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

Contents:
  Re: Yeast Activation? (dw)
  Thermostat for fridge (Monty Wood)
  Re:  Homebrew Digest #115 (March 31, 1989) (Paul Perlmutter)
  straining (Algis R Korzonas +1 312 979 8583)
  Re:  Homebrew Digest #113 (March 29, 1989) (Peter LaPine)
  homebrew alias (H.David Scarbro x6608)
  Wyeast strain #1084 (Martin Weinberg)
  address changes (H.David Scarbro x6608)

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Date: 31 Mar 89 09:11:59 EST (Friday)
From: dw <Wegeng.Henr at Xerox.COM>
Subject: Re: Yeast Activation?

>Martin A. Lodahl says:
>
>...the directions on the (Emde Ale) yeast
>package said to sprinkle the little pellets on the top of the
>(cooled) wort, but the kit directions said to mix with a couple
>tablespoons of tepid water.  I tried the latter, which instantly
>produced a glob of incredibly sticky beige goop!

I use the method described in your kit (bread bakers call this "proofing"),
and have experienced the same problem when using some brands of yeast
(though I don't remember which ones). My solution is to sprinkle a small
amount of the dried yeast into the container of tepid water, then stir,
then add some more yeast, stir some more, etc. This seems to work pretty
well, though I still end up with a couple small globs of yeast.

BTW, don't add the proofed yeast to the wort unless you see bubbles start
to form on top. The bubbles are formed by the now activated yeast, and
indicate that the yeast is still alive.

/Don

Wegeng.Henr at Xerox.COM

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 10:39 CST
From: Monty Wood <WOOD%ADMIN.USask.CA at CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: Thermostat for fridge

Hi...

Does anybody have the make/model no. of a thermostat to replace the one
in a fridge to make it the correct brew temp?  (Will make it a little
easier to phone around for one.)

Thanks

Monty Wood
wood at admin.usask.ca

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 11:32:20 mst
From: Paul Perlmutter <paul at hppaul>
Subject: Re:  Homebrew Digest #115 (March 31, 1989)

>   The cost is also intolerable. When I make a batch of beer with
> $5 of grain and $1.50 of hops, why should I spend $4.25 for 
> yeast? For the past few months I've split Wyeast packets
> between a starter and 2-3 sterilized culture tubes and then used
> the tubes with starters for later batches. I've had no problems
> with culturing yeast from tubes that have been in my fridge for
> up to 8 weeks.

I agree.  Yeast should cost pennies - not dollars!  Moreover,
there are many good brews that still have active cultures, such
as Sierra Nevada - which can view as "free".  But liquid yeast 
pouches will always provide a greater variety.

You have to start freezing the cultures.  Letting it sit around
in the refrigerator is inviting trouble,  whereas freezing it
is becoming the absolutely safest way to go.  

> Then I hit a (minor) snag:  the directions on the (Emde Ale) yeast
> package said to sprinkle the little pellets on the top of the
> (cooled) wort, but the kit directions said to mix with a couple
> tablespoons of tepid water.  I tried the latter, which instantly
> produced a glob of incredibly sticky beige goop!  Adding slightly
> more water didn't seem to help, so I just scraped it into the wort
> as best I could, and stirred, which didn't break it up at all.  I
> checked it 90 minutes later before going to bed, and to my
> astonishment, the glob had spread over several inches of the
> surface, and a bubble appeared in my blowoff pail!  When I left for
> work this morning it was bubbling merrily away.  

Dried Yeast is funny product.  It can glob badly.  Just ask any
cook who regularly bakes bread.  But since it is an active culture,
the globbing goes away by sitting in tepid water.  Relax, and be
patient with yeast.  If you are going to pitch it without using
a starter,  just pitch it into the fermenter.

I have recently become convinced that the best way to go is to
always put yeast in a small starter bottle, before pitching it
into a large fermenter of wort.  You are guaranteed the yeast
is alive, it has started, and it is very active.  It is convenient
also if you want to freeze a small portion of the starter for
another time.

It would be interesting to know people's experience using yeasts
cultured directly from commercial brews that are not pastuerized,
such as Sierra Nevada (and Samuel Adams?).

Paul Perlmutter

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 11:13:59 CST
From: hplabs!uiucdcs!iwtsf!korz (Algis R Korzonas +1 312 979 8583)
Subject: straining

Hello--
A number of you may remember my posting (about a year ago)
about my clogged blowoff tube and subsequent beer volcano.
Well, rather than worrying, I immediately doubled the 
diameter of my blowoff tube, AND, started using a mesh
"hop bag."  The hop bag, I was told by my retailer (Greg 
Lawrence - Lil' Olde Winemaking Shoppe), is made of polyester,
not nylon as many posters have mentioned.  A chemist or two
may want to comment, but I believe that nylon still contains
aromatic hyrdocarbons, which I would rather keep out of my
beer.  Anyway, since I started using the mesh bags (note 
plural - one for boiling hops and one for finishing hops),
I have had no problems with clogging, and, as noted by others, 
cleanup is a snap.  Note: I also use a large mesh bag for
specialty grains which eliminates the need for scooping out
the grains with a strainer when the water begins to boil.
Al.

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 09:33:23 est
From: Peter LaPine <lapine%odin.m2c.org at RELAY.CS.NET>
Subject: Re:  Homebrew Digest #113 (March 29, 1989)

Re:  Jim at SUNY Binghampton

a watched wort pot seldom seems to boil over.  It watches for you to leave
the room, then makes the mess all over your stove or range.
as far as racking hot wort, yeow!  5 gallons of just boiled wort is quite
tricky to handle!  I'm not even that excited about carrying it from my
kitchen to bathroom (to cool in the bathtub of cold water)

I wouldn't bother to try and filter the beer when you bottle it.  It seems
you've had enough problems with this batch.  Let's keep things simple for
the rest of it.  As the beer sits it'll clear quite a bit on it's own.

good luck and give ti another try!  think of all you've learned already!

have a homebrew!	;^)

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 11:14:59 EST
From: ileaf!io!penguin!hds at EDDIE.MIT.EDU (H.David Scarbro x6608)
Subject: homebrew alias

This is a test of the private mailing list "homebrew" that I asked sysadmin to
setup.

I plan to send this address to the email "Homebrew Digest".  At the same time
I will ask them to remove all other Interleaf subscribers.  This will make it
possible to easily add/delete receipients at Interleaf.  It will also
eliminate multiple copies of this digest being sent to Interleaf.

Please let me know if you would like to have your name removed "homebrew".

Names currently on homebrew list: chris, dbjag, hds, kathryn, rob, tomp.

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 15:37:45 EST
From: weinberg at duvel.ias.edu (Martin Weinberg)
Subject: Wyeast strain #1084

My experience with Wyeast strains is nearly identical to those
described by Pete Soper.  I recently brewed three extract based 
pales; one using Wyeast American Ale, one using Brewer's Choice Ale, and one using Edme.  The Wyeast American Ale was superb!  The
attenuation and flocculation was excellent with very nice ale
character (O.G. 1042, F.G. 1011).  It took roughly 48 hrs. after
pitching to get going, however.  3 weeks after bottling the beer
was beautifully clear with a compact yeast cake.

The Brewer's Choice was similar but seemed to be slighly cleaner 
(less estery).  

The Edme attempt was O.K. but had a number of "funny"flavors 
which I have tentatively identified with autolysis but I'm 
not sure (can someone describe how autolysed yeast tastes?). 
I have noticed that consistently much more yeast is produced using 
the dried yeast than the liquid yeast cultures.  Are we overpitching
when we use the dried yeasts?

I have not seen Leistad's book on yeast.  Does somebody know where
I can get a copy?

Finally, Pete Soper asks:

> Can anybody comment on strain #1084 ("Irish Ale")?

I am currently fermenting a stout (grain + extract) using #1084.
The fermentation has been faster than my pale ales with much shorter
lag time initially.  I'll will comment on the final product when
all is done.

-Martin Weinberg
 guinness.ias.edu

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Date: Fri, 31 Mar 89 21:23:23 EST
From: ileaf!io!penguin!hds at EDDIE.MIT.EDU (H.David Scarbro x6608)
Subject: address changes

Currently there are a couple of people receiving the HOMEBREW Digest at
Interleaf.  Several others would like to.  To miminize the amount of mail
going across country we have set up an alias that can be used in place of the
mailings direct to individuals:

    UUCP: ..!{sun!sunne,mit-eddie}!ileaf!homebrew
    Internet: homebrew at ileaf.com

Please remove all other Interleaf (ileaf) email addresses that are on your
distribution list.

Thanks.

----
David Scarbro                          UUCP: ..!{sun!sunne,mit-eddie}!ileaf!hds
Interleaf, Inc.                        Internet: hds at ileaf.com
10 Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141     Phone: (617)577-9800 x6608

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