HOMEBREW Digest #1550 Wed 12 October 1994

Digest #1549 Digest #1551


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


Contents:
  going back to dry yeasts (10-Oct-1994 2304 -0400)
  The plastic Boot's Keg (In a bee hive I'm a sent you)
  Re: Modified RIMS system/Open fermenters/Big fermenters (CliffR3500)
  Mismail?  /  Aerator / Double mashing (COYOTE)
  Browsing the HBD and cleaning copper (Aidan "Krazy Krausen Kropping Kiwi" Heerdegen)
  Hopped Wheat Beer Kits (EKTSR)
  small bottles (Mark Evans)
  Shipping alcohol via UPS ("Craig Amundsen")
  step mash with steam ("Marshall.Jay")
  Demerara sugar ("BOB KNETL")
  Over Pitching/ Veinna and Munich Malt (Ken Schroeder)
  Nashville (Matt_K)
   (Sean Lamb)
  change everything to get the same results? (John Harres)
  Shipping Beer ("Craig A. Janson")
  "Optimum" fermentation temp ("William F. Cook")
  cider (Grant's, law) (Dick Dunn)
  Racking to Secondary (Jim Grady)
  My very first wort chiller (John Keane)
  HBD reply (LEE BUSSY)
  Submission (LEE BUSSY)
  My mashing problems (So stupendous living in this tube!)
  RIMS and EasyMasher (So stupendous living in this tube!)
  Wort Aeration/Wort Chilling/Shipping Beer (David Allison 225-5764)
  Heather Tips (Schinelli, Capt Bruce)
  Washington D.C. beer scene (Maribeth_Raines)
  Ever thought of filtering BEFORE brewing? (Phil Brushaber)
  cider-rific (Jason Landman)
  Hops for lambic beers (Rmarsh747)

****************************************************************** * NEW POLICY NOTE: Due to the incredible volume of bouncing mail, * I am going to have to start removing addresses from the list * that cause ongoing problems. In particular, if your mailbox * is full or your account over quota, and this results in bounced * mail, your address will be removed from the list after a few days. * * If you use a 'vacation' program, please be sure that it only * sends a automated reply to homebrew-request *once*. If I get * more than one, then I'll delete your address from the list. ****************************************************************** Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Articles are published in the order they are received.) Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc., to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L at UA1VM.UA.EDU), then you MUST unsubscribe the same way! If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first. FAQs, archives and other files are available via anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via mail from listserv at sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a message to that address to receive listserver instructions.) Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored. For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen at novell.physics.umr.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Oct 94 23:10:35 EDT From: 10-Oct-1994 2304 -0400 <ferguson at zendia.enet.dec.com> Subject: going back to dry yeasts >Date: Wed, 05 Oct 1994 20:56:36 >From: john.mccauley at his.com (John McCauley) >Subject: Liquid vs dry yeast [...] >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 use dry yeast almost exclusively for the reason you allude too: hassle of preparation. for dry yeasts, i rehydrate 2 packages in 85-90f h20 at the start of my boil, and by the time it is ready to be pitched, it is usually frothing a bit and by morning, the brew is frementing. i brew all-grain... all my friends really enjoy my brew. i could probably make it better by using liquid yeast, and now that winter is heading this way, maybe i'll find the time to deal. i've been using EDME, red star, and m&f dry yeasts. they all work fine. edme, by far, is the fastest fermenter - typically 36-48 hrs. m&f is a slower fermenter/starter - typically 48-72 hrs. red star is somewhere in between. good luck. only your friends and _really_ know beer well will find the big diff, at least that is my experience. jc Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 01:27:03 -0500 (EST) From: In a bee hive I'm a sent you <STU_GJCARRIE at VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU> Subject: The plastic Boot's Keg We own a plastic Boot's keg. My housemate who has relatives in England recieved it as a gift along with some sort of kit for making a Bitter. The beer didn't turn out so well but that was probably because we followed the directions and used an abominable ammount of cane sugar. Further reading has improved our technique, needless to say... Anyway, back to the keg. We used it for that first batch of Bitter as a secondary fermenter/dispensing keg. The brew was carbonated in the keg, but obviously lost its fizz as we drew beer from it. (the pressure went down and there is no CO2 on it) From then on, we have used it only to bottle, and for that it works well. (Siphon beer/priming sugar into keg, tap keg into bottles) It does not seem like it could be fitted with a CO2 system, so I would not reccomend it for kegging. The pressure valve on it is a rudimentary plastic flap which releases pressure at a certain level. I really don't see how anything could be attached. Perhaps Boots sells something else to serve this purpose, but I have always been astonished that they market this piece of equipment as a kegging system. It does not stay carbonated at all... Gregg *********************** We gotta get on the road ***************************** * Gregg Carrier (aka Uncle Zany, the guy in the floppy green hat) * * 332 Old S. High St. stu_gjcarrie at vax1.acs.jmu.edu * * Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (703) 434-8214 * *************************** Destiny Unbound ********************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 94 20:17:56 EDT From: CliffR3500 at aol.com Subject: Re: Modified RIMS system/Open fermenters/Big fermenters In Issue 1548 of the HBD, Steven Bliss writes > I think I may have come up with a better (different at least) way to >raise the temperature of the mash. My idea is this -- First make an >immersion heating coil of copper tubing (just like an immersion cooler). >And then use the controls, pump, and electric heating element/enclosure >of an existing RIMS setup to recirculate heated *WATER* thru the >immersion heating coil placed in the mash tun. I just want to pass on this information that I got in conversation with Greg Noonan of the Vermont Pub and Brewery. I related the same idea to him during a tour of his brewery. He kindly pointed out the fact that the thermal conductivity of a mash was low enough to make sure that you had to stir the mash all the time in order to evenly heat it anyway. He also pointed out that if properly constructed, a RIMS system should actually reduce the amount of oxidization that the mash undergoes. As far as scorching the wort or getting a compacted grain bed, I have not had these problems. The key to this seems to be to have a decent pump and control of it so that it pumps fast enough to move it over the heating element but not so fast that pulls down the grain bed. If you do try this, and it works, let me know I'd be willing to give it a shot as well! ***** On the subject of open fermenters, all this talk has convinced me to give it a shot on the batch I am brewing tomorrow. I am going to try to cover the carboy with some para-film to keep the nasties out but let air move around. ***** I am looking for some big fermenters and I was wondering other what other homebrewers opinion on what the best way to go would be. I am looking in the range of 15 gallons. A homebrew store nearby sells 15 gallon glass carboys and used SS kegs. Big fermenter users, what are you thoughts on the subject, which would you prefer? Thanks in advance! Cliff CliffR3500 at aol.com Cliff Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 10:58:26 -0600 (MDT) From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu> Subject: Mismail? / Aerator / Double mashing >From: EJ McGowan <EJ_McGowan.LOTUS at crd.lotus.com> >Subject: Mail order beer Hi Minel, from Kathy >Why do I watch 90210? It only aggravates me!!! ... sooo predictable. ... ...sleeze...flirt....sleeping around....What about the dope-head babe?! * I hope this is misguided mail, it has nothing to do with mailing beer. Hell they don't even drink american beer on that show! Can you imagine what a fit Mr. Walsh would have if Brandon started homebrewing in the basement! And Mrs. Walsh would get that sad/very concerned look on her face! All you need do is watch the commercials and you know the plot. So why watch the whole show? Gratuitous breast shots of course! I'd rather be brewing with the Simpsons and Bundys anyday! *** >From: "Dianne Dranginis" <ddrangi at denitqm.ecte.uswc.uswest.com> >Subject: FWD>Project Activation of 1 Subject: Time:3:59 PM OFFICE MEMO FWD>Project Activation of 10971BD Date:9/28/94 MEMORANDUM I suppose this is the internet version of a wrong number? Or aprank call perhaps. It has nothing to do with beer OR BH90210! *** Kirk Harralson has a problem with shipping beer via UPS. I have a potential solution. If everyone on the net were to package up one choice homebrew each and send 'em to Kirk (beam me up!) by the time all was said and done, I'd be willing to wager his attitude about mailing might change. :), (Just kidding Kirk- don't take offense! Kids'll do what kids'll do!) *** Aerator tube- Use and effectiveness. Bubble foam! Now for some real talk about brewing: With all the air filter talk I thought I'd toss in 2c. Use glass wool instead of cotton. If you use cotton, don't get it wet. Even the fish tank filter fiber would work better than cotton. Make the whole thing autoclavable for sterilization. * But if you don't want to hassle with all that- cut off a short piece of racking cane tubing (~3"). Drill a bunch of holes in the sides. I think I used about 1/8", or 1/16" and drilled 6 holes, 3 on each side. When I rack cooled wort from my kettle to my glass carboy (with handle handle attached) with stainless scrubbie, and cheesecloth wrapped on end of cane, I stick the tube into the other end (out) and voila! Lot's of Bubbles! Heard about the idea a long time back, and threw one together, used it for the first time last night. Evidence of effectiveness? The brew built up a SERIOUS krausen (foam head) and it was possible to visibly see the bubbles in the liquid stream upon exit. The tube sat at the top of the carboy and dropped to the bottom. The problem was it was aerating so damned well that I had to stop racking a couple times to let the foam subside so I could fill it! With what has GOT to be pretty darn full aeration I can't see the need for the airpump! *** Two beers are better than one: Made a pale ale AND a nut brown out of the same mash. Wanna know how? I'll tell ya (anyway). My mashing routine uses a rectangular cooler/copper manifold. I crushed a bunch of pale/vienna malt. Mashed in with hot tap water, then pushed up to conversion with heated water. I also pulled off a gallon of boiled water, and dropped in crushed crystal and roast. Let it sit and steep for the duration of the mash. Then pulled first runnings for the pale, after collecting 7g , I tossed the whole dark tea on top of the mash bed, and added more sparge water. Let this sit together- with gentle mixing of the surface - for a while. Then continued sparging. And waddayaknow- what was pale becomes...dark. Used ALL homegrown hops- chinook, nugget for bittering, and williamete and cascade for midway and finishing. Don't know the alpha acids, but assumed them to be close to the commercial versions (maybe less, maybe more). Bottom Line: I had fun brewing. AND...it is possible to have the flexibility of varying style within one mash. I ended up with two 7gal carboys, and one 5 gal carboy full of yummy wort. Not bad for a sunday afternoon. (I also mowed the lawn and made chicken soup) \-/-\ John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu \-/-\ * And hey- if you don't wanna put your e-mail at the bottom, well don't I just won't write to you....so humpf. -Bottom lip out, arms crossed- :(> Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 17:46:16 EST From: Aidan "Krazy Krausen Kropping Kiwi" Heerdegen <aidan at rschp2.anu.edu.au> Subject: Browsing the HBD and cleaning copper Full-Name: Aidan "Krazy Krausen Kropping Kiwi" Heerdegen David Draper wrote: >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!! *or* .. you could use a superior mail program like elm, save it to your HDB folder, then edit that folder with the Maltmill (tm) of editors ... vi ... and then still be able to browse through your edited HBD's like a mail folder ... Steven Lichtenberg wrote: >While I was there, I noticed the brewer was cleaning his copper >kettles with a solution of yeast DE and acid. The oxidation came >off in seconds. The copper was shining in no time. What is yeast DE??? People who have a copper boiler wish to know! (I would like to point out at this time to those who perhaps do not realise this ... don't use Nitric Acid (HNO3) to clean copper, it does the job altogether too well! :) ) Aidan [reckless bandwidth waster .... and *luvin* it!] - -- Aidan Heerdegen e-mail: aidan at rschp2.anu.edu.au Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 07:24:06 EDT From: EKTSR at aol.com Subject: Hopped Wheat Beer Kits Hmm.. what a pickle I find myself in.... Wanted to try the following recipe: 6.6 lb wheat extract 1 lb light dry malt 1/2 lb crystal malt 1 1/2 oz Tettnanger hops, boil 60 min. 1/2 oz Saaz hops, steep at end of boil 4 quarts frozen blackberries 1 tsp Irish Moss Wyeast #3056, Bavarian MY PROBLEM: I had wanted the Ireks wheat cans. Shop didn't have them and the owner gave me instead Edme Wiezen beer KITS. Yup, you guessed it, the kits are HOPPED with "hop extract" (from label). My question is this: I would still want the Saaz hops for aroma, how would you modify the hopping to take into account the fact that the extract is hopped?? As a wild guess, I was going to go to only 1 oz of the Tettnanger, and 1/4 oz each at 60, 30, 15, 5 to give more flavor, aroma. Please E-mail and I post summary of replies. TIA Stan White, ektsr at aol.com "the way to BE is to DO"--Lau Tsu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 07:46:31 -0600 From: evanms at lcac1.loras.edu (Mark Evans) Subject: small bottles On the small bottle thread: I'm a scrounger. I've scrounged much of my brew-mash set up at flea markets, garage sales, etc. I also browse antique-junque shops. On more than one occasion I've seen small bottles in these places--for rediculous prices. HOWEVER... on occasion I've found bottles in those 'collectible' wooden bottle/milk cartons in the back rooms of these businesses. Usually the store wants to sell the wooden boxes and will almost give away the bottles (if they have no "label" collector value.) I scored about 60 seven ounce soda bottles (old fashioned thick glass) this way. cost me $4-5, can't recall. I bargained for them. Now I have plenty to bottle meads and strong belgians! Brewfully mark Evans Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 08:54:17 -0500 (CDT) From: "Craig Amundsen" <amundsen at molbio.cbs.umn.edu> Subject: Shipping alcohol via UPS Hi - After reading all the hulabaloo (I've always wanted to use that word) over shipping alcohol via UPS, I just have to pitch in with my datum. I wanted to ship some alcohol from MN to CA. Off I went to UPS, they asked me what was in my box. "Wine," I replied. The nice man behind the counter was sorry to tell me that they couldn't ship it. But, if we went down the road to this other place, they could solve our problem. Box in hand, I headed for the other place. They were happy to have my business. It was one of those box/shipping places. I asked who transported their boxes. Much to my surprise the answer was UPS. It is my guess that they have filled out the five forms required by UPS to ship alcohol. The moral of the story is call around to find a place that has already satisfied UPS. - Craig (amundsen at molbio.cbs.umn.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: 11 Oct 1994 08:58:41 U From: "Marshall.Jay" <marshall#d#jay at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: step mash with steam In HBD 1549 Steve Robinson <Steve.Robinson at analog.com> mentions an article in BT that discusses the use of steam for heating a step mash. Could someone please summarize the article? Any comments from others who have constructed such a beast are also welcome. I've got an old pressure cooker that no longer seals very well that I thought might find new life in my brewery. BTW, does anyone know how I could get a new seal for an old Presto pressure cooker? thanks, Jay marshall at pat.mdc.com or marshall#d#jay at ssdgwy.mdc.com Return to table of contents
Date: 11 Oct 1994 10:10:58 U From: "BOB KNETL" <bob_knetl at amber.spawar.navy.mil> Subject: Demerara sugar Subject: Time:9:49 AM OFFICE MEMO Demerara sugar Date:10/11/94 FYI- While in the UK last week I stopped in a supermarket to look for Demerara sugar since my curiousity was peaked by previous posts relating to it's use in beer making. To my surprise there it was (hundred of kgs of it - at least as much as the raw white sugar!) on the shelf. It appears that since I found it in a very small town in Cornwall it is neither special or exotic. The brand name I saw was Billington's. It said on the package "Demerara sugar is harvested on the lush tropical island of Mauritius [east of Madagascar]." Later that day while stopping for a spot of tea I noticed that in the sugar holder, along with white sugar packets, were packets of raw sugar labeled demerara. My guess is that since it is unrefined & so plentiful in the UK it is a natural for beer recipes. Cheers Bob Knetl Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 08:42:47 PDT From: kens at lan.nsc.com (Ken Schroeder) Subject: Over Pitching/ Veinna and Munich Malt Just to add a little more to the overpitching debate: from Brewing Lager Beer; Greg Noonan page 139: "Pitching too much yeast, however, overtaxes the suppies of dissolved oxygen, simple sugars, and yeast nutrients. This causes autolysis, or self-digestion, of the yeast resulting in beer with yeasty, sulfur-like flavors. Less than the amount recommended *above* should be pitched when the yeast strain has proven to be a very strong fermenter. A good culture should require only .4 fluid ounces (8.5g) of yeast slurry per gallon of wort. Conservative pitching rates produces more aromatic beers and are the rule unless experience dictates otherwise." Cause, effect and solution to the over-pitching issue. Now, where did Greg get his information? On Vienna and Munich malts. I asked the HBD, at one time, what the differences between these two malts. I did not receive any answers, so I ran a little experiment. I brewed 2 identical all grain 10 gallon mashes except for the Vienna and Munich malts, which were the variables. I split each batch into to 5 gall carboys and pitched Wyeast 1007 German Ale yeast and the new Wyeast Kolsh yeast (don't have the number here). The Vienna and Munich malts were added when the mash reached sac at 64C. The resulting taste difference, though subjective, was obvious. The Vienna produced a smoother malt taste and a silkier body with both yeasts. The Munich produced a sharper malt taste and though it added body, it is not nearly as smooth as the Vienna. As a result, I brew my Kolsh with the Munich and the German Ale yeast (sharper, hops come out more). I brew my Vienna and Martzen/Octoberfest beers with the Vienna Malt to get that smooth quality. I hope this helps those who are looking for some differences in the qualities these malts impart to beer. Ken Schroeder Sequoia Brewing Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 10:07:24 edt From: Matt_K at ceo.sts-systems.ca Subject: Nashville Message: I will be going to Nashville next weekend. Any hints on where to find good beer (and good food) would be greatly appreciated. Please reply privately. TIA. Matt matt_k at ceo.sts-systems.ca Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 11:19:09 -0500 (CDT) From: Sean Lamb <SLAMB at lrlmccer.jsc.nasa.gov> Subject: In HBD1547, George Fix wrote: >P.S. I look forward to meeting HBDers who will be attending the >Dixie Cup. All the signs are indicating that this one is going to >be the best ever! HARRUMPH! HARRUMPH! Hear Hear! Too bad George will miss the beer and ice cream with Fred ! Sean Lamb -- slamb at lrlmccer.jsc.nasa.gov -- Houston, TX Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 11:01:56 -0600 From: John Harres <Harres at UWyo.Edu> Subject: change everything to get the same results? I'm considering what to do for my next batch. My first batch turned out watery, too low in alcohol, and a bit harsh tasting. So, for my second batch, I added 1lb. crystal, added 1lb. of DME, and was more careful steeping the grain (there was also 1/4lb. of roasted unmalted barley to give it a red color) to avoid boiling it, thinking that had given batch 1 the harsh, astringent flavor. It appears that batch two basically tastes the same. I've gotten rid of the "watery" taste, but for the most part, I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference. I should also mention that I changed the hops and yeast also. I realize that I probably changed to much to determine if any specific thing went wrong, but the last thing I expected was to have the SAME results. I should mention that I'm trying to produce an amber-brown ale, and am doing it with extracts. I can give specifics if necessary, but I am a little lost where to go from here to improve this beast. One other thing: what is a good way to add a little sweetness to an ale? I had expected that 1lb. of crystal would have helped, since Papazian says that crystal has a fair portion of unfermentable sugars, but I noticed none of this. More crystal? Lactose? HELP! John - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Harres | "The light works," he said, indicating the window, "the | gravity works," he said, dropping a pencil on the floor. harres at uwyo.edu | "Anything else we have to take our chances with." | -- Dirk Gently (by Douglas Adams) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 12:15 EST From: "Craig A. Janson" <0003522158 at mcimail.com> Subject: Shipping Beer Kirk, What is your job? Do you really have knowledge into what your company policies are? Judging from some of the posts I have seen you sure stepped in it this time. Hope you've got an asbestos suit in your closet. Return to table of contents
Date: 11 Oct 94 13:51:01 EDT From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> Subject: "Optimum" fermentation temp I've noticed that Wyeast publishes, along with their yeast descriptions, an "optimum" fermentation temperature. Does anyone have any insight as to what criteria are used to determine this "optimum" ? Is it based on speed, flavor, or some weighting of the two factors? Is it the point at which the yeast is most likely to fully attenuate? If anyone knows, their help would be appreciated. BTW, thanx to all who have responded regarding mailing beer. I, too, wish the AHA would consider actually doing something, and it would seem this is a good candidate for action. Bill Cook HydroComp, Inc. Team Dennis Conner Return to table of contents
Date: 10 Oct 94 10:57:34 MDT (Mon) From: rcd at raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn) Subject: cider (Grant's, law) uswlsrap at ibmmail.COM (Bob Paolino) wrote: > Anyone who's been reading the beer press for any reasonable length of > time knows about Bert Grant's battles with the BATF. It wasn't just over > the labelling controversy, though. There was also something about his > cider and how he isn't licensed as a winery, and therefore, they said, > he can't legally make cider. I don't recall the specifics, but that's > the essence of it. There's a question tied up in what is meant (legally) by cider. Cider is not subject to federal tax(!), nor is it treated as a wine, as long as it's not made at a winery AND as long as it is made solely from fermented apple juice. (27 CFR Sec 24.76) BUT what this means is that if you add sugar, as is common in cider-making, you're no longer making "cider" by the legal US definition...you're making apple wine instead, and it's treated as a wine. (Also possibly relevant to Grant's case--you can't have a brewery and a winery together.) So if Grant had been adding sugar in making his cider, that would have caused his problems. > When I tasted it, had I not seen the label I would not have guessed it > was anything but a cider. I wonder whether he's using just the tiniest > bit of malt to get around the BATF's goon tactics. That's another quirk in the law: If you're using malt, you're making some- thing that's classed as a beer and falls under the beer laws...even if you're putting lots of other stuff in it. Per occasional discussions here in HBD, this is how wine coolers end up treated as beer. It's also how some breweries make mead--which would otherwise fall into the classifica- tion of "honey wine"--by adding a bit of malt to the large amount of honey. So apple juice and malt gives you an apple beer (or apple ale, or some appropriate labeling). The amount of malt it takes to fall into the beer category/law is small. [Anyone have the exact amount and source of info? It's not in 27 CFR 25; I think it may have been a BATF ruling.] - --- Dick Dunn rcd at eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA ...Simpler is better. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 14:14:47 EDT From: Jim Grady <grady at hpangrt.an.hp.com> Subject: Racking to Secondary In HBD #1549, Al Korzonas states: > There are two (alleged) reasons for racking to a secondary: >1. remove the beer from any cold break that made it into the primary, and >2. remove the yeast from dead yeast. Another reason is that racking helps to clear the beer. If I rack to secondary, I get a noticably clearer beer than if I just let it sit longer -- in fact, after 1 day there is much more sediment on the bottom than I witness when I don't rack. I also find that there is less sediment in the bottle. It seems to pack down better (this may be because of the yeast strain I am using but having less yeast helps too) to the point that I get little or no yeast in the glass without being very careful. Since there is less yeast in suspension, I usually find it takes longer to condition when I have used a secondary. While Al is correct that a good ale can be made without a secondary fermentor, I personally find it is worthwhile to use one for all my ales and lagers. - -- Jim Grady | "I got ... a set of Presidential Commemorative grady at hp-mpg.an.hp.com | plates so I could eat my eggs off the | President's face." | Steve Goodman Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 15:04:29 EDT From: keane at cs.rutgers.edu (John Keane) Subject: My very first wort chiller I am slowly collecting equipment on the path to all-grain brewing, and this past weekend I built myself a wort chiller. Now that I have tested it, I am so impressed with how well it works, that I wish I had done it long ago! Up to this point, I have been chilling my wort by wrestling the full, hot brewkettle into an icebath in my kitchen sink. By assiduously stirring (both the wort and the surrounding water), I would get the temperature of 3.5 gallons of wort down to about 80 degrees F in just over 20 minutes. Each brewing session would cost about $3-4 in ice. The chiller took about 15 minutes to assemble from parts purchased from Home Depot. It consists of 25 feet of 5/8ths (OD) soft copper tubing [$14.00], 6 feet of 5/8ths (ID) clear vinyl tubing [$0.60], a brass female swivel garden hose fitting with a tapered insertion end [$4.50!], and 3 small stainless hose clamps [ at $0.35] [plus a tubing bender (a spring-like thingamajigger) at $2.00, the total spent was $22.15]. The tubing came already coiled, and I just had to even out the coils to be all the same size, bend the ends, and attach the vinyl hose with the clamps. The chiller is easy to sanitize: just dump it in bleach solution for about 10 minutes, and rinse with hot water. Since the wort is not going through the tubing, there is no worry about sanitizing the inside. In my trial test, the chiller was able to bring 3.5 gallons of wort from 212 degrees F to 80 degrees F (the temperature at which I normally chuck it into the other 1.5 gallons of room-temperature water in the fermenter, bringing the whole thing to pitching temperature) in 10 minutes, on the stovetop, being stirred gently once per minute. The temperature was further reduced to 68 degrees F by the end of 20 minutes. Since my tapwater temperature is currently at 66 degrees F, and will drop at least another 10 degrees in the upcoming months, I expect the chiller to work even better as the brewing season progresses. I made a nice chart showing the performance of the chiller, which is available as a gzipped postscript file by anonymous ftp from cs.rutgers.edu in pub/keane/chiller.ps.gz . Some brewing friends recommended that I make a counterflow chiller instead of this, but given the effectiveness and cost of what I now have, I think I made a good decision. I would recommend this as a worthwhile piece of equipment, even if you are just extract brewing, that will quickly pay for itself if you are buying ice to chill with. _John_ keane at cs.rutgers.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 94 18:41:00 -0600 From: lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu (LEE BUSSY) Subject: HBD reply From: lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu <Lee Bussy> Subject:Vitamin C as an ontioxidant and priming George Danz writes: > I heard from a local brewshop that one can use Vitamin C > as an antioxidant when mixing priming sugar in the carboy > prior to bottling. The use of Vitamin C as an atioxidant meets with mixed revies in different circles, but it doesn't hurt your beer either way. The usual dosage is one teaspoon to a 5 gallon batch which will not impart any noticeable flavor. I have used the chemical but I think the best thing to do is not to allow your beer to come into contact with O2. > The reason all this comes up is that in order to get a good > mix of priming sugar, since I batch prime, I heard that one > should put priming sugar in empty carboy first, so that when > the new beer was racked into it, a good mix was established > and even carbonation in each bottle would result. Batch priming is the prefered method as it allows you to achieve more consistent conditioning. The way I do it is to boil 1 to 1-1/2 cups of water and add your priming sugar to that. The heat will sterilize it and the boiling will de-aerate the water. I pour that into my old plastic primary (sterilized of course) and carefully rack the beer over it. Carefull racking will help prevent aeration and the turbulence will mix the priming sugar in. If you still are worried, fill the container with CO2 first (CO2 is heavier than air and will exclude the air). Hope this answered your questions and was at least a little informative to some others. -Lee Bussy lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu brewerlee at aol.com - ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Wichita State University BBS (316)-689-3779 Wichita Ks.,USENET Planonet,Internet:Ilink:U'NI-net:Annex:MLPnet:Intelec:Smartnet:P&Bnet - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 06 Oct 94 16:34:00 -0600 From: lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu (LEE BUSSY) Subject: Submission From: lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu <Lee Bussy> Subject: HBD submission Ken Schroeder wrote about "A Suggestion for AHA Competitions": > How about it AHA: require a self addressed stamped envelope from the > entrants and require that the judging sheets be copied and mailed > back in that envelope by the competition organizers? Simply put.... no way. I used to think this was a good idea until I spoke with Alberta Rager about a competition I'm organizing. The entrants pay their entry fee (I assume there is one for these club competitions) and expect prompt and accurate judging replys. The money goes to something. The AHA should be bound to the same rules as they hold regular contest organizers to. People shouldn't have to send $5 for an entry, then another $0.29 and the bother of putting their name, address and stamp on yet another sheet of paper. <stepping off my soapbox> :) Russ Wigglesworth posted fro Byron Burch about the So Cal BJCP exam: > Fees are $55 for first time takers and $40 for retakers. This fee > includes an assement to help defer the cost of the exam site. Another pet peeve. The prices not only just went up, but now people want to charge even more for administering the exam? I don't know if you know this people, but included in the price of the test ($50) is 10% for the host ($5) and 10% for the proctor ($5). Now since Byron Burch is the proctor and the host (or so it would seem) he's taking $15 a head for the exam. I dunno, I didn't do it when I administered the test here and it just doesn't seem fair. I should probably bring this up on JudgeNet also as I saw it posted there but I was just going through these messages and thought it appropriate. I would be interested to hear what you all think about this. -Lee Bussy lee.bussy at twsubbs.twsu.edu - ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Wichita State University BBS (316)-689-3779 Wichita Ks.,USENET Planonet,Internet:Ilink:U'NI-net:Annex:MLPnet:Intelec:Smartnet:P&Bnet - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 17:43:37 -0500 (EST) From: So stupendous living in this tube! <STU_GJCARRIE at VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU> Subject: My mashing problems Oru past two batches of brew have been our first attempt at partial mashing. Both were Papazian recipes from TNCJOHB. The first, Uckleduckfay Oatmeal Stout turned out with a low specific gravity. It was about .015 low. We wrote it off as improperly crushed grains (did them by hand) and brought the gravity up to par with extract. The second was from THC (that's The Homebrewers Companion) It was the Jah Mon Irie? Dopplebock. This time the grains were milled properly but the SG was about .030 (!!) too low! Disaster. Now both batches were done as closely to Charlie's specs as possible considering our mash tun is a pot on an electric stove. In both cases an iodine test indicated change. The iodine changed color but only to a light tan, not black like after the protein rest. Anyway, one difference that may be significant is that in the first batch we added 4 tsp of gypsum per instructions. For the Dopplebock, I spaced and forgot to add gypsum (our water is very soft) Now that we have a grain mill, I can't blame the crushing. Instead, I will point my finger at the water. Could it be to blame? Is the reason for our low SG incomplete conversion? Did we not sparge enough? Our sparging system is the two-plastic-buckets-one-inside-the-other-with-holes-drilled-in-it-method (TM) I tried to call the water company to get a breakdown of the water content, but they are closed for the day. If that would be helpful in determining the problem, I can find out tomorrow and provide the breakdown to anyone willing to help. While mashing, the temp was not always right on. It's hard to be accurate with an electric burner. Also, the temp varied quite a bit in different parts of the pot. Anyone who is stuck with electric who can help me out? Does the iodine remain COMPLETELY unchanged when the starches are converted, or will it change a little based on its own yellow color? Anyone who is willing to help me solve these problems will be thanked a thousand times. We would like to learn from these mistakes but we must first figure out what the mistakes are. We already have two more batches of mash-extract brews planned. Finally, is there any way to know if the SG is right before adding sparged mash water to the extract and hops? I always find out to late (ie when the brew is in the carboy) Please email if you are willing to help: stu_gjcarrie at vax1.acs.jmu.edu Thanks in advance Gregg *********************** We gotta get on the road ***************************** * Gregg Carrier (aka Uncle Zany, the guy in the floppy green hat) * * 332 Old S. High St. stu_gjcarrie at vax1.acs.jmu.edu * * Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (703) 434-8214 * *************************** Destiny Unbound ********************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 17:44:38 -0500 (EST) From: So stupendous living in this tube! <STU_GJCARRIE at VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU> Subject: RIMS and EasyMasher Could someone explain what RIMS and EasyMasher are? I see those terms on here quite a bit and am curious... *********************** We gotta get on the road ***************************** * Gregg Carrier (aka Uncle Zany, the guy in the floppy green hat) * * 332 Old S. High St. stu_gjcarrie at vax1.acs.jmu.edu * * Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (703) 434-8214 * *************************** Destiny Unbound ********************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 14:42:00 -0800 (PST) From: David Allison 225-5764 <ALLISON.DAVID at A1GW.GENE.COM> Subject: Wort Aeration/Wort Chilling/Shipping Beer To aerate or not to aerate (just a data point or two): In the last 4 batches of Am. Pale Ale that I have brewed, I used approximately the same grain bill, yeast (SNPA), and yeast pitching rate (~1/20). With two of the batches I shook up the carboy (glass: 6.5 gal) after pitching using the home-brewers carboy dance method. With the other two batches I have aerated using an air pump/0.2 micron filter/gas dispersion tube system. Low and behold(!), the aeration system gave me a beer that fermented vigorously and did not lag after a few days of fermenting. The aerated batches also exibited greater attenuation (lower FG) than the shaken batches. I know this issue has been discussed on the HBD, but from now on I am going to aerate my chilled wort throughly after observing the fermentation process improvement and in the final product (beer). Why bring this up? Because the problem with my aeration system is that I get a lot of bubbling that makes its way to the carboy neck. This occurs in about 15 minutes, which means I need to turn off the air pump to allow the foam to subside. I would rather be able to leave it alone during the aeration period. I have turned the air rate as low as it will go before the air flow ceases, but I still get too much foaming. Does/Did anyone else have this problem? If so, how did you remedy the situation? Any Ideas? ************************** Wort chilling (another change): I have also reconfigured my immersion wort chiller so it sits directly underneath the surface of the post-boiled wort instead of the middle/bottom. This reduced the time to chill the wort in half!! I heard this would decrease the time, but I didn't realize how much. This also gave me a better cold break in the kettle, and therefore less break material was transferred to the primary fermentor. {BTW, to the person who asked -- the wort chiller is sterilized by placing it in the boiling wort for ~15 min.} ************************* Concerning shipping of beer: WHAT?! -- I can't ship my homebrew to competitions via USPS or UPS (legally, that is), or actually expect them to get to their destination (see below). What is the best method, do I really have to use FedEx/DHL? I agree that perhaps the AHA should help with this battle -- that would be worth my dues. BTW (for those who care), the stout never arrived to it's destination (see above). I think there was some merit in Ken Schroeder's post involving having organizers of AHA sponsored competitions send photocopies of results to the brewers. To expand on that idea, since that may involve too much extra work for the organizers, would be for the brewers to send in a SASE (or postcard) along with their entry(s). All the competition registrar would have to do is send the SASE back after the package is opened. This way the brewer wouldn't have to wait for their results to get mailed to them (or the check cashed) to know if their beer-entry had indeed arrived. Let's keep the HBD constructive. - David (allison2 at gene.com) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 13:48 CDT From: MXPYP7.HQAMC at MHS.SAFB.AF.MIL (Schinelli, Capt Bruce) Subject: Heather Tips I've got a friend who I might convert to the joys of brewing, and whats gotten him interested at this time is the recipe for Leoan Froach {sp} in Zymurgy. BTW, I thought the issue was fantastic, and all those traditional recipes and odd ingredients are the reason I brew anyway. To my question: Where can I get Heather tips for the traditional Scottish recipe as described? I'd really like to make it. For an American of Scottish descent, Bruce Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 15:35:45 PDT From: raines at radonc.ucla.edu (Maribeth_Raines) Subject: Washington D.C. beer scene Any homebrewers out there in Washington, D.C. area? I will be there on business next week and should have at least one evening free to check out the local beer scene. Please e-mail me privately. I apologize to the rest of you regarding bandwith. There have been a number of posts regarding aeration systems. I have developed an aquarium pump based system for BrewTek (Brewers Resource) which has a 0.2 micron sterile syringe filter and a bronze carbonating stone. For those of you interested BR sells these items individually. We are in the process of replacing the bronze stone with an all stainless one so I would hold off on buying the complete system until then. Also BrewTek now sells food grade/micorobiology quality agar. This stuff is fully interchangable with Bacto-agar but substantially cheaper. Many of the microbiology labs at UCLA (including my own) use this stuff. I apologize to those who take this as a solicitation. It is not meant to be such. Cheers! MB Raines raines at radonc.ucla.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 17:10:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Brushaber <pbrush at netcom.com> Subject: Ever thought of filtering BEFORE brewing? I'm sick to death about losing about 1/2 gallon of my wort when I rack it off the trub. I have a keg filtering system. What do you think the results might be if I used a large cartridge filter, say 5.0 microns, and filterd the wort before pitching the yeast. Think that would filter out all the trub and junk? If I used a 5 micron (not .5 micron) to you think it would filter out too much of the body. If this has worked for someone I'd appreciate knowing. If no one has ever done it, I might just try! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 20:12:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Jason Landman <jasonl at america.net> Subject: cider-rific Hello, y'all! First I'll kiss all your butts by (sincerely) saying that me and my brew-buddy (Boyd, who has no Internet access, the poor sap) enjoy this list a whole lot. OK, enough of that. My question is about making hard-cider. First of all, anyone out there have any favorite recipes they'd care to share? E-mail me privately if you want!! Also, Boyd made up a batch of cider this past June (maybe it was July). Anyway, mold formed on the top of the cider after a couple of weeks. He thinks he disinfected everything OK. I think it was too damn hot (ever experience a Georgia July?). Also, I'm not sure what kind of cider he used. This being fall, I want to make a batch of hard cider myself, and don't want to fall into any pitfalls. Truthfully, I'm a novice (read some books, and learn a whole lot from y'all). Any assistance will be appreciated. Any Atlanta folks who know of good apple orchards nearby, lemme know. Again, e-mail me privately if you don't think the rest of the list would benefit. Thanks in advance, my brewmeister friends!! Jason Landman jasonl at america.net Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 22:52:11 EDT From: Rmarsh747 at aol.com Subject: Hops for lambic beers I am thinking about making a lambic beer. Does anyone know of a source for old hops? Or should I plan to make this two years down the road and buy a bag now to age? Robert M. Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1550, 10/12/94