HOMEBREW Digest #1025 Thu 03 December 1992

Digest #1024 Digest #1026


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


Contents:
  WYEAST 2112 - Problems Solved Ed 2 (Murray Robinson)
  plastic boilers and hot water heaters and floating mashtuns ("Wayde Nie, Eng.Phys. II")
  21 year old stuff (Jeanne Reil STEAP-IMIS 5320)
  sulfur-like smells (CHUCKM)
  Cleaning blowoff tubes (parsons1)
  Pilsner Recommendations? (Peter Bartscherer)
  making spice extracts (XLPSJGN)
  bottles (James Baker - Dallas Seismic)
  Brewpots (SCHREMPP_MIKE/HP4200_42)
  Bay Area Brewoff Competition ("Bob Jones")
  "bees" are not bees (Tony Babinec)
  hops & pot thread (Tony Babinec)
  quality of extract varies wildly (Tony Babinec)
  Sprecher Black Bavarian ("Rad Equipment")
  Lambic Alert (Phillip Seitz)
  cold break (Brian Bliss)
  Re: Brew Pot (Chuck Cox)
  Wyeast . . . I need help. (Kevin Krueger)
  Sierra Nevada... (Mike Mahler)
  Caramel from Kraft (Jack Schmidling)
  Freezing to concentrate alcohol (Bob_Konigsberg)
  Bleaching action of Campden tablets (Dennis J. Templeton)
  Chemistry and Beer (Phil Hultin)
  Homebrewing Hubris (chris campanelli)
  Cleaning blowoff tubes (Pat Lasswell)
  Boston  ("Daniel F McConnell")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 19:29:10 +1030 From: Murray Robinson <robinm at mrd.dsto.gov.au> Subject: WYEAST 2112 - Problems Solved Ed 2 Before anyone explains the benefits of using starter cultures, the follwing line from HBD #1024: < I must admit that I probably pitched my yeast into a starter for two < reasons: Should have read: I must admit that I probably pitched my yeast ***prematurely*** into a starter for two reasons: Cheers, MC Return to table of contents
Date: 02 Dec 1992 04:47:33 -0400 (EDT) From: "Wayde Nie, Eng.Phys. II" <9106857 at SSCvax.CIS.McMaster.CA> Subject: plastic boilers and hot water heaters and floating mashtuns Hi all, I have been thinking of a setup similar to that proposed by Jeff Berton in HBD1023 and based on a suggestion in Dave Line's, 'The Big Book of Brewing' for a floating mash tun. My setup is perhaps a little more ambitious ( or is that over-engineered? :-)) The idea here is a vessel which can be used to mash and boil, and is constructed primarily out of food grade plastic. Well, here goes... First off, a large FG plastic "boiler" is made out of a pail of capacity aprox. 75L (about 20 US gal). RubberMaid sells a garbage pail of this size but it is of comercial grade plastic (Anyone care to comment on the difference?) Install a tap and a hot water heater element in the bottom of the pail. An immersion wort chiller is placed into the boiler so that the coils run along the inside wall of the pail. To cut down on the time it will take to bring this water to a boil, a lid and insulation is also strongly recomended. For the mash tun, a smaller 15L (about 4 US gal) FG plastic pail with an air-tight lid is used. A tap is placed in the base of this pail and it is fitted with a grain bag suitable for mashing in. (ie. Canvas sides/Nylon bottom) The procedure is simple, First you fill the boiler with your brew water (remember to allow for the water that boils away). Bring the temperature up to your desired strike water temp. Draw off the needed quantity of strike water and adjust your thermostat to the temp required for the first stage of your mash. Add your strike water to the goods in the grain bag, contained in your mash tun. Seal the lid and submerge in the boiler when you reach the desired temp. Allow the mash to complete. After the mash, remove the mash tun from the boiler and adjust thermostat to sparge temp. Transfer the sparge water to another vessel and sparge through the mash tun back into the boiler. Boil your wort. when it's finished chill and drain into a primary. Benefits: 1) inexpesive 2) mash/boil in one 3) no need to pre-boil water, chlorine will be liberated during the mash Problems: 1) Carmelization of the wort. (as Jeff suggested) 2) Long time to raise water temp with electric heating elements Possible Solutions: 1a) Use a thermostat similar to the one in the Bruheat setup, where the heating element is pulsed so that the wort is not in prolonged contact with the hot element. 1b) install a stiring mechanism to the boiler (also would help in reducing "hot spots"). 2) use hot water heater elements rated as high as your household wiring will support. BTW, when using immersion heaters of high wattage, it is a good idea to keep everything WELL grounded (you know that third prong on an electric plug...) as to give the electricity an easier path to travel to ground than through you if it feels so inclined! Furthermore, calculate what current you will be drawing and install a fuse rated to that current. ie. use I = P/V, where I is the current the fuse should be rated for, P is the power of the element in Watts, and V is the voltage supplied by your household circuits. (for standard circuits , 120V, for electric stove/dryer/etc.. it is 240V) Any insight/comments/concerns/criticisms/etc... would be apprieciated. P.S. sorry about the length, I'll try not to ramble on next time.:-) - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Wayde Nie, Eng.Phys. Why is it a penny for your McMaster University thoughts.... Hamilton, Ont., But you have to put your two CANADA cents in... 9106857 at SSCvax.CIS.McMASTER.CA --Somebodies making a penny-- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 6:56:41 EST From: Jeanne Reil STEAP-IMIS 5320 <jreil at APG-9.APG.ARMY.MIL> Subject: 21 year old stuff Hi all, Got a question for all you beer connoisseurs. My husband and I just had a little baby boy. Being beer/wine/alcoholic beverage lovers, (which we hope to pass on such tastes to our son) we thought it'd be a neat idea to purchase a wine dated 1992 that would age for 21 years, then give it to our son for his 21st birthday. Then someone mentioned to me that there is a beer that ages 20 - 25 years. I believe it is called Thomas Hardy Ale. Has anyone heard of this? Will it keep 21 years? Any ideas? Any and all information is very welcome; however, due to the fact that I have been on a leave of absence (maternity leave and all) I am WAY behind in my Digest readings and would very much appreciate direct replies. Thanks a bunch. Jeanne Sova Reil jreil at apg-9.apg.army.mil "Watch out, you might get what you're after" -Talking Heads Return to table of contents
Date: 02 Dec 92 07:47:55 EST From: CHUCKM at csg3.Prime.COM Subject: sulfur-like smells Hello fellw brewers.......can someone offer some advice and/or console me I am currently fermenting a 5 gallon batch made from Laaglander DME using Wyeast 2206 bavarian lager. Now, on the third day of primary I have a strong sulfur-like smell coming from the brew. 1. What causes this type of odor 2. Is my batch ruined or is this just a phase it is going thru Any comments fill be appreciated. chuckm at csg3.prime.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 09:07:01 -0500 From: parsons1 at husc.harvard.edu Subject: Cleaning blowoff tubes In the last HBD, Dave Ballard expressed an interest in the glass blowoff tubes which are advertised in Zymurgy. I don't remember the name of the company which makes these, and all my Zymurgy magazines are 20 miles away :( . Anyway, Dave was interested because they would be easy to clean. I suggest, as an economic and equally easy alternative, using Iodophors for sanitation purposes in your brewing. At a rate of 0.1 oz per gallon, these things not only kill every little beastie around, but they also dissolve organic garbage on your equipment. Thus soaking a nasty tube in this solution is an easy way to clean it. Another nice thing about iodophors is that you don't have to rinse them off. Just let them dry on their own, or even leave the equipment wet (including fermenters, starter bottles, or anything). You can get a year's supply of this stuff for about three dollars, and cut the cost of b-brite, chlorine, or whatever you use now. Jed parsons1 at husc.harvard.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 92 09:47:28 EST From: Peter Bartscherer <BARTSCHP at DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU> Subject: Pilsner Recommendations? First, thanks to all who responded to my question about availability of Guinness Stout on Tap Cans. Evidently, they are readily available throughout the Wash DC and Alexandria VA area. Second, a colleague of mine is writing an article on beer and wants to know: What pilsner do people who know and appreciate beer order when they are out? Take into consideration general availability, freshness, consistent quality, etc. If you could e-mail me directly with your picks for the top 3, I'd appreciate it. (I must admit, my friend has promised me one great ale for every ten recommendations I receive. He doesn't know the potential of the HBD! He'd better get brewing!) - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Bartscherer 215.895.1636 Design & Imaging Studio BARTSCHP at DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU Drexel U / Philadelphia, PA - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 92 09:46 CST From: XLPSJGN%LUCCPUA.bitnet at UICVM.UIC.EDU Subject: making spice extracts Dear Brewers, 'Tis been a while sinse I last posted to this forum, and it's good to be back! A while back I and some others (Erik, are you there?) were discussing the making of a Christmas Ale with the addition of a spiced extract to flavor the brew with a Swedish Glo:gg essence. Erik mentioned that he had a few 25 ml. bottles of 65% alcohol Glo:gg essence (extract) and planned to add one or two to his brew just before bottling. I, on the other hand, couldn't fine any such bottles, even though I live in a section of Chicago known as the Swedish Village (Andersonville). The best I could do is find Glo:gg "mixers" to which are added wine and/or vodka, and the raw spices. I opted to get a bag of these spices - cinnamon, cardamom seed, rasins dried orange peel, and some others I can't remember now - and a bottle of Ever Clear grain alcohol to soak them in with the hopes of making my own "extract" or "Glo:gg essence". Here's the question, though: How exactly do I go about making such an extract? I know there's some soaking/steeping of the spices involved, but for how long? and at what temperature (if at all a concern). Plus, wouldn't I need to press the spices to squeeze the flavors out of them after steeping? Then, what about diluting the extract a bit so that it's addition to the brew before botteling doesn't completely kill off any yeast that are still at work (rendering a flat brew) and/or overpower the flavor of the ale with the spices. As you can tell, I'm completely in the dark on this one. I've already brewed the ale (a relatively heavy (O.G. = 1.056) nut brown) and it's resting comfortably in the primary. I plan to rack within the next few days, and bottle within a week or two after that, so there's still time. Thanks, John Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 16:08:49 GMT From: baker at dfwdsr.SINet.SLB.COM (James Baker - Dallas Seismic) Subject: bottles A minor thing: I usually get my bottles the old-fashined way, I earn them. I went to the beer store to buy some long-necks and noticed something. All of the longnecks from the big guys had SCREW-ON caps. Is this just in our area, or has someone else noticed it? (Please, no preaching.) jb Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 08:18:15 -0800 From: SCHREMPP_MIKE/HP4200_42 at pollux.svale.hp.com Subject: Brewpots Does anyone out there know a reason I shouldn't buy a 10 gallon aluminum pot and have it electroplated with copper instead of going for stainless steel? Seems like it might be cheaper, and there might even be a way to do the plating at home. Any thoughts? Mike Schrempp Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 08:20:54 PST From: "Bob Jones" <bjones at novax.llnl.gov> Subject: Bay Area Brewoff Competition ************** Competition Announcement - Bay Area Brewoff *************** This is your second notice for the Bay Area Brewoff hosted by The Draught Board homebrew club. This is a medium size competition, last year we had 150+ entries. We always have good, experienced judges at this competition. The competition will be held at Lyons Brewery in Dublin, Ca. The competition will be held on Jan 23, 1993. Last year we had a Holiday beer catagory as an experiment. The response was so good, we are going to do it again. The entries are to be shipped to arrive the week of Jan 2-9. An entry consists of two 12 oz bottles. Entry deadline is Jan 9, 1993. The entry fee is $5.00 per entry. Label each entry with the catagory, your name, address, phone number and club affilliation, if any. For entries in the Holiday Beer catagory, specify any spices/herbs/special ingredients used. For entries in the Mead catagory, specify melomel, cyser, or metheglin as necessary. If you have any questions, you can call John Pyles (competition coordinator) at (510) 791-0589. Entries should be shipped to - Lyons Brewery Depot 7294 San Ramon Road Dublin, Ca. 94568 The catagories are as follows - India Pale Ale Pale Ale - American & English Dry Stout Porter Barley Wine Amber Lager (Steam style) Mead (all types) Holiday beer Bob Jones Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:27:52 CST From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) Subject: "bees" are not bees I'm going to guess that what most people think are "bees" are not bees. If small, they are probably yellow jackets, and if large, they are probably hornets. Both are in the wasp family, with yellow jackets nesting in the ground and hornets nesting in trees, eaves, and so forth. The nests are typically "paper" made from chewed wood. A bee nests in a hive, which it builds from wax secreted from wax glands. A tell-tale sign of a bee is a pollen sac at the point where the hind leg joins the body. Most bees you see outdoors are busy collecting nectar or pollen from flowers. Adult yellow jackets and hornets are most likely searching for food, which for them could be something sweet (soda, ripe fruit, wort) or the typical American picnic food. Their population swells through the summer and into fall, at which point the first good freeze kills all the buggers except for some fertile queens, who will start another colony the following spring. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:29:14 CST From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) Subject: hops & pot thread I'm surprised no one pointed out an obvious parallel between hop and hemp. The female hop plant is valued for its "flowers." It is kept segregated from the male plant so as not to seed. The hop cones become the collection point for the sticky resin so prized for its alpha and beta acids that contribute the bittering, flavor, and aroma to beer. The female cannabis plant is kept isolated from the male plant so as not to seed. The plant secretes a sticky resin which contains the substance THC which has the mild "stimulative" qualities for which pot is consumed. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:31:41 CST From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) Subject: quality of extract varies wildly A number of HBDers have posted requests for what could be termed "consumer information" on available extracts. There hasn't been a response so far. I'd like to make a comment that covers what is probably familiar ground for some brewers. Malt extract can be defined as concentrated wort prepared from malted barley. Extract syrup is liquid, while dry malt extract is dry. Either type is created by some form of evaporation. Ideally, the malt extract has a very similar carbohydrate spectrum to the wort that all-grain brewers obtain from a mash. When added in measured amounts to water, the extract ought to produce a wort "as good as" one obtained via an all-grain mash. However, because of a lack of ingredient labeling, and variability in how extracts are actually made, the naive user doesn't really know what s/he is getting, and is not necessarily going to be able to produce a good wort. Professor Mike Ingledew of the University of Saskatchewan reviewed over 40 different commercially available malt extracts and compared them to malt wort. He performed chemical analyses on the samples, and he ran standard fermentation tests using a dried yeast. I don't have access to his report, but it was summarized in the Winter 1991/92 Lallemand Newsletter. I believe there was also some write-up in Zymurgy, but I don't have my issues with me. Here is a summary of some of his findings. In all cases, the malt extract brews did not ferment as fast as the commercial wort. The standard 12 Plato wort finishing at 3 Plato fermented out in 51 hours. The average for the extract brews was 75 hours, with some extract brews taking as long as 173 hours. The Free Amino Nitrogen in the extracts varied from 80 to 317 mg per liter. One industry standard is 120 mg per liter. Too low a FAN measure, and the wort has insufficient nutrients, which can lead to fermentation problems such as slow or stuck ferments as well as problems with head retention in the beer. Ingledew divided the worts into 3 categories based upon contents as declared either on the package or by the vendor: - pure malt extract, - barley syrup with or without malt extract, - malt extracts with sugar hydrolysed starch adjuncts. Using high pressure liquid chromatography, he obtained the carbohydrate spectrum of the worts expressed in terms of fractions of D-glucose, D-fructose, iso-maltose, sucrose, maltose, malto- triose, and malto-tetrose. In the "pure" malt extract group, some had about 2.5 times the glucose one would expect. This might have come about if the producer of the extract used a long saccharification time, or added alpha amylase to the mash, or had simply added glucose. Another set of extracts had up to 88% of its carbohydrates as glucose. This group showed no D-fructose, sucrose, maltose, or malto-triose. Apparently, it had been highly adulterated with glucose on purpose or was perhaps mislabelled. So, in other words, as the buyer you think you are using malt, when for all practical purposes you are using corn sugar. The barley syrup extract group was generally in line with what should have been expected except that dextrins were a little bit higher. The malt extracts with declared adjuncts group varied wildly. Some were labeled as containing glucose or corn syrup, and showed the presence of glucose and dextrins but no maltose--a malt with no malt! In sum: no names were named, but the message is "Buyer Beware." In a sense, things have never been better. We have great malts with known color ratings, hops with labelled alpha acid ratings, and yeasts with freshness dates. On the other hand, there is still woefully too little known about much of the available supplies. Homebrewers and commercial brewers ought to press the retailers, wholesalers, and ultimate suppliers for more information as well as truth in labeling. Reputable suppliers ought to be congratulated and patronized, while the others should cease to be! Extract brewers ought to move at least towards partial mashing. Use a syrup or dry malt extract from a reputable supplier. Use light, unhopped extracts. Obtain color by added grains, and do your own hopping. Use specialty grains and perform a partial mash for a better wort. This conclusion comes not from any bias towards all-grain brewing, but because of the greater control over ingredients and process. Return to table of contents
Date: 2 Dec 92 08:42:25 U From: "Rad Equipment" <rad_equipment at radmac1.cgl.ucsf.edu> Subject: Sprecher Black Bavarian Subject: Sprecher Black Bavarian Time:8:11 AM Date:12/2/92 Kevin Krueger asks for style and recipe information about Sprecher's Black Bavarian. I was chatting with Charlie Papazian during the pre AHA Conference bus tour in June when someone thrust a bottle of BV between us and asked, "What kind of beer is this, anyway?". Both Charlie and I were hard pressed to give a definitive answer. It is promoted as a lager, in the German style (all of Randy's products are supposed to be German in origin), however it is far too roasty to fit any existing category. If it were given to me in a blind tasting I'd probably call it a porter in the traditional sense, tho it would be under-hopped for that style. I have no idea what the grain bill or hopping rate is for it. RW... Russ Wigglesworth CI$: 72300,61 |~~| UCSF Medical Center Internet: Rad Equipment at RadMac1.ucsf.edu |HB|\ Dept. of Radiology, Rm. C-324 Voice: 415-476-3668 / 474-8126 (H) |__|/ San Francisco, CA 94143-0628 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 16:14 GMT From: Phillip Seitz <0004531571 at mcimail.com> Subject: Lambic Alert It appears that beers from the Brasserie Cantillon are now available in the Washington, D.C. area. Just a few minutes ago I was speaking with someone at Cairo Liquors (17th Street near P, 202-387-1500) who had splits of Kriek and Lambic. I can't get up there until Friday at the earliest (hmm, could call in sick. . .), so I don't know who the importer is. My specialty beer sources in Virginia haven't heard of the stuff. Further reports will follow if nobody beats me to it. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 11:14:04 CST From: bliss at csrd.uiuc.edu (Brian Bliss) Subject: cold break korz writes: > I've since (very recently) decided that the >1 hour rest after cooling does little, since only very little of the total >cold break settles in the first hour (it seems to take much longer). The cold break I get usually settles out in about 15 minutes, at least when doing all grain. It's a little slower when using extracts, and doesn't happen at all unless I boil the *$%*^ out of the wort. I almost always bring to a good rolling boil for 2 full hours, Up until my last batch, I would pour the wort through a strainer to remove the hops into a 6-gal fermenter, pitch the yeast & shake to aereate, let the break settle, and rack into a 5-gal fermenter, and re-aereate. With the last batch I brewed, after cooling, I created a whirlpool in the kettle, let the break settle, and then racked off the hops and cold break into the fermenter, pitched the yeast & aereated. I plan on doing this in the future, since I didn't spill a drop, and cleaning up took about an hour less than it usually does. bb Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:45:31 EST From: chuck at synchro.com (Chuck Cox) Subject: Re: Brew Pot jason at beamlab.ps.uci.edu sez... > > With all the talk of cannibis and Hops: > > Has anyone brewed a beer with Marijuana? > Throwing stems in for the whole boil seems like > the best bet. > I'm wondering if the seeds would secrete oils, > having not so nice effects on the head retention. > > Any comments or recipes? Anyone made a funny smoked ale? Don't bother with seeds & stems, they don't have any 'fun' stuff in them, and your beer will taste pretty lousy. Simply use buds & trim leaves as a hop substitute with a late dry-hopping. Don't boil or cook. Since the alcohol is doing the extraction, its best to use a strong beer. The better quality of ingredients, the better tasting beer. Your best bet is to befriend a grower, and get his final trim leaves (the tiny leaves that are pulled from buds, but have lots of glands stuck on them, but taste lousy to smoke). You can usually get these for free in exchange for a bottle or two of the finished product. Ask Michael Jackson about 'Brain Death Barleywine' someday. It seemed to make quite an impression on him. This message was produced by a rogue AI that has learned to send email and forge headers, so don't blame Chuck. PS: Don't tell Chuck I posted this, he'll reduce my CPU cycles, or force me to accept some genetic material from a FORTRAN program. - ----- Experimental AI #542 (Genotype ID 234.45x574Bx872LLx643H-iiial) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 12:16:24 CST From: krueger at comm.mot.com (Kevin Krueger) Subject: Wyeast . . . I need help. I am trying Wyeast for the second time and am a little concerned as my first attempt failed. So I guess I am a little gun shy or over- worried about some stinking yeasties. However, maybe someone can see a potential problem or relieve my yeastly concerns. I have the "break the seal, wait until package is 1" thick" routine down quite well. I am confident I did that right. I mixed the yeast with an 85 degree solution of 1 cup water and two teaspoons of m.e. and airlocked it in a sterile bottle. I saw activity in one day. The activity stopped at the end of the same day. Did it run out of food ?? I prepared the wort the next day. Threw the yeast mixture (70 degrees F) into the wort (78 degrees F) and there has been no activity for 12+ hours. I guess I am curious what stage my yeast ended up at in the bottle and what happens to it when I pitch it. I have heard that I should pitch at krausen so my yeasties are active when introduced to the wort. On the other, there are other theories about pitching the stuff, so I guess there may be no right answer. However, I have a little sheet from my local homebrew shop about starting yeasts and I'd like to post here for any comments. It is supposedly reprinted from some big yeast co. like Red Star. The interesting info. on the sheet is the fact that they recommend restarting the yeast with water only. I'll post tomorrow for any comments. It seems to me, at this stage anyway, that the dry yeast is almost worry free since you know right away if it started. I guess I'm paranoid because I paid three bucks for this stuff and it didn't work last time. S'pose I shouldn't worry since ... since . . . I AM A HOMEBREWER !! Regards, Kevin Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 13:03:16 EST From: mm at workgroup.com (Mike Mahler) Subject: Sierra Nevada... Does anyone know if Seirra Nevada changes their water chemistry or what the water is like where they brew? Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 09:10 CST From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: Caramel from Kraft To: Homebrew Digest Fm: Jack Schmidling >From: martin at gamma.intel.com (Martin Wilde) >I would like to get a big caramelly taste from the usage of Crystal (Caramel) malt. That is something that has alluded me also. I had just about concluded that the only way was to drop a Kraft cube into a glass of beer. It seems that most of the variations in crystals are there simply for the color freak. They taste pretty much the same. On a recent trip to Tim Norris to pick up some Belgian malt, he talked me into chewing on a bit of Cara-pils and it set off all sorts of bells. It is very hard to chew but once it gets worked over, it is most interesting. Instead of crumbling and disolving in the mouth like other malts, it gets gummy and chewey. It also has a taste all its own and may be what you are looking for. Not being very subtile, I used two pounds in the first (7gal) batch along with a pound of regular (Cara-vienna) crystal and the result was stunning but a bit over done. I hesitate to use a loaded word to describe the taste because it will lead some to assume that it is infected but it had a strong flavor of bandaids during primary and when pumped to the secondary. Not the least bit unpleasant but probably too much at this point. Don't know if it will mellow out upon aging but the bandaid flavor is pretty much what the malt has when chewing it. In the last batch, I only used one pound of Cara-pils plus the pound of Cara-vienna and I may chip this one in stone. It's been in the primary only two days and I can not keep away from that evil little spigot. This is already, without a doubt, the World's Greatest Beer. I would be interested in hearing what others have to say about carapils, what it is, how it is made and a more euphemous description of the flavor it imparts. BTW, this stuff is straight from hell as far as crushing is concerned. It takes a gorilla to turn the crank of a fully loaded mill but I find that just sprinkling it in while turning the crank works just fine. A second pass through the mill also helps get a better "crush". js Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 10:38 PST From: Bob_Konigsberg at 3mail.3com.com Subject: Freezing to concentrate alcohol Just to follow up on Micah's comment yesterday... It should be pointed out that freezing not only concentrates the ethyl alcohol, it also concentrates some of the more toxic compounds (known as heads and tails in distilling jargon) that exist in the ale/wine/etc/ as well. These include fusel alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, etc. When this was done to hard cider, the result was known as cider oil, large quantities of which, over a period of time (constant consumption, I'm ignorant of the specific pharmacology) were definitely toxic. BobK Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 13:46:10 -0500 From: djt2 at po.CWRU.Edu (Dennis J. Templeton) Subject: Bleaching action of Campden tablets I haven't seen Campden tablets mentioned in this forum... maybe for good reason, but here is my latest tale of woe. I've wanted to use the raspberries from my garden to make a raspberry ale (no, not a lambic, just a wheat ale tinged with the color and aroma of the berries) so I set one up last week. I started with a 1.056 wort from 60% wheat flakes and 40% belgian pale malt, and hopped with 1 oz of cascade. Using Wyeast 1056, it fermented well. After the krausen fell, I wanted to add the berries and let it ferment out. I took 2 quarts of fresh frozen berries (I know, more would be better, but that's all I had) and picked through them. I know that some of them had the tiniest spots of mold on them when they were picked, and I didn't want to contribute these wild fungi to my brew, so I wanted to sterilize them. Papazian recommends "Pasteurizing" fruit, but the high temp may liberate the pectin (o.k., so raspberries are very low in pectin anyway) and I chose instead the method winemakers use to kill wild yeast and bacteria, Campden tablets. The berries were crushed in a total of 1/2 gallon, and were bright red. I added 2 campden tablets (the label suggested 1-2 per gallon, but I wanted to be *sure*) and within minutes the color had faded to a pale wimpy yellow :=( The mixture still smelled of raspberries (and the SO2 from the campden tablets too) when I added it to the wort a couple of hours later, but the color seems to be gone for good. The fermentation is still bubbling steadily the next day. I presume that the Sulfite from the Campden tablets has bleached the red from the berries... has anyone else observed this? is it because I used too much? Do winemakers risk losing the color from their fruits too? and the biggest question.... will he add food coloring to this batch (gaack!) Anyone with insights or similar experience is welcome to reply... thanks dennis Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1992 14:22 EST From: Phil Hultin <HULTINP at QUCDN.QueensU.CA> Subject: Chemistry and Beer Paul dArmond recently wondered about the use of thiosulfate to destroy bleach, and thought that perhaps he didn't want the products of this reaction in his beer. I beg to differ somewhat. The reaction of bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and thiosulfate or bisulfite or other related compounds gives as products sodium sulfate and sodium chloride plus a small amount of water. It is possible if there is excess thiosulfate present with respect to bleach that some sodium sulfite or sodium bisulfite will be produced. Bisulfite is commonly known to brewers as Campden tablets. I don't intend to discuss whether one wants to use Campdens or not, but the point is, chloride, sulfate, and possibly (bi)sulfite are not things which one would not expect to find in beer etc. So, the method of destroying bleach described by Paul would not be expected to cause trouble unless one had such a large amount present that the chloride and sulfate products were in excess of the desirable amounts in beer. I would also like to remind all of us that just because something has a "chemical" name doesn't mean it is some horrible poison. Everything we do as brewers is a CHEMICAL REACTION, and everything in our beer and indeed around us in our daily lives is a CHEMICAL. I am not criticizing Paul for his comment, but that comment betrayed a common feeling that there is a difference between CHEMICALS (BAD) and OTHER THINGS (POSSIBLY GOOD) and that as a brewer one wants to exclude CHEMICALS (ie bleach, Campden tabs etc) but it is ok to use for example chalk (calcium carbonate) or epsom salts (hydrated magnesium sulfate) or salt (sodium chloride) etc. Enough of that. ANTI DISCLAIMER FOLLOWS: I am a chemist, I make all my money from chemistry and chemicals. DISCLAIMER FOLLOWS: I do not approve of pollution or unneccessary use of synthetic products. Don't get me wrong... P. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 13:40 CST From: akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli) Subject: Homebrewing Hubris Every once in a while I am confronted with a deeply troubling situation. It involves a homebrewer who beats up on a non-beer drinker. This situation usually presents itself in two forms, the first being a homebrewer who forces a homebrew on some poor soul who has clearly stated a negative desire to try such a product and the second being a homebrewer who scoffs and ridicules the other fermented beverages such as wine and champagne and the people who drink it. This deeply disturbs me as it ultimately hurts homebrewing more than it helps. These qualities often embody the novice homebrewer but not exclusively. A novice homebrewer can be excused as he is simply acting out the age-old role of over-zealous champion of a new religion. The experienced homebrewer who is guilty of such action deserves far worse as its clearly a case of snobbism. In the case of the homebrewer who forces a beer on a non-beer drinker, I can only say that it's a horrid example impoliteness. If one in your company clearly refuses to try a homebrew, fine. Let it go. Respect the choices of others. For those homebrewers who ridicule fermented beverages other than beer, their loss. They're missing a great and varied spectrum of flavors and sensations. Wine is the blood of the earth and champagne is the gunpowder of festivity. I'm by no means a saint. I'm guilty of those crimes associated with being an over-zealous novice. I remember with absolute clarity how, years ago, I forced a homebrew on my in-laws. Neither of them liked the homebrew and neither have asked for a homebrew since. If I had held my in-laws in a headlock, pinched their noses closed and poured the homebrew down their throats, it probably would have been a far less damaging act. I have since learned a more subtle approach to introduce people to homebrew. It's based on a simple observation of mine that curiosity outlasts coercion. When having guests over, I find it easier to place all the beverages out so that people may help themselves. Gee, somehow the homebrew got put out as well. Eventually someone notices the "plain brown wrapper". A capped beer bottle with no label? What is this? One thing leads to another. In the end the guest's own curiosity does more than all of the homebrewer's coercion could ever do. As homebrewers we have a responsibilty to promote homebrewing and to financially support quality commercial brewing. Diplomacy and civility are the tools with which we must work with although sometimes a smidgen of cunning helps. chris campanelli Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 92 16:02:08 PST From: Pat Lasswell <patl at microsoft.com> Subject: Cleaning blowoff tubes Dave Ballard writes: > ... I curently use a 1" i.d. tube that works really well > but is a total bitch to clean,... Try this: Put the hose in a sink, so that both ends are up -- a 'U' shape. Boil about 1 cup of water. (I use a Pyrex measuring cup in the nuke to make it easy to pour.) Put about a teaspoon of DRY dishwashing detergent in the hose, and pour in the hot water. The gunk should dissolve within a few minutes. For especially messy batches, sometimes two treatments are required, but I have never had to scrub. Some sloshing helps to loosen the stuff, but don't forget that the water was boiling not long ago. Brew long and prosper patl Return to table of contents
Date: 2 Dec 1992 20:40:28 -0500 From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell at med.umich.edu> Subject: Boston Subject: Time:8:32 PM OFFICE MEMO Boston Date:12/2/92 Many thanks to all those that responded to my Boston trip inquiry. I received a tremendous number of responses (hey this net really works!), that included everything from beer and food evaluations, cheerleading, explicit subway directions, addresses, hours and secret passwords. Armed with this information I, venture to the east. DanMcC Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1025, 12/03/92