HOMEBREW Digest #1803 Wed 09 August 1995

Digest #1802 Digest #1804


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


Contents:
  Blackberry Peach Lager (Drea )
  WEB page for Portland, OR (Tony McCauley)
  Immersion chiller efficiency (Philip Gravel)
  Basement burners & Lambic Digest (blacksab)
  H2O2 for oxygenation (Aidan "Kicked in his conspiracies" Heerdegen)
  info on pubs in orlando fl (taylorts)
  re:Wow! Would you believe... ("Matthew W. Bryson")
  Breckinridge in Buffalo (WattsBrew)
  re: Prickl[y] Pear Beer (Dick Dunn)
  Faux Bottle Caps (sielinr)
  CPBF user error? (Btalk)
  No sparge for 5 gal brew (Michael A. Genito)
  Re: Prickle Pear Beer (Jeff Benjamin)
  Fermentation temp. (kdschida)
  CPBF vs. 20 cent hose ("William D. Knudson")
  exotic/unusual fruit beers (Tom Keith)
  Great reference - not just ("Michael Bonner")
  full-boil kettles, chillers, Chimay yeast (Dave Riedel)
  Specific Gravity (Tom_Williams_at_RAY__REC__ATLANTA)
  buggers/rubbermaid/software/gcbb ("Wallinger, W. A.")
  Burton salts (Rolland Everitt)
  ethching on bottles (Kenneth K Goodrow)
  Protein and pH/Wit/Wheat (A. J. deLange)
  WANT TO START BREWING (Robert James Bruce jr)
  RE MAC SS (TimFields)
  Etched botttles (TimFields)
  Tansy / Vinegar Wash (Mark Roberson)
  Brewer's Resource malt mill review (John Glaser)
  Malt kiln level, other questions (Keith Chamberlin)
  pH meters (blacksab)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 23:48:49 EDT From: faye at plainfield.bypass.com (Drea ) Subject: Blackberry Peach Lager I've received several requests for this recipe via private e, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it to the list for all you extract brewers (both in and out of closet). Papazian fans may recognize the skeleton of Rocky Racoon's Honey Lager. I have tried to be pretty detailed, for the benefit of those who have never brewed w/ fruit. As always, questions and/or suggestions for future attempts are welcome. For 5 gallons: 4 lbs. Laaglander extra light dried malt extract 2.5 lbs. clover honey 1.5 oz. Cascade hops (boiling) .75 oz. Cascade hops (finishing -- final 4 minutes) 2 lbs. frozen blackberries (in retrospect, I would probably go w/ 2.5 - 3 lbs.) 3 lbs. fresh peaches (peeled, pitted & lightly mashed) 1 pkg. Yeast Lab European Lager yeast Extracts, honey, and boiling hops to 1.5 gal boiling water; 1 hour boil. TURN OFF HEAT, allow wort to cool for a minutes (ideally to temps between 160 &180F), and add fruit, juice and all. Allow to steep. covered, for about 15 minutes; add finishing hops for final few minutes. Pour, unsparged, into 3 gal. cold water in primary fermenter. Pitch yeast when cool; O.G. 1.052 After 3-6 days fermentaion, rack beer into secondary fermenter. (I had big problems w/ this step due to chunks of fruit clogging up my siphon, and ended up losing like 1/2 a gallon of beer. Renee suggested this solution: a nylon stocking as a filter -- leave it to a gal, huh?) Then ya bottle the stuff. F.G. 1.018 . Pretty good after 12 days, better after 3 weeks, delicious after a month. The biggest flaw of this brew is the lack of clarity -- I suspect this is due partly to the pectin of the fruit being "set" by the heat of the wort, and of course to the high percetnage of gross floating things that made it thru my racking tubing. If you're attached to crystal-clear beer, I guess you could try additives like Irish moss or PVP -- I don't know too much about their use, however. The best thing is the taste (clean, tart-sweet fruitiness offset nicely by the Cascade aroma, and v. refreshing on a hot summer's day), followed closely by the glorious peachy-purple color. Decent head, too (something I generally seem to have a problem getting). Enjoy! Drea P.S. Thanks for all the thoughtful responses to my Guys/Exotic Fruit Beer post. I'm working on some individual responses. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 22:59:29 -0500 (CDT) From: afmccaul at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Tony McCauley) Subject: WEB page for Portland, OR I'm looking for a WEB page of info on the Portland, Oregon brewing scene. I tried the AHA, but it's not ready yet. I volunteered to research for a friend who's heading there over Labor Day weekend. Any help will be appreciated. Private responses are acceptable. Send 'em to: afmccaul at ilstu.edu Thanks and hoppy brewing. Tony McCauley . Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 23:40 CDT From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Immersion chiller efficiency ===> Doc (DocsBrew at aol.com) asks about chilling wort: >When I used an immersion chiller, I could drop the temperature from boiling >to about 70-75F in about 15-20 minutes. Am I missing something? What's the >advantage - or the need - for stirring. In the winter with tap water at a temperature below 50^F and using a 30 ft, 3/8" immersion chiller, I can cool to 70-75^F in about half the time. > My rudimentary understanding of >thermochemistry (that was a lloooooong time ago!!) would say that it doesn't >matter a bit whether it's stirred or not. Any thermochemists have an >explanation that says different?? Yes. As the wort chills it forms boundary layers around the tubing. That closest to the tubing is the coolest and that farther away is warmest. These boundary layers act as insulation to retard thermal transport (heat movement). Mechanical agigation (stirring) has the effect of reducing the thickness of the boundary layers, thus decreasing their insulating effect and increasing cooling efficiency. ===> Steve Peters comments about immersion chillers: >Just for the record I used to just let my immersion chiller sit in the wort >and chill, but I became too impatient. I now have a counter-flow chiller >(yippie!) but when I was immersion chilling I always gently stirred w/o a >lid of any kind and never had an infection or HSA bite to my beers. If you >want to see how effective stirring is during the chill, grip the outgoing >chill pipe with one hand, note the tempature, then while holding the pipe >stir the wort slowly. You may have to let go of the chiller to keep from >burning yourself! Exactly! - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 1995 00:26:34 -0500 From: blacksab at siu.edu Subject: Basement burners & Lambic Digest Sorry this is so late, I think I sent it wrongly and I'v just gotten around to some housekeeping. Terry Terfinko asked about the address for Lambic Digest: lambic-request@ longs.lance.colostate.edu> --no subject, SUBSCRIPTION in the body. I just used it about a week ago to re-subscribe after being out of town. Be appraised that unlike this fine journal, your request will not be confirmed and it may take a day or two to start recieving the digest. (:DISCLAIMER: FOR INFORMATION ONLY. I DO NOT RECCOMEND IGNORING MFG's INSTRUCTIONS:) Harry asked about placing burners in the basement. The problems are carbon-monoxide AND using up available oxygen. The first problem can be solved with a good hood (think about Chinese restaurants--wok burners make our setups look like bunsen burners) and a carbon monoxide detector; the second can be solved by feeding the flame directly with outside air. Please note that these problems become MUCH more accute in a tightly built, "superinsulated" house with vapor-barrier &c. Hope this is of help. --Harlan Bauer Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 18:59:30 EST From: Aidan "Kicked in his conspiracies" Heerdegen <aidan at rschp2.anu.edu.au> Subject: H2O2 for oxygenation Full-Name: Aidan "Kicked in his conspiracies" Heerdegen Kirk R Fleming (flemingk at usa.net) wrote: | I'm certainly not a chemist, Well I *might* be .. but I'll deny it if I have to. | but Kurt's suggestion that H2O2 is 'just oxygenated water' seems | analogous (inversely) to saying since table salt is non-toxic so | too must Na and Cl be non-toxic, or like suggesting ozone is just | oxygenated oxygen. His concept may work but I think the reasoning | is bad. No offense intended. Well I am not sure the first analogy is all that good, but the second sounds ok(ish). Disclaimer: When people ask me if I am a chemist I generally deny it, and I have done my level best to forget as much organic chemistry as I could since learning it. Hydrogen Peroxide *might* do some fun stuff to the nice tasty organic molecules in your beer. Under these sorts of conditions (sugary wort) there is a distinct possibility (via some funky oxygen radicals) that it could form some interesting secondary alcohols (which in turn are easily oxidised to ketones). Just a thought Aidan [also a Mac User] - -- e-mail: aidan at rschp2.anu.edu.au, WWW: http://rschp2.anu.edu.au:8080/aidan Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 08:31:34 EDT From: taylorts at hweng.syr.ge.com Subject: info on pubs in orlando fl Can anyone tell if there are any brew pubs or good places to drink good beer in Orlando FL.. I will be staying in the university section of town I guess. Any infomation would help Thanks... Todd.... Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 8:34:55 EDT From: "Matthew W. Bryson" <MWBryson at LANMAIL.RMC.COM> Subject: re:Wow! Would you believe... I don't know what else you may have done right, but I invariably get a similar result whenever I use Edme dry " berserker" yeast. From start to finish of ferment in about 24-48 hours. Amazing. Matthew W. Bryson Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 08:52:35 -0400 From: WattsBrew at aol.com Subject: Breckinridge in Buffalo I will be moving to Buffalo soon and have heard that the Breckenridge Brewery is about to open in the Buffalo area. Does anyone out there know about when and where this is happening. TIA Bill Watt-Wattsbrew at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Aug 95 07:40:09 MDT (Tue) From: rcd at raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn) Subject: re: Prickl[y] Pear Beer Robin Hanson (Rhanson at nmsu.edu) wrote: > In my garden I have several cactii covered with Prickle Pear fruit. When is > the best time to pick the fruit? They are currently red/green and about 1 > 1/2 inch tall and 1 inch wide. They should be fully red, or all but a tiny bit at the base of the fruit, before picking. Pick using leather gloves or tongs; don't even think about touching them bare-handed. > Charlie Papizan has a recipe for Prickle Pear melomel in one of his books, > but does anyone have a recipe for a beer? How about a Prickle Pear Weiss beer? Prickly pear has a very delicate flavor. First, this means you need a lot of fruit--the recipe for prickly-pear melomel published in _Zymurgy_ many years ago called for 75 large fruit for a 5-gallon batch. (Robin's fruit would be described as just above "small".) Second, it means that you can't have any other substantial flavors or the prickly pear will get lost in the background of the taste. That's why it works with a melomel. A light wheat beer *might* work out. - --- Dick Dunn rcd at talisman.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA ...Simpler is better. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 10:18:31 -0400 From: sielinr at cris.com Subject: Faux Bottle Caps In #1800, Neal Christensen asked: >does anyone know where to get custom printed bottle >caps? Post or email would be appreciated. Has anyone written to Neal yet about caps? I'm interested in the cost, too, though I'm sure it'd be prohibitively high. (My wife hit the roof when I bought my cider keg. Yikes!) As an alternative, I'm writing a Windows program that allows people to print logos/text to a 1-inch sticker. The stickers fit great on the caps, and they're cheap, cheap, cheap. Any interest in the program (i.e., motivation for me to work faster?) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 11:52:21 -0400 From: Btalk at aol.com Subject: CPBF user error? Russell M replies to Micah M's comment about inconsistancies in the air level and CO2 level being most likely the result of user error with: "often "user error" says to me that the device was not as easy to use as it should be." Russell, must be you have never used a counterpressure bottle filler. They are not that easy or convenient to use. Good results come with a little experience. I've used my homemade version (most like the Foxx model) for a couple years with pretty good success for contest entries or the occasional gift beer. They are enough of a PITA that a dozen or so bottles is my limit. Whatever I CP fill is not going into long term storage (more than 2 months), so I don't care if there is a little bit of air left in the bottle, as long as the carbonation level is OK. I feel fairly confident that less air remains in the bottle than with conventional filling methods. User error? That's when I: forgot to turn off the beer valve and beer squirts all over when I removed the filler, or when I forgot to turn off the CO2 valve and an entire bottle of weizen got blasted all over me, the walls and ceiling ;) It is my own fault for not paying attention. I prefer the $.20 hose filler for gift or club meeting beers. Re: lager yeasts and wheat beer. Traditionally the lager yeast is introduced when priming for bottling to aid in conditioning. Not that you really need to use it... Regards, Bob Talkiewicz, BInghamton, NY <btalk at aol.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 12:18:22 -0400 From: genitom at nyslgti.gen.ny.us (Michael A. Genito) Subject: No sparge for 5 gal brew I've brewed extract and extract/grain for 5 years, and have just brewed and bottled my first all grain batch. Since I only have a 16qt brewpot and no wort chiller, I made a 2.5 gal batch as follows: 3.5 lbs 2 row British Lager Malt 1/2 oz Hallertauer Leaf Hops (boiling) 1/4 oz Hallertauer Leaf Hops (flavor) 1/4 oz Hallertauer Leaf Hops (aroma) One package European lager yeast (this is dry - not a liquid yeast) 3/4 cup dry malt Gold (Briess) Put grain into picnic cooler. Add 3.5 qts 168 degree water. Close cooler and mash (infusion) for 90 min. Test for conversion. Sparge with 2.75 gal 168 degree water. I sparged into a homemade lauter tun consisting of a bottling bucket with spigot into which a bucket drilled with gazillion holes fit into - similar to the "zap tap lauter tun" described in Papazian's Joy of Home Brewing. The liquid was drained into the 16qt brewpot. Bring to boil. Add boiling hops. Add flavor hops 30 min into boil. Add aroma hops last 2 min of boil. Having no chiller, I cooled by placing pot into sink of ice water and stirring gently. Once cooled (about 20 min), I sparged into fermenter, added yeast and capped. This fermented well about 4 days. I bottled on fifth day, using the gold briess dry malt instead of corn sugar. I am anxiously awaiting the results, testing to be done in about 4 weeks. I use Grolsch bottles. The beer appears to be clearing well, and in fact appears to be very pale in color. If I did not want to go to the investment of a larger cooler, brewpot and a wort chiller, is it possible to brew a good 5 gal batch with my current equipment? One brew supply store told me that their customers have had great success with mashing 1 qt of 168 water for every pound of grain, and sparging with 1 qt 168 water for every pound of grain. Boil as you would with an extract, adding hops as desired, and sparge the boiling liquid into your fermenter, then adding enough cold (as cold as you can get it) water to bring the volume to 5.5 gals (1/2 gal would be lost to sediment). Has anyone else tried this method? I'm willing to experiment, the only loss being the cost of 8 lbs grain and maybe 2 oz hops, plus my time, which is worthless to some. In concept, it would appear that perhaps the theory is that all the maltiness and sugars available for fermentation would have been removed with this sparge water. I am not sure of this. Also, I wonder if re-sparging with the same water, in other words additional run throughs, might continue extracting the good stuff. Any comments are welcome. Please dont flame this experimenter. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 10:33:14 MDT From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com> Subject: Re: Prickle Pear Beer > In my garden I have several cactii covered with Prickle Pear fruit. When is > the best time to pick the fruit? They are currently red/green and about 1 > 1/2 inch tall and 1 inch wide. Wait until the fruits are completely red and just slightly soft. They should be moist, pulpy and sweet when ripe. Be careful when handling, though! Wear heavy gloves and thoroughly remove all the small fuzzy bumps -- the "fuzz" is tiny spines and is very annoying to get on your skin. As for recipes, I would use a lightly-hopped pale ale or wheat beer for the base, then make like any other fruit beer (I add pureed fruit to the secondary). I'd start with one to one-and-a-half pounds of fruit per gallon of beer. Why a lighter beer for a base? To let the fruit flavor and color show through. And prickly pear fruit is a color unlike any other, kind of a fluorescent magenta. It ought to be pretty impressive. - -- Jeff Benjamin benji at fc.hp.com Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado "Think! It ain't illegal yet." -- George Clinton Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 9:51:07 PDT From: kdschida at vines.dsd.litton.com Subject: Fermentation temp. Just a quick question for the collective. I'm interested in brewing a sweet stout for the first time (I've been an Ale man so far, & I'm trying to expand my horizons), but don't know if it needs to be fermented below my temp. capabilities. The recipe I'm thinking of using ("Colorado Crankcase Stout" from CatsMeow) suggests Wyeast 1028: British Ale. Due to it being an Ale yeast can I go up into the high 60's, or because it's a Stout recipe - do I need to keep it colder? TIA, Kurt Dschida kdschida at vines.dsd.litton.com or 76132.733 at compuserve.com Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Aug 95 12:43:37 EDT From: "William D. Knudson" <71764.203 at compuserve.com> Subject: CPBF vs. 20 cent hose I agree with Jim Busch. The 20 cent hose has its place its quick and easy. But it does not do the job like CPBF. The test is as follows: fill one bottle with each technique. Put away for a month or two, then compare. Voila! There you have it. For me if I'm going to consume within a day or so, its the hose. Otherwise its the CPBF. By the way, I have been using the Braukunst. (Disclaimer, blah, blah) I don't find it awkward to use, especially after one important modification. The pre-set non-adjustable gas release valve, I found to be annoying. It is set to ~3 pounds? This limited the choices I had for gas levels on the beer. I think that 3# is too low - too much foam. I replaced this bleeder valve with a brass spigot from the hardware store: now I'm in control ... well ... as much as I'm ever going to be when it comes to bottling. I take the results of the Zymurgy tests with a grain of salt. I don't recall how the test was conducted. Was it multiple operators, throw out the high and low-take the average or just the same guy? Familiar or not, a panel test of several plain ol' sixpack guys would be relevant. After all how many of us are professional CPBF operators? I do wish that Zymurgy could have conducted the Lead content test as part of thier review. Bill "Ich kann Deutsch besser sprechen, wenn ich etwas Bier getrunken habe" Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 11:49 CDT From: nr706 at mcs.com (Tom Keith) Subject: exotic/unusual fruit beers >Anybody know of any recipes for beer made with exotic/unusual fruits? I recently made a beer with dried cashew fruit that came out pretty well. I made a basic pale ale, lightly hopped (extract, even - only a little CaraPIls, crystal and wheat malt). At the same time I made the base beer, I got a pound of dried cashew apples, chopped them up and soaked them in just enough cheap vodka to cover them. I strained and added this vodka/fruit extract to the secondary just prior to bottling. Fruit comes through, but it's not overpowering. It took about a month in the bottle for the flavors to come together. One data point. - ---------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ Tom Keith | Advertising, Promotion and New Product | Thomas Keith & Associates | Development for smaller companies and | 1016 Mulford Street | smaller divisions of large companies. | Evanston, IL 60202-3317 | Now! Multimedia and WWW development! | voice: 708-328-1282 +-----------------------------------------+ Fax: 708-328-2242 | check out our Web page | e-mail nr706 at mcs.com | http://www.mcs.com/~nr706/home.html | - ---------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Aug 1995 13:22:09 -0500 From: "Michael Bonner" <michael_bonner at smtpgw.musc.edu> Subject: Great reference - not just Rich Larsen's query regarding the behavior of proteins in an acidic medium reminded me of a great book I've been meaning to tell you folks about. (Sorry, Rich, I can't answer your question, but I'm sure Harold can) _On Food and Cooking_, by Harold McGee, is a wonderful reference on the science of cooking. It's very readable and extremely interesting. There is a section on alcohol which, though certainly not as complete as a brewing text, includes information on malting and mashing of grains, basic brewing, wine making, and distilling. There is one whole chapter on the biochemistry of food with specific sections on sugars and proteins and their behavior during cooking, including the browning reactions. The non-brewing stuff is fascinating as well, including the best explanations of emulsions and foams I've ever read. He even goes into speciation and plate tectonics - he's got electron micrographs of ICE CREAM and MAYONNAISE, for cryin' out loud.... Oops, sorry. I'm starting to rant. Great book, standard disclaimer. Sorry about the very tangential post, but I think it's worth it. Michael in Chas., SC, where I have not brewed since June, and I'm jonesing hard. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 1995 11:02:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Dave Riedel <RIEDEL at ios.bc.ca> Subject: full-boil kettles, chillers, Chimay yeast I've been watching rec.crafts.brewing for awhile, but I am a new subscriber to the HBD... here goes... I am currently still brewing with extracts but I hope to move on to partial- mash and full-mash within the next 6 months. With an eye on this goal, I would like to begin doing full-boil brews. However, my casual watch for 8 gallon brew kettles has thus far come up empty. Miller suggests a 33 quart enamel-ware kettle as an inexpensive option, but I've not found any of this size. Can anyone suggest where to look? If I do a full-boil, I will need a chiller (I've been using a 'kettle in cold water method + add 2 gallons of cold' method). I've read the chiller files from ftp.stanford.edu and made note of the comments here, but I still find myself torn between the immersion (water through coils) and the counter- flow approach. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on which method might be preferable over the long term.. ie. through my extract phase and into all grain. (perhaps E-mail replies would be best, I'll submit a summary of results) Lastly, I'm going to brew a Trappist-style ale next. My large bottle of Chimay sits patiently waiting to be consumed and its yeast revived. For planning purposes, I was wondering if anyone could give me an estimate on how long it will take the yeast to revive? In other words, how many days before I will be able to add some sterile wort to build up a larger culture? Thanks, Dave Riedel Victoria, BC Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 95 14:07:09 EST From: Tom_Williams_at_RAY__REC__ATLANTA at ccmail.eo.ray.com Subject: Specific Gravity In HBD #1802 Sergio Escorza comments on specific gravity: > So, Am I missing something here? Water SG must be 1 at any temp I believe specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of a fluid to the density of water at 4C. The fluid in question could be water, either at 4C or at some other temperature. If it was water, then the SG would be 1 *only* if the temperature was 4C. At any other temperature, the SG of water would be something other than 1. While it is true that SG is a ratio, it is still a valid expression of the density of a fluid. In other words, the density of a fluid stated as specific gravity describes it's density just as accurately as stating a number of lb/cu ft, gm/ml, slugs/cu ft, or whatever, and can be converted by multiplying by the appropriate conversion factor (I like 62.4266 lb/cuft). Similarly, pressure is frequently expressed in atmospheres, which are just units of 14.696 psia. My apologies to the SI people. Tom Williams Raytheon Engineers & Constructors twilliams at ccgate.ueci.com Norcross, Georgia, USA Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Aug 1995 12:03:12 PDT From: "Wallinger, W. A." <WAWA at chevron.com> Subject: buggers/rubbermaid/software/gcbb From: Wallinger, W. A. (Wade) To: OPEN ADDRESSING SERVI-OPENADDR Subject: buggers/rubbermaid/software/gcbb Date: 1995-08-08 09:37 Priority: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ well, i kegged my batch of brown ale with the white stuff floating on top. the taste was wonderful. absolutely no hint of tartness or sourness to this batch (yet?). i dissolved 5 cambden tablets in boiling water and added to the keg. does anyone know whether cambden tablets will actually kill bacteria (which is what i infer from winemaking info) and if so is it ok to dissolve the tablets in boiling water, or does the heat denature them? i saw a 10 gallon rubbermaid cylindrical cooler for $30. model number 1610 as i recall. is this model suitable for mashing and sparging? it is sold out of the box, so there was no reference to its ability to handle hot liquids. "R" (with one r) asks about the value of brewing software. i use a very simple spreadsheet to develop the recipe for a batch (og, ibu, srm), to convert gravity readings to standard temperature, and to keep my brewing and tasting notes. i find that this is a handy way to retain my brewing records. And finally, our brewclub is on the internet. we have posted the newsletter for the Gulf Coast Brews Brothers at http://www.he.tdl.com/~murray/gcbb.html. we're located on the mississippi and alabama gulf coast. we'll keep a calendar of club events online. feel free to join us if you're in the area. wawa - brewing contraband in mississippi Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 18:36:58 -0400 From: af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov (Rolland Everitt) Subject: Burton salts I am hoping to use Burton salts dissolved in distilled water for brewing my next batch of ale. I just received the salts, but there is no indication of how to mix them. Does anyone know what weight of Burton salts to add to a gallon of H2O? Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 14:28:08 -0500 (CDT) From: Kenneth K Goodrow <goodrow at orion.etsu.edu> Subject: ethching on bottles I have had the same thing happen to my bottles, but I have an inkling that it is tied to bleach-cleaining them. I had some cute little 12 oz. Guinness bottles, but they have a rough looking mist of etching-like appearance on the inside. I have scrubbed and clean again and again, but for some reason the stuff is there to stay. I'm not sure it is from bleach solutions. Does anyone know for sure? And if so, how much bleach is too much and how long does it take too much to destroy equipment? The white hazy stuff washes from my plastic tubing, but (if it is the same residue) doesn't come off the bottles. Kenn Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 19:36:44 -0500 From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange) Subject: Protein and pH/Wit/Wheat In #1802 Rich Larsen asks about protein coagulation and pH: This can get to be a pretty complex subject but the analogy between coagulation of protein in the kettle and coagulation of egg white is a valid one. Proteins are made of amino acids and the net electrical charge on amino acids is a function of the pH. It is positive when the pH is lower than the "iso electric point", neutral when the pH equals the iso electric value and negative when the pH is greater than the iso electric point value. Things with like charge repel so it seems to make sense that coagulation would be enhanced if the wort pH were close to the iso electric point. Another theory has been advanced that the proteins fall into two groups with different iso electric points so that the best pH is between these with the result that the proteins in one group are positively charged and those in the other negatively charged. As dissimilar charges attract this supposedly leads to enhanced coagulation. If the electric charge theory is correct then coagulation would be impaired if the pH gets either too high or too low and indeed Hough, Briggs, Stevens and Young report (Vol II p 458) that coagulation diminishes below pH 5 which is about the lower limit of where we would like the kettle pH to be. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Jay Reeves asks about Wyeast 3944 (Belgian White) at temperatures in the range 60 - 68. I regularly use this strain at 60F and get a very active ferment (foam fills the 25% headspace in my fermenter and flows over - messy). _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Jim Dickinson asked about yeast in wheat beer: When Warner says 110 ml liquid yeast I assume he means 110 ml slurry, not starter. That's quite a bit. As a wild stab I'm guessing a couple million cells/ml in the beer. The lager yeast is used only for the "Flaschengaerung" i.e. the bottle conditioning fermentation. As such the usual considerations of pitching levels do not apply. Remember that although you have racked off the sediment at the time of bottling there are still quite a few cells of the original strain in suspension. Warner even mentions that pitching the conditioning yeast is probably surperfluous if the beer has not been filtered or centrifuged. A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore! ajdel at interramp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 19:49:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert James Bruce jr <rb5f+ at andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: WANT TO START BREWING I have been reading some of the messages on this B-board and am have become very interested in brewing. If anyone has the adresses or numbers of any catalogs or starter books, I would appreciate the info. Thanks Bob Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 21:18:29 -0400 From: TimFields at aol.com Subject: RE MAC SS In #1802, Fredrik states: >There are a few spreadsheets for MS Excel which works on the mac. And, a bit later, adds: > Excel is quite expensive so if you don't have access to it >already I wouldn't recommend it (unless you are going to use it for some >other purpose). These spreadsheets should be loadable by SS pgms other than Excel (tm or whatever). I was able to import one into Clarisworks, and it works pretty well. Lost some of the formatting tho, but the calcs are ok. -Tim timf at relay.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 21:14:51 -0400 From: TimFields at aol.com Subject: Etched botttles in #1802, states: >I decided to soak them for a while in a powder cleaner I got from my >local supplier which I assume is similiar to B-Brite. Anyway, it >appears that the bottles have been etched by the cleaner - they have >a rough feel on the outside. >Should I disgard these bottles ? I had the same problem. The local brew supply shop I purchased from claimed that the B-Brite formula had changed. They had reports of more sudsing, and yellow lemmon-smelling crystals in the powder. They checked with their supplier and were told the formula HAD changed, and supplier would NOT divulge the new recipe. My shop discontinued carrying B-Brite for now. As for the bottles, I tossed mine into the recycling bin. -Tim timf at relay.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 19:23:15 -0600 From: roberson at alkali.chem.utah.edu (Mark Roberson) Subject: Tansy / Vinegar Wash Howdy all, A while back someone asked about using tansy in his beer, and was warned not to do it on account of how the plant is poisonous. Yesterday I was looking up one of the absinthe home pages when an interesting fact caught my eye: tansy contains thujone, which is the principle component of oil of wormwood and is the active ingredient in real absinthe. The pharmacology of thujone seems too be ill-understood, but it is reputed to be a halucinogen at small doses and a neurotoxin at large doses. No one seems to know exactly what constitutes "small" or "large"; anecdotal evidence suggests that 2-4 mg thujone in 1.5 oz 150 proof absinthe produces a high different from that of alcohol alone, and that chronic use produces disabilities which may or may not be identical with alcoholism. So, why don't you try some and get back to us on how it works ;> Also, I was wondering whether anyone had followed through on the short thread about washing yeast with vinegar. The pH would be correct straight from the bottle, but I have been mulling over the fact that acetic acid crosses cell membranes far more readily than mineral acides and the larger organic acids which are more typically used in acid washes. This may well be one of those "true but completely irrelevent" facts which constantly mess up quasiscientific speculation. Hoppy brewing, Mark Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 95 18:47:53 -0700 From: John Glaser <glaser at widlar.ece.arizona.edu> Subject: Brewer's Resource malt mill review I have received one response (positive) to my request for info on the Brewer's Resource malt mill, from Dan Ritter. Thanks, Dan! I was looking at this mill sin since (whoops, too bad I'm using a crappy Unix mail editor) at $89.50, it is substantially cheaper than both the JSP adjustable malt mill and the Glatt mill, and appears to be quite a step up from the Philmill (which I would get, except that it appears to have no bearings, and our club mill is already quite worn. I also find the Philmill hard to turn. Anyway, here is Dan's review: ******** I've used the BrewTek Malt Mill for four batches and it seems to work great. I like the quality of the crush and the thing is bombproof. Like their ad says, you can't find an adjustable, two-roll mill for that price. I used a set of feeler guages to set the gaps I most commonly use and then permanently marked the positions on the mill housing. The mill is still new to me but so far so good. Dan Ritter. ******** After asking for a little more info, I got: ******** The rollers are about 1 1/2" wide and 2 1/2" diameter. The gap adjustment is made by loosening set screws that hold collars on both sides of the fixed roller (the other is the"power" roller attached to the handle). Simply rotate the collars to achieve the desired gap. The instructions recommend turning both collars at the same time and approximately the same amount to avoid binding the adjustment mechanism. I use a set of feeler guages and mess around with one side then the other 'till I get it right. The ONLY minor inconvenience I've experienced is when I get the left side of the roller adjusted to say .050, and then the right side to .050, the left side changes slightly and I have to go back and fine tune it. I have my favorite settings marked on the housing and I just recheck the gap now and then. I check the gap to within a .001 tolerance so it is possible to be very accurate. The mill weighs a ton (good!) and when bolted to my workbench is very solid. The hopper is a plastic bleach bottle with the botton cut out and holds about 3 lbs. Again, I don't have a lot of experience with mills (I've used this mill for about 6 batches so far) but I like the consistency of the grind and the solid feel of the mill. Feel free to post this. Dan ******** Just thought you might want to see this, in case you are contemplating a mill purchase. John Glaser glaser at widlar.ece.arizona.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 00:25:35 -0400 From: chamber at sunland.gsfc.nasa.gov (Keith Chamberlin) Subject: Malt kiln level, other questions First time poster, long time lurker here. A couple of easy questiions, I think. Some of y'all know me but I've been brewing for about 9 months and doing all grain for about 5 months, with one blue ribbon under my belt. :) 1) Why are Belgian dark malts higher kilned than English, and I guess American malts, although I haven't seen many American Black or Chocolate malts. ie Belgian Chocolate seems to be around 425 while M&F Chocolate is around 350L. 2) How is it that some people are able to respond to some posts before the HBD is published? Do other people get this in another format? 3) I don't want to open up another thread about oxygenating but I saw a new magazine, forget the name, have a question columnist claim that you can over areate your wort but I have read in HBD that you can't over areate. Is there a real definitive reference? I have some other questions but can't think of them now. Cheers, keith Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 1995 00:28:04 -0500 From: blacksab at siu.edu Subject: pH meters I'm in the market for a digital pH meter. Anyone out there have any educated suggestions? Caveats? Price range: $200.00 or less. I suppose I could go a little higher if someone can offer me a compelling reason to do so, but I'd rather not. I'm already a bad enough tool junkie.:-) I just recieved a catalog/handbook from Omega Engineering ("The pH and Conductivity Handbook"). Lots of really neat stuff, mostly high end, but they have a few designed for "field-work". Has anyone dealt with them or know anything about them? Basically what I'm looking for is a fairly accurate, fuss-free meter--the pH equivalent of my Fluke 33 DMM. (No affiliation with Fluke, but their meters are excellent). TIA. -Harlan Bauer Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1803, 08/09/95