HOMEBREW Digest #1659 Thu 16 February 1995

Digest #1658 Digest #1660


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


Contents:
  Re: Lagglander dry malts and low S.G. (Mel Martinez)
  Help on recovering from Bonehead Move ("Harrington, Stephen J")
  Scotch Ales, cereal, 60 C rest, and decoctions ("Timothy P. Laatsch)
  Brewing Techniques ("KEVIN A. KUTSKILL")
  Ftpmail/Newsgroups (Philip Gravel)
  Call for a 5 letters word dictionary (pautex)
  Little Tapper Keg (Wade=Landsburg)
  stirring implements (Jim Larsen)
  Re: dropping beer (Tel +44 784 443167)
  CANOE PADDLES (Charles Wettergreen)
  Need help on food-grade caulk (Michael Magnuson)
  (Fwd) Souring Guinnesss ("Keith Royster")
  Heater element controls (Tom Clifton)
  Robert Bloodworth asks about homebrew system (uswlsrap)
  Re: dropping beer (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Re: In defense of the AHA (bickham)
  Stirring Utensils, Gott Cooler Manifold (Eric Peters (919) 405-3675)
  1995 AHA style guidelines (MHANSEN)
  Lager (Jeff Stampes)
  IMMERSION, STIR OR NOT ("WILLIAM F BIGGIN")
  Wort paddles/Guiness sour-mash ("William F. Cook")
  IBU measurements (Fred Waltman)
  First Annual Maple Brew-Off (Andrew Patrick)
  RIMS Temperature Control ("Fleming, Kirk R., Capt")
  Making invert sugar? (kevin)
  Chiller results / Canadian suppliers? / Cloying beer (Eamonn McKernan)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 21:53:28 -0500 From: mem at rowland.pha.jhu.edu (Mel Martinez) Subject: Re: Lagglander dry malts and low S.G. In article <rubinoff-060295165557 at spmac124.bbn.com>, rubinoff at bbn.com (Allan Rubinoff) wrote: ] In article <mem-0502951827560001 at durin.pha.jhu.edu>, mem at pha.jhu.edu (Mel ] Martinez) wrote: ] ] ] > Question - is there something about about Lagglander dry malts that is ] > keeping me from hitting my s.g targets? I.E. - 1 lb should equal ~10 ] > points in 5 gal, correct? I'm falling way short. I have double checked ] > my hydrometer with tap water and it seems dead on correct. ] > [deletia] ] ] As for your low original gravities, I think you're expecting too many ] gravity points from your extract. 10 points in 5 gallons is a total of 50 ] points, which is way too high for a pound of DME. Typical values are 42 ] pts/lb for DME, 35 pts/lb for syrup. Actually, I think even these values ] are a bit high, because you lose some solids in the hot and cold break. I ] usually figure on 40 points for DME, 33 points for syrup, and generally ] find the contribution from steeping grains pretty much negligible. If you ] apply these numbers, you'll see they pretty closely match your results. ] Thanks Al, and also the several others who posted or sent me this correction (in one form or another). The 42 and 35 (pts/lb/gal) numbers work pretty well so I'll be using those next time. At anyrate, thanks to the 1 lb of honey I added, the beer ended up nearly right on target and has fermented down really fast. It was down to 1.017 (OG=1.048) when I racked it after one week in the primary. Tasted practically done and pretty damn good, too (similar to Bass). I may be ready to bottle next weekend at that rate. For those out there using Lagglander DME and fighting with high final gravities, try sub'ing a little honey for part of the Lagg to get a dryer finish. Also, just so people don't think I'm a total loon and am operating from a vacuum the rule of thumb I was operating from in formulating the recipe was from Mark Steven's and Karl Lutzen's book 'Homebrew Favorites', 1st printing, 1994. On page 6, bottom paragraph : "If you are going to brew an extract based brew, you will typically need about 1 pound of extract for every 10 points of gravity. For example..." etc. Now, I note in retrospect that the vast majority of actual recipes in this book do not use this formulation, but unfortunately, I happened to be using as the rough model for mine one of the few that seems to. Specifically, the Bantry Bay Irish Red Ale on p. 35, which calls for a total of 6 lbs DME + grains in a 6.5 gal recipe to get an OG of 1.048. Unless there is a typo somewhere, I don't believe this recipe can possibly achieve the target gravity. Hopefully, Mark is reading this and will excercise the ol' editorial red marker before the book goes to a second printing? :-) Cheers, - -- Mel Martinez The Johns Hopkins University Dept. of Physics mem at pha.jhu.edu Return to table of contents
Date: 13 Feb 1995 09:04:24 -0800 From: "Harrington, Stephen J" <sharrington at msmail4.hac.com> Subject: Help on recovering from Bonehead Move I stated before that I had been away from brewing for 6 months, and my rustiness has surfaced early on... I was planning on brewing an SNPA (from Tony Babinec's recipe in Cat's Meow), so I popped a fresh American Wyeast, let it puff up and then proceeded to make my starter. I sanitized everything, poured the wort into my starter bottle and poured the contents of the package into the bottle also. Then to my utter horror I realized that I had not cooled the wort down !!!! (the kids were crying, it was late, there was a hurricane, locust, honey it's not my fault)............. Now that you have stopped laughing at me, is there any hope of recovering from this bonehead move? Or have I sent my entire army of yeasties to a scorching death? As a fall back, I took my last bottle of actual SNPA, poured it into a glass, swirled the remnants and poured them into the COOLED starter in hopes of a recovery. Oh well, I guess this is why they have dry yeast. Guilty as charged, Stephen Harrington Manhattan Beach, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 23:04:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Timothy P. Laatsch <LAATSCH at kbs.msu.edu>" <LAATSCH at kbs.msu.edu> Subject: Scotch Ales, cereal, 60 C rest, and decoctions Hey HBDers, <prepare for exceedingly long post from beginning all-grainer> I am pleased to announce the successful results of my first two all-grain batches, a head-to-head comparison (almost) of Wyeast Irish 1084 and Wyeast Scottish 1728. I say "almost" because the comparison was done on two different batches of identical grain bill, not a split batch, with some slight variations here and there. As a scientist, I grow weary of exacting experimental conditions and so I like to feel a little less restrained and a little more creative in my brewing hobby---why brew if it's not fun?! The two brews were intended to be scottish ales and fell somewhere between the export class and the strong scotch ale. Here's the pertinent info on each: Category Batch #1 Batch #2 - -------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------ Name Dose of Reality Scotch Ale Superstition Scotch Ale Grain Bill 8.00 lbs british pale same 1.00 lbs 60 L crystal 0.50 lbs toasted malt 0.50 lbs cara-pils malt 0.125 lbs roasted barley Hop Schedule 0.5 oz. BC Kent Golding 60 min 0.5 oz BC Kent Golding 60 min 0.5 oz. BCKG 40 min 0.33 oz. Willamette 40 min 0.25 oz. BCKG 20 min 0.66 oz. Willamette 20 min 0.25 oz. BCKG 20 min Mash Schedule Dough-in 20 min at 20 C 20 min at 20 C Acid-rest 20 min at 40 C (infusion) 20 min at 40 C (infusion) Protein-rest 20 min at 52 C (infusion) 15 min at 52 C (infusion) Beta-rest? 20 min at 60 C (direct heat) 20 min at 60 C (direct heat) Alpha-rest 45 min at 70 C (direct heat) 45 min at 70 C (direct heat) Mash-out 10 min at 76 C (direct heat) 10 min at 76 C (direct heat) Sparge 5 gal at 80 C 5 gal at 80 C 75 min 45-60 min collected 6.5 gal collected 6.5 gal Boil 1 hour 1 hour Chill down to 19 C down to 19 C Aeration brief pump (foaming) brief pump (foaming) Yeast Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale In-pack starter only Stepped starter: 1 qt 1 gal Pitched about 1 pt yeast slurry Ferm temp 18 C (65 F) 15 C (60 F) OG 1.060 1.056 FG 1.022 1.020 Kegging 0.75 cups DME primer 0.66 cups DME primer After the discussion here regarding protein rests and well-modified malts, that rest will probably be eliminated if I try to repeat these recipes. Batch #1 (Irish) was an overall superior brew, with better carbonation (possibly too much), head retention, body, and maltiness---it also had a very nice perfumey quality that seemed to be a product of the yeast (as no flavor or aroma hops were used). Batch #2 had a lower extraction efficiency that I attribute to my being impatient the day of brewing. ;) Both brews ended with fairly high FGs despite a huge 1-gallon starter for batch #2 and much aeration with an aquarium pump system. Explanations?? The flavor profile of the Wyeast Scottish was more than a little disappointing given the high praise it was given in private e-mail. It exhibited very little of the characteristic "peaty" qualities and absolutely no smokey flavor. The batch was also less carbonated and more bland, with less body and head retention but greater clarity and the same nice malty finish. Color between the two was identical. I would encourage any beginning all-grainer to just do it---it's a little challenging but really satisfying. The recipe for batch #1 above will make a fine brew, but I would eliminate the protein rest and pump up the grain bill to make it a strong scotch ale. ;) Question on specifics----email me. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPENT GRAINS AS CEREAL: I forget who suggested this. Well...I was feeling adventurous and tried it. The verdict?---a little chewy, tasted like something between beer and cattle feed, sticks in the teeth something fierce, and they weren't kidding when they said high fiber. I threw the rest in the compost pile, where all future spent grains are headed. ;) - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 C (140 F) REST: Can someone please enlighten me as to what exactly is going on in the mash during this rest? Is this considered the beta-amylase rest? Why 140? - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER FIRST----A SINGLE DECOCTION: I brewed my very first lager this past weekend using a simplified single decoction mash similar to the one in the decoction-faq. What great fun!! The grain bill for the Munich Dunkel was: 5.0 lbs German Durst 2-row pilsner 2.5 lbs German Durst 2-row munich 1.0 lbs American 2-row munich 10L 1.0 lbs German Durst 50 L crystal 0.5 lbs cara-pils I used a 40/60/68 mash, with a 25% decoction pulled during the 60 C rest. The decoction was heated to 68 C, held 15 minutes, heated to 100 C, and boiled 10 minutes before being infused back into the main mash. The mash came to rest at 65 C and was direct heated to 68 C. I expected a fairly quick conversion, but it kept failing the iodine conversion test. Conversion was finally verified after 1.5 hours at 68 C. My questions: Did the decoction destroy so many enzymes that conversion was slowed down considerably in the main mash? Or does the German 2-row grain just take a bit longer to convert? Is this typical? Or....does some other explanation exist? Sorry for the HUUUUUUUUGE posting, but it's all brew-related. Flame me if you must. Thanks for any help. private/public---however you want it. Lurking cloak re-activated and asbestos shields up. Brew on! Bones ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Timothy P. Laatsch Graduate Student in Microbial Ecology/Bioremediation Michigan State University / W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Kalamazoo, MI laatsch at kbs.msu.edu "...and your face looked like somethin' death brought with him in his suitcase..."----WZ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Return to table of contents
Date: 13 Feb 95 23:21:48 EST From: "KEVIN A. KUTSKILL" <75233.500 at compuserve.com> Subject: Brewing Techniques Ok, all of you have gotten me interested in this Brewing Techniques magazine--how can I find out about subscription information? E-mail is fine. TIA. Kevin A. Kutskill ("Dr. Rottguts") Clinton Township, MI 75233.500 at compuserve.com "A beer a day keeps the doctor happy" Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 22:27:25 -0600 (CST) From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Ftpmail/Newsgroups ===> Ronald Moucka asks about ftpmail... >Secondly, can someone help me with ftpmail? I've tried >every syntax I can think of, but can't seem to get it to >work. Since the homebrew archives were moved from sierra.stanford.edu to ftp.stanford.edu, the listserver (which ftpmail uses) hasn't been available. As nearly as I can tell, the listserver is not running on ftp.stanford.edu. ===> Scott Howe asks about brewing newsgroups... > I need some advice on Brewing/Beer Newsgroups. I am getting Net access >through work, and they tell me they will only give me access to two news- >groups. I am going to get on the Austrailian Rules Football list, so that >leaves ONE for Beer. Our news server privides a few that deal with beer. >Of the following, I need to pick ONE. Which ONE should it be? > > alt.beer > alt.beer.like-molson-eh > rec.food.drink.beer > muc.lists.beer.homebrew > rec.crafts.brewing > uiuc.org.homebrewers rec.crafts.brewing is definitely the one to go with if you're interested in homebrewing. Perhaps rec.food.drink.beer if you only want to talk about beers. - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 15:56:36 +0100 (WET) From: pautex <PAUTEX at lpmi.u-nancy.fr> Subject: Call for a 5 letters word dictionary Hello, This message is from Pautex JF I am a Mac Apple developper, please forward it to any person who can reply. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I just put a new game in mirror INFO-MAC ref ---> .../mac/info-mac/Game/Abaccus-10.hqx This game play with french words (5 letters), alls words are into a dictionary file, my purpose is to convert it with all english 5 letters words in order to do a multi langages game. My problem is to do an english dictionnary file with all 5 letters words all words must be in alphabetical order (easy) with a difficilty level attach for exp : - table 1 " lecel 1 for word "table" easy word " - desks 3 " level 3 ? " - Rabat 6 " level 6 it's a town " etc... All words comes with 6 levels of difficulties, but a good knoledge of english is necessary, in my french dictionnary up to 5400 words are included, I suppose more than 5000 words can be found in english. Normaly kinds can play with level 1 and 2, level 3,4 are more diffucult and level 6 seem to be impossible, this last one is only for word check. User word reply is ckeck and must be in any dictionary file. Usualy words are from the "scrabble" game. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can somebody mail me a reply ? This game is now a shareWare (100FF, $20) livence can be obtain for anybody who can help me. I know the important job, all reply are welcome. Thanks for all, sorry for my english. PAUTEX Jean-Francois mail : pautex at lpmi.u-nancy.fr 14, Av MILTON 54000 FRANCE - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 08:31:49 AST From: Wade=Landsburg%SC_INV%Moncton at MNCGFC.GFC.DFO.CA Subject: Little Tapper Keg I just purchased a small aluminum keg at a flea market and am trying to figure out how it works. Its made by the Reynolds Aluminum Company in the state of New York. It was obviously used for commercial beer and would be exchanged for a new keg once empty. I've been using the Corni Keg for my draft system but this would be perfect for transport to other places. The keg appears to be turned out of aluminum and holds 2 1/4 gallons U.S.. Theres a plastic tap on the front for dispensing beer. On the back is a plastic plate which says "Contents under pressure, do no tamper". After tampering with it I discovered the keg contains what appears to be a re-fillable, self contained CO2 unit. I think it fills by use of an adapter similiar for filling basketballs. I anyone familiar with these kegs? How do they put the beer in it at the factory? Any information on these kegs would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Wade Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 06:33:18 -0600 (CST) From: jal at gonix.gonix.com (Jim Larsen) Subject: stirring implements Mark Godar asks about replacing his 24" nylon spoon with a wooden stirring paddle to accommodate 10-gallon batches. I recommend a stainless steel paddle from a restaurant supply house. You can get them in 3- and 4-foot lengths. I do not recall the price (mine was actually a gift), but you need not worry about coatings or treatments of the wood. If you can't come up with the the scratch for an SS paddle, get a 21" spoon, also available from a restaurant supply house. This should run less than $10. Jim Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 11:44:22 +0000 From: Brian Gowland <B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk> (Tel +44 784 443167) Subject: Re: dropping beer In HBD 1657, GRAFTONG at vms1.bham.ac.uk wrote: > > Can anyone remember if Graham Wheeler specified to re-aerate > after dropping the beer, and if he did, can anyone tell me why > it is beneficial then but not later on in the brewing process? Yep - he most certainly did say to re-aerate - scared the life out of me too until I tried it. The purpose of dropping is to leave behind the dirty yeast head and as much trub and dead yeasties as possible. The idea is to aerate and rouse the remaining yeast so that it will re-establish a strong working colony in order to finish fermentation properley and in order to recreate a strong yeast head. This, to an extent, depends on the yeast strain but the few British strains that I've used seem to take to it well - beware anybody using Wyeast #1007 German Ale yeast - I suspect that this doesn't like the dropping system and seems to slow down dramatically afterwards. Another thing that is to be taken into consideration is whether or not you practice open fermentation. I cover my fermenting bin with its lid (loosely laid on top) after pitching and wait until a strong cover of yeast has formed at which point I remove the lid completely. I drop, normally, at 48 hours after pitching and again loosely cover the bin until the yeast head has reformed when I, again, remove the lid. The bin remains open for another day or two when the yeast covering will normally subside and I will once again loosely cover the bin with its lid until the beer gets near to, or reaches, FG (if it hasn't already done this). At this point I rack (without aeration) into a clean fermenting bin for 24 hours prior to racking, again without aeration, to a plastic pressure barrel. So Gillian, give it a try. I'll put in a disclaimer that it works for me and GW and, I assume, other readers of his book - take reasonable care and it should work for you. It also works for Morland's of Abingdon and Marston's of Burton and used to be practiced by many other commercial breweries - the main reason for them stopping, being that it is expensive on space and equipment. To qualify my experiences - I've been brewing all-grain brews and using these methods for 8 months now. In that time I've used 100Kg of Pale malt (just finished my 4th 25KG sack) which suggests that I've done 25-30 batches (can't remember exactly). In that time I've only had two problem brews - the first was when using a live yeast from a local independent brewery which seemed to go into some form of shock even before I got to dropping the beer. The second was with the Wyeast #1007 strain that I mentioned above - after dropping, this seemed to slow to a halt and the resulting brew developed a bad taste. I did do a succesful batch with the #1007 yeast but again, this seemed unhappy about the dropping process - I stopped using this yeast after that. Cheers, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 07:59 CST From: chuckmw at mcs.com (Charles Wettergreen) Subject: CANOE PADDLES To: homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com In HBD #1657 Mark Godar (mgodar at autodesk.com) wondered about using a small canoe paddle to stir his mash for a 10-gallon batch: HH> I have never seen stirring utensils discussed on the HBD. I have been My "kitchen gadget" store in the Piano Factory mall in St. Charles, IL has giant, unfinished, oak, wooden spoons for about $6. They have a 2 1/2 to 3 foot long broomstick-sized handles and the spoon bowl is about 6" X 4". I'm sure they were intended to be decorative, but they just fit the bill. This mall also has a Corning outlet store which sells inexpensive carboys and yards of ale. Chuck /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* Chuck Wettergreen One beer at a sitting is OK. Two beers, maybe. Chuckmw at mcs.com But anything beyond that number goes over the Geneva, Illinois line of recreational drinking. Ann Landers /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/**/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/**/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* * RM 1.3 00946 * Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 09:36:20 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Magnuson <magnusom at gort.canisius.edu> Subject: Need help on food-grade caulk My lauter-tun is a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out and replace with an old sprout grower. The extra length of this grower nearly eliminates the false bottom when placed inside another 5 gallon bucket. The problem is that there are gaps between the bucket and the grower which gives major filtering problems during sparging. Does anyone know of a high-temperature, food-grade caulk that could be used to fill these gaps? Your help is much appreciated. Mike Magnuson Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 09:57:58 EST From: "Keith Royster" <N1EA471 at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us> Subject: (Fwd) Souring Guinnesss Martin Lodahl recently sent me private email concerning my post about the sour taste in Guinness. I thought it might be of general interest, especially to those trying to reproduce it. >Keith, >In HOMEBREW Digest #1655, you asked: >> In HBD1653 rnantel at ibm.net asks for improvements to a Guinness Stout >> recipie to better achieve the authentic "sour" taste. >> >> I vaguely remember reading somewhere that this sour taste is >> achieved, not in the brewing process, but by actually blending the >> stout beer with a little bit of "bad" / contaminated beer. Other >> than this, I don't remember any details. Does this sound familiar to > >anyone else? Or am I completely confused? I'll try to find where I > >read it this weekend. >For what it's worth, just yesterday I was talking with Grant Johnston, >brewer at Marin Brewing in California, who's just returned from two >weeks in Ireland. While there he got a "backstage" private tour of >the principal Guinness brewery, and what they told (and showed) him >was that they have a series of huge oaken tuns dating back to the days >before Arthur Guinness bought the brewery, which they still use as >fermentors for a fraction of the beer. The tuns have an endemic >population of Brettanomyces, lactic acid bacteria and Lord knows what >else, and beer fermented in it sours emphatically. They pasteurize >this and blend small quantities of it with beer fermented in more >modern vessels. I too have read something like this, but never before >had I heard about the wooden tuns. >I happened to be talking with him as one of his beers had just been >judged best of show at the second annual Toronado Barley Wine Festival. >Judging 29 barleywines at 10AM, the morning after a massive party at >Anchor Brewing, is a rare experience, I'll say. Fortunately for the >judges, they had enough panels so that my share was 8 of them, and I >had an excellent judging partner in "Wicked" Pete Slosberg. It wasn't >so many years ago that you could count the total of commercial >barleywines on one hand, so we felt extraordinarily lucky to have >so many, and such good ones. > - Martin >= Martin Lodahl Systems Analyst, Capacity Planning Pacific*Bell = >= malodah at pacbell.com Sacramento, CA USA 916.972.4821 = >= Contributing Editor, Styles Column: Brewing Techniques Magazine = >= If it's good for ancient Druids runnin' nekkid through the wuids, = >= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! (Unk.) = +------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Keith Royster | NC-DEHNR / Air Qualtiy | | n1ea471 at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us | 919 North Main St. | +------------------------------+ Mooresville, NC 28115 | | "I think I ran over my | Voice: (704) 663-1699 | | Dogma with my Karma." | Fax: (704) 663-6040 | +------------------------------+-------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 10:16 EST From: Tom Clifton <0002419419 at mcimail.com> Subject: Heater element controls Jeff Berton / MBX: jeff344 at voodoo.lerc.nasa.gov Subject: RIMS Temperature Control [HBD #1656] >Also, rather than using a dimmer switch, has anyone tried to control their >electric heaters using one of those variable time-delay solid state relays? >They just turn the current on and off at intervals set by a knob, and, from the >heater's point of view, would have much the same effect as a dimmer switch. >And since dimmer switch prices rise dramatically with capacity, I would think >such a relay would be better suited for controlling heaters greater than 1000W. This would be easy to do by using an electric range "continuous" control. They do just exactly that - turn power on and off with a small internal bimetal strip as the controlling element. These controls are also used in ceramic kilns... The last time I bought any for my wife's kiln they were $30 each - (15 years ago) though they may have been much less expensive had I bought them somewhere other than the ceramics shop. I would assume that this is what the BruHeat uses for it's control also. My gut feeling is that the dimmer you are using probably does a better job as it effectively reduces the power by chopping the power 60 times a second rather than turning the element on and off a couple times a minute. This would result in the element not being brought to full heat for the time the control is on potentially being more "gentle" to your wort. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 10:19:50 EST From: uswlsrap at ibmmail.com Subject: Robert Bloodworth asks about homebrew system I'd have sent this by private email, but the entire address didn't appear Sounds like it might be (or might resemble) a Stoelting system, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Yes, they look very nice, and they're very expensive. 502 Hwy 67 / Kiel, Wisconsin 53042 No financial interest, blah, blah (hey, I can't afford one) Now go have a beer, Bob Paolino / Disoriented in Badgerspace / uswlsrap at ibmmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 10:49:29 EST From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: Re: dropping beer Somebody will surely correct me if I'm wrong, but my recollection is that late aeration (e.g., during "dropping") will increase both diacetyl and esters in the final beer. This is probably appropriate for an English Ale. =Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 11:12:49 -0500 (EST) From: bickham at msc.cornell.edu Subject: Re: In defense of the AHA Jeff Hewit mentioned that you don't know what led to the rift between the AHA and the Beer Judges. The AHA withdrew from the BJCP because the steering committee that consists of appointed officials representing both the AHA and the HWBTA (Home Wine and Beer Trade Association) approved the addition of 3 elected representatives from the homebrewing community. This didn't suit the AHA's desire to have full control over the BJCP without any input from the members, which you have to admit is very unusual for that type of organization. The Beer Judges had no plans to overthrow the AHA, but only wanted some input and information about what happens in their organization. I agree that Zymurgy is a decent publication, especially with the improvements that have taken place in the past year. The advertising is a little bothersome, but it has some usefulness when you're searching for ingredients and I'd rather have it there than see the price of the magazine increase. The AHA has significantly helped the craft of homebrewing, but remember that they are motivated by profits and will do anything they feel is necessary to protect their position. Jeff also mentions that he brews beer to satisfy your tastes, not to win awards. That should be everyone's goal, but being a beer judge has significantly helped my knowledge of brewing and beer styles. I have been able to help dozens of homebrewers in local clubs trace problems in their beers to specific areas of their brewing procedure, and it's nice to see the quality of their beers improve when the problem is addressed. So be careful not to underestimate the benefits of having trained beer judges in the homebrew community, especially when we're not motivated by profits. Scott Bickham - -- ======================================================================== Scott Bickham bickham at msc.cornell.edu ========================================================================= Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 11:17:44 EST From: epeters at edasich.rtp.semi.harris.com (Eric Peters (919) 405-3675) Subject: Stirring Utensils, Gott Cooler Manifold Mark Godar Says: >I have never seen stirring utensils discussed on the HBD. I have been >contemplating using a small canoe paddle to stir the mash. There is no >way I could break it like that wimpy spoon, but am not sure how it >would handle the heat. My brother and I stir our mash with a 9-iron. No foolin'. The angle of the club head is such that, with a slight twist of the wrist, you get excellent grist motion from bottom to top. The shaft is strong and has a very nice grip for wet or cold hands. We brew 10 gallon batches and mash in a Gott cooler like yours. I designed a slotted 1/2" rigid copper manifold that uses four parallel pipes joined with tees and elbows to form a square. L---------L | | T---------T | T-> Output through ball valve. T---------T | | L---------L I avoided using solder by cutting the pipes just right so that the manifold corners press firmly against the cooler walls. The manifold falls apart when removed from the cooler for cleaning or storage. When in use, the manifold can not come apart and I never hesitate to bang the 9-iron against it when I stir. We have used this set-up for 14 batches and have never had a mash/ sparge problem, even with grists of ~20% rolled oats and all 2-row grain (pipe is slotted halfway through every .3".) We broke two of those nylon spoons before switching to the golf club. I can't imagine a better stirrer than a 9-iron. Give it a try. I hope this info helps. Fore! Eric Peters Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 10:33:48 -0600 From: MHANSEN at ctdmc.pmeh.uiowa.edu Subject: 1995 AHA style guidelines Hello all, Does anybody have an _online_ copy of the 1995 AHA style guidelines they could send me via E-mail or point me to a source where I could ftp it? I checked the HBD and JudgeNet archives but did not see anything. If I overlooked them in the archives, please let me know. Thanks, Mike (michael-d-hansen at uiowa.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 08:19:18 MST From: jeff at neocad.com (Jeff Stampes) Subject: Lager I am making my first shot at formulating my own all grain recipes (until now, I have either used other people's, or have slightly modified someone else's). I thought I'd run it by the collective wisdom of the hbd to collect feedback prior to brewing. What I'm shooting for is a Honey Ginger Lager. I want it to end up a little on the high gravity side, full-bodied, good head retention, and not too hoppy. Grain Bill: 8 Lbs German Pils 2-Row Malt .5 lb Wheat Malt .5 lb Dextrine .5 lb Crystal - 10L I am adding the wheat malt, dextrine and crystal for body and head retention. I was planning a two temp mash (152F & 158F) unless someone can tell me why a protein rest would be needed. I will add two pounds light clover honey to the boil. I will also boil in 4 oz. grated ginger root. I know it sounds like a lot, but I have used it in an extract beer with excellent results. It's sort of toxic for the first 4 months, but after six it becomes a dry, snappy, excellent refreshing beer. Hops: 1 oz. Perle (not traditional, but I have them around) 8.0 alpha for 50 min. boil 1 oz. Willamette (Ditto) 4.0 alpha for final 2 minutes I anticipate Final results to be around 1.060 OG, 34.5 IBU, and 3.6 Lovibond. Any suggestions on this? - -- Jeff Stampes -- NeoCAD, Inc. -- Boulder, CO -- jeff at neocad.com -- - -- Ultimate Frisbee...It's not just for dogs anymore. -- - -- Any fool can make bread out of grain...God intended it for beer! -- Return to table of contents
Date: 14 Feb 1995 10:42:10 GMT From: "WILLIAM F BIGGIN" <DW70151 at deere.com> Subject: IMMERSION, STIR OR NOT I have been lurking here for some time, gleaning mountains of data for the improvement of my brewing. Many thanks to all who have contributed. I stir the wort while cooling with my home made immersion cooler. It was made of 3/8 OD copper. I used some of the coil (50FT) that was left over to make a secondary immersion coil. This coil is 4IN in dia. and about 4IN high. I chill the wort with the main coil until I do not feel any heat in the pot when I put my hand against the outside. I then hook the secondary coil in between the faucet and the main coil. The coil is put into a mixing bowl full of ice cubes and water. This cools the tap water before it goes into the main cooler. This method has been working great for me. It takes less than 20 min. to get down to below 50 deg. I also pinched the output tube partly closed on the main cooler to slow the water flow (more efficient?). William Biggin "Chief Bill's Homebrew" dw70151 at deere.com Return to table of contents
Date: 14 Feb 95 12:24:41 EST From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> Subject: Wort paddles/Guiness sour-mash Mark Godar is looking for a big paddle to stir his decoctions. I know of two options. I obtained a *large* stirring spoon from a restaraunt-supply shop. This thing uses 1" PVC as it's handle, is plenty sturdy, and food grade. Also, I have seen advertised in BT stainless steel spoons up to 32" for what seems like a reasonable price, assuming you don't want to by the thermometer/alarm option. - ------------------------ Kieth can't remember where he saw the bit about sour-mashing a portion of Guiness stout. I think you probably saw it in Papazian's new book. At least, that's where I saw it. He says that approx 3% of Guiness is sour-mashed and then pasteurized and added to the fermenting brew. Bill Cook HydroCOmp, Inc. Team Dennis Conner Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 10:12:09 -0800 (PST) From: Fred Waltman <waltman at netcom.com> Subject: IBU measurements There has been much discussion about calculated vs. measured IBU's in homebrew. One common thread seems to be that people are taking the IBU numbers on the raw hops as gospel. It would seem that if you are going to try and fit actual IBU numbers to a formula, you should also send in a sample of the hops used to see what their actual amount of alpha acids are. The difference between actual alpha acid and the number written on the package may explain some of the wild variations Fred Waltman Culver City Home Brewing Supply Co. waltman at netcom.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 13:07:51 -0600 (CST) From: Andrew Patrick <andnator at mcs.com> Subject: First Annual Maple Brew-Off As previously posted, the First Annual Maple Brew-Off will be held in Chicago on March 18th. Entry deadline is March 11th. If you have any Maple beverages, please consider entering. I am putting together a judging panel with a great deal of expertise making and tasting Maple beverages. Rather than tie up this forum's bandwidth with the details, I refer you to the relevant page on the World Wide Web: http://www.mcs.com/~nr706/maple.html If Web-challenged, or you need more info, please contact me directly via e-mail or on my BBS Network (see below) Andrew Patrick (andnator at mcs.com) Certified Beer Judge; Founder, HomeBrew U BBS Network - Chicago 708-705-7263 Houston - 713-923-6418, Milwaukee - 414-238-9074 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 12:39:00 MST From: "Fleming, Kirk R., Capt" <FLEMINGKR at afmcfafb.fafb.af.mil> Subject: RIMS Temperature Control Thought I would report the latest results from our experiments with our system re: temperature control, heating rates, and so on. The full description of this system is currently in The Brewery (http://alpha.rollanet.org), although I need to update that article in a bad way. We've added a bimetal dial-type thermometer to the outlet tube coming off the mash tun, followed by a ball-valve shut-off. We half-filled the tank with hot tap water and began circulation with the pump valve wide-open. The temperature stabilized at 120F, and we fired up the burner wide open. Every 60s I read the thermometer and recorded the results. At two points we shut off the burner completely, and looked for temperature drift. Mind you, this is using *water only*, but the data still gives us useful information for predicting behaviour during a real mash. Based on our past mashing experiences, I tend to agree with Jeff Burton (HBD #1656 same subject) that we'll be able to recirc with a full-open control valve. In any case, I recorded twenty temperatures over twenty minutes, reading the thermometer to it's limit, then did a linear regression on the data to yield 2.7F/min; the data was *very* linear. Of possibly more importance than the heating rate is the fact that when the burner was shut off, there was *no* perceptable temperature change whatsoever for over 10 minutes, at which time I could just detect a miniscule temperature reduction. NO OVERSHOOT. Again, this is with water only--but I have no reason to expect grain to change the behaviour provided the wort flow rate is similar. This data indicates thermometer response to the water temperature is at least as fast as the water response to the heat input. It tracked beautifully and didn't move a hair's breadth after burner shut-off. [Suddenly I felt as though readers may think I'm challenging the need for or wisdom of automatic control--no, my *only* purpose here is to invite others to witness the progress of system development as it happens. This will expose both the success and failure of the development, but hopefully stimulate your corrective comments prior to our failures.] Kirk R Fleming -flemingkr at afmcfafb.af.mil -BEER: It's not just for breakfast anymore. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 12:51:43 -0700 (MST) From: kevin at wheels.aar.com Subject: Making invert sugar? Back many years ago, I recall someone telling me they made invert sugar by boiling lemon juice (or citric acid?) with a heavy solution of sucrose. Does anyone have a detailed proceedure for doing this? Secondly, I've been using corn syrup to increase OG, but have read both pro & con on using sucrose. During my college days, I'd just use sucrose to brew up a batch of cheap grape wine in the closet, and it seemed to work fine :) How does glucose (aka dextrose, corn syrup, corn sugar) compare to sucrose in brewing, in regards to it's rate of fermentation & the final alcohol content? Thanks! Kevin Kevin Hass WB0DPN Pueblo, CO USA kevin at wheels.aar.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 95 15:10:12 EST From: Eamonn McKernan <eamonn at rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca> Subject: Chiller results / Canadian suppliers? / Cloying beer The polls have closed in the "to stir or not to stir" counterflow chiller vote. The volume of responses precluded me from replying to everyone personally, but i would like to thank all of you for you input, including: Bob Hall, Ed Hitchcock, Richard Scotty, Spencer Thomas, David Cutkosky, Pete Murphy, Domenick Venezia, Matt in Montreal, "N4331B" (?), Jim Ellingson, Steven W. Schultz, Dan Sherman, Rich Larsen, Fred Cost, Dion Hollenbeck, Christopher Gall, Jason goldman, "GRMarkel", Charles Jackson, Jeffrey Van Deusen, Tom Ausfeld, bruce DeBolt, Steven Smith, Kurt in Oregon, and anyone else who's name I missed. of 26 respondents: 19 stirred their wort during chilling 7 did not of 18 stirrers (the 19th didn't answer this question): 12 stirred part of the time 6 stirred all of the time Only one person suggested a possible infection problem, and he felt that it probably wasn't due to the stirring (he stirred part of the time). There were a number of interesting points made by respondents: -Many felt the risk of infection due to uncovering the pot for 15 minutes to be minimal. Especially if a healthy starter was pitched. -stirring is a lot less tiring than grinding the grain ;) . - some people "stir" by moving the chiller around. Saves dirtying a spoon. -people cover the pot with every kind of covering from saran wrap to aluminum foil, to lids with holes in them. -The average chill time was around 20 minutes, with some people taking over half an hour, and one or two people much longer than that. -lots of people are worried about offending brew gods and inviting hexes by claiming to be infection free. -Dion Hollenbeck has a motorised stirrer coming down from a hole through the lid in his pot. Motors are cheap. -Ed Hitchcock has all his coils curled around in a disc shape like a stove element. This is held in place by a foot which rests on the bottom of the pot. Convection currents do the stirring for him. The coils are held ~1cm below the wort surface. This distance is somewhat important. Much lower and the liquid above it doesn't cool. Much higher and the contracting cool wort will drop below the level of the chiller. Designs for a float device anyone? My conclusion: continual stirring probably isn't worth the effort. Ed's idea shows the most promise, with Dion's a close second. Partial stirring is not a bad compromise either. But one of the big reasons for getting an immersion chiller was to be able to drop out cold break easily. If you stir, you still have to wait for the break to settle after the wort is cool. I often brew in the evenings, so the extra 15-20 min is too long. Natural convection currents are far more elegant a solution. I believe some experiments are in order. **************** Anyone know of suppliers that ship to Canada? Tried them? With extra shipping + the lousy exchange on our Monopoly money, are there any savings? Also, any beer of the month clubs that ship in Ontario? I've seen a list of 800- numbers, but don't feel like calling them all. Anyone from Ontario out there who's tried one? *************** Finally, I have a Dunkelweizenbock that has a real cloying taste. Almost like it's not quite finished fermenting. I'm reasonably sure that it's not a stuck fermentation, and I was planning on bottling it weeks ago, but just don't like the taste. O.G. 1065 or so (going from memory). FG 1018. Suggestions? All this talk about dry hopping makes me want to add 1/2 oz of Saaz maybe. is this a good idea? As usual, my postings are too long. Thanks for the BW, Eamonn McKernan eamonn at rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1659, 02/16/95