HOMEBREW Digest #3342 Sat 03 June 2000

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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:
  Specialty Grains ("Marc Gaspard")
  under the southern cross i stand... (Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative)
  Homebrew Tri-Nations? (LyndonZimmermann)
  HBD Congress Mash experiment (Harlan Bauer)
  Apologies, Reprimands And Science ("Phil & Jill Yates")
  Trappist...have I done the right thing? ("Darrell G. Leavitt")
  RE: Homebrewing in France (Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger)
  lagers (Bill re: Fosters..why?) ("Darrell G. Leavitt")
  re:Thermocouple braid problem (Paula & Jim)
  re:mash pH ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  Beer on airplanes ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  Blanche De Chambly (Bill.X.Wible)
  Digital thermometer solution --- I  am late again ("Peter J. Calinski")
  Foster's yeast. ("Dr. Pivo")
  Digital Thermometers (Ian Smith)
  Saaz growth and substitutes ("Dr. Pivo")
  thermocouple braid problem ("St. Patrick's")
  beer on planes ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
  brewing software ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
  Re: beer on planes (Some Guy)
  Specialty grain mashing ("Houseman, David L")
  RE: Thermocouple braid problem (LaBorde, Ronald)
  Re: Water analysis help ("patrick finerty jr.")
  Thermometers ("dr smith")
  re: Beer on airplanes ("Stephen Alexander")
  cap labels and bottle caps (JGORMAN)
  2000 California State Fair Competition ("Sam Hernandez")
  Re: Blanche de Chambly yeast (mmaceyka)
  My yeast is having hot and cold flashes (Charley Burns)
  super charged iodaphor ("steve lane")
  Saaz ("Jim Busch")
  Sulfur ("Aaron Sepanski")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 20:51:26 -0500 From: "Marc Gaspard" <mgaspard1 at kc.rr.com> Subject: Specialty Grains From: "Steve" <stjones1 at chartertn.net> Subject: Mashing specialty grains Greetings, all. I just heard something that I've never heard or read before about mashing, but this guy is adamant about it. He says that specialty grains, especially crystal and dextrin malt, should not be mashed with the base malt because the enzymes will 'destroy' the dextrins, leaving nothing but fermentable sugars. He claims that this will lead to overattenuation and thin body. He says if you want to use crystal, then steep it in the boil kettle. I've never seen this concept in print, and I've always put all my grain bill in the mash tun, but I thought I'd present it to the group. What say you all: Mash 'em all, or separate and steep? Steve ************************************************ Even as an all-grain brewer I usually add specialty grains to the mash after I've acheived conversion. But I've only done this be- cause I've read that specialty grains, especially crystal and cara- mel, interfere with the iodine test for starch conversion. How- ever, I must admit that my beers seem cleaner and tastier doing this. In some cases I even add a few ounces of a specialty grain (chocolate, black patent or special B) to the top of the grist be- fore sparging; this seems to add some color and flavor without roastiness. Marc Gaspard "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."-Ben Franklin (I know, I know, we don't know if he really said or wrote this!) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 14:52:55 +1000 (EST) From: Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative <Scott.Morgan at Aus.Sun.COM> Subject: under the southern cross i stand... ant.. "All this talk of Fosters gave me an idea. Are any of the Kiwi or Aussie members going to be supporting their sides when they play rugby over here in SA?" Sitting with my NSW training jersey on and coat of arms placed dearly near my heart, I am looking forward to a resounding victory over the QLD reds on the weekend. Does the pope where a silly hat..of course there is support for the tri-nations. I do feel sorry for both NZ and SA though... Talking of mateship (did I forget to mention the band of bawdy school girls as well Graham??), I am in desperate need of bottles, as i have 3 batches all in deperate need of a home. Sydney locale is good, eastern suburbs even better.Otherwise I will need to take "Plastic Bottle Man" advice. under the southern cross i stand, scotty Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 15:51:00 +0930 From: LyndonZimmermann <lyndonz at senet.com.au> Subject: Homebrew Tri-Nations? Rugby? What's that? Oh, yes, it's a funny game played by thugs in Queensland and New South Wales. I think I'm supposed to ask League or Union? Australian Rules is the code down here. Isn't living in a federation great? You have to stick it up your countrymen (well over beer and sport anyway). Coopers is the only decent commercial beer in Australia (though some of the others are starting to wake up). But South Australian owned and made has nothing to do with it. Lyndon Zimmermann South Australia Lyndon Zimmermann and Associates (Business number 0442221W) Sustainable Energy Consultants 24 Waverley St, Mitcham, South Australia, 5062 tel +61-8-8272 9262 mobile 0414 91 4577 fax +61-8-8172 1494 email lyndonz at senet.com.au URL http://users.senet.com.au/~lyndonz Coming to the ISES 2001 Solar World Congress? Find out more at http://www.unisa.edu.au/ises2001congress Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 01:50:50 -0500 (CDT) From: blacksab at midwest.net (Harlan Bauer) Subject: HBD Congress Mash experiment Steve Alexander writes about Nathaniel Lansing's odd pH values in a Congress mash: >Now it is time to have someone else >repeat the experiment - someone without an axe to grind. It would be nice >if AJ or Alan Meeker or Scott Murman another party not directly involved >in the discussion but with access to the lab equipment and a good reputation >for accurate unbiased reportage would repeat this portion. This is a great idea! I have an accurate meter and electrode and would like to participate. ASBC routinely uses multiple labs to repeat their Methods in order to determine accuracy--IOW, if it cannot be repeated then something's wrong. Rather than the usual wrangling that goes on here, those with access to accurate measuring equipment could easily measure the pH of a clearly defined Congress Mash to determine whether Nathaniel's measurements were somehow off, or whether he stumbled across a legitimate anomaly. This is a very answerable question. Any takers? Harlan. Harlan Bauer, Head Brewer ...malt does more than Milton can Copper Dragon Brewing Co. To justify God's ways to man. Carbondale, IL --A. E. Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 20:38:17 +1000 From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au> Subject: Apologies, Reprimands And Science First of all I'd like to apologise to Bill X Wible for the rowdy outburst he received from the HBD Aussie contingent regarding his request for a Fosters lager recipe. I'm with you Bill, You can go and brew whatever you like for yourself and your friends. Pay no heed to this undisciplined crowd over here, they are all going to get their mouths washed out with soap tonight. I promise!! And just for this outburst, there'll be nothing but Fosters on tap for the next two months at the Burradoo Hilton! Bill, I must say, you hit a sore point. Most Aussies once guzzled Fosters like there was no tomorrow, a lot still do. Those of us who drifted into homebrewing realised what a rotten excuse for a beer we had been drinking and we flew into a rage. Though I have long since risen above this, others will never forgive. It's just as well those Fosters brothers got out of here when they did! Graham Sanders comments : >Oh Phil, yes we are still mates, as long as I get the yeast, >and not that >vial on the far post. Graham No way am I wasting my skunk oil on a Townsvillianite! I've noted an Aussie HBD'er who is in need of a whiff. Goes by the name of Lyndon Zimmermann and writes : >I think the Yanks call it >skunky but few of us have ever seen or smelt a skunk. Lyndon, I have here in a little bottle something just for you. Fred Garvin can't remember his trip to Oz. Well maybe he never got here. I'm only going on what Jeff Renner told me. It's quite possible the two of them never got here at all but spent the night on Jeff's porch. I'm not going to ask any further questions of the night's activities! But getting back to Calcium Sulphate. Wes Smith got me worried about the water pH here in the Southern Highlands. And he is right, it sits around a pH of 8. I tried a bit of Calcium Sulphate in the mash because my new pH meter was telling me the pH was 5.6. Just a little too high. But I couldn't get it to drop, so in went a bit more chalk. Still no drop in pH. about with this again! In fact I am now using lactic acid to get my brewing water down to about pH 7 before I start the mash. I can just tell by taste that this is going to add a crispness to my lagers. Science is a funny thing. It is not a means to an end in itself. It is an attempt to explain what is going on. Personally, I don't understand any of it. I'm one of those dumb cruds who thought of little at school beyond motorbikes and girlfriends. God smiled on me to get me where I am. But I reckon I've got a feel for this brewing, science or no science. Cheers Phil Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 06:14:03 -0400 From: "Darrell G. Leavitt" <leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu> Subject: Trappist...have I done the right thing? I brewed a Trappist (wlp500 Whitelabs), and let the temperature hover too close to the 65F recommended apex. Upon transfer into the secondary it tasted a bit more yeasty and 'hefe-like'... that I think can be contributed to the high temp in primary...so I let it sit for another day (at around 65) then decided to crash cool it. (OG was 1.046, going into the secondary it was 1.022 so I wanted to give the yeast a day or two to get the gravity down a bit....?) It is now at about 50F. I am hoping that this will floc the yeast out...but am undertain if this can deal with the flavor..... I used: 3 lb Torrified Barley Flakes 4.5 lb Halcyon 2 row 1.0 lb Paul's Dark Crystal 1.0 lb Belgian Biscuit Malt 1 cup Special B 2 stage infusion (148F, 158F) Cascades, then Kent Goldings (all the hops I had)... Anyone know if the crashing will help the flavor? ..Darrell <Terminally INtermediate Home-brewer> - -------------------------- Darrell G. Leavitt, PhD SUNY/ Empire State College - -------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 07:33:50 -0400 From: Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger <katerob at erols.com> Subject: RE: Homebrewing in France Mike Abbott asked about French homebrewing: Michael Jackson, in his 1993 book, _World Beer Companion_, lists the following in the reference section which may be of help: Les Amis de la Biere Les Sept Muids 36 Route de la Valenciennes Haspres 59198 France May be out of date, but it's all I got for you. MJ asks that people writing should include postage and expect answers in French, but if you're moving to Toulouse, I expect you've got some of that already. - --Rob Hanson Washington, DC - ---- "...They have worked their will on John Barleycorn But he lived to tell the tale, For they pour him out of an old brown jug And they call him home brewed ale." Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 06:41:52 -0400 From: "Darrell G. Leavitt" <leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu> Subject: lagers (Bill re: Fosters..why?) Bill; I found your post refreshing in that I too have been trying to brew lighter lagers for folks who don't (yet) like darker alse and stouts. Do you have any recipes that came out particularly good that you are willing to share? I have been experimenting with rice lately (bought a 55lb bag of "flaked brown rice") and plan to try more corn brews once the huge bag is used up. Here is a recipe for a San Francisco Lager that was a hit here among the lighter crew (although some found it to be too hoppy): 3.5 lb Halcyon 1 lb Crystal 1.5 lb Munich 1 lb Torrified Barley Flakes 2.5 lb Flaked Rice 2 stage infusion (48,58 F) wlp810 SF Lager Yeast (58-65F) OG=1.054 FG=1.014 %ABW=4.2 FWH with Cascades 1/2 oz Fuggles at 30 same at 15 I think that if I were to do this again, I'd put in less Cascade (1/2 oz rather than the oz I used) for the lighter crew... Good Brewing! ..Darrell - -------------------------- Darrell G. Leavitt, PhD SUNY/ Empire State College - -------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 07:51:09 -0400 From: Paula & Jim <jimala at servtech.com> Subject: re:Thermocouple braid problem Pete Calinski writes: >>>> I have a heat shrink "heat gun" and a spare thermocouple so I would be glad to try this and report the results. Can anyone point me to a suitable shrink tubing? I feel it would need to be "food grade" and be able to withstand boiling temperatures. In other experiments I have tried, I used the thin aquarium tubing assuming it is food grade. It doesn't hold up well to the high temperatures. It even seems to deteriorate after multiple mashes. <<<< You could avoid the problem entirely by building a thermometer port into your mashtun. I have made several from copper fittings from the hardware store for my mashtun, HLT, and boiling pot. If there is any interest, LMK and I will post construction details. Cheers, Jim Jim & Paula Adwell jimala at ptd.net jimala at servtech.com jimala at apical.com http://www.servtech.com/public/jimala/ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 09:44:16 -0400 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: re:mash pH Steve responds: >>14% increase in certain foam related proteins during a 76C 'mashout' of a modified Congress mash. << The report shows a 100% increase at 75C. I mentioned this before. Don't invent false results. >>The step mash period is unusually lengthy (3.3 hours mash + 1.5 hour mashout).<< The reports mash was 20 minutes for saccharification then a 90 minute mash out, a 30 minute sampling, 60 minute sampling, and a 90 minute sampling. >>"pH adjustment" means controlling the pH to a predetermined value or range based on measurement. It does NOT mean happening upon a reasonable pH based on a particular combination of calcium addition, malt and temperature. << That is simply contradictory. If the ph is adjusted with acid or minerals or lye doesn't mean the the ph isn't controlled. >>Also a Congress mash CANNOT include a calcium addition<< All I said was "congress mashing equipment was used", it was never called a congress mash. >>The paper you cited did add 150ppm calcium ions to the mash water, but was NOT pH adjusted to any specified value as far as I can tell.<< The mineral addition _is_ the adjustment. 150 ppm calcium will yield a mash of pale malt in distilled water in the normally accepted range. >>1/ The paper's calcium ions may have been from calcium's sulfate, calcium hydroxide, calcium bicarbonate or other sources. << Well duh! of course the results would be different if you use an alkaline salt as to compared to a neutral salt! >>Adding the calcium after the mash-in, as you did, should have a different effect than adding the calcium before mash-in or at a lower temperature. That will be tested today (Friday) >>Your pH both in distilled water and after gypsum addition defy common experience, << ???Gypsum is recommended frequently to achieve a mash pH in the normal range. (unless stylist concerns demand other ions) >>- someone without an axe to grind. << Axe to grind? I had stated a foam (mouth feel) rest will _improve_ foam retention and present a published report from the Beer research Institute that supports my contention. You still won't accept the results. The mash pH was adjusted with mineral additions. The grind would affect only tannin extraction, but that is not the point of the experiment. It takes only 1/2 hour to get appox. 50% increase of foam active G-Ps in the sweet wort. >>To me your result defies the literature<< For how many years did "the literature" state that yeasts respire in brewer's wort?? One good measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions, N.P. Lansing Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 09:59:06 -0400 From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com> Subject: Beer on airplanes In HBD #3341 Fred L. Johnson wrote of the poor quality of beer on airplanes: > I have always bemoaned the >fact that the beers available on airlines are not of the quality that >I care to drink unless I am REALLY thirsty. I have even complained >about this to the airlines. I've been pretty disappointed with the beers available on airlines as well. Bud and Heineken seem to rule the 'lines I fly - domestic, at least. On occasion I've even been offered a Sam Adams on the list (which doesn't excite me either, but some would go nuts over it). I guess we have to be content with the favorites of the majority. The only time I was very pleased with the beer I had was on a trip back from China - Sapporo black label. Musta been the combination with the food... Jeff Renner exposes the Fosters import conspiracy: >Ahh, the marketers here in the States are are much too clever to brew it >here - they want to be able to say in big letters, "IMPORTED". So they >brew it in Canada and ship it across the border duty free thanks to NAFTA >(North American Free Trade Agreement). I realized this a few weeks ago - after waiting over an hour to get into an Outback restraunt for dinner. I figured I'd have the Australian beer in the Australian restraunt with my Australian food. It was kind of a bummer, but at least it's better than Bud. I guess the only things Oz that pique my interests now are the funny animals and the ladies at the pool table. Maybe I could get a real beer at the Buradoo Hilton ;-) Carpe cerevisiae! Glen Pannicke http://www.pannicke.net "He was a wise man who invented beer" - Plato Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:26:48 -0400 From: Bill.X.Wible at QuestDiagnostics.com Subject: Blanche De Chambly Blanche De Chambly is a wheat beer made by Unibroue, inc. They are a French company with large operations in both France and Canada. They do make a number of outstanding brews. They have an awesome web page that describes all their products, and has links to other excellent beer sites. Unfortunately, I don't have internet access here at work to give you the url. Just do an internet search for Unibroue and you should find it pretty easily. Bill Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:05:06 -0400 From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com> Subject: Digital thermometer solution --- I am late again It seems Ian Smith <isrs at cmed.com> Has already done what I proposed: >The ultimate solution was to go down to my local electronics supply house >(hobby store or hardware store might also work) and purchase a foot of 3/16" >or 1/4" diameter (just bigger than the probe diameter) Teflon heat shrink >tubing. I slid the tubing over the braid/probe junction, shrank it with a >heat gun (kind of hot hair dryer) and viola! - no more water seepage >problems! Never had a problem since! One concern. Is all Teflon "food grade"? I am sure the frying pan material is but, what about the type used in shrink tubing? I envy all you people that can toss around the poly-propolides and butyl-marmalades and whatever. It never means anything to me but I know the insiders can tell everything just from these words, a few winks, and a hand gesture or two. :-) The reason I ask is I have been "burned" by Teflon. The technician that wired a unit for me used Teflon insulated wire but didn't install it correctly. The Teflon "cold flowed" where it contacted some edges and caused more intermittent short circuits than I could keep up with. What should one look for to be sure the shrink tubing won't give off any nasties even up to boiling temperatures? Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 16:36:41 +0200 From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se> Subject: Foster's yeast. I had occassion to chat yesterday with a Weihenstephan grad, sitting on the porch in the afternoon sun. In the midst of about 6 Paulaner Weiss mitt hefen, the somewhat uninteresting title came up. He had had previous contact with the brewery in Braunsweig which has the German Foster's license. According to him, the yeast both at the German plant, and that sent to Australia, comes from a yeast bank in England. It is jealously guarded by the Foster's folks, and not one millilitre is ever allowed to go out through the gate. This is of course, entirely understandable. To put brewer's yeast in any kind of wort environment, and have it produce alcohol, without producing any other flavours whatsoever, is no mean achievement. The Foster's Frosty of pre-Bond days was quite another thing I would like to recall, and had a nice little "honey tone" and as all the major Australian brews since then have gone on to a shocking display of homogeneity, and flavourlessness (and they usually call them "bitters"?). These days Fosters is, and should have, gone one step farther in the use of Nitrogen technology.... rather than using nitrogen gas for head enhancing qualities, Foster's is served at liquid nitrogen temperatures. At any higher temperatures, the ice-cicles on your tonsils are likely to melt, leaving your taste buds unprotected, and Bazza's famous Manley Pier chunder will likely ensue, with or without the prawns. Then again, should one follow the advice re: pitching rates, hyper-oxegenation, CKT's, lactic acid pH balancing, and the rest often admonished here, one may be able to achieve this little miracle of lifelessness and tastelessness one self in your own kitchen. Don't forget to chill the buggery out of it. Dr. Pivo P.S. Yes. After 6 Paulaner mitt hefen, one can still here the sound of distant thunder rumbleing from my bowels.... could this be the equivalent of a Bavarian enema? Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 08:47:40 -0600 From: Ian Smith <isrs at cmed.com> Subject: Digital Thermometers Peter asks: "In my experience, they should be able to claim 1F repeatability. It seems that when the temperature is changing rapidly, the units seem to update in two degree increments. Once things settle down they fluctuate in one degree increments. They must have built in some kind of tracking loop that waits for a 2F change before update during rapid movements." The reason they go up in 2 deg F intervals is that they are actually working on the Celsius scale and converting to Fahrenheit (1.8 degrees delta F = 1 degrees delta C) so every once in a while they only jump 1 deg F in order to "catch up". Ian Smith isrs at cmed.com <mailto:isrs at cmed.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 16:58:05 +0200 From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se> Subject: Saaz growth and substitutes The king of the Buzzards asked: > Is anyone out in HBDLand sucessfully growing Saaz hops? FYI, I am on the > East Coast, specifically Philadelphia. Back in 1984, I dug with my pen knife outside of Zatec, and scraped some Saaz root hunks out of the ground. Rumour had it that I performed bizarre sexual acts with it at night in my hotel room until I got it home, but I am here to say that that is ABSOLUTELY not true, and Phil Yates is still the only one I know who spills his seed in the garden, amidst visions of long gone movie stars (stay off the "gold-tops", Phil). Boy! Not a weed would touch that red clay dirt I transported them home in for a year (The East Bloc was sort of big into petru-chemicals, is my guess). The first two years I had it in a sort of shady spot and it did not so well. I transplanted it to a southern wall of the house and it took off like a shot and soon elliminated all the tulips, easter lillies, and the "lieutenants heart" (I can not possibly find a proper English translation for that plant) that grew in the vicinity. It is till doing fine, and I think is quite a hardy thing but does like MUCH sunlight.... I am living at 60 degrees North, so I would think that Philadelphia would get a larger proportion. 2 tricks I learned in Czecho. After flowering and harvest, cut the thing down to about 3 decimeters over the ground.... next spring trim one decimeter UNDER the ground (whacking the "apical meristems", which is just a fancy pair of words for "it looks like asparagus tips"). As to ersatzing (ersaazing?) the only other weed I've found that makes a sort of "poor man's Saaz", is Hallertauer Herzbrucher.... really fairly similar. Dr. Pivo Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 05:09:13 -0500 From: "St. Patrick's" <stpats at bga.com> Subject: thermocouple braid problem We include a piece of heat shrink tubing with these digital timer/thermometers. The heat shrink tubing is 1/4" (4" long) available at Home Depot. You can apply it with either a hair dryer or in the oven at 250F. This seems to do the job. Lynne O'Connor St. Patrick's of Texas Brewers Supply 1828 Fleischer Dr Austin, Texas 78728 USA 512-989-9727 www.stpats.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 09:17:05 -0600 From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com> Subject: beer on planes Fred (FLJohnson at worldnet.att.net) says beer on planes sucks because it's canned. I agree that canned beer is not usually very high quality. Here in Canada I've had Big Rock Traditional from a can on a plane. While Big Rock from a can isn't as good as from a bottle, it's still a far sight better than the rest of the offerings. Related note: sometimes the canned stuff, while not very good, is at least consistent. For example, try to get a Heineken that isn't skunky in a bottle. At least the canned stuff is stable. All in all, I'd rather drink water unless I can get a real beer. Especially on a plane. So de-hydrating! cheers Stephen Ross -- "Vitae sine cerevisiae sugant." ______________________________________________ Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 09:17:09 -0600 From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com> Subject: brewing software I'm sure there'll be a lot of responses. Dan (martich at nyct.net) asks about good software. The best, in my opinion, is ProMash from Sausalito Software. It's only for WinTel but it's worth putting up with the PC to use ProMash. And it's cheap! For a free Demo version visit the ProMash website www.promash.com. The Demo version is fully functional, and allows you to work on and save 3 recipes over 9 brewing sessions. It's full featured and fully modifiable. Check out the details and a deal at www.paddockwood.com/catalog_equipment.html#SOFTWARE We use it for all our in-house brews. hope this is useful! Stephen Ross -- "Vitae sine cerevisiae sugant." ______________________________________________ Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:55:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Some Guy <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: Re: beer on planes Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... > From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com> > All in all, I'd rather drink water unless I can get a real beer. Especially > on a plane. You obviously missed that news story regarding the cleanliness of airplane potable water tanks... - -- - See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.com Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock "Just a cyber-shadow of his former brewing self..." Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 11:43:29 -0400 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: Specialty grain mashing Perhaps Rich Sieben is correct when he says the fellow who told Steve....."is a fool".... But sometimes where there's smoke there's fire. Some texts (sorry, no references available) do talk of adding specialty grains very late in the mash, at/during vorlauf and mashout only. I've done this as an experiment for my dry stouts, adding the roasted barley or chocolate malt after conversion during a recirculation and mashout period only. Not because of any enzymatic activity but to "smooth out" any harshness of these grains. It's only anecdotal, but the resulting beer was smoother, with less sharp edges than others I've done. As far as boiling the grain, I thought what Steve reported was "steeping" the grains in the kettle; I just don't recall the exact verbiage but I didn't recall anything about boiling. But here too there is precedence in the form of boiling grains during decoctions without tannin extraction. Here it all depends on the pH of the boil. If it's low enough, then boiling the grains doesn't lead to tannin extraction. And while I understand the principle behind having unfermentable dextrins in crystal malt to add flavor, body and sweetness to the final product, I must admit I don't fully understand why perhaps a mash doesn't break these down just as proteolytic and diastatic enzymes do with proteins and sugars. So maybe he isn't a fool after all, just that with all this "whisper down the valley" maybe the story has got changed along the way. David Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 10:49:22 -0500 From: rlabor at lsumc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald) Subject: RE: Thermocouple braid problem From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com> >I have a heat shrink "heat gun" and a spare thermocouple so I would be glad >to try this and report the results I have no trust that even heat shrunk tubing will reliably prevent water intrusion. It might appear like a good fix at first, only to later find out that water was slowly penetrating and then remaining (trapped) only to cause more problems. You might consider a different approach, one that I have used on a plastic sensor and attached cord. I simply placed the probe halfway into a foot long vinyl tube then bent the tube back completely and tie wrapped in a few places. Now there is no opening for water to possibly intrude. You can use more than a foot of course, depending on how deep you intend to submerge the probe. Ron Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor at lsumc.edu http://hbd.org/rlaborde Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 12:28:27 -0400 (EDT) From: "patrick finerty jr." <zinc at finerty.net> Subject: Re: Water analysis help Bob asks about his water, especially regarding a metallic taste, your Ca and SO4 are pretty low. i guess i'd classify your water as 'soft', at least compared to Toronto H2O. i think it's a good idea to preboil the H2O primarily to remove the Chlorine but i also find it 'sets' the pH, by causing the carbonate and Ca to react. i can't see anything in your water report that would give a metallic taste to the beer. however, your report seems to be lacking any information about metals that would cause such a flavor (don't really know what a metallic aroma is). perhaps you need to have a more thorough analysis performed. bitters, such as those from the Burton area of England, have very high SO4 levels. you'll need to had quite a bit of SO4 to reach a similar level. i think i recall them having around 150 mg/L (same as 150 ppm). i usually adjust my water as it seems to help with the fermentation (solely empirical observation, i've never done a side by side test of this). here's an example from an IPA i made: remember mg/L = ppm (i have a balance capable of measuring 0.001 grams): water adjustments: |Toronto H2O |[final] | | to 14 gal add: |Ca 36 mg/L |172 mg/L 0.35 g MgSO4 |SO4 32 mg/L |150 mg/L 5.9 g CaSO4 |Mg 8.3 mg/L | 15 mg/L 1.3 g Cacl |Cl 26 mg/L | 50 mg/L the values for Toronto H2 are from the city. [final] is shorthand for 'final concentration'. feel free to check my math and tell me i messed up! patrick from Toronto, currently in Bellevue, WA, visiting the fam - -- "There is only one aim in life and that is to live it." Karl Shapiro,(1959) from an essay on Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer finger pfinerty at nyx10.nyx.net for PGP key http://www.finerty.net/pjf Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 17:18:54 GMT From: "dr smith" <drsmithhm at hotmail.com> Subject: Thermometers No, this isn't about that other timer/cooking gizmo(of which I own and use for my mash - just don't submerse it). Apparently for the cost of arm, leg, wheelbarrow, and a truck, you can get an infrared thermometer from www.jensentools.com. I just got the new catalog, saw this nifty device and started thinking about how nice it would be for taking temperature without having to sanitize yet another piece of brewing equipment. Has anyone tried one of these on a liquid? Did it work? Was it accurate? Will wort transparency/translucense affect the reading? I'm thinking that since it isn't affected by the air temp. between it and it's target and since air is transparent, that these might be factors... On a somewhat unrelated matter, I am making my own false bottom for all grain. I've inverted a #4 gold screen cone coffee filter and screwed it to a bucket bottom I cut off of another bucket. I'll just have to drill a hole for the outlet tube and I'm all set. It probably cost more than a surescreen, but the overall area seems bigger, the geometry will prevent collapse, and it appeals to my creative side. I may take some pictures when I'm done and post to the digest. Finally, I have tried both sucking and blowing. When I blew, for some reason I cannot recall lost the siphon half way through. Getting it started again was quite difficult once the headspace was more than about 1 gallon in volume. Now I suck with a turkey baster and switch the turkey baster for a short racking cane once the hose is full. Couldn't be easier. FWIW, this digest should be blocked by every paranoid parental/corporate software known - sucking, blowing, unusual uses for corn, the burradoo hilton, and to top it all off - balls in water. It's a wonder I'm able to receive the digest at all. ;) --drsmith ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 13:41:16 -0400 From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: re: Beer on airplanes Fred L. Johnson writes ... >It finally dawned on me that the problem here is that the airline >serves everything in cans Including the passengers. If they could squeeze in more passengers or provide less service on these cattle cars with wings they would. I think you missed the point Fred. Airlines are trying to emulate the passenger ship model with steerage' and first-class categories of service. In order to justify the ridiculous proposition that rental of an extra 35% space for 3 hours plus a couple Sam Adam's are worth an extra $1000 they must go out of their way to treat the rabble in steerage poorly. You'll probably see stewardesses with cattle prods before you see a decent beer in steerage. >What can we do about this? You could pay 4-5X for your ticket and fly first class and get a better choice of beverages, but I'm too frugal. BYOB - a bold move, inconvenient and probably prohibited by airline policy. Drink enough at the airport bar that you conck-out on the flight - not a bad plan for late flights. You could get in the long line with folks who think that airline service, policy and pricing models suck - but be prepared to be ignored. I find the ludicrously dry air and the lower pressure to have an adverse effect on my ability taste and smell anyway - but that's another matter. >Drink wine? True, the wine choices are often superior to the beer choices. Still if they had Boddington's, Guinness, Bass in cans ... -S Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 14:12:00 -0400 From: JGORMAN at steelcase.com Subject: cap labels and bottle caps I remeber someone posting a few years back with a supplier of 8.5" x 11" sheets of .75" circular labels. I couldn't find it in th archives. Does anyone still have the supplier's name, phone#, internet address.......? I want to use them for labeling my caps and my printer won't print on the smaller Avery stickers. Second, does anyone have a supplier for the thinner twist off bottle caps? Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 19:10:35 GMT From: "Sam Hernandez" <calbrewers at hotmail.com> Subject: 2000 California State Fair Competition I'm glad that I ran across this forum again, it has been a long time since I last read anything in here. I would like to invite all California Homebrewers to submit entries in the 2000 California State Fair Homebrew competition. Entries are due between June 23 to July 7. Finals are on July 16. You can find more information and forms at: http://www.calbrewers.com Sam Hernandez ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 16:19:04 -0400 From: mmaceyka <mmaceyka at jhmi.edu> Subject: Re: Blanche de Chambly yeast The conspiracy theorist Graham Sanders asks about the yeast cultured from Blanche De Chambly... This beer is made in Chambly, Quebec by Unibroue. They make a fine line of Belgian-style beers which are actually /imported/ into Belgium. Many of the beers have a characteristic flavor, reminiscent to me of oranges (but doesn't taste to me like corriander or orange peel I have used in my own beers). In my conversation with the distributor, he said the brewers told him that this flavor is not from the yeast but from a secret blend of spices, and that the same yeast is used for all of their beers. But he knew only what he was told, which became less and less the more he drank... My tasting experiments suggest that the yeast is fairly moderate and well balanced in flavor when compared to average Belgian strains, even for high gravity brews. The yeast is also probably fairly tolerant of ethanol. I am in the process of purifying the yeast from the a bottle of Trois Pistoles, another beer in their line, so I have yet to put it through its paces. I believe Steve Alexander mentioned that he has used this yeast before, so perhaps he can enlighten us... Mike Maceyka Takoma Park, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 13:43:35 -0700 From: Charley Burns <cburns99 at pacbell.net> Subject: My yeast is having hot and cold flashes Has anyone ever successfuly reused lager yeast to make a lager AFTER making a steam beer? I'm ready to make a Vienna except for yeast, maybe. I made a dopplebock (1.085), saved the yeast and then used it to make a steam beer (big steam 1.065). The dopplebock fermented at 50F, yeast stored at 33F and the steam beer is now fermenting at 73-75F. I'd take the Vienna back down to 50F, but is it too late. Has the 74F temp mutated the yeast to something that wouldn't produce the nice clean malt flavors found in a good Vienna? Its Wyeast 2308. Charley (needing yeast hormone therapy) in N. Cal. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 15:38:16 CDT From: "steve lane" <tbirdusa at hotmail.com> Subject: super charged iodaphor I just got a gallon of super iodophor from a friend of mine that owns a chemical company that distributes cleaners and sanitizers to rest, hospitals, food service, etc... My regular homebrew shop iodopher is 1.8% good stuff and the balance is inert. Water I would guess. This gallon is 18.6% "alpha Omega hydroxypoly-iodine complex. Below this in parath it states" (Providing 1.75% titratable iodine) Does this mean that this stuff is virtually the same as what I have or is this jug 9 times more potent than what I have been using? Either way I am as happy as a fly in a fermenter to get this but I need to know at what concentration level to blend this. Thanks for those that helped on the false bottom issue. Think I'll yank the snake o' copper out of the boiler and try that in the mash tun. I thought I would put the center pick up tube false bottom in the boiler then,,,, but that is going to put all the crub in the fermenter won't it? I just can't win with this stupid perforated plate that I made. Frisbee golf anyone? ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 16:49:20 +0000 From: "Jim Busch" <jim at victorybeer.com> Subject: Saaz Just to nit, Saaz in the homeland are called Zatec not Zatek, at least from my memory and map of the republic. Saaz are indeed wonderful, somewhat unique hops. We use tons of em in Prima Pils. Having said this, we just finished off a batch of pils that we called Black Forest Pils made exclusively with Tettnang Tettnangers, decoction mashed and unflitered. A truly amazing beer, very reminiscent of the inspirational pils that I fell in love with in '91 called Vogelbrau from Karlshrue/Ettlingen, Germany. I would encourage all pils loving homebrewers to try this out, a pretty simple beer in principal to produce but getting good whole Tettnangs are crucial. (and if you are in the Baden-Wurttemberg/Bodensee area be sure to sample the excellent German pils make with Tettnangs). Prost! Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 18:11:2 -0700 From: "Aaron Sepanski" <madaarjul at earthlink.net> Subject: Sulfur The amount of sulfur depends on many factors, most important grain and yeast. Sulfur is characteristic of high gravity brewing, actually unavoidable. More likely is your yeast. Sometimes yeast metabolism shifts during fermentation and you'll observe a high level of sulfur production. In many cases the sulfur will dissipate or be reabsorbed by the yeast. If you notice sulfur flavor and aroma at unpleasant levels in you beer close to the end of fermentation, hold your temp at 60 degrees F, if possible (50 degrees for a lager). This is what is called a sulfur rest. Many people in the industry use this trick. All it does is trick the yeast into "thinking" that something is happening or going to happen. Many precursors for division contain a lot of sulfur. The yeast with then suck it up to "get ready" Return to table of contents
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