HOMEBREW Digest #1725 Mon 08 May 1995

Digest #1724 Digest #1726


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


Contents:
  Water Chemistry (Darren_Aaberge-RA2698)
  Q regarding  re-pitching yeast/Plato ("William F. Cook")
  Using/Conv'tg Superb Gas Brnrs ("Palmer.John")
  Is Brewing for Guys Only? (Brad Hoskins)
  Temp Control/RIMS FAQ/Humor&Ads (Glenn Raudins)
  OLD SPECKLED HEN RECIPE (Clyde_Anderson_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna)
  RE:HBD1723 Suds 4.0 (Brad Hoskins)
  rauchbier ("Wallinger, W. A.")
  Starter (Russell Mast)
  Some answers!!! (Scott Howe)
  Mini-Keg Users- Please Help! (harry)
  Superb gas burners at Redhook (MHANSEN)
  Ads and "Sigs"/ Excessive Quoting / Kettle Mashing (mdemers)
  Long dial thermometer source, glass blowoff tube. (Lee Bollard)
  Grand Rapids brewers (Philip Gravel)
  Hops and head (Philip Gravel)
  Re: Mercury poisoning (Carl Etnier)
  ...no subject... ("LCPL CHAD G PERKEY")
  Re: Beer Storage (Dion Hollenbeck)
  Liberty Ale (guyruth)
  Brewpubs in South Carolina (Todd Anderson)
  First Post (J. Todd Hoopes)
  robert browns rollermill (tegbrew)
  SS fittings and an Ale Recipe (Anatum)
  Long term starter storage (Robert Chizmadia)
  Trade/swap used gear (mike.keller)
  Steam Injection (Robert Chizmadia)
  Lagering Intro ("Thomas A. Wideman")
  brew vessels (leslie calvin king)
  False Bottom Hole Pattern/Size (Kirk R Fleming)
  frozen malt extract (Kevin G. Reddy)
  BJCP Mid-Atlantic region records (Ed Westemeier)
  First time ("Charles Wilmer, Jr.")
  San Diego-Mission Bay area pubs (AUS)" <BenA at wayne.com>

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 5 May 95 11:32:28 -0600 From: Darren_Aaberge-RA2698 at email.sps.mot.com Subject: Water Chemistry Water Chemistry I've been trying to understand the discussions on water chemistry that took place here awhile back but some things still elude me. My biggest problem is trying to get the proper mash pH. Hopefully some of you can help me out. The city of Austin, Texas has the following water chemistry (4th quarter averages for 1994): Calcium 17 Chloride 57 Magnesium 16 Sodium 28 Sulfate 39 Total Hardness 105 pH 9.8 Total Alkalinity as CaCO3 55 P. Alkalinity as CaCO3 21 Total Solids 217 All units (except pH) are in mg/l (or ppm). From this I gather that my water is low in Calcium (important for lowering mash pH) and very high in pH. What I don't know is how much carbonate and bicarbonate there is. Can this be derived from the information I have? Also, why is the pH so high? If it is because of a large amount of carbonates, then adding gypsum (CaSO4) won't help the mash pH because of the buffering affect of carbonate, right? If this is right, then do I need to be looking at something like lactic or phosphoric acid to reduce my mash pH? Somebody help me, please. Darren Aaberge BTW, where is that water FAQ? Return to table of contents
Date: 05 May 95 12:37:54 EDT From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> Subject: Q regarding re-pitching yeast/Plato Sorry to clutter up the Stainless Steel Airstone Digest with a brewing question, but I am curious about re-pitching yeast. Lately, I've taken to making a beer one weekend, racking it off the following weekend while brewing another beer, and just going from kettle to carboy on tob of the yeast. I like to do this a few times because (a) it saves $ on yeast, and (b) I don't have to make a separate starter, and (c) The beer is usually showing visible signs of fermentation in 1-3 hours. I always find myself a little hesitent, however, wondering if the flavors of the first beer will find their way into the second. Let's suppose, for example, that I make a porter or a stout one weekend and a bitter the next. Am I going to end up with a bitter that tastes like it has a healthy dose of patent in it? TIA for any help. Jeorg Houck asks about the Plato scale. I think it's 4 points of SG for every degree plato, so 10 degrees plato would be 1.040. Bill Cook HydroComp, Inc. Team Dennis Conner Return to table of contents
Date: 5 May 1995 09:45:24 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Using/Conv'tg Superb Gas Brnrs In response to Glenn's Friday Post, I own three of the Superb Gas Burners and believe me they are IDEAL for use with Sankey kegs. I mean the Sankey kegs with the straight sides, domed bottom and bottom support ring. If you have kegs that are reletively undamaged ie the support ring is not all bent up, then the keg will sit perfectly on top of the Burner. The cast iron grate fits neatly inside support ring, and the burner is more than strong enough to support the weight of a 15 gallon boil. You will need to cut part of the support ring off so the exhaust gases can vent from the burner though. To do this, select the quadrant that you will cut. For me, this was the backside towards the wall. I used a saber saw with a bimetal blade, 18 teeth per inch, and WD-40 as a lubricant, to remove a rectangular section of the support ring about 2.5 inches high by 8 inches long. (The height was basically the full height of the support ring up to the weld.) The length was such that the keg was still fully supported on all four corners of the Burner housing. The part I cut out extends out over the edge of the square housing. Also, since my three kegs were all dinged up and the support rings were bent in a few places lowering their effective height, it meant that the bottom dome rested on the iron grate over the burner, causing the keg to rock. Not Good. So, I rewired it. (Home Improvement Sounds) I took my Binford Saber Saw with the Bimetal blade and the circles and arrows on the back of each one, (Oops, wrong story) and cut the cast iron grate prongs back from the center. The prongs, in case you havent seen one of these burners, extend from the edge to the center leaving a 2 inch hole over the middle. Since I knew I was not really supporting anything with the grate, I cut all the prongs back about an inch, enlarging the hole to 4ish inches. Now the dome does not contact the grate, and the keg sits on there very sturdily. Cast iron cuts very easily, btw, due to the large amount of graphite in the alloy. No additional lubricant is needed. The Superb gas burner quotes only 35KBTU compared to the 100+KBTU of the Cajun Cooker types, but it heats 12 gallons without any problems and I have done 5 batches now on 1 20lb propane tank per burner, and I have gas to do 2 more I think. Of course the Boil Kettle and Hot water tank use the most gas, the Mash/Lauter tun uses very little even when I am doing a multi step mash. The big advantage to using these burners is that they are adjustable, both for the amount of heat and the air/fuel mixture. So there you have it, an honest endorsement of a product on the HBD. :) This is a good time to present my opinion on advertising on the HBD: Everything is good in moderation. I think most veterans will agree that Product Descriptions! on the HBD are a good thing. I have no quarrel with BrewCaps, Bruheats, Maltmills, EasyMashers, PhilMills, Software, etc being presented on the HBD for information. I have no real problem with people indicating they own a homebrew supply store in their sig. I have no real problem with people stating that they carry a looked-for item at their shop. Its ADVERTIZING that's irritating (picture used car salesmanship). Nuf Said. John J. Palmer - Metallurgist for MDA-SSD M&P johnj at primenet.com Huntington Beach, California Palmer House Brewery and Smithy - www.primenet.com/~johnj/ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 10:17:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Brad Hoskins <bradh at kaiwan.com> Subject: Is Brewing for Guys Only? I am relatively new to the art of homebrewing (extract only, just finished batch 3 with batch 4, 5 and 6 just waiting) and I am actively trying to get my SO to be as enthusiastic about brewing as me. She really likes to drink the beer and we both make other homemade goodies together (pls no p****whip comments!), but I can't get her to help me watch the 'boil' My questions are these. Does anyone have this same problem? How do you/did you foster any interest. Should I cut her off from the beer? Are there any female homebrewers out there? Am I destined for only 'dude' hobbies (computers and brewing)? Private e-mails OK TIA Brad Hoskins (bradh at kaiwan.com) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 10:29:58 -0700 (PDT) From: raudins at lightscape.com (Glenn Raudins) Subject: Temp Control/RIMS FAQ/Humor&Ads Drew McGowan asked about temperature control units: I use the one sold by Williams Brewing (I don't have the number handy) that is based on the Johnson control. It goes down to 20 degrees F I believe and has worked well for me for a year. I can't remember what I paid for it but I think it was about $80 (maybe $50). Re: Recent threads on Humor and Advertising It is nice to see some humor return to the digest, having read the digest off and on since issue 700, the recent article in BT about the changes that occurred over the years was correct in stating that the digest is taking a turn toward the better, like the earlier issues. I have seen the sig in question and don't believe it to be offending, just informative. Please, no more witch hunting. Re: RIMS With the amount of experience and info given on RIMS in the digest, I am amazed we haven't managed to put together an RIMS FAQ or README yet. The info on stanford is just snipets from the digest. I would be willing to help out on this subject, but am not an expert or user of the RIMS. (I may change one of these in the near future.) It just seems to be an advanced topic that generates quite a bit of interest. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Glenn Raudins Phone: (408) 246-1155 Ext. 113 Lightscape Technologies FAX: (408) 246-0255 raudins at lightscape.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 05 May 95 13:31:21 EST From: Clyde_Anderson_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna at relay.com Subject: OLD SPECKLED HEN RECIPE Hey, y'all! Any of y'all have a recipe for Morland's Old Speckled Hen? I sure would appreciate your response if'in you got one! Clyde W. Anderson Clydea at Relay.com Relay Technology Inc. Vienna. VA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 10:51:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Brad Hoskins <bradh at kaiwan.com> Subject: RE:HBD1723 Suds 4.0 I have had similiar bad experiences with this program. I spent hours putting in all my notes from previous batches (along with some recipes) and then last night I created a new log entry, closed the program, finished brewing, started the program again to put in OG and received a error stating the I had a corrupted memo field in the db. Lost ALL of my logs. $%# at ! at A friend of mine lost all his hop data. Just vanished! Pls be cautious when using this program. Backup ALOT!. I will continued to try and contact the developer. Return to table of contents
Date: 05 May 1995 10:51:10 PDT From: "Wallinger, W. A." <WAWA at chevron.com> Subject: rauchbier From: Wallinger, W. A. (Wade) To: OPEN ADDRESSING SERVI-OPENADDR Subject: rauchbier Date: 1995-05-05 12:41 Priority: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ i'm interested in making a rauchbier, smoking my own grains, and have a few questions: 1. what type of malt to use, pale malt? 2. what type of wood to smoke? anyone ever try mesquite? 3. must the grains remain cool while smoking, or is it ok to smoke in a gas grill where they will be exposed to the heat as well? wade wallinger, brewing contraband in mississippi Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 13:33:28 -0500 From: Russell Mast <rmast at fnbc.com> Subject: Starter From: larry at merakusa.com (Larry Barras) >Now a few weeks later, I am wondering if the starter is still good. Your starter is fine. It would be a good idea to "restart" it with more fresh wort a day or two before brewing, but it should still work. -R Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 12:00:01 -0700 From: Scott Howe <howe at appmag.com> Subject: Some answers!!! Greetings HBDers, and warnings about a long post answering some questions. Brian writes: >...hosting a dinner that would focus on beer. >At this point we are planning to go with a German dinner >and would like any input on German styles of beer that might often be used >before a meal, during a meal and after a meal. We also are interested if >there are any traditional combinations between specific dishes and beer. What a cool thing!!! When do I show up??? (Just kidding :). I would start with a light lager (NO!!! NOT AMERICAN LIGHT BUDMILLERCOORS!!!), along the lines of Pilsner Urquell (sp?) with the apetizer. With the main course, I'd go to a heavier lager or a rauchbeer (Smoked beer). Then finish off with a good altbeer from the Dusseldorf area, OR an EKU 28. Tom Writes: >I'm looking for a concensus to the following question? >Q - Do I add dark grains (black patent, chocolate, etc.) at dough in >or just before mash out? (and why) I usually steep them right after the sparge in a grain bag until ~180 (or whenever I catch it if it goes over). I do this because I don't want the dark [uh.... stuff] staining my sparging equipment. Larry writes >Now a few weeks later, I am wondering if the starter is still good. Should I >just refresh it with a another quart or two of fresh starter wort? Or maybe >I should make a fresh starter? I would make another starter since the yeasties probably either died or ate each other. Chuck writes >Question: I have a pale ale that tasted fine (even great) for the first >month and a half -- lots of hop character and hop aroma. Then it began to >transform.<Snip> I don't think the problem is bacteria....<Snip> I'm not sure of the chemistry of it all, but I have had the same thing happen ONCE. Since then, when the beer is aged to perfection (~3 weeks). I chill what's left (ever dwindling!) and it keeps fresh that way. comsin19 at nbnet.nb.ca (Com/Sinc19 Gagetown) (First name????)writes > 1. Pros and cons of single stage brewing. ... >I am now brewing John Bull using then single stage method and it seems to >come out ok. on #1, Pro: It's easier, and you don't have to clean one more large piece of equipment. Con: Some people think that you get some bad tastes from it; I haven't yet from an extract batch. When I do grain ones, I tend to switch to a secondary to keep more gunk out of my bottles. IOW, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Dan writes<Snipped about dry yeast starter methods. > Easy solution: start using liquid yeast. it comes in a pack, You break the inner seal, wait for swelling (~1 day), and go with it. This of course raises the flame of some people since you have to wait. If this is a problem, Stick with dry yeast, and I'll stick with wet. (It puts out flames better :). Dan also asks: >3. One more question not regarding yeast: Will I totally ruin the >fermentation process if I take the airlock off for a brief amount of time >after it has started to ferment? No. The airflow is positive out of the carboy. "...And it smells good too!" John writes >One problem >we have not yet solved is poor head retention, even when using >1+ lb. of crystal or other grains. I heard that you have to have ^^^^^^^^^^^^ >really clean glasses, so we are careful about that, but still no luck. When you say "Other Grains" have you tried up to 1 pound of wheat? It helps the head retention. So does boiling the hops longer, at least according to CP in TNCJHB. My history has proven this too. (History has also shown that adding 1/2 pound of the goodtime virus and 1/3 ounce of finishing coriander helps too, but we are all only joking about those two! ;) One more thing, Saturday (06-MAY-1995) is (or was, Depending on when this gets into HBD) National Homebrew day! Happy Homebrew day! When's the holiday from work? GO BOSTON BRUINS! GO FREEMANTLE DOCKERS! GO HAVE A BEER! --Aubrey Howe, III howe at appmag.com Santa Barbara, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 15:51:02 -0400 From: hbush at pppl.gov (harry) Subject: Mini-Keg Users- Please Help! Mini-Keg users! There have been a few mini-keg horror stories posted to the HBD over the last week or two. As someone who was interested in buying a mini-keg system because of the lower initial cost and the convenient 5 liter size, I'm getting close to being scared off! Since disaster makes for good press and good news doesn't, I wonder if these problems only represent a very small percentage of the mini-keg user experience. So my proposal is: if Mini-keg users could drop me a quick private e-mail stating: 1) What brand you own; 2) What your experience has been- good, bad, or otherwise; 3) What is the depth of your experience? (e.g.- "I've filled and drained 200 of these kegs over the last two years") and; 4) Any words of wisdom to the prospective buyer. I'll try to summarize the results and post them in the near future. P.S. If this info already exists somewhere on the net, then please let me know. Thanks! Harry .............................................. "If it bleeds, we can kill it!"- Arnold S. .............................................. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 05 May 1995 15:04:41 -0600 From: MHANSEN at ctdmc.pmeh.uiowa.edu Subject: Superb gas burners at Redhook Hey All, I just returned from a wonderful trip to Seattle and thought I would relay some information that is particularly relevent to us homebrewers. During a tour of the Redhook Brewery (good tour, highly recommended), I was able to see what they call their "pilot system," which resembled an elaborate homebrewing setup. It was a three tiered gravity setup equipped with three Suberb gas burners running on propane. They used 10 gallon SS pots fitted with valves. Although the tour guide said the pilot brewlength was 15 gallons, I believe he was mistaken as they looked like 10 gallon pots. Anyway, their mash tun is equipped with a SS perforated screen that interestingly is held above the bottom of the tun by bolts screwed into the screen. The sparge water is delivered through a copper coil that has small holes drilled on the bottom side which is suspended above the grain bed. They use a counterflow chiller; the kind that has the copper flowing through a large piece of PVC rather than a garden hose. I am sure this system resembles many homebrewers' setups. For those of you contemplating getting a propane cooker, it appears that a Superb burner is good enough to be used in a (somewhat) professional setting. I also know these (and most other propane cookers) can be equipped to run on natural gas with some sort of orifice. I would welcome information on how to convert a propane cooker to natural gas. I know this has been discussed before (Norm Pyle's name comes to mind), but like many other things, you don't pay attention to a thread unless you are in the situation. I will be installing a burner to be run on natural gas and am looking for suggestions. Please E-mail me or point me to a FAQ or previous HBD. Thanks, Mike (michael-d-hansen at uiowa.edu) PS - Since I have been to Seattle and have tasted some of the best ales ever, are my future beers ruined? Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 05 May 95 17:17:35 EST From: mdemers at ccmailpc.ctron.com Subject: Ads and "Sigs"/ Excessive Quoting / Kettle Mashing Gentlemen, It is one thing to write an article whose purpose is to shamelessly plug a business and/or product. It is entirely another matter to mention _IN YOUR .SIG_ the fact that you own a homebrew shop and have a catalog available. So, I vote to let people throw a plug into their .SIG if they wish AS LONG AS their posts are informative and genuine and not just a way to flood the net with ads. I believe that the HBD readership will see through the bozos who post practically every day just to get their .SIG plastered into the HBD and flame that person mercilessly into oblivion. Oh, and while I'm here, I have noticed a terrible trend developing lately; EXCESSIVE QUOTING! Can't we get by with saying: Joe Schmoo asked about stainless steel airstones: <insert umpteen thousandth response about SSAs> Must we quote 500 lines from yesterday's digest to post a three line response? To me, this is the most offensive waste of bandwidth there is. ObBrew: Here's a tip I haven't really seen that much. I recently made the jump to all-grain and do "kettle-mashing" with an EASYMASHER (tm). Miller recommends building an insulated box in which to place your kettle while mashing in order to hold the mash temp. I have found that most homes already have a perfect, temperature-controlled, insulated box: THE OVEN!!! Just tweak the heat on the "BAKE" setting until you can hold the temp. at approximately 150F. Then just dough in the mash to hit your initial strike temp., throw it in the oven and forget about it for an hour or so. It's easy, it works, and there is no work involved (a big bonus). Mike Demers Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 May 95 15:23:04 PDT From: Lee Bollard <bollard at spk.hp.com> Subject: Long dial thermometer source, glass blowoff tube. Where can I buy an accurate dial thermometer with a long (~12") stem? I'd like to insert it through the top of my 10 gallon Gott cooler while mashing to measure the temp in the middle of the mash. All the thermometers I've seen in brewer supply catalogs seem to be the short 6" variety. I've seen some nice dial theremometers with Sabco mash tun setups... Second: Anyone know where I can order one of those GLASS blowoff tubes? I've seen them advertised, but now that I want one I can't find an ad and phone number in past issues of brew mags.... TIA - --- Regards, Lee Bollard bollard at spk.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 95 00:10 CDT From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Grand Rapids brewers ===> From Ed Blonski asks about Grand Rapids, MI area brewers: >Greetings fellow brewers! > I'll be moving to White Cloud, Michigan this June (about an hour north of >Grand Rapids). > I need help! > Anybody know of micro-breweries in the Grand Rapids area? While not exactly a micro-brewery, Bell Brewing is located in Kalamazoo, MI which is about 1/2 hr south of Grand Rapids. - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 95 00:44 CDT From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Hops and head ===> Btalk at aol.com asks about head formation: >Imagine my surprise while in the midst of collecting/reviewing references, I >find a sentence or 2 in 'The New Complete Joy...' that says hops can affect >head !! That was news to me ( I must have overlooked it before- It has been >quite a while since i've TNCJOHB as my primary reference). > >Does anyone have any thoughts on this hops-head connection? I made a Sierra Nevada clone. The recipe called for 6 oz of hops, 4 oz of which were used in dryhopping. This beer has the best head of any beer I've made. If I uncap a bottle and let it set for a few moments, some head will begin to rise out of the bottle like a snake. Never seen any beer like this before. - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 1995 10:38:37 +0200 (MET DST) From: Carl Etnier <Carl.Etnier at abc.se> Subject: Re: Mercury poisoning >The mercury flowed into the water in the kettle. I immediately poured out the water, and the mercury exited the kettle in a nice >clump. > >I continue to use this kettle (Volrath stainless 38qt) for all my >brewing. Do I risk mercury poisening? I don't know. I leave that question to the metallurgists among us. But this is highly toxic stuff. I hope you did _not_ pour this clump of mercury down the drain. The remains of broken mercury thermometers should be treated as hazardous waste and taken to the proper authorities for disposal. Otherwise the mercury will poison something else--a river, a lake, groundwater, and/or soil somewhere. In Sweden, there is an effort to eliminate all use of mercury. It has been impossible to obtain mercury thermometers for household use for many years, and the pharmacies are all prepared to take in and dispose of household thermometers. At least in the Stockholm region, the water authorities for a period offered a 15 crown "reward" to those who turned in their mercury thermometers. The amount of mercury in the sludge at the treatment plant went down dramatically at this time, making the sludge much less dangerous to use in agriculture. If all HBDers and their net-impaired brewing friends take their mercury thermometers to the right place for proper disposal and replace them with alcohol thermometers, then there won't be any more questions of this kind and the homebrew world will have done its part to protect the environment. Carl Etnier A transplanted Yank in Trosa, Sweden Number of days since last snowfall: 5 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 95 22:52:32 +54000 From: "LCPL CHAD G PERKEY" <perkeyc at mcb-emh1.okr.usmc.mil> Subject: ...no subject... index Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 95 07:49:48 PDT From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Re: Beer Storage >>>>> "Ray" == Ray Robert <rayr at bah.com> writes: Ray> Question for all you keggers out there: Ray> How long can I keep beer in a corny keg at room temp (75-78F) Ray> before it develops off flavors. The reason I ask is there is a Ray> company party in September for which I volunteered to provide Ray> samples as a beer tasting. I was planning on kegging four Ray> cornies for the event, but I wanted to start soon so they could Ray> carbonate, mellow, etc, and maybe a little personal sampling Ray> also. These would all be Ales because I cannot properly lager at Ray> this time. Ray> Thanks Ray> Robert Ray Ray> rayr at bah.com If there is no contamination, I currently have a keg which was brewed 12/24/94 and has about 2 gals. left in it of wonderful brew. No degradation that I can tell, in fact, it has mellowed quite a lot since it is an extremely highly hopped IPA. I ferment in corny kegs, so for me, there is extremely small chance of contamination once I seal up the primary fermentation, since I never again let the beer touch air or anything unsanitized. If you ferment in some other kind of vessel and have to start a siphon to rack into your corny for serving, your mileage may vary. And, no, I never refrigerate my beer, however, its average temp is around 65 to 70, not 70 to 78 as you mention. dion - -- Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com Staff Software Engineer Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 06 May 95 09:05:20 EST From: guyruth at abq-ros.com Subject: Liberty Ale I was wondering what kind of hops and proportions are used in Liberty Ale. Private e-mail is fine Guy (guyruth at abq-ros.com) Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 06 May 95 11:58:08 EDT From: Todd Anderson <TAND1698 at URIACC.URI.EDU> Subject: Brewpubs in South Carolina Greetings to all: A crazy semester is almost over and I'm actually brewing tonight after about three months off. Anyway, I'll be moving to Columbia, South Carolina this summer and was wondering if anyone had any info about brewpubs in the area. Any reply would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Todd in Rhode Island Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 May 1995 12:12:30 -0500 From: Hoopes at bscr.uga.edu (J. Todd Hoopes) Subject: First Post I have a question and a suggestion. The question goes like this. I read a passage in one of Papazian's ( however you spell his name) books that lead me to believe that water was the only component necessary to activate the O2 absorbing caps. The local HB shop owner said he had heard that it was necessary to boil them. I use a keg system for most of my beer, but I bottle my specialty beers and I would like them to last. About the filters unless you brew in a clean room .22 micron is overkill. The only way a bacteria could get through a .45 micron filter is to hit it exactly perpendicular to the flow- not a likely event. Not that it would be bad to use a .22 filter except that in my experience it causes a good deal of back pressure with my aeration pump. Of course I due use quite a fast pump. Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 95 12:16 GMT+0200 From: tegbrew at iaccess.za (tegbrew) Subject: robert browns rollermill hello from africa. your request for information obout building a mill refers. the 1992 special issue of ZYMURGY magazine has an article by wayne greenway and russ wigglesworth on how they built their own roller mill. based on their information, I built my own with several modifications which really improved the performance at minimal cost. if anyone is interested in these mods after reading the magazine article, I would be glad to answer their email queries. regards. Terence Tegner Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 10:09:50 -0400 From: Anatum at aol.com Subject: SS fittings and an Ale Recipe Hello all, Sorry for the long delay in thanking several people who responded to my questions about SS vs. brass keg fittings. I am a wildlife consultant, and the past month has been extremely busy (springtime, ya know...). I must admit that I have misplaced my printout of the kind folks who answered, so am unable to personally respond, so I offer thanks in this forum. The responses were all very helpful. Several people felt brass was just fine. a few sent addresses of suppliers, and a couple even offered to help me get stainless fittings if I was unable! A few who responded are from my local area and suggested I speak to the local homebrew shop. I have found this shop to be knowledgable and helpful, and I get all my supplies there, but they seem wary to discuss keg conversion in the fear they are encouraging illegal acquisition. And, I suppose, they want to sell their equipment, not help me make mine on the cheap! Next item - I was encouraged to post my very nice ale recipe. I am not the most advanced brewer, and have tried to perfect my techniques with rather simple ale recipes. This one is simple, but has some subtle flavors. For a 5 gallon batch: 9.5 lbs. Klages 2-row 1.5 lbs. Crystal 40L 1 lb. Cara-Pils 1 lb. Red wheat malt 1.5 oz. Northern Brewers - 60 min. .5 oz. Cascade - 60 min. .5 oz. Northern Brewers - 30 min. .25 oz. Cascade - 15 min. .75 oz. Cascade - dry hop in primary 2 Teaspoons gypsum in mash water 2 TBS Dextrin powder in boil 1 Tsp. Irish Moss in boil 1/2 oz. Crushed coriander in boil (yeah, yeah) 1.4 qts./lb. mash water Protein rest at 125 deg. - 30 min. Conversion at 155 deg. - 60 min. Mash-out 170 deg. 5.5 gal. sparge water, pH 5.5 w/citric acid Ferment w/Wyeast 1056 Chico Ale yeast - 68 - 70 deg. 5 days primary, 12 days secondary, 10 days bottle before drinking. This is the only recipe I've come up with that I am willing to use again without modifying - hope you like it. Almost last; I don't really object to very limited advertising, but can understand those who do. Here's my solution. Anyone with homebrew products out there? Email me directly - maybe I'll be interested. Last, this forum is great - it is also a little more civil than R.C.B., where one needs an asbestos kimono to make it through alive! It would be nice to maintain a reasonable level of objectivity - no one needs to be yelled at over their computer. Hmm. Time to brew. Greg Tatarian Petaluma, CA anatum at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 08:21:00 -0500 From: chiz at cadence.com (Robert Chizmadia) Subject: Long term starter storage Larry Barras writes: > Now a few weeks later, I am wondering if the starter is still good. Should I>> >just refresh it with a another quart or two of fresh starter wort? Or maybe >I should make a fresh starter? > >Any thoughts? My standard procedure when I buy a new wyeast package is to create a starter, then split this into two more starters. One of these goes into the fridge, the other into the beer or stepped up again. I'll keep splitting the saved batch every time I use the strain, keeping the "first generation" alive. I've left these in the fridge for up to 3 months. The starters take a little longer to get going, but the full batch has never had a problem. Bob Chizmadia Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 95 14:14:00 UTC From: mike.keller at genie.geis.com Subject: Trade/swap used gear In HBD 1724 Jim Robinson suggests offering used brew gear via the HBD. It could simply work like this: I have some brew gear to trade/swap/sell. I'm in the xxxxxx area. Email only please to xxxxxxxx. And that's it. No ads, minimum bandwidth, everyone benefits. Mike Keller, Zymurgy RT, GEnie Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 08:20:50 -0500 From: chiz at cadence.com (Robert Chizmadia) Subject: Steam Injection Harry (hbush) asks for some data on using steam injection. I use a pressure cooker as a steam generator. With a typical mash bill for a gallon batch, I can raise the temp ~2F/min. As far as the amount of water in the pressure cooker, you do not need much. I have either a 4 or 6 quart pressure cooker, fill it three quarters of the way, and even after doing a 111F-126F-154F-168F mash schedule, it was still half full. There was a good article in Brewing Techniques a while ago that covered converting a pressure cooker for steam inection. As for the idea of running copper tubing inside of the keg to run boiling water through, my suggestion would be to run the tubing on the OUTSIDE of the keg. You would loose some of the heat transfer, but sanitation I think could be a problem with the coils on the inside. Just something to think about. Bob Chizmadia Colorado Springs, CO Return to table of contents
Date: 07 May 95 12:50:37 EDT From: "Thomas A. Wideman" <75710.1511 at compuserve.com> Subject: Lagering Intro Thanks to those who replied via private email to my request for a temperature schedule for lagering. To sum up the responses: The Yeast FAQ (at http://alpha.rollanet.org) provided the answers to my temperature questions. Wyeast 2124 was recommended as a good "beginner's" lager yeast. Consensus was against "starting" the fermentation at 70F or so; pitching at fermentation temp was recommended. Primary should be conducted at the recommended temperature for 1-2 weeks, followed by a diacetyl rest at 52 degrees for 48 hours, then lagering at 40F or below for 4 weeks or so. Ok, folks... Any comments so far? Private email please. Now, for my next two questions: 1. I cooled my wort with my immersion cooler to about 70F, racked to a 6.5 gal carboy (my fermenter), and placed in my fridge, with an airlock, to be cooled to 48F for pitching and fermentation. Since the contents of the carboy contract during this cooling, the tendency is for the solution in the airlock to be sucked back into the fermenter. What is the conventional wisdom on this problem... Anyone? Anyone? 2. 2F per day has been recommended (or batted around, at least) as the maximum temperature drop for yeast in fermenting wort. I pitch at fermenting temp, so that part isn't a problem. However... I created a 1 pint starter from my 2124 pouch. This pouch and starter were at room temp (70F) until pitching. There is no way to cool the starter down gradually that I can see. Are my yeastie boys reaching for their winter coats (or survival gear) now that I have pitched them into the 48F wort? Does this shock the yeast? How should lager starters be introduced into the wort? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Seriously, I would appreciate any words of guidance, wisdom, or wit on these issues. My first lager batch was brewed today, and these are the questions left unanswered. Cheers, Tom Wideman <75710.1511 at compuserve.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 95 13:15:49 PDT From: leslie calvin king <lesking at pop01.ny.us.ibm.net> Subject: brew vessels Hello fellow concoctionist: I have been brewing for over twenty years now and reading the digest has been both entertaining and educational. Thanks! There is a lot of questions about using brewing vessels made of different materials. I have tried a lot of them. Crockery, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and glass. I have never brewed a bad beer to this day. ( So my dog-JUDGE- was not thirsty a couple of times, O K?) Someone posted (I am sorry I do not remember who), that the best tool for brewing is your taste, this is completely correct. Taste every step of the process. I do wonder if there is different types of aluminum, because I bought some beer in a store that was in aluminum cans and the taste was very bad. I even tried the bottles, now I have my doubts about glass. Someone asked about food at a beer dinner? There is food dinners and there is beer dinners, I am an expert on beer dinners. Is this an ad? Every thing I own is for sale except my brewing tools. - ------------------------------------- Name: les king E-mail: lesking at ibm.net Date: 03/10/95 Time: 16:59:41 When orbiting new suns, hang on to your old moons - ------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 14:24:39 -0600 From: flemingk at usa.net (Kirk R Fleming) Subject: False Bottom Hole Pattern/Size Recently someone asked about false-bottom hole sizes and spacings used by other brewers. When I began building my system I called around for materials from which to make false bottoms, and got these dimensions from at least one supplier. I've also made three false bottoms now, using two different hole size/pattern schemes, all of which have worked beautifully. First pair of false bottoms: these were built by modifying two aluminum cooling plates sold at K-Mart, Wal-Mart and many hardware stores. Hole sizes here are 1/8" on 3/8" centers, about 900 holes in a 15" diameter disk (after trimming to fit into a Sankey). This represents a plate that is about 6% open, and we were unable to 'stick' it regardless of pumping rate. After a few minutes of recirculation the wort ran clear and there were few if any husks under the false bottom. These plates, even when supported along two diameters from underneath by ss straps, buckled under 22 lb grain loads, and were scrapped. Not really seeing any need for a false bottom in our kettle, I built a single replacement for just the mash tank, using 1/8" aluminum plate. The hole pattern on this plate is 3/32" diamteter holes on 1/4" centers, totalling about 2100 in all. The plate diameter is a bit smaller, about 14.5". This computes to about 9% open area. This screen plate also works well. Each hole is relieved on the underside of the plate with a deep countersink. BTW, by moving from a full diameter plate sitting above the drain pipe to a smaller plated situated below the pipe, the volume under the plate has gone from 3 gal to about 3 quarts. This has apparently affected the max rate at which we can apply heat without scorching. Although it makes brewing calculations (for volumes, mash consistency, etc) easier, I think it has slowed down how quickly we can recirculate, which in turn drives the ramp-up times for mash schedules. I've only got data for a single test mash with the new plate, and it looks like the effect is small. We may not be able to get the 2.5F per minute slope we're used to. Hope this helps whoever asked. Kirk R Fleming Colorado Springs flemingk at usa.net Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 21:41:41 -0230 From: kreddy at public.compusult.nf.ca (Kevin G. Reddy) Subject: frozen malt extract Hi fellow homebrewers I have just started reading the HBD about a couple of months ago so i have decided to make my contribution. I have been brewing for about three years and have brewed at least 25 batches (all successful)of beer. I have done mostly extract brews and only a couple of partial and full mashes. I have only one quick question to ask. Would frozen malt extract have any effect on the quality of the batch of beer that you brew? Thanks; happy homebrewing. Kevin Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 20:22:28 -0400 From: hopfen at iac.net (Ed Westemeier) Subject: BJCP Mid-Atlantic region records If you live in the following areas, you're now part of the "Mid-Atlantic Region" and I now maintain your BJCP judging records: New Jersey Delaware Maryland District of Columbia Pennsylvania Virginia West Virginia Ohio Kentucky If you're a BJCP judge (meaning if you have passed the BJCP exam) I'll handle the administrative chores formerly done in Denver. If you need confirmation of scores, mailing address, etc., I can give you the information that's in the database and take your new address, etc. via e-mail. If you send me your e-mail address, I'll include it in your personal BJCP record so we can contact you more easily in the future. If you'd like to add your e-mail address to the database, update it, or check to make sure I have it correct, drop me a note. Please put in the subject header: BJCP Database, so I can sort my incoming e-mail. Competition organizers are the ones who report judging experience points, and they can report them directly to me. If you're organizing a competition, I can provide mailing labels for informing and inviting judges. **Please only send me mail if you are a BJCP Judge, those are the only records this database has.** If you live in another region of the country, you should soon receive information from the BJCP regional database administrator for your region. Ed ****************************** * Ed Westemeier * * Cincinnati, Ohio * * E-mail: hopfen at iac.net * * Phone: (513) 321-2023 * ****************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 May 1995 21:42:16 +700 From: "Charles Wilmer, Jr." <cwilmer at wave.sheridan.wy.us> Subject: First time I am about to make my forst batch of home brew and I would like any tips anyone might have for a successful first run. Thanks in advance for any help. Charles Wilmer, Jr. Sheridan College Sheridan, WY 82801 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 05 May 95 11:58:00 C From: "Ben Adair (AUS)" <BenA at wayne.com> Subject: San Diego-Mission Bay area pubs i am a homebrewer that will be in San Diego for a week and need some advice on some points of beer interest to visit. TIA! -ben austin, tx ___________________________________________________________________ brew drink sleep brew drink sleep brew drink sleep brew drink sleep brew drink ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1725, 05/08/95