HOMEBREW Digest #218 Wed 02 August 1989

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

Contents:
  using ice for a cold break (blumenthal  at  home with the armadillos)
  Pitching Rates ("Allen J. Hainer")
  Irish Moss. (James Kolasa)
  a little more on Red Star... (florianb)
  Roto-Keg, revisited (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Mailer problems; results of cherry brew ("FEINSTEIN")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 08:14:24 CDT From: brad at cs.utexas.edu (blumenthal at home with the armadillos) Subject: using ice for a cold break I've used ice about three times for cooling down my wort and haven't had any trouble with it. What I've done is to clean and sanitize some plastic stadium cups (which hold between 18 and 28 ounces of water, depending on size), and then I pour measured amounts of water into them. If you can remember to do this the night before, you really do get a hell of a cold break by adding about 1.5 gallons of ice to about 2.5 gallons of wort (topping off with a gallon of cold water). Even if you don't remember, you can put the water in the freezer just before you start putting your wort together, and by the time you're ready to move it into the carboy, it will be partially frozen -- cold enough to get your wort down into the 90F range. Since the cups are plastic, it's easy enough to get the ice out by squeezing them so that the deform slightly. One other hint, although it might be obvious: If you're using a plastic carboy to receive the hot wort, put the ice in first. It avoids splashing. I don't know if it's such a great idea to pour hot wort into an iced glass carboy though (or any glass carboy for that matter). Take care, brad Brad Blumenthal CS Dept. University of Texas uucp: uunet!cs.utexas.edu!brad Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 09:54:09 EDT From: "Allen J. Hainer" <ajhainer at violet.waterloo.edu> Subject: Pitching Rates I was in my local hb supply store, and all this talk about yeast prompted me to ask several questions of the owner. The answers he gave me were very interesting, but second hand. I don't have access to any literature that is technical enough (I haven't even been able to find Miller's book, I guess I'll have to order it from the book store), so I was hoping someone out there would be able to confirm/deny this: Papazian was invited up several weeks ago by the store for a guest lecture. (unfortunatly, I was unable to attend :-() On the topic of starting yeast before pitching, Papazian said that even after 6-8 hours, liquid yeast has only reached 1/10 the recommended pitching concentration. He recommended letting it start for several DAYS before starting the beer, adding some malt and putting it in a dark place on its side so that when the seams burst, the yeast doesn't leak out. (Just as a warning, the store owner tried this but put it in a dark drawer. When the package expanded, it jamed the drawer shut :^o ) What is the recommended pitching concentration? How fast does a liquid yeast package reach this concentration? I always thought that yeast reached a particular concentration and leveled off, can only a few ounces of starter solution reach a high enough yeast concentration so that it results in the "recommended" concentration when added to 5 gallons of wort? -al (ajhainer at violet.waterloo.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 11:39:45 EDT From: James Kolasa <jkolasa at ms.uky.edu> Subject: Irish Moss. Recently, I picked up a package of Irish Moss on a whim. I have never seen a description of how to use this stuff, however. I played around with it on my last batch and it seemed to clear up the brew a bit, but I'm not sure. My question is how does one use it and is it worthwhile? Also, I'm whipping up my first stout in about a week. Any tips? And for that matter, any recipes? I haven't exactly committed myself to any method yet. Thanks, jk -- -- James Kolasa | Dual beers, -- -- 902 P.O.T., Univ. of Ky. | Twice the fun! -- -- Lexington, Ky. 40502-0027 | -- -- jkolasa at ms.uky.edu {rutgers,uunet}!ukma!jkolasa jkolasa at UKMA.BITNET -- Return to table of contents
Date: 01 Aug 89 08:47:13 PDT (Tue) From: florianb at tekred.cna.tek.com Subject: a little more on Red Star... In #214, Gary Benson asks: >yeast, but at ale temperatures. Is that correct? Are there other things that >differentiate Steam Beer? What kind of fermentation time am I likely to >experience -- like ale or like lager? The primary took off like a shot (Red >Star lager yeast started in 1 cup of wort plus a tablespoon of corn sugar). >But now, a day later, it has slowed down to one bubble every few seconds. >Last night, I couldn't keep water in the S-shaped airlock I use - the gas >was pouring out so fast. Is this thing going to be over before I have time >to go to the secondary fermenter? With this kind of activity, would I do >better to just forget the carboy and use a single-stage fermentation? My experience with using Red Star Lager yeast for steam beer is that with a two-stage fermentation, after the krausen falls and I transfer it to the carboy, the bubbles have fallen to 1/120 seconds or so, only after two days. This particular dry yeast seems to work like gangbusters at RT (68 degrees). It's possible that a single stage fermentation in the carboy with a blowoff tube would be sufficient. Then in #217, Dave Sheehy writes: >Florian, I'm beginning to have some ideas about your success using Red Star >Ale yeast. Miller's book has a summary of some of the yeasts he has tried >... >like. Being in Sacramento and not having a form of temperature control my >fermenation temperature tends to range in the high 70's. I would suspect that >your fermentation temperature would be somewhat lower than mine since you're >up in Oregon. Yeasts will tend to produce more byproducts at higher >temperatures so I further suspect that you are probably not getting the >clove flavored fusel alcohol in your beers (if you did you'd know it and I'd >wager that you wouldn't like it!). You must be getting the banana ester Yes, you are right. We have a log home, and the interior stays a comfortable high sixties most of the year. In the winter, my brew is a little warmer due to my brew cabinet being in the kitchen near the wood stove. My wife has thoughtfully given me the pantry for beer storage, so in the future I will be putting the carboys there also. This should provide even better temperature regulation. Now if I could just get her to stop using the refrigerator for food storage... [Florian Bell, Boonesborough, Oregon] Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 10:20:46 PDT From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!mal at hplabs.HP.COM> Subject: Roto-Keg, revisited Some time back, David Carter thoughtfully posted information on the Roto-Keg system and his experiences with it, including the address of the retailer (Winemakers, Ltd.) that had sold it. I wrote them for further information, and yesterday received their reply. They have evolved into Crosby & Baker, a strictly wholesale concern, and no longer carry the Roto-Keg system. They do, however, carry the Saffron Superkeg (6 gallons) and the Edme Mini-Keg (2.5 gallons), neither of which I'd ever heard of -- a veritable plethora of kegs! They directed me to a local shop for further research, and I'll post what I learn. = Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff = = {att,bellcore,sun,ames}!pacbell!pbmoss!mal 916/972-4821 = = If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, = = Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) = Return to table of contents
Date: 1 Aug 89 18:50:00 EDT From: "FEINSTEIN" <crf at pine.circa.ufl.edu> Subject: Mailer problems; results of cherry brew Hello, all! About that cherry brew: well, at the appropriate time I bottled. I was even more careful about sanitation than usual, and tried to leave the white scum behind. Both my roommate and I sniffed at the priming bucket after I finished siphoning, and neither of us could detect any off odors whatsoever. The scent of cherries, however, damn near flattened us! :-) Lo and behold, 36-48 hours after bottling, "la white scum" reappeared. Again, it is a strictly surface phenomenon. Well, I couldn't stand it. So, after one week, I broke down and opened a bottle. Of course, the in-bottle fermentation was still going a bit and the beer tasted very "new". *But*-- *NO* off odors or flavors! Again, heavy cherries; but *very* nice. I'm going to wait, now, until the brew has been in the bottle 4-5 weeks, and taste it again. My thanks to everyone who offered advice! Yours in Carbonation, Cher Feinstein Univ. of Fla. Gainesville, FL INTERNET: CRF at PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #218, 08/02/89
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