HOMEBREW Digest #3964 Sat 15 June 2002


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Contents:
  Re: Need another mag drive pump (Kent Fletcher)
  Leaking Propane Tank (RBoland)
  Blue Rhino propane (Kent Fletcher)
  re: beer descriptions, blue rhino propane exchange ("Mark Tumarkin")
  HBD SLAMDOWN! is ON For NHC Dallas! ("Mark Tumarkin")
  Canada Wins World Beer Cup ("Alan McKay")
  Propane leak-check ("Michael Maag")
  RE: C?CA (Ed Jones)
  Chimay on draft (Nancy & George)
  Hop growth and Bickering Brewers (Brewmiker)
  Beer descriptions (gremake)
  Re: Good brew in the Big Easy (Pt 1) (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Good brew in the Big Easy (Part 2) (Jeff Renner)
  Re: C?CA (Jeff Renner)
  Sparge Water Chemistry (Martin_Brungard)
  Re: Blow off (Jeff Renner)
  death of a refrigerator ("Chuck Dougherty")
  Schoenling Cream Ale (David Harsh)
  I Owe Dave Dixon a Beer ("Paul Gatza")
  Re: blue rhino propane exchange ("phil sides jr")
  Re: C?CA ("phil sides jr")
  AHA National Homebrewers Conference - hotel reservations ("AOB Moderator")
  Tom Moench ("Dave Burley")
  mrkoala at mac.com (LJ Vitt)
  RE:  Adding water after fermentation ("dunno me")
  Re: A Call to Arms:  Another (Great???) Idea ("Pete Calinski")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 21:35:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Need another mag drive pump McMaster-Carr has a unit good for 190 degree liquids, pumps over 6 gpm at 5 ft head, should be more than adequate, matches your description of materials. About $100. Actually, the MoreBeer guys have the same pump (#H300) for $99, and I'd rather give my money to them, wouldn't you? When's the last time McMaster-Carr donated anything to a hombrew fest? The truly high-temp (250 deg) pumps have bronze volutes. MoreBeer #H310 at $119. Personally, I use a Teel pump that's only rate to 160 degrees, been using it over a year with no ill effects, including pumping wort from kettle through the chiller. Kent Fletcher brews in Southern California Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 01:15:00 EDT From: RBoland at aol.com Subject: Leaking Propane Tank Lara is concerned that her Blue Rhino propane tank may be leaking at the hose connection. First, make sure there is no foreign matter in/on either fitting. Then make the connection and spray iodophor, star san, or a soap and water solution onto it after opening the valve. Look for bubbles. No bubbles, no leak. Tighten the connection to stop the bubbles. If it still leaks, replace the gasket and smooth out any burrs on hose coupling. If all else fails, return the tank to your vendor. Here in St. Louis, a Blue Rhino exchange is now $18. The local U-Haul center will fill a tank for about $7, and even less if multiple tanks are filled at the same time. They fill Blue Rhino tanks also. Bob Boland Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 22:16:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com> Subject: Blue Rhino propane Laura, The Blue Rhino should be fine. I just had to run up to Home Depot on Sunday night and buy one when my old tank started to run dry with 20 minutes left to go on the boil! If you're concerned, take a solution of a little bit of dish soap in a cup of water and spray, brush or drip it on the tightened connection and open the valve. If you have any leaks, you will see bubbles. This is the industry standard test method. Your (left-hand) threaded connector should turn almost all the way in by hand, then take about a quarter-turn with a wrench to tighten. If it takes more wrenching, the threads are probably dirty or even damaged. In that case, clean both male and feamle threads and try again. If it still binds you may need to replace the male connector on your regulator. Hope that helps, Kent Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 05:10:06 -0400 From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: re: beer descriptions, blue rhino propane exchange Dave's tasting description of Purkmistr, a dark Czech lager, is excellent. I'd had just a taste of it a while back and he brings back the flavors clearly to my mind. He shows us that beer description/evaluation language doesn't have to be fancy or complex - simple and descriptive works fine.We all need to aim for this kind of language usage, both when we judge & fill out score sheets and also anytime we discuss beers and their flavors. Laura writes about possible leaky connection on a new Blue Rhino propane tank. I don't know about the Blue Rhino tanks, but my tank with the new valve seems to connect easily and without leaking. A simple test will end your worries about leaking gas. Just mix a little bit of dish soap and water and brush it on the connection. You'll see bubbles if you've got a leak. Mark Tumarkin Gainesville, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 05:10:15 -0400 From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: HBD SLAMDOWN! is ON For NHC Dallas! Mark, The NHC is starting to seem like a Prohibition era speakeasy that keeps moving to stay one step ahead of the cops. It'd be funny it it wasn't so surreal. So you're turning into a fight promoter, huh? Well, Steve A is an obvious contender, people'll be lining up to take a pop at him. I want to invite you, Steve, and any other HBDers, to take part in another slamdown, though I've never thought of it that way before. The last several years (since the KC conf) a small but growing group of folks have been bringing bottles of singlemalt along. We don't exactly slam 'em, but it's fun never the less. I'll be rooming with Jeff Renner, so I'd imagine we'll have an HBD meeting or two in our room. see y'all in Dallas, Mark Tumarkin Gainesville, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 07:32:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Alan McKay" <amckay at neap.net> Subject: Canada Wins World Beer Cup Proving themselves the worlds greatest beer drinking nation, Canada - with home-court advantage - has won the first annual World Beer Cup. The US placed second, and Poland 3rd. Teams from 15 countries competed in a series of games which include many popular beer-drinking games. http://www.canoe.ca/Television/jun13_beer-cp.html - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site&#153; Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 07:54:29 -0400 From: "Michael Maag" <MichaelMaag at doli.state.va.us> Subject: Propane leak-check Laura in NC is concerned about the connection between the cajun cooker and the new tank. Since they seem to connect ok, the thing to do is to position the tank as far away from the cooker as the line will allow, then light the burner. Have some liquid soap and water solution handy, and spray, pour, or brush, the soap over all connections. Any leaks will make bubbles. No bubbles, no problem. Hope this helps, Mike Maag, Industrial Safety Inspector, Va OSHA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 08:15:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Ed Jones <ejones at ironacres.com> Subject: RE: C?CA How about NACA (North American Creme Ale)? CCCA looks too much like an old Soviet acronym to me. :-) - -- Ed Jones - Columbus, Ohio U.S.A - [163.8, 159.4] [B, D] Rennerian "When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness...I am confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery." - written by a wounded officer after Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 08:15:13 -0400 From: Nancy & George <homsweet at voicenet.com> Subject: Chimay on draft Chimay Cinq Cents (aka White or Triple) is pouring on draft in its US debut at Monk's Cafe in Philly. Premired at Tuesday night's fabulous beer dinner. I believe it's 6 bucks a glass at the back bar. Yummy! After years of badgering the good monks of Chimay, Monk's owner Tom Peters and local importer Eddy Friedland recieved the first kegs in America. Next week it may appear at other Philly area watering holes. Later this month in NYC. It's a good time to be a beer lover! George Hummel MABN Phila/DE/HB News Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 09:18:40 EDT From: Brewmiker at aol.com Subject: Hop growth and Bickering Brewers Mike Schrempp writes, I have three hop plants in my yard. One each of Halertau, Saaz, and Tetnanger. This is their second season in the ground... The Saaz hops are lagging behind in growth. While I haven't grown Saaz before, I do no that it is beneficial to prune to only one or two hop bines, for maximum growth per plant. At this time my Fuggles, Willamette , and Nugget are neck and neck at about 13 feet. Troy Hager suggests a call to action on more accurate and descriptive beer flavor terms. Sounds like a great project and I'm sure it would be a welcome reprieve from the HSA holy war... Mike Mullins Brewing up a storm in Lapeer, Michigan Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 08:25:20 -0500 (CDT) From: gremake at gsb.uchicago.edu Subject: Beer descriptions Hello all, The web page at http://www.ratebeer.com/Articles.asp has a link titled Aroma/Flavor Checklist that offers some very good descriptors for beer flavor, aroma and appearance. The suggested scoring is not per BJCP guidelines, but I found the checklist to be very useful and informative, and I hope to implement it in rating my own recipes. Perhaps you'll find it useful too. Cheers, Greg Chicago, IL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 09:50:08 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Good brew in the Big Easy (Pt 1) "Ed Dorn" <edorn at dukes-stein.com> writes: >My wife and I will be in the New Orleans area next week for a few days A few years ago my wife and I went to N.O. and among other things, inspired by Roger Deschner's tour report (below), we toured the Dixie Brewery. We found the brewmaster, Kevin Stuart, extremely hospitable. He took us all over the brewery and gave us (well, me, Nancy listened politely) some really good technical information. A letter or phone call ahead saying that you are a homebrewer might get you a personalized tour too. Blackened Voodoo, a really nice dark lager, is the beer that saved the brewery. It seems that the religious right got all upset over the satanic name and campaigned against it, and that made it a cult favorite. But the main brand, Dixie, is a fine, light American lager (no, not a CAP, but a fine crisp beer). When it's fresh, you can taste the malt, light as it is. Goes great with local cuisine. Roger's report is below in two mparts to come in under the HBD 8k limit. Since it was posted publicly (the old ATIB list), I think I don't need permission to repost it. There is also another review at http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m3469/48_51/68160016/p1/article.jhtml Jeff - -------- Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 14:26:47 CDT From: Roger Deschner <U52983 at UICVM.UIC.EDU> Subject: Dixie Brewery Tour Report (long) Tour report - Dixie Brewery, New Orleans Roger Deschner, 6/7/96 Now HERE is a working museum piece! The Dixie Brewery is truly one of the most amazing, miraculous, sights in the brewing world. It was built in 1907, and is still owned by the same family. Everything here is old and decrepit. Motors turn on and off, valves hiss, and there is the aroma of ammonia all over the place. Only a few of the lights work. And somehow, beer is brewed. A group of about six of us took the afternoon off from sessions at the American Homebrewer's Association Conference. Our tour guide was Kevin Stuart, the head brewer. Kevin was educated at UC Davis, and has been brewmaster at Dixie for ten years. he says that, despite the hard work involved in making beer at Dixie, the place gets under your skin. Maximum capacity in the 1960's was 300,000 barrels/year, but now they produce only a fraction of that. As a result of the lower production levels, some parts of the plant are simply closed off, such as a relatively new fully jacketed set of ageing vessels. Brewing is done in a relatively new (but still old) stainless mash tun and brew kettle, which were hauled in from the old Jax brewery when it was closed. Their original copper brew kettle is no longer used, but they had polished it nicely to show off to the homebrewers. Grain mills, wort chillers, etc. all appear to be in pretty good working condition, although everything is very inconveniently located, involving lots of stair climbing. The brewers are in tremendous physical condition as a result. Brewing Blackened Voodoo presents a problem, because the place was built to make adjunct beers, and they have trouble handling the volume of barley malt required for an all-malt beer. All beers are made with "Dixie Super Yeast", a strain which they have been using continuously for 20 years. They just keep repitching it. They do wash it, and periodically send a sample off to a lab for analysis, but they continue to reuse the same yeast, over and over. The local homebrewers have used it to brew lagers, with good success. The origins of this durable strain are a company secret. Just another part of the mystique. Primary fermentation is in relatively new stainless tanks, in an addition to the building that lost much of its insulation during a recent hurricane. A door which the storm had pried off its hinges was left there to rust, bent and twisted, and the open doorway was simply boarded up. Before that addition was built, primary fermentation was done in open cypress vats. The gems here are the lagering tanks, which are made entirely of Louisiana swamp cypress wood. These original beauties are lovingly tended, and require quite a bit of maintenance. They are presently experimenting with a new type of wood treatment which may greatly increase the time between required periodic retreatments. There is only one other set of wooden beer vessels still in use in the U.S. (Where? Dubuque? Yeungling?) The lagering cellars, in the middle of the brewery, are constantly damp and dripping, like a cave, with the pervasive aroma of ammonia. A fitting place for a beer called Blackened Voodoo to be made! - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 09:51:27 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Good brew in the Big Easy (Part 2) Continuing Roger Deschner's 1996 report on the Dixie Brewery tour: We climbed up to the roof of the five-story building, for a nice cool breeze, and to inspect the rice silos up there which have been painted to look like cans of Dixie beer. The view of Downtown, the Mississippi River, and the abandoned neighboring Falstaff brewery, with King Gambrinus still perched on a high balcony, is impressive. (Kevin confessed to a desire to "borrow" the King and move him over to Dixie's roof.) One does wonder, though, after climbing the wobbly ladders and such to get up there, if the whole pile of loose bricks and rusting pipes might someday simply fall down. The real miracle is that they make good, uninfected beer in this chaotic mess. Things look worse than they really are. You see a totally rusted-out pipe or piece of equipment, but then you realize that they don't use that one anymore; the one that they do use is in pretty good shape. Since there is no shortage of floor space inside the convoluted, hulking building, there is no incentive to haul out the old nonworking stuff. It's easier, and cheaper, to simply leave it. Two members of our group got lost, and it took a while for them to find their way out. It's somewhat reminiscent of Europe, where something called "new" is actually quite old, and the "old" one is really ancient. Back down the wobbly ladders, and another trip across the Larry Bell Memorial Trick Board (I think Larry still has the bruise), and past the elegant wrought iron front gate, brought us back into the very plain tasting room for The Reward At The End Of The Brewery Tour. The bar was made from one of the old cypress tanks. The regular Dixie Beer, fresh from the brewery tap, is a very pleasant example of a Classic American Pilsner - a style that starts to look better and better as the major breweries lighten up their "regular" beers. Dixie is made with rice adjunct, all grown in Louisiana of course. Blackened Voodoo is an all-malt beer, medium brown in color, with a pleasant, dry toastiness. We did not try the new Crimson Voodoo. But we did taste the new White Chocolate Moose, which is sticky sweet. It is called a "dessert beer". (I have a feeling this experiment will languish for lack of a niche.) But we all had to shake our heads in amazement that such pleasant, clean beers could come out of the rusting jumble we had just toured. That is, as much as anything, a compliment to the skill and the really hard work of the brewers. We also toured the Acadian Brewery, a brand-new micro that has been brewing for only six months. It's shiny, compact, all-new equipment was in stark contrast to Dixie. Their best beer is a nice, aromatic, Pilsner. My Scale for the financial health of a brewery is the condition of the tuckpointing of its brickwork. Dixie's tuckpointing is bad - all the bricks are loose. There are lots of broken windows. In fact, everything here is rusting and falling apart. Dixie was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when Blackened Voodoo Beer was banned by the State of Texas due to its satanic label. The preposterousness of this action generated so much publicity for Dixie that it literally saved the company and the brewery. Within days, they couldn't make enough Blackened Voodoo to meet the demand. The Louisiana Legislature threatened to ban Lone Star Beer in retaliation, so finally Texas backed down. Since then, Blackened Voodoo has been very popular in the Lone Star State, and elsewhere. The brewery, despite its high maintenance and labor costs, is at least marginally profitable. We had to ponder, how long can they keep going on like this? Probably forever. The plant, rust, loose bricks and all, is fully paid for. The tax assessor can't be very hard on such a decaying relic. The portion of the equipment that is used presently for production works well enough. So the higher maintenance and labor costs are offset by lower capital costs. (In contrast, Acadian forks a large part of their income over to the bank, but has lower operating costs.) As long as they continue to produce clean beer, and occasionally innovate with things like Crimson Voodoo, this creaking, hissing, rusting relic can probably remain viable in the long term. At any rate, this incredible tour certainly gives me a different perspective, when I come across a six-pack of a Dixie product in a store. Despite thoughts of all those rusting pipes and crumbling bricks, I'll be more likely to buy it (if it's fresh), since it's good, clean, reasonably interesting beer, and I'll be supporting a real working museum of brewing history. Roger Deschner University of Illinois at Chicago rogerd at uic.edu Aliases: u52983 at uicvm.uic.edu R.Deschner at uic.edu USUICZ3P at IBMMAIL =============== "Civilization was CAUSED by beer." ===================== - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 11:03:23 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: C?CA From: "Drew Avis" <andrew_avis at hotmail.com> wrote from Ontario: >Brewers, in today's HBD I again see the acronym CACA, or Classic American >Cream Ale - an unfortunate term that seems to be gaining currency in these >parts. Now, I'm no beer historian but I am a wee bit of a nationalist, and >would like to carve out a bit of Canadian territory on the beer style map, >or at least claim that territory back from our encroaching neighbours. > >Perhaps a real beer historian has better information, but I always had heard >that the style and name "cream ale" was a Canadian invention - first brewed >by the Sleeman Brewing company in Guelph, Ontario. The brewery was founded >in 1851 (Sleeman had been brewing w/ others since 1834), and their cream ale >was their flagship brew by the turn of the century. (This is a synopsis >lifted from sleeman.com). > >>From the Genesee web site, it appears that their cream ale didn't show up >until the 1960's. I can't seem to find an introduction date for "Little >Kings" (the only other commercial cream ale mentioned by the BJCP) - but I >don't think it predates this century. > >So I make the humble request that we refer to Canada's only truly native >style as the Classic Canadian Cream Ale, or CCCA. As I recently posted, I can trace my beer epiphany to tasting Canadian ale in 1970, although it was the copper colored Molson Stock Ale, not a cream ale. That, as well as living 50 miles from Ontario, makes me sympathetic to your cause. I think that 1970 Molson Export Ale, also an eye-opener for me, could fairly be called a species of cream ale. Canadian ales, even dumbed down as many are today, are, IMO, still closer to what we have been calling a Classic American/Canadian Cream Ale than Genny or Little Kings. They don't have the sugary sweetness of LK, at least. The history of ale in North America is a fascinating subject for a book, and one I may write after I finish a book on CAP (you're not holding your collective breaths, are you?). Here is the quick version. Before lagers arrived in N.A. and displaced them, one author described ales as something like "dark, muddy and intoxicating." No wonder lagers were preferred by so many. Ales did hold on in popularity in the east, specifically in the more English areas of the US, such as New England and New York down to Baltimore, and is eastern Canada (supposedly east of Yonge St. in Toronto). However, lager sales in most of the continent were severely cutting into the sales of ale. To fight this, ale brewers (who had their own separate professional association for years until they joined the lager brewers after they began to conduct meetings meetings in English instead of German in 1875) hit upon the idea of competing with "present use" or "cream" ale. This was a pale, effervescent, refreshing ale brewed much like a lager (with corn or rice) but fermented as an ale. Wahl and Henius refer to it by these names in 1902. Ben Jankowski, in his Brewing Techniques article "Cream Ale - An American Classic," writes "As to who coined the phrase "cream ale," no evidence points to any one individual. I believe the phrase was used by various breweries at the fairs and expositions that occurred in various cities in the late nineteenth century." If I have some time, I will dig in my library and try to find more details, but I think it is safe to say that the style predated the name, and was probably as varied as other styles. No doubt the Canadians were brewing more characterful very pale, effervescent ales in the 1970s when I starting noticing than were the Americans. One of my preferred yeasts for the style is the Molson yeast sold by Yeast Culture Kit Co. as Canadian ale yeast. How about CACCA? Jeff - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 11:24:44 -0400 From: Martin_Brungard at URSCorp.com Subject: Sparge Water Chemistry pH adjustment for sparge water is used to supposedly reduce tannin leaching during the sparge. I wonder about the merit of the practice when hardness minerals are added to the water. Kolbach's Residual Alkalinity (RA) is an important indicator of a water's suitability for brewing. It correlates alkalinity and hardness to creating acceptable pH ranges for mashing. Adjusting either the alkalinity or hardness of the water may shift the water's RA. I routinely adjust the mineral content of my local water to mimic the water styles for various beer styles. Along with that adjustment, I usually adjust the water's pH. After brewing many beer batches that had "something" wrong with their flavor profile, I realized that my combination of mineral addition (increased hardness) and pH adjustment (reduced alkalinity) was possibly dropping the RA of my brewing water too low. This may be particularly critical with my sparge water, where I was adjusting the pH down into the 5.4 to 5.7 range. Let me tell you what water I'm starting with and some of the water styles I use. Tallahassee water is a very good brewing water. Alkalinity is about 125 ppm and Hardness is about 140 ppm. That puts the RA at about 75, just slightly too high. The calcium concentration is about 41 ppm and the magnesium is about 12 ppm. About 6 to 7 drops of 88% Lactic will drop the pH to 7. I figure that nearly wipes out the alkalinity. I was neutralizing all my mash water this way. So just that acid addition may be dropping my mash RA into the -25 to -50 range. One problem I deduced was that I was still adding the acid when I was adjusting the mineral content for particular water styles. For instance, for a pale ale profile, I was adjusting the hardness into the 350 ppm range with a mixture of gypsum, epsom, and CaCL. This combination of neutralization and mineral addition was probably dropping my RA into the -100 range. This probably isn't a big deal, but when I took that same mineral profile and lowered the pH into the 5.4 to 5.7 range, the RA is easily down into the -175 to -200 range. That can't be good! I can attest that the attenuation and hop utilization for these beers is affected adversely. I now realize that no neutralization is needed for my mash water if I'm doing a darker grist or if I'm increasing the water hardness by more than about 150 ppm with minerals. Just the hardness addition or darker grist gets my mash into an acceptable range for mashing. I think this resolves issues with mash water adjustments. This still leaves the question, does the RA of the sparge water matter? I say it only makes sense to adjust all of my brewing water (mash and sparge) to the mineral profile appropriate for the style. But this adjustment along with a pH adjustment will drop the RA into really low ranges. Is that wise? Does this matter, since the mash chemistry should only be important during conversion? If I'm adjusting the hardness way on up there, is there still a need for pH adjustment of the sparge water. Could there be an alternative to adjusting the mineral profile of the sparge water? I could just leave out the minerals from the sparge water and add them directly into the boil. That way, the overall water profile will still meet the target. This is just a thought. Does this really matter? I think a discussion about the RA of sparge water is appropriate here. There are plenty of experts here. There are also plenty of seasoned brewers that can add there observations and brewing practices regarding this issue. I hope you will all pipe up on the issue. Martin Brungard Tallahassee, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 11:27:09 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Blow off John Maylone <mrkoala at mac.com> in Tollhouse >This is a rookie question, but what is the accepted/best way to deal with >blow off? > >I have a batch of Belgian Dubbel in my 6.5 carboy and it gushed out through >the air lock big time yesterday afternoon. I popped the airlock out, then >took a carboy cap and jammed a 3/8 plastic tube over the small outlet with >the large outlet capped, then coiled the end of the tube into a jar of >water, but there must be an easier/better way. I never do a blowoff anymore, preferring to use a covered open fermenter with lots of head space for foamy ales, and an airlocked carboy or Sankey keg for low foaming lagers. However, the way I used to do this was with a 36 inch length of 1" diameter clear vinyl hose jammed into the neck of the carboy and the other end in a small bucket of water. Works great. You can clean out the tube when it gets gunky with a carboy brush. Jeff - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 11:48:29 -0500 From: "Chuck Dougherty" <jdougherty at wlj.com> Subject: death of a refrigerator Last weekend I brewed an O'fest, or so I had planned. It wasn't until after I had wort in the fermenters that I figured out my brewing refrigerator had gone to that great appliance shop in the sky. There wasn't much to do at that point except put the fermenters in the coolest room in the house (at a bone-chilling 70 F.) and call it steam beer. Now I had originally intended to repitch this yeast, and I will shortly have my refrigerator replaced so that I can get back to brewing real lager. So my question to the collective is whether repitching a lager yeast that has been used to ferment a beer at room temperature is a bad idea, and if so why? If it matters, the yeast strain in question is White Labs WLP820 Octoberfest/Marzen. Also, it occurs to me that while the compressor on the refrigerator may be dead, I still have a perfectly good metal box. Does anybody have any creative ideas for how to use a dead refrigerator for something beer related? At worst it seems I now have a two-compartment, mouse-proof storage bin. Chuck Dougherty Little Rock, Arkansas Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 13:24:35 -0400 From: David Harsh <dharsh at fuse.net> Subject: Schoenling Cream Ale Drew Avis <andrew_avis at hotmail.com> asks about CCCA vs. CACA: > ... the style and name "cream ale" was a Canadian invention - first brewed > by the Sleeman Brewing company in Guelph, Ontario. The brewery was founded > in 1851 (Sleeman had been brewing w/ others since 1834), and their cream ale > was their flagship brew by the turn of the century. (This is a synopsis > lifted from sleeman.com). Schoenling (pronounced "shane' ling") Cream Ale was introduced in 1958. (See "Over the Barrel - The Brewing History and Beer Culture of Cincinati, Volume Two, Prohibition - 2001" by Timothy J. Holian, p. 269, Sudhaus Press.) Volume 1, 1800 - Prohibition is well worth reading also. Schoenling Cream Ale was best known for its packaging in 8 packs of 7 oz green bottles; selling for around $1.75 in campus area carryouts in the late 70s. Locally, it was referred to as "chinese beer" (think about it); long time Cincinnatians will also remember their Sir Edward Stout a.k.a. "fat eddies" and the 64 oz. bottles of some kind of unpasteurized beer under the name "Big Jugs" - and I'm not kidding. Schoenling also made a cut rate beer called Top Hat. More information than you wanted, I know. So while Canada may be the point of origin of the style, I would suggest that "America" actually includes Canada... maybe Classic North American Cream Ale? CaNACA sounds better than CACA anyway and I don't know how to pronounce CCCA. Makes no difference to me, I just thought I'd give the scoop on Little Kings. Dave Harsh Cincinnati, OH Bloatarian Brewing League Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 12:41:36 -0600 From: "Paul Gatza" <paul at aob.org> Subject: I Owe Dave Dixon a Beer Hi everyone. Kate posted the site change for the National Homebrewers Conference yesterday. Here is the background. Radisson bought the Wilson World on June 3. In order to honor the contract, their hotel management company worked with us on the possibility of moving the event to one of two Holiday Inn Select properties they oversee. We thought we had a deal with one, but the deal fell through when they reversed the plan and determined they could not accommodate the number of people already registered for the banquet where the National Homebrew Competition awards are announced. (It had to do with the inability to switch rooms with the Sweet Adelines group because they needed the high ceilings for jumping. I am still trying to figure out what this means.) Rather than shut out attendees, we kept searching. We finally agreed on a final contract on Wednesday evening. Dave Dixon is weary of me calling him at all hours on his cell phone about the latest in negotiations and the next place to do a site visit at. Dave has run his butt off to find us a new home, and I and all attendees really owe him one. He has stepped up big time. For those of you thinking of attending, this event is loads of fun with great information and awesome camaraderie for days. Visit www.beertown.org for the link to the confeernce site. Registrations will be taken onsite. Thanks. Paul Gatza Director--American Homebrewers Association Director--Institute for Brewing Studies Association of Brewers 736 Pearl St., Boulder, CO, USA 80302 +1.303.447.0816 ext. 122 mailto:paul at aob.org www.beertown.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 15:24:40 -0400 From: "phil sides jr" <phil at brewingnews.com> Subject: Re: blue rhino propane exchange Laura Barrowman" <llbarrowman at hotmail.com> writes: >gov. says we must have. I tried Blue Rhino but am not confident that they won't leak. The >inside of the valve is a different shape than on my old tanks. Yeah, the threads match & I can >get it tightened. It just feels feels funny when I get the fitting tight like the connection is only >metal to metal, not the squishy feel, I'm used to, when the O-ring is compressing. I can't tell >if it is leaking, there is no smell or sound when I open the valve. I tried calling Blue Rhino but >I talked to a serious Mix up a small amount of liquid dish soap in an old spray bottle filled with water and spray some around the connection -- no bubbles, no leak. Phil Sides, Jr. Silver Spring, MD - ---- I don't have an attitude problem... You have a perception problem. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 15:30:03 -0400 From: "phil sides jr" <phil at brewingnews.com> Subject: Re: C?CA "Drew Avis" <andrew_avis at hotmail.com> requests: >So I make the humble request that we refer to Canada's only truly native >style as the Classic Canadian Cream Ale, or CCCA. But Molson (established 1786) seems to want us *not* making that distinction. They are the brewery who calls themselves "North America's Oldest Brewery" and fought Yuengling (established 1829) in 1993 when they applied for federal trademark protection for the "America's Oldest Brewery" mark. The PTO awarded Yuengling the trademark but had they not, wouldn't CACA refer to a Cream Ale brewed in Canada or the U.S.? ;-) OK... I should be working, not reading the HBD, huh? Phil Sides, Jr. Silver Spring, MD - ---- I don't have an attitude problem... You have a perception problem. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 17:19:39 -0600 From: "AOB Moderator" <moderator at aob.org> Subject: AHA National Homebrewers Conference - hotel reservations Howdy Homebrewers: Just a quick note regarding the hotel change for the AHA National Homebrewers Conference, June 20-22, 2002. The new site is: Dallas Marriott Las Colinas 223 West Las Colinas Blvd Irving, TX 75039 972-831-0000 http://reservations.lodging.com/servlet/PropertyInformation/MC_DALCL/ As mentioned before, the AHA is taking care of all room reservations previously made at the Wilson World Hotel. Furthermore, any hotel reservation made at the Holiday Inn Select, should be canceled! Please do not call the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas to make reservations, if you made them with Wilson World Hotel. I have personally hand-checked the reservations made at Wilson World and faxed them to Dallas Marriott Las Colinas. Because we are taking such efforts to assure everyone has a room, the final reservations may not be registered until Monday at the earliest. If you call Dallas Marriott Las Colinas to check on your reservation, they may not be aware of it yet. Please wait until Tuesday, June 18, 2002, to check on your reservations - just to give them time to process everything! All rooms have been registered as two double beds, with the base rate of $60. More than likely, everyone will be able to upgrade to two queens or a king with a pull-out couch. If you made specific arrangements (other than basic reservations) with Wilson World Hotel please contact Amy Lucia, 972-831-0000 to settle on your room status at Dallas Marriott Las Colinas. Thanks for all your patience - and contact me with any questions you may have! Kate Porter 2002 HBC Registrar AHA Administrator kate at aob.org 303-447-0816 x 123 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 19:23:12 -0400 From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net> Subject: Tom Moench Brewsters: I was so pleased to hear Tom Moench is involved with distributing Shipyard and other products in Orlando and that his Coconut Porter ( which I tasted before it went public) is now available commercially. Way to go Tom!!!! Keep on Brewin' Dave Burley Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 17:06:38 -0700 (PDT) From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4 at yahoo.com> Subject: mrkoala at mac.com In HBD#3963, John asked about blow off tubes: >Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 20:45:29 -0700 >From: John Maylone <mrkoala at mac.com> >Subject: Blow off >This is a rookie question, but what is the accepted/best way to deal with Lblow off? >I have a batch of Belgian Dubbel in my 6.5 carboy and it gushed out through >the air lock big time yesterday afternoon. I popped the airlock out, then >took a carboy cap and jammed a 3/8 plastic tube over the small outlet with >the large outlet capped, then coiled the end of the tube into a jar of >water, but there must be an easier/better way. >This is only the second time this has happened and the first time was a very >benign episode; short lived and not very messy. This one was was more of a >"gusher" and I'd like to at least FEEL more prepared next time....... I sometimes need a blow off tube also. I find out I need it when I see the airlock is full of yeast. My blow off tube has a 1 inch inside diameter. OD is 1.25 inch. That snugly fits into the carboy opening. The other end of the tube goes into a tub of sanitizer. The length of the tube is 3.5 feet. ===== Leo Vitt Rochester MN Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 18:08:15 -0600 From: "dunno me" <nicklebender at hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Adding water after fermentation I was extremely lucky this spring to get a 4 hour private toour of Molson this spring in Toronto. Thinning high gravity beers is done commonly there(as well as some blending as needed). I think it safe to say its a matter of perspective, the purist will say "no", but as far as I could tell fermenting a little thick and then thinning by about 15%-20% is fine, if you like the taste of your brew to begin with F.G. is adjustable... Doug Craftchick Sudbury, Canada GHB (Good HomeBrewing Internet Club) http://forums.delphiforums.com/homebrew007/start Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 21:27:25 -0400 From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net> Subject: Re: A Call to Arms: Another (Great???) Idea What a coincidence. I was just on a trip and ran into a bartender (at a bar with 12 or so very unusual beers). He was very knowledgeable about beer styles, tastes, and descriptions. We got into a discussion about the lack of a good way to describe the other contributions from hops. Contributions such as flavor and aroma. Many people can relate to hop bittering on the IBU scale but how about IFU and IAU for flavoring units and aroma(ing??) units? Then you could describe a beer as 45 IBUs, 20 IFUs and 20 IAUs. Neither of us had ever heard of anything like this. We commented that bitterness can be measured chemically where as we didn't know of any way to get a quantitative measurement of flavor or aroma. Anybody know of any way these other contributions could be standardized and then quoted to help describe a particular beer? Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY *********************************************************** *My goal: * Go through life and never drink the same beer twice. * (As long as it doesn't mean I have to skip a beer.) *********************************************************** Return to table of contents
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