HOMEBREW Digest #1546 Fri 07 October 1994

Digest #1545 Digest #1547


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


Contents:
  Re: Raspberry Beer (Ectoplasm)
  Maple Beer/Wheat Malt Extract/Civil Discussion (Philip Gravel)
  What is it? (Dodger Posey)
  mashout question summary (Andrew Patti)
  Fuller Cask Ale/SA 3 Bock/Sankey Fermenters (26023-Mark Nevar(LCU221)30)
  small bottles / Rolling Rock offtaste / carboy vs. bottle maturing (Jim Blue)
  Beer bottles/the final chapter (Steve Robinson)
  RE: Tripple Bock NOT!/maple syrup (Rick Starke)
   (/R=ENSRV1/R=AM/U=millst/FFN=MILLST/)
  Re: Liquid vs dry yeast (Allan Rubinoff)
  Water Heater Conv / AHA Membership (Rob Reed)
  Mashout, Carboy handles, Old Peculier, Zymurgy errors (Nancy.Renner)
  Exposing your ferment! (Jeff Frane)
  Yeastlab and pectin "setting" (TIM)
  Extract recipes ("Krauss, Robert W.")
  Grain Mill Project (Chris Barnhart)
  Specialty Malts (Willits)
  Glatt Mills/Chelsea, Mich. (michael j dix)
  Aging Beer (Robert Bendesky)
  Re: Yeast Labs Irish Ale Yeast and an Infection (Karl Elvis MacRae)
  Brew Kettles and metal plating ("A. Sturdivant \"Sturdy\" McKee")
  Lauter Tun Design (R E HAWKINS)
  ANNOUNCE: SoB Conference Web Page (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630))
  New Yeast Strains (Steve Scampini)
  Zymurgy delivery (Btalk)
  Air filters (Btalk)
  Is it possible to OVERpitch??? (David Draper)
  Small particles floating near neck of my bottles (Michael Minter)
  Re: yeast head contact with air is good? (Erik Speckman)
  Bass Ale recipe question (Julie A Espy)
  Spirit of Belgium ("Phillip R. Seitz")
  Cheap air filters (Kelvin Kapteyn)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 11:44:32 +0930 (CST) From: zoz at cs.adelaide.edu.au (Ectoplasm) Subject: Re: Raspberry Beer Argh! One of my few informative posts to HBD and I skip important information! With regards to my recipe for raspberry beer: 1 can, Edme Weizen extract (and the accompanying dry yeast) 1 kg dextrose 500 mL raspberry juice (I found it in a Greek food warehouse) 15g Saaz hops (dry hop) 1/2 cup cracked crystal malt The hops were pellets, and were added to 500 mL of just-boiled water to sterilise and expand them, and were then dumped into the fermenter. The raspberry juice was added to the hot wort immediately prior to adding cold water to bring up the volume and cool to pitching temperature. The fermentation was a one-stage primary, because despite the name of the extract the accompanying yeast is an ale yeast, and it was all over within 2 weeks. Sorry about that dudes, Zoz - -- zoz at cs.adelaide.edu.au http://www.cs.adelaide.edu.au/~zoz/ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 21:53 CDT From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Maple Beer/Wheat Malt Extract/Civil Discussion ===> Jim Emery asks about using maple syrup in homebrew... >Hi all. I was wondering if someone can tell me more about the affects of >adding maple syrup to ones wort. It's mentioned briefly in Papazians two >books but he doesn't seem to write much about how it affects the taste, >body etc. I'm planning on brewing a cranberry wheat beer from the latest >Zymurgy. I know that Sam Adams misnamed Cranberry Lambic uses some maple >surup and was thinking about adding this to the recipe. Any info would be >appreciated. Cheers. Jim A member of our homebrew club brought in an ale that he had brewed with maple syrup. It was absolutely delightful! Even more so considering that it three (3) years old. He said he used a grade of Vermont maple syrup that is very dark. It is the grade that is typically used in making maple flavored candies. It is not the grade that you would purchase for using as syrup on pancakes. I don't have his recipe, but I'd certainly recommend trying a maple brew. ===> Bob Paolino inquires about wheat malt extract... >Does anyone out there know of a 100% wheat malt extract other than 3 kg cans >of Ireks? (I assume it's 100% because the ingredients list is: Wheat, Water.) >The homebrew shop owner said it's the only one he knows about, and only that >size. Ireks is the only 100% wheat malt extract I'm aware of and have only seen it in 3.3 lb cans. >It's not that I'm looking to do a 100% wheat brew. I have the Briess weizen >extract (60-40, I believe) in my kitchen, but it's too dark for what I want >to make, and I want the 100% wheat to blend with a light (barley) extract. The lightest colored malt extracts are reported to be Alexander's. I made two weizens, one with Northwestern (Briess) wheat malt extract and one with 6.6 lb Ireks 100% wheat malt extract plus 1.4 lb Alexanders light kicker. The colors of both beers were very similar -- dark gold to amber. Both weizens were pretty good beers. However, in our homebrew club competition, they only got average scores. They were marked down, in part, because their colors were too dark for the style and both lacked wheat character (including the one with all the Ireks 100% wheat malt extract!). Moral of the story (for me at least) is that you can brew a decent weizen with extract, but it will not be true to style. For a real, true to style weizen, you will need to do at least a partial mash if not a full mash. >I bought the stuff because that's what he had, but it's more than I need >in one brew, considering that I'll be adding other fermentables. > >1) Are there other 100% wheat extracts? Do they come in smaller sizes? > >2) May I correctly assume that the Ireks will be fairly light in colour, or > have I not really solved my problem? No, not according to my experience. >3) The other ones he had were Briess (liquid and dry--I've used both) and > M&F (haven't used). Is the M&F (40-60) any good, and is it very light? I have heard that Alexander's has the lightest color liquid malt extracts. ===> My editorial comment.... It's nice to see the civility expressed here in the Homebrew Digest. When David Allison made a post about a problem he had with an AHA Club Only competition, Martin Lodahl posted a response addressing the issues raised by David. Offline, David and Martin corresponded and realized that they had misinterpreted each others comments in the digest. Both then posted to the HBD to clarify what had happened, explaining their positions, and interpretations. Thank you. It's refreshing to see two people handle a disagreement/mis- communication on the net in such a gentlemanly manner. We can all learn from your example. - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 01:11:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Dodger Posey <dodger at quack.kfu.com> Subject: What is it? I have a couple of q's for those interested in answering... I made my Xmas beer and it has turned out quite different than what I thought I was going to get. Abominable Ale (Herb Ginger Beer) 5 gallons 10.7# British Unhp'd Light LME 3# Light Clover Honey 1/2# Wheat DME (60/40) 3/4# Crystal Malt-20L 1 1/2 oz Galena Hop Pellets, 12.8%AA, boil 1 oz. Mt Hood Hop Pellets, 5.5%AA, finish Grated peel of 4 oranges 4 oz. Ginger, peeled, grated 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 4 gr. fresh mint leaves, chopped 1 1/2 tsp Irish Moss, rehydrated 1 pkg Wyeast #1007 German Ale Yeast, in starter Crystal malt in bag, to boil, turn off, add LME, WME, honey, Galena hops, half of ginger & orange, all spices. boil 50 min. add remainging ginger, orange peel, hops and IM. Boil 10 min. Cool, sparge, aerate, pitch. OG 1.107 at 80 deg= 1.110? Primary for 20 days Gravity at secondary 1.023 at 60 deg. Questions...... 80% attenuation? Alchohol 8.7% (OG-FG=alchohol %)? or 11.2% (OG-FG x .129 per Williams catalog)?? Is this a Barleywine? Is #1007 a real butt-kicker or what? If its too strong to drink, can I cut it with water to weaken it? Can I expect additional fermentation? Will it rise out of my carboy and shape-shift into a smelly monster and eat me? TIA to those kind souls who answer my silly questions. - --------------Dodger Posey-----dodger at quack.kfu.com------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 08:32:46 EDT From: Andrew Patti <patti at ee.rochester.edu> Subject: mashout question summary Thanks to everyone who answered my question about the mashout. I'm posting a summary of those answers here. The original question was: >In all the excitement over >tasting the sweetness of the mash after the starch rest, >my partner and I forgot to do the mash-out step. > >This was my first tinkering with all grain brewing, >and I'm curious what the effect of NOT conducting >the mashout could have on the brew. There seems to be a consensus that there are two reasons to conduct a mashout: 1) make the mash sugars more soluble, so sparging is easier, and extract efficiency is greater. 2) stop enzyme activity Everyone said that as long as the sparge went well, the enzyme activity will be stopped during the boil, so no "damage" was done. It was pointed out, however, that not stopping the enzymes at the right time could lead to over-converting, which results in a "thin" beer (lacking in body). Also, not controlling the time when the enzymes stop will make the recipe less repeatable, and "true to style". Thanks again for all the replies, Andy Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 08:14:46 EDT From: man at lcwdw1.att.com (26023-Mark Nevar(LCU221)30) Subject: Fuller Cask Ale/SA 3 Bock/Sankey Fermenters On November 1, The Old Bay in New Brunswick, NJ starts Cask Conditioned week with real Fullers cask conditioned ale served at cellar temp and pulled from hand pump. I've heard a left coast bar will also get a delivery. The Old Bay will have three others (Olivers, Oxford, and one more) on hand pump the same week, but I'll be there for the Fullers. I had a Triple Bock last weekend. The label said it was contract brewed in California. Interesting. For 3 years, I have been using 1/2 barrel Sankey kegs as fermenters with great success. I put in on my King Kooker and boil to sanitize. To clean, I used a soak of Super Washing Soda, which seemed to work. Earlier, I used caustic and acid wash, but gave up with a small child helper in and around the brewery. One particularly virgorous blow off left a stain on the underside of the top that I could feel with my fingers. That stain would not go away. Last week, I decided to cut the top off and survey the damage. I found what looked like rust stains above where the wort level would have been. It was really dried krausen. With some elbow grease, I managed to get it sparkling clean and I am doing an open ferment with a belgian strong ale. The area in direct contact with the wort were clean, but they did have a film of what I guess was beer stone. Mark Nevar man at lcwdw1.att.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 09:05:51 -0400 From: blue at cam.nist.gov (Jim Blue) Subject: small bottles / Rolling Rock offtaste / carboy vs. bottle maturing I needed a source of small bottles for bottling my Imperial stout, but could easily find only returnable Rolling Rock in 7 oz. bottles around here (DC). Being a thrifty person, I've been drinking them to get the empties instead of just dumping the beer. Rolling Rock is not your usual bland megaswill -- it has an actively unpleasant aftertaste. It's not easy to describe (vegetal? grassy?). Does anyone know what causes that taste? I'd hate to have it in one of my own beers. (It's not skunkiness. RR is in green bottles, but the cases are well sealed against light, even the hand holds.) Apparently no one knows anything about carboy vs. bottle maturation for high-density beers, since no one answered my previous request except one person who also wanted to know. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 09:29:36 EDT From: Steve Robinson <Steve.Robinson at analog.com> Subject: Beer bottles/the final chapter Many thanks to the people who responded to my "where can I get brown bottles with no raised lettering" question. The overwhelming consensus seems to be to buy empty Bud longnecks from the local biker bar. One person mentioned that Anchor Steam (tm) bottles are regarded favorably by judges in spite of their errant lettering. Several people questioned whether the innocuous lettering around the bottom is what this rule is all about. The real problem seems to be trademarks and things like Bass bottles that have lettering on the shoulder. Can any of the BJCP types out there comment on whether this rule is enforced to the letter or the spirit? I would hate to send some of my fine homebrew off to a competition simply to have it disqualified for a bottle rule infraction. -Steve R. steve.robinson at analog.com (for the COYOTE) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 9:50:50 EDT From: fastarke at rickstr.mawes.ingr.com (Rick Starke) Subject: RE: Tripple Bock NOT!/maple syrup Hi Brew folks, According to Jim Busch, the new SA "Tripple Bock" is not a bock. He is right, however nor is it "Tripple". I have just finished (OK last night, I don't drink *purchased* alcohol at 9:30 am) a bottle of the stuff, and have mounted the most attractive bottle (JK's marketing smarts again rears it's ugly head)on my desk at work. It is Triple, not Tripple, a small point, but an important one as it reflects upon style. (Marketing vs. actual style of beer). With regard to the actual taste, clean, smooth, but not necessarily my cup of tea. As far as maple syrup is concerned, In all the hype for the SATB, the fact that it is made with maple syrup was one of the facts I was not aware of when I purchased the bottle. I had heard the hype re: aging in JD casks, and 1lb of malt/bottle (sure), but nothing of the maple syrup (which I believe Jim Busch made reference to by "sugar adjuncts") IMHO, this taste shines through very nicely and adds to the taste of this "Barley Wine" - -- Rick Starke New England Customer Service Branch Support Analyst mailpath: fastarke at rickstr.mawes.ingr.com Phone: (508)836-1285 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 06:52:43 MST From: /R=ENSRV1/R=AM/U=millst/FFN=MILLST/ at ENSRV1MR.BCASD.AZ.HONEYWELL.COM Subject: On Date: Wed, 05 Oct 1994 08:38:49 -0500 (EST) Mark wrote: >Subject: yeasty taste >I have been having a problem recently with my beer having a very strong >yeasty taste to it as if the yeast is coming off the bottom no matter >how carefull I am in trying to decant it(the beer) off. My regular >procedure in making my beer is to primary ferment in plastic for a >week and then transfer to my carboy for another week and then bottle. >I know the quality of the bere is good if it just wouldn't have that >yeast coming out into my glass. So I pose my question of what do you >do when you get a yeast infection?! >Mark Garwatoski My advice... I found that leaving it in the glass carboy for two weeks instead of only 1 week does wonders for beer clarity and taste. You just need to kick back, have a homebrew and wait another week. If in fact you do have a yeast infection, something is terribly wrong - I thought only WOMEN can get those. Just kidding!! Sorry, I am not sure how to solve the yeast problem. Tom Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 10:18:51 EDT From: Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff at BBN.COM> Subject: Re: Liquid vs dry yeast In HBD #1545, john.mccauley at his.com (John McCauley) writes: >After my first batch I bought into the party line about the superiority >of liquid yeast (Wyeast) over dry and indeed I made some fine beers >with it (especially the 1968 special). Yet here I am a year or so later >and I find myself bored with making a starter on Wednesday so I can >brew on Saturday. I really miss the simplicity (and low cost) of dry >yeast and for my next batch am going back to Edme to see if I notice a >difference. In the meantime could some of you experienced dry yeast >users pipe up on your fave brands? The airwaves here on HBD are full of >the praises of liquid, does dry really suck? I've been very happy with the results I get from dry yeasts, which I use for the same reasons you cite. The main advantage of liquid yeasts is variety -- you're not likely to see a dry witbier yeast any time soon, or even a decent lager yeast. For me, this is not a problem, because I brew only British-style ales. If you like brewing more exotic styles, you may become frustrated by the limitations of dry yeast. The bad reputation of dry yeasts used to be well deserved. Until a few years ago, most dry yeasts included a substantial amount of wild yeast, bread yeast, and bacteria. In recent years, though, the technology for drying yeast has improved dramatically, and there are definitely some good dry yeasts available now. One of the best dry yeasts these days is, oddly enough, Red Star, which used to be the worst of the worst. With the help of George Fix, they selected a new strain and improved their drying process to keep out contaminants. The new Red Star is a very clean, reliable yeast, and it's still dirt cheap -- about 50 cents a packet. As for EDME, I've used it for many batches, with mostly good results. However, I recently brewed a batch with EDME that suddenly started a second fermentation about 10 days after pitching (and several days after all activity had apparently stopped). I've heard of other cases of this with EDME, which leads me to suspect that there may be some nasties in the packet (wild yeast, perhaps), that take over when the main strain finishes. -Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff at bbn.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 10:04:53 -0500 (CDT) From: Rob Reed <rhreed at icdc.delcoelect.com> Subject: Water Heater Conv / AHA Membership Chad inquires: > It so happens that I have an unused gas hot water > heater, and I was wondering if anyone would know how to go about > converting it. Many thanks... > Bill Owens has a small book on building a homebrewery and one of the pieces of equipment he focuses on is conversion of a water heater to an outdoor burner. I got my copy several years ago. I don't know if it is still in print. ***** With regard to the post - I believe it was Norm - doesn't the AHA also keep track of your BJCP experience points 'free' as long as you are an AHA member. I seem to remember a note on the competition organizer appraisal/experience record sheet that said if you aren't an AHA member, that you neeed to include $2 to cover the administrative cost of keeping your file updated. Is this true? -Rob Reed Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 22:42:50 EDT From: Nancy.Renner at um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Mashout, Carboy handles, Old Peculier, Zymurgy errors (From *Jeff* Renner) Andy Patti was bad, and didn't conduct a proper mashout. Shame! We may have to revoke his brewer's certificate ;-) Andy, don't worry. The three main reasons to do a mashout are 1) to fix the ratio of different sugars at the end of the mash by destroying the starch converting enzymes and halting their action, 2) to reduce the viscosity of the sweet wort to improve lauter runoff, and 3) to increase the solubility of the sugars for greater efficiency. Since most of your sugars in an extract and grain recipe were fixed by the manufacturer, #1 shouldn't be a problem, if you didn't have a problem with #2, you didn't have a problem, and it's too late to worry about #3. Lots of fine all grain mashers can't be bothered with a mashout, and with the few grains in your partial mash recipe, it probably made no difference at all. I'm glad you found it so much fun! Coyote (boy, did you get me with "INB*X Message!") still hasn't heard where to put the orange carboy handles on 7 gal. acid carboys. I put 'em *below* the threads between the two ridges. It seems much stronger there as well as a more secure place. You do need to replace the bolt with a longer one (3 in.). I've cautiously lifted them by the handle and haven't had trouble yet - maybe four years using the 7 gal. ones and handles. Knock on wood. The recent horror stories give me the willies. I often ferment my larger batches in a Sankey. Handles and unbreakable, doncha know. Chuck E. Mryglot wonders about cloning Teakston's Old Peculiar (sic) and wonders what kind of ale it is. Chuck, Old Peculier (note the peculiar spelling) is an old ale. It reached near cult status in England during the 70's real ale revival. It's named after an old Church of England office. It could just as easily be named "Old Bishop." Perhaps the peculiarity had to do with choir boys? No, actually a Peculier was the authority over a district within a diocese that was not under the jurisdiction of the bishop. Kind of an island, called a Peculiar. Most folks seem to think the special flavor is caused by treacle, although Jackson attributes it to the mixed strain yeast and three sugars used. I thought that treacle was different from molasses, but the new special issue Zymurgy says they're the same. They suggest a recipe of 12 lbs. English malt (or 9 lb. extract), 8 oz 40^ crystal, 8 oz. roasted barley, 2 lbs brown sugar, 2 oz. fuggles at 4% for 60 minutes, 8 or 9 T lactose, 3 oz. blackstrap molasses and 1028 ale yeast for an OG of 1.060. I have my doubts about this recipe. Figuring on a modest 30 points*gal/lb for 12.5 lbs of malt and 45 pgp for 2 lbs. of sugar (ignoring the lactose and molasses) would give 1.093! That would be peculiar. Their figures give only 16.8 pgp! Has anyone else noticed this kind of error in the new Zymurgy? I've just skimmed it, but the article on brewing with oats has one recipe (Door County White) with no oats, six lbs. of grain for OG 1.060; oatmeal stout with 9 lbs. of pale grains and an OG of 1.036 ( 20 pgp); and "Oat Sheaf Special" with 33 lbs. of grain for 12 gal for OG 1.050 (18 pgp). I think the recipes must have been switched, but there's still way too much grain. Somebody's asleep at the switch in Boulder! When I've finished the issue, I'll write them. Jeff in Ann Arbor, Michigan, c/o nerenner at umich.edu (for you, Coyote) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 08:49:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Frane <gummitch at teleport.com> Subject: Exposing your ferment! Brian Gowland writes, in defense of his original posting: > > > The source I have for this statement is "Home Brewing - The CAMRA > Guide" by Graham Wheeler. In various parts of the book, Graham states > that, once a good yeast head has formed, the fermenting vessel should > be uncovered - quoting "It is not necessary or desirable to fit the > lid to the fermentation bin during fermentation. It is important that > the fermentation be allowed to breathe". [snip] > I often brew on a Sunday and pitch my yeast Sunday evening - by > Monday morning, the yeast head is normally becoming established but not > usually ready to be uncovered (exposed patches of wort remaining). By > the evening after work, I can remove the lid and I have noticed that > the yeast head will grow almost visibly once it is uncovered to the > air. What seems most likely to *me* is that it's a question of pressure. If the fermentation vessel is completely sealed, not only will you run the risk of blowing things up, but that pressure *does* have a negative effect on fermentation. On the suggestion of my dad, a food scientist, I keep the liquid level in my blow-off jar as low as possible. He wasn't certain, but seemed to think that a lot of water (say 2-3 quarts in a gallon jar) might have an inhibitory effect. What Wheeler was probably referring to when he said the fermentation should "breathe" was that it have an opportunity to exhale. ======================== Greg Niznik writes: > > Also, does anyone know of a good way to presanitize your bottles before > you need them - like a week or so before bottling. In our tissue culture > lab, they routinely wash bottles with soap and water, rinse well, cover > with tin foil and bake at 200 degrees for an hour or so. Is this OK for > beer bottles? Can I do this in my oven at home? > I get to recommend ovens again! Yes, the lab is right, and yes, you can do it with beer bottles. I bake them at 350F for 90 min, because I'm a stick-in-the-mud and this was the procedure I learned. I put tin foil on the tops, too (gosh, I'm wonderful!) and pop the bottles back in their cases. Saves lots of time on bottling night. - --Jeff Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 1994 12:03:58 -0400 (EDT) From: TIM <LAATSCH at kbs.msu.edu> Subject: Yeastlab and pectin "setting" Hey all, I recently made an extract-based blackberry pale ale according to a modified Papazian fruit-beer recipe. i.e. I steeped the berries at the end of the boil at about 165 F for 20 minutes. I did two-stage fermentation and bottled after about 3 weeks. The bottled beer has been aging for about 3 weeks. The problem is that the brew is not clarifying well at all and there seems to be a cloudy suspension in it. I used Yeastlab dried Whitbread Ale yeast and have read that that particular variety takes an exceptionally long time to settle due to very fine particulates. Does the cloudy condition sound like bothersome yeast or pectin "set" or worse---contamination? The taste is fairly interesting, but has a very slight sulfide odor---barely perceptible-- and could use some maturing time. Using Yeastlab was an experiment on my part that at present I do not plan to repeat! Please bear with a brewer that is realtively new to the art. Reply by e-mail to: laatsch at kbs.msu.edu Thanks, Tim Laatsch (aka Bones) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 12:33:00 PDT From: "Krauss, Robert W." <KraussRo at pse00.sch.ge.com> Subject: Extract recipes I have been brewing on and off for several years now and have enjoyed the experience of brewing AND TASTING. At this point, I limit myself to extract brewing with the addition of specialty grains due to time constraints. I have been depending on Charlie Papazian's classic TCJOHB for recipes. I also get zymurgy but I find that 90% of the recipes are for all-grain beers. I am new to the HBD and am wondering if there is a source for recipes that I can access via my computer?? Can anyone help?? Any personal favorites to share?? E-mail response would be great, I don't want to waste valuable HBD space on this one. My address: KraussRo at pse00.sch.ge.com Thanks, I look forward to brewing some more excellent beers!!!! Rob Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 13:17:17 EDT From: Chris Barnhart <clbarnha at letterkenn-emh1.army.mil> Subject: Grain Mill Project I'm trying my hand at building a roller grain mill. I've worked out most of the construction details but still have a few questions. Anyone have any experience with this? 1. I'm going to have the rollers machined at a local shop. I can get them straight or diamond knurled, any preference? Also what is the optimum diameter for the rollers? I thought I would use 1 1/2 inch x 8 inches long. 2. I would like to motorize the mill. What size motor, torque rating, rpm, etc. would work best. I seem to remember a post saying you need at least a 1/4 HP motor, but don't think it mentioned required torque or rpm. 3. How to set the roller spacing for the best grind. Thought I'd use a feeler guage to get the spacing. Anyone seen a chart that gives settings for different grains? What about a rule of thumb like "set the gap 1/2 the diameter of the grain". Any help is greatly appreciated. Private e-mail fine. I'll post a summary if anyone is interested. Apologies in advance if this is covered in back issues. Chris "Barny" Barnhart clbarnha at letterkenn-emh1.army.mil Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 10:42:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Willits <willits at camelot.Stanford.EDU> Subject: Specialty Malts I have recently started brewing all-grain batches and have begun to try to figure out what different grains can do for the finished product. My main questions are about carapils, caramunich, caravienna, and crystal malts. 1. Are caramunich and caravienna the same as munich and vienna malts? 2. I have read in different places that munich and vienna malts are crystal malts and also that they need to be mashed. It was my understanding that crystal malts do not need to be mashed. Is this correct? 3. Does dextrin malt need to be mashed? 4. I have read that crystal malts can break down at mash temperatures. Is it a good idea to put them in just before the mashout? If people feel that a general discussion about malts is not very interesting, e-mail is fine. However, a discussion about how to use different grains and understand their contribution to the wort may be helpful to other beginning all-grainers. Mike Willits willits at camelot.stanford.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 12:04:28 PDT" From: michael j dix <mdix at dcssc.sj.hp.com> Subject: Glatt Mills/Chelsea, Mich. I bought a Glatt Malt Mill last November - the yellow enamelled model - and it crushes malt just fine. It would not have occurred to me to grind raw wheat in it, but then again the product literature says nothing about how to use it. Basically, because there was no product literature. If there is such a thing as a Glatt data sheet, please let me know. By the way, this was before I was aware of the JS MaltMill, or even HBD. I wonder if the gears are supposed to break if the load is too great (mechanical fuse principle). A little plastic gismo in my Penn level-wind fishing reel breaks periodically. I deduce this is to prevent more expensive damage to the rest of the mechanism. Historical note: Chelsea, Michigan was the home of one of the ur-microbreweries, the Real Ale Co. They made three flavors of bottle conditioned ale. To me they tasted like my extract brews of that time (1982 if I remember right), except without noticeable faults. Their costs, and the necessity of going through distributors and retailers to provide a fragile, unusual-tasting brew, put them out of business. In Ann Arbor I would go the the Red Hawk bar and grill. As I recall they have microbrewed beer from Frankenmuth and Detroit, as well as some interesting imports. Mike Dix (mdix at dcssc.sj.hp.com) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 15:10:13 EST From: robert_bendesky at Merck.Com (Robert Bendesky) Subject: Aging Beer I've noticed that some beers that I've made are best consumed when fresh (after conditioning is complete) while others (especially stouts and heavy porters) are best when allowed to "age". What exactly is happening to the aged beer that makes it taste better, and why doesn't this apply to all beers? Robert_Bendesky at merck.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 12:33:56 PDT From: Karl Elvis MacRae <batman at cisco.com> Subject: Re: Yeast Labs Irish Ale Yeast and an Infection Steve Veillette <VEILLETTE at WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU> writes: >My question: Is the Irish Ale yeast normally this enthusiastic about >fermentation, or was this enthusiasm a result of the infection. In other >words, was the spewing a result or the cause of the infection? I have not used the Yeast Labs version, but my last batch of my 'Last Judgment Extra Stout' was made with the Wyeasy equivalent, and *boy* did it make a mess. I had to clear the lock at least three times, and had to mop up a lake of black stuff the first time. Yeah, it's a happy yeast! -Karl - -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Karl Elvis MacRae Software Engineer Cisco Systems, Menlo Park, CA, USA batman at cisco.com 415-688-8231 DoD#1999 1993 Vulcan Eighty-Eight -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "If you can't communicate clearly in writing, perhaps the internet is not the best place for you, eh?" -Barb Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 12:39:51 -0700 (PDT) From: "A. Sturdivant \"Sturdy\" McKee" <sturdy at itsa.ucsf.EDU> Subject: Brew Kettles and metal plating Mark and Bob (forgive the omission of last names, I'm doing this from memory) discuss burning on the bottom of your brew kettle (about HBD #1540). I have a stainless brew kettle with no other metal plating on the bottom. I have to be vigilant in keeping the brew moving to prevent a goodly portion of my wort from caramelizing or just burning right to the bottom. I have come up with a cheesy semi-solution which requires slightly less vigilance on my part. I wrap the bottom of my kettle in two layers of aluminum foil. It's not pretty, it's not ideal, it's probably not even a good idea, but I don't have to stir for >1 hour, just every 5-10 minutes. Now the question for all you chemistry/physics folks. Can I, at home, plate the bottom of my brew kettle with copper or aluminum? I remember doing essentially that in an undergrad chemistry course, but the object was to make a battery. Can I use a battery connected up to my brew kettle, sitting on a few thumb tacks in a shallow bath of, say, CuSO4 (I'm attempting to write copper sulfate)? How long would it take? Am I talking about using way too much of the copper/aluminum salt to make it feasible? Should I own up and go buy a *more* expensive brew kettle with my next student loan check, risking prosecution and auditing for a non-educational use of government subsidized funding? TIA. Cheers, Sturdy Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 1994 15:01:54 CDT From: R E HAWKINS <rhawkins at iastate.edu> Subject: Lauter Tun Design >[wondering about wrapping resistance-wire about SS keg for lauter-tun] Are you going to be heating in the unit, or just maintaining temperature? This makes a staggering difference in the amount of heat required. We considered hot water heater elements. These draw about 3400-4000 watts. But after looking at the response time of a bruheat in a plastic bucket with 5 gallons, and a 3750 watt element, we discarded the idea as not enough heat. But again, we wished to bring it to a boil this way. For maintaining heat, though, it could be enough (given a thermostat or regulator). However, if you have the capacity to heat the water/grain before hand, outside of the pot (gas stove or cooker), life is easier with a cooler anyway, either a 48 or 72 quart chest (12 & 18 gallons) or 10 gallon Gott cylinder. Put it in at the desired temp, and it won't loose more than a degree or two over an hour or two. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 17:13:28 -0400 (EDT) From: rgarvin at btg.btg.com (Rick Garvin (703-761-6630)) Subject: ANNOUNCE: SoB Conference Web Page The Spirit of Belgium now has a web page. This can be found at: http://www.btg.com/~rgarvin/sob/sobconf.html The page includes conference agend and registration information. Competition information will be up shortly. Email version are available for the web challenged from rgarvin at btg.com. Cheers, Rick Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 17:18:52 EDT From: Steve Scampini <scampini at hpangrt.an.hp.com> Subject: New Yeast Strains I am curious. Are there people in the world who spend their time looking for new yeast strains for making beer? Can this be reasonably done on an amateur basis? Are their competitions for the best new strain of `94? I can't remember any discussion of this on the digest before. Thought it would be an interesting topic to see kicked around. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 17:34:19 EDT From: Btalk at aol.com Subject: Zymurgy delivery My friend who lives about 5 miles away , out in the country, got his most recent Zymurgy 2 weeks ago. I haven't received my copy yet, nor has it shown up at the nearby homebrew shop. Note that my zip and the shop's zip have identical first 2 digits,while my friend's is different. Go figure. Bob Talkiewicz,Binghamton, NY<btalk at aol.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 17:34:26 EDT From: Btalk at aol.com Subject: Air filters I found the 2.5 inch disc type air filters at a local respiratory supply place. About $3.50 I think. Bob Talkiewicz, Binghamton,NY<Btalk at aol.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 1994 08:33:47 +1000 (EST) From: David Draper <David.Draper at mq.edu.au> Subject: Is it possible to OVERpitch??? Dear Friends, last night at the club tasting, one of our most experienced and knowledgeable members related his opinion that it is possible for homebrewers to introduce off flavors (in particular, diacetyl and/or DMS?) into their *ales* (not lagers, now) by pitching *too much* yeast. My knee-jerk reaction was "you can't pitch too much", having seen many many posts here to the effect that one of the biggest hurdles for homebrewers to overcome is pitching *enough* yeast. My cohort cited as an example of overpitching using the entire yeast slurry from a secondary to repitch into a second batch (of the same size as the first). I'd like to solicit opinions on this. Can ales be overpitched on a typical homebrewing scale? If so, what would you expect the problems to be? As always, I'm up for private email + summary, but this might be of general enough interest for public commentary. Quick comment re: Herr Coyote's comment on addresses at the end: the way I get around the usual email system characteristic of being able to go only forward through the message (in this case, the HBD), is use the "reply" option and when it asks "copy message?", answer yes. Then the whole issue is read in and you can use whatever editor you have to move up & down. When done, just exit and DON'T send the message!! Cheers, Dave in Sydney - -- "Life's a bitch, but at least there's homebrew" ---Norm Pyle ****************************************************************************** David S. Draper, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia. email: david.draper at mq.edu.au fax: +61-2-850-8428 ....I'm not from here, I just live here.... Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 17:32:43 CDT From: minter at lsil.com (Michael Minter) Subject: Small particles floating near neck of my bottles Help! My first batch has been in bottles almost three weeks now and I just noticed some very small particles floating in the neck of the bottles. Could this be a sign of infection? I have tasted a few bottles, once after a week and once after two weeks. The batch is a EDME Weizen kit made with 2lb corn sugar and had FG of 1.006. It tastes a bit over carbonated (like Seltzer) and light but smells like a normal wheat. Anyone have suggestions on what the particles could be? Michael "First Batch" Minter Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 16:29:20 -0700 From: especkma at halcyon.com (Erik Speckman) Subject: Re: yeast head contact with air is good? [Brian Gowland cites his source for an earlier comment that yeast should be left open to air once the fermentation is firmly established.] > Whilst I have no experience of detrimental effects of leaving the >fermentation covered, I can say that I have not had any bad ferments >when uncovered - the yeast seems to like it and thrives wonderfully. Around here I would worry about insects (mostly fruit flys) catching a whiff of my estery wort and then suffocating in the CO2 blanket and dying in my precious beer. At the very least I would keep the lid loosly on the fermenter in my "brewery". ______________________________________________________________________ Erik A. Speckman Seattle, Washington Good Brain Doesn't Suck especkma at reed.edu especkma at halcyon.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 17:24:11 -0700 (PDT) From: Julie A Espy <jespy at tuba.aix.calpoly.edu> Subject: Bass Ale recipe question A while ago (a long while, I think) someone posted a recipe for Bass Ale that went like this: 1 can English Ale 1 can Unhopped English extract 1 oz. Fuggles hops 1/2 oz. Willamette hops Bring a gallon of cold water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the can of english ale and the can of unhopped light extract. Bring back to a boil. Add 1 oz. of Fuggles hops and simmer for 20 minutes. At the last minute of the simmer add 1/2 Willamette hops. This recipe was supposed to be for a 5-gallon batch. Does anyone know if this recipe will work? I'm still a new brewer, but it doesn't seem like it's all there. Is there anything missing? It seems too easy. I'm lookingg for a relatively "light" recipe, so if anyone would like to suggest one, replies would be appreciated. Private e-mail is fine. Julie (jespy at tuba.aix.calpoly.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 20:42:21 -0400 From: "Phillip R. Seitz" <p00644 at psilink.com> Subject: Spirit of Belgium This is a reminder to interested parties to send in your registrations if you're planning to attend the Nov. 11-12 conference. The earlier we get a body count, the better we can plan to keep you fed and dru...uh, happy. :-) If you need a registration package, send me a message via e-mail. If you like Belgian beer and haven't heard about this event, do likewise. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 94 21:30:03 EDT From: Kelvin Kapteyn <kelvink at mtu.edu> Subject: Cheap air filters I finally found the cataloge I was looking for to follup on the air filtration/aquarium pump aerator discussion. Sorry it took so long. Awhile back, I ordered a small, in-line air filter from Heartland Hydroponics in Vernon Hills, IL. It is a simple device that you simply put in-line with the air hose coming out of your aquarium pump. The price listed in their catalog is $2.23 . They sent mine by regular US mail, along with a catalog. The total then came out to something like $3.00. Pretty reasonable, I thought. The filter is something like 0.2 micron, and is definately designed for air only. You can reach Heartland at: Heartland Hydroponics 115 Townline Road Vernon Hills, IL 60061 (708) 816-4769 (708) 816-4770 (FAX) As always, I'm not afiliated, just a satisfied customer, in the event you are caught, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions, and this tape will self-destruct in five seconds ... <ssssss-poof!> Any comments should be sent by direct e-mail, since I unfortunately have had to unsubscribe due to a heavy work load, and the fact that I'd rather read the HBD than work, if it's in my mbox :-( . This digest has been a great source of info for this brewer. Thanks all of you who have answered my questions and posted soooo much useful info. Gezondheid all, -Kelvin - -- Kelvin L. Kapteyn (kelvink at mtu.edu) Ph.D Student specializing in Fiber Optic Strain Sensors (nearly finished!) Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics Dept. Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI 49931 USA My opinions are my own. If something is incorrect, or if you disagree with it, that's ok. Just point it out to me. That's half of the reason I post things in the first place. Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1546, 10/07/94