HOMEBREW Digest #3710 Thu 16 August 2001

[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
        http://www.northernbrewer.com  1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  Dry hopped vs. hopped tea in the keg (Karen & Troy Hager)
  Brew pub brew (Karen & Troy Hager)
  Specific gravity definition? (Christopher Farley)
  Fermentation Chiller without the Baffle (Ken Schwartz)
  Safale, Saflager and Safebrew ("Galloway")
  Five Star Chemicals (Nathan Kanous)
  DFW Brewpubs (mohrstrom)
  Jumpers and compost ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  Sanitation Solutions - iodaphor, chlorine,  caustic soda,  parasi ("Branam, Mike")
  Stuck Fermentation / bad beer? ("Steven Parfitt")
  Berliner Weiss ("Sedam, Marc")
  bucket in a bucket (Chris Hatton)
  HBD Tee-Shirt Contest! (Pat Babcock)
  kegging bookmarks - thank you ("Leroy Strohl, iii")
  Re: 1st Time All-Grain Questions (alastair)
  Hydrometer vs. bubbles ("Tal McMahon")
  Berliner Weisse (Richard Foote)
  Chicago Travel ("wailstail")
  RE: Roggenbier ("Dennis Lewis")
  Keg dimensions (Denis Bekaert)
  Boil question ("Hedglin, Nils A")
  Hops in the keg (Denis Bekaert)
  See, Commerical Lite Beer Can Be Useful (Denis Bekaert)
  RE:  composting grains, etc. (Bruce Wingate)
  Check my math ("Mike Pensinger")
  Re: Safbrew T-58 ("Thomas D. Hamann")

* * Show your HBD pride! Wear an HBD Badge! * http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping * * Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address for the automation - that's your job. The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit. More information is available by sending the word "info" to req at hbd.org. JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 21:54:34 -0700 From: Karen & Troy Hager <thager at smcoe.k12.ca.us> Subject: Dry hopped vs. hopped tea in the keg Last batch of 1.045 OG pale ale, 10gals split into two kegs. The beer had slight sour/harsh flovors in it so I decided to do an experiment. In one, I dry hopped with one oz. of Cascades. For the other, I steeped about 2 oz. in 160F water for about 3-4 hours. I then poured a couple cups of this "hopped tea" into keg #2. I was surprised at how different they came out tasting, but what I wanted to post about was that I have noticed that the dry hopped keg needs about 5 more psi to be carbonated correctly. I have the hopped tea keg on about 15psi, it is carbonated perfectly but I get some foam on the first pour. At 15psi the dry hopped keg is way under carbonated so I bumped that one up to about 20psi for about a week and it now seems to be equally carbonated and pours great with no foam! Perhaps the hop bag has covered the tube on the bottom which would explain the need for high pressure to pour, but why the difference in carbonation levels at the exact same pressure??? Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:21:04 -0700 From: Karen & Troy Hager <thager at smcoe.k12.ca.us> Subject: Brew pub brew I got quite a few responses to my post about the brewpub brewday ... Lots of questions. The brewery is Steelhead in Burlingame, CA - they have about 4 brewpubs one in Oregon, one in SF and a couple down here. The beer that we brewed that day was a "blonde" basically a light pale ale. Grist was all GW pale malt and a little corn.. all was ground and mashed together at 150-151F. It was hopped with Galena for bittering at 90 mins. and Liberty for the 30 and KO additions. Water was filtered with a huge GAC (carbon) filter but no additives were put in. We have soft water without many minerals - Ca is in the 15ppm range. The brewer is about 50 some years old, was never a homebrewer and decided about three years ago (I think after a trip to Europe) to become a brewer and enrolled in a brewers program at...?? maybe Davis?? After completion he then trained at the Oregon site and then got this position down here as head brewer. He says he doesn't make much, I would guess around 30Gs, barely enough to make it around this area. His beers are decent. They are getting better as time goes on. When he took over this brewpub, they beers took a turn for the worse, but as time goes on (and I'm sure he learns the quirks of this system) they are getting better and better. I have never tasted any stale or cardboardy flavors in any of his beers. He pulled out a keg that he brewed for an IPA festival, it was unfiltered, primed and dryhopped in the keg - it was fantastic! Malty, bitter, and great hop aroma - the best beer I have tasted of his. He said that Steelhead has 4 staple beers that he has to brew to their recipe (or close anyway) they are the blonde, an IPA, a hefe, and an amber. He has to have a black beer on tap either a stout or a porter. Other than that he can do his own thing. That's about it. Hope that helps. Troy Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 01:48:27 -0500 From: Christopher Farley <chris at northernbrewer.com> Subject: Specific gravity definition? So, what exactly is the definition of specific gravity, as used in brewing? I've seen various temperature correction charts and formulas for correcting SG to 59F, 60F, and 68F. I've frequently seen definitions of SG citing 39F/4C as the standard reference temperature. What *is* the definition of SG? Is an arbitrary reference temperature defined, or do all SG readings require a temperature to be meaningful? - -- Christopher Farley www.northernbrewer.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 05:42:51 -0600 From: Ken Schwartz <kenbob at elp.rr.com> Subject: Fermentation Chiller without the Baffle Alan McKay asks: "A buddy and I are going to build him one of these and I was wondering if anyone has tried it without the baffle and fan. So it is basically just an insulated box for your fermenter, and you put some ice into it to keep it cool. Will the temp get too low? How low will it get? Has anyone tried this?" The concept will definitely work to keep the temperature down, but what you give up is any control over the actual temperature. The temperature will depend on the outside (room) temp, how much ice is used, how long the ice has been in the box, etc. The Fermentation Chiller works by using the baffle to "store" cold air, and the fan to circulate it when needed to maintain a desired temperature. - -- ***** Ken Schwartz El Paso, TX Fermentation Chillers and More: http://www.gadgetstore.bigstep.com Brewing Web Page: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer E-mail: kenbob at elp.rr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 08:01:28 -0400 From: "Galloway" <galloway at gtcom.net> Subject: Safale, Saflager and Safebrew Hi Alan, You have stumbled across my favorite lines of yeast. Let me preface this mail by saying I have no association with DCL, yada, yada, yada. Unless brewing Belgians, I use the DCL product almost exclusively. DCL yeast makes six strains of brewing yeast. The company web site, http://www.dclyeast.co.uk , has profiles on all six strains of their brewing yeasts. Here is what they have to say about your "Mystery Yeast"; T-58: A specialty yeast selected for it's estery, somewhat peppery and spicy flavor development. Low sedimentation. Recmmended fermetation temperature is 18 to 24 degrees centigrade. Recommended pitching rate is 2.5 to 5 g/hl. I really can't say enough good things about this product. I have experienced minimum lag times and always a robust, explosive fermentation. The yeast always seem to establish themselves in record time. Yesterday, I pitched 10 grams of their S-33 (rehydrated in a pint of warm water) into 5 gallons of an Alt wort. Within one hour the blow off tube was pressurized. I just checked it this morning and the blowoff "bucket" over has flowed. I saved the best for last; It's also inexpensive. The local homebrew shop (www.homebrewden.com no association, but a shameless plug none the less) gets $1.50 per package. Depending on the strain it comes in 7 or 10 grams. Unless pitching a big beer, one package will suffice. Regards, Dave Galloway Chattahoochee, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 07:12:42 -0500 From: Nathan Kanous <nlkanous at pharmacy.wisc.edu> Subject: Five Star Chemicals Hi, I posted once before and only got a reply from Spencer. I like PBW and StarSan but the FiveStarChemicals website is not loading. Has Five Star gone out of business? Anybody know? nathan in madison, wi Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 09:09:59 -0400 From: mohrstrom at humphrey-products.com Subject: DFW Brewpubs Marc Sedam heads out: > I'm going to be in Dallas on business from September > 13-15. Could anyone please point me in the right > direction in terms of the local brewing scene? > Looking for brewpubs within easy travel distance > from the airport. Is ANYTHING "within easy travel distance" from DFW??? I don't have that book of my notes with me, so these will be vague memories of my experiences. I'm sure the locals will chime in, too. The closest would be Big Buck at The Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine. I haven't been to that location (too many delays in opening), but they have a wide range of brews at their original location here in Michigan. Routh Street (near downtown) is quite good, Two Rows (NW), too. Humperdink's (a Big Horn operation) in Addison was an odd number -- a Bud bar that had brewing capabilities (I'm always suspicious of any brewpub that doesn't push their own beers - isn't THAT what they're supposed to be about???), try Hoffbrau or (gasp!) Rock Bottom instead. Copper Tank (downtown) is worthwhile, too. Oops - a quick look at www.pubcrawler.com (the Beer Traveler's best friend) doesn't show Routh Street at all, and Rock Bottom has closed. Oh, well... Mark in Kalamazoo Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 09:15:53 -0400 From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com> Subject: Jumpers and compost Stencil wrote about Todd's ball lock kegs: >>if it is feasible/possible to convert my fittings to what everybody else >>that I know is using...? >Since you're going to >need a few cross- connect lines anyway, for pushing >cleaning and sanitizing solutions from keg to keg, I'd >advise you to make up a couple of pin-gas/ ball-product >and p-p/b-g jumpers, so you can transfer to and from >friends' kegs, or to a borrower for club shows. >FWIW, a spritz bottle of cheap NEX vodka is handy This is a great idea and beats the pants off of trying to actually convert fittings. I use these jumpers for my equipment (ball lock only) to do transfers from primary to secondary and on to serving tanks. I'm going to have to keep a few ball to pin jumpers around for when friends visit now! Regarding the series of posts on compost: I've just started a compost heap in our new back yard. It was actually one of the first projects I undertook once we moved in. The compost heap gets everything organic in it: grass clippings, weeds, leaves, hedge clippings, dead squirrels (I didn't do it), drowned moles, dog poop, water changes from the fish tank, table scraps, spent grains, trub/yeast slop - all with a thin layer of dirt for every few inches of compost additions. The key to keeping it all smelling nice: Variety - adding those spent grains and trub certainly adds variety. Mix them in well with the other compost to let the bacteria, yeasts and fungi break them down instead of allowing them to putrify in a layer of their own. Rotting - good! Putrifying - bad! Turn over - This adds to the mixing action, but also allows some of the microflora from the bottom to seed the new additions at the top. It also helps to mix those wet grains into the pile. A wet heap is bad and will smell. A dry heap is slow to work. Moist is best. Microflora & fertillizing - A compost heap will not work without bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Adding layers of dirt every few inches introduces new microflora and so does adding your beer yeast. Remember that even if the beer yeast just died and did no work, they will at least contribute valuable nutrients to the other microflora. Fertillizing? Yeah. I dump a gallon or two on the heap every month. Standard gerden fertillizer works fine. I've only have one layer of spent grains in there for about 2 weeks and they don't stink. Neither does any of the other stuff that you'd think would stink. It's only been going for about 3 months now and I'm starting to get good decay at the bottom of the pile. I really think that the addition of the trub/yeast slop has helped to make this pile so active and healthy. Carpe cerevisiae! Glen A. Pannicke glen at pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net 75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." - Blaise Pascal Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 09:17:46 -0400 From: "Branam, Mike" <Mike.Branam at ccur.com> Subject: Sanitation Solutions - iodaphor, chlorine, caustic soda, parasi I have been using iodaphor and chlorine for the past 2 years, but I was wondering if anyone had experience with caustic soda or parasitic acid. I have heard these do an excellent job on stainless steel coke kegs, and all the fittings. I have friends that keep parasitic acid in a spray bottle and spray the ball lock fittings when ever they change from keg to keg. It would be nice to have some sort of sanitizing solution that could be sprayed for those items that are hard to get into a sanitizing bucket that also did not need rinsing. What are the concerns? What are the advantages? Where can I get this? Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 09:27:31 -0400 From: "Steven Parfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com> Subject: Stuck Fermentation / bad beer? I started a split batch of Belgian Doubble (Enghien Blonde Ale) on July 7th, OG 1.062. This was my third All Grain batch. Half was pitched with a starter made from the dreges of a couple of bottles of Double Enghien Blonde Ale. Half was pitched with WY1214. After three days, the DEBA pitched half had developed an off smell and then quit fermenting. I repitched it with a 1056 starter I had and it started back up. After two weeks, it was only down to 1.028. The Wy1214 half was down to 1.012 by that time, and was racked to corny. The Wy1214 half has been subsiquently pitched with more Wy1214 and priming sugar, and bottled. It was "Hot Roomed" for two days at 80F, then put in a cellar at 68. It now has a nice "bubblegum" flavor. The other half still is at 1.020, and has a "flat" taste to it. Not quite a Sour taste, just Flat and off. No estery aroma or flavor. Just really neutral and thin tasting, even though it has a high terminal gravity. Any recomendations before I use it to clean the commode? Thanks, Steven, Ironhead Nano-Brewery http://thegimp.8k.com Johnson City, TN 5:47:38.9 S, 1:17:37.5 E Rennerian "Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes.... I prefer to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the cost of my own." Otto von Bismarck Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 09:46:18 -0400 From: "Sedam, Marc" <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: Berliner Weiss Mark in Kalamazoo writes... "I think that Marc Sedam had posted some info a couple of years ago. I think he advocated no-boil, but I found out the hard way to watch the dwell time in the DMS production temp range. I'd go with a short, uncovered boil." I did do a no-boil Berliner Weiss, but I counted on the inoculation of the wort with lacto bugs from Wyeast for the sourness. Maybe a 36 hour mash at 99F would do the trick too! I didn't worry too much about the no-boil routine. Once the vorlauf was free of particles the wort went straight into the counter-flow chiller and yeast was pitched. Takes about the same time as an extract batch! Cheers! Marc - -- Marc Sedam Chapel Hill, NC Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 10:07:25 -0400 From: Chris Hatton <Chatton at aca.com> Subject: bucket in a bucket I use the ole bucket in a bucket lautering system and I was considering adding an extension to the nozzle in the bottom bucket in order to direct the flow to the center of the bucket. I've noticed my extraction efficiency is a little low, could be I'm sparging too quickly, but I don't think so. Anyone tried this modification?? Chris in Hoboken Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 10:30:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: HBD Tee-Shirt Contest! Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... No, no - this is NOT an opportunity to douse tee-shirt clad beauties with water. As you (may or may not) know, the HBD has been getting our merchandising act s-l-o-w-l-y together. So far, we've managed to get button production under way in support of the many conventions, competitions and conferences we HBDers go to, and at which we pass each other like so many ships in the night, having no way to recognize each other... Our next sally into the battle of marketing is tee shirts! One problem: what goes on it?! That brings us to the HBD Tee-Shirt Contest! Here's an opportunity to stew your creative juices, let them congeal in technicolor, and spew 'em onto the chest (or back) of HBD members everywhere! We're looking to have designs for the HBD Tee-Shirt created by those who know the HBD best: you. So create your artwork, render it to gif or jpeg format, and send it to teeshirt at hbd.org. We'll publish the pic onto the HBD website, and provide voting buttons so that site visitors can vote for the 2002 HBD Tee-Shirt design. The design netting the highest votes by contest deadline goes to production, with attribution to the winner! The winner will also receive a free shirt bearing their design, plus a HBD button containing their name and Chief Clothier as the second line. Their photo and design will also appear on the HBD website. Legal mumbo-jumbo: All designs, whether winning or not, become the sole property of HBD.ORG to use or disposition as they see fit. Contest is open to anyone wishing to submit a design. HBD.ORG reserves the right to not publicly display any design deemed obscene, in poor taste, or counter to the HBD.ORG philosophy without notification to the submitter. Designs must not contain copyrighted or trademarked images, unless copyright or trademarked by HBD.ORG. Winning design may be rendered or modified suitably for silk screening and/or for display on the HBD.ORG website. Contest begins with publication of this notice. Contest is expected to complete 10/15/01. See http://hbd.org for details as they are developed. All proceeds generated through HBD merchandise are used to recoup the cost of said merchandise and the cost of maintaining the HBD.ORG presence on the internet. - -- - See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock "The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged from my yeast lab Saturday Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:35:50 -0400 From: "Leroy Strohl, iii" <lstrohl at mwc.edu> Subject: kegging bookmarks - thank you I tried to send an off-the-list thank you to Mark Tumarkin for sharing hisbookmark files regarding kegging, but his address bounced. His was an informative, carefully chosen list of sites. Thanks Mark. Roy Strohl Fredericksburg, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 08:56:14 -0700 (PDT) From: alastair <alastair at odin.he.net> Subject: Re: 1st Time All-Grain Questions Nils Hedglin asks about going all grain, but only owns a 5 gal pot. Nils, no problem. Rather than do two half batches, just do a partial boil and dilute it at the end. You've got all the equipment you need and if you're worried about the sparge arm, just forget it. I'll explain: I started with only a 5 gal pot and went all grain with it. After working out some kinks, I produed some of the best beer I ever made. Since then I invested in a full all grain setup (10 gal pot, counter flow chiller, sparge arm, etc). The only problem now... my beer isn't as good :( The biggest issue I found was the large sparge... the other the full boil. Both aren't as desirable as you would think. I would mash my grain and do a very small sparge (just pour hot water over the grain). I would collect about 4.5 gals in my 5 gal pot and boil as normal (i'd end up with about 4 gals). To cool, I would put the pot in the sink with ice water. After it had cooled to 105F, I would pour it in my 6.5 gallon bucket and add 2 gals of bottled water (chilled to almost freezing). The result: 6 gals of 70F wort. The third beer I made this way qualified for the MCAB, and it even had a pound of extract in it! I have never got close to this with my 'proper' all grain setup and only after a year of OK beer have I gone back (in part) to my old method. This is kind of where you are now, so don't worry. If I was you, I'd add a little more grain (go to 12 lbs) and mash as normal. Collect about 4.5 gals in your pot (you'll only be able to sparge less than 2 gals). Don't worry about the small sparge, the extra grain will make up for the loss of efficiency. Chill as normal and make up the batch with bottled/spring water (I never had infection problems with it). You'll also get slightly less hop utilization with the smaller boil, but not too much less. So you ask why is this better? Well, I found the sparge not only extracts tannins (polyphenols), but also other nasties like silicates that add a certain harshness to the beer. Some of these have a direct effect, some interact with expired yeast cells. The The cost is a few $ more grain, but since this isn't a commercial brewing operation, who cares? So what's good about partial boil? The main reason is the lower pH of the wort. This enables better isomertization of hop oils and enhances the hop flavor. But, you do get lower extraction, so again, maybe another $ towards hops. The lower pH also increases the rate at which Mailard reactions occur. These are the chemical reactions that create the nice bready malt taste from the grain. As for diluting at the end. Bottled water is normally bacteria free, so no worries there. You can also chill this to improve the rate at which the wort gets down to pitching temp. Don't forget the extra $ though.. hmmm, oh well. Sorry to rant, it's just I've come to the realization that a lot of homebrewing methods are just copied from commercial brewing without considering the quality impact. For an extra $5 a batch, you can make far better beer, and you simplify your process. A small price to pay I think. Just a final note. My old system worked out to have an efficiency of around 60%. My 'proper' full grain gives me 86-89% by following standard all grain methods (big sparge, full boil). Who cares? I'm now 'aiming' at a system efficiency of 60-65% max and looking forward to better beer :) For further reading, look in the archives under "No sparge", "Batch sparge" and "FWH" for discussion on hop extracting with regards to pH. Have fun! Alastair brewing and aren't Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 12:18:06 -0400 From: "Tal McMahon" <tal_mcmahon at beethoven.com> Subject: Hydrometer vs. bubbles Hello all, I got Such great response with my first post I thought I would try again. I am in the middle of my 3rd, 4rth, and 5th batches (o.k. I got a little carried away) all are in secondary fermentation and I am pleased with how they are going. I just got a hydrometer and I know how to use it and I know what the numbers mean....but here is the question Do I use the beer as an indicator if it is finished (no bubbles in the airlock for 5 minutes as I was told by the local guru, and the yeast settled out) or do I use the hydrometer and wait until a certain reading or until the reading is consistant for a few days? The reason I ask is that I have a Full bodied ale (10 lbs of LME for a 5 gallon batch) that I started on July 14. It appears to have cleared and is a dark brown color when I hold a light to it. It has been bubbling 1 bubble every 2 1/2 minutes for 2 weeks. I took a gravity check and it has been at 1.01 at 70 degrees for 3 days. Keep waiting or bottle?? Listen to the "World's Classical Radio Station" http://www.beethoven.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 12:42:40 -0400 From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com> Subject: Berliner Weisse Hi Brewers, I just (Monday night) put a 9 gallon batch of Berliner Weisse (my 1st attempt) into the fermentor. I followed the recipe in the latest issue of Zymurgy. I adhered very closely to the recipe, just upsized (is that a word?) it. I bumped up the Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Wyeast Kolsch yeast cultures from 500 ml to just about 1 qt. each. I placed my 18" ss dial thermometer (a composting thermometer, BTW) into my brew kettle to maintain, with a low flame, the prescribed temperature of 190 degrees F. for 30 min. I added pellet hops to the kettle at the beginning of the sub-boil. The recipe alluded, somewhat confusingly, to mash hopping? I tasted the resulting chilled wort, as is my custom. Bitterness is indeed very low. I ran the wort through my cf chiller as usual, piched the bacterial culture (all of it), waited 2 hours, decanted most of the supernatant off my yeast culture and pitched the slurry. The next morning, we had positve pressure as shown by "blooping" of the air lock. If there is sufficient interest, I can post the results of the finished product. Rick Foote Whistle Pig Brewing Murrayville, GA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 13:05:13 -0400 From: "wailstail" <wailstail at email.msn.com> Subject: Chicago Travel I will be in Glendale Heights, Illinois for a couple of months starting late this month. I am wondering about brew pubs, beer stores and good liquor stores in the area. Not just the good ones but also the ones to avoid. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Private e-mails encouraged Thanks a bunch, Les Stoddard Mainer living in exile (Long Island, NY) wailstail at msn.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 14:17:47 -0400 From: "Dennis Lewis" <dblewis at LewisDevelopment.com> Subject: RE: Roggenbier Thanks to all who gave opinions regarding Paulaner Roggenbier. This is a basic summary of opinions offered and basic assumptions that I'm going to use for formulating the brew. I think I'll have time to try it this Sunday, as I'm in need of more Weissbier thanks to my German neighbor 8-). (Zwischen Prost! is his motto.) I received the following pearls of wisdom from the generous souls of the HBD: Greg Remake <gregory.m.remake at ei.mwhglobal.com> has tried the real deal and says it's reminiscent of a dark Bavarian wheat. Also says the rye character is not overbearing in spite of the % grist. Hop rates are as expected for weissbier. Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com> made one a while back and highly recommends a beta glucan rest and lots of rice hulls. Nathan <nlkanous at netscape.net>in Madison, WI tells me that Michael Jackson give a grist ratio of 60% rye malt, 20% crystal, and 20% pils. Jens Maudal <jens.maudal at c2i.net> brewed one with 1/3 pils, 1/3 wheat malt and 1/3 crushed rye (not malted). The brew turned out well with a fresh, almost apple-like flavor. So, my formulation will be ~55% rye malt, ~25% pils malt, 20 % light Durst crystal. Full temp mash augmented by decoction between beta and alpha rests. For a 5 gal batch, I'm going to toss in a full pound of rice hull (post-decoction) (and if you've seen rice hulls, you know how much that is!). Hopping schedule like a weissbier (~12 IBUs calculated, never measured) and 3068 yeast. And of course, I'll give a post-brew/post-fermentation report. Thanks again guys, Dennis Lewis Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:49:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B at rocketmail.com> Subject: Keg dimensions Greetings, brothers and sisters of the brew.... Can anybody give the the "exact" dimensions of a ball lock keg? I know I have the information somewhere, but just can't lay my hands on it. Reason I ask is that I have a side-by-side brew fridge that easily holds three pin lock kegs on the bottom with room for the 10 pound CO2 cylinder and I want to put three more kegs on the adjustable shelf above them if they'll fit. Pin lock kegs are a tight squeeze since they are somewhat taller than the ball lock style, while the ball lock have a slightly larger diameter. My son came home from college yesterday and I showed him my keg set up (with 3 full kegs!) and he wanted to know why I waited three hours to show it to him! Remember, boys and girls, if you don't want people to think you're raving crazy mad, wipe the beer foam from your lips! This is especially important if you, like me, have a beard and moustache! Denis in Beechgrove, Tennessee where Moonshine is our history, but brewing beer is our passion Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:52:43 -0700 From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> Subject: Boil question > Hi, > The full recipe I'm using for my 1st all-grain attempt calls for a 90 > minute boil of the 6 gal of collected wort with the bittering hops being > put in after 30 minutes. Do you know if that 1st 30 minutes is only to > allow some of the wort to boil off? Because of only having (for now) a 5 > gal brew pot, I'm planning on doing 2 half batchs to play with different > hops. I'm worried about boiling off too much water when boiling only 3 > gal of wort. I think that's what happened with my last batch that was > supposed to be a stout & ended up a porter because I had to add more water > than expected to bring it up to 5 gal. Does anyone know if I should > modify the time of the pre-hop boil to still end up with 2.5 gal at the > end? > Thanks, > Nils Hedglin Sacramento, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 12:01:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B at rocketmail.com> Subject: Hops in the keg I recently kegged a Cooper's Pilsner and while it tastes wonderful, it seems a bit underhopped to my taste. I want to add some Saaz hops (about 2 ounces in the leaf style) to the keg and am considering a couple of techniques that I'd appreciate some comments on: 1. Dry hop in a floating muslin bag (sterilized bag). 2. Boil hops for five minutes to make a hop tea in about a cup or two of water. Any suggestions would be most welcome. If adding hops to the keg is contra-indicated, too bad, I'll just have to suffer through drinking it! As I said, it's pretty good as is, but I'd like more hop flavor. Also, what about adding bittering hops in the same way? I have a heavy smoked scotch that's in the keg and wondered if additional bittering hops would enhance the brew. Would either, or both, of the above methods work for bittering hops. I believe I'd boil the hop tea longer than five minutes for bittering hops, both otherwise pretty much the same idea and the flavoring hop addition. Denis in Beechgrove, Tennessee where Moonshine is our history, but brewing beer is our passion Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 17:55:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B at rocketmail.com> Subject: See, Commerical Lite Beer Can Be Useful Thought some of you might have missed this news item. It just goes to show you that the Megaswill Light Beers can be useful. Good thing those boys emptied the cooler before their boat swamped.... OSWEGO, New York - This sounds like the making of a really bizarre beer commercial. Four men spent 17 hours in Lake Ontario clinging to an empty beer cooler after 5-foot waves capsized and sank their fishing boat. The men headed out on the lake in a 19-foot fishing boat last Tuesday after work. They were already several miles offshore when the waves struck. As the men tried to stay afloat in the rough water, their beer cooler emerged from the waves, and they clung to it. "If the cooler hadn't come up, we would have died," said survivor Todd Wafer. Joe Stewart and his wife who live on the lakeshore heard their faint cries early Wednesday morning and took their boat out to rescue the men. All four men were treated for sunburn, dehydration and heat exhaustion. And I'll bet they really needed a beer after that ordeal! Denis in Beechrove, Tennessee where Moonshine is our history but brewing beer is our passion Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 21:01:00 -0700 From: Bruce Wingate <bwingate at optonline.net> Subject: RE: composting grains, etc. >> Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:36:26 -0400 From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu> Subject: composting grains, etc. Jeff, I've been composting all my beer-related wastes for the last few years, including: the spent grains, trub, and leftover yeast/beer/hops after rackings and bottlings. My compost pile loves it all - no problems. In fact, as a biologist, I cannot imagine why anyone would advise limiting the compost to only uncooked vegetable matter. Did they give any rationale for this bizarre claim? -Alan Meeker Baltimore, MD >> Mostly it is to prevent you from putting in the other stuff that goes with cooking vegetables, like oils and other plate scraps. (You know, like string beans and bacon or swiss chard and olive oil). Bruce. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 21:22:18 -0700 From: "Mike Pensinger" <beermkr at bellatlantic.net> Subject: Check my math Okay here is the math problem. Page down all you non techie people :) I want to use 2 240v 3000 watt elements in series. My figures are that the resistance of one is 19.2 ohms so two in series will net me 38.4 ohms. If I plug this into Ohms law I find that the current through this combination is 3.125 amps at 120VAC. This nets me 375 wats over a total length of about 48 inches. That makes a watt density of 7.8 wats per inch. Okay you may wonder why I am going about this whole exercise. Well I discovered that 2 inch copper pipe is very hard to get but 1 inch is readily available. I cam bild my RIMS chamber out of 1i inch pipe and fittings with an element in each end pretty easily. Please let me know what you think. Mike Pensinger beermkr at bellatlantic.net http://members.bellatlantic.net/~beermkr Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 11:05:16 +0930 From: "Thomas D. Hamann" <tdhamann at senet.com.au> Subject: Re: Safbrew T-58 Moin Alan, got this from the DCL site- Yeasts for general brewing and for seasonal and speciality beers T-58 A speciality yeast selected for its estery somewhat peppery and spicy flavour development. Low sedimentation. Recommended fermentation temperature: 18C-24C. Recommended pitching rate: 50 g/hl to 80 g/hl. This yeast is also recommended for secondary fermentations in bottles. Recommended pitching rate: 2.5 g/hl to 5 g/hl. S-33 A very popular general purpose yeast, displaying both very robust conservation and consistent performance. This yeast produces superb flavour profiles and can be used for the production of lager type or ale beers. Medium sedimentation. Recommended temperature range: 15C-24C. Recommended pitching rate: 50 g/hl to 80 g/hl. At 12:12 15/08/01 -0400, you wrote: >Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 17:45:47 -0400 (EDT) >From: "Alan McKay" <amckay at ottawa.com> >Subject: Safbrew T 58 Yeast? > >Folks, > >I've got a 10g packet of "Safbrew T 58" yeast which I think came >in a Brew House kit (www.thebrewhouse.com). > >Does anyone know what kind of yeast this is? Any details? > >It's just a plain foil pack with plain lettering. > >cheers, > -Alan Return to table of contents
[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]
HTML-ized on 08/16/01, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL
webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96
Convert This Page to Pilot DOC Format
/n