HOMEBREW Digest #1103 Tue 23 March 1993
Digest #1102
Digest #1104
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
cider (Troy Howard)
Re: Lauter Tuns, PU (Jeff Benjamin)
BOTTLE DRYER (tmr1)
Recipe: SN Porter Clone (Ed Kesicki)
Pub Draught Guinness (Phil Hultin)
Are Zymurgy special issues worth it? (Rob Bradley)
Drs. Balling and Plato (Rob Bradley)
OG for starters - a question (Geoff Cooper)
Secondary? (Richard Soennichsen)
Looking for stainless containers in New Zealand? (DAVID DEAN)
two questions (Kirk Anderson)
Papazian's recipes (STROUD)
Sucanat ("C. Lyons; Salem, NH")
Wyeast reuse/etretching (Philip J Difalco)
big brewers brewing ales? (Tony Babinec)
Sierra archives - Hymn to Ninkasi (Rick Myers)
sterilize?, sugars, bleach/Chimay (Russ Gelinas)
Re: Dark grains at mashout, manifold (Jeff Benjamin)
Dark grains at mashout (Paul dArmond)
Brewpubs in New Jersey ("Stinson-Jeff")
Flaked barley question (Andrius Tamulis)
Spelling, Jackson (Jack Schmidling)
Re: Manifold Design and use ?? ("Stephen Hansen")
Suggestions for 2 specialty brews (Jacob Galley)
slotted manifolds (Ed Hitchcock)
Clinton E-Mail (Bill Ridgely FTS 402-1521)
Fridge Capacities (Kieran O'Connor)
Underletting Strike ("Rad Equipment")
DRY HOPPING (Roy Rudebusch)
dry-hopping vs. hop nose (roy.rudebusch)
Re: Making a Corona malt (Roy Rudebusch)
Re: Making a Corona malt ready (roy.rudebusch)
Ulick's Freezer (Hi-keeba!)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 93 13:40:02 PST
From: troy at scubed.scubed.com (Troy Howard)
Subject: cider
Way back in HBD 1096, KLIGERMAN at herlvx.rtpnc.epa.gov wrote:
>In October I made an apple cider and thanks to the advice on the HBD,
>I added sugar water after a few months and it cleared very well with
>a gravity of about 0.992 down from 1.054. I would like to bottle it
>as a sparkling cider. Should I wait longer or bottle it with about 3/4
>cup of sugar now and let it age in the bottle? Should I continue to let
>it age in the carboy, or will I endanger killing the yeast. I used
>Whitbread dry ale yeast. Thanks.
I have had trouble posting (I am not even sure if this will make it, but ...)
but this is what I said at the time:
Well, now that you bring it up, let me ask you a couple of questions,
I just made a couple of batches of cider. They turned out *very* dry,
which is cool, cause that's the way I wanted them. However, they are
a little too dry. I think one of my mistakes was using champagne yeast
(duh!). But other than that, I have a conceptual problem. Let's say
I use ale yeast next time, how do I get a *slightly* (and I do mean
very slightly) sweet AND carbonated cider. Seems like if there is any
residual sugar in there, the yeast will eat it. So you always get a
more carbonated, dry beverage. I know I can add lactose (which
yeast cannot ferment) but that just seems so....."high tech". Any
thing more "natural"?
By the way, my second batch I used apple juice concentrate to boost the
O.G. Don't know if it will work any better, but intuitively one might
think it would contribute more 'apple' flavor. We'll see.
As for your question, you quote an O.G. of 1.054. Did this take into
account the sugar water you added? If not, what was the gravity and
volume (or weight) of sugar water that you did add? Doing a simple-
minded calculation on the figures you give, you (may) have an alcohol
concentration of a little over 8% by volume. This is nearing the tolerance
of most ale yeast, although I was reading a chart at a homebrew store the
other day that seemed to say that some ale yeast could go up to 12%.
So I guess an answer to your question would depend on how much extra
sugar you treated your yeast to. Although it probably wouldn't hurt
to bottle now. However-- with a whole two batches of cider under my belt
(and the second still in secondary) my advice is probably worth just what
you paid for it. :-)
Troy
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 93 16:39:37 MST
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Re: Lauter Tuns, PU
> _ end cap
> |
> tee +---------] cap
> |
> [--------+
> |
> +---------]
> |
> [--------+
> |
> elbow \
> 90 deg up --------------->==========
> standpipe siphon hose
> (this would be coming out of the screen)
>
> Perhaps I am thick but I do not understand this. Which way is up?
I probably wasn't too clear on this. The "stem" and arms all lie on the
bottom of the pot/cooler, slots face down; then the standpipe comes up
the side of the vessel. Here's a side view:
siphon hose ===+
||<-stand |
|| pipe |<- pot/cooler
|| |
|| arms |
|\########|
-----------
>The idea for this one came from McHarry and if you find me pushing a shopping
>cart full of empty cans, you can blame him. He, of course, stole an idea
>from Benjamin but I couldn't understand the latter's drawing so, he beat me
>to it.
I wish I could say the standpipe idea is mine, but I stole it from
someone else, really. You know what they say... "good artists borrow;
great artists steal."
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji at hpfcla.fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado
"Midnight shakes the memory as a madman shakes a dead geranium."
- T.S. Eliot
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 93 21:49 EST
From: tmr1 at hotlg.att.com
Subject: BOTTLE DRYER
I have seen the plastic bottle drying towers sold in homebrew stores, but
I like the one that I built better.
It consists of 2 sheets of 1/2 inch plywood, 15" x 24" separated
by six 1 inch dowels, each about 5" long. The top plywood sheet has
a 4x6 grid of 2-1/2 inch holes cut into it with a hole saw. The
bottom sheet is solid plywood. Below is a side view with a couple of
bottles sitting in the holes. This bottle dryer holds 24 bottles, but
varying the size of the plywood and holes will change the capacity.
You can customize the dimensions to fit your size of bottles. All the
wood pieces were painted with several coats of polyurethane prior to
assembly to make the entire structure fairly impervious to water damage.
As the bottles drain, I prop up one end of the dryer to let any
accumulated water run off the bottom sheet of plywood.
I only use 16 oz. Grolsch bottles for my brewing and this handles them
nicely even with the ceramic stoppers attached. This drying rack will
let the bottles drip-dry upside down and not let any "nasties" fall
inside them. It also does not touch the inside of the bottle so there
is no need to sterilize the dryer.
After I wash and dry a case of bottles, I just loosely clamp the ceramic
stopper in the mouth of the Grolsch bottle to keep out any dust. I store
the rubber gaskets separately. When it is time to bottle, I soak a case
at a time with a bleach solution, rinse thoroughly and let them drip-dry
for a few minutes. The (boiled) gaskets then go on the ceramic stoppers
and are lightly closed until each bottle is ready to be filled.
____ ____
| | | |
| | | | <----------------------- bottles
| | | |
===\ /===\ /=== === === <------ top sheet of plywood with holes
|| | || |
| | <-------------- 1" dowels
| |
================================ <----- solid bottom sheet of plywood
Tom Romalewski
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 93 16:41:55 -0800
From: ek at chem.UCSD.EDU (Ed Kesicki)
Subject: Recipe: SN Porter Clone
Here is a recipe for a clone of Sierra Nevada Porter. I didn't mean for
it to come out that way; in fact, I had never tasted SNP until after I
made this one (my 4th all-grain batch).
It is based on Dave Miller's traditional porter recipe:
SIERRA NEVADA PORTER CLONE (5 gal batch):
7 lb 2-row pale malt
12 oz Black patent malt
6 oz Barley flakes
.5 tsp gypsum
Hops: 2 oz Cascades loose hops, 5.5% aa, 60 min boil (= 11 AAU)
0.5 oz English Fuggles plug hops, last 5 min of boil
Yeast: Sierra Nevada Yeast, cultured from two bottles (actually it
was the yeast cake from a previous batch)
PROCEDURE:
Mash in: 130 deg. F 9 qts water (San Diego tap water)
Protein rest: 125 deg F 30 min
Mash temp: 154-142 deg F 1.5 hr
Mash out: 168 deg F 5 min
Sparge: approx 4-5 gal at 170 deg F
Total boil time of 1.25 hr, hops additions as noted above, chilled.
Fermented in glass, temp in the low 60's Farenheit, blow-off used.
OG: 50 FG: 17 (but could have gone lower--overcarbonated in bottles)
Total cost: $1.20 /six pack (not including yeast)
Ed Kesicki
P.S. In an upcoming issue I'll post a recipe for an ale which tastes
suspiciously like Bigfoot Ale, but with slightly lower O.G.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1993 10:28 EST
From: Phil Hultin <HULTINP at QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA>
Subject: Pub Draught Guinness
I must say that I am surprised at all the enthusiasm for canned Guinness.
When I tried it (a 4-pack, shortly after it was introduced) I was totally
unimpressed. But, moreover, at a recent CAMRA Ottawa Homebrew Competition,
they slipped Pub Draught Guinness into the stout category as a "ringer"
in a totally blind tasting, and the judges rated it 12th out of 14
supposedly homebrewed stouts!!
The judge's comments, even before the identities of the brews were
announced were (paraphrased): Beautiful head, wonderful nose, no flavour
at all. Where's the beef?
Everyone was very amused when this brew was identified as Pub Draught
Guinness!!!
Cheers, P.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 93 12:51:41 -0500
From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
Subject: Are Zymurgy special issues worth it?
After more than seven years as a homebrewer, i've finally broken
down and joined the AHA. The jury is still out on the question
of whether it was a wise investment of $25.
To the point: all of the special issues of Zymurgy from past years
can be back ordered, and I'm interested in opinions as to which
(if any) are worthwhile for an old dog who's always willing to
learn new tricks.
The issues in question:
1985 All-grain 1986 Malt Extract 1987 Troubleshooting
1988 Brewers and their Gadgets 1989 Yeast 1990 Hops and Beer
1991 Beer Styles 1992 Gadgets and Equipment
1986 costs $5 and 1992 costs $9.5. The others cost $8.5 and are
available as a set for a discount. For the discount to be worth
it, one would have to want all 6.
Perhaps replies should be limited to e-mail, but I can't help
thinking there are a lot of other HBDers who would be interested
in the opinions of those who've read these issues. In particular,
sis you learn a lot? Do you still refer to them years later?
Thanks,
Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu)
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 93 14:03:46 -0500
From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
Subject: Drs. Balling and Plato
I have two questions about Balling/Plato:
1) Exactly what is the difference between them? Foster (_Pale_Ale_,
_Porter_) says Plato is "a more accurate, revised version of Balling"
He also says Balling is calibrated for 17.5C whereas Plato is calibrated
for 20C. I presume the `more accurate revision' is something more
than just a temperature adjustment. Was it simply a matter of Dr.
Plato (great name!) taking more accurate readings?
It is interesting to note that both triple-scale hydrometers
I have owned in my life have had Balling scales, the older,
less accurate one . On the other hand, most books (Eckhardt,
Foster, Jackson) use Plato, the more accurate one. What gives?
Will some entrpreneur out there in HBD-land take up the
challenge and produce a Balling/SG hydrometer for us?
2) I understand that the conversion of a degree Plato to 4
points of SG (as in OG 1050 (12.5P)) is only an approximation.
A quick look at the Balling scale on my hydrometer shows that
SG ~= 4 x Balling - (1 or 2) in the range of 1030-1060.
However SG 1080 = 20 Balling and SG ~= 4 x Balling + (1 or 2)
for SGs around 1100. Do I gather that the 1:4 approximation is
better when using Plato:SG?
Cheers,
Rob (bradley at adx.adelphi.edu)
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Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1993 14:53:41 +0000
From: G.A.Cooper at qmw.ac.uk (Geoff Cooper)
Subject: OG for starters - a question
Over the time that I have been reading HBD, there have been many articles
which have talked about the best gravity of wort to use in a starter. The
received wisdom from most postings is that an OG of 1.020 it best, but
recent postings have expressed different views.
I recently mentioned the figure of 1.020 to a (knowledgeable) colleague and
then realised that I had no hard evidence to support any claims - just HBD
hearsay (which I have no doubt is well founded :-) )
So what is the best OG for a starter? Is the value different for culturing
up from a small amount (say from a slant), from that for growing an existing
large colony (say from a packet of dried yeast)? Or, assuming that one might
culture from 10ml to 100ml and then to 1lt, should one use the same OG medium
for the 2 stages, or might it be better if they were different?
I look forward to your views, but would also appreciate recieving a reference
or two that I could follow up - or the results of some experiments that you
have carried out.
If I get a lot of info I shall gladly summarise it.
Geoff
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Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1993 12:55:26 -0800
From: Richard Soennichsen <spart at well.sf.ca.us>
Subject: Secondary?
Three days ago I made a Trappist ale and used a cultured Chimay for
yeast. It began fermenting that night and fermented vigorously for the next
two days.
Now it has slowed way down and the S.P. is within 2 points of that
specified in the receipe.
Is it time to go to the secondary even though it has only been three
days? The receipe called for three weeks in the primary and one week in the
secondary.(Cats Meow Ed2 pg. 9-18)
Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Mar 1993 11:28:12 +1200
From: DAVID DEAN <DEAND at kea.lincoln.ac.nz>
Subject: Looking for stainless containers in New Zealand?
I'm new to HBD but not to homebrewing. However, I just moved to New
Zealand and I'm having a hard time replicating the setup I left in
the States.
Stateside I was using 5 Gal stainless Coke (or Dr P) syrup canisters
as kegs (and storage) after secondary fermentation. However, they
use a plastic bag system here in NZ. Does anyone know of any
stainless substitutes down under?
Thanks
- -----------------------<:-( David L. Dean )-:>------------------------
- --------<:-( Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand )-:>---------
-<:-( "sober fearless pursuit of truth, beauty, & righteousness" )-:>-
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 01:50:06 -1100
From: Kirk_Anderson at wheatonma.edu (Kirk Anderson)
Subject: two questions
Did anyone catch the new Budweiser ad? A couple of yuppies sitting round a
bar learn that because AB has a brewery in St Louis, and another in
Milwaukee, and another in New Jersey, etc., well, their favorite beer is
always *fresher*. Right, so like how does pasteurization fit in here?
(Jeez who dreams up this sheepdip anyway?)
Question one: what does IMHO mean? I've worked on this for days and can't
figure it out.
Question two: where can I get the most recent version of MacCompress for
reading ftp files?
I promise to be more beerish next time, but I just don't know who else to
ask other than you patient and helpful HBD comrades. Respond by private
e-mail please.
Cheers, Kirk
Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Mar 1993 08:40:59 -0500 (EST)
From: STROUD%GAIA at leia.polaroid.com
Subject: Papazian's recipes
In digest #1101 Jeff Frane asks:
>On another note, has anyone ever gotten results anything like Charlie's
>from one of his recipes? He seems to bat them out at a fairly high
>rate, and I've wondered over the years how much time goes into
>developing each one, and whether he's ever brewed one of them more than
>once (or better yet, more than three times) before publishing them.
>What really struck me was his recipe in the most recent Zymurgy, which
>calls for (not having it in front of me, and whoops, here we go again
>relying on memory) something in the neighborhood of 3.5# of dry malt
>extract and about 3 pounds (maybe a little more) of specialty grains.
>This to produce five gallons of a beer over 1.065. Does anyone else
>think this is unlikely?
Memory can be a dangerous thing......:-)
I looked at the most recent Papazian recipe for a weizenbock. Actually the
grain bill is *6* lbs of malted grain (most of it is enzymatic) and 3.5 lb of
dry malt. For a five gallon batch Charlie suggests an OG of ~1.064, which may
be a little high, though it is reasonable if your sparging efficiency is good
and you are able to get ~30 points/lb/gallon.
Steve
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 08:41 EST
From: "C. Lyons; Salem, NH" <LYONS at adc1.adc.ray.com>
Subject: Sucanat
>>From: "Knight,Jonathan G" <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU>
>>Subject: sugar request, data point on aging
>
>>And how do you pronounce "succanat"? Suck a gnat? Sue can not?
>
>It's one "c", Sucanat. It's a contraction of the words sugar cane natural.
>And I pronounce it sue can gnat. It might actually be shoo can gnat.
>I'm eating some now. Yum!
The lady at the Bread & Honey "granola" store in Plaistow NH pronounces
Sucanat as "Suck-a-nut". Just a data point.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 09:21:47 -0500
From: Philip J Difalco <sxupjd at fnma.COM>
Subject: Wyeast reuse/etretching
I have just bought a package of Liquid Wyeast. I'd like to get the most
out of this purchase (ie., I'd like to stretch the use of this package
for successive batches of brew.)
I have read the Zymurgy "Yeast & Beer" Special Issue on yeast stock maintenance
and starter culture production. This maintenance/production is certainly an
involving process when one considers the master culture preparation, working
the culture, and the plethora of equipment needed.
Upon reviewing the HBD, the following was posted by R.Cavasin for the
stretching of Wyeasts. As stated, it's simple, and requires no special
equipment:
> ------------------------------
> Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993
> From: "Rick (R.) Cavasin" <cav at bnr.ca>
> Subject: Wyeast reuse/stretching
>
> Here's the method for stretching the Wyeast that I have been using
> successfully. It's simple, and requires no special equipment.
> ******************************************************************
> Briefly, my suggestion consists of converting the original Wyeast
> package into a number of 'copies' stored in beer bottles.
> ie. it is a parallel propagation rather than a serial propagation
>
> Step 1: Prepare some starter wort (S.G. = 1.020), see Miller's book for
> recipe. Basically, you need about 1/2 gallon, but if you make
> more and can it in mason jars (using standard canning procedures),
> you will not have to prepare more at a later date.
>
> Step 2: Place 1/2 gallon or so of starter wort in a suitable container
> (1 gallon glass jug), pitch (inflated) Wyeast package at correct
> temp. and fit air lock. This is the 'master' starter.
>
> Step 3: Allow to ferment to completion. When fermentation has ceased,
> agitate the 'beer' to suspend all sendiment, and very carefully
> bottle it.
>
> You will now have about 6 bottles of very thin beer with a good deal of
> viable yeast sediment in each bottle. Use each bottle as you would use a
> package of Wyeast - ie. prepare a starter culture a couple days before
> brewing. This is facilitated by canning wort when you prepare the master
> starter. All you need to in that case is pop open a mason jar of wort, dump
> it into a sanitized bottle/jug of appropriate size, pop open one of your
> bottle cultures, add it, agitate vigorously, and fit an air lock.
>
> All yeast starters are of the same 'generation', ie. 'twice removed' from the
> original Wyeast package (as opposed to the usual 'once removed'). This helps
> avoid the accumulated contamination over multiple generations that may occur
> with serial propagation.
> I've had the bottled cultures remain viable for more than 6 months (so far).
>
> Observe proper sanitation and wort aeration procedures thoughout.
> Equipment: 1 gallon jug (for 'master' starter)
> 1.5 litre wine bottle (for subsequent starters)
> air lock
> 6 beer bottles, caps and capper
> Optional equipment: mason jars and canning pot.
>
> ------------------------------
This method seems too simple when compared to the others I've read.
Am I missing something?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of the above method when compared
to the process involving Agar Slant preparation, etc.
Thanks for your responses.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 9:29:32 CST
From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec)
Subject: big brewers brewing ales?
Joe Mulligan recalls a friend of his being on a tasting panel for
a "bass-like" product from Miller Brewing. I recently saw a news
blurb announcing Miller Special Reserve Amber Ale, and its description
fits Joe's. Miller appears to be using the Special Reserve name
for specialty or super-premium beers, as it has already brought to
market Miller Special Reserve 100% Barley Beer, a blond, all-malt
beer. I have not tasted the Amber Ale, and am wondering: is it
amber? is it an ale? is it hopped above the taste threshold?
In launching the beer, Miller could be responding to Bass and
Sam Adams. A spokesperson for Miller said that they believe there
is money to be made selling ales, although it is a relatively small
market for them and would account for 1% of their sales. It also
appears that Heileman's, or someone contracting with them at La Crosse,
is brewing Windy City Ale, and Pabst, or someone contracting with
them, is brewing Old Tankard.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 8:46:02 MST
From: Rick Myers <rcm at col.hp.com>
Subject: Sierra archives - Hymn to Ninkasi
I retrieved the Hymn To Ninkasi file pub/homebrew/docs/hymn_to_ninkasi
from sierra.stanford.edu, and discovered it was a transcription I had
given someone via private email. This is fine, however, the file has
the last paragraph and a half missing. If whoever submitted it to the
archives would like to have a good copy there, please email me and I
will supply them with a good one.
- --
Rick Myers rcm at col.hp.com
Information Technology Specialist
Hewlett-Packard
Network Test Division
Colorado Springs, CO
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 10:19:45 -0500 (EST)
From: R_GELINAS at UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: sterilize?, sugars, bleach/Chimay
>Steam Sterilization: (p.49)
> ...
>At least 30 min steam treatment at 1 bar over pressure after the equipment
>has heated to 100C is necessary to achieve sterilisation of a
>cleaned piece of equipment."
Yes, for *sterilization*. *Sanitization*, which is sufficient for most of
homebrewing, is much less rigorous, and more easily achieved. Steam and
boiling water seem to be very good sanitizers.
For anyone interested, I found both Turbinado sugar and Sucanat at the
Granite State Natural Foods store in Concord, NH. The Sucanat was about
$2.75(!)/lb., the Turbinado was $1.35/lb. GSNF also has a decent selection
of homebrew supplies. Most prices are good, but some things (throughout the
store) are very high. Pay attention, or pay through the nose.
Re. my Chimay clone that had bleach water backwashed up the blow-off tube:
Well it's fine. No indication of chlorine-induced problems. It's phenolic,
but no more than would be expected with Chimay yeast. My guess is that the
amount of chlorine that actually got in was less than what would have been
there anyway if I didn't boil all the water before starting. Morale: Relax,
Don't worry......and don't use bleach in the blow-off bucket.
Rg
OPAL/ESP
UNH
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 9:43:55 MST
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Re: Dark grains at mashout, manifold
> >The subject came up at our homebrew meeting last night, and
> >Fred Lang, the brewmaster at our local micro, agreed with Micah. He said to
> >put the dark grains in for just ten or twenty minutes at the end, while
> >mashing out.
>
> This is dependent on your brewing water. In Munich, the dominant style used
> to be a Dunkel, made with dark grains. This was because the dark grains
> would acidify the Munich water and dark lagers just came out better than
> paler ones. If your water is soft, then you may indeed want to only
> add the dark grains in during mashout.
As a datapoint, an award-winning porter I made (the one using Hallertau
hops) did not have any roasted grains added until mash-out, and it
definitely was not anything like Michelob Dark! 10-15 minutes at
typical mash-out temp of 170F or so imparts plenty of color and nice
roasty character. (The water here in Fort Collins tends to be fairly
soft.)
> When using the manifold does one also use a mesh grain bag or
> does one just add grain to the mash tun with out a screen or
> mesh bag over the manifold?
You don't need to use anything other than the manifold; just dump the
grain right on top of it. Just make sure you have the slots facing down
against the bottom of the vessel.
> I have ten feet of 3/8" od soft copper tubing left over from
> constructing a wort chiller. I have considered using this
> to construct a slotted copper manifold. Is this diameter
> adequate?
I don't see why not. The only difference is that you'll get a slower
rate of drainage. This may even be an advantage, since with 1/2"
tubing you have to restrict the flow anyway.
> Is there any problem using PVC pipe and connectors instead of
> copper, besides philosphical issues.
Again, I don't see any reason not to. The only thing you might want
to check is the acid resistance of the PVC, since your wort will be
somewhat more acidic than plain water.
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji at hpfcla.fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado
"Midnight shakes the memory as a madman shakes a dead geranium."
- T.S. Eliot
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 08:42:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Paul dArmond <paulf at henson.cc.wwu.edu>
Subject: Dark grains at mashout
Before the quibble and flame wars get started (sigh) I'd like to make a
plug for adding dark grains at mashout. I've tried this on two batches of
porter [my current favorite] since reading about it here, and I'M A BELIEVER!
Dark grains have a lot of potential for harshness and astringency, adding
the chocolate and patent in the mashout gave me a rich, coffee-like yummy
luscious wonderful marvelous flavor and I like it. Give it a try before
the "angels dancing on the head of a pin" theoretical arguments put a dead
sheep in the well.
Nullus in Verbum.
Paul.
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Date: 22 Mar 1993 11:38:11 GMT
From: "Stinson-Jeff" <MSMAIL.STINSONJ at TSOD.lmig.com>
Subject: Brewpubs in New Jersey
Some associates and I are being sent (kicking and screaming) for a
lovely weekend in the Seacaucus/Carlstadt N.J. area. We expect to have
one free evening in which to experience the local brewpub scene. If
anyone knows of worthy establishments in the area please forward via
e-mail.
Your help is needed to salvage an otherwise work/boredom filled
weekend!!
Thanks,
Jeff MSMAIL.STINSONJ at TSOD.LMIG.COM
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 12:24:36 EST
From: Andrius Tamulis <ATAMULIS at ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Flaked barley question
This past friday I brewed a stout, which marked the first time I had ever
used flaked barley in a beer. It was an all grain recipe, and the mash went
well, but the sparge was terribly slow - by far the slowest I've ever had.
Now according to Papazian and Miller, this is caused by some kind of
stuff that's in the flaked barley (beta glucans? who can remember all these
names for things in beer, anyway). Miller sais that the way to deal with
this is with lager malt and a protein rest (the lager malt has more enzymes
of the needed kind for protein breakdown). Papazian mentions the problem,
offers no solution, and does no protein rest for his all-grain stout recipe,
which does include flaked barley. A quick perusal of the stout/porter
section of the Cat's Meow reveals about a 50/50 split of protein rest/
no protein rest of people who use flaked barley in all-grain brews.
So what do I do to make it all run smoother next time? Nothing - and live with
it? Do a protien rest? With or without lager malt?
Any comments are appreciated.
andrius
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 11:41 CST
From: arf at genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Spelling, Jackson
>From: bradley at adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
>Subject: Yeast Lab, Hallertau in porters
^^^^^^^^^
>Thanks to all who replied on the subject of Hallertauer in porters.
^^^^^^^^^^^
Would someone please provide the correct spelling for this word?
Just when I thought I knew, I bumped into the "er" at the end in my newly
acquired, SIGNED COPY of FIX and here we have both spelling in the same
article.
>From: korz at iepubj.att.com
>With all due respect to you, Jack, and at the risk of bringing an abrupt
end to the pleasant demeanor (and humor) you've recently displayed in
HBD, I'd like to dispute Ken Pavichevich's claims that Baderbrau is a
Pilsener.
Tis not my wont to end pleasant things by propounding on that which I know
nothing about.
I was simply re-stating claims made by the brewer. The claims (also by the
brewer) that M.Jackson ageed, seemed to offer some weight but after all, they
are all in it for one reason and the tendancy to offer mutual support seems
to over ride absolute truth.
Frankly, if what you say is true, it reflects more negatively on Jackson than
it does on the brewer. If Jackson went around telling brewers they made
lousy beer, he would would have to get a real job. He feeds his own
popularity by dropping little jewels around at strategic places so people can
use them for PR purposes.
js
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 10:16:19 -0800
From: "Stephen Hansen" <hansen at gloworm.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Re: Manifold Design and use ??
In HBD 1102 Lee Menegoni <necis!lmenegon at transfer.stratus.com> writes:
> I have ten feet of 3/8" od soft copper tubing left over from
> constructing a wort chiller. I have considered using this
> to construct a slotted copper manifold. Is this diameter
> adequate? or should I use the Tee and plumbing stock type
> of pipe.
I've got three feet of 3/8" copper in a 5 gallon cylindrical
Gott cooler and it seems to work just fine. I removed the push
button tap and replaced it with a drum tap. There is a stopper
at the inside of the drum tap and the copper comes out of it and
goes straight across the diameter of the cooler and then circles
around the circumference. I've got slots every half inch or so,
which is probably overkill.
I would try and get uniform coverage so if you are using a larger
rectangular cooler you would need more copper. You might also
want to go with a branching manifold with a rectangular cooler to
get more uniform drainage.
> When using the manifold does one also use a mesh grain bag or
> does one just add grain to the mash tun with out a screen or
> mesh bag over the manifold?
A grain bag probably wouldn't hurt but I haven't found it to be
necessary.
> Is there any problem using PVC pipe and connectors instead of
> copper, besides philosphical issues. It is used for hot and
> cold water plumbing in some new construction so it is able
> to handle mas/sparge temps.
I would say that if you can use it for drinking water at sparge
temperatures then it should be safe for this purpose. The only
caveat on using normal food preparation materials in brewing seems
to be related to how they perform in an alkaline environment.
Stephen Hansen
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 12:42:36 CST
From: Jacob Galley <gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Suggestions for 2 specialty brews
Does anyone have a recipe for Moxie? I want to make a Moxish Porter,
but don't really know where to begin.
Further down on the feasibility scale, I am tantalized by the idea of
a SEVEN GRAIN BEER. Surely this is not a unique idea. Does anyone know
of any previous attempts at this? I'm thinking this would include
barley (50-60%), wheat, rye, oats, rice (?), corn (?), millet (??). I
envision this as an amber, steamy lager.
If I actually go through with this next weekend, it will be my first
full mash. But a little voice in my head says this will be a total
disaster. Maybe I should gain some mashing experience before
attempting anything this questionable.
Any suggestions or warnings would be appreciated.
Have fun,
Jake.
"JUST DO IT yourself." <------------- Jacob Galley / gal2 at midway.uchicago.edu
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Date: 22 Mar 1993 14:46:06 -0400
From: Ed Hitchcock <ECH at ac.dal.ca>
Subject: slotted manifolds
Lee Menegoni asks:
>Is there any problem using PVC pipe and connectors instead of
>copper, besides philosphical issues. It is used for hot and
>cold water plumbing in some new construction so it is able
> to handle mas/sparge temps.
I just made a PVC slotted drain manifold for about $10 that works
beautifully. On advantage with PVC is that the lengths of pipe and the
connectors fit snugly, forming an airtight seal, without gluing. Thus one
can disassemble the whole thing and clean it out after use. Also, by
removing the washer from inside the 3/4"threaded-1/2"smooth adapter, I was
able to use it in place of the nut on my spigot. Thus it easily adapted to
my already existing system, making my bucket-full-of-holes obsolete. (Now
I use the former "zapap" inner bucket to carry my brewing supplies up and
down the stairs). The PVC resists the heat of sparging without any
problem. The only difficulty was getting the glue from the price tags off
the connectors :)
My manifold is an almost complete square with a diagonal leading up
to the spigot (the spigot was just too high to connect directly, but too
low for an elbow and a Tee), with projections from the one side into the
middle. Slots are facing down. With this setup the sparge cleared after
about 2 Litres of recirc., and all but about 1 cup of liquid was drawn off.
spigot
|_________
\
____________ |
| |
| |
| --------------+
| |
| |
|________________|
ed
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 14:19:00 EST
From: Bill Ridgely FTS 402-1521 <RIDGELY at A1.CBER.FDA.GOV>
Subject: Clinton E-Mail
Those folks who missed the Mar 22 edition of the Washington Post
may want to copy down the following presidential e-mail addresses.
Apparently, the prez is a big fan of e-mail and is receiving
upwards of 700 messages a day (I'm sure he reads every one!).
Perhaps we should put him on the HBD mailing list. One of our local
micros (Oxford Brewing Co) was put under contract to make a special
"Inaugurale" for the recent festivities, so someone in the
administration takes a liking to quality beer (probably Hilary).
Anyway, here's the addresses:
75300.3115 at compuserve.com (via CompuServe)
clintonpz at aol.com (via America Online)
clinton-hq at campaign92.org (via MCI Mail)
Have fun, and let's keep those mailboxes full!
Bill
ridgely at cber.cber.fda.gov
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 15:55 EDT
From: Kieran O'Connor <OCONNOR%SNYCORVA.bitnet at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Fridge Capacities
A note in the HBD indicated a brewer who had difficulty getting his
fridge down to 32 degrees. This is so because the fridge's internal
thermostat has a range only down to about 38-40. To remedy this,
remove the internal thermostat, connect the wires, and rely on the
outside (William's or Hunter) thermostat.
My fridge origianlly only went to 40, but with only the external
themostat, I got it to 28. The problem is that the internal one kicks
out before it lets the fridge get down to 32.
Does this make sense? I have an article from our club newsletter, and
would be glad to mail it to you--send a message with the subject "
fridge" and I'll send it to you.
Kieran O'Connor
E-Mail Addresses:
Bitnet: oconnor at snycorva
Internet: oconnor at snycorva.cortland.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Mar 1993 13:21:14 U
From: "Rad Equipment" <rad_equipment at rad-mac1.ucsf.edu>
Subject: Underletting Strike
Subject: Underletting Strike Time:12:58 PM Date:3/22/93
The recently turned pro, Micah Millspaw, once spoke about his method of adding
the strike water to his grains by underletting (feeding the liquid into the
bottom of the grain bed.
I tried this over the past weekend. I have a slotted copper manifold in the
bottom of a 48 quart cooler. I just ran the strike water in thru the manifold
and let it fill the cooler where the grain was already in place. This was for a
10 gallon batch so there was 21 lbs of grain and the water used was 1qt/lb.
I cannot report that I was required to do less mixing. Micah felt that the
method provided for less dry spots in the grain bed. I stirred for my normal 10
minutes before I was satisfied that the grain was completely wet. The
temperature of the grain bed did seem to be more uniform and my target
temperature was accurate so the transfer of temperature is the same as my
regular method.
The greatest advantage to this method was the reduction in grain dust and the
ease of combining the two materials. I normally pour the grain in with one arm
and stir with the other as the water pours in from my hot liquor tank. By
underletting I was able to have more control over pouring the dry grain into
the empty cooler and then just opened the valve from the hot tank and added the
strike water. All but the top inch of grain was wet prior to my stirring. I
expected the grain to float more than it did.
I like it!
RW...
Russ Wigglesworth (INTERNET: Rad_Equipment at radmac1.ucsf.edu - CI$: 72300,61)
UCSF Dept. of Radiology, San Francisco, CA (415) 476-3668 / 474-8126
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Date: Sat, 27 Feb 93 07:43:00 -0500
From: roy.rudebusch at travel.com (Roy Rudebusch)
Subject: DRY HOPPING
From: roy.rudebusch at travel.com
Subject: dry-hopping vs. hop nose
DH:>that the way to
DH:>retain good hop aroma is to dry hop in a *sealed* secondary, so the goodies
DH:>aren't lost thru the air lock. Is that safe in plastic/glass?
Hop nose is achieved by boiling pellet hops for two min. and
loose hops for 5 min.
Dry-hopping seems to contribute mostly to palate flavor.
The best way to achieve maximum hop nose would be to utilize a
"hop cage". Run hot wort through these hops on the way to
a counterflow chiller. This would be "distillation" of the volatile hop
compounds.
Here is Pale Ale I just brewed:
11 Gal 1060
14# U.S. 2-row
4# Munich, Ireks
4# CaraVienne
2# Aromatic
30 HBUs Centennial
finished with 1 1/2 oz Centennial loose hops (boiled 5 min.)
Chilled with immersion chiller
W-1028 repitch.
OBTW, I have also discovered that filtering tends to *improve* the hop
flavor and hop nose of a beer. The beer flavors are cleaned up thus
allowing the hop goodness to shine through.
Brew on.
* OLX 2.2 * If your mind goes blank, remember to turn off the sound.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 93 15:33:00 -0500
From: roy.rudebusch at travel.com (Roy Rudebusch)
Subject: Re: Making a Corona malt
From: roy.rudebusch at travel.com
Subject: Re: Making a Corona malt ready
breiden at dsuvax.dsu.edu (Danny Breidenbach) writes:
OK -- I weighed the alternatives and my budget and got a Corona -- I
wanted a Maltmill -- but $50 more is $50 more. Maybe later ...
anyway -- now that I have this Corona -- now that I've assembled it --
I seem to remember hearing about various tweaks and modifications to
make it better for malt ---
Jack Scmidling:
JS:>Tighten both nuts that hold the thing together first. No matter
JS:>what anyone tells you, these must be tight. Then adjust the large
JS:>wingnut so that something the thickness of a dime will just barely
JS:>pass between the two plates. You must have a gauge on both sides at
JS:>the same time to do this.
Well said! But I would like to elaborate:
First, disassemble and wash with dishsoap.
Remove and do not replace the inner snap ring. The only purpose for this
ring was to prevent from losing the steel ball when it is disassembled!
To remove the snap ring just turn in the adjustment screw till the
ring is pushed out.
Remove the cotter key from the shaft and adjust the plate so it is more
perpendicular to the shaft. The mobile plate needs to run a parallel
course to the fixed plate. The hub may give some options for refitting.
Also the cotter key may need to be replaced.
File the end of shaft so it smooth and flat.
Crush on!
* OLX 2.2 * Corona Mill
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Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 16:34:53 -0600 (CST)
From: BIRMINGH at FNAL.FNAL.GOV (Hi-keeba!)
Subject: Ulick's Freezer
Ulick says:
>But I have a few more which refer to lagering. I can probably fit
>4 or 5 carboys in the freezer and so can now do long lagering, but
>what do I do when adding a new beer to the lager? Obviosly It would be
>bad to adjust the temperature upwards from 40 or lower to step down
>a new addition. I have another small refrigerator that can take a 5 gallon
>carboy that I use now, and could continue to use for step downs or 32
>lagering for those extra special beers. Also, how do people do
>summer primary fermentations? I wouldn't want to raise the temperature in
>the freezer even to 48, and because my 7 gallon carboys will not fit in the
>refrigerator, will I be forced to use a blow off tube and 5 gallon carboys?
>Any suggestions?
One thing I have seen (in a different context, but fairly valid
anyway) is to keep the freezer as cold as you want the coldest of your
beers to be, and heat the carboys to the temperature you want. You can
get flexible heating elements that could be wrapped around a carboy,
and these in conjunction with a thermostat and strategically-placed
temperature probe, could keep a carboy of beer at whatever temperature
you desired.
The only thing I can see wrong with this is that it is apt to be
expensive.
Phillip Birmingham
birmingham at fne683.fnal.gov
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1103, 03/23/93