---

   FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
        Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
        Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!

Contents:
  herbs in brews ((John (The Coyote) Wyllie))
  Cream Stout3 (Schwab_Bryan at CCMAIL.ncsc.navy.mil)
  Enough Protein? (Charlie Scandrett)
  better in mini-keg than in bottle? (Eugene Sonn)
  100% Wheat Malt Extract (BRIAN F. THUMM)
  Banana Beer, Politicalization of the HBD ("Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM")
  Re: Broken Blanched Berries (korz at pubs.ih.lucent.com)
  Assorted stuff (David Raitt)
  Fourth Annual Peach State Brewoff (egross at emory.edu)
  Cooking with beer (Mark Garthwaite)
  European Brew Tour (Mark Garthwaite)
  5 liter mini-kegs (Michael Mahler/Shiva Corporation)
  Beer from wood/bisulfites/wheat hot break/aluminum pots/pectic enzyme (korz at pubs.ih.lucent.com)
  Fruit/Pumps (RUSt1d?)
  Blue Whale Ale ("Thompson, Brian")
  Fermentation Woes (Michael Beatty)
  Homebrewing unlawful in Utah? (kmark at tcd.net)
  RIMS and Grain Mill Web Page ("C.D. Pritchard")
  Nutty Flavor (Runnur2 at aol.com)
  Water Questions ("KEVIN FONS Q/T MFG X7814 )
  Small Corneys ("Jonathan K. ward" )
  Canadian brewers? ((Shawn Scolack))
  Why not Aluminum (Nymwegen at aol.com)

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: ccoyote at sunrem.com (John (The Coyote) Wyllie)
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 00:30:43 -0600
Subject: herbs in brews

> 
>From: Vincent A Voelz <voel0009 at gold.tc.umn.edu> 
>Subject: Ground Ivy instead of Hops 
> 
>... weed known as Creeping Charlie, or Ground Ivy.  He stumbled upon several 
>references claimimg that this herb can be used to brew beer. 
> 
>It turns out that before hops were introduced to England, ales were being 
>bittered by various wild herbs, including ground ivy, also known as gill- 
>over-the-ground, cat's foot, robin-in-the-hedge, alehoof, alecost, field balm.
>Its taste has been described as very bitter, somewhat minty, and has been used
>traditionally to make a bitter tea, as well as having uses as a folk medicinal
>herb and in beer. 
> 
>MY goal is to try and brew up a batch of a traditional English ale bittered 
>with ground ivy, in hopes of reproducing a beer with some historical 
>accuracy. 
> 
>brew an extract batch of some standard English "Bitter" (probably Papazian's 
>Righteous Real Ale) replacing hops with Minnesota-grown ground ivy from my 
>back yard! 
> 
*  Herbs have been used to bitter beers and meads from early times. They 
lost favor in beer making after the discovery of hops, useful for both 
their bittering qualities, and protection from infection. 
 
Such herbs as rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, basil, lavendar, lemongrass 
and others have been used to make a mix known as GRUIT- often bound in a 
sachet like a tea bag. I suppose if you used herbs from your own yard you 
could call it GREW-IT, eh?  :)  Nyuck.   Herbs flavors can be added by 
steeping, boiling, or as an infusion. Seeds- known as spices are commonly 
used also.  Hence the illusive magical properties of coriander.  (anyone 
want some?  Just harvested a LOAD!)  Even such things as wormwood have been 
added to the ?hallucinogenic? drink absinthe.  Don't try this if you like 
having two ears. 
 
A word of caution: some herbs are not safe for internal consumption.  Some 
are intended for external use only.  Some can even be toxic to differing 
degrees.  Many should especially be avoided by pregnant women, and small 
children, but you wouldn't be offering them homebrew anyway....right? 
 
 
>*** 
>From: Paul A. Hausman <paul at lion.com> 
>Subject: Herbal Flavorings -- Has Anyone Tried...? 
> 
>OK, Summer's dragging on and I've been brewing up a lot of standard 
>old pale ales and Bavarian weiss.  Suddenly I get this stupid 
>urge to get creative.  My homegrown herbs are full and fat. 
> 
>So, I'm thinking of taking a 5 gal batch of a simple light 
>ale, low hopping; splitting it to 2-5 secondaries and 
>experimenting with a gallon or two of various fresh-herbed 
>ales.   A few of the things I've considered putting into 
>the mix, alone or in combination, are horseraddish, dill (Maybe 
>with some cucumber too -- beer and a pickle in a glass?), 
>rosemary, sage, mustard, and basil. 
> 
 
* hey-hold the pickle, just get one-a-them pickle buckets and ferment in it!HA.
 
>Anyone had any experience putting any of these (or anything 
>else really unique) into an ale? 
 
* I had hoped to do exactly that same thing with a mead, but haven't yet. 
I'd be inclined to avoid something as strongly flavored as horseradish, but 
hell I've fermented milk, so who am I to talk!   And jalapenos are strong 
so... 
You might want to go for the more usual culinary herbs as they have proven 
flavors and aromas known to be pleasant, while the skunkweed might make 
your brew taste like an imported Corona.    The herbs mentioned at the top 
were some I recall having seen in the old-time mead recipes.  Although 
there were many others which might not be readily available here in 
America, though grown commonly on hillsides in Britain.  But, who knows 
what  you might find! 
 
Check the archives at stanford for MLD postings of historic meads. Quite nice. 
 
>Should I have any concerns with killing or suppressing the yeast 
>(do these fella's like spicy food?) 
 
* Some herbs may have antibacterial, and possible even anti fungal 
activities, but in the quantities you are likely to use for a brew, it 
should not be a problem. As stated above, hops were chosen in part due to 
their anitbacterial nature.  You might be more likely to interfere with 
head quality than much else. 
 
 
                Just 2c worth of wasted  bandwidth banter from the Coyote. 
 
- -------------------------------------------- 
/// The Cosmic Coyote \\\ ccoyote at sunrem.com 
- -------------------------------------------- 
 
 

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From: Schwab_Bryan at CCMAIL.ncsc.navy.mil
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 06:46:13 CDT
Subject: Cream Stout3

 
     To the parties who reponsed to my inquiry: 
     Jim Bush 
     Brad Fabbri 
     George DePiro 
     Eugene Sonn 
     Michael Caprara 
     Thank you very much for the clarification on which to use in my Cream 
     ( Milk) Stout. 
     I did not get a chance to respond Friday because I actually had to 
     perform my job function here at Club Fed! ( Imagine that, Federal 
     Employees who actually work on friday's, must be an election year!) 
     What I plan on doing is this: 
 
     Now if this doesn't seem acceptable to any of those Stout Heads out 
     there, by all means get down on me, and set me straight. I mean if I 
     am going to ponder my Brewin techniques on your (and mine) tax 
     dollars, you have a right to input where I go wrong! 
 
     7# Brit. Pale Malt 
     8oz. 40/50L Crystal Malt 
     6oz. Roasted Barley 
     6oz. Black Patent Malt 
     1/4 stick of Brewers Licorice 
     8tsp. Gypsum ( added to mash water) 
     Northern Brewer Hops  at  8%AAU 
     ?? English Ale WYeast 
     Plan on using a Double Decoction Mash 
     and adding the Lactose to the Secondary. 
 
     On another note, I also have toyed with fresh fruit additions as well 
     as fruit flavored extracts.  To be honest, strickly from a "purist" 
     standpoint, I prefer the fresh fruit added to the secondary.(For 
     color and aroma)Of course I steep the fruit in a pot of 150 degree 
     water for roughly 15-20 min then cool down to pitching temps prior to 
     making the addition to the secondary. If I use frozen fruit, I just 
     thaw, and add to secondary. I generally use about a pound to pound 
     and a half per gallon and usually my results have been rewarding with 
     color and flavor. ( my current mead is an exception though, 10 pounds 
     of cherries for a 5 gallon batch)In my humble opinion, extracts are 
     "give aways" due to their "overpowering" aroma.  And the addition of 
     these extracts prior to bottling or keggin' just doesn't sit to well 
     with me. I like the possibilities of potential volcanoes when I add 
     the fruit to the secondary and forget to use the blow-off tube! :) 
     Thanks again to those to assisted me with my Cream Stout concerns! 
 
     Bryan 
 

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From: Charlie Scandrett <merino at buggs.cynergy.com.au>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 22:23:55 +1000 (EST)
Subject: Enough Protein?

Chuck Berkins posted, 
>you still have to worry about proteins non-specifically 
>adsorbing to the filters <SNIP> 
>If you have enough protein to be filtered, however, you can just do 
>it anyway, because once the filter has adsorbed its fill, it won't eat any 
>more. Does anybody know how much protein is in solution in beer? (I suppose 
>that depends). 
 
Most beers contain 300-1000 ppm total nitrogen, which (when multiplied by 
6.25) represents < 1% protein in beer. A very small proportion is FAN, and 
another very small proportion > 100,000 MW. The biggest fraction is in the 
5,000-12,000 MW range. 
 
It has been experimentally proved that there is about 4-5 times as much 
Medium Weight surface active proteins in an all malt, single step infusion 
mashed beer to hold an acceptable head.(As long as lipids are low enough) A 
head measuring device and progressive dilution was used to come to this 
conclusion. However in decoction with medium modification malts it is a lot 
more critical.(I forget how much excess) 
 
With all malts available in the US and UK it seems practically impossible 
using all malt recipes to have too little FAN (amino acids), too much is 
more likely. Thus, I can't think of any reason to spend more than ten 
minutes between 45C and 55C?(*peptidase* rest) You will already have enough 
FAN, and over-reduction of Medium Weight Proteins is only significant in 
this range. 
 
The "protein rest" (I dislike the use of that general term, it is 
misleading) in Fix's 40-*60*-70 schedule is at the top end for a 
*proteinase* rest and would only reduce High Molecular Weight Proteins to 
Medium anyway. I can't see much chance of loss of head or mouth feel 
proteins in infusion mashed beers that minimise the 45C-55C time. Lipids 
(from fast runoff shallow lauters) are a more likly culprit with head problems.
 
The good people at Amicon Tech. (thanks for your research John Carpenter) 
say that 
> Their 10,000 MWCO(molecular weight cutoff) 
>membrane is 10 Angstroms, the 100,000 MWCO is 100 Angstroms....she said 
>1 million = 1000 Angstroms or 0.1 microns, and she thought the 
>relationship was linear. So.... 10 million MWCO is 1 micron. A 5 micron 
>filter would only filter out globular proteins with molecular weights of 
>greater than 50 million. That's a pretty big protein, <SNIP> 
>about 7-10 microns. So my conclusion is you can filter your beer through a 
>5 micron filter and remove the yeast and any remaining trub and not have 
>to worry about filtering out any of the other "flavor" proteins. 
 
The *most* haze forming proteins are of the order of 50,000 plus. The 
"MMWP's" of brewing are of the order of 5,000-50,000. These are the 
mouthfeel and head retaining proteins, although they overlap with haze 
forming ones. Proteins greater than 1,000,000 (HMWP) have no chance of 
surviving a 60 minute boil and end up in the trub. (One reason for a 58-60C 
rest is to reduce these HWMPs to Medium Weights that could survive the 
boil.) Thus with a 5 micron filter, *all* soluble beer protein should pass 
through except for "protein binding" to the filter medium itself. (As Chuck 
Burkins pointed out.) Some yeast would also get through 5 microns. 
 
>From Amicon's info above, a 2 micron or even 0.2 micron filter would also 
not seem to be a problem. However 0.2 micron sterile filtrations in 
breweries reportedly give a thinner mouthfeel although Amicon says molecular 
weights as high as 1,000,000 should sail through? Something doesn't gel 
here? I will research this further unless someone has data. 
 
It is interesting to note that the "Ice Beer" technique was partly directed 
at getting tiny icicles to form (nucleate) around all insolubles (yeast, 
haze, bacteria) however small, and thus allow sterile filtration at larger 
micron ratings, preserving the mouthfeel of larger solubles. Pastuerisation 
with the same filters would give a good beer too, but that cost more and 
wasn't as sexy for the marketing department. 
 
 At present 5 micron would seem to filter fat yeast, yeast flocs, and larger 
haze flocs. Smaller yeast and *any* soluble protein should pass through.(As 
John Carpenter posted) BTW, this is Fix's preferred filter pore size, he 
likes some invisible yeast in his beer. Also, avoiding 45C-55C peptidase 
rest, and including a 58-60C proteinase rest will maximise your available 
MMWPs. 
 
The relationship between these and dextrins in contribution to mouthfeel 
would be interesting to understand fully. 
 
Charlie (Brisbane, Australia) 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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From: Eugene Sonn <eugene at dreamscape.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 08:35:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: better in mini-keg than in bottle?

I had some friends visiting this weekend and as we were sampling a 
fruit-wheat beer, they both said they liked the beer much better as 
sampled from a 5l mini-keg than from bottles.  Has anyone had such an 
experience.  I started using the mini-kegs for convenience reasons, but 
this would be a great boost if kegged beer tasted better.  I have a 
suspicion that maybe my friends are just not as adept at pouring homebrew 
from a bottle and the "better" beer simply had no yeast dregs. 
 
Suggestion/hypothesis to explain this would be most welcome. 
 
Eugene Sonn 
brewer in chief, Hosehead Brewery 

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From: BRIAN F. THUMM <THUMMBF at GWSMTP.NU.COM>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 08:23:28 -0400
Subject: 100% Wheat Malt Extract

Everywhere I read, I see that weizen beers need a malt of at least 50% wheat. 
Most extracts are 60/40 (wheat/barley).  What will 100% wheat taste like?  Can 
I make a good weizen with 100% wheat?  What about a fruit wheat 
(raspberry/blackberry)? Do I need to cut the wheat malt with some barley malt? 
 Or just hop less? 
 

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From: "Goodale, Daniel CPT 4ID DISCOM" <GoodaleD at HOOD-EMH3.ARMY.MIL>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 09:27:00 -0500
Subject: Banana Beer, Politicalization of the HBD

Dear collective intelligence, 
 
 Did you ever have a deal so good you could 
not pass it up?  Well mine came in the form of 10 pounds 
of bananas for a dollar.  As it turned out, no human can 
eat this amount of bananas without severe gastro- 
intestinal distress.  The bananas were beginning to leak 
when I decided to brew with them.  Not having a credible 
recipe, I pureed them and froze the pulp.  Requests: 
 
1.  Recipes calling for 8-10 pounds of ripe banana 
puree. 
 
2.  Special preparation instructions; eg. pectin enzyme. 
 
3.  Is this a bad idea (like my sagebrush ale)? 
 
Additionally Ron writes: 
 
>>>>>Randy Weaver didn't, The Branch Divididians didn't, 
and the list goes on and on.  The BATF is an outlaw 
organization of the Federal Government.  They simply 
haven't bothered homebrewers because they are too 
busy murdering American citizens <<<<<<<< 
 
Yada, Yada, Yada.....Ron, keep your political ramblings 
to yourself.  This is not the correct forum. 
 
>>>>>Homebrewers should unite with gun owners in 
supporting the dissoluton of the BATF and the 
incorporation of its responsibilities into other , more 
responsible, federal organizations.<<<<<<<<< 
 
Please don't sign me up for this program.  Not every- 
one shares your political views.  The HBD is beginning to 
sound like USENET (or USELESSNET as I like to 
consider it). 
 
Daniel Goodale (yes, that is my real name) 
 
The Biohazard Brewing Company 
I like to consider myself a chemical super-freak. 

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From: korz at pubs.ih.lucent.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 10:04:46 CDT
Subject: Re: Broken Blanched Berries

Ken writes: 
>AlK writes: 
> 
><< 
>Primarily I'm thinking of  blueberries and raspberries because I've had 
>trouble blanching these (they fall apart when you dip frozen berries in 
>boiling water for few 
>seconds -- I ended up having to put the blanching water right into the 
>secondary too). 
>>> 
> 
>Have you tried blanching the berries in a strainer dipped into the hot water? 
> Should keep the little buggers where you want'em. 
 
This is exactly what I did.  Worked great for cherries.  As soon as I dipped 
the raspberries into the water, the water turned red.  The juice came pouring 
out of the fruit!  This is why I ended up dumping the blanching water right 
into the secondary -- I would have lost too much juice. 
 
Al. 

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From: David Raitt <draitt at scri.fsu.edu>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 12:02:44 -0400
Subject: Assorted stuff

 
Before I get on to my main theme, I would just note the following exchange 
in HBD 2127: 
 
>Ron wrote: 
 
>Regarding the statement 
 
>>So, how many of us can expect the BATF to come bustin' down the door? 
>... 
>The BATF is an outlaw organization of the Federal Government..... 
 
Unless we want a flame war, completely unrelated to brewing, that will make 
NOKOMAREE look like child's play, I think these types of comments are better 
reserved for private e-mail. 
************************************************* 
Back to brewing. I am in an unfortunate hiatus right now, since I will be 
moving halfway across the country in a few weeks and I don't think that 
moving full carboys would be a good thing. So I imagine that I will be ready 
to start up again pretty much as soon as I reach Austin. Now I have pretty 
much checked out the suppliers there and know what to expect. But I would be 
interested to know what the clubs are like. According to the brewery there 
are two clubs in Austin. Can anyone give me an idea of what these clubs are 
like -- how active they are and so on. 
 
I imagine that private e-mail would be most appropriate. 
 
David 
draitt at scri.fsu.edu 
 

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From: egross at emory.edu
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 12:31:30 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Fourth Annual Peach State Brewoff

 
 The fourth annual Peach State Brewoff will take place at the Atlanta 
Beer Garten Brewery Restaurant on Saturday September 14th at 10am. The PS 
Brewoff is sponsored by the largest homebrew club in the Atlanta area, 
the Covert Hops Society, and is sanctioned by both the AHA and the BJCP. 
The PSBO follows the 1996 AHA guidelines.The PSBO is open to all 
homebrewers. Entries are due before 6pm on September 6th, though walkins 
will be accepted the day of judging if the beer has been pre-registered. 
Each entry must include a COMPLETE registration form with recipe,and at 
least 3 unlabeled plain 10 to 22 oz brown or green capped bottles with 
bottle forms attached to each bottle with a rubber band. Clear, plastic or 
swingtop bottles will be disqualified. Entry fees are $7each for 1 or 2 
entries,and $6 for 3 or more entries. Entries can be dropped off in the 
Atlanta area at BYOB, Midtown Brewers Supply, Marietta Homebrew Supply 
and both Amber Waves Brewing Supplies stores, or mailed to Peach State 
Brewoff, c/o Amber Waves Brewing Supplies, 1860-F Spring Road, Smyrna,GA 
30080. Ribbons will be awarded to the best three entries in each category 
although some categories may be combined if there are insufficient 
entries. We are attempting to get prizes from local micros and brewpubs as 
well. The Ale Grail will be awarded to the homebrew club that recieves 
the most points based on ribbons awarded. Last year we had about 230 
entries and we expect 300 or so this year.We need judges, stewards and of 
course entries. Winners can go on to the next Southeast Homebrewer of the 
Year competition (SHY). For entry forms,judging forms and other inquiries 
please contact the organizer: The Covert Hops Society c/o Chris Terenzi 
at (770) 384-1448 or by email CTERENZI at aol.com  Entry forms are also 
available at the drop off points.  Thank you, Lee Gross, co-organizer. 

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From: Mark Garthwaite <mgarth at primate.wisc.edu>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 12:21:50 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Cooking with beer

 
     A while back I posted a question regarding cooking with beer. 
Thanks to those who responded.  Today I picked up my morning Wisconsin 
State Journal and there was an article (taken from the Orange County 
Register) describing the very subject for which I seek info!  The article 
describes a book called, "Famous Chefs Cook With Beer" by W. Scott 
Griffiths and Christopher Finch.  (Doubleday $25).  I'm on my way to the 
bookstore! 
 
- -Mark Garthwaite 
 (mgarth at primate.wisc.edu) 
 
 

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From: Mark Garthwaite <mgarth at primate.wisc.edu>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 12:30:10 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: European Brew Tour

 
     In less than a month I'll be on my way to Europe for a 3 month 
backpacking/brew tour.  Countries included...Ireland, U.K, Belgium, 
Germany, Austria, Italy, France, and Spain.  Any advice for someone who 
wants to experience the widest spectrum of brews possible?  If there are 
any homebrewers in any of these countries who are hooked up to the HBD I 
would love to hear from you!  Also, anyone know anything about the rules 
for shipping beer back to the States? 
 
Thanks! 
 
- -Mark Garthwaite 
 (mgarth at primate.wisc.edu) 
 

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From: Michael Mahler/Shiva Corporation
Date: 29 Jul 96 11:40:20 EDT
Subject: 5 liter mini-kegs

I tried using mine for the first time last night and I think I have a piece 
missing from the CO2 tap.  Can someone tell me if there is supposed to be a 
lever on the end of it to actuate the piston that pulls out?  Or am I supposed 
to be the man of steel and pull it out by hand? 
 

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From: korz at pubs.ih.lucent.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 13:24:42 CDT
Subject: Beer from wood/bisulfites/wheat hot break/aluminum pots/pectic enzyme

Tom writes: 
>I have read some article about that. Originally coopers used 
>wooden resins (pinewood??) or wax and burned them in barrels as described 
>above. 
>It was a procedure used for all (almost all) kegs and did increase the keg 
>life since wood rots when in contact with water. It is the dry wood which 
>can last forever. 
 
This may be true, but I think the article you read was wrong about several 
things.  First of all, I am willing to bet that most barrels used for beer 
or wine are uncoated.  Our first stop on the tour of Tadcaster Brewery 
(Samuel Smith's) was in the cooper's shop and the first question I asked 
was are the casks coated.  The answer was no.  There is an organization 
in Britain similar to CAMRA which strives to support the use of wood casks 
among brewers.  There are only a handful of them left.  It's called something 
like "Beer From the Wood Society."  Hardwoods hold up pretty well in contact 
with water, witness the 100+ year-old casks at Cantillon (where all the 
beer is fermented in wood) in Anderlicht, Brussels, Belgium. 
 
*** 
David writes: 
>My point was, however, ( do I write so poorly that people 
>misunderstand me?)  that bisulfite does two jobs it sterilizes the fruit AND 
>slows down the browning (which is where the FF reference came in) until the 
>yeast can get to producing a protective layer of CO2 it. 
 
I don't know about bisulfites reducing browning (although I hadn't heard 
about it before this) but metabisulfites (Sodium, Potassium, aka Campden 
tablets) ***DO NOT*** sterilize anything.  They don't even sanitize the 
fruit juice very well.  They do kill some yeasts and bacteria but for the 
most part they simply inhibit the growth of the wild yeast from the surface 
of the fruit so that your cultured yeast can gain a competitive edge. 
 
*** 
Mark writes: 
>i've not had a stuck mash with finely ground wheat (60/40 wheat/barley), but 
>i did notice that my spargings did not clear well.  this led to a massive 
>amount of hot break in the kettle.  anybody else had this happen? 
 
The ugliest, scariest hot break I've gotten was when I tried mashing some 
whole wheat flour.  The break looked like gray, rubber, dog droppings 
swimming in the wort.  The beer turned out fine (it was a Wit, incidentally). 
 
*** 
Eric writes: 
> I have heard that it is best to not use Aluminum to boil your 
> wort.  I only recently found this out, and I have to say that I 
> boiled my last batch in a coated aluminum stock pot that I had 
> handy.  Could somebody please clear this up for me?  Do I need to 
> purchase a stainless steel stockpot? 
 
The definitive article on the subject was in Brewing Techniques a year 
or so ago.  Bottom line was that beer made in two kettles (one SS, one 
aluminium) was tested for alumimium and they both had the same amount. 
As for the metallic taste that some claim, I've read that this can occur 
if you scrub the kettle so hard that you rub off the protective oxide 
coating that naturally forms on the metal.  You should also be sure to 
not use any strong acids or bases on aluminium kettles or utensils. 
 
*** 
Kevin writes: 
>When the temp hits around 100 I add pectic enzyme to break down those 
>nasty haze inducing pectins and release more juice (well, that is 
>what it says on the package).  I don't know the proper temp range for 
>this enzyme but 100 seems to work for me (if anyone knows the proper 
>temp please post!). 
 
I hope this doesn't start up another enzyme kinetics thread, but my 
*guess* would be that 100F is rather hot for pectic enzyme.  I don't 
know the recommended temperature, but I was told by my wholesaler (when 
I ordered some for a customer) that it must be kept refrigerated or it 
will quickly spoil.  Whether it lasts 2 min or 2 hrs at 100F I don't know, 
but given the instructions from my wholesaler, I would wait till the 
fruit got to room temperature before adding the pectic enzyme. 
 
Al. 
 
Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL 
korzonas at lucent.com 
Copyright 1996 Al Korzonas 

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From: RUSt1d? <rust1d at li.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 14:25:41 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Fruit/Pumps

Fruit: Freezer to Fermenter... 
 
To sanitize my fruit, I placed the berries in a large zip lock bag, and 
placed this in the freezer for a few days. I then boiled a large pot of 
water, and took the bag from the freezer and plopped it right into the=20 
boiling water. Since this quickly cooled the water, I added heat until=20 
it settled at 170F. I maintained this temp for 1/2 hour and called the 
fruit sanitized. I then smashed all the berries between my fingers,=20 
snipped the corner of the bag and squeezed the goo into my secondary. 
Quite righteous. 
 
Pumps: March Model MDX 
I got the U.S. Plastics Corp catalog and am about to purchase two of the=20 
March pumps listed on the bottom of page 52, but which one? 
 
"Glass filled polypropylene pump housing & impeller. 316 Stainless Steel 
spindle, 6.0 and 7.6 GPM capacity. This line of March pumps is designed 
for mildly corrosive applications such as mildly acidic, alkaline, and 
salt solutions, photographic solutions and sanitary liquid food appli- 
cations. All feature the magnetic drive which eliminates any shaft seal 
and the wing nuts on the housing cover for quick, easy cleaning. Two 
size pumps are available with choice of connectors. The drive motors 
are the open type, fan cooled, 115 V., 60 Hz., single phase and with 
thermal overload protection. Not self-priming. Max. liquid temp 190=B0F." 
 
               Max  Motor  Motor  Inlet     Outlet 
Stock  Model   GPM   HP    RPM    Connect   Connect   Price 
- -----  -----   ---  -----  -----  --------  -------   ----- =20 
95045  MDX     6.0  1/50   1700   1/2" OD   1/2" OD    94.55 
95046  MDXT    6.0  1/50   1700   1/2" FPT  3/8" FPT   94.55 
95047  MDX-3   6.0  1/25   3400   1/2" OD   1/2" OD   100.00 
95048  MDXT-3  7.6  1/25   3400   1/2" FPT  3/8" FPT  100.00 
 
So which is the best for a 15 gallon single tier RIMS system? 
 
Also, the 15 gallon chem-mix tanks with 60=B0 sloped conical bottoms listed 
on page 13 are low density polyethylene (LDPE), FDA approved for potable 
water. Are these suitable fermenters? They are kinda pricey at $68.80 for=20 
the vessel and $84.82 for the stand. Perhaps I should stick with my 15.5 
sanke open fermenter? 
 
It's time to build that RIMS system, my brew partner backed out at the last 
minute for the last time... 
 
John Varady 
Boneyard Brewing Co. 
 
"Now I got a murder rap, cause I bus' your cap with flavor. Pure flavor."=20 
Flav-o-flav 
 
 
 
 
 

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From: "Thompson, Brian" <bthompson at mfi.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 12:05:33 PST
Subject: Blue Whale Ale

 
About the Blue Whale Ale, I went over to Pacific Coast Brewing Co. in Oakland 
yesterday and had the original Blue Whale, on which the Zymurgy and HopTech 
recipes are based. I'll start by saying that it IS hoppy. About the hoppiest 
darn beer I've ever tried. The aroma alone is big and citrusy, all Chinook. The
taste is very smooth and drinkable though, the hops do overpower the maltiness,
but it such a high SG (1.070) brew that there is more blance than you would 
expect. Nice amber color, good mouthfeel. Pacific Coast ages it in oak casks 
(or
so they say, my guess would be oak chips in SS tanks) so it does apparently 
mellow nicely. I'm not a hop head and I wouldn't brew this, but it wasn't bad; 
just think of the biggest IPA you can and that's about what it is. 
 
Unfortunately the brewmaster wasn't there and no one could confirm whether the 
hop schedule that ran in Zymurgy was what they at PC use or not; 170 IBUs 
sounds
like a lot though judging from the taste. 
 
 
Hoppy Brewing, 
Brian Thompson 
bthompson at mfi.com 

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From: Michael Beatty <mbeatty at STLMPE-4.ARMY.MIL>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 14:03:14 CDT
Subject: Fermentation Woes

 
Dear Collective, 
 
A long time lurker, I finally found the time to brew my first 
batch!  Quite the experience (I'll definitely be doing this more 
often), but I'm perplexed by a potential problem (I think?). 
 
Here's the situation: 
 
I brewed a Scot's Brown Ale kit (from Ozark Missouri, no 
affiliation, blah, blah).  It was a hot evening, so the wort was a 
tad slow cooling down in an ice bath.  I pitched dry yeast at 
85F and anxiously awaited my first bubble in the fermentation lock. 
 
Well, 5 days later, still no activity.  I made a trip to the local 
brew supply store and purchased some ale yeast to repitch.  I 
repitched using bottled drinking water to dissolve (used tap water 
the first time) and repitched.  Four days after repitching, I saw 
my first bubble.  It was bubbling over 2 days at the rate of about 1 
per minute and has since slowed down considerably (total of 6 days 
now after repitch).  I was under the impression that the bubbling 
should occur at a much faster rate (ie. more vigorous fermentation), 
and am now concerned about the batch. 
 
Some other info that might be useful is that I'm in a semi-rural 
area, so the tap water is actually processed lake water with 
chlorine content at a max of 60ppm (to my recollection). 
I boiled with 2 gal of tap water, and poured into 3 gallons of very 
chilled drinking water from the grocery store. 
 
Questions: 
1. Should I wait it out for a few more days? 
2. Attempt a repitch?(this time liquid yeast) 
3. Check the gravity to see if I had turbo-fermentation when I wasn't 
looking? 
4. Call my Mommie? 
 
All help is appreciated, and if the response warrants, I'll post a 
summary for us beginners.  Thanks to all for educating me with the 
collective wisdom and experience.  It made the virgin batch much 
easier to understand! 
 
Mike Beatty 
 

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From: kmark at tcd.net
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 14:43:16 -0600
Subject: Homebrewing unlawful in Utah?

I came across a link that stated in Utah you must be licensed to brew beer. 
It also stated that homebrewers are not granted licenses. 
 
Is anyone familiar with the laws in Utah pertaining to homebrewing? 
 
TIA. 
 
Kyle Marks 
kmark at tcd.net 
Kyle 
 

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From: "C.D. Pritchard" <cdp at mail.chattanooga.net>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 96 16:42 EDT
Subject: RIMS and Grain Mill Web Page

My RIMS and concrete roller grain mill have been documented on my web page. The
URL should appear in the sig. below.
 
Happy Brewing! 
 
c.d. pritchard  (cdp at chattanooga.net) 
     web page:  http://caladan.chattanooga.net/~cdp/index.html 

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From: Runnur2 at aol.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 17:23:40 -0400
Subject: Nutty Flavor

Perhaps I am nutty for asking this, but I will anyway. 
I tasted a brown ale at one of our club meetings.  It had a 
wonderful delicate taste of hickory nuts as an aftertaste. 
I failed to speak to the brewer and now would like to duplicate 
this.  Can anyone out there tell me how to impart a nutty 
flavor to my beer? 
 
TIA,    Neil 
 

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From: "KEVIN FONS Q/T MFG X7814 <KFONS at QTIWORLD.COM>" <KFONS at qtiworld.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 16:31:03 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Water Questions

I have just obtained some information on my water, and I have alot of 
questions.
Here are the numbers: 
Ca   62 
SO4    9 
Mg   33 
Na    4 
Cl    3 
CO3  330?? 
Hardnes  283 
Alk'y  270 (as CaCO3) 
PH  7.5 
 
Here are the questions: 
1) The city did not have a figure for CO3, some information I found via the 
    internet said to multiply my Alkalinity by 1.22 (if my PH was between 7 
    and 9). Is this correct, or close at least? 
2) Is there any other info I need? 
3) Any suggestions on the quality of the water and it's suitability for various
    styles? 
4) I plan on removing my chlorine by using a charcoal filter or through 
    boiling, what will this do to the chemistry of my water? 
 
TIA, 
 Kevin 
=========================================================================== 
Kevin Fons                     <kfons at execpc.com>  or  <kfons at qtiworld.com> 
Industrial/Systems Engineer                         Quad/Tech International 
=========================================================================== 
Standard disclaimer applies... 

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From: "Jonathan K. ward" <Jonathan_K._ward at mckinsey.com>
Date: 19 Jul 96 15:39:04 
Subject: Small Corneys

Brewers: 
Someone mentioned spotting mini-corneys at a McDonalds.  I recall seeing these 
in one of the Papazian books, and was wondering if anyone knows where to get 
them, price, etc.  I don't think any of the homebrew suppliers in my area have 
them.  Post to list or private email (depending on length, etc.).  TIA. 
 
Jonathan Ward 
Chicago, IL 

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From: Shawn.Scolack at tsr.gcastle.com (Shawn Scolack)
Date: 29 Jul 96 13:56:22 -0500
Subject: Canadian brewers?

 
Reply-To: Shawn.Scolack at tsr.gcastle.com 
 
 
 
Hey, 
 
I'm a beginner from Windsor Ontario and I'm looking for good businesses to do 
mail order with.  Getting supplies here hasn't been as easy as I thought, so 
I'd like to try mail ordering some stuff.  Can anyone recommend some good 
- -#Canadian mail order-places, -or US ones that do buisness with Canadians? 
 
Email me if you can help... thanks. By the way, if there are any other Windsor 
brewers on the list, drop me a line too. 
 
Shawn.Scolack at TSR.gcastle.com 
- -# 
- ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Source: The Staff Room BBS, 519-979-4208, FIDO: 1:246/12 
Over 450Meg of quality educational shareware for the taking! 
- ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
 
[Created by the Internet Connection 4.0/Registered 07-29-96 13:51:53] 

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From: Nymwegen at aol.com
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 22:52:37 -0400
Subject: Why not Aluminum

I've been brewing homemade for a couple of years now and always use an 
aluminum (Calphalon) kettle.  Never have I experienced any off flavors, 
Alzheimer's, or other side affects.  Go for it. 

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