HOMEBREW Digest #922 Tue 14 July 1992

Digest #921 Digest #923


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Digest Backlog (rdg)
  Short Fermentation Mead (Vote Libertarian in '92!)
  Bubbles in your Jockeys! (Vote Libertarian in '92!)
  Berk. pubs (doug)
  modified malts and British beers (Tony Babinec)
  100 years of the Crown cap.  What's being done? (LEHMANN)
  Sparging Efficiency (DLK)
  Brewing with fresh hops... (Sean_Conway.LOTUS)
  Brewing with fresh hops...
  RE:$40 Frige Controller ("Franklin R. Jones")
  Re: Homebrew Digest #920 (July 09, 1992) (Sheridan J. Adams)
  Cascade vs Centenial hops (Richard Stern)
  Re:  Homebrew Digest #920 (July 09, 1992) (jcb)
  Questions... (Scott James.)
  Re: modified malts and British beers (fwd) (Tony Babinec)
  Target hops, Sherlock's Home brewpub (Rick Larson)
  boiling in 2 pots (Richard Stern)
  SMOKED BEER (ALTENBACH)
  Al's jockeybox (Tony Long)
  Bottling my cyser (Chuck Coronella)
  CLEAR BEER  (Joe Rolfe)
  Re: ROOTBEER (popowich)
  Re: malts... (Rick Larson)
  Low alcohol beer  (oh no, not again!) (Chuck Coronella)
  I'll play  (Micheal Yandrasits)
  Rauchbier (jcb)
  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Solicitaion ("C_TOWNSEND")
  grain conversion ("B_HADLEY")
  Blueberry Beer, Keg Scratches ("John Cotterill")
  A call for a mead addict! (The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.)
  Success Re-using yeast cake - WOW! (smc)
  Wheat Beers (John Freeborg)
  Great Taste of the Midwest (Tony Ernst)
  Belgian ale (Rob Bradley)
  dry ratio (C05705DA)
  Wyeast types (Richard Stern)
  honey lager ("B_HADLEY")
  conversion ("B_HADLEY")
  yeast ("B_HADLEY")
  Inexpensive Temp Control (lee_menegoni)
  Sparge Water pH (John Freeborg)
  I win! (Jacob Galley)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Jul 92 12:38:05 MDT From: rdg at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Subject: Digest Backlog Hi folks, sorry about the digest delay. The volume of incoming articles finally overwhelmed my simple scheme for handling homebrew article overflow. I've just rewritten it to avoid this problem in the future, but now there is a 4 day backlog of articles to be digested. If you submit an article now, don't worry if it doesn't appear immediately- all the previously submitted articles must be sent out first. Rob Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 08:52:45 CDT From: smith%8616.span at Fedex.Msfc.Nasa.Gov (Vote Libertarian in '92!) Subject: Short Fermentation Mead Somebody whose name I deleted wrote something like: >I'm looking for short-fermentation mead recipes. Check Dave Miller's Handbook of Home Brewing for a "mead ale" recipe. The recipe I use, which is strictly experimental (but I like it) is: 5-7 lb honey (usually the stuff from Sam's in the 1/2 gal. jug) 2 cracked cinnamon sticks 20 cracked allspice other flavorings like ginger, hops, orange peel, nutmeg etc. maybe a couple pounds fruit Edme ale yeast My hypothesis, which has a little data to support it, is that boiling the honeywort reduced fermentation time (while also removing a lot of the honey essence, I imagine). Note that the above is a 5 gal. batch. I don't have a hydrometer so I can't guess the OG or FG, but this stuff is pretty thin (see my plea for ideas a couple of HBD's ago). Fermentation takes 2-3 weeks, sometimes I rack, sometimes not. Basically I don't put much effort into this stuff; hell, it's 97 degrees here and I'm not running my AC enough to get the temperature down past 80, so why try to make anything award-winning when it's doomed to failure? Another note: Some people recommend using champagne yeast for mead. I have used Red Star champagne yeast twice. Once the nasty taste went away after 4 months; the second try is still nasty after that long. No infection (at least no obvious one), just an unpleasant taste. Please, improve on my methods here, I'd love to get a better product for not much more work.... | James W. Smith, NASA MSFC EP-53 | SMITH%8616.span at fedex.msfc.nasa.gov | | "I'm looking California, and feeling Minnesota" -- Soundgarden | | Neither NASA nor (!James) is responsible for what I say. Mea culpa. | Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 08:54:16 CDT From: smith%8616.span at Fedex.Msfc.Nasa.Gov (Vote Libertarian in '92!) Subject: Bubbles in your Jockeys! Russell Owen <OWEN at VAXE.NIEHS.NIH.GOV> wrote: >Al (korz at iepubj.att.com) wrote >>"I suspect you will have trouble ... since the solubility of >>CO2 varies greatly with temperature," saying that he had >>trouble keeping the cold beer carbonated. >Gases are *more* soluble in water as temperature drops, >and I suspect that beer is enough like water for this to hold >true in brew. >Specifically, the solubility of CO2 in H2O (ml per 100 ml at 760 mmHg) >is 171 at 0 degrees C, >is 88 at 20 " >and 36 at 60 ". Okay, I'm going to show my ignorance here. It seems to me that if you have good carbonation in a warm keg, then cool the beer as it comes out, you'll have the CO2 happily in solution with no desire to come out of solution (i.e. produce bubbles). Wouldn't you need to have extra pressure in the keg with a jockeybox setup, to insure proper carbonation at the dispensing temperature? Ack, that would cause dispensing problems unless you had a second regulator between the keg and the jockeybox, wouldn't it? Hey, just because I work with applied thermodynamics every day doesn't mean I know diddly about kegging. :) 4-aminobiphenyl, hexachlorobenzene/Dimethyl sulfate, chloromethyl methylether/ 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin, carbon disulfide/Dibromochloropane, | James W. Smith, NASA MSFC EP-53 | SMITH%8616.span at fedex.msfc.nasa.gov | chlorinated benzenes / 2-nitropropane, pentachlorophenol / Benzotrichloride, strontium chromate/1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane/Watch it run straight down..... Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 92 09:09:46 EDT From: doug <doug at metabolism.bitstream.com> Subject: Berk. pubs Hello: Sorry, but I seem to have lost the list of brew sights in Bezerkly CA. Could anyone who saved it please drop me the list. Thanks in advace. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Allison, my ale is true... Doug Connolly Bitstream, Inc. (617) 497-6222 uunet!huxley!doug 215 First St. X618 doug at bitstream.com Cambridge, MA 02142 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 9:41:00 CDT From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) Subject: modified malts and British beers Pale ale malt is "highly modified," but so is most widely available U.S. lager malt. The modification of pale ale malt facilitates the single step infusion mash, which is relatively easy to perform. With less modified malt, one might instead use a step infusion mash or even a decoction mash. See Greg Noonan's book for the reasons to use decoction mashes on undermodified malt. From past discussions on HBD, as well as lots of visits to U.S. brewpubs, it seems that U.S. malts are mashed in single step infusion mashes with good results. Now, pale ale malt is also more highly-kilned than U.S. lager malt, and will pound for pound produce a "darker" beer--red-amber versus gold-straw. Color adjustments can be made with crystal malt in small additions. Another brewing issue, if I'm remembering correctly, is that lager malts carry precursors of dms, a flavor appropriate up to a point in lagers but not in ales. Beyond the above general points, we're treading on near-religious :-) ground. Some might say that in the end you should use British malts for British beers, as that's what they do and there are subtleties of flavor imparted. Most U.S. commercial brewers and pubs, you can be sure, do not import British malts, but instead use local malts. The American Pale Ale style is a consequence. Aside from malts, hops are a very important part of the style, with Americans employing Cascade, Willamette, and other Northwest hops. World-class beers such as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are the result. But, SNPA is quite different in taste from Fuller's E.S.B! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:29 EST From: LEHMANN%OPUS%MCOIARC.BITNET at OHSTVMA.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU Subject: 100 years of the Crown cap. What's being done? William Painter was awarded 3 U.S. patents for bottle sealing devices, i.e. metal bottle caps, in 1892. While the original liners have changed over the years - slices of cork, cork composites [remember those bits floating in the brew?], plastics - , and there have been some adaptations to the cap that have come around, the Crown cap is very much part of our culture and if you look atr the original drawings, published a century ago, you can't mistake it. I know brewers think of their tradition in terms of millenia, but does anyone know if there is any special celebration of this invention? Though the cap allowed the development of the super-sized brewery catering to the vulgar palate, thereby making commercial beers in the USA less interesting as they infiltrated the nation, I expect most of us consider this small item a great boon to our hobby. Paul Lehmann, Toledo, Ohio lehmann%opus at mcoiarc.bitnet lehmann at opus.iarc.mco.edu (Internet) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:36:15 EDT From: DLK%sybil at rti.rti.org Subject: Sparging Efficiency This is my MALTMILL lottery ticket. Perhaps, I'll do better than I normally do with contests. :) But I do have a question: How do I find out the maximum specific gravity of different malts? I've looked at the available software programs, and I get two different answers. For example, one says Pale Ale malt is 1.036 and the says 1.032. I know it's not much of a difference, but I'm trying to figure out my sparging efficiency. It can make as much as a 10% difference! If you point me in the right direction (books, magazines, articles, experience, etc.), I'll summarize for the digest. Thanks! Dan Keever INTERNET: dlk at zeus.rti.org BITNET: dlk at rti Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 09:46:29 EDT From: Sean_Conway.LOTUS at CRD.lotus.com Subject: Brewing with fresh hops... ~~inner_header~~ To: UNIXML::"homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com" Subject: Brewing with fresh hops... I'll be picking fresh hops in about a month or so and am wondering if anyone knows a rule of thumb in terms of how many oz(s) of fresh hops is equivalent to 1 oz of hop plugs/leafs/pellets. I'm assuming the weight of fresh hops cones is greater than what you buy at the homebrew store since there is more water (not as dried out.) Is this a true assumption or can I just measure out my standard oz(s) is not get too bitter of a beer? No, this isn't a silly question as an attempt to be the 100th entry for the MALTMILL. OK, OK, so it is. just send the MALTMILL over to me now. Sean Return to table of contents
Date: 09 Jul 1992 08:46:55 -0600 (MDT) From: "Franklin R. Jones" <FRANK at VA5549.Colorado.EDU> Subject: RE:$40 Frige Controller the Hunter Energy Monitor: Called an Air Stat on the packaging, Model 42205 (there is a 42206 for 220, but you have to order it) built by: Hunter Fan Company 2500 Frisco Ave. Memphis, TN 38114 P# 901-745-9222 CT 8AM-5PM You can buy these at Builder's Square for $28. The operation is simple: Plug the frige/freezer into the monitor, plug the monitor in the wall, put the probe (has four feet of wire) in the frige/freezer, set the monitor to the desired temp, and your off. The monitor will handle 15 Amps, and has programming modes for running a Air Conditioner, but aren't really needed. (just override for the temp you want and put it in bypass) temp range is from 40 to 90 degrees, and will keep temp -1...+2 degrees from that. WOrks by cycling the power to the Frige, will stay off for min of 4 mins, to save ware & tear on the compessor. Very good unit, simple to install. One Weak Point: it runs off of a AA battery, if the battery runs down the unit will not work! e.g. the frige will be *off*! So one needs to figure out a way to remind oneself to change it. fj.. Franklin R. Jones Information Resource Management Service (IRMS) System Manager/Ops Chief (read that as systems haque) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VA Medical Center (303) 393-2881 1055 Clermont St. or (303) 399-8020 x2175 Denver, CO 80220 fax (303) 355-5105 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If we aren't supposed to play with words... Then why do we have so many?" Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1992 10:33:17 -0500 From: sja at snoid.cray.com (Sheridan J. Adams) Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #920 (July 09, 1992) On Jul 9, Russell Owen wrote: > > > My note on the possible hazards of genuine rootbeer > elicited a response from D. Popowich asking for details. > ... > > Root beer is flavored with a distillate of the young shoots > or root bark of _Sassofras_variifolium_, ... > > The trouble with sassafras is that it contains _safrole_, a > carcinogen (see the NTP 85-002, 1985). Safrole ... is > about 75% of oil of sassafras. It has been used as a topical > antiseptic and a pediculicide (lice treatment). Its oral toxicity > in rats is 50% lethality at a dose of 1.95 g per kg. > > So, if you must indulge, do so in moderation! > > >-- End of excerpt <Cynic mode on> Let's see ... I weigh approximately 240 lbs. That's ~108.86 kg. So at 1.95 g per kg I can ingest 212.277 grams or 7.48 oz. At 75% safrole I would need 9.97 oz of sassafras. Rootbeer extracts that I have seen come in 2 oz bottles which makes 5 gallons of rootbeer. Assuming (1) that it is consumed in a short period of time and (2) the extract is pure sassafras I would need to drink 24.925 gallons of rootbeer to reach the oral toxicity. While there is a 50-50 chance that I will develop cancer there is a 90% plus chance that I will create a very large brown flume orally. Which means I am now below the 50% lethality rate. <Cynic mode off> All I am trying to say is when something has been proven dangerous to labrats, quite often the dosage is something normal humans may never approach in their life times. Russell, I am not picking on you, it's just that you provided enough numbers for me to write this little diatribe. I am sure I will get a few responses correcting my math/spelling/use-of-HBD. (-: at least 'til article 100 :-) - -- The leading cause of cancer in laboratory rats is research. Sheridan J. Adams sja at grog.cray.com (612) 683-3030 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 9:41:30 MDT From: Richard Stern <rstern at col.hp.com> Subject: Cascade vs Centenial hops I'm interested in opinions regarding Cascade vs Centennial (sp?) hops. If a recipe calls for dry hopping with 2oz of Cascade, will I get good results using 1oz of Centennial ?? What exactly is the history/background of Centennial?? I first heard about them at the GABF from the brewer at Big Time (Seattle brew-pub). His beers were excellent, and winning golds, so I figured they're worth a try. Comments appreciated ... Thanks, Richard Stern rstern at col.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 09:21 EDT From: jcb at homxb.att.com Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #920 (July 09, 1992) A word of warning to anyone thinking of ordering DAve Miller's new book sight unseen. "Brewing the World's Great Beers" should really be called, "An Introductory Guide to Brewing the World's Great Beer STYLES". The book does NOT replace Line's book. It does not give recipes attempting to replicate any particular brand of beer, but gives extract, partial, and full-grain recipes for most of the styles of beer. Anyone reading Zymurgy or the Cats Meow would have seen similar recipes before. The one interesting thing is seeing the supposedly same recipe presented in each of the techniques of brewing. Miller gives the simple steps of each technique without much explanation and even advocates sucking on the siphon hose! John Brown (91 .. 92 .. 93 ......) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 09:44:54 MDT From: scojam at scojam.Auto-trol.COM (Scott James.) Subject: Questions... I've been brewing for about a year now and have a few questions: 1) What is a "Stuck Mash" ? Is this while sparging the lauter tun gets clogged and sweet wort can no longer flow? 2) Thanks to Tom Kalterbach for the Wyeast info! Does anyone have Hops info? 3) Please explain the value of using IBU's while bittering. I guess there is a standard range for different varieties of brew? 4) I've done some all grain brewing and my last bath used a yeast I cultured from a "Fat Tire Ale" from a microbrewery in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Do you think as a next step from extract brewing it's wise to pursue all-grain mashing or using Wyeast (I've never used Wyeast, but it sounds like it can make a BIG difference) ? 5) Did I win the Malt-Mill ? Thanks in advance for any and all answers/opinions! - --=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-- Scott James (N0LHX) scojam at Auto-Trol.COM Auto-Trol Technology Tools Group - --=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-- Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 11:21:17 CDT From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) Subject: Re: modified malts and British beers (fwd) Hi again! Offline, Cush Hamlen indicated that he was interested in differences in flavor and character. To be clear, many U.S. malts are highly modified. As for character or flavor, try chewing on some grain! Maris Otter malt, used at Young's, is often described as having a "nutty" character. British crystal malts also have a very distinctive flavor. Maris Otter crystal malt, available from Liberty Malting in Seattle, has an 80 Lovibond color and a very sweet, caramel-like aroma. Likewise, something I bought from the local shop labeled British Cara-Pils had a nice caramel or toffee-ish aroma. All barleys are not alike. Objectively, they differ in measures that homebrewers are usually not concerned with, such as protein and nitrogen content, diastatic power, and the like. Coors uses a Moravian strain that is one of the most prized, but has a different character than pale ale malts. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 11:08:14 -0500 From: melkor!rick at cs.umn.edu (Rick Larson) Subject: Target hops, Sherlock's Home brewpub John Hartmen asks about Target hops in his (great!) post about Young's Brewery (HBD 912) and Cush Hamlen mentions Sherlock's Home brewpub uses highly modified malts (HBD 920). I have talked to the Brewmaster there about their bitter, Bishop's Bitter. This bitter uses Target hops and is a good example of this hop profile. I recommend anyone living (or visiting) the Minneapolis area to try this bitter. (Easy for me to say since I only work 2 miles from Sherlock's). rick - --- Rick Larson rick at adc.com, melkor!rick at cs.umn.edu ADC Telecommunications, Inc. ...!uunet!melkor!rick Minneapolis, MN 55435 (612) 936-8288 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:27:51 MDT From: Richard Stern <rstern at col.hp.com> Subject: boiling in 2 pots I'm planning to do a 5-6 gallon mash, and I don't have my keg boiler ready, so I'm going to borrow a friends 20qt pot and boil in 2 pots. Anything to be concerned about except for slightly less hop extraction? Any problem with immersion chilling one pot, dumping it in the primary, and then chilling the second pot and dumping it in 20 minutes later? Thanks for any advice, Richard "did I win the MALTMILL" Stern rstern at col.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1992 09:26 PDT From: ALTENBACH at CHERRY.llnl.gov Subject: SMOKED BEER FRANK IN HBD 919 ASKED ABOUT MAKING EXTRACT BASED SMOKED BEER. IF LIQUID SMOKE IS NOT USED, THEN YOU NEED TO SMOKE AS MUCH SPECIALTY GRAIN AS POSSIBLE TO GET A NICE SMOKEY BREW. OTHERWISE PROCESS THE BEER NORMALLY, MOST RECIPE SUGGESTIONS MENTIONED WILL WORK OUT OK. I'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL MAKING ALL GRAIN SMOKED BEER, BY SMOKING A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION OF THE MALT ,BOTH PALE AND MUNICH, ON MY TRUSTY WEBER. THE TRICK IS TO USE A LOW WOOD FIRE WITH HICKORY OR OTHER FLAVORFUL WOOD. MAXIMIZE THE SMOKE AND MINIMIZE THE HEAT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO ROAST THE GRAIN. I IMAGINE A SMOKER WOULD BE EVEN BETTER FOR THIS, BUT I HAVEN'T TRIED ONE YET. FROM THE COMPETITONS I'VE ENTERED, THE JUDGES PREFER THAT THICK TONGUE-COATING SMOKE THE GERMAN IMPORTS HAVE. YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MUCH SMOKE FOR THEM. BUT YOUR TASTES MAY VARY. MY BBQ SMOKE PROCEDURE PRODUCES A MORE MILDLY SMOKED FLAVOR IN BEER THAT GOES GREAT WITH BBQ STEAK OR SAUSAGE. I THINK A FULLY BODIED MALTY BEER BETTER SUPPORTS THE SMOKE FLAVOR, SO MY FAVORITE IS RAUCHBOCK. TOM ALTENBACH Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 09:26:09 -0700 From: tdlong at ucdavis.edu (Tony Long) Subject: Al's jockeybox In reply to Russell Owen who referred to Al's jockeybox: "I suspect you will have trouble ... since the solubility of CO2 varies greatly with temperature," saying that he had trouble keeping the cold beer carbonated. I don't believe Russell understands the problem. The idea of the jockeybox is that the keg is kept at room temperature and beer is cooled while being dispensed. I have found the cooling works great, but the dispensed beer looses much of its carbonation! I have found that if there is enough pressure in the keg for dispensed beer to remain at "acceptable" levels of carbonation, then the beer is jetted out. As I live in the central valley with day temperatures well over 90 this problem has become especially acute of late. If your keg is at cellar temperature and you only want to boost the cooling this sort of set-up seems to work OK. This brings up a second point. As I live in an apartment and have no room for a second fridge ... does anyone have any alternate ideas that would allow the cooling of kegged beer. Once one has grown accustomed to kegging it is difficult to return to washing bottles. Perhaps J.S. in his great supportiveness of clever inventions will offer a suitable prize to the individual who can design a suitable beastie : ) Tony Long Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:32 MTS From: Chuck Coronella <CORONELLRJDS at CHE.UTAH.EDU> Subject: Bottling my cyser Howdy, I've been meaning to ask a question for a while now, and JS's raffle finally motivated me to ask. ;-) My cyser (fermented apple juice and honey) has been sitting in a secondary for almost 7 months (!), and I think it should be ready for bottling now. A couple weeks ago, I took a teensie weensie taste (I hate to risk contamination and all, but I was dying for a taste). Going down, this stuff feels like Southern Comfort, it's got so much alcohol!. Now I realize that it's not more than 12 - 14 % alcohol, but WHAT A KICK! I've read that frequently, spices can be added to a mead at bottling time, so my question to all the experienced mead makers is this: Is there something I can add that might reduce the burning quality? (Or will it go away by itself?) Is this a common characteristic of a mead? I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but the first mead I've ever tasted was this one, so I don't know what to compare it with. Thanks, Chuck Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 12:30:12 EDT From: Joe Rolfe <jdr at wang.com> Subject: CLEAR BEER i could not resist a chance to post - for a free grain mill i'll do almost anything - well maybe not ..... but on a recent thread about clear beer from extracts, i too have had some problems with clear extract beers. these batches are not the normal homebrew size - you could consider me to be the WORLDS LARGEST HOMEBREWER or one of them - jack s. don't take offense - i don't mean or intend to flame you with this. my brewlength has typically been 1bbl plus. i ferment in a stainless unitank and also put wort into carbouys for tests (fruit dry hop ...) i was looking for comment on the following: several items i have done and will attempt to do in the future are: 1) isinglass - appears to help some, not as much as i would like - i have tried the liquid isinglass and will try the A.Gusmer dry isinglass called cryofine in the next batch. - added to 5 gallons and bottling leave to much "junk" on the bottom of the bottles and does not appear to compact very well. anyone else used it in bottles? - have not tapped the keg version of the same batch yet. - have heard that isinglass in the presents of too much yeast causes isinglass to become less effective 2) irish moss - i let the amount to be used sit in warm (100F) water for hours until it is used, when dumped into kettle it has cooled to ambient - have been adding at whirlpool (after heat off) - approx 1 hr before the wort is in the fermenter (maybe to long of contact?) - have seemed to notice more haze (permenant and chill when too much moss is used. (added 1.5 oz to 1bb - really hazy, .75oz 1bb appeared less hazy (but also used MF DME instead of MF Cedarex (liquid). - will try adding at earlier time (10 min before heat off) - never had much in the way of chill haze during my 5 gallon brewlength days. 3) water composition - my water is soften with a salt based softner, my raw well water had large amounts (1.5ppm) iron, now the water may be too soft(??) i have only used the soft water for brewing of the larger batches. the smaller 5 gallon batches i did use well water and never had chill hazes - will get a detailed water test soon - will try to add more calcium in the boil to adjust PH, and will try to remember to check the PH (i hate PH papers, got to get one of those temp and ph sensors. 4) hops - had really lousy hops the first two batches (whole cones of Cascade and Williamette, got better hops (less oxidized and much fresher) - have added hops very soon after boil, will try waiting until the hot break is secured. 5) boil - i have always boiled for a full 90 min - in larger batchs (1bb +) i boil the full volume - in smaller batchs (5 gal and less) i could not boil the full volume - the boil has been less than vigorous (judging from what my 5 gallon batches have been). have adjusted the propane burner level. will be adding a 4500 watt element for next batch. 6) chilling - i use dual 25 foot counter flow chiller, the water temp going in is usually around 60-70F, i adjust the flow of water with a ball valve to attain the temp needed for the fermenter, (another use for temp sensor). i usually keep 110 gal of water on hand to chill the wort to 60 - 70 F. the wort is pumped at 4-5 gal per min. If any of you have comments (constructive or otherwise) i would like to hear from you (email or post). Do the items appear to be sound brewing principal or excessive worry.... (i can relax later, but worry whilst i am still relativly young:-} What items are the most important (if any)?? Thanx in advance Joe Rolfe - 508-967-5760 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 92 11:41:38 -0500 From: popowich at ssc.wisc.edu Subject: Re: ROOTBEER Thanks to Russell for his explanation of the dangers of root beer. I will certainly be careful IF I EVER FIND A RECIPE!!!. I'm so surprised by the silence over getting a recipe. Besides Russell's message I have only received responses along this line: "...I too have been in search of a root beer recipe that doesn't use extracts. If you're successful in finding one pass it on to me..." Has the scare of using sassafras rid the world of all recipes? How sad. I guess it's time to hang my head low and buy a kit...(sigh)... Daniel popowich at ssc.wisc.edu popowich at wiscssc.bitnet Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 11:34:48 -0500 From: melkor!rick at cs.umn.edu (Rick Larson) Subject: Re: malts... Franklin R. Jones in HBD 919 asks about roasting malts: I scanned Cat's Meow II for some roasted malts and found a few. >From Perle Pale: ...1/2 pound Klages malt was toasted in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. >From Crying Goat Ale: Toast 1-1/2 pounds of 2 row Klages malt in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. >From BrewHaus I.P.A: Spread (1/2 pound) 2-row Klages on cookie sheet and toast at 350 degrees until reddish brown in color. >From Helles Belles Maibock: ...toasted (1 pound) malt was done 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven. >Ole Bottle Rocket (Steam): Toast (1/2 pound) grains on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Glad to hear you got a brewery room setup. I'm still working on mine. Hope this helps, rick PS. Frank, I tried to mail this directly to you but it bounced (yea, I wont win the MALTMILL with direct posts). - --- Rick Larson Don't use reply but: rick at adc.com, melkor!rick at cs.umn.edu ADC Telecommunications, Inc. ...!uunet!melkor!rick Minneapolis MN 55435 (612) 936-8288 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 12:36 EDT From: jcb at homxb.att.com Regarding Rauchbier: I made up a batch of rauchbier to be ready for the July 4th barbeque and it came out pretty well. The smoky-sweet flavor is more subtle than something like Kaiserdom Rauchbier, but is still present and the beer seems more balanced between malt, smoke and hops. The recipe is based on the all-grain one given in Charlie II: 6# light malt syrup 1# smoked pale malt (hickory - 30 minutes) 1# smoked crystal " 0.5# wheat malt 0.5# pale malt The 2 lbs of grain were soaked and then smoked over hickory for about 30 minutes. I used the Wyeast Pilsen Lager yeast (2007?) and fermented at 60 degrees. When I bottled I tasted the SG sample and whew boy was it smoky. The smoke has subsided a bit in the bottle enough so that next time I might consider smoking the grains longer or adding another pound. Give it a go and good luck John Brown (91..92..93..94....) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:44 MTS From: Chuck Coronella <CORONELLRJDS at CHE.UTAH.EDU> Subject: Low alcohol beer (oh no, not again!) Durn it, I forgot to ask one other question: Some time ago, we had a rather heated discussion about making low alcohol beers. Other than antagonizing everyone, we concluded that JS's method of heating a fermented beer might/might not work. My question is not related to the heat treatment- we've been through that a little too much. I just want to know, out of curiosity (I am a chemical engineer, after all) what is the process that Anheuser, Miller, Coors, etc. use to make Cutter et al.? Do they use a "genetically altered" yeast, which is able to eat maltose and produce CO2 without producing EtOH? (I really have a hard time believing this one.) Do they use vacuum distillation? The only other possiblity that I see is separating EtOH from the beer by using osmotic pressure through a semipermeable membrane. To me, the first seems impossible, and the last two seem rather expensive. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity, Chuck "When I stop learning, bury me" - a wise brewer in the HBD Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 12:47:05 edt From: michael at frank.polymer.uakron.edu (Micheal Yandrasits) Subject: I'll play Here goes my attempt at the Malt Mill. While I'm here, I have 4 hop plants of unknown origins. I just planted them this year and they seem to be doing very well. I made a brew from the parent plant hops last year and my guess is they are Cascades. The problem is there is something eating the leaves. I don't think its aphids since I can't see anything except holes. Are there any other common hop pests that fit the bill? Also a great pepper beer is any beer with a drop of Tabasco sauce. It kills the head but for most typical commercial beers this is not a problem. I recall many American beers of my youth spiced up this way. -Mike Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 12:41 EDT From: jcb at homxb.att.com Subject: Rauchbier Whoops, on the recipe I sent in for rauchbier I forgot to mention the hops. (who uses hops in rauchbier anyway). The hops used were Hallertauer 4% alpa, with 1 oz added for 60 minutes and 0.5 oz added for the last 10 minutes. Sorry, and I am not trying to get the maltmill John Carl Brown ( 101 .. 102 .. 103 ..... Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 92 09:10:00 PST From: "C_TOWNSEND" <CTOWNSEND at atlas.nafb.trw.com> Subject: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Solicitaion I would like to imitate Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Any recipes or suggestions would be appreciated. Extract, infusion, or mash recipes are desired. Thanks in advance! CBT PS: Did I win ??!? Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 92 09:16:00 PST From: "B_HADLEY" <BHADLEY at atlas.nafb.trw.com> Subject: grain conversion I would like to convert a extract recipe to an all grain one. What is the conversion for lbs extract to lbs grain? Thanks Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 10:30:17 PDT From: "John Cotterill" <johnc at hprpcd.rose.hp.com> Subject: Blueberry Beer, Keg Scratches Full-Name: "John Cotterill" Hey Gang! A couple of quick questions for you all. 1) Does anyone have a good recipe for Blueberry beer? There is a local contest coming up that features fruit beers, and I would like to brew one up. An all grain recipe is preferable, but a good extract recipe would be ok. 2) I keg my beer using soda kegs, and I also ferment in soda kegs. I recently finished a ferment and discovered that I could not clean all of the crud (left behind) off of the keg using a 24hour soak in TSP followed by a sponge bath. The sponge that I was using had one of those green abrasive pads on it so I used it. It cleaned the stuff off without any troubles at all. However, after examining the inside of the keg, I could see patchy sections of small scratches where I used the pad. The scratches are definitely small (I can't feel them with my finger, or finger nail). But, I was concerned that these may be a place that little nasties may take up residence and trash the next brew I ferment in this keg. Does anyone have any idea if I really need to be concerned about this? If it is a problem, can I fix the keg (steel wool - very fine grade maybe)? Hopefully the scratches simply indicate an area where the surface 'polish' is different.... JC johnc at hprpcd.rose.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1992 13:40:49 -0400 (EDT) From: HAPANOWICZ at bigvax.alfred.edu (The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.) Subject: A call for a mead addict! I have two cases of still mead that was made a year ago. The mead tastes a lot like port wine. This mead is really not to my taste but I'm sure that someone would enjoy it. Is anyone interested in tradeing a bottle of their mead for two bottles of mine? I would like to try a carbonated mead or a mead with a moderate amount of alcohol. My mead has quite a bit of alcohol, enough for a month long space shuttle trip. Interested? Send replies to: Rick Hapanowicz HAPANOWI at CERAMICS.BITNET (607 587-8733 Home (607) 871-2446 Lab Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 13:55 EDT From: smc at hotsc.att.com Subject: Success Re-using yeast cake - WOW! I just started a batch last night using the "pour the wort on the cake of yeast from the previous batch" method. First batch: 2 cans (3.3 lbs each) Munton & Fison Light Extract 2 oz Fuggles pellets (boil) 2 oz Cascades whole hops (dry) Wyeast London Ale (#1028, I think...) 5.5 gal. batch Second batch: 1 can (3.3 lbs) M+F Amber Hopped Extract 1 can (3.3 lbs) M+F Dark Hopped Extract 1 oz Northern Brewer whole hops (dry) Poured on cake from batch above 5.5 gal. batch The second batch took off like nothing I've ever seen before. Overnight, the lock was going like crazy - about 5 glugs/second. At this rate, it should ferment in about 2 days! I went from a lighter beer to darker in this case; I would guess this would be better than trying to go the other way (to avoid any flavors from the stronger beer being left for the lighter beer). Anyway, thanks to the HBD for this great suggestion. It's easy to bottle while boiling one batch, and you get to re-use the Wyeast for a small savings. Steve Casagrande smc at hotsc.att.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 9:14:24 CDT From: johnf at persoft.com (John Freeborg) Subject: Wheat Beers With summer in full swing I plan to do a wheat beer. I picked up the special Wyeast wheat beer yeast, but have yet to get the wheat malt. From reading in Miller's book it says for a wheat beer that you must use 6-row malt in the mash with the wheat. The reasoning is that the wheat has no enzymes to break down the sugars, and 6-row has a ton of enzymes (compared to 2-row anyways). What is the hbd consensus? Any great wheat recipes people swear by? What do other people think of the Wyeast wheat beer yeast? - John - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Freeborg Software Engineer Persoft johnf at persoft.com 465 Science Dr. 608-273-6000 Madison, WI 53711 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 13:27:53 CDT From: tee at teak.cray.com (Tony Ernst) Subject: Great Taste of the Midwest Can anyone tell me anything about this year's Great Taste of the Midwest? It's usually held in Madison, WI sometime in August. I'm going to be in Madison around the weekend of Aug. 22-23, and I've heard that the Great Taste of the Midwest will be on Saturday, Aug. 22nd this year. Does anyone know any details about this year's event? (perhaps someone from The Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild is reading this? :^) Thanks! - -- -Tony Ernst Minnesota Brewers Association tee at cray.com "Beer. If you can't taste it, why bother!" Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 14:31:32 -0400 From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley) Subject: Belgian ale In HBD917 Phillip Seitz gave us an excellent review of _Belgian_Ale_. He notes: > ... More than hops or > even malt, the secret to Belgian beer flavors appears to be > the yeast, Some weeks ago, I posted on my experience with Wyeast Belgian. I recall making the same point: I used essentially the same ingredients as for English Pale Ale (and so, in retrospect, too hoppy for the Belgian style) and got a totally different beer, thanks to having the right yeast. That point seemed to get lost in the polemic which ensued concerning the purity of Wyeast and my sanitary procedures. Perhaps I shouldn't have made an oblique reference to _A_Chorus_Line_ ("Dance: 10, Looks: 2") without explaining myself. One thing that came up in that discussion was the suggestion that I brewed at too high a temp (70F). Phillip sez: > Belgian-style brewing will come as quite a shock to many: > these include obligatory use of large quantities of sugar, > high-temperature fermentations (up to and over 85 degrees ------------------------- > fahrenheit), microscopic hopping rates (take *that*, > hopheads!), and deliberate production of sour and high-ester > beers. Prospective users of Wyeast Belgian should still be aware of one point: the yeast is slow. I'm not talking about a lag in getting started, rather that the yeast seems to take forever in finishing. On the other hand, I received e-mail from Larry Barello who tells me that his techniques of yeast washing (described in the HBD more than a month ago) might cure this problem. I intend to try it when the the weather cools off (come to think of it, maybe I don't need to wait!). For the record: the beer is now over two months old, more than a month in the bottle. It has mellowed substantially and the bananas have almost disappeared. The beer is still very estery, but that appears to be true to style. Do I win the MALTMILL? :-) Cheers, Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 92 13:28:55 CST From: C05705DA at WUVMD.Wustl.Edu Subject: dry ratio How many pounds of dry malt is equal to one pound of extract? That's all, good day. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 12:47:11 MDT From: Richard Stern <rstern at col.hp.com> Subject: Wyeast types When supply shopping recently, I bought a couple of pouches each of Wyeast American Ale and Wyeast Irish Ale. I know the American is the SNPA yeast, so I'm planning to use it for some pale ales. The guy at the store recommended the Irish for porters and stouts. Was he correct? What's the difference between the American and the Irish, and what would the net recommend for a porter? I plan to use a recipe from Foster's book on porter. In general, I'd just like to hear some comments about the Irish Ale yeast (and maybe win a MALTMILL by posting this :-)). Thanks, Richard Stern (who's shamelessly posting lot's of questions in hopes of being #100.) Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 92 11:53:00 PST From: "B_HADLEY" <BHADLEY at atlas.nafb.trw.com> Subject: honey lager From: ATLAS::BHADLEY "Brian D. Hadley, Ph.D. - TRW, NAFB - 714-382-7061" 9-JUL-1992 09:06:27.93 To: WINS%"chpfcmi.fc.hp.com" CC: CTOWNSEND,BHADLEY Subj: Honey Lager Contrary to most of the mail I got on R Rs Honey Lager, (about bad flavor), I find mine to be very good. It has a sort of dry beer-champagne taste. I would recommend adding an extra pound of dry malt thought. P.S. Is the maltmill givaway still in effect? Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 92 11:55:00 PST From: "B_HADLEY" <BHADLEY at atlas.nafb.trw.com> Subject: conversion From: ATLAS::BHADLEY "Brian D. Hadley, Ph.D. - TRW, NAFB - 714-382-7061" 9-JUL-1992 09:12:20.65 To: WINS%"chpfcmi.fc.hp.com" CC: CTOWNSEND,BHADLEY Subj: Grain conversion I would like to convert a extract recipe to an all grain recipe. Does someone know the conversion between lbs extract to lbs grain? thanks Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 92 11:55:00 PST From: "B_HADLEY" <BHADLEY at atlas.nafb.trw.com> Subject: yeast From: ATLAS::BHADLEY "Brian D. Hadley, Ph.D. - TRW, NAFB - 714-382-7061" 9-JUL-1992 09:10:23.25 To: WINS%"chpfcmi.fc.hp.com" CC: CTOWNSEND,BHADLEY Subj: yeasts I have heard that you can use the remaining yeast in the bottom of a few homebrews to pitch into a new batch? Is this true? Do you need to make a starter or something? thanks. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 13:39:53 EDT From: lee_menegoni at ptltd.com Subject: Inexpensive Temp Control The Hunter Air Stat is a good choice for inexpensive temp control. It retails for about $30, I bought mine on sale last year for $19.99. It plugs into a wall outlet, the refridgerator is plugged into a receptacle in the Air Stat. This receptacle's line current is controlled via a thermo couple on a 36" wire. This receptacle is rated for the current load of a home AC unit so a refridgerator is not an overload on it. It maintains the temp programmed into the digital display +1 / -2, given the thermal mass of 5 gallons of liquid the beer temp shouldn't vary much. The only negative feature I can think of is the units minimum temperature setting is 40F which is still cold enough for lagering. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 13:34:12 CDT From: johnf at persoft.com (John Freeborg) Subject: Sparge Water pH How many all-grain people adjust their sparge water pH? I've been reading about putting lactic acid in the sparge water to achieve the proper pH which helps improve extraction numbers. Should I worry about this? Do other people? Have you noticed a dramatic difference once you started doing this? - John - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Freeborg Software Engineer Persoft johnf at persoft.com 465 Science Dr. 608-273-6000 Madison, WI 53711 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 14:07:20 CDT From: Jacob Galley <gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu> Subject: I win! You sillies, the key to winning a contest like this is TIMING. Actually, I have a quick question anyway: I am about to acquire two half-barrel kegs that a friend found when she was moving into her new apartment. Neither is empty, and we don't know the nature or age of their contents. (Chances are, it's really old Old Style, but who knows?) Does anyone have any advice on how to empty a keg of spoiled beer? Or at least any amuzing stories? Cheers, Jake. Reinheitsgebot <-- "Keep your laws off my beer!" <-- gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #922, 07/14/92