HOMEBREW Digest #3478 Tue 14 November 2000

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Celis Brewery (Drew Beechum)
  question re: Hefe yeast (Darrell.Leavitt)
  FG ("stephen_weiss")
   ("Bridges, Scott")
  RE:Wierd Yeast (Rod Prather)
  Hoses for pumps (Chris Topoleski)
  Celis Beer Keg ("Max Brandenberger")
  Strange yeast formations ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  Brewing with Steam? (Marc Donnelly)
  Re: Krupnik ("Peter J. Calinski")
  Lallemand Danstar-London (ensmingr)
  Celis Brewery (Rusty)
  False Bottom From Aluminum? ("Schneider, Brett")
  Green Bullet ("Keith Menefy")
  Lagering under pressure ("Kevin Jones")
  Re: LINKS - Request for off list responses (Jay Pfaffman)
  Gram Scale ("Angie and Reif Hammond")
  Celis Brewing, keg conversion, source of perforated 304 sheet? ("Dave Howell")
  RE: RE: Tip for Pressure Cookers (james r layton)
  lumpy foam ("lauritsm")
  Headless weizen/managing excessive blowoff ("David G. Humes")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2000 22:23:09 -0800 (PST) From: Drew Beechum <Drew.Beechum at disney.com> Subject: Celis Brewery Celis ain't dead yet. Pierre Celis came over from Belgium after much time brewing Hoegaarden White. Decided to have some fun in the new world after one of the Belgian Megas (Interbrau?) bought Hoegaarden. Open Celis. Made Celis White, an Austin Tx Wit. (Which I still like better than Ho) An honest to god tasty beer made in Texas. (yeah, yeah, yeah.. Shiner Bock doesn't qualify. :) ) Got bought by Miller. Surprisingly, they haven't screwed it up.. yet. Them's the basic facts.. others know them better than I. Hmm.. back to studying for the BJCP. - -- Drew Request Address Only - No Articles writes: > From: "Dave Howell" <djhowell at uswest.net> > It's second-to-last owner before me (the last was a junkyard) was an outfit > called Celis Brewing, Inc, in Austin, TX. Just for curiosity's sake (Phil > Yates, no feline observations, please) does anyone know any history on this > (I assume now defunct) brewer? What they brewed? What happened to them? BTW - I don't like the rejection on subject title. means I'm always send my HBD mail twice. :) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 06:13:14 -0500 From: Darrell.Leavitt at esc.edu Subject: question re: Hefe yeast I recently brewed a hefe with some slurry that had been pitched twice before. It took off real quick, but I noticed that there was no head. Perhaps I have never noticed this before, but even the next morning, while bubbling away at a real good pace, there still was no discernable head. Is this common for the hefe (whitelabs 300) yeast? ..Darrell Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 06:49:01 -0500 From: "stephen_weiss" <stephen_weiss at email.msn.com> Subject: FG What are my options if the FG has stabalized at 1.020 when it should be = 1.012. Should I: Add a shot of fresh yeast? Bottle it? Add zinc? Or what? Thanks, Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 08:54:27 -0500 From: "Bridges, Scott" <ScottBridges at sc.slr.com> Subject: >Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 00:19:46 -0500 >From: "Shane A. Saylor, Eccentric Bard" <taliesin2 at earthlink.net> >Subject: Brewery business goes flat > > Thought this story might be of interest... > > http://www.msnbc.com/news/481184.asp?0nm=B28G Shane's recent posting about Catamount failing prompts me to also write about a brewery that I recently saw sad news on. For any of you in the western PA region, I saw that Jones Brewing in Smithton has filed for Chapter 11. Their main seller is Stoney's. My dad's favorite beer. It's your typical bud-type lager. They are a very old regional brewery (WWII era, at least), and I'm sad to see them facing the troubles that many breweries are today, even though I don't really care for the beer. Scott Brewing in SC Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 07:23:44 -0500 From: Rod Prather <rodpr at iquest.net> Subject: RE:Wierd Yeast Concerning the phenomena of yeast adhering to one side of a vertical bottle. Did you by chance notice which side of the bottle had the yeast growth. No, I know it was the inside....... Was it facing North or South. It could provide insight to the old adage that moss always grows on the south side of a tree (probably the north side in Australia). Were they all on the same side of the bottle. Yeah, I know, the inside, right. Again, north or south. If you had left the bottles in place you might have been able to delineate the difference between true north and magnetic north proving that the yeast has an affinity for magnetic fields. I hear magnets cure arthritis. Maybe you could glue a magnet on the side of a bottle and check for the appearance of deposits. (make sure the magnet is facing EAST. <GRIN> If nothing else, your yeast won't develop arthritis. - -- Rod Prather, PooterDuude Tongue engaged firmly in Cheek in Indianapolis, Indiana Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 06:22:35 -0800 (PST) From: Chris Topoleski <chris_topoleski at yahoo.com> Subject: Hoses for pumps Mike Pensinger asks about the best hoses for mag pumps. It depends on what you want to use the pumps for, but I use norprene for transferring all liquids from the boil kettle (strike water, sparge water, post boil hot wort). I use flexible braided pvc tubing on the outflow side of the pump to the HLT and the MLT. I also use the norprene to pump to my CF chiller. The pump should have a ball valve on the outflow side to control flow, as you really shouldn't restrict the flow into the pump. I am happy with the norprene and the braided PVC. The norprene was the more expensive of the two types of hosing ($3.50/foot) as opposed to the $1 a foot for the PVC. All my hoses are 1/2" ID except the norprene to the chiller which is 3/8" ID to match the copper tubing in the chiller. Most of my hoses utilize quick disconnects. I purchased it all through Moving Brews. Chris Topoleski MonkeyBoy Brewery __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 08:38:55 -0600 From: "Max Brandenberger" <maxb at austin.rr.com> Subject: Celis Beer Keg Dave Howell wrote: It's second-to-last owner before me (the last was a junkyard) was an outfit called Celis Brewing, Inc, in Austin, TX. Just for curiosity's sake (PhilYates, no feline observations, please) does anyone know any history on this (I assume now defunct) brewer? What they brewed? What happened to them? Dave, Celis Brewing is alive and well in Austin, Texas. It was founded in the early 1990s by Pierre Celis, a Belgian brewmaster, and his family. Their most famous brew is a very refreshing, authentic Belgian style wheat beer called Celis White. They also brew Belgian style grand cru and dubbel ale, a pale bock, and an interesting raspberry beer. See their website, http://www.celis.com. Max Brandenberger Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:45:27 -0500 From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com> Subject: Strange yeast formations Grant Scott wrote of Strange Yeast Formations: >So I look closer & find that it appears that >some of the yeast is clinging to one side of the bottle & that it seems to >form fine vertical lines. This appears to have occurred in at least a third >of the bottles & these bottles have been kept vertical since bottling. >So can anyone recall if consensus was reached on what causes this >phenomenon. Is it static electricity, Magnetic north, one side being warmer, >a shift in the space time continuum? Some thought it might have to do with the charge on the yeast and the charge on the bottle (or the box walls containing the bottles). Others thought it may have to do with uneven heat. But after careful scientific analysis and much hair-pulling we have come to the collective conclusion that these yeast are being drawn by an ancient & mysterious zymergological force known as the Rennarian Field Effect. You will notice that these yeast will all be pointing to Jeff Renner's house. These bottles can be used as a type of compass to find true Rennarian North. We have even devised a Rennarian Coordinate System with Jeff's house being at 0, 0, 0. Now I have a theory, which I need to test with a bottle of my barleywine which displayed this phenomenon, that the yeast actually point to Jeff himself! As Jeff moves, so will the yeast. But *WHY* they do this is a bigger mystery... [ any takers? ] Carpe cerevisiae! Glen Pannicke http://www.pannicke.net "He was a wise man who invented beer" - Plato Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 00 09:15:34 -0600 From: Marc Donnelly <marc at deptstores.dhc.com> Subject: Brewing with Steam? Does any have any experience with brewing with steam? Also is there any links to sites out there with information on how to set up a steam system for homebrewing? thanks Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 10:15:47 -0500 From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com> Subject: Re: Krupnik CeolNaFidhil at aol.com asks about Krupnik. I have a bottle in front of me. The label says: Monastery (brand) Honey Punch American Krupnik Liqueur Composed of roots, herbs, spices, fruits, and honey 70 Proof Prepared & Bottled by National Cordial Company Chicago, Illinois, 60623 On the back label it says: Honey Punch Delicious when served on the rocks, over crushed ice, on ice cream or fresh fruit. Taste wise, it is a poor man's Chartreuse. The flavor (to me) falls somewhere between the "yellow" Chartreuse and the "green" Chartreuse but harsher and not as complex. You could try for the recipe for Chartruese but, of course that recipe is shared by 6 monks in the Chartreuse monastery in France, with no single monk knowing all the ingredients. Also there may be a "mirror" site at a monastery in Spain where the recipe is also shared. Interestingly, a few years ago I went to a homebrew tasting and someone brought in a bottle of mead. He said it was an attempt to make a sparkling mead but it didn't sparkle. The flavor was quite close to that of Krupnik. Hope this helps, Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 11:29:50 -0500 From: ensmingr at twcny.rr.com Subject: Lallemand Danstar-London I have 3 packages of Lallemand Danstar London yeast (dated 03-98). Anyone interested? Drop me a line. Cheerio! Peter A. Ensminger Syracuse, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:08:27 -0800 (PST) From: Rusty <kahuna_kapu at yahoo.com> Subject: Celis Brewery Dave, Celis brewery is alive and well in Austin, TX. In fact, I believe Pierre Celis was featured in last month's BYO magazine, for his White Beer. http://www.celis.com Since I've left Austin and gone to Orlando, I'd kill for a Grand Cru. It definitely put a spin on the nightlife there. V/R, Rusty __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Get organized for the holidays! http://calendar.yahoo.com/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:15:23 -0500 From: "Schneider, Brett" <Brett_Schneider at bose.com> Subject: False Bottom From Aluminum? I have found SS sheet stock to be the most expensive part of having a false bottom custom made. One has to buy and entire sheet, which makes the CNC punch press set-up costs appear to be less since you have to run the whole sheet. So what about a slightly heavier aluminum sheet for the material. PLEASE - don't start the stuff up again about the material, let's just concentrate on it's application: I need a 15-7/8" OD bottom, which will be supported all around the OD by a weld seam in my tun. This means that even 18 gage SS would need additional screw type support legs in the center areas to keep from collapsing under the 40 lb grain bed. Facts are facts. Now, if I went with say 0.050 or so aluminum plate to reduce material cost, with the same mechanical concerns and same added perf size (3/32 holes on 5/32 centers which is typical), would there be any other things to consider? Since aluminum is used for kettles and heated directly, the heat factor should go away. Thanks for any applicable mechanical and or application concerns - Brett Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 12:00:24 +1300 From: "Keith Menefy" <kmenefy at ihug.co.nz> Subject: Green Bullet Randy Ricchi <rricchi at ccisd.k12.mi.us> in HBD 3473 asks about NZ Green Bullet hops. See if you can get hold of a NZ Lion Breweries 'Steinlager', it uses green bullet hops. Part of their advertising they say "they are drinking our beer here" so presumably it is available most places. It is a pilsener type beer. Here are parts from a couple of reviews of it. > "Let's see what it tastes like. After a vigorous pour the head quickly disappeared to leave an attractive golden liquid with a few small bubbles. The nose was hard to pick; I detected a grassy hoppiness. The initial flavour was uninspiring, slightly sweet. The action came after a second in the way of a very fresh, green hop bitterness. Not too overpowering but enough to get your attention. The finish was dry and refreshing. The alcohol content, 5% /vol., and the bitterness is what you would compare with a solid European lager. " >"Sporting an upmarket, German-sounding name (and a premium price) this beer was different; pale and refreshing, it had a pungent hop bitterness and aroma and more importantly, it also had an image." Personally, I find it more malty than hoppy. Green bullet is my choice for a bittering hop, very little flavour. I use NZ Hallertau for flavour and aroma. Randy gives it an AA rating of 9.5. The info I have gives a AA of 11.9. Would there be any difference between leaf hops and pellet hops? Given that green bullet has quite a high AA I find that is has a fairly gentle bittering effect. Unlike Super Alpha or Sticklebrack which give a harsh bittering. Keep in mind that I love hops so this is a hopelessly biased assessment. None of my beers would have an International Bittering Unit rating of less than 40. Cheers Keith Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 17:15:35 -0600 From: "Kevin Jones" <mrkjones at mindspring.com> Subject: Lagering under pressure The question posed was the potential differences between lagering under pressure or not. I have made several lager batches and usually split them with my brew partner. At times the same beer was lagering in a carboy, a corny keg with some pressure and a Party Pig. The Party Pig turned out the best. It got better with time, with the last glass an unbelievably pleasant experience. We think the primary difference was yeast. The Party Pig requires natural carbonation (i.e. priming). To make sure carbonation would take place, we added fresh lager yeast to the Party Pig at priming. Can't say for sure that fresh yeast made the difference, but I now add fresh yeast to lagers if priming is involved. Drink Better Beer! Kevin Jones Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 17:18:01 -0600 From: Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman at relaxpc.com> Subject: Re: LINKS - Request for off list responses Well, Shane asked for responses off-list, but this might be of interest to others. . . On Sun, 8 Oct 2000 15:15:34 -0400, "Shane A. Saylor, Eccentric Bard" <taliesin2 at earthlink.net> said: > Some how for some reason I lost all my links on home brewing (of > every aspect). I still have the links to the mail order supply > stores though. Just lost my bookmarks. Thanks. I've started organizing my brewing links using on a tool that I designed primarily for schools, but it's good for anyone who needs to maintain a list of links. Anyone can contribute more by going to the "how to participate" link and signing up for a password. [I don't think I've published a privacy policy, but I won't use or sell your address for anything, though it is available to people who have gone to the trouble of logging in.] Anyway, you can see what I've got (and add more if you like) at: http://webliographer.com/brew/ I've got a bit more work to do, but it's a start. - -- Jay Pfaffman pfaffman at relaxpc.com +1-615-343-1720 (office) +1-615-460-9299 (home) http://relax.ltc.vanderbilt.edu/~pfaffman/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 18:43:28 -0500 From: "Angie and Reif Hammond" <arhammond at mediaone.net> Subject: Gram Scale The gram scale I use for my water salt additions is from Williams Brewing - their Counter Balance Scale for $29.90 http://www.williamsbrewing.com/wort.htm#Brewing%20Scales No affiliation, just a satisfied customer. Reif Hammond Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 18:01:49 -0700 From: "Dave Howell" <djhowell at uswest.net> Subject: Celis Brewing, keg conversion, source of perforated 304 sheet? In re the second-to-last owners of my new HLT and mash tun: Celis, it turns out, is still in business. Thanks to all who replied. I will have to go back to Texas and try some of their brews (they are not available in my corner Albertson's). The kegs, when opened, had a small amount of light amber beer in them. They were very very malty (by smell, people, by smell), and had no hop nose. I have no idea how long they'd been in the junkyard, in the Phoenix sun (it gets to 115 deg F, 46 deg C, regularly in the summer), but I suspect it didn't do the aroma or coloration any good. So, I have no idea which of Celis' brews were in the keg. Further, it looks like at least once each keg was laid on its' side on something very hot (hot enough to scorch & carbonize beer onto the side of the kegs). A 12-hour soak in lye solution floated all the crud off, and then (after some neutralization) a bunch of scrubbing did the trick. Why didn't I listen to my wife and wear rubber gloves? I had the ultimate case of dishpan hands.... I can reliably assure those who ask about the power of a Dremel tool that they indeed cut stainless. I did it in 20 min/keg, cutting out a 12 in circle from the top, with the use of 5 reinforced disks each. The trick, as others have noted before me, is to keep on top of the cut. If you start getting the disk sawing instead of abrading (work with me on the visuals, please), you very very quickly chew the blade up. If I do this routinely or even again, I will probably use a die grinder/cutoff wheel air tool with a 3 1/4 in wheel, I suspect it will last longer and be quicker. I saw that suggestion on someone's web page or maybe in the HBD archives, sorry I cannot attribute it better (but I'm grateful to whomever suggested it). I can find male unions and compression fittings locally in stainless. Can anyone suggest a source of 304 perforated (I'm not too picky about the hole pattern) #2B sheet? One that LIKES small orders? And maybe ships (unless they're in the Phoenix metro area)? TIA, Dave Howell Costello: You know I'm a catcher too. Abbott: So they tell me. Costello: I get behind the plate to do some fancy catching, Tomorrow's pitching on my team and a heavy hitter gets up. Now the heavy hitter bunts the ball. When he bunts the ball, me, being a good catcher, I'm gonna throw the guy out at first. So I pick up the ball and throw it to who? Abbott: Now that's the first thing you've said right. Costello: I don't even know what I'm talking about! Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 19:53:20 -0600 From: james r layton <blutick at juno.com> Subject: RE: RE: Tip for Pressure Cookers A couple of days back, I wrote... >> anyway. In a rare moment of lucidity, I thought about trying keg >> lube on the seal. I shut off the burner, removed the seal from the >> lid, dried it off, and applied a thin coating of the silicone grease. >> Put it all back together and bingo! Works like a champ now. ...and Some Guy replied: >Most pressure cooker manufacturers recommend putting a thin film of >vegetable oil on the seal at each use. One case where actually reading >the directions would have saved a tad bit of concern :-) OK, I admit it, I didn't read the directions that night. I have since found the instruction booklet and conducted the research. Odd, but it seems that I have a model that specifically warns against using vegetable oil on the sealing ring. Quoting from the booklet, Presto Pressure Canner and Cooker Instructions and Recipes, "IMPORTANT: Never oil the sealing ring. Cooking oil will swell and soften the sealing ring, reducing the usable life and require frequent replacement." There! I knew there must have been some reason that I had never oiled the sealing ring in the seven years that I have owned this cooker. Now, they don't say that silicone grease is any better for the health of the seal than cooking oil, so it probably is time for a replacement. Still, keg lube solved the immediate problem and allowed me to complete the task that I had started. Thanks, Pat, for providing the motivation to dig out that booklet. I have re-learned something :-) Jim Layton Howe, TX Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 19:53:57 -0800 From: "lauritsm" <lauritsm at email.msn.com> Subject: lumpy foam Constant reader......occasional writer. I get lumpy foam on my pale ale. When the faom settles down it creates lumps. Doesn't taste bad....just looks weird. This was a partial mash batch. 8 lbs pale malt, 1 lb crystal, 1/8 lb chocolate, 3lbs light extract. Any ideas? M Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 23:43:42 -0500 From: "David G. Humes" <humesdg1 at earthlink.net> Subject: Headless weizen/managing excessive blowoff Greetings, First, thanks for the many posts and private replies about how to improve my headless weizen. I brewed a weizenbock this weekend to which I applied a modified mash schedule based on the consensus from the replies. I dropped the 113 and 131 rests, mashed in at 145 and held for 30 min, boosted to 154 and held that for 60 min. The grain bill consisted of 60% wheat malt and 40% dark Munich, and since the dark Munich does not have quite the enzymatic strength of Pils malt, I thought I'd give it a little longer to convert. I want to compare this beer to one made with the ferulic acid rest included, so next go around I'm going to put the ferulic acid rest back in, lowering it to around 110, and then see how fast I can boost my temperature from 113 to 145 to keep away from excessive proteolysis. So, now it's happily fermenting away blowing off huge amounts of foam. I have 4.75 gal in each 6 gal carboy, so there's quite a bit of head space, but that's not stopping the blowoff. I'm a little concerned since this is a weizenbock, OG 1.069, that it may blow off too much yeast and not have enough to finish. I know some professional brewers use antifoam agents to get maximum utilization the volume of their fermenters. One product is based on silicone and must be removed in subsequent filtration. I'm not going to do that, especially for a Bavarian wheat beer. Another alternative is the mineral oil based agent. Is anyone familiar with it? The claim is that it does not have to be removed and that it improves head, I suppose based on the theory that excessive foaming during the fermentation results in lost heading quality in the final beer. I believe there's some controversy over this latter point. However, if anyone is familiar with the product and can discuss its effectiveness, I'd like to hear from you. Thanks. - --Dave Return to table of contents
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