HOMEBREW Digest #2820 Wed 09 September 1998

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
		Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of 
		Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
				URL: http://www.oeonline.com


Contents:
  Green Hops ("J. Kish")
  cleaning keg lines (K. Kutskill)
  Dayton BPs (MicahM1269)
  re: drying Hops (Pvrozanski)
  favorite base malts II (Sharon/Dan Ritter)
  when lager (kathy)
  No Sparge 1st attempt (randy.pressley)
  Reply to Thomas S Barnett (decoction mash) ("Chip Upsal")
  New toys (Dave Hinrichs)
  High Temp. Pump (cbs)
  Re: Green hops (Sahti)
  Green hops weight... (Some Guy)
  Poly Clar ("Spies, James")
  Dry green hops... (Some Guy)
  Northern Wisconsin Report ("Jeffrey M. Kenton")
  Hops Storage Tip #33 (EFOUCH)
  Triple decoction / in-line thermometer / Thanks! (George_De_Piro)
  New Liquid yeast packets (randy.pressley)
  decoction mashing (Jeremy Price)
  Pun of the Year (Steve Waite)
  In defense of phenolic flavors/Ale+Lager US HIstory/AJ's zinc ("Steve Alexander")
  19th Century beers ("Bryan L. Gros")
  Storing grain (John Wilkinson)
  Re: Carbonation with yeast (Matthew Arnold)
  new email address (fridge)
  Parti-Gyle and Batch Sparging (Dan Cole)
  Rice Beer/Sake (Calgarey Penn)
  re:green hops (Jon Macleod)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 22:02:05 -0700 From: "J. Kish" <jjkish at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Green Hops To: Jack Schmidling Are you telling us you never tried fresh, green hops directly picked off the vine, and used in a batch of beer? Don't wait another minute! Green hops seem to give enhanced flavor to the beer, the heading is improved, too. Once you try it, you'll wish you could use green hops all year! Make lots of beer while the hops are green! The weight of the hops is a lot heavier freshly picked, so you will have to do some guess work to estimate how much to use. In hot weather, hops start to dry out on-the-vine, so that also needs to be taken in consideration. Try it, you'll love it! Joe Kish Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 07:21:49 -0400 From: kkutskill at net-ex.com (K. Kutskill) Subject: cleaning keg lines I seem to have a recurring problem. The beer in my kegs seem to pick up an off flavor about 3-4 weeks after tapping, which I attribute to dirty/contaminated keg lines (doesn't happen when I detach the the keg lines after dispensing beer). I am currently using the plastic cobra taps, in a converted chest freezer. What is the best way to clean and sanitize the lines, so I don't have to keep on detaching the lines? TIA, Kevin Kutskill kkutskill at net-ex.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 07:21:28 EDT From: MicahM1269 at aol.com Subject: Dayton BPs Does anyone know of some good drinking beer drinking establishments in the Dayton, Ohio area? Any brew pubs? private e-mail responses would be great. TIA micah millspaw - brewer at large Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 06:27:46 -0500 From: Pvrozanski at ra.rockwell.com Subject: re: drying Hops Paul VanSlyke wrote: >Good morning, >The last batch brewed, I used leaf hops (cascade) purchased in oxygen barrier >bags. Previously I have used either hops packaged as plugs or pellets. The >leaf hops were very green in color. Hops that I have picked and dried have >always "browned" to some degree. > >My question is: How do the commercial growers manage to dry their hops and >maintain the fresh green appearance? It depends on the method of drying. If you dry in an oven you are relying on heat to remove the moisture from the hops and in essence you are baking the hops. I think the preferred method is to use a dehydrator. This method removes the moisture by passing air over the hops. Of course the drier the air the better. Most home dehydrators have a heating element in them to provide warm air, which speeds up the drying. By drying them in dehydrator you also maintain the hops color. The airflow and gentle heat, usually around 115 degrees F., assure this. If you do use an oven, cut the heat down and position a fan the air in the oven so the air has a chance to move around. The dehydrator I use is an American Harvest with 8 trays. I end up with 6-8 ounces of dried hops per 24 hour period. Hope this helps, Phil Rozanski Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 98 05:55:23 MST From: Sharon/Dan Ritter <ritter at bitterroot.net> Subject: favorite base malts II A few weeeks ago I asked HBD readers to tell me their favorite ale and lager base malts. A few responses trickled in but no clear consensus emerged. In case you missed the post, I'd like to try it one more time. Send me the malts you prefer and I'll post the final results. Here's what I have so far: Paul's Pale Ale malt (Hugh Baird also) Canadian Malting Harrington Gambrinus "ESB Malt Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt. (Crisp Malting) Hugh Baird (problems with recent bag however) Durst lager Weissheimer Pils DeWolf Cosyns pilsner malt Dan Ritter <ritter at bitterroot.net> Ritter's MAMMOTH Brewery - Hamilton, Montana Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 07 Sep 1998 09:05:42 -0500 From: kathy <kbooth at scnc.waverly.k12.mi.us> Subject: when lager I am not an historian, but I've always associated the move to lager beers with the industrial period. Workers in hot sweaty environments wanted a cool, refreshing quench-your-thrist type of drink "Its Miller Time" rather than a sip-thru-the-evening flavored ale/stout as you hang with your buddies in the pub. Also, the industrial period meant that mechanical refrigeration and ice-making was possible and the Great Lakes ice that Made Milwaukee famous as a producer of lager beer, could be had in St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinatti, et al. Imagine in the 1870's trying to brew lager beer in climates like Kansas City, Missouri or Alanta and having to compete with ice loaded boxcars of beer from Milwaukee. cheers, jim booth, lansing, mi Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 8:32:29 -0500 From: randy.pressley at SLKP.COM Subject: No Sparge 1st attempt I read an article recently in Brewing Techniques about conducting an all grain and omitting the sparge. I then searched the hbd archives and found others who have done the no sparge and everyone who does it seems pleased with the results. Different folks use different techniques and I'm going to try my own technique this Friday if my yeast arrives thru the mail in time. I'm going to conduct a 15 gallon batch using two boilers. My plan is to make the mash just a little thin by using 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain. I will have 42 lbs of grain and 16 gallons of water in the mash tun. Assuming 1 gallon of grain absorption per 10 lbs of grain I should be able to get about 12 gallons of first runnings. I'm hoping the gravity will be higher than my target so I can dilute with treated boiling water. Before I dilute I will stir the first runnings in boiler number one and transfer over a calculated amount into boiler number 2. The calculated amount is based upon the gravity and dilution needed. I will then figure out how much more wort I need for boiler number two and add that + an extra 20% to the mash tun and no sparge once again. I guess this second boiler could be called a modified small beer since it has some of the good stuff or maybe it should be called a medium beer. I'm looking for any opinions or suggestions about my strategy. I'll post my results when I get to taste my first bottle which shouldn't be too long since this is going to be an English Brown Ale. Cheers! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 07:20:22 -0600 From: "Chip Upsal" <brewerchip at trail.com> Subject: Reply to Thomas S Barnett (decoction mash) I have used double decoctions for my Bock beers. I feel it does indeed make for a better flavored -- richer/malter -- beer. (I won best of show with this recipe in Memphis a couple of years back) For me decoction mashing is the only way to do a multi-temp. mash; since i have basically only an infusion mash system. Yes it takes quite a bit more time, but i feel it is worth it for traditional bocks and other lager beers. Chip ______________________________________________ visit my site at: http://www.computer-chip.com chip at computer-chip.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:00:46 -0400 From: Dave Hinrichs <dhinrichs at quannon.com> Subject: New toys I just returned from a restaraunt supply house (more Stainless than a mad scientist could use) and found the mother of all Igloo's. 11 gallon all Stainless NSF. It's an AerVoid Thermal Container from Vacuum Can Co., Chicago, IL. The only problem is there is no bottom drain. Before I go slicing and dicing this baby I want to ask the collective if anyone has one of these and can give advice in regards to the drain. Much appreciated. *************************************************************** * Dave Hinrichs E-Mail: dhinrichs at quannon.com * * Quannon CAD Systems, Inc. Voice: (612) 935-3367 * * 6101 Baker Road, Suite 204 FAX: (612) 935-0409 * * Minnetonka, MN 55345 BBS: (612) 935-8465 * * http://www.quannon.com/ * *************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 10:04:38 -0700 From: cbs at bellatlantic.net Subject: High Temp. Pump Collective: I'm looking for a pump to circulate water at 200 dregees plus. The pump should be able to push water throught 25 feet of 3/8" or 1/2" copper tubing. Also this pump should able to lift 4 feet. The cost I've been given is approx. $125.00. Thanks for the Help. B. Bennett cbs at bellatlantic.net Glassboro, N.J. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:12:04 EDT From: Sahti at aol.com Subject: Re: Green hops In a message dated 98-09-08 04:08:01 EDT, you write: << > Is there any reason why hops must be dried before use? > > js I believe hops are dried simply as a storage method. Similar to making jerky or sun-dried tomatos. Remove the water and there's less chance of molds and other contaminants getting hold. SM >> Another reason to dry hops is a beer recipe (using whole hops) assumes the hops are dried. Non-dried fresh hops have a certain amount of moisture in them, so you would not be able to assume 1 ounce of green hops (undried) would have the same amount of alpha-acids or flavour compounds as 1 ounce of dried hops. I do not know how much water is in green hops (comments anyone?). Perhaps there is not enough to make a difference on small scale brewing. Cheers! Bill Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:39:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Some Guy <pbabcock at oeonline.com> Subject: Green hops weight... Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... Joe Kish intones: "The weight of the hops is a lot heavier freshly picked, so you will have to do some guess work to estimate how much to use." Should be a factor of around four. See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at oeonline.com Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/brew.html "Just a cyber-shadow of his former brewing self..." Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:49:37 -0400 From: "Spies, James" <Spies at dhcd.state.md.us> Subject: Poly Clar All - Due to the relatively low traffic on the HBD of late, I'll ask a question that has been gnawing at me for awhile . . . I would like to fine my beers with Poly Clar (have heard it's one of the more effective fining agents), so I bought some, rehydrated about 1 tablespoon of it in boiled, cooled water, and dumped it into a finished APA that I had sitting in a carboy in my 70 or so degree basement. I swirled the carboy around once every few days to try to resuspend the stuff, but the final bottled product was not that much different than my un-fined beers. Scratching my befuddled head, I reasoned that I had missed an essential step somewhere in the process. However, the instructions on the Poly Clar container said only to "add to finished beer" Gee, thanks for the scoop. Anyone know what I did wrong? Should the beer be chilled to bring out the chill haze before the Poly Clar is added? Should the Poly Clar be added to an empty carboy and the finished beer racked onto it? Does Poly Clar suck? Any ideas on how to use this or any other fining agent would be welcomed and appreciated. BTW, the Poly Clar that I used was white and had the consistency of confectioner's sugar (I've heard there's 2 kinds of Poly Clar). I don't have any affiliation with the stuff; just trying to glean a little info . . . TIA, Jay Spies Wishful Thinking Basement Brewery Baltimore, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:46:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Some Guy <pbabcock at oeonline.com> Subject: Dry green hops... Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... Phil Rozanski opines: "It depends on the method of drying." Actually, it seems to have more to do with the SPEED of drying. I dry on a rack in the basement using ambent air currents. Hops are to 1/4 moisture by weight within a few days, but brown considerably in the process. A dehydrator would dry those same hops in much less time and would brown much less. Same is true when "pressing" plant material for preservation: the FASTER you remove the moisture, the less color change you experience in the plant material. All else being equal, I don't think the oven vs the dehydrator should make much difference - except the increased airflow with the dehydrator. As has been said before, the key is airflow, not temperature. (And, allied with the airflow, the ability of that air to take up more moisture: humidity.) See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at oeonline.com Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/brew.html "Just a cyber-shadow of his former brewing self..." Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 09:55:24 -0500 From: "Jeffrey M. Kenton" <jkenton at iastate.edu> Subject: Northern Wisconsin Report Howdy Gang. I just got back (last night) from a great time in the Door County area of Wisconsin. My wife and I went 'up Nort' to help shingle our family's summer cottage. Weather was great for that kind of work. Anyway to the point: after shingling for most of the daylight hours, my parents announced that they wanted to take us to a brewpub in Door County. Always up for a new thing, I said "Let's go." When we got there, I noticed a nice ten barrel system behind glass, spotless. My mouth began to water when I saw that they had six styles, four of which were exciting to me. However, the excitement that I felt when we took off for the brewpub was instantly lost when I saw how they served their beers: in plastic cups like at a keg party. I paid $3.00 a cup for beer while a younger lad, but that $3.00 also afforded me all-I-care-to-drink amounts of beer (i.e. I could refill it as often as I wanted). Is this standard practice now (to serve pub-brewed beer in plastic cups)? The other brewpubs I have been to served their beers in glass. The real irony is that this brewpub sold glassware that had the pub's name on it. I am currently drafting a letter to this establishment to express my opinion about their presentation, as well as other facets of the service there. In other notes, I had the six beer sampler, which came in two-ounce shot glasses. Their fruit beers were boring (very faint fruit taste), and their porter tasted like a fine dry stout. Two positive things to say: all beers were crystal clear, and free of taste defects (to my in-training palate). And as a final note, my wife (Jamie) expressed to me that she really liked fruit beers, especially the ones that have fruit taste. (Thank you, God. One more beer bullet.) On the way home, Jamie even charted a course that would take us through New Glarus, Wisconsin. New Glarus is a brewery that really takes its fruit beer brewing seriously. You may remember they won the gold medal in the fruit beer category for their Belgian Red (cherries, cherries, cherries). I believe their raspberry beer also won high praise at GABF, but I may be wrong. New Glarus Brewing Company also produces a fine line of more standard fare: a pils, a light lager, etc. Others may have said it first, but New Glarus may have a triple crown in the fruit beer category at this year's GABF. Belgian Red, Raspberry and Apple Ale. You can decide for yourself which takes first, second and third. They are all excellent. Bring your checkbook when buying New Glarus' fruit beers however. $5-6 for a 750ml bottle. Worth every penny. Jeff Jeffrey M. Kenton jkenton at iastate.edu Ames, Iowa brewer at iastate.edu Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Sep 1998 12:33:55 -0400 From: EFOUCH at steelcase.com Subject: Hops Storage Tip #33 Marc said: - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 10:38:58 -0400 From: Marc.Arseneau at fluordaniel.com Subject: Homebrewing Tip #74 Step #1: Light the Match Step #2: THEN turn the gas on. DO NOT perform these simple steps in reverse order. (the hair will grow back, right?) Marc "Learning the hard way" Arseneau - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I've got my own tip to share regarding hops storage. When using a CO2 fire extinguisher to purge wide mouthed one-gallon glass jars for hops storage, it's best to do so BEFORE you put the hops in the jar. I'm still picking hops out of my teeth and hair. And Marc- in my experience, eyelashes and eyebrows grow back, but slowly. Eric (Fire Marsall Bill) Fouch Bent Dick YocotoBrewery Kentwood MI Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 13:17:47 -0700 From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com Subject: Triple decoction / in-line thermometer / Thanks! Hi all, Tom asks if a triple decoction is appropriate (and desirable) for brewing at home. First, a quick review of what decoction brewing does: it allows sugars and amino acids to react to form melanoidins (which can give a beer a deep, malty character). This does not happen to a significant degree in an infusion mash because the temperature never gets hot enough. I decoction brew quite often, and gave up multiple decoctions about 1.5 years ago. Why? I didn't think it was making enough of a flavor difference in the beer to warrant the time, effort, and potentially damaging mash handling. All that handling of the hot mash can put you at risk for hot-side aeration and burning yourself. A single decoction seems to work adequately. Another tremendous factor in my decision to abandon multiple decoctions was the damage done to both the body and head retention of my beer because of the long protein rest(s) that are really hard to avoid when doing a multiple decoction. As I've said (many times), modern malts are quite well-modified and do not rigorous mashing like the continental malts of yesteryear. Resting the main mash in the proteoytic range for over 30 min. while decocting can harm your beer's body and head. Ouch! When doing a single decoction it is easy to get around the protein rest: simply mash-in at saccharification, rest, pull the decoction and boil, then return it to hit 165-168F (73.8-75.6C). At this temperature alpha amylase will convert the starch that is liberated during the decoction boil. This adds little time to the brew day, too. --------------------------------- Here is a neat trick that I have now used 3 times and therefore declare a success: a simple in-line thermometer to measure the temperature of wort as it exits my counterflow chiller. I spent a while trying to find a thermometer with a stem that would make a water-tight seal using a compression-T so that I could measure wort temperature as it enters the fermenter. After a little searching, I dropped the idea and simply cut a slit in a piece of tubing. The slit is just big enough to allow the stem of my Taylor pocket digital thermometer to fit in it. I boil the tube, put it on the end of my chiller, poke the thermometer through the hole and let the wort run. Voila! Amazingly, it doesn't leak after three uses! Simple can be so good... ------------------------- Thanks to everybody who responded about the light source for a microscope. I tried to send replies back individually, but I may have missed a couple. Have fun! George de Piro (Nyack, NY) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 13:16:40 -0500 From: randy.pressley at SLKP.COM Subject: New Liquid yeast packets Has anyone tried the new liquid yeast packets. You're suppose to be able to pop it and 6 hours later it's ready. The package says there is no need for a starter. You can tell if you have the new kind because the cost is $6. 50 versus the usual $4.00. I bought a couple of packets but haven't had the chance to use them yet. I will probably use a starter anyway, however since more yeast makes you happy quicker beer. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 13:56:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Jeremy Price <pricejy at email.uc.edu> Subject: decoction mashing Thomas S Barnett <barnets at mail.auburn.edu> asked about Triple Decoction--Bock Beer >From my experience, brewing a doppel bock beer using the traditional triple decoction method is overkill. You will most likely get unaccetable levels of HSA from transfering the mash so many times. I have brewed several doppelbocks, and while the decocted ones taste a bit fuller and maltier, the infusion bocks were very tasty. I would suggest a single decoction, or alter your grist to achieve some extra maltiness. I have found that Belgian D/C aromatic malt is a good start. Also don't forget to start with a solid base of German or Belgian Munich malt. Both malts are high in melanodins, the compounds which will ultimately produce thoes malty or bready flavors. Some on the digest may blast me for it, but I don't believe that domestic malts can give that nice maltiness to a traditional bock. Jeremy Price Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:56:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Steve Waite <swaite at sr.hp.com> Subject: Pun of the Year In HBD 2817, Mark Lubben writes: "The recent starter discussion had just caused me to contemplate using a stout cord and 2 liter plastic bottle ^^^^^ like a bolo in the back yard. The neighbors already know I'm crazy..." Quite possibly the best beer related pun of the decade. Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 15:56:23 -0400 From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: In defense of phenolic flavors/Ale+Lager US HIstory/AJ's zinc Paul Niebergall responds to George DePiro's comments about ancient beers as ... >I have never >experienced *phenolic, sour, etc.* flavors in any of my decocted brews. George was referring to phenolic off flavors due to infection and dextrinous or starchy worts due to lack of ability to measure and control temperature and not due to the decoction process per se. A thermometer and the improved sanitation and yeast handling practices have improved homebrew re these problems - however infection and resulting off-flavors continues to loom large on the list of threats to good homebrew - and commercial brewing as well. As for the statement, ". I have never experienced *phenolic[...]* flavors in any of my decocted brews". I think this needs to be reconsidered. If you have no phenolic flavors you really don't have beer - it's more like a Zima clone. Phenolics get a 'bad wrap' in every venue on brewing, and certainly the bad side of phenolic flavors can be very bad indeed. What the statement above (and I'm not picking on Paul here) and other similar absolutist statements about phenolics ignore is that normal levels of phenolic compounds are VERY IMPORTANT to normal beer flavor profile. A beer stripped of phenolics will taste simple and insipid. Unoxidized phenolic compounds also impart an important 'flavor' of freshness and briskness to beer and other drinks (wine, tea). My recent experience and experiments with sparge versus no-sparge and the use of malted 'feed' barley for brewing, and the dilution of the resulting beer has just reinforced my conviction that all beer relies on balanced levels of phenolics for many of the positive flavor elements - also that in excess the positive contributions of these smaller and unoxidized phenolic compounds can quickly become dominant and negative - much faster than say negative aspects of excessive hops or melanoidins. A while back I made a CAP using homemade malt from feed barley. As I reported the beer had a decidedly off flavor component that might be called husk-like or perhaps straw-like. This component faded fast on dilution 1:1 with another more normal beer - making a rather acceptable drink. More recently I created a no-sparge and a sparge-only (small) beers - same mash, same yeast, different hopping - both are quite acceptable on their own . The obvious difference in flavor is quite apparently due to the same component that appeared in the feed-barley malt beer - namely added phenolic content. It isn't really beer without background phenolics, tho' it certainly isn't good beer with excess phenolics either. == Mort points out some great historical references and provides notes - but mostly he makes me envy his libraries full collection of JIB. Mine stops around vol 60 sometime in the 1950s. Great post again Mort. Jeff Renner, resident renaissance man (brewer, baker, biologist, historian, and isn't there a little Chem/ChemE in there too Jeff ?) also come through with some very interesting insights into lager development/history. Incidentally I also found some answers to the historical questions I recently posed in a little gem of a book, "Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of Brewing", by Charles Bamforth.1998 Plenum Press. The intended audience for the book is, I believe, the non-brewing beer geek/science geek, and it's certainly not a how-to book, but it contains many tidbits on the science and practice of brewing that won't be lost on the HBD audience either. Fun to read and well written, with some great insights on history as well as science (Answers the burning question - why did the US Air Force fund the development of the metal beer keg, and in Britain no less ?). == AJ posts on mineral levels in malt, esp zinc levels and the results surprise me a bit - in that free zinc levels in malt are so high. He states ... >It would be interesting to compare the free >and total zinc (and copper) content of a finished beer with that of the >malt it was brewed from and perhaps one day I'll get to do that. For >now, suffice it to say that malt appears to have lots of copper, >manganese and zinc and that at least trace levels of zinc make it >through to the finished beer in free ion form. I think it would be extremely interesting. I have read in several sources that zinc and certain other metals Cu and Mn from memory) are so effectively removed from wort, bound to the break material that wort can be deficient in these critical yeast enzyme cofactors regardless of the apparent high levels in the kettle. I know that adding 0.5ppm of zinc to my fermenter has a noticeable positive effect on fermentation (and makes good use of the 'zinc as common cold cure' scam tablets of a few years ago which still appear in the pharmacy shelves). - -- Apologies for all the bandwidth I've used recently, but I hope it's more interesting than on-line freezer repair threads, Steve Alexander Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 13:36:33 -0700 From: "Bryan L. Gros" <gros at bigfoot.com> Subject: 19th Century beers I've found the discussions lately of 19th Century brewing in US quite interesting. I enjoyed the history section of the new style book Altbier, which describes the "lager revolution" from an angle that was new to me. Basically, people (at least in Bavaria) had been trying to "brew lagers" for hundreds of years. They realized that fermenting and aging in cool caves made better beer than warm areas. Brew laws like the purity law and a later law which prohibited brewing in the summer, led to better beer. In the days before yeast cultures, all these methods were leading people to making lagers, primarily by selecting for cool fermenting yeasts. Naturally people would perfer the cleaner tasting lagers to the ales back then, which no doubt quickly went sour and were flavored with all kinds of root and herbs. Mid 19th century was, of course, when new yeast research started to show brewers how to make lagers in other areas of the world. Refridgeration quickly followed. Jeff R wrote (re: Classic Am. Pilsner): >If you haven't brewed this great style yet, do it this season. And >consider entering it in competitions. We need to keep this in front of the >non-HBD brewers! It was featured in Madison's Taste of the Midwest last >month, where about a dozen commercial brewers brewed versions (some may >have been ales). Mine was very nice this summer. There is still plenty of predjudice out there against non all-malt beers, even in (especially in?) long-time homebrewers and craft brewers. Didn't you post a recipe at one time for a "Classic Am Porter"? Can you repost? - Bryan Bryan Gros gros at bigfoot.com Oakland, CA Visit the new Draught Board homebrew website: http://www.valhallabrewing.com/~thor/dboard/index.htm Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 98 16:30:17 CDT From: jwilkins at wss.dsccc.com (John Wilkinson) Subject: Storing grain There has been some discussion lately about how to store grain so I thought I would contribute my method. It is similar to that offered by Gregg Howard but instead of using icing buckets I use five gallon liquid malt extract buckets retrieved from my local homebrew shop. They get malt extract in them and empty them into large drums. They throw the buckets away and I picked some up. I had to clean the buckets out but that was simple using hot water. I have even used the extract recovered to make starters. I am cheap. The buckets I got have a screw on cap on the lid which makes it easy to pour grain out. I remove the lid to fill the buckets but just remove the screw on cap to use the grain. I also use these buckets for sanitizer, collecting chilled wort if not going directly to the fermenter, or anything else a bucket is good for. I label the buckets containing grain with a strip of masking tape with the grain description written on it. A 25 kilo bag of grain is about two buckets and one batch of beer, or two and a partial bucket. Another thing about these buckets is that the lid is hard to remove but I found a plastic tool at Home Depot intended for removing paint bucket lids that works well. If left out in the cold these tools will get brittle and break but if warmed up before using are fine. I don't know if these buckets are common elsewhere but anyone interested might call their local homebrew shop, if there is one, and ask. John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas - jwilkins at wss.dsccc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 21:41:04 GMT From: marnold at ez-net.com (Matthew Arnold) Subject: Re: Carbonation with yeast Dave B. wrote: >Try rousing (stir up the yeast or rack all of the beer - including >the yeast) the beer about three days into the ferment and see if >these conditions go away. I'm guessing that this is the problem. After observing this yeast more closely than I have in the past, I've noticed that the yeast (#1338, European Ale) tends to flocc nicely and hard (i.e. it's not "fluffy" on the bottom of the fermenter, it packs itself down hard). I'm guessing this would also explain why others (and I) have noticed that #1338 tends to keep fermenting forever. Most of the yeast floccs out and the rest keeps sloooowly chugging away. This is one of the coolest things about homebrewing: getting to toy with various yeasts and see how they react quite differently and give quite different flavors/aromas. Matt - ----- Webmaster, Green Bay Rackers Homebrewers' Club http://www.rackers.org info at rackers.org Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 19:09:20 -0400 From: fridge at kalamazoo.net Subject: new email address Greetings folks, I have a new service provider and email address. I can now be reached at fridge at kalamazoo.net. Please bear with me as I get caught up with a lot of correspondence. Hope this helps! - ---------------------------------------------- Forrest Duddles - FridgeGuy in Kalamazoo fridge at kalamazoo.net Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 19:19:02 -0400 From: Dan Cole <dcole at roanoke.infi.net> Subject: Parti-Gyle and Batch Sparging I am planning my first parti-gyle brewing experience this weekend and have a few questions for those more experienced with this process than I (anyone who has done this before). I am basically struggling to cross the parti-gyle process with my batch sparge process. Just as a little background, I am planning to brew the Big Brew '98 Barleywine recipe (from Rob Moline's/Jethro Gump's recipe) and wanted to make a second small beer from the second runnings. I am planning to use the article in the July/August issue of BrewingTechniques as a guide for the recipe for the second small beer. Since I batch sparge (add all the sparge water at once, rather than trickling it over the length of the mash), my questions revolves around when do you add your second batch of sparge water to the mash? (1) Would you add the second batch of sparge water while your first brew is boiling (and leave the mash to rest at approx 170F during that 60-90 minutes) or do you (2) shorten the time during which the mash "rests" with the second sparge water (possibly waiting until the first beer is finished boiling)? Arguing both sides: 1) If I add the second batch of sparge water right after beginning the boil on the first beer, I am concerned that the mash sitting in 170F water for 60-90 minutes will leech out tannins/other bad stuff from the malt. 2) If I wait until later in the process to add my second batch of sparge water, I am concerned that the mash will begin to get lactic or otherwise spoil while sitting (and cooling) after drawing off the first batch of sparge water. I understand that this is a strange combination of two processes (batch sparging and parti-gyle brewing), but I really don't want to waste all them good sugars left over from the barleywine. Thanks in advance, Dan Cole Roanoke, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 19:04:57 -0500 From: cpenn at interaccess.com (Calgarey Penn) Subject: Rice Beer/Sake I have recently started experimenting with rice brews and would like to post some ideas and results. Brewing with rice is markedly different than brewing with other grains. The biggest difference is that rice is not mashed to convert the starches to sugars. Instead, the mold aspergillus oryzae is inoculated into a rice base that is added to the rice to be brewed. This mold creates an enzyme that converts the starches to sugar that is then fermented by the yeast. This inoculated rice is called koji. The process sounds difficult, but I have found it to be very easy in practice. This whole process is also the process that is used in the brewing of sake. Sake is often referred to as a rice wine, but since it is brewed from a grain (rice), it is technically a beer. I have not yet tried to brew sake, but I am sure it is in the near future. Sake brewing follows the same basic process that I will outline, so it is not at all difficult. Probably the biggest hurdle to overcome is finding a source for the proper rice that is highly polished (50-60%). Most commercially available rice in the United States is only polished to about 90%. However, it is still possible to brew good homebrewed rice beer. Koji is readily available from oriental grocery stores and not expensive. Here is my basic rice beer procedure: Ingredients: 4 lbs short grain white rice 20 oz koji 1 fresh lemon or lime 20 oz liquid beer yeast Equipment: Rice/vegetable steamer 4-5 gallon plastic container (food grade) Large stirring spoon Large container for washing rice Procedure: Wash the 4 lbs of rice in cold water. Rinse repeatedly until the water is clear. Soak the rice in water for 12-18 hours. Store in the refrigerator for this period of time. After 12-18 hours, drain off the excess water. Steam the rice for 1 to 1.5 hours. After steaming is completed, place the hot rice in the food-grade container. Add 3-4 gallons of cold water and mix throughly. Add the 20 oz of koji and mix again. Check the temperature of the mash. If below 90 degrees F., add the yeast and mix again. Add the juice of the fresh lemon or lime. Cover the container and keep at room temperature. Stir the mash twice each day. Once fermentation begins, much of the rice will appear to float on the surface. This is normal. There will also be a distinictive oder that is also normal. In about 7-8 days, active fermentation will appear to have ceased. Keep the container covered for an additional 24-36 hours. Prepare a suitable number of bottles and caps. Rack the brew to a bottling bucket and proceede with nomal bottling processes. The beer is ready to drink at time of bottling. The brew may have a distintive milky appearance, but this will settle out within 24-48 hours, particularly with refrigeration. Rice beer is typically a stillbrew, but it is possible to carbonate the brew is desired. It is also possible to dramatically increase the alcohol content from about 5 or 6% by volume to 18-21% by volume! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." Goethe Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 1998 21:26:14 -0400 From: marli at bbs2.rmrc.net (Jon Macleod) Subject: re:green hops Yes, as the responsdent said, drying is to facilitate storage, however, there is another point to consider. Dried hops, just like (other) dried herbs have more flavor per weight (getting rid of that pesky water you know). You'll want to up the amount you use, from what you would've dried. How much? I don't know, but since you probably don't know the acid levels that exactly, or a precise utilization, don't worry about it too much...just some more. Relax and try it. Its always worked well for me. Mike Return to table of contents
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