HOMEBREW Digest #4686 Thu 30 December 2004


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Gump on Servo ("Rob Moline")
  RE: Dry Hopping Questions ("Doug Moyer")
  Re: John's question re Wyeast 1056 (Denny Conn)
  Bottling with Gyle (Gary Spykman)
  PC,London III ("Dave Burley")
  Slaked lime water treatment ("Bill Pierce")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 23:40:16 -0600 From: "Rob Moline" <jethrogump at mchsi.com> Subject: Gump on Servo Gump on Servo From: "Scott D. Braker-Abene" <skotrat at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Servo for Homebrewers! GUMP writes: > ...ServoMyces, the yeast nutrient blessed with zinc and by brewers > across the planet. > It's about time! This is very cool!!! Very Cool indeed... Does it come in a nice plaid??? From: Jon Olsen <burnunit at waste.org> Subject: servo; also getting my gyle on On Dec 28, 2004, at 10:28 PM, Rob Moline wrote: > Servo for Homebrewers! > Finally....something Gump has used with great results...and > advocated for the homebrewer is now available...to > homebrewers...ServoMyces, the yeast nutrient blessed with zinc and by > brewers across the planet. I have to admit, it's kinda funny when you go to the site, the first sentence reads "Servomyces is a nutritional yeast supplement (GMO free) that was originally developed for German brewers " I'm glad this nutrient is GMO free (and veg! I have vegan friends) but we have to admit, technically speaking, by cultivating particular yeast strains for their particular genetically derived features (flavor, flocculation, etc) we've long been dealing with a kind of genetic modification. Not going to stop me from trying this stuff out... Oh well. SkotRat, Of course the cells are plaid! Why would it be otherwise? Genetic selection guarantees it! Hmmmmm... ;-0 Jon, You are missing the point......of course the yeast is selected, but how does that differ in your discrimination of the most attractive oranges at the corner shop? And certainly I select yeast, based on "their particular genetically derived features," when I decide to use a WhiteLabs 380 to make a Hefe, rather than attempt to use Nottingham. Servo's benefit comes from the proprietary mix that they are fed... These cells don't get their beneficial properties by eating diet soda! Noting that you intend to try it, I would be happy to see your results posted here....Let us know what your results are, as I am sure you will be pleased. Cheers! Gump "The More I Know About Beer, The More I Realize I Need To Know More About Beer!" - -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.296 / Virus Database: 265.6.6 - Release Date: 12/28/2004 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 08:55:56 -0500 From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com> Subject: RE: Dry Hopping Questions Tony asks about the green hop gunk floating in his fermentor after he dry hopped with pellets. I like to use pellets for dry hopping. (I use whole hops exclusively in the boil.) Since I ferment in carboys, it is a royal pain to put whole hops into the secondary. (Unless you get plugs, which you can cut in half, but I haven't seen a good assortment in plugs.) I usually rouse the beer once or twice a day. This causes the floating hop pieces to sink partially. After a week of rousing, the hop bits gradually settle to the bottom. If the beer is still too full of bits, I'll transfer to a tertiary fermentor for additional settling. (To stop the dry hopping - don't want one dimensional beer, or rotting hops...) As to filtering, any filter material you use will clog immediately if it is fine enough to filter out the yeast. Not a worry. You might try a hop bag (properly sterilized) attached to the end of your racking cane. Brew on! Doug Moyer Troutville, VA Star City Brewers Guild: http://www.starcitybrewers.org Shzabrau Homebrewery: http://users.adelphia.net/~shyzaboy/homebrewery.html Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:13:54 -0800 From: Denny Conn <denny at projectoneaudio.com> Subject: Re: John's question re Wyeast 1056 I have a hard time blaming the yeast strain, as others have done. It works as expected and quite well for me and many others, so how can it be the strain? I think it's an easy out...you should be looking at _all_ aspects of your brewing process here. Either that, or there's more than one 1056 that Wyeast is shipping! ------------------>Denny Conn Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 14:33:51 -0500 From: Gary Spykman <mail at gjwspykman.com> Subject: Bottling with Gyle Hi folks, Jon Olson asks about bottle priming using gyle. Actually, he uses the term "krausening", not "priming". So, I'm ready for some education here. My understanding is that krausening is the process of adding actively fermenting wort to nearly completed beer to induce a secondary fermentation. Whereas, Jon is talking about simply adding unfermented wort to fully fermented beer for bottle priming, in place of the more commonly used corn sugar or DME. This process, priming with wort, is what I have always done. I either do as Jon describes, and save about a quart and a half of wort in a jar in the refrigerator, to add back to the same batch at bottling. Or, I will take some wort from the next brewing session and use it to prime the last batch. I prefer the second approach unless the new batch is a stout and the batch to be bottled is a pale ale, or some such. For the questions: > >1. has anyone here had luck with krauesening? Is it as "fresh" as >everyone claims? Having never used any other method, I can't compare, but mine always tastes the way good beer should. >2. should I expect a bottle ring, like one gets with DME? I prefer >to think of them as little halos. :-p I've never had bottle rings. >3. Do I boil the stuff before putting the wort on it? It was cooled >and immediately transferred into a sealed jar and from there into >the fridge, but I don't mind boiling if that will help. When I use wort that I reserve as you describe I have never boiled it. As always, you must be scrupulous in you sanitary procedures. Of course when using wort from a current batch it has just been boiled. >4. Does it take longer to carbonate? Mine usually takes about a week and a half to two weeks. >5. I do love the carbonation recipator at >http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?5616698#tag >so I'm wondering if anyone's done anything like that using gyle- >something that does the math incorporating the OG of the wort along >with the typical range of CO2 volumes for particular styles. Not I. Though speaking of the Recipator itself, I don't see it mentioned in the digest very often, but I credit the Recipator (http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator) with helping me to never make a bad beer. I can tweak my recipe to perfection before I begin, and know that the beer will be balanced, and within the parameters of the chosen style. Print the recipe out, stick it to my beer fridge with a magnet, and away I go. Folks, if you haven't tried it, do so! - -- Gary Spykman Keene, New Hampshire e-mail: mail at gjwspykman.com web site: http://www.gjwspykman.com SIMM Brewery Pages: http://www.gjwspykman.com/simm/simm.html Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 17:33:37 -0500 From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net> Subject: PC,London III Brewsters: Steve Funk says: "Dave Burley, Thanks for the banter on PC and I couldn't agree with you more. However, I don't believe our beloved HBD is the proper venue for such a diatribe. Can we please keep it beer related?" That was my point EXACTLY. I didn't start it! - ----------------- Fred Johnson comments on his using and stopping his use of Wyeast 1318 London III due to attenuation and clearing problems. This is my favorite yeast for these London/Burton style ales. In my experience, I have never had a problem with either attenuation or clearing and I have used at least three generations in the past. If this is a true London yeast mixture of powdery and flocculant strains and not a single strain, this may explain the problem with going to multiple generations, if you hold a long time in the primary, you will choose the less flocculant strains in the secondary for the next go around. This could explain why you have yeast cloudiness. The cloudiness may not be due to yeast, however. Powdery yeast generally finish well and give high attenuation. So this is a little mysterious. I suggest two things 1) an iodine test 2) fire up your Clinitest and see if your attenuation checks out due to remaining sugar or is just due to some unexpected all grain temperature flubup in which you generated a lot of unfermentable maltodextrins. If the beer is dry ( <1/4% glucose) then you know it is because you held the mash at at too high a temperature for the attentuation you desire. Check your thermometer, perhaps Keep on Brewin' Dave Burley Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 17:21:57 -0500 From: "Bill Pierce" <BillPierce at aol.com> Subject: Slaked lime water treatment I'm posting this question based on information supplied by a fellow homebrewer, but I'm also seeking to increase my own knowledge on the subject. All of the material I have consulted about water treatment with slaked lime, including Hubert Hanghofer's excellent site (http://www.netbeer.org/english/tips.htm), indicates that, like boiling, it is effective only at reducing temporary hardness. The source of the water relevant to this question is a private well. An analysis from a reputable lab reveals an interesting profile. The water is very low in calcium and magnesium (16 ppm and >1 ppm, respectively), with a total hardness as CaCO3 of 16 ppm , but it is also rather high in carbonates and bicarbonates (values of 20 ppm and 123 ppm). The total alkalinity as CaCO3 is 101 ppm, and the pH of the water is very high at 9.3. My question concerns the best treatment for this water when brewing a pilsner that requires soft water. Certainly the addition of gypsum or calcium chloride to the mash would increase the calcium and buffer the alkalinity, but the water is also rather high in sodium (68 ppm), so there is a desire to avoid saltiness and harsh bittering. An option would seem to be the treatment of the water with slaked lime (Ca(OH)2). This would increase the calcium level without a corresponding increase in sulfate or chloride. However, all of the literature I have found indicates that slaked lime is ineffective in treating water with high levels of permanent hardness, and that additional calcium is required in this case. Why doesn't the slaked lime itself provide all the additional calcium that is needed? Bill Pierce Cellar Door Homebrewery Burlington, Ontario BillPierce (at) aol.com Return to table of contents
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