HOMEBREW Digest #4142 Fri 10 January 2003


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Re: All Grain Newbie (Kent Fletcher)
  Many thanks!  (mash tun) ("Brian Schar")
  Brewing software for PDA's (jodysdad)
  Re;  Reducing Malt Flavor in No-Sparge Brews (Stuart Lay)
  3rd Annual DEA CHALLENGE (Bob Sheck)
  Thanks for the efficenty help ("Gilbert Milone")
  Falsey Bottoms a la Renner ("John Zeller")
  kitchen aid mill (Alan McKay)
  mill wars (Alan McKay)
  DCL said what? (Alan McKay)
  Re: KitchenAid grain mill attachement (keith)
  LHBS and the profit they make ("Schorzman, Sherman")
  In Defense of HB Shop Owners ("Eric R. Theiner")
  Re: Grain Mills ("Vernon, Mark")
  Palm Style Guidelines ("Eric R. Theiner")
  Re: Grain Mills ("Dennis Collins")
  Re: BJCP Levels (Bill Wible)
  Announcing MCAB-V in Washington, DC ("Ridgely, William")
  B3 28 gallon system ("Christopher Post")
  RE: Again.. HOLD on a sec. (was dry yeast) ("Mike Sharp")
  Breastpump applications to brewing ("Todd M. Snyder")
  WhiteLabs makes Ayinger strain available year round! (Marc Sedam)
  aged wheat doppelbock? (Rama Roberts)
  Repackaging Dry Yeast/Pitching Rates (Bill Tobler)
  Grain Mill (Donald and Melissa Hellen)
  crankandstien ("Jerry Barkley")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 16:29:15 -0800 (PST) From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: All Grain Newbie "Gilbert Milone II" <gilbertmilone at hotmail.com> said: "I'm having a problem with undershooting my target gravity. Sometimes by as much at 10 points. Today I brewed a scottish ale using 9lbs of 2row and a few adjuncts. It was Paul Zocco's recipe from Brew Your Own. The target was .1055 and I hit around .1045. I use an insulated 5 gallon bucket to mash in and mashed at 158 for 1hr(high to get dextrine for the scottish). I sparged with 20qts at 170 to yeild about 6.5 gal of wort which I boiled for 1 hr. Yeilding me 5 gallons of .1045 wort. Does anyone have any advice how to get my efficency up? How do you know how much water to sparge with?" Gilbert, you didn't mention how the grist was milled, nor a mash out step, nor the sparge RATE. 1. A good mash starts with a good crush. The best brewers I know (and we have quite a few in my club, the Maltose Falcons) run the grain though their mills twice. As I do not yetown a mill, I pay very close attention to the output when using the LHBS mill. 2. Performing a mash out helps. Add enough boiling water to bring the mash temp to 169, let it sit for 5-10 minutes before beginning your sparge. 3. Sparging too fast can leave significant amounts of sugar behind. When I have rushed the sparge (due to lack of attention, not by plan) my yield has always suffered. Other factors such as pH and water chemistry play lesser roles, but following these three steps will likely bring you result you want. As to the question of how much water to sparge with, a rule of thumb is that you will need at least as much as your target finished volume, which is the amount you used. Sometimes you may need more than this, as different grain types, tun shape, false bottom/manifold design are all factors. One approach is to sparge until the SG of the output drops down to about 1.010 or so, then boil down to the desired volume/OG. Doing this will necesitate altering your hopping schedule based on the estimated boil time remaining. Hope that helps, Kent Fletcher brewing in So Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 09:48:54 -0800 From: "Brian Schar" <schar at cardica.com> Subject: Many thanks! (mash tun) I received a lot of emails yesterday regarding my posting about the use of a 10-gallon Gott cooler as a mash tun for 10-gallon batches. Every one of them was helpful and enlightening. This really is one of the best forums/mailing lists on the Internet, where people willingly share useful information. This is true even though I should have proofread my previous post, where I meant to say that a 17-pound capacity may not be adequate, where a 25-pound capacity would be fine. Oops. The consensus seems to be that approximately 25 pounds of grain can fit into a 10-gallon Gott, which is enough for most beer styles. Many folks supplement with a little extract for the very biggest styles, which seems like a good idea to me. Instead of a "partial mash" brew, I suppose you might call that a "partial extract" brew. Thanks to everyone's input, I'm going to go the Gott route, and plan to get some equipment this very weekend. I'm excited! After 10 years of brewing, I will finally overcome that all-grain hurdle. Two factors finally motivated me to go all-grain. First, I spend a lot of time doing a partial mash already in a big 2-gallon pasta pot--it's not like it'll take significantly more time to mash all my grain. Secondly, having just taken the BJCP exam, I am more interested in having better control over the flavors present in my beer. Thanks again to everyone for your help! Brian Schar Belmont, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 19:53:02 -0500 (EST) From: jodysdad at starchefs.com Subject: Brewing software for PDA's Can anyone recomend a some good brewing software for Palm 3.0 OS? I've seen one but I don't know if it works well or not. Any help would be great. Thanks Michael Bock Columbus, OH Oh did I mention...GO BUCKS!!! Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 19:41:17 -0800 From: Stuart Lay <zzlay at yahoo.com> Subject: Re; Reducing Malt Flavor in No-Sparge Brews In yesterday's HBD, Chris asks: But, what if I don't want this extra malty flavor? Is there some method of reducing it? Chris, I've brewed a whopping 4 all grain batches, each no-sparge. I'm also do not have a truly educated palate, but I have not noticed an excessive or extra malty flavor to my brews. I've brewed three ales and a steam beer. My tastes tend toward hoppy brews, but two of my batches have been relatively mildly hopped. I haven't noticed anything special regarding the malt flavors. For what it's worth, I would recommend taking a simple recipe you like and are familiar with and convert using one of the available calculators. Going all grain and handling the upscaling of the recipe were enough for me. stuart Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 22:47:38 -0500 From: Bob Sheck <bobsheck at earthlink.net> Subject: 3rd Annual DEA CHALLENGE The Down East Alers Open Homebrew Competition in Greenville, North Carolina, will be Saturday February 15, 2003 (Earlier this year than previous years). The Down East Alers will host the DEA Challenge Homebrew Competition at the Ayden-Grifton Golf and Country Club. This is an AHA registered competition. We will be accepting all BJCP styles and the rules will be the same as those used in the AHA National competition. This competition is a qualifying event for the North Carolina Homebrewer of the year. Entry requirements: 2 unmarked bottles, 10 to 22 ounce, crown capped, or corked (1 bottle for mead entries will be acceptable). Entry fee will be $6.00 for the first entry, and $4.00 for additional entries. The entry deadline is Wednesday, February 12, 2003. Mail entries and drop offs to: DEA Challenge Attn: Brian Mentzer 2090 Allen Rd Greenville, NC 27834 Judging for the competition will take place at the Ayden Golf and Country Club, 4343 Ayden Golf Club Rd, in Ayden, North Carolina on Saturday February 15, 2003 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. The awards ceremony will follow. Results will be posted at: http://home.earthlink.net/~bobsheck/data/DEA_2003_Comp.htm Lunch will be provided for visiting judges and stewards. Potential entrants, judges, and stewards with questions are encouraged to contact the organizers via e-mail. -Brian Mentzer at: stinkeeee at yahoo.com -Rick Theiner at: rickdude02 at earthlink.net You may also download entry forms from http://home.earthlink.net/~bobsheck/data/DEA_2003_Comp.htm in Microsoft Word Format Bob Sheck // DEA - Down East Alers - Greenville, NC bsheck at earthlink.net // [583.2,140.6] Apparent Rennerian Home Brewing since 1993 // bobsheck at earthlink.net // Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 23:56:18 -0500 From: "Gilbert Milone" <gilbertmilone at hotmail.com> Subject: Thanks for the efficenty help To everyone who emailed me in response to my new adventures in all grain brewing I really appreciate your comments. -Gil Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 01:25:18 -0800 From: "John Zeller" <jwz_sd at hotmail.com> Subject: Falsey Bottoms a la Renner Hey Jeff, That link was fascinating. I'm pretty sure J-Lo wears a pair of those! She sure looks like she does, but I may be mistaken. They probably sell many of those things to J-Lo wanna be's. John Zeller Cincinnati, Ohio Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 06:58:52 -0500 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: kitchen aid mill Mike, The short answer is that this attachment is about the equivalent of a corona mill, and is not ideal. Especially because of the limited amount of grain that Kitchen Aid recommends you put through it at a time (10 cups?). If you make a lot of bread anyway, this is probably worth while. If not, it is more expensive than a real brewing mill, so why waste your money? More details in my FAQ http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20020429215307727 cheers, -Alan - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 07:05:52 -0500 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: mill wars Rod, I have a Barley Crusher and a Valley Mill and have used the Schmidling and Phil Mill I both quite a bit as well. All 4 of them are great mills and I do not think you can go wrong with any of them! But my favorite is the Barley Crusher. It is the most adjustable of all the lot, and also built entirely of metal (except the handle which is wood). I have not motorised it, but do use it with a drill with no troubles at all. cheers, -alan - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 07:08:50 -0500 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: DCL said what? > I'm not afraid to order from Canada, at least during the > more temperate months, but Paddock Woods told me that DCL > asked them to stop repackaging the K-97 yeast. I strongly encourage each and every one of us to express our displeasure over this to the North American business development agent Richard Munro <rmunro at dclyeast.co.uk> Unbelievable! cheers, -Alan - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 09:10:12 -0500 From: keith <kellum at adamsadv.com> Subject: Re: KitchenAid grain mill attachement I think it will serve your purpose well if you were making bread. It grinds grain to flour and can't be set to give you a good malt crush- put the 60 -70 bucks the attachment costs toward an adjustable mill designed for brewing. Keith Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 09:23:55 -0500 From: "Schorzman, Sherman" <Sherman.Schorzman at filetek.com> Subject: LHBS and the profit they make I want to chime in here on the subject of profitability and the LHBS business. First of all, I am a consumer, I do not own or have any affiliation with a LHBS. It's clear these people do not make a huge piles of money from these shops. But for some reason they are always here to answer our questions, support our clubs, and nurture us from our very first batch. I once witnessed this exchange in my LHBS; A guy comes in that is ready to start a fairly complex batch. He needs advice, The shop owner takes the time to make sure the customer knows everything he needs to know to make the batch. When it comes time to buy supplies, the guy buys $1.00 worth of bottle caps. "I got everything else online" he proudly states. What happened here is that this guy spends, I don't know, $30.00 making a batch of beer. But, only about $.40 goes to the shop owner that is expected to give all the advice. This inequality happened because the guy saved a couple bucks (maybe), he certainly didn't save any time because he had to go into the shop anyway. I have nothing against online sales, or the great capitalistic way. I use several suppliers because they have different inventories. I do however, give the business to my LHBS when I can. My point is that if you enjoy having a LHBS in your area, you need to support it. You have got to let the owner make a living or the shop is going to go away. They most likely make just enough money to exist in the area. If we force every supplier to compete with every supplier on every item in every shop. The winner is going to be some online supply warehouse in Goshen Creek, Iowa. There will be no LHBS, no more advice, no more support for our clubs, no more homebrew community. So you pay a little more for some items, a little less for others, overall it's going to cost you about the same. Please, support your LHBS. Sherman Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 09:41:20 -0500 From: "Eric R. Theiner" <rickdude02 at earthlink.net> Subject: In Defense of HB Shop Owners I don't necessarily always agree with Bill Wible, and the dry yeast issue is one of them... BUT, whoever thinks that shop owners are looking to get rich in this industry is out of his mind. In fact, there's almost no one in this industry who's going to get rich. Think about that-- the only guys who are making good money are the folks that also sell to the commercial brewing industry; anyone else is either getting by or is the rare exception (such as St. Pat's or Mr. Beer). Even the manufacturers such as myself or Dan Listermann aren't going to get rich doing this (hell, I can't even support myself-- I'm still working the day job). A long time ago I had the idea of opening up my own shop and had the benefit of advice from someone who actually franchised them (anyone remember the Home Brewery?). He told me that if I could be satisfied making as much money running a shop as I would if I were pumping gas down the street, then go ahead. But if I had any reservations at all, I'd be better off taking my paycheck and benefits while working for someone else. I took that advice to heart, and as I have met more and more shop owners, I have to respect the men and women who can give up security for the love of the craft and a love for helping people progress in this HOBBY! (Geez, can you believe that a simple HOBBY generates this much passion?!) So don't tell me, I'll tell you<g>... go kiss your local homebrew supplier. And take them a bottle of brew, too. Rick Theiner LOGIC, Inc. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 08:53:00 -0600 From: "Vernon, Mark" <mark.vernon at pioneer.com> Subject: Re: Grain Mills Rod, I only have experience with one model...the Automatic Mill. I was given this as a gift several years ago, before St Pats became the exclusive distributor. From my experience it works great, being adjustable (has two knobs with preset detents) it is able to handle a variety of malts and get an optimum crush on all of them. I currently use a cordless drill to spin it and can do 30lbs of grain in a matter of minutes. I have even gotten into the habit of doing a two step crush, one fairly coarse and then stepping down to the final crush. Mark Vernon - in a Rennarian waste land (Okay...Iowa) Check out our club website at http://www.iowabrewesunion.org Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box. -- Italian Proverb >Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 19:08:54 -0800 >From: Rod Tussing <RodT at pplant.UCDavis.edu> >Subject: Grain Mills > >I asked about grain mills about a year ago and got many informative >responses from the collective - THANKS. >I never did buy a mill last year and now am revisiting the idea and looking >for feedback from any millers out there. > >The mills I am currently considering are: >Automatic (St. Pats) Roller Mill >Cankandstein CGM-3E >Barley Crusher > >I would like to hear from users of any of these mills (or other mills for >that matter) regarding your experiences. >The 3 roller design offered by Crankandstein is intriguing and I would >really like to hear from any "monster" users out there. > > >Rod Tussing >Sacramento, CA > >[1975.1, 275.1] Miles Apparent Rennerian This communication is for use by the intended recipient and contains information that may be privileged, confidential or copyrighted under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby formally notified that any use, copying or distribution of this e-mail, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. Please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this e-mail from your system. Unless explicitly and conspicuously designated as "E-Contract Intended", this e-mail does not constitute a contract offer, a contract amendment, or an acceptance of a contract offer. This e-mail does not constitute a consent to the use of sender's contact information for direct marketing purposes or for transfers of data to third parties. Francais Deutsch Italiano Espanol Portugues Japanese Chinese Korean http://www.DuPont.com/corp/email_disclaimer.html Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 09:50:59 -0500 From: "Eric R. Theiner" <rickdude02 at earthlink.net> Subject: Palm Style Guidelines I recently downloaded the beer style guidelines for my new Palm Zire (wasn't sure if I wanted to take the plunge, so I bought the cheapie-- no jokes about my small one, please). I got them off of Handango.com. I have successfully installed other third party apps, so I know it's not my technique (despite what Palm support tells me), so I wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem-- the app is on my Palm, taking up 45k of space. I can delete it and re-load it, but the application icon never shows up, nor will it show up in my list of applications. Has anyone else had a problem with this application? Does anyone have any ideas in getting this to work? Thanks! Rick Theiner LOGIC, Inc. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 11:34:42 -0500 From: "Dennis Collins" <dcollins at drain-all.com> Subject: Re: Grain Mills Rod asks about users for various grain mills. I use a CrankandStein model CGM-2A. This is a great mill that is of very durable construction and has adjustable rollers. It can be motorized very easily (I ordered mine with an optional 1/2" shaft attached). The mill comes without any kind of base, so you will have to buy or fabricate a base and hopper for it. I recommend building one because the one they sell has such a puny little hopper on it that it doesn't appear to be very useful. If you don't mind hammering a nail or two, this is a good mill to own. For those who would rather mill grain right out of the box, a Valley Mill or other "ready to go" mill might be a better choice. Since I bought my mill , CrankandStein has come out with a feature that I really like (but I don't have unfortunately). It's a feature that helps to "kick start" the idle roller using a short section of straight knurls on one mill occasionally stalls like this and needs a little prodding to get going again, so this feature looks pretty cool. In addition, I usually mill my grain twice (it's on that second pass where the idle roller usually stalls). I seem to get a better extraction this way and the grain kernel pieces seem to be more uniform. This makes the two roller mill (model CGM-3E) look like a good choice. If you've got the cash, I would take a hard look at it. Fred Francis at CrankandStein was very helpful when I bought my mill and the service was great. Dennis Collins Knoxville, TN http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 11:45:55 -0500 From: Bill Wible <bill at brewbyyou.net> Subject: Re: BJCP Levels >First off, I believe that Bill mis-stated his recent >promotion, as he was recently promoted to the Certified >level. Peter, Thanks for your comments. Yes, I did mis-state. I was "Recognized". I was just promoted to "Certified". I'm not embarrassed to admit that I did get EXACTLY a 70 when I took the exam for the first time in 2000. And I do plan at some point to re-take it. It's a tough test. I studied with 3 others who took the test with me, twice a week for 3 months before taking the test. I want to meet anybody who ever got a 99 on that test! There are lots of smart people people here on HBD who know alot about beer and brewing, and the judging community could use and would like to have any of you who might have interest in becoming judges. The test is 2 parts. The first is written, 10 questions, all essay. You are expected to write AT LEAST one full legal pad page for each question. I wrote 3 pages for at least 3 of the questions. The second part is a blind tasting where the proctor gives you 3 beers to judge and write scoresheets for, and this is done while you're also finishing your essay questions. The test is timed, and the time passes very quickly. The questions include "Comparing and Contrasting" various beer styles, various faults that occur in beer and what their causes and remedies are, recipe formulation and calculation, you will be expected to formulate and give a 5 gallon all grain recipe for a "common" style off the top of your head and tell why it meets the style, and you have to know about the BJCP, its ranks and how you progress, etc. I learned alot preparing for the test, and I'll be the first to admit that I still don't know everything! Peter is a high level judge, he was promoted to Grand Master, I think, last year. I recall judging with Peter, and learned alot from him. He travels down here to Phila from New York to judge with us. David Houseman, who also posts on HBD frequently, is also a Grand Master judge in this area. I know there are many other judges here. More info on judging and what you need to do to become a judge can be found at http://www.bjcp.org Give David Houseman and those who worked with him credit for recently re-designing this great site. After I get beer judging down, I thought about moving on to wine judging. But that's another story... Bill Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 11:52:48 -0500 From: "Ridgely, William" <Ridgely at cber.FDA.gov> Subject: Announcing MCAB-V in Washington, DC The Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP) Club would like to invite you to the 5th Annual Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing (MCAB), to be held February 7 and 8, 2003 in Washington, DC. MCAB is a national homebrew competition organized by volunteers committed to identifying and recognizing excellence and achievement among amateur brewers. The participants are winners of thirteen qualifying competitions held across the United States and Canada. Since qualifying brewers must have displayed a high level of brewing skill, it is generally considered the World Series of home brewing. MCAB is more than a competition, though. It's a great educational and social event, and all activities but the competition itself are open to the general public. There will be a special reception on Friday evening, Feb 7 sponsored by Hop Union. On Saturday afternoon, following the competition, a special program will be held at the world famous Brickskeller in Washington, DC, holder of the Guinness World Record for the largest number of different beers sold in one establishment (over 1,000 brands). The program will be hosted by Bob Tupper, creator of the world-renowned Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale and Pils. Bob will talk about the vision behind his products and how that vision was brought to reality. The program will also feature a roundtable discussion featuring other GABF-winning brewers from the Washington, DC area (with, of course, samples of their beers for tasting). Saturday night will feature an awards banquet followed by a social highlighting more award-winning beers and brewers. The total cost for the event, including all receptions, lunch and feature program at the Brickskeller, and Saturday banquet, is $50, a bargain considering the high quality of the event and large amount of food and beer included in the price. Please visit the MCAB website at http://burp.org/mcab5 for further info and a registration form. Those without web access can contact MCAB organizer Bill Ridgely at 301-762-6523 or e-mail ridgely at burp.org for details. Thanks for your time, and I look forward to seeing you at MCAB-V. Cheers! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 12:33:10 -0500 From: "Christopher Post" <chrispost@ earthlink.net> Subject: B3 28 gallon system I'd appreciate the Forum's collective advice on a significant investment I'm considering, in Beer Beer & More Beer's B3-2050 28/20 gallon "brewing sculpture". This would initially be used simply to free up some of my weekends by producing larger batches but, in the fullness of time, I have a dim idea I may use it as a "pilot" system for a microbrewery. I was thinking of going the whole hog and getting the digital SMART (= a funky HERMS system, as far as I see) option, but thought getting the digital HL option might be overkill (at an extra $750 w/ mandatory control panel). Unfortunately BBB doesn't seem to have a great deal of info on the system beyond what's on the website (come on guys this is a lot of money! This is what I paid for my car!...ok I spent a lot more than that on the car since...) Does anyone have any experience/insights about this system, including thoughts on which options are indispensable as opposed to nice, and is there any "competition" out there? Also I was thinking about a Fermenator 27 gallon s/s conical unitank, rather than B3's 24 gallon version (seems cheaper when you include the bottom dump, lid, racking arm etc.). Any comments/comparisons? I'm lazy - I want to spend my brewing time brewing, not welding or otherwise figuring out how to put a soup-to-nuts system together... Cheers from Western Mass Chris Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 10:17:54 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Again.. HOLD on a sec. (was dry yeast) The way one shop owner I know put's it (painted right on the side of his truck): "Not much of a living, but a pretty good life". Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 14:31:59 -0500 From: "Todd M. Snyder" <tmsnyder at buffalo.edu> Subject: Breastpump applications to brewing Greetings fervent fermentors, Having recently acquired a Medela Lactina breastpump, I couldn't help but notice the pump's sturdy construction, variable speed, and FDA approved materials. As a homebrewer, this new addition to the household (the pump, not the baby) is just begging to be used in the brewery! Is there some way to use this pump for homebrewing? Maybe for racking beer by drawing a vacuum on the secondary and sucking the beer over from the primary? How about vacuum sealing hops in Mason jars or Ziplock bags? The mechanical arm seems pretty strong, too. How about an attachment for grinding grain? Anyone ever designed a grainmill that operates on a back-and-forth motion instead of a rotary one? This thing has to have some use! It's just way to cool to be left laying around waiting for its next pumping session. I await your recommendations, Todd Snyder Buffalo, NY (Obviously, I'm planning my first ever 'milk stout', too. Any volunteer tasters out there?) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 15:03:34 -0500 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: WhiteLabs makes Ayinger strain available year round! I just got a fax from White Labs stating that, due to comments from the homebrewing community, the Ayinger strain that I provided to them--marketed as WLP833 (German Bock)--is available year-round as of January 13! It's nice to see a major product supplier listening to its customers. Now that the availability of this strain is dealt with, it's time for the consumers to start ordering it so it stays in the rotation. Cheers! Marc Sedam Chapel Hill, NC Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 12:45:34 -0800 (PST) From: Rama Roberts <rama at eng.sun.com> Subject: aged wheat doppelbock? I've started researching the Aventinus wheat doppelbock with hopes of eventually cloning it (anyone have some pointers?) What I found interesting was that apparently the yeast used for bottle conditioning is the same as the one used for primary fermentation, yet the Schneider brewery apparently reserves 240 cases of Aventinus each year for a minimum aging period of 3 years. What's the trick? Weizen yeast is quick to autolyze- I would expect a 3 year old beer of any sort brewed with a weizen yeast to have some serious off flavors. - --rama Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 15:57:08 -0600 From: Bill Tobler <wctobler at sbcglobal.net> Subject: Repackaging Dry Yeast/Pitching Rates I'm reading here that some HB shops and Clubs are repackaging Dry Yeast from the 500 gram bricks. I'm not sure that's a good idea, according to Danstar. Direct from their Tech Sheet at... http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/PDF/Nottingham%20Tech%20sheet.p df (You may need to paste and cut the above link) Item #5 says... 5. Storage All active dried yeast should be stored dry, between 5 and 10 deg C and the vacuum packaging should remain intact Activity loss is about 5 % per year at 5 deg C and 20 % per year at 22 deg C in unopened vacuum sealed packs Do not freeze Nottingham will rapidly lose activity after exposure to air. Do not use packs which have lost vacuum. Opened packs must be re-closed and stored in dry conditions, at 4 deg C and used within 3 days. You may be seriously hurting the yeast by exposing them to air. This may need some more looking into. On Pitching Rates, Danstar says 100 grams/100 liters of wort is a good starting point, and adjust from their. That's about 20 grams/5 gallons, or two 11 gram packs. I think if you were making a larger, 40 grams would not be too much. I make 10 gallon batches, and would have to pitch 80 grams of Dry Larger yeast. Eight packs at $2 pack... Just curious, from you dry yeast users, what pitching rates do you use? BTW, I'm just starting to experiment with Dry Yeast, and am looking for a starting point. Thanks. Bill Tobler Lake Jackson, TX (1129.7, 219.9) Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 17:17:12 -0500 From: Donald and Melissa Hellen <donhellen at horizonview.net> Subject: Grain Mill Mike wrote: Has anyone got any experience with the KitchenAid grain mill attachment for that big ol' blender my wife (and yours) inevitably has in the kitchen? Sure would be nice if that mill would serve my purposes too.. No experience here, but the directions say that it's only good for 1 pound of grain. Then it needs to rest an hour. It must put a lot of stress on the electric motor. that's why I didn't buy it. I bought a Valley mill, but the Schmidling, PhilMill 1 and 2, and others work well also. WIth the latter two, you get one fantastic guarantee if anything ever breaks. Don Hellen Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 17:47:26 -0500 From: "Jerry Barkley" <gbarkley at charter.net> Subject: crankandstien Rod Tussing asked: The 3 roller design offered by Crankandstein is intriguing and I would really like to hear from any "monster" users out there. well, i don't have the three roller crankanestein, but i have the two roller hand cranked model, it works great for me and is now hooked up to a motor and running at ~60 rpm. i get a great crush. i would try the three roller model if i needed a replacement. Cheers Jerry Barkley Sturgis Mi, apparent Rennerian: unknown, but i do know the way to Jeff"s house! - -- http://webpages.charter.net/gbarkley/ - -- "It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!" Mike Dixon - -- - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.435 / Virus Database: 244 - Release Date: 1/4/2003 Return to table of contents
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