HOMEBREW Digest #845 Tue 17 March 1992
Digest #844
Digest #846
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
PLEASE STOP!! ("603APSSS")
PLEASE STOP!!
mead (Russ Gelinas)
sn at old bay, lauter tun (dave ballard)
keg hopping (card)
Re: Ripping the Big Boys (Norm Pyle)
Aluminum and Honeymoon (Bob_Konigsberg)
Hop Utilization (Walter H. Gude)
The Big Boys, a different approach. ("DRCV06::GRAHAM")
hop roots by mail (lg562)
Liquid vs. Dry Yeast (David Van Iderstine)
Re: Homebrew Digest #844 (March 16, 1992) (Jeff Frane)
more questions (ZLPAJGN)
Re: HoneyMoon (David Van Iderstine)
Dry Hopping, Ale Yeast Fermentation Temps (Tom Bower)
Another note on those 5-gal stainless steel pots (Tom Nolan)
Re: Boiling Pots, Re: Ripping the Big Boys (Greg Wageman)
A weird story (Tom Nolan)
Streak plates & purity (mvalent)
yeast culturing (Kathleen T Moore)
Re-hydrating, Wyeast, Yield (Jack Schmidling)
More on Red Star (Pierre Charles Jelenc)
housing needed for AHA 92 (Doug Henderson)
The homebrew FAQ...a few modest suggestions (J.David Ruggiero)
Send submissions to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues!]
Archives are available from netlib at mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 16 Mar 92 22:38:00 GMT-9:00
From: "603APSSS" <603apsss at kadena-emh.af.mil>
Subject: PLEASE STOP!!
I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M
Date: 16-Mar-1992 10:35pm JST
From: 603rd Aerial Port Squadron
603APSSS
Dept: Systems Support Center
Tel No:
TO: Remote Addressee ( __HOMEBREW at HPFCMI.FC.HP.COM )
Subject: PLEASE STOP!!
PLEASE STOP SENDING THESE HOMEBREW DIGESTS TO ME! THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS
INTERESTED IN YOUR PUBLICATION HAS TRANSFERRED TO SCOTT AFB IN ILLINOIS.
SINCERELY YOURS,
SSGT BUFORD C. TOOLE
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1992 9:12:47 -0500 (EST)
From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: mead
The following question is in memory of Cher F.....
Is there any need to be concerned about mead being exposed to light? It
has no hops in it.
Russ
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Date: 16 Mar 1992 9:47 EST
From: dab at dasher.cc.bellcore.com (dave ballard)
Subject: sn at old bay, lauter tun
hey now- for those of you on the central new jersey area, old bay
in new brunswick now has sierra nevada pale ale and porter on tap!
they also have a special mardi gras bock from stoudt's that isn't bad.
just wanted to let you know.
also- has anyone gotten ahold of the new "phil's lauter tun" yet?
bill at the home brewery was playing around with one he had just gotten in
the last time i was up there and i saw an add for them in the latest
zymurgy. just wondering...
later
dab
=========================================================================
dave ballard "Maybe you had too much too fast"
dab at dasher.cc.bellcore.com
=========================================================================
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 10:02:43 EST
From: card at apollo.hp.com
Subject: keg hopping
I recently tried keg hopping with ~ 1oz leaf hops into nylon
bag. Tasted great for about a week, but then the beer developed
a very bitter taste. Has anyone else noted this?
/Mal Card
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 08:52:50 MST
From: pyle at intellistor.com (Norm Pyle)
Subject: Re: Ripping the Big Boys
Gordon Baldwin <hpubvwa.nsr.hp.com!sherpa2!gbaldwin> writes:
>I thing the flack we are giving to the BudMilLob breweries is deserved.
and...
>I resent the fact that BudMilLob is pushing so hard dollar wise to make
>the American Light Lager the only style of beer available. I have a
>little more respect for Coors, as they do produce a few more styles that
>are available from time to time. I wish more of the majors would follow
>their lead...
I too, resent the fact that the Big Boys seem to be working so hard to remove
"choice" from the beer-drinker's vocabulary. You must realize, though, that
the brewers have a job to do, families to feed, etc. It's the marketeers,
IMHO, who are doing the dirty work by pushing only the style of beer which
appeals to the largest percent of the populace. This style of beer also, not
coincidentally, is the style in which folks drink a larger quantity at a
sitting. I don't know about the rest of you out there, but when I drink a
good hearty homebrew or a nice full-bodied beer of any sort it's usually a
single beer I drink. It satisfies me without me having to drink 6 or 8 eight
of them (which is the horror of horrors in beer market land).
I guess the real point to be made here is that there are lots of folks
working at the BB Breweries and that, I suspect, a good portion of them are a
lot like you and me.
Cheers!
Norm
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 08:24 PST
From: Bob_Konigsberg at 3mail.3com.com
Subject: Aluminum and Honeymoon
Just a couple of comments.
On Aluminum, I have also heard all the reservations and warnings.
Recently however, I was able to attend an Advanced Homebrewing seminar
at University of California at Davis. The professor running the brewing
department of the school said that the Aluminum issue had been looked
into thoroughly. Aluminum pots, and even adding aluminum salts to the
brew had no noticeable effect on the quality of the beer. However, he
did say that you get what you pay for, and an aluminum pot wouldn't last
as long as a stainless one, and would require more cleaning...
As for honeymoon, my Webster's (not all Webster's being alike) indicates
that it's a transliteration of the Old Norse for "hjunottsmanathr"
(diacritical marks not included) literally of "wedding night month". It
will be interesting to see what other etymologies are identified.
BobK
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 11:14:31 CST
From: whg at sunFb.tellabs.com (Walter H. Gude)
Subject: Hop Utilization
What follows is a summary of responses I received to my original hop
utilization questions. There seems to be enough interest so I will post
to the digest. I have edited responses down to a minimum. Apologies in
advance if I quote anyone out of context.
P.S. I hope no one who responded to me minds my posting of their response.
Let me know if this is not proper net etiquette.
>From: joshua.grosse at amail.amdahl.com
>
> IBU = HBU * (%utilization / (gallons * 1.34))
>archive site) gives 30% for pellet and 28% for leaf for a 60 minute boil in a
>
############################################################################
And from:
>From srussell at snoopy.msc.cornell.edu Thu Mar 12 11:25:17 1992
>
>Jackie Rager's article in the Hops special issue says to divide the
>factor you would get w/o considering gravity by a correction factor of:
>
>1 + 5(G-1.050)
>
>for G > 1.050 (and leave it at 1 for G < 1.050)
>
>
>So, if you added 10 AAUs, w/ 30% utilization that's 46 IBUs, except that
>you have a 1.090 gravity wort, so you really have 46/[1+5(1.090-1.050)] = 23
>IBUs, a considerable difference!!
Actually ---> = 38
>
>I don't trust his figures on utilization (I use Burch's), but the time range
>where the two diverge is 30 to 50 minutes, and hops need not be added in
>there anyhow. Burch says utilization increases linearly from 0 min to 30
>min (from 5% to 12%) then jumps, attaining 29% at 60 min. I suspect that
>differences are the result of boil vigor, wort pH, moon phase, etc, etc.
>and either boil for < 30 min or a full 60.
##########################################################################
Finally for those who want to be REALLY accurate:
>From: Frank Tutzauer <uunet!ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu!COMFRANK>
>
>First, there is a table in the new edition of Papazian that gives percent
>utilization as a function of gravity (of the boil) and time. If I can find it
>on disk, I'll send it to you.
>
>Then, some guy named Tim (I would have to look up his last name--anyway, he's
>a statistician) sent me a formula that explains 99 percent of the variance in
>the table. It's still a linear model, but he transformed some of the
>variables. The formula is:
>
>U = exp{-23.63 + .12896*t + 37.76*s - .00068496*t^2 - 18.01*s^2 -.04187*t*s}
>
>where U, t, and s are of course utilization, time, and s.g, and where exp
>means raise e to the bracketted power (e = 2.7182...). Now, many other things
>besides time and s.g. affect the utilization--things like kettle geometry and
>vigor of the boil--but if you keep these things constant, then the formula
>should give you a good means of altering your utilization.
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Date: 16 Mar 92 13:26:00 EDT
From: "DRCV06::GRAHAM" <graham%drcv06.decnet at drcvax.af.mil>
Subject: The Big Boys, a different approach.
A post in today's digest reminded me that Coors makes a very good beer in
the augumn/winter, "Winterfest." If the big boys started making decent
beer, with their capacity for stability and repeatability, they'd make
wonderful stuff. Now, they don't because they believe the market isn't
there. The fact is that they have, wittingly, or unwittingly, created the
market to be what it is by their ad campaigns.
Though I couldn't prove it, I bet that if they received enough mail asking
them to make better beers, with specific suggestions and style ideas, they
might listen. The place to start is with Coors. I suggest a letter
writing campaign asking them to make Winterfest on a year 'round basis.
I wonder just what they'd do if they received a couple thousand letters
asking this? Maybe I'm hoping in vain, but I don't think so. It might
take fifty thousand letters, but we ought to be able to generate that
volume if we put our minds to it.
While I'm one of the first to bash the biggies for their beer, I am coming
to think that we homebrewers cannot afford to garnar their ill will. It
seems to me that we are in a position to put a lot of pressure on them to
make good beer. For starters, does anyone have Coors address and the names
of a few top execs?
I don't think for a minute that Coors, A-B or Miller would make good beer
if they didn't think there was a market for it, they aren't in the business
for the art of brewing, but the profit motive can be used in both
directions. I'd like opinions of others on this, am I spinning my wheels,
or is there a chance?
Dan, I want my Winterfest in July, Graham
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 08:44:14 PST
From: lg562 at koshland.pnl.gov
Subject: hop roots by mail
I thought I'd add my two cents worth on hop roots by mail. Last
weekend I got my hops in the mail from Nichols Nursery in Albany
Oregon. The roots arrived surrounded by a thick layer of moss to keep
them moist, each individually wrapped in butcher paper. They sell
four kinds of roots: Tettninger, Willamette, Cascade, and Nugget. The
roots came with detailed instructions on how to plant and when to
harvest. So this weekend I was busy getting my hands dirty putting
them in the soil.
Michael Bass
Molecular Science Research Center, K2-18
Battelle - Pacific Northwest Laboratory
Richland, Washington 99352
lg562 at pnl.gov (internet)
n7wlc at wa7eaq.wa.usa.na (amateur)
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 13:04:17 EST
From: orgasm!davevi at uunet.UU.NET (David Van Iderstine)
Subject: Liquid vs. Dry Yeast
My $0.02 on the matter of liquid vs. dry yeast:
Everyone sez the biggest difference is in contaminants in the dry yeast.
I brewed a dozen batches at least with dry yeast (Munton & Fison Ale) and
had no contamination problems. I use standard sterilization techniques.
My reason for switching to Wyeast was that every ale I made, no matter the
style, had the same subtle "bad taste" running through them. Now, it's hard
to quantify or describe that "bad taste", and I fear that by describing it
as "cardboard" or "cloves" I'm going to open that whole way-too-long flame
session about oxidation again. Suffice it to say that when I switched to
liquid yeast, the bad taste went away. Completely.
I don't believe it to be oxidation-related, or anything else for that matter,
because nothing in my technique changed at all. Except the yeast. I was
often disappointed by the off-flavors in my dry-yeast ales, and no longer
have that problem, so I'm convinced liquid yeast has made the difference.
Maybe contamination in the dry yeast was the culprit?
===========================================================================
== Dave Van Iderstine Senior Software Engineer ==
== Xerox Imaging Systems, Inc. ==
== UUCP: uunet!pharlap!orgasm!davevi davevi at pharlap.com :INTERNET ==
==-----------------------------------------------------------------------==
== "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." ==
===========================================================================
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 9:43:35 PST
From: gummitch at techbook.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #844 (March 16, 1992)
On the question of Why Yeast? Wye Not.
That's to say: it's pronounced Why Yeast. It is, in fact, a regional
pun, because Wyeast was the local Indian name for Mt Hood, which one can
see from the window of the lab and which appears on the label. As one
person has commented, though, it's kind of like calling your business
Yahweh Yeast and I'm sure there are a few people around who consider
this use of the name sacriligeous.
Patrick: please, if you will, post the listed ingredients for some of
the other New Ulm beers, particularly the wheat beer and their pilsner.
Thanks.
- --Jeff Frane
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 12:42 CST
From: ZLPAJGN%LUCCPUA.bitnet at UICVM.UIC.EDU
Subject: more questions
Dear Brewers,
I have a few more questions about wort preparation. First, I've seen
the phrases "cold break"and "hot break" periodically here in the HBD
as well as in other published recipies. What do these phrases mean?
As a beginner (relying largely on extracts and luck...) are these
terms things I need to know now, or when I attempt more elaborate
recipies?
My next questions are a little embarrassing to ask. I am attempting
my second batch (brewed last Sat. eve.), relying somewhat loosely on
Bravery's recipe for "Super Strong Ale." I should emphasize the
"somewhat loosely" here. The recipe calls for 3 lbs of dark extract
(I'm using approx. 4 lbs of nut brown ale extract); up to 2 gals of
water {??} (I'm using about 2.5); and 2.5 lbs of demerara sugar (I'm
using about 1.3 lbs. light brown sugar mixed with approx. 1.5 lbs
corn sugar). I boiled for 25 min., sat the boiler in a tub of cold
water until the temp. fell to about 65 F. (about 30 min ?), siphoned
into 5 gal. carboy (which will act as single stage chamber), pitched
(dry) and set it out on the back porch under the beer-box. I've sinse
moved it twice (agitating it a bit ?), and it is now fermenting in
the pantry at approx. 75 F. The O.S.G. was *REALLY* high (just over
1.1 {panic begins to set in}) and the taste was as sweet as syrup!
My concerns now are 1) there appears to be whiter/paler areas in the
fermentataion foam (infection?); and 2) will the extraordinarily high
OSG mean that I'm brewing some God-aweful monstrocity? Or that Bravery
really means that this is a "Super Strong" ale? I don't want to brew
a high-octane furnature polish remover, but I'm afraid that's what's
happening.... Oh yeah, there's also a sediment at the bottom of the
chamber, and I think it might be the brown sugar. Fermentation is
going well enough.. almost too well! Is there a peak %-age where
alcohol production ceases? ANY insight is grately appreciated on
this one!!
My firstborn is due on the 17th, but I snuck a peek last Sat. (to assist
me with this next batch, of course). I must say that I'm a little
disappointed with the carbonation, though. Then again, maybe it was
still too early to tell? Any insight?
Thanks, and Happy St. Pat's to all!
John
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 15:08:36 EST
From: orgasm!davevi at uunet.UU.NET (David Van Iderstine)
Subject: Re: HoneyMoon
I couldn't resist this one:
>From: steve at caticsuf.CSUFresno.EDU (Steve Mitchell)
>Subject: Papazian and "Honeymoon"
>
>I just ran across Papazian's account of the origins of the word
>"honeymoon." He contends that tradition had the newlyweds drinking
>mead (HONEY) for one month (MOON) after their wedding. This was
>supposed to insure fertility and the birth of sons. I assume that
>this is Anglo-Saxon in origin.
I consulted the Oxford English Dictionary on this one: Herewith follows:
"'The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness
and pleasure'; originally having no reference to the period of a month,
but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing
moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane.
"1546-J. Heywood 'It was yet but hony moone.' 1552-Huloet 'Hony mone, a
term proverbially applied to such as be newe maried, whiche wyll not fall
out at the fyrste, but thone loveth the other at the beginnynge excedyngly,
the likelyhode of theyr exceadynge love appearing to aswage, y which time
the vulgar people cal the hony mone.' ... 1656-Blount '...It is hony now,
but it will change as the moon.'"
Sorry, no references there to mead or fertility.
===========================================================================
== Dave Van Iderstine Senior Software Engineer ==
== Xerox Imaging Systems, Inc. ==
== UUCP: uunet!pharlap!orgasm!davevi davevi at pharlap.com :INTERNET ==
==-----------------------------------------------------------------------==
== "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." ==
===========================================================================
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 13:42:59 PST
From: Tom Bower <bower at hprnlme1.rose.hp.com>
Subject: Dry Hopping, Ale Yeast Fermentation Temps
Recently a friend and I made a 10-gallon batch of ale which we split into
two large carboys and pitched with different yeast starters: the first, with
re-used WYEAST British Ale from a previous batch, and the second with some
SNPA yeast (started from a six-pack worth of bottles...YUM!).
Questions for the HBD'ers:
1.) I want to dry hop. I was going to throw an ounce of whole Cascades into
the carboy after the krauesen (sp?) falls. If these things are floating
around loose, how do I rack to secondary without plugging up the siphon
or leaving a bunch of beer behind? Is it possible to put the hops into
a sanitized hop bag or something? (Then how do I get it into the mouth
of the carboy!?) At least in the 7-gallon carboy I've got plenty of
headroom for it.
2.) The two yeasts I'm trying are behaving rather differently. The British
yeast (maybe because it was re-used and started with a greater population)
took off and fermented vigorously, even at my basement temp. of 57 deg. F,
while the SNPA yeast was extremely slow. In fact, I even went and got a
pack of WYEAST #1056 (American Ale, which I read here IS the SNPA yeast)
and pitched that as well when I still had almost no activity after 2 1/2
days. I suspect that the temperature is a bit on the cool side for this
yeast; does anyone have know what the "ideal" temperatures are for these
little buggers? It's now been 4 days and the British yeasties are still
popping, lots of CO2 and rollicking yeast motion in the carboy, while the
SNPA guys appear to be working but much more slowly. So far, no sign of
contamination, just vastly different fermentation rates at this temp.
Both carboys were at equal temperature, both were agitated to oxygenate
the cooled wort...the only visible difference at pitching time was that
the British batch had more trub in the bottom than the other.
In the meantime, I'm just not worrying, and looking forward to trying these
two ales which will be the same except for the yeast they were fermented with.
Any comments from others with experience using these yeasts or with the
mechanics of dry-hopping will be appreciated!
~~~ Tom Bower bower at hprnd.rose.hp.com ~~~
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1992 17:27:41 -0500 (EST)
From: NOLAN at LHEAVX.GSFC.NASA.GOV (Tom Nolan)
Subject: Another note on those 5-gal stainless steel pots
About those 5-gal stainless steel pots on sale at Ames,
one of the reasons they're so cheap may be that they aren't
5 gallons. Only about 4-1/4. That seems sleazy, but maybe
all stock pots are measured in this bizarre way. Like 10-gallon hats.
Tom
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 12:52:55 PST
From: greg at cemax.com (Greg Wageman)
Subject: Re: Boiling Pots, Re: Ripping the Big Boys
>I recently bought a boiling pot. It is 5 gallons and will work really will
>for chili too! Problem is, it is aluminum. I have been told several times
>that aluminum is bad (since I made the purchase) but noone really can
>tell me why. Closest I have come is that it oxidizes the wort, which makes
>no sense since aluminum is not oxygen.
Have you ever cooked tomato sauce in a highly oxidized (read: almost
black inside) aluminum pot? After cooking, the inside of the pot
becomes shiny again, everywhere it had contact with the acidic tomato
sauce.
Wort is acidic. (Is it as acidic as tomato sauce? Don't know, never
did a Ph test on tomato sauce!)
How much aluminum (or aluminum oxide) gets into the wort? Don't know
that either.
But when you consider that parts per million of substances like sodium
and magnesium salts have a definite effect on taste and finish,
wouldn't you rather that your brewpot *not* contribute anything to the
flavor of your beer, particularly a metallic flavor?
>From: Gordon Baldwin <hpubvwa.nsr.hp.com!sherpa2!gbaldwin>
>Subject: Ripping the Big Boys
>
>I thing the flack we are giving to the BudMilLob breweries is deserved.
>I don't think anyone on the digest will disagree with the statement that
>they put a lot of effort (read $$) into producing their beer. The
>complaint is they only produce ONE type of beer (two if you count dry).
> [...] I think most
>consumers would welcome more variety in the commercial beer market, but
>most beer drinkers are not even aware that there is any other type
>available.
Funny, me defending A-B, but they did make an attempt to market a Dark
beer a while back. (Can't remember if it was marketed as Bud Dark or
Michelob Dark. I think it was the latter.) They even had a television
ad campaign (which I loathed), wherein Martin Mull mouthed lines like
"Some people think that dark beer is only for people named Gunter with
thick necks...", or words very much to that effect.
The slogan was "Don't be afraid of the Dark", accompanied by appropriate
"spooky" sounds, like wolves baying. Typical marketing pap.
Sure made it sound like A-B's marketing people didn't think the average
American beer-drinking public was ready for it, though.
(Not that it was anything special, anyway. It had more flavor and
mouth feel than Bud, but 1) that's not hard to do and 2) it wasn't a
particularly wonderful flavor, either. Certainly no competition for,
say, Beck's Dark or Heineken Dark.
I don't even know if they still market it.
-Greg
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1992 17:38:08 -0500 (EST)
From: NOLAN at LHEAVX.GSFC.NASA.GOV (Tom Nolan)
Subject: A weird story
Here's a weird story I heard from a source that I
would normally consider very reliable. According to this
guy, you can stop a bottle of beer from losing carbonation
by sticking a silver spoon down into the neck of the bottle
(thin end first, I suppose). He says that this was real
common when beer tended to come in big bottles and
families tended to have a lot of actual silverware around.
Indeed, that one of the outcries associated with the rise
of stainless steel was that this trick no longer worked.
What do you think about this? He says the silver
"bonds" with the CO2 in some way as to create a "vapor
lock" that stops the CO2 from escaping. I would dismiss
this as total hogwash except that as I mentioned, the
guy is usually really on top of things. He swears up and
down that you can drink half your beer, shove a silver
spoon in, and drink the rest tomorrow.
Anyone else heard anything about this? I have
a silver carving set that barely fits my carboy neck,
but nothing else of silver, so I can't try it.
Tom
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Date: Mon Mar 16 14:39:53 PST 1992
From: mvalent at atss.calstatela.edu
Subject: Streak plates & purity
I've been noticing alot of people talking about plating out Red Star
Ale Yeast to determine its purity. The most recent posting mentioned having
found 3 out of 1000 colonies being bacteria and many of the yeast colonies
being slow growing. This lead the person to not worry about contamination of
the yeast. The problem here is threefold. First, the media used is
presumably selective for yeast. This means that there may be alot of bacteria
in the yeast that simply won't grow well on it. Second, bacteria as a rule
grow much faster than fungi (including yeast) That means that 3 bacterial
cells stand a fair chance at overrunning 997 yeasts. Third, are the slow
growing yeasts. the chance that they are mutants of the correct strain is
low, otherwise they would be found to some extent on the plates streaked with
the strong colonies. The mutation rate is not high enough to produce that
number of mutants in a supposedly pure culture. This doesn't worry me as much
as the bacteria though because the fast growing yeast should overrun the slow
growers. I would be interested to see the results if someone were to plate
the yeast on media selective for bacteria such as TSA or CBA. Brucella agar
incubated anaerobically would also be interesting. By the way, I'm just
putting forth my opinion and suggesting an experiment, so please nobody
mistake this for some kind flame. Sorry if I sound paranoid.
Mike Valentine
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1992 17:05:45 -0600
From: Kathleen T Moore <ktmg8824 at uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: yeast culturing
Can anyone and everyone who has experience with yeast culturing please send
me detailed info on the process. I am interested in all aspects and every
level from the simplest homebrew processes to the most elaborate brewery
techniques (at least those used by micros and brewpubs.) I have had a basic
microbiology class in college, but I need specifics such as media recipes
for stock culture maintainance and media recipes for selection and separation
of bacterial contaminants and wild yeast identification. Also, does anyone
know of a book or article describing the aforementioned subjects with regard
to microbrewery applications? I have access to a small incubator and also to
a small autoclave, plus incidental equipment. Eventually, I would like to
develop a standard procedure for stock maintainance and purity analysis for
homebrewers who are courageous enough to venture into this realm.
Thanks very much,
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 13:09 CST
From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Re-hydrating, Wyeast, Yield
To: Homebrew Digest
Fm: Jack Schmidling
I had habitually re-hydrated yeast in a small amount of wort until I went to
my first CBS meeting where I was told to re-hydrate with plain, sterile
water.
This seemed absurd to me because of previous experience with bread yeast but
after trying it and getting vigorous ferment within an hour, I have become a
believer.
Just to refresh my data base, I put some bread yeast in 100 ml of warm
sterile water last night and absolutely nothing happened aside from disolving
the yeast.
It seems apparent that EDME (I can't speak for any other) contains a
de-hydrated nutrent/starter in the yeast mix and bread yeast does not.
Does anyone know if I got this right and if it is true of all dyr beer yeast?
>From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
> If the yeast is in the outer Wyeast packet, then why not just cut it open
*wihout* ever breaking the inner seal, and just make a starter yourself?
I find it incredible that, with all the expert opinion on Wyeast, this very
fundamental question is still floating around.
Where is Jeff Frane when we need him?
>From: Gordon Baldwin <hpubvwa.nsr.hp.com!sherpa2!gbaldwin>
>Subject: Low Yield
>I have been getting a low yield out of my grain and I expect it to be in
my sparging. The malt ingredients are :
8 lb klages
1/2 lb crystal
1/2 lb munich
>I do an infusion mash for about 45 minutes in 2.5 gallons water. The iodine
test shows full conversion. I then dump the whole mess out to my ZapPap
lauter tun. I then slowly pour in my 4 gallons 170 degree sparg water,
keeping the level of the water above the grain bed. I open the tap on
the bottom bucket all the way and the water dumps through in about 15
minutes.
Don't know what a ZapPap is but my first suggestion is to use boiling water.
If you take issue with this, I will be happy to repost my study on infusion
water temp.
Secondly, it may be a momily but, most experts recommend about 15 min per gal
as opposed to the whole batch. Cut the flow rate.
>My sg after my 45 minute boil is only 1.032. This seems to be way to low
after looking at various recepies.
Not too shabby but there is room for improvement.
Your short boil time would indicate that you are not concentrating the wort
much and this is one of the objectives of boiling. You can get at least 10
gallons of wort out of 9 lbs of grain if you use 1.010 as the low end cutoff.
If you boil the ten gals down to 5 gallons, you will substantially increase
the yield.
js
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 19:05:53 EST
From: Pierre Charles Jelenc <pcj1 at cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: More on Red Star
The plate of Red Star ale yeast I plated 10 days ago still has few
bacterial colonies (up to 7 out of 1000 now), but it is covered with
evil-looking _molds_, about a dozen Penicillium-like ones (white and
blue and fluffy), and an absolutely disgusting slimy brownish one. This
plate looks worse than any that I have ever seen!
The pure colonies on the other hand continue to grow nicely, and have
not given rise to any petite mutants after two restreakings.
Pierre
Pierre Jelenc pcj1 at cunixf.cc.columbia.edu
Columbia University
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 23:12:48 PST
From: Doug Henderson <E3BSR%PSUORVM.BITNET at CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: housing needed for AHA 92
Hello,
I will be attending the AHA '92 conference in Milwaukee with another
member from our local homebrew club (Oregon Brew Crew), and was wanting
very much to cut down on expenses. Would any brewers (or non) in the
Milwaukee area be willing to put a few fellow brewers up, perhaps in
exchange for the same at the upcoming Oregon Brewers Festival?
I would greatly appreciate it. The conference fees are $220, the flight
will be 200-300, and the ... We can guarantee a six pack of homebrew
to sweeten the deal. Any takers?
Doug
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Date: Mon, 16 Mar 92 22:19:47 PST
From: osiris%polari at uunet.UU.NET (J.David Ruggiero)
Subject: The homebrew FAQ...a few modest suggestions
The current FAQ (created by Kurt) is a great start, but needs to be
expanded greatly. Some topics that seem to come up over and over again,
which should be addressed in greater or lesser detail by the FAQ:
- What are the differences between different styles/brands of yeast?
- What is a minimal list of equipment to get started brewing (extract)?
- What is 'all-grain' brewing? Why should I consider doing it?
- What are the differences between various types of barley (2-row, 6-row,
Klages...)
- What kind of equipment do I need to start kegging my beer? Where can I
get it?
I could go on and on, but for now...while it is still small, you should also
consider organizing the FAQ by sections, as it is kind of randomly un-
organized at the moment. Given what's there so far, I'd suggest:
- Introduction (how is beer made, etc)
- Brewing equipment and suppliers
- Brewing techniques
- All-grain brewing
- Recipies and sources (Cat's Meow, etc)
- Resources/clubs/literature (AHA, Zymurgy, Papazian, etc)
- Net stuff (what is the HBD, etc)
Also, you might watch out for assuming that *everyone* has access to ftp
archives and the like. Many of us are at leaf sites and can only dream of
that kind of access that you kids [ :-) ] at institutions of higher learning
take for granted. If other sources are available, you might want to list
them also.
A great start; let's work together on it and then we, too, can smugly answer
questions with the infamous "Look it up in the FAQ!"
| J. David Ruggiero Osiris Technical Services Seattle, WA |
| osiris at polari.com | ...!uunet!polari!osiris | osiris%polari at uunet.uu.net |
| Living in Seattle is like being in love with a beautiful woman... |
| who's sick all the time. |
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #845, 03/17/92