HOMEBREW Digest #2356 Sun 23 February 1997
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@ brew.oeonline.com
Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of
Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
URL: http://www.oeonline.com
Contents:
Re: Counterflow chiller, cold break (rkienle)
Conspiracy Theories (Mike Urseth)
Leffe recipe/ de-skunking/low-sparge ("David R. Lubar")
Skunkiness ("David R. Burley")
correct canine/oxidation and blending gueze (BAYEROSPACE)
Charlie's view from on high (David C. Harsh)
Porter (korz)
Murphy's Brewery ownership (John Wilkinson)
Re: portable co2 solutions for Cornelius Kegs (Chris Cooper)
recirculating mash ("Bryan L. Gros")
Body (korz)
RIMS pictures, SS mash tun with easymasher (Jim Elden)
Recirc of Sparge (Vector)
Cold Break: immersion vs. counterflow (Mike Spinelli)
SA Clone recipe? ("Steven W. Smith")
Dishwater Blonde (Charles Burns)
dogs,let-me-out-man ("Raymond Estrella")
wheat recipe thanks; boilover; bleach and SS kegs (Saul Laufer)
1997 GAzBF-HBC ("RICHARD DRAKE")
how to homebrew sake (Mutsuo Hoshido)
skunk? help! ("MASSIMO FARAGGI")
RE: FWH and Bitterness (Bob McCowan)
Re: CO2 capturing (Fredrik St{\aa}hl)
tap handles ("Ed J. Basgall")
RE: Portable Co2 Solutions ("Richard Scotty")
RE: Soapy beer (George De Piro)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 10:39:08 -0600
From: rkienle at interaccess.com
Subject: Re: Counterflow chiller, cold break
Oliver wrote (in response to Nathan)...
> I am still using an immersion chiller but have been thinking of building
> a counterflow one. One of the considerations as you mentioned is the
> carry over of cold break. I am considering two options. One is to use
> a pump and recycle the cooling wort
Once you build and use a counterflow chiller you'll wonder why you ever
waited to do so. However, I think you're worrying a little too much
about the cold break. The most important thing about cold break is
"creating" it (which the counterflow chiller will do far more
effectively than the immersion), so that at some point it can be
separated from the rest of the beer. The importance of "when" to
separate it varies (see below). I think the option of recirculating
cooled wort back into your brewpot is probably a little too hazardous
from a bacteriologic (sp?) point of view and will also take so long that
the benefits of using a CF will be lost. I also think your option of
using a mason's jar to "filter" the cold break won't work very well
because you'll create more of this stuff than an ordinary mason's jar
can handle (even if a Choreboy, etc., was capable of filtering it).
Most commerical breweries use a "holding tank" to help assist this
process, but the quantities of beer (and cold break) being produced are
vastly different than the homebrewer. For most ales, and for most
homebrewing purposes and quantities, given the relatively short duration
of primary fermentation, the effects of the cold break on the finished
beer are probably either minimal or unnoticeable. Some lagers, however,
such as an Oktoberfest, tend to clean up more nicely if you rack them
off the cold break immediately, though again it's a pretty subjective
thing. For those specific beers that might "potentially" really benefit
from it, you can always deal with the hassle of siphoning to the
primary. But I do think the most important thing is to "create" the cold
break so that "eventually" it can be removed. I've been using a CF for 3
years and have yet to rack off from the cold break before the primary
and have not had any identifiable problems with the finished product as
a result.
Build and use the CF unit first to see what it's really buying you. Then
deal with the cold break as a separate issue, perhaps by doing two
batches to compare if you're still concerned.
Cheers4beers,
Rob Kienle
Chicago, IL
rkienle at interaccess.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 10:57:20 -0600 (CST)
From: beernote at realbeer.com (Mike Urseth)
Subject: Conspiracy Theories
"Paranoia strikes deep
Into your hearts it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line
The Man comes and takes you away."
(Name that 60's tune!)
There may be another, less sinister, but possibly more tragic explanation
for the nasty micro phenomena. The AB draft beers taste clean because the
have people who make certain that their draft lines are properly
maintained. Needless to say, they don't worry about how other people's
beers are maintained. If the local distributors or the publicans don't go
the the same level of care that the AB guys do, the micros will tend to
suck.
Bash AB all you want, but realize that their quality control is second to none.
>Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 09:42:50 -0600
>From: Rust <rustwa at hqamc.safb.af.mil>
>Subject: Welcome Back/Call Oliver Stone/1002 Uses!
Get Oliver Stone on the phone, I think I may have
>another conspiracy. I live in the St. Louis area,
>and over the last few months I've noticed that
>every time I order a draft micro (I'm including
>Sam Adams with these, even tho I know...) I notice
>a distinct chemical taste. It's so strong that it
>were fine. Could AB be asserting its influence
>with the local distributers to 'infect' the local
>micro draft products by being less than careful
>about rinsing cleaning solution from some of the
>beer lines? As paranoid as this sounds, if you
>were from this area, you would be be amazed at the
>enormous influence that AB has over local
>business. It would not surprize me at all if this
>were indeed the case.
Mike Urseth
Editor & Publisher
Midwest Beer Notes
339 Sixth Avenue
Clayton, WI 54004
715-948-2990 ph.
715-948-2981 fax
e-mail: beernote at realbeer.com
Return to table of contents
Date: 20 Feb 97 11:55:54 EST
From: "David R. Lubar" <75211.2665 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Leffe recipe/ de-skunking/low-sparge
Hi.
Leffe Blonde recipe wanted -- If anyone has made a brew that tastes like Leffe
Blonde, I'd greatly appreciate the recipe. I've searched Yahoo, Alta Vista,
Dogpile, etc., with no luck. (An Affligem Tripel clone would be fine, too.)
All grain or extract.
De-skunking -- A while back, I bought a six pack of Ballentine IPA. Didn't
notice the green bottles until I got home. Noticed the skunkiness right away.
I keep my beer in the basement, and the temp is generally between 50 and 60 F.
I drank the first four within two or three weeks. The other two got lost in the
crowd. When I opened them a month or so later, there was no detectable
skunkiness.
Low-sparge brewing -- This is lazy and fun. Nothing totally original, but
thought I'd share it, given the current discussion batch sparging. The mashed
grains (generally 8-10 lbs.) go into a Zappap double bucket strainer. I top off
with boiling water. Magically, this seems to hit 170 F. I stir, let sit for a
while, then drain. Meanwhile, I heat more water to 170. I put the wort on the
stove (this is my indoor, electric-stove, five-gallon-kettle, winter survivial
method), dump the hot water into the lauter tun, and draw off more as needed to
fill the kettle during the first part of the boil. I get a decent 25 points,
and some tasty brews. And I only tie up one burner. Generally, I do this for
hi-grav small batches.
David Lubar
Nazareth, PA 75211,2665 at compuserve.com or dlubar at aol.com
Return to table of contents
Date: 20 Feb 97 11:57:54 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Skunkiness
Brewsters:
I sense a pattern developing. Both Pat Babcock here and Jay Ward in a private
communication commented that they experience skunking of beer in their mugs on
the patio in a very short time and others have noted it in the past. Also our
friend in Grapevine Tx agrees with Jay in that both brew on the patio in bright
light and never get skunking.
Now the point of Jay's comments is that he mainly brews porters. And Pat noted
that the skunkiness went away in the shade.
I have mainly been thinking in terms of skunking in the *body* of the beer and
concern that there is just not enough light intensity to skunk a beer in a few
minutes, especially in a mug or glass and particularly with a highly colored
beer.
I can explain all these results to my satisfaction if what is happening is a
surface photolysis on the surface of the beer in the glass or mug. There is no
glass in the way to absorb UV or other light. There is a high concentration of
photosylates directly under the drinker's nose ( even though the actual amount
may be small) and it can even work with dark beers like a porter, since
penetration into the body of the beer is not necessary. Removal of the beer
from direct sunlight will allow the minunte amount of prenyl mercaptan to be
purged or just drift away on the wind.
The surface to volume ratio in a wort is small and likely any photolysis product
formed was purged during fermentation.
Now the test. Take a highly hopped beer in two mugs 1 covered, the other
exposed to the light. Any difference in the aroma? Switch which mug is covered.
Result?
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 11:39 -0600
From: M257876 at sl1001.mdc.com (BAYEROSPACE)
Subject: correct canine/oxidation and blending gueze
collective homebrew conscience:
i have a lambic in the basement that's been fermenting/aging/spoiling/whatever
since october of '95. it has had adequate air in the headspace (i've racked
twice and not purged) to become quite oxidized, i believe.
i've been planning to blend it with a new batch of lambic this spring. should
i blend at pitching, some time during the primary, or during the secondary?
also, could the new vigorous yeast help my suspected oxidation problem, or
(more likely) is the damage already done?
rex clingan (how's it going rex?) wrote:
>Subject: What's the preferred breed of dog for homebrewing
>a goldings retreiver
rex is speaking, of course, for the british isles constituency. on the other
side of the channel, the teutonic solution is:
the wei(henstephan)maraner
dave burley wrote:
> Not that I don't believe in light skunking, just as a photochemist, I
>am not happy with the conventional explanation as I know it.
i had a kolschbier that turned out pretty good last year, and after it got
about a year old, it had a skunky component to it. it was in green glass,
but also in the basement freezer the whole time. no strong light ever
struck it. not even medium strength light. just another data point. pale
beer, noble hops, no significant light exposure.
p.s. - a new brewer has been born - jackson cain bayer 2.8.97 7lb 15oz
(how's that for a "born on" date?)
brew hard,
mark bayer
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 14:00:00 -0500
From: dharsh at alpha.che.uc.edu (David C. Harsh)
Subject: Charlie's view from on high
Charlie P. finally comments on the AOB and AHA. As one who has made
comments critical of both CP and the organizations, I thought I'd respond:
>...we set forth on the endeavor that has become the Association of Brewers...
There's no doubt that being able to work on a hobby as a full time job is a
great opportunity and to a point I think many of the biggest critics are
slightly jealous. How many times have we heard people moan about having
worked as an underpaid, underappreciated technical reviewers for Zymurgy
and other brewing publications?
The attacks you call "personal" are directed at the PERCEIVED manner in
which the AOB/AHA is run. There have been many requests for access to
financial information and cathy in HBD #2347 essentially told us that we
wouldn't understand because after all, there were 35 pages of information.
Attitudes like that tend to invite criticism.
>...I don't feel it necessary to defend
>my personal lifestyle, philosophy, reasons for being involved in the
>beer business, my salary, or my position at the Association of Brewers.
I'll agree with you on every item except the last. You are president of a
non-profit organization that collects "dues" from "members". The question
has been asked "what do you do?" There's a PERCEPTION that the primary job
is an intercontinental pub crawl - but you've never said otherwise.
We are continuously told how well the AHA is run, but serious questions are
always ignored. Here are a few examples.
#1. Louis Bonham asked:
> > how much AOB president Charlie Papazian makes from this "nonprofit"
> > organization, in terms of salary and paid travel, ... concerns were
> > amplified by the AOB's rather bizarre refusal to release copies of
> > their IRS Form 990 upon request.
Cathy at aob.org answered:
> Let me stress again, that the AOB followed the law with respect to our
> 990's....
So we had a clear question about salary and paid travel (items that would
seem to be easily addressed) and were answered with we "followed the law".
I note that the salary question was answered eventually and the dollar
figure given is not unreasonable. Travel cost and non-salary compensation
questions haven't been answered.
#2. How are board members appointed/Should the board of advisors be voted on?
cathy at aob.org said:
> Please understand that we are a business with a
> board of directors made up of business and professional people in the
> Boulder/Denver area. These people take their board positions very
> seriously.
I've always assumed they took their jobs seriously. However, how are they
appointed? Who appoints them? Can they be fired? By whom?
>(68% of the respondents did not want to vote for the board of advisors)
I would be interested in knowing what percent of members responded! If the
general feeling is that the organization leadership is unresponsive to
members' opinions, then they might not bother. If 68% of a 50% response
rate said this, then you would be looking at 34% actual number. (I know,
people who don't vote don't deserve to have their opinions counted - but
I'm not the one that used the survey to make a point)
#3. Pulling out of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP)
The only reason ever given was that the AHA was going to start their own
competing program. No specific problems with the BJCP were ever cited; no
discussion of any problems was ever presented in Zymurgy; no AHA program
has appeared. Open speculation was that the AHA wanted a program it would
control.
Maybe hops make you overly susceptible to conspiracy theories, but any
outside person has to wonder what is going on.
Charlie wrote:
>Homebrewing is fun. It was always meant to be. I know there are
>several individuals out there, pecking away at their keyboards who are
>NOT having fun homebrewing. Homebrewing for me is not about being
>angry.
Isn't that kind of a cheap shot? I may be pecking away at my keyboard, but
I have fun brewing, I have fun helping out with our local club. I DONATE
my time because I enjoy what I'm doing.
Question how the AOB operates and you are called "angry" - what next? Are
we "nattering nabobs of negativism"? There is nothing gained by getting
into name-calling when someone asks difficult questions. Just answer them.
Dave Harsh
Bloatarian Brewing League, Cincinnati, OH
oPinionated aPostle of Positivism
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 13:32:04 -0600 (CST)
From: korz at xnet.com
Subject: Porter
Hal posted a brilliant idea... mixing modern beers.
My *guess* (purely *speculation*) for getting a feel for
an 18-th century Porter, might be to mix a strong brown
beer (because back then, they brewed 'em much stronger),
with a sour beer (that's the stale (or "aged" in modern
terms) part), and a woody beer (for the long aging in
wood).
How about this:
60% Old Peculier or McEwan's Scotch Ale
10% Cantillon or Boon Gueuze/Geuze
30% Rodenbach Grand Cru
Yes, the Rodenbach is sour, but I suspect not sour enough and note
that the Cantillon or Boon would also add a horsey character which
would not be out-of-place in a Porter.
Comments? Different proportions? Different beers?
Al.
Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL
korz at xnet.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 97 13:37:56 CST
From: jwilkins at imtn.tpd.dsccc.com (John Wilkinson)
Subject: Murphy's Brewery ownership
Dave Hinkle wrote (among other things):
>Are the Murphy's and Beamish breweries still independent, or are they
>owned by larger interests now?
I understand from a friend in the business that Murphy's is owned by or is
in an alliance with Heineken but that they may separate. I believe he told
me that Heineken owns them.
John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas - jwilkins at imtn.dsccc.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 14:53:27 -0500
From: Chris Cooper <ccooper at a2607cc.msr.hp.com>
Subject: Re: portable co2 solutions for Cornelius Kegs
Greetings all!
First of all let me express my appreciation to all those individuals,
past and present, for their efforts toward the continuation of the HBD
tradition. And a special note of thanks to Observer Eccentric Online
for providing an Internet on-ramp for the system.
In #2352 Scott asked about a portable CO2 system for corny's.
I think the system you mentioned is sold by "Williams Brewing Supply",
their ads are in all the major beer magazines, I have also seen the ad
but if I remember correctly the system was fairly pricey.
Here is another idea that I have been using for some time, I obtained a
low pressure air regulator (from an auto supply store or painters supply,
any place that sells air compressors) and plumbed it up to a spare corny
keg. I fill the spare keg with about 60-80 psi of CO2 from my 20# tank
and using the low pressure regulator push the beer with 10-15 psi,
this setup allows the one CO2 corny to dispense several kegs of homebrew
and means my heavy tank and valve system stays put safely at home.
I use this setup on my beer fridge in the garage (if my system springs a
leak somewhere I only loose the CO2 in my low pressure tank), and it is light
weight and handy when I am purging a corny/carboy or starting a siphon.
On another subject, It was great to hear from Charlie P. in #2353 and I second
his comment:
<snip>
>Homebrewing is fun. It was always meant to be. I know there are
>several individuals out there, pecking away at their keyboards who are
>NOT having fun homebrewing. Homebrewing for me is not about being
>angry.
<snip>
This forum is an interesting beast, for the most part it brings out the best
of the "homebrew" psyche with only and occasional lapse into the "dark
side" (sorry I just saw Star Wars on the big screen) and has definitely
made a positive impact on my brewing experience. So, lets all have some
fun!
May the force brew with your!
Chris Cooper , Commerce Michigan --> Pine Haven Brewery <--
Chris_Cooper at hp.com --> aka. Deb's Kitchen <--
Return to table of contents
Date-warning: Date header was inserted by ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu
From: "Bryan L. Gros" <grosbl at ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu>
Subject: recirculating mash
Tad (tad at bimcore.emory.edu) writes:
>I have seen somewhere on the web, a homebrewer's site describing a mash
>system where the mash is recirculated through a copper coil in the hot
>liquor tank, for temp boosts. I am interested in hearing from anyone who
>uses this method, or the location of the web site.
I believe you are refering to what's called a RIMS system. Can't help you
with the details, but check out these sites:
http://dezines.com/ at your.service/RIMS/ (Kieth Royster)
http://www.vigra.com/~hollen/RIMS.html (Dion Hollenbeck)
http://caladan.chattanooga.net/~cdp/ (C.D. Pritchard)
They probably all point to each other. Excellent detail available, which one
day I will take advantage of...
- Bryan
grosbl at ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu
Nashville, TN
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 14:06:57 -0600 (CST)
From: korz at xnet.com
Subject: Body
Dave writes (quoting Bruce):
>> They also seemed to have more body.
>
>Probably due to the hold temperatures which encourage medium weight proteins to
>be dissolved and a high temperature saccharification step.
Hmmm... I think you mean higher-temperature protein rest to encourage
*more* medium-weight proteins, don't you? Large proteins == haze,
medium proteins == body + head, and amino acids == yeast nutrition (but
in excess can give elevated higher alcohol production and other problems).
Protein rests at the 113-122F end favour amino acid production from
large- and medium-sized proteins and protein rests at the 135-140F end
of the range favour more medium-sized proteins and less amino acids.
There have been posts recently that have said that protein breakdown
is just about non-existent in the mash, but my experience seems to
indicate otherwise. Perhaps in darker malts, like Vienna and Munich?
I know that a protein rest does a LOT for DeWolf-Cosyns Pale Ale and
Pilsner malts. You can see it in the quanitity of break produced!
I'm not sure of what mash temps and times are used to make PU... Darryl,
are you still out there?
If Darryl Richman doesn't respond, it may be in his article on Pilsner
Urquell in Zymurgy about 6 or 8 years ago.
Al.
Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL
korz at xnet.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 15:45:50 -0500
From: Jim Elden <elden at accumedic.com>
Subject: RIMS pictures, SS mash tun with easymasher
Hi all,
I have placed some pictures of my recently completed RIMS
along with the double easymasher in the mash tun
at http://www.accumedic.com/docs/jim
for your collective perusal. Comments are welcome and
encouraged.
Regards,
Jim Elden
Riptide Brewery
Long Beach, NY
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 16:25:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Vector <vectorsy at netaxs.com>
Subject: Recirc of Sparge
>Quick question for the RIMS crowd. I'm in the process of
>designing/building my Spiffnatious RIMSical(tm) setup, and I was
>wondering what the benefits/drawbacks would be of recirculating the
>sparge, after the initial mash, rather than doing a standard sparge into
>the kettle.
I drain the mash tun completely and then refill with sparge water.
I generally recirc my sparge water for 30 mins at 168F while beginning
to boil tthe first runnings. When the first running get boiling, I allow
the mash tun to slowly drain to the kettle (slow enough to not stop the
boil). This has upped my efficency by about 3-4 points and cut 30+ mins
from my brew day.
>Also, is it possible to have too much space under my Phake(tm) bottom in
>my tun?
I don't see the disadvantage in too much space under the false bottom,
unless you plan on draining the mash tun completely. This being the
case, your false bottom must be able to support the weight of the grains.
>I'd appreciate email responses, since I have fallen behind in my
>HBD reading.
Why? Have you been out trademarking everything? :)
>Wayne Holder
>Zymico(tm)
>Long Beach CA
>"Home of the Toob(tm)"
John
P.S. My old mailbox was yanked (rust1d at li.com). Questions on HBRCP should
be directed to eve at charon.ogi.com (my wifes box) (hey! get your mind out
of the gutter).
**************************
** rust1d at li.com **
** John Nicholas Varady ** <-- Now Married.
** Eve Courtney Hoyt **
**************************
http://www.netaxs.com/people/vectorsys/index.html
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Date: Thu, 20 Feb 97 16:38:42 est
From: paa3983 at dpsc.dla.mil (Mike Spinelli)
Subject: Cold Break: immersion vs. counterflow
HBDers,
I'm switching from an immersion chiiler to a Hart's type super chiller
counterflow unit and have a question: What happens to the cold break now?
Instead of falling to the bottom of your boil tun while immersion chilling, will
the cold break now flow into my fermentors? Is this a problem with CF units? I
figure the CF unit won't give the break any time to settle like when using an
immersion unit.
Thanks
Mike Spinelli
Cherry Hill, NJ
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 16:45:03 -0700 (MST)
From: "Steven W. Smith" <SYSSWS at gc.maricopa.edu>
Subject: SA Clone recipe?
You know the one I mean:
Barleycorn called it "the beer equivalent of a 1905 Mouton Rothschild".
The Malt Advocate exclaimed "...resembles a vintage port or Madeira as much as
it does a beer"*. Yep, I seek the recipe for the fabled Sam Adams TRIPLE BOCK
1995 reserve.
My recipe so far: "almost a pound of malt per bottle", post-expiration-date
canned prune juice, subtle nuances of the iron tonic my mom gave me as a lad.
Maybe some of those FOOPs** we used to chat about (to make sure there's no
head).
One more quote from the li'l info pamphlet tastefully draped about the
graceful neck of the lovely blue bottle:
Take a sip. Let your head fill with flavors you have never found in any
beer." That pretty much sums up the experience.
I tell ya, that Koch feller is one _heckuva_ practical joker! I apologize
for the lack of a real contribution (aside from "save your money"). A
prolonged period without brewing has made me, well... cranky.
* my wife exclaimed, "Oh geez that's nasty! What's in it, prune juice?"
** Fold Only Once Proteins (ya had to be there).
Steve (gagging with delight and obviously unsophisticated)
_,_/| Steven W. Smith
\o.O; Systems Programmer, but not a Licensed Therapist
=(___)= Glendale Community College. Glendale Az.
U syssws at gc.maricopa.edu or smith at peabody.gc.maricopa.edu
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down?
We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason." Jack Handy
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 97 16:25 PST
From: cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charles Burns)
Subject: Dishwater Blonde
Otherwise known as Starchy Strawberry Blonde. In private email, Al points
out that the process described in Brew Your Own magazine was a surefire way
to get starch haze. The toasting of malt at 350F for 15-20 minutes will
destroy most (maybe all) of the enzymes. By the time it gets into the brew,
by steeping, the only thing to come out will be starch. This is probably why
it never cleared and may also have contributed to the low FG. Anyway, now
that we have Victory malt to give the toasty flavor, I use that instead of
toasting my own.
Charley (of starch haze fame)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Burns, Director, Information Systems
Elk Grove Unified School District
cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us, http://www.egusd.k12.ca.us
916-686-7710 (voice), 916-686-4451 (fax)
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 97 01:23:11 UT
From: "Raymond Estrella" <ray-estrella at msn.com>
Subject: dogs,let-me-out-man
Don writes
>My favorite is the LaBEERdor Retriever. Heres why...she stuck her head in
>the hole she had dug, grabbed on to something and pulled it out. Low and
>behold the "metal gopher" was a full, intact, Mickey's big mouth beer.
Are you sure she had a metal gopher, and not a glass skunk ? (But how could
it skunk, it was in the dark hole, and was surely above 50f ?) noooo.....
>From JMBuster at aol.com
>Subject: Re: Take me off your list !!!!!!!!
you must unsubscribe by sending a one line e-mail to
listserv at ua1vm.ua.edu that says: UNSUB BEER-L
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Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 23:19:02 -0500
From: Saul Laufer <laufers at vaniercollege.qc.ca>
Subject: wheat recipe thanks; boilover; bleach and SS kegs
Hi all,
I posted a request for info on wheat beer and then had to be away for
about a week. I was surprised by the number of people who responded and
would like to use the digest to thank all who resonded. All the
responses were useful. It is obvious that there is a large well
informed group out there. Nice to have the digest back on line.
In one of the recent digests there was some talk about preventing
boilovers. I recently acquired a small clip on fan (about 7" diameter)
and removed the front wire screen which acted as a diffuser and safety
screen. The blades are plastic and not dangerous. As I use a converted
keg I was able to clip the fan on to the top ring which I left intact
when I cut out the top of the keg. It works beautifully and ther are no
more boilovers, even with the most vigorous boils. (I use a cajun type
cooker -around 170,000 BTU).
Also, there was some talk recently about bleach and its effect on SS. I
have been kegging for quite some time and have used bleach to sanitize
the kegs with no apparent damage. The insides are mirrorlike and there
is no evidence of pitting (I own 3 coke soda kegs). I have looked for
iodophor with little success. Perhaps it's not yet available in Canada.
Saul
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 97 05:14:45 UT
From: "RICHARD DRAKE" <HARDROCKENGR at msn.com>
Subject: 1997 GAzBF-HBC
The 4th Annual GAzBF homebrew competition is scheduled for April 5&6, 1997.
Entries for this AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition will be accepted from March
26 to April 2 at:
McFarlane Brewing Company
202 South 29th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Entries will be accepted for all 1997 AHA categories including ciders and
meads. The standard AHA recipe and bottle ID forms will be used. The entry fee
is $5.00 for the first entry and $4.00 for each additional entry. Forms or
further information are available from:
Rick Drake
5325 W. Willow Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85304-1368
Phone - 602-843-3420
Fax - 602-439-3910
e-mail - hardrockengr at msn.com
As always, the proceeds will be donated to the charitable organization, Sun
Sounds Reading Service.
The Best-Of-Show winner will receive a GAzBF trophy and a $100.00 gift
certificate from The Homebrewery in Sierra Vista, AZ. Olympic style medals
will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in each category. First place
winners will also receive a small gift from a local merchant (i.e.: T-shirt,
pint glass, book, gift certificate, etc). A new award called the Brewer's
Choice Award will be presented to the most commercially viable entry in the
best of show round. This award winning beer will be chosen by a panel of local
commercial brewmasters. The winner will receive the right to brew the winning
recipe at one of the local brewpubs.
Regards,
Rick Drake
GAzBFHBC- Organizer
VP- Brewmeisters Anonymous
BJCP- Certified
Homebrewer
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 97 16:44:09 JST
From: hoshido at gman.rme.sony.co.jp (Mutsuo Hoshido)
Subject: how to homebrew sake
Homebrew Sake is very easy to brew using your simple cooking tools
and then you can enjoy your own Sake taste.
Homebrew Sake,we call 'doburoku', rather haze Sake, had been a culture
of Japan and even under the previously strict control of Liquor Tax law,
some Buddhist temples or Shinto Shrines have been brewing thier own
'doburoku' to serve their festival or ceremony.
Following is one of the simple Homebrew Sake brewing procedures to
enjoy your own Sake taste.
[Materials]
Rice,1500g(3.3lb)
Kome-koji or rice-koji, 400g(0.9lb)
Citric acid, 5g(0.18oz);you cab eliminate this depending on your taste.
Water,4.2litter(1.1gal)
Dry bread yeast,5g (0.18oz) . Or equivalent amount of Beer Ale yeast,
Wine yeast,or Wyeast Sake depending on you taste.
You will be able to get Kome-koji made from Koji or Koji-kin, a kind
of white fungi,together with steam cooked rice at your grocery stores
or homebrew stores.
My homebrew friend,Mr.T.Takesima,opened his Koji URL so that
you can get further information on Koji in the USA.
Koji URL; http://128.183.126.102/~takeshim/.sub_html/koji.html
His beer page in Japanese;
http://128.183.126.102/~takeshim/.sub_html/homebrew.html
If you only can get Koji or Koji-kin, you can easily make your fresh
Kome-koji together with steam cooked rice by yourself using your
picniccooling box. Later I will show you how to make Kome-koji.
[Equipment]
Electric rice cooker(steam cooker is better).
Basket to cut water.
Ten liters(2.6gal) enamel or stainless steel deep cooking pot with lid.
(Equivalent plastic or glass container can be used.)
Big spoon(stainless is better) .
[Procedure]
1.Wash and soak the 1500g(3.3lb) rice for about five hours and then
put the rice in a basket for at least 20 min. to cut water.
2.Cook the rice with 1800ml(0.48gal)water using the rice cooker.
Steam cooking is recommendable for better taste. I used a pressure
cooker to steam cook rice using stainless steel bastket suspended
in it.
3.After cooking the rice,cool down the rice to 30deg C(86deg F).
4.Melt the citric acid with 2.4liter(0.5gal) water in the enamel cooking
pot.
Citric acid will prevent the contamination of bacteria and add
slight sour taste to your Sake.
Depending on your taste, you can reduce or eliminate the Citric acid.
Also you can use Lactic acid or you can use a Lemon or Lime juice.
5.Add 400g kome-koji and well melt it by agitating with the big spoon.
6.In thirty minutes, add the cooled cooked rice and well mix by agitating
with the big spoon.
7.Pitch the yeast and place the lid on the pot and keep it at room
temperautre.
Lower temperature will cause slower and longer fermentaion and
will result in better taste.
8.Stir it at least once a day.
In two or three days you can enjoy very nice Sake aroma.
Be careful about bacteria contamination. I used 70% ethyl alcohol
spay around the pot and to myself every time.
9.In two weeks fermentation will seem to end.
10.Filter the sludge using a sterilized basket or cheese cloth. I'm using
a stainless steel 40mesh screen.
11.Enjoy the filtered Sake. Do not drink too much. Alcohol content is two
to three times more than beer. Cooling the filtered Sake is the better
way to taste. If you want crystal clear Sake,separate the further
sludge by decanting. This will result in great reduction of your Sake
yield.
The filtered sake can be matured in your refrigerator at least six
months for much improved taste.
12.Remaining sludge can be used to cook vegetable pickles in a
refrigerator.
A cucumber is the most suitable vegetable. (before use,keep the
cucumber in a container under two times weight at least 2 days
after sprinking slight salt (about 2weight% of the cucumber).
In two or three months,you can get sake taste pickles.
Of course you can put white fish meat and then grill them.
If you put soy bean cake (tofu) wrapped with cheese cloths into
the sludge,in a week you will be able to get cheese like tasty food.
How to make Kome-koji from Koji or Koji-kin
1.Wash and soak the 400g(0.9lb) rice for about five hours and then
put the rice in a basket for at least 20 min. to cut water.
2.Steam cook the rice. Steam cooked rice looks slightly transparent,
not white.
3.Cool down the cooked rice to 35deg C(95deg F). Put the rice into an
enamel or stainless steel thin container and add 1 to 2g of Koji or
Koji-kin and well mix them. Cover the container with water
moistened cheese cloth or cotton cloth to prevent drying.
4.Put the container in a picnic cooling box together with 40deg C(104
deg F) warm water bottles to keep the inside at 35deg C(95deg F)
for 40 hours.
The amount of the warm water will preferably be at least 8 litters
(2 gal).
If necessary, change the warm water to keep the temperature constant.
In 10 hours,mix again the mixture of the cooked rice and Koji using
a cooking sparula. Already you can notice the whitened rice and get
good aroma. I used a digital thermometer to measure the temperature
inside. It is very useful and convenient to keep temperature constant
without any expensive electrical temperature control device.
5.Further keep the mixture at 35deg C(95deg F) for 30 hours.
6.You can get white colored Kome-koji covered with white fungus.
Of course,you can homebrew your sake only from Kome-koji without
using steam cooked rice. If you can make Kome-koji by yourself,
you can save time and money.
If real "Amasake" is available (sake sludge mixed with suger is not real
amasake),directly pitch dry yeast in a bottle.
Then you can brew your own Sake.
Commercial Sake brewers use very expensive materials such as 50%
polished special kind of rice,which looks like very small crystal beads
because of the excessive polishing process. And the special rice kinds
grown only for Sake are called Yamadanishiki,Miyamanishiki,Reihou,
Gyokuei and so on.
We never eat such a rice, we usually eat slightly polished normal kinds
of rice grown only for eating. When I visited Sake brewer near my house,
the manager told me that he tried to eat that sake rice but that it was
not tasty.
Homebrew Sake is very simple to make and satisfactorily tasty if you do
not compare with commercial high class pure rice Sake. I heard that US
Sake brewers have to produce only pure rice Sake because of US tax law.
Pure Rice Sake means Sake only from rice.
In Japan, tax law allows mixture of so called industrial ethyl alcohol
or other things into Sake within a certain percentage.
Pure rice sake (Junmaishu) is very expensive.
Kampai!
I hope you enjoy homebrew your own Sake.
Mutsuo Hoshido
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 00:44:20 -0800 (PST)
From: "MASSIMO FARAGGI" <maxfarag at hotmail.com>
Subject: skunk? help!
Hi!
Please if you could help an italian reader of HBD...
I have problems with some words that sometimes my Webster can not help to
solve. While I have been able after a while to understand at least
approximately the meaning, for example, of "anal retentive", I think I need a
deeper knowledge at least of the term "skunked" or "skunky" just to be able to
follow the recent thread. Can you describe this flavor/aroma/smell by relating
it to well-known food or chemical examples? Is the term related to a vegetable
or to an animal or whatever? (BTW I had a green-bottled Heineken yesterday, I
don't know if it was skunked but was not an outstanding beer nonetheless IMO.)
Besides, wouldn't be useful for not-so-experienced brewers/drinkers to have
some sort of table describing the most common off (or just particular)
flavours, like DMS, dyacetil etc., a brief description and/or a beer example,
and maybe their cause? Or does such an explanation exist already somewhere in
the WEB?
TIA & Cheers
Massimo Faraggi GENOVA - ITALY
maxfarag at hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
- ---------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 09:00:37 -0500
From: Bob McCowan <bob.mccowan at bmd.cpii.com>
Subject: RE: FWH and Bitterness
Al said:
>I brewed a Pils in which I
>(foolishly) put all the hops in as "First Wort Hops" (i.e. they were added
>to the kettle as I ran the sweet wort into it. I had estimated 40 IBUs
>assuming 27% utilisation from a 2 hour boil. What I got, I estimate
>(based only upon tasting relative to Pilsner Urquell) was about 30 IBUs.
>Therefore, my *guess* is that I got about 20% utilisation.
>
>My hypothesis as to why I got less utilisation is that break may have
>formed around the hops decreasing either solubility or isomerisation
>or both.
Was this beer decoction mashed or infusion mashed? A while ago we were
speculating that the decoctions would cause a reduction in hot break
formation since a lot of the proteins are degraded and/or left behind in the
lauter tun. The corresponding reduction in hot break would mitigate the
reduction in hop utilization. I know that in Noonan's 'Brewing Lager Beers'
he recommends adding the bittering hops at the beginning of the boil.
Bob
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob McCowan
ATG/Receiver-Protector voice: (508)-922-6000 x208
CPI BMD fax: (508)-922-8914
Beverly, MA 01915 e-mail: bob.mccowan at bmd.cpii.com
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 14:37:21 +0100
From: fredriks at abel.math.umu.se (Fredrik St{\aa}hl)
Subject: Re: CO2 capturing
Al writes:
>Hmmmm... I don't know if simply allowing the fermentation gasses to swirl
>in the headspace of the 2ndaries will impart any off-flavours/aromas (you're
>right that there's DMS, H2S and many other undesirable gasses in there).
>I know that the American megas and German breweries that capture and store
>their fermentation CO2 (that's the only way you can force-carbonate under
>Reinheitsgebot!), but they scrub it before use. I don't know how elaborate
>these procedures are, but I'm pretty sure they are described in Malting
>and Brewing Science, The Practical Brewer, and possibly even A Textbook
>of Brewing. However, I don't think you need to go through all that trouble.
I just recalled seeing this in a small brewery in Bamberg last summer. The
CO2 was piped from the conditioning tanks and allowed to bubble through a
small glass container (<1 liter), and I was of course curious about it. The
guide said that it was for capturing CO2 for force carbonation.
Unfortunately, the rest of the crowd was already tired of me asking
questions all the time and was waiting for the samples, so I didn't ask
what kind of liquid there was in the container. Acid of some sort?
/Fredrik
- --------------------------------------------------------------
Fredrik St{\aa}hl Tel: int + 46 90 166027
Math. Dept. Fax: int + 46 90 165222
University of Ume{\aa} E-mail: fredriks at abel.math.umu.se
S-90187 Ume{\aa}, SWEDEN WWW: http://abel.math.umu.se/~fredriks
On tap: Uncle Spam Pale Ale
*** Nemo saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit ***
- --------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 97 08:34:31 EST
From: "Ed J. Basgall" <edb at chem.psu.edu>
Subject: tap handles
>Date: Wed, 19 Feb 97 12:23 PST
>From: cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charles Burns)
>Subject: Searching the Archives
>Is there a faq somewhere that explains how to search the HBD archives? I
>remember some postings last year about custom made tap handles. I need some
>and just wanted to find those postings.
>TIA,
>Charley
Charley,
The recent issue of "Brew Your Own" had an article on making your own
tap handles. I can FAX it to you if you send me a # to FAX to.
cheers
Ed Basgall
SCUM
State College Underground Maltsters
State College, PA 16801
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 07:04:01 -0600
From: "Richard Scotty"<rscotty at uswest.com>
Subject: RE: Portable Co2 Solutions
From: Richard Scotty on 02/21/97 07:04 AM
Matt writes:
>I bought one of these things - But haven't needed it yet... - But it
>looks like it will work great - it uses small co2 cartridges like those
used for bike tires, air guns, etc.
>In fact, I found the Co2 cartridge / and filler in a bike shop for much
>less $$$ - If you are handy in fitting the plumbing together, I'm sure
>you could just buy the bike pump, and co2, and add your own fittings to
convert to a ball / pin lock for >you cornie...
If I'm not mistaken, the unit from Williams has a regulator. This is not
present on the bike tire fillers (I use one of those on my bikes).
Shooting the entire contents of the Co2 cartridge directly into your keg
will probably not produce the desired results ;-{>
Be careful out there,
Rich Scotty
Officer in charge - Keg Pressure and Temperature Regulation - The Crapshoot
Brewery
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Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 08:00:03 -0800
From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro)
Subject: RE: Soapy beer
Howdy,
Soapiness is most often associated with high fermentation
temperatures. I had a great lesson in this when a long-term house
guest fermented his beer in a room where the temperature was a very
constant 87F (30.5C) (he was more concerned with getting alcohol
quickly then with quality).
The resulting brew could have been used to wash out some "poorly
spoken" kid's mouth!
Some yeasts will be a bit more forgiving of high temperatures, but 87F
is really up there! It doesn't have to be that warm for the beer to
turn soapy tasting.
For what its worth, I sometimes perceive Kent Goldings as being a bit
soapy, especially when used for finishing or dry hopping. Anybody
else out there ever sense this?
Have fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
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