HOMEBREW Digest #1459 Sat 25 June 1994

Digest #1458 Digest #1460


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


Contents:
  Getting Beer through US Customs (Robert H. Reed)
  Bottles (Lee Hiers)
  Beer Kegs in Portland (Jack St Clair)
  Re: Soda kegs (and new BBS) (Dion Hollenbeck)
  new brewkettle (Jason Sloan)
  RE:Hangovers, Beer Kegs ("Upward, not Northward!")
  Re - Old Malt (S29033)
  St Pats / CO2 systems (MS08653)
  Kegs (Bob Fawcett)
  Old Malt, Wild Goose,  & a Question (PSTOKELY)
  What to do with a hard lump of extract ("Tim Langlois")
  Oatmeal Stout (extract) (Dale Orth)
  Vermont Handcrafted Beers (Chris Strickland)
  Re Primary vs Secondary ("Palmer.John")
  Computing volume (Keith Winter (510)226-2042)
  Re: needs colder refrigerator (Jay D. Hinkens)
  Slow Carb w/ Wyeast Amer.Ale ("Palmer.John")
  Wyeast 1056 (George Kavanagh O/o)
  Homebrew at parties (BrewerBob)
  American Brewer's Guild Homebrew Courses (Steve Armbrust)
  Fermenter O2, sparge pH, CaCl2, Zapap dead space (Nancy.Renner)
  Creamy head, counter pressure bottler, primary aging, 33 qt. kettle?, saccharine, Dave Line & plastic fermenter (Nancy.Renner)
  Hangovers and headspace (Alan_Deaton_at_CTC)
  Re: Shaking kegs & carbonation (Dion Hollenbeck)
  stein lids (Carl Howes <sdlcc::sdlsb::73410 at gatekeeper.ray.com>)
  Advanced Brewing Books (npyle)
  Sadness (npyle)
  Beer hunter videos? (braddw)
  garage sale keg (Sean Rooney)
  Computing Kettle Volume (James Nachman)
  Christmas Brew (Rnarvaez)
  Cutting kegs (EKTSR)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 12:12:29 -0500 (CDT) From: Robert H. Reed <rhreed at icdc.delcoelect.com> Subject: Getting Beer through US Customs Tony asks about bringing beer back with you from the U.K.: > What kinds of limits are there on carrying alcoholic beverages back into > the US? Is there a special duty charged? Anything you think might help? > > Second question -- Now that I've taken care of the legal aspects of my > indirect beer hunting, I want some recomendations for the beers that shouldn't > be missed (but could still be safely tucked in a suitcase). I've taken the > time to send her much of the information in Greg Noonan's Scotch Ale book > (lucky dog gets to spend a week in Edinburgh). What about some other beers > that might be available in Great Britian but not in the US? Isn't Budvar (the > real stuff, not the American, ahem, imitation) available in GB? > I was in England several weeks ago and brought back two carry-on suitcases back virtually bulging with beer. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) you can bring back 12 liters of beer per person. For an average size bottle, this represents about 30+ bottles. I found some Cassis, Budvar, some good Scotch ales and bottle-conditioned brown ales, some obscure trappist ales, perry, and cider to bring back. You can bring back $400 worth of stuff without duty, and you pay a 10% fee on everything above $400. you can't bring in any fruits, farm products or the like, but you can bring back things like Lyles Golden Syrup, demerara sugar, etc. I'd suggest bringing your beer back in carry-on suitcases due to the less than gentle treatment that you checked baggage typically receives. When I ran my carry-ons through Gatwick security in London, the security officers asked to look in my bag to verify that all the bottles they 'saw' were indeed harmless. When entering the US, I claimed the value of all my stuff, and told the customs officer I had canned sugar and beer, and he smiled and said go on. A piece of cake except for hauling two heavy suitcases through three plane changes. Rob Reed Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 94 13:52 EST From: Lee Hiers <0006701840 at mcimail.com> Subject: Bottles Sorry for the double spaces on the previous post...will try to figure out and correct. What's the word on the Grolsch-type bottles? Any problem with them as compared to the good old 12-oz. returnables? I'm new on the HBD, but have looked at a good number of back-issues, so apologize if this has been discussed recently. Private Email would be just fine. Thanks. Lee Hiers aa4ga at mcimail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 94 12:01:05 PST From: Jack St Clair <Jack_St_Clair at ccm.co.intel.com> Subject: Beer Kegs in Portland Text item: Text_1 I called Winkler Scrap Metal this morning and they will sell their kegs at $22.00 for one and will negotiate a deal for quantities of more than one. Happy Brewing, Jack St.Clair jack_st_clair at ccm.co.intel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 94 14:12:38 PDT From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Re: Soda kegs (and new BBS) >>>>> "Russ" == Russ Shipman <harris.rshipman at ic1d.harris.com> writes: Russ> I get my kegs from Amber Waves in Atlanta ($15 each, cheaper if Russ> you "walk-in", and $2 for a full set of 5 O-rings). I don't have Russ> the number, but you can call information. Thanks, Russ. I just talked to Harry at Amber Waves (404-315-1100) and he not only has kegs available, but is confident that he will continue to have them available. The Pepsi ball lock kegs are $15 each, the Coke pin lock are $20 (mail order prices plus shipping - about 10 lb. each). He accepts credit cards. BTW, he mentioned that about July 4th, they will have an all beer BBS come on line and the phone number will be (404)634-8980. dion Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 18:24:35 -0400 From: aa3625 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Jason Sloan) Subject: new brewkettle Well, it looks like I have a new stainless brew kettle of the 7.5 gallon, chopped up quarter-barrel-keg variety! I'm posting this to say that my method is probably not the easiest/best way to open the top of a keg. What I did was nearly fill the keg with water (to 0.5 inched below where I wanted to cut) and then cut the top out with an acetylene torch. This left some rather uneven edges, as stainless is not very receptive to torch cutting. I had to spend about an hour getting the rough edges ground down with a hand grinder, but it looks pretty good now and I'm looking forward to performing my first full boil tonight (thursday that is, the luxuries of still being in school and living with the parents are much savored). Looks like I had better go to the hardware store and get some copper tubing for that wort chiller. One of these days I'll finally acquire all of the equipment for that first all-grain batch. Sometime soon, I hope. Sorry for the sloppy grammar/spelling. I have been breathing too many CO fumes for the last couple of hours. P.S. I wasted three "jig-saw" blades before I started swearing and broke out the heavy artillery. Next time I'll know better, I suppose. Jason - -- Jason Sloan sloan01?jason at cc01.mssc.edu or aa3625 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu - ---Yo ho ho and a bucket of homebrew... Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 1994 19:01:46 -0500 (EST) From: "Upward, not Northward!" <CULP1405 at splava.cc.plattsburgh.edu> Subject: RE:Hangovers, Beer Kegs A short interjection of my short wisdom. I think that precedent in the law for beer kegs MAY be covered by the case of what the penalty is for stealing milk crates. My favorite cure for hangovers is to eat as much brown rice as possible. And to drink as much Gatorade or other sports drink as available. B vitamins and electrolytes and glucose. Actually I really dislike being drunk and especially hungover. Regarding commercial beers I once got a bad headache from one Genessee beer. F--- that! Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jun 1994 06:45:16 -0400 (EDT) From: S29033%22681 at utrcgw.utc.com Subject: Re - Old Malt Andy Walsh writes: >Somebody (sorry, I do not have a reference) wrote about malt lifetimes >recently, quoting (from memory) 6 months for liquid, 6 months for uncrushed >malt, 2 months for crushed pale malt in a well-sealed container. >My question is: do you just throw out the malt after these intervals, or is >there some way of testing the malt to see if it is stale? Is this an easy test >or do you only find out after you've made the beer? What flavor profiles do >beers made with old malt possess? I can't answer your questions about the flavor profiles of old malts but in my experience I have used malts (crushed and uncrushed) past the dates that you have stated in your article and have had not problem producing excellent beer. The beer might have been better if the malt was fresh - how long it sits around at the malters (maltsters) is another good question. I'll tell you what, if your malt is too old (and not moldy) and you are planning on throwing it out, E-mail me and you can ship it to me (I'll pay for shipping). I know I can find some use for it. Lance Stronk Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, CT. Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jun 94 07:25:49 From: MS08653 at MSBG.med.ge.com Subject: St Pats / CO2 systems FROM: "MICHAEL L. TEED"<MS08653 at MSBG> Dist: INTERNET int homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com I bought the kegs from St Pats and found them to arrive in fair condition. They still had the stickers 'property of ... ' on them, requiring some effort on cleaning them inside and out, as there was still some syrup in them. Biggest problem was using their rebuild O-ring sets, as they were just common off the shelf rings available from your local hardware store, and not the proper parts for the kegs. Get your rebuild sets elsewhere. BCI has a very good price on rings, but probably have a minimum order. ALso, prices on the used CO2 gear seems to be rather high, considering what I paid for a completely new system. 5 lb tank, filled, with cobra head tap and lines, single gauge regulator for $98. Add that to the $54 for 3 kegs from St Pats and that adds ip to $152. Still need some more hoses to connect 3 tanks, but for a single system that is still a good price. Hoppy brewing, Mike Teed Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 08:44:25 EDT From: Bob Fawcett <bobf at gulfaero.com> Subject: Kegs Dave Wright asks: I saw an ad in Zymurgy about used 5-gallon kegs at St. Patricks of Texas. Is anyone familiar with the kegs they sell? Are they in good condition? It seems like a steal at 3 for $33, even with shipping. Thanks for any info. I bought three. They where in good condition. They are shipped taped together with no other packaging - still arrived in good shape. Bob Fawcett bobf at gulfaero.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 08:57:44 EDT From: PSTOKELY at ea.umd.edu Subject: Old Malt, Wild Goose, & a Question This is my first post, so I'll try not to step on any toes.... Andy Walsh asked about old malt. Obviously, everyone recommends using only fresh malt. But if you have old malt on hand, I would recommend chewing a few grains and assessing the flavor and texture: Stale grains taste like stale cereal. Be warned, however, because your saliva contains amylase enzymes and will quickly convert your malt dextrins into sugar as you chew. Thus, go by initial impressions. I have kept malt in air tight metal cannisters for up to 6 months and have been satisfied with extraction rates, flavor, and body of the final brews. If in doubt, use more malt and toss in some Crosby & Baker amylase enzyme. (No flames, please) Peter Nigra asked about one of my all-time favorite brews: Wild Goose Amber. I will be on the Eastern Shore of Maryland next week and I hope to visit the brewery in Cambridge. From what I understand it is a small operation and perhaps I can pick up some hints on a comparable home brew recipe. Peter, please post any good replies or forward them to me and I will do the same. Finally, do you suppose Illka posted his theses to stir things up and create a little excitement? That's what I concluded. "You speak in strange whispers, friend. Are you not of The Body?" Paul Stokely in College Park, Maryland Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 08:00:51 -0500 From: "Tim Langlois" <langlois at beanie.hsv.crc.com> Subject: What to do with a hard lump of extract I found a pound of dry malt extract in my brew supplies, nicely stored in a plastic bag. I was thinking of using it in my next brew. The only problem is that the dry malt has turned into rock malt (a very hard lump of malt extract). My question is, can I still use it? Will it break down in the boil? or should I throw it out. Thanks Tim Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 08:34:09 -0500 From: Dale Orth <orth at chem.wisc.edu> Subject: Oatmeal Stout (extract) Last fall, someone on the list either posted a oatmeal stout recipe based on William's extract or sent it to me. Unfortunately, I misplaced it after promising the recipe to a friend who just started brewing. He wants to brew it soon, and I am swamped with work (no time to search the archives). Could whoever posted it please send another copy to me? I (and he) really do appreciate it. TIA and Happy Brewing, Dale L. Orth orth at chem.wisc.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 09:59:40 -0400 From: stricklandc at cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov (Chris Strickland) Subject: Vermont Handcrafted Beers While on my trip to Vermont I tried several of the local beers. The Otter Creek Copper Ale was excellent!!! The Long Trail Ale and Stout were very good beers, I thought the Stout was better than Guiness. The Catamount Porter and Bock were excellent, I even got to tour their brewry. Their wheat beer has made me change my mind about wheat beers, it was very good. The amber and gold ales were good, and would be a great beer to start the normal p*# at drinker (I mean beer drinker) out on. Here's a question I know has been answerd and is probably in a FAQ, but I just can't seem to find the answer. How do I determine the extraction rate of my sparge? Miller has something like (SG * 5 gal water)/lbs Malt. But I don't always us 5 gal of water, I actually use up to 8 gal water and boil down to around 6 gal. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Chris Strickland | Allin1: stricklandc | | Systems Analyst/Statistician | Email : stricklandc at cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jun 1994 08:02:08 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Re Primary vs Secondary Zoz wrote: What makes a primary different from a secondary, other than less dead yeast at the bottom? Survey Says: The dead yeast on the bottom IS the difference between the primary and secondary vessels. The following is excerpted from How to brew your first Beer, Rev D: The fermentation of malt sugars into beer is a complicated biochemical process. It is more than just attenuation, which can be regarded as the primary activity. Total fermentation is better defined as two phases, the Primary or Attenuative phase and a Secondary or Conditioning phase. The yeast do not end Phase 1 before beginning Phase 2, the processes occur in parallel, but the conditioning processes occur more slowly. This is why beer (and wine) improves with age. Tasting the beer at bottling time will show rough edges that will disappear after a few weeks in the bottle. Because the conditioning process is a function of the yeast, it follows that the greater yeast mass in the fermenter is more effective at conditioning the beer than the smaller amount of suspended yeast in the bottle. Leaving the beer in the fermenter for a total of two or even three weeks will go a long way to improving the final beer. This will also allow time for more sediment to settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer. The flip side of the Conditioning process is Autolysis. Autolysis results when the yeast realize that supply is not meeting demand and they revolt against Greenspan and the other Imperia...(ahem) the lack of sugars causes some of them to secrete enzymes that break down the cell walls of their dead kin on the bottom and they turn ghoulish. It is the large mass of dead yeast on the bottom of the vessel that causes problems with autolysis; racking the beer off of the dead yeast (brownish) allows the conditioning phase to proceed without having to worry about the heinous flavors resulting from cannabalistic yeast. The whitish (healthy) yeast mass on the bottom of the secondary fermenter is beneficial to the conditioning process. Many brewers repitch this fresher yeast from the secondary to a new batch of beer. One last comment, autolysis takes a while to happen, occuring more quickly at higher relative temperatures for a particular yeast strain. I have not had it happen to me, but I will estimate it would take about a month at Ale temps for an ale beer sitting in the primary to begin to produce off flavors. But I could be wrong. By the way, In case anyone wants it, Rev D of my How To document hit the net about two weeks ago and is available from Sierra, Homebrew U BBS, Spencer's Beer Page and a couple other BBSs. The changes include the above discussion of Secondary Fermentation, how to use a hydrometer (more or less), and a lot of grammar changes. -John J. Palmer MDA-SSD M&P palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com OR palmer#d#john.ssd-hb_#l#15&22#r# at ssdgwy.mdc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 08:06:53 -0800 From: winter at corp.cirrus.com (Keith Winter (510)226-2042) Subject: Computing volume In HBD 1458, Steve Scampini writes: >On another note, I recently measured my "33 quart" enamel brewpot... >15.5 inches in diameter and 10 inches deep. Basically, a simple >truncated cylinder. Based on the conversion factor of cubic feet to >US gallons, I keep coming up with more like 7.15 gallons rather than >8.25 gallons. Am I blowing what is an incredibly simple calculation >or is this like buying a Two by Four stud and finding it to be 1.5 X >3.5 inches? I come up with 8.16847 gallons (using 231 cu. in/gal) thus: ( ( (15.5/2)^2 * 3.14159 ) * 10 ) / 231 = 8.16848 gallons Keith Winter (winter at corp.cirrus.com) Engineer/Brewer :-) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 10:16:33 -0500 From: jhinkens at facstaff.wisc.edu (Jay D. Hinkens) Subject: Re: needs colder refrigerator Rob Skinner writes: Now remove the thermostat; maybe it screws in, maybe it snaps in? Look at the back side of the thermostat. You'll probably find two wires. Cut the two wires off, leaving long enough leads for reattatchment in case you change your mind later. Strip the ends of the two wires and attatch them together with a wire nut. Check your connection, make sure there are no dangling wires, and plug in the frige. It should start running immediately and keep running. Hmmm, how about wiring a switch in parallel with the thermostat leads? Switch open: the fridge's thermostat controls the frige; Switch Closed: the Honywell Gizmo. Make sure to use a switch that's rated for the current and voltage being switched by the thermostat. This switch could be mounted right next to the existing temperature dial on the frige or maybe on the outside... This way, with the flip of a switch, your frige is back to normal and you can set it to "2.5" or "cooler" which is much more comforting when used for food than some exact temperature like 36 degrees... I mean, having a digital thermometer on a food frige makes it seem like a piece of lab equipment -- and that's just weird! My guess is that the external controller will cycle the frige differently (more frequently) than the normal thermostat and could increase wear. Switching the frige back to "normal" when not lagering could extent it's life... -Jay Jay D. Hinkens Trace R&D Center Madison, Wisconsin jHinkens at facstaff.wisc.edu Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jun 1994 08:22:07 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Slow Carb w/ Wyeast Amer.Ale In response to Eric's slow carbonation problems: When I did my SN Porter clone several months ago, I had the same slow carbonation problem. Now, my Porter sat in the Secondary for 3 weeks, but I had yeast on the bottom of the bottles 3 weeks after bottling. Meager carbonation, so I shook up each bottle, and let them sit another week. And carbonation improved considerably. One bottle that I shipped to a friend was reported to have really good carbonation, so I think that agitation really helps keep the yeast awake. -John Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jun 1994 11:19:49 -0500 From: George Kavanagh O/o <George.Kavanagh at omail.wang.com> Subject: Wyeast 1056 In HBD 1458, Erik Speckman (especkma at reed.edu) writes that he is experiencing dissapointing carbonation when using Wyeast 1056 chico ale yeast. I have been brewing a series of controlled recipe batches ( I bottled #7 two weeks ago), where 1056 is one of the constants, and, have also been experiencing "low carbonation" batches. (Thanks to many on the HBD who responded to my queries several months ago). I had primed all batches with 3/4 cup corn sugar, and was worrying that most batches were flat, or only slightly carbonated after 4-6 weeks in the bottle. I had completely given up until I tried a bottle from a 6 month old batch. It was wonderful, if _slightly_ undercarbonated. Moral: wait for it. A recent article in Zymurgy has a diagnostic desision tree to determine the cause of low carbonation. By using the procedure recommended, I determined that I had been underpriming, so I have increased prime to 1 cup of sugar. In the most recent batch (#7) I swirled the dregs in the secondary carboy after racking the beer to my bottling bucket, poured the dregs into a sterile mason jar, let it sit for 5 minutes (covered), and poured 1/2 of the yeasty liquid into the bottling bucket along with the priming sugar. Result: tasty beer with good carbonation and nice head after only 2 weeks in the bottle (but it may become overcarbonated in 6 months (if there is any left!) ); we'll see. - gk ( George.Kavanagh at omail.wang.com ) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 11:47:04 EDT From: BrewerBob at aol.com Subject: Homebrew at parties Jason Sloan asked if the cops at a party would arrest him for having cornelius kegs that belong to company xxx. I would be a lot more concerned about being arrested for the beer than the kegs! Remember, you are allow to make 100 gallons (maybe 200 in a multiple adult household) of beer per year FOR PERSONAL CONSUMPTION without having to pay taxes. Some states may carry that even farther than the tax aspect alone. If you give away beer that you made yourself, you may be subject to all sorts of problems, depending on the state in which you reside! Of course we all give homebrew away but we don't necessarily flant it! In conclusion, if the beer is good, I truly doubt there will be anybody there, short of a tax man that may be present, that will care a hoot one way or the other! Have a good time! BrewerBob at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 08:48:50 PST From: Steve Armbrust <Steve_Armbrust at ccm.co.intel.com> Subject: American Brewer's Guild Homebrew Courses Text item: Text_1 I just got a brochure from the American Brewer's Guild on several classes they offer. (The address is Davis, CA, and it mentions Dr. Michael Lewis, so it might be affiliated with UC-Davis). They're offering a 2-day, weekend series ("Brewing Science for the Advanced Homebrewer" and "Special Topics for Advanced Homebrewers") that's actually being offered here in Portland, OR on Aug 27-28. Cost for both days is $200. Does anyone know anything about these classes? Are they worth going to? I've got a half-dozen or so all-grain batches under my belt. Would the classes be too advanced for me? Too easy? They've got this class series scheduled throughout the year at other major cities. Rather than waste bandwidth by listing them all, I'll give you their numbers. 800-636-1331 or 916-753-0497. I have no association with these folks. Steve Armbrust Steve_Armbrust at ccm.hf.intel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 12:05:30 EDT From: Nancy.Renner at um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Fermenter O2, sparge pH, CaCl2, Zapap dead space From *Jeff* Renner Jim Busch comments on my thoughts on Norm Pyle's ideas on Steven Gruber's feeling that dry hopping protects against oxidation during fermentation (got that?). You're right, Jim. The thread was better interpreted as pertaining to atmospheric O2 than dissolved. I thought it was another example of someone thinking that bubbling CO2 would scrub dissolved O2. Thanks for backing me up when it caroms off my glove. - --------------- WIRESULTS at WINET.mste.org has such soft water that the village adds NaOH to raise the pH! Wow! One person's problem is another's wish. I'd say that you don't have to worry about the sparge pH. The mash acidity is so buffered that it will take care of that, *if* the mash pH is good. Unless you want to do a *long* Pilsen style acid rest, that means getting the Ca(+2) up to a minimum of 50 ppm. I like gypsum for ales and CaCl2 for lagers (see post of a few days ago). Your water is so nearly neutral that it would make a good starting place for the addition of any ions you need. - --------------- BTW, why is food grade CaCl2 so hard to find? I have mine thanks to a friend at the Univ., but shops and mail orders don't seem to carry it. The raw stuff it dirt cheap - they spread it on roads to deep the dust down in summer (it's hydroscopic). Miller and others recommend it - it's a great way of boosting Ca without the SO4. - ---------------- Terry Terfinko wonders about the dead space under the false bottom in a Zapap lauter tun. I think this is more of a perceived problem than an actual one, although next time I uncaulk mine, I may trim a ring off the outer bucket to reduce it. It means that when you cover the false bottom with water prior to adding the mashed grains, you need an extra 3 - 4 qts. The first runnings are therefore going to be quite dilute, but since you are going to recirculate this anyway, it really doesn't matter. You just need to prepare extra water, which may or may not be a problem. Jeff Renner Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 12:08:00 EDT From: Nancy.Renner at um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Creamy head, counter pressure bottler, primary aging, 33 qt. kettle?, saccharine, Dave Line & plastic fermenter From *Jeff* Renner To continue the thread on carbonation and head quality, let me share my creamy solution. It also works to defizz overly fizzy beers. I got the idea after seeing a "sparkler" tap in England, which is an adjustably restricted orifice. When our son was a baby (he's 19 now and drinking my beer!), we gave him medicine with a 10 cc oral syringe from the drug store. I just use this (it hardly tastes of penicillin at all anymore ;o) to suck up an few cc's of beer from the glass and squirt it back into the beer, more or less forcefully depending on how much head/defizzing I want. You have to have lots of extra space in the glass. It makes a creamy, tight head and a creamier beer. In a restaurant, I just stir it with a fork. I'm also known by more than one waiter as the nut who wants his ales microwaved 15 seconds! - -------------- Jeff Benjamin is considering a counter pressure bottler. The problem I've had with mine is that I don't keep my carbonation high enough in the keg to get a good level in the bottle. It's acceptable, but judges often comment on the low carbonation, which, of course, often results in a low head. - -------------- zoz at cs.adelaide.edu.au says his beer will have to sit in the primary for 5 weeks, and wonders what the difference is between a primary and a secondary, just more yeast? Yes, that and more trub, hop resins, and other related boogers. If you can manage it, get another carboy and rack, diluting a little if you have to to minimize ullage. Cooling it to lower 50's (or lower teens for the sensible world) will help whether or not you rack. Since it's now winter in Oz, that shouldn't be too hard. And you could postpone brewing until just before you leave, cutting the time on dregs to three weeks, an entirely safe time, IMNSHO. - ------------ Steve Scampini is not sure his 33 qt. kettle really is. Steve, using your figures for dimensions and 231 in^3/gal, I get 8.16 gallons, pretty close. For a simple way of judging how much liquid is in your kettle, make a dip stick. Fill the kettle a gallon at a time and mark a stick or dowel at each gallon. Then you can estimate yield, OG etc. early in the boil. - ------------- Pbr322 at aol.com doesn't want saccharine in his beer, as recommended by Dave Line. Neither do I. As I suggested in a recent post, I really like these old books, but I think we have to treat them as historical sources. They are good starting points, but ingredients (and information) have really improved since they were written. While Dave said he called for saccharine because "luscious brewing sugars" were not available to homebrewers, I think a more important variable was that the only yeasts easily available were very attenuating dry ones. I think that if you select on that is less attenuative, select appropriate crystal malts, and keep your mash temps up, you'll do fine. - ------------ A tragic side note - Dave Line said he was concerned about "the suitability of my cheap dustbin for home brewing regarding the stability of the chemical filler used in the manufacture for binding the plastic. When the problem first came to light, I asked the advice of a chemist friend. ... From his remarks, it seems that, seeing that I survived the first brew when the majority of toxic substances are leached out into the beer, I should live to brew many more gallons of ale!" His optimism was premature. He died of cancer before he was forty. :o( Moral: Use glass or stainless fermenters, or NSF approved food grade. Jeff Renner Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 11:14:04 From: Alan_Deaton_at_CTC at relay.aar.com Subject: Hangovers and headspace Text item: Untitled First, my 2 cents regarding hangovers, the reason that your head hurts is that your brain, irritated by a toxic substance ( alcohol ) and becomes inflamed . This can be alleviated by an over the counter anti-inflammitory drug, plain old aspirin. ( preferably buffered due to the condition that your stomach is certainly in ). Take two or three with the copious amounts of water you drink before going to bed. Now for the headspace question. After you bottle your beer, your yeasties continue to grow up, get jobs, have little yeasties, ponder the meaning of their life and die. Assuming that you have enough sugar to keep your yeast happy, they will continue to produce trace insignificant amounts of alcohol, and very importantly, CO 2 . As time rolls on, eventually your yeast will become less active. Assuming that enough sugar is present, the amount of CO 2 your yeast produces will be almost purely a function of PRESSURE. Beer is mostly water, this makes it difficult to compress. The headspace in your bottle is mostly gaseous. This makes it relatively easy to compress. As your yeasties produce carbon dioxide, the pressure in your bottle increases. When the pressure becomes too high, your yeast can no longer produce carbon dioxide( nowhere to put it ). This means that if you leave no headspace in your bottles, the yeast won't be able to produce very much CO 2 before the pressure in the bottle causes them to become inactive. If the headspace is too large, then the yeast can produce quantities of CO 2 inappropriately large for a 12 oz. bottle of beer.( this can cause excessive foaming upon opening and I have HEARD it can actually create bottle bombs ) I leave about 1" of headspace in my bottles. This works well for me. Conveniently, it is about the same volume that my filler displaces when in the bottle. Your mileage may very, but 1 - 11/4 " seems to be pretty universal headspace for 12 oz. bottles. /Alan Deaton alan_deaton at relay.aar.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 09:44:14 PDT From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Re: Shaking kegs & carbonation >>>>> "Jeff" == Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com> writes: Jeff> I may buy a counterpressure bottle filler soon. If so, I'll be Jeff> able to compare tap-dispensing vs bottle pouring on the same, Jeff> force-carbonated beer. Be aware that you cannot fill bottles and dispense from a keg with the same amount of dissolved CO2 in the same beer. For instance, I force carbonate with 15 psi (at room temp) for dispensing from keg and in order for bottles of the same beer to be correctly carbonated, I need to use 30 psi. Also, once you have boosted the carbonation for bottling, you need to release pressure down to almost nil and let excess dissolved carbonation come out of solution and reach equilibrium. This will take almost as long as it did to force carbonate. I refer to the "no shake" method here. If you try to dispense a beer properly carbonated for bottling, you will get nothing but foam. Please, if anyone has a solution other than this, I would sure like to hear about it. Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com Staff Software Engineer Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 12:50:51 EDT From: sdlcc::sdlsb::73410 at gatekeeper.ray.com (Carl Howes <sdlcc::sdlsb::73410 at gatekeeper.ray.com>) Subject: stein lids Another data point on stein lids. I read many years back that the *original* purpose of the lids was to keep enemies who might be drinking in the same tavern/inn from poisoning your brew. Carl 73410 at sdlcc.msd.ray.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 94 15:10:18 MDT From: npyle at hp7013.ecae.stortek.com Subject: Advanced Brewing Books I recently received the Siebel Alumni News, although I'm not a Siebel alum, and there was an item of interest about the republication of DeClerk's book, "A Textbook of Brewing". They said that, in a pre-publication offer, they will offer the two volume set for $69 plus shipping/handling. After July 31, the set will be $89+ and single volumes will go for $53+. It states "This large work is comprised of two volumes totaling 1235 pages, the first of which is given up to the study of production and plant, while the second is devoted to analysis and control". It seems to me I'd be interested in the second volume, but I'd hate to miss the first if it was also good. Can anyone comment on this set, whether volume one is worthwhile, or indeed if either is worthwhile? Any other books which might better replace a set of this magnitude (MABS, for example)? I've heard of another book by Hough called "The Biotechnology of Malting and Brewing". Any owners of this one? Any comments? The DeClerk set is in paperback, BTW. Cheers, Norm = npyle at hp7013.ecae.stortek.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 94 8:40:15 MDT From: npyle at hp7013.ecae.stortek.com Subject: Sadness Well, it seems I've lost one. Well its not a total loss; the beer is OK, but just 3 weeks ago it was incredible. As my old college professor used to say, "Let's begin from the beginning" (he never was too witty). It is an amber ale brewed on the low gravity side (around 1.040 or less). I mashed some nice Belgian specialty malts with a mix of American and British 2-row. I had more than 5 gallons so in the secondary I split it up between a carboy and a couple of 1 gallon jugs. The carboy contained 4 gallons and an ounce of Cascade dry hops. The two smaller jugs had no dry hops. While waiting to find time to keg it, I occasionally (Oh, OK, OK, it was every damn day!) tasted the beer in one of the small jugs. I just popped off the f-lock and poured a glass (it was crystal clear and very lightly carbonated). This beer was just incredible, with a great balance, and the best malt aroma I've ever achieved in one of my own. I figured that once it was kegged I would have to create a new religion or something just to keep the masses at bay. Well, into the keg it all went (By that time the one "sampling" jug was empty). It was indeed good, but I was a little disappointed in that the dry hops overcame the wonderful malt flavors. They were there, but hidden in the background. I served it to some friends and received lots of smiles and good words, so I guess the dry hops weren't too overdone. Now, 3 weeks since kegging, and about 6 weeks since brewing, the beer is going off. It has a medicinal taste; hard to describe, as many flavors are, but reminds me of some medicine I once took. Of course, I suspect infection, but what type? Any other possible causes? The keg is a new used one, and it is possible (but not probable) I didn't get it scrubbed in every nook and cranny. The dry hops were homegrown (not by me - my poor hops are under attack) and homedried, so I suppose it is also possible they picked up something that commercial hops wouldn't (although it pains me to suspect the dry hops, as I've claimed in the past that this is unheard of...). Of course, I'll check my sanitation practices, and consider replacing old hoses and possibly my old racking cane. One more thing: the hose from my mash/ lauter tun to the boiler is starting to get a little mold or mildew (what's the difference?) growing in it. I haven't worried about since the liquid is on its way to be boiled, but should I? I'd appreciate some comments on this one. I'm definitely going to brew this beer again, which I rarely do, and I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Cheers, Norm = npyle at hp7013.ecae.stortek.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri Jun 24 13:50:35 1994 From: braddw at rounder.rounder.com Subject: Beer hunter videos? After having this bounced back from dftraino at jersey.ingr.com I am forced to post it to the digest. I've heard of them, I've looked for copies, I've done it all (or at least I thought), but I could never find what you have! I am a great fan of Mr. Jackson and would love to see these. Is there any possibilty of having you, for a price of course :-), copy these and send them to me via snail mail? Does anyone else living in Ma. have these or know of a library that has them? I'm in Somerville, Ma. Let me know please. Until then, **** ---- "There's always time for a Homebrew!" ---- **** C|~~| ----------------------------------------------- C|~~| `--' --------------braddw at rounder.com------------- `--' ------------------------------------------- Bradd Wheeler. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 13:34:17 -0600 From: Sean.Rooney at uic.edu (Sean Rooney) Subject: garage sale keg I am sorry to admit I am keg illiterate. I bought a 15.5 gallon Pabst keg at a garage sale for a dollar. It is barrel shaped, has a wooden bung on the side, and has a male threaded fitting on top with two round holes of different diameters, both small. Does anybody know what kind of keg this is, and if it's good for anything? I'm thinking of cutting off the top and using it for a kettle, but I don't want to ruin it if it's especially good as a mash tun, or for beer storage, or whatever. While you're at it, what's the definition of: a Sanke keg, a Sanke tap, a Golden Gate keg, a half-barrel keg, and a pony keg? This would seem to be of general interest. thanks in advance P.S. I'm not giving it back to Pabst. I paid my hard earned money for it and it's MINE, ALL MINE!! >:) Sean Rooney Department of Genetics University of Illinois at Chicago 808 S. Wood St. M/C 669 Chicago, IL 60612 email: Sean.Rooney at uic.edu Phone: (312) 996-6090 Fax: (312) 413-0226 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 11:32:55 -0700 (PDT) From: uswnvg!jnachma at uunet.uu.net (James Nachman) Subject: Computing Kettle Volume Steve Scampini Writes: >On another note, I recently measured my "33 quart" enamel brewpot... >15.5 inches in diameter and 10 inches deep. Basically, a simple >truncated cylinder. Based on the conversion factor of cubic feet to >US gallons, I keep coming up with more like 7.15 gallons rather than >8.25 gallons. Am I blowing what is an incredibly simple calculation >or is this like buying a Two by Four stud and finding it to be 1.5 X >3.5 inches? The formula for computing this is the following: (radius of kettle)^2 * Pi(3.14159) * depth of the kettle * (cubic inches to gallons converson factor) 1/231 My HP gave me the following numbers: (7.75)^2 * 3.14159 * 10 * .0043290004 = 8.168 The units flow in the following manner: inches^2 * unitless * inches * gallon/inches^3 = gallons Jim Nachman US West Cellular Seattle Washington jnachma at uswnvg.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 10:51:18 -0500 From: Rnarvaez at lan.mcl.bdm.com Subject: Christmas Brew Hello all you Home brewers, First I would like to thank all the people who have responded to my previous posts, all the information helped me out alot. This Digest has be a vast sea of information for a somewhat novice brewer as myself. Second I would like to ask a couple of questions about brewing a christmas ale. I have seen a couple of recipes about brewing spiced ales but would like some more information. Should I combine and boil all of the spices into a tea, or should I just add the spices dry? Should I add to the boil, after the boil in the primary, or into the secondary? I would like to brew a Christmas Ale now so that it has plenty of aging time. If anybody has made a good Christmas(spiced)ale and would like to share the recipe I would be more than happy to try them out. One last question and this might be a strange one...... Has anybody used the spices that are used in a apple pie (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and apples) to make a apple pie ale? I thought it might have a good taste but I am not sure If I want to experiment with a full batch of something like that. Please respond by Email RNarvaez at lan.bdm.com Thanks for any help given..... Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 94 15:46:12 EDT From: EKTSR at aol.com Subject: Cutting kegs Okay, I've got the flame proof suit on... I have just acquired a key for a measly price of $10. Of course what should appear but these discussions on legality of cutting it up..... I think I can live with myself (although it has given me pause to think it thru). Can anyone e-mail me with instruction on how to cut the top off.?? Do I remember previous issues dealing with this?? Thanks in advance: ektsr at aol.com FWIW, I totally agree with the idea of identifying who you are on HBD (a friendlier group for sure) but with the A-B keg police out there..... ;-) Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1459, 06/25/94