still, however, wanted cultures of the two Whitbread varieties, so I inoculated petri dishes from the slurry I collected after the primary fermentation. I also inoculated a petri dish from a starter culture I made from a Dry Edme Ale Yeast. Now, my questions. Concerning the Belgian Ale Yeast from the Trippel, what are the chances that it has mutated or was a multiple-strain yeast? (I am currently making a starter culture to use over the weekend.) Are the Whitbread's Dry Ale and/or Lager Yeasts triple-strain yeasts, and if they are, does that mean that I have cultured only the third strain because I used the slurry from the primary fermentation? Is there anything I should know about the Dry Edme I cultured? I would appreciate any response from those more experienced than I in yeast culturing. Thanks, Hardy M. Cook HMCook at boe00.minc.umd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 20:04:43 -0500 From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley) Subject: turpentine/solvents Scott in #218: >... >because it tasted and smelled like turpentine. >... >Question: Will these fusel alcohols/solvents diminish with time? Al in #219: >It's not a failure. The higher alcohols will definately diminish with >time and the beer will become fruitier and more complex. Wait at least >4 months but it could take a year -- don't worry... the alcohol level >will keep nasties at bay. Al. I disagree. Let me be more specific: what Al says about higher alcohols may well be true. We don't really know what's wrong with Scott's beer. I have, however, on three or so occasions over the years had awful, unexplained (unexplainable?) solvent tastes/smells. Similar to the problem that JS mentioned in the Goose Island Barleywine (I tasted the stuff in early January and agree (!!) with arf) in today's HBD, but more pronounced. In my private lexicon, this solvent taste is "clinical". I posted about it in the HBD in 1989, wondering about possible connections with diacytel (consensus: no connection) and how to avoid it (be careful with fermentation temperature and cleanliness, I seem to recall). At any rate, I twice bottled such beer, and the solvent never went away, not even after a year. It got worse, in fact, as the other flavors mellowed. So keep us posted, Scott. Cheers, Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu) Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1065, 01/28/93