HOMEBREW Digest #1179 Mon 12 July 1993

Digest #1178 Digest #1180


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


Contents:
  flat beer (Rich Ryan)
  A Handy Table for Keg Pressure (Alan Edwards)
  yeast FAQ/filters/temps (ghultin)
  India Pale Ale's (John Mare)
  Steam Kettle (Jack Schmidling)
  Farmer/Engineer etc. (Gene Zimmerman)
  AdvertisingWyeast (fjdobner)
  re: Specialty Products Intl (Elaine)
  Not enough body & Brewpubs (Wolfe)
  Not enough body & Brewpubs (Wolfe)
  Re: Besieged by baleful bacteria (Brian Davis)
  Burners for Culturing (Glenn Raudins)
  Priming with Maple syrup (Gary Rich)
  Sparge Manifold/100% Wheat Beer/Balling vs. SG (Randall Holt)
  Guinness (Leo Reilly)
  unscribe (gdm15)
  hops storage, victory malt (Jonathan G Knight)
  The Boiling Vessel (Glenn D. Foerster)
  Pike's Place yeast (Mike Tavis)
  Fermenting in 100 degree weather ("Anderso_A")
  Re: Starters ("John DeCarlo")
  Re: Cheap carboys (wegeng.henr801c)
  Content and Siphons ("John DeCarlo")
  partial-boil is what I'm after ("I grew up on rock 'n' roll, but these blues won't leave me alone  09-Jul-1993 0932 -0400")
  Re: Pin lock fitting removal (man)
  Re: Low SG ("John DeCarlo")
  Hot Break and Hops ("John DeCarlo")
  What's wrong with my wheat beer? (Johann Klaassen)
  sugar in beer (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  cider ("Sweet, Timothy")
  220V Airstat (Jack Schmidling)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 12:37:51 -0400 From: Rich Ryan <ryancr at install4.swin.oasis.gtegsc.com> Subject: flat beer Let me start by saying I'm a neophyte in the homebrew field. I just bottled my first batch three weeks ago. The beer tastes fine other than being somewhat flat. Papazian's troubleshooting section came to two conclusions: 1) I left an excessive amount of sterilant in the bottles or 2) I'm storing the beer at excessively cool temperatures. I used B-brite to sanitize the bottles and equipment and was very diligent to make sure I washed it all off. As far as storing the beer goes, it hasn't gone below 70 since it was bottled. Can anyone suggest any other possible reasons for the lack of carbonation? I also read somewhere else in Papazian's book that you should leave about an inch of air space in each bottle. I noticed that I have more like two inches of air space in each bottle. Could this have some effect on the carbonation. It would seem that as I increase the air space in each bottle the carbonation should increase as well. Rich Ryan Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 09:59:50 PDT From: rush at xanadu.llnl.gov (Alan Edwards) Subject: A Handy Table for Keg Pressure Hello fellow brewmeisters, While we're on the subject of kegging and pressure, I've come up with a formula and a table for determining what pressure to apply to achieve a certain carbonation level. I believe that this table is more useful compared to the other table that has appeared on the HBD and elsewhere. It's smaller (fits easily in an 80 column window), but contains all the needed information in a more obvious arrangement. (It makes more sense to me to ask "what pressure do I need" rather than "what do I get if I use this pressure"). Besides, it can do any temperature. You can print the table out and stick it in your brewing logbook or on the side of your kegs. TABLE Look at the row that corresponds to your keg temperature, and read the number at the column corresponding to the desired carbonation level. That number is the pressure to apply to the beer, in PSI. PRESSURE REQUIRED FOR DESIRED CARBONATION Volumes of CO2 desired Temp 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 32F 3.5 4.4 5.4 6.3 7.3 8.2 9.2 10.1 11.0 12.0 12.9 34F 4.3 5.3 6.3 7.3 8.2 9.2 10.2 11.2 12.1 13.1 14.1 36F 5.1 6.2 7.2 8.2 9.2 10.2 11.2 12.3 13.3 14.3 15.3 38F 6.0 7.0 8.1 9.1 10.2 11.2 12.3 13.3 14.4 15.4 16.5 40F 6.8 7.9 9.0 10.1 11.2 12.3 13.4 14.4 15.5 16.6 17.7 42F 7.7 8.8 10.0 11.1 12.2 13.3 14.4 15.5 16.7 17.8 18.9 44F 8.6 9.7 10.9 12.1 13.2 14.4 15.5 16.7 17.8 19.0 20.1 46F 9.5 10.7 11.8 13.0 14.2 15.4 16.6 17.8 19.0 20.2 21.3 48F 10.4 11.6 12.8 14.0 15.3 16.5 17.7 18.9 20.1 21.4 22.6 50F 11.3 12.5 13.8 15.0 16.3 17.6 18.8 20.1 21.3 22.6 23.8 52F 12.2 13.5 14.8 16.1 17.3 18.6 19.9 21.2 22.5 23.8 25.1 54F 13.1 14.4 15.7 17.1 18.4 19.7 21.1 22.4 23.7 25.0 26.3 56F 14.0 15.4 16.7 18.1 19.5 20.8 22.2 23.6 24.9 26.3 27.6 58F 15.0 16.4 17.8 19.2 20.6 21.9 23.3 24.7 26.1 27.5 28.9 60F 15.9 17.3 18.8 20.2 21.6 23.1 24.5 25.9 27.4 28.8 30.2 62F 16.9 18.3 19.8 21.3 22.7 24.2 25.7 27.1 28.6 30.0 31.5 64F 17.8 19.3 20.8 22.3 23.8 25.3 26.8 28.3 29.8 31.3 32.8 66F 18.8 20.3 21.9 23.4 25.0 26.5 28.0 29.6 31.1 32.6 34.1 68F 19.8 21.4 22.9 24.5 26.1 27.6 29.2 30.8 32.4 33.9 35.5 70F 20.8 22.4 24.0 25.6 27.2 28.8 30.4 32.0 33.6 35.2 36.8 72F 21.8 23.4 25.1 26.7 28.4 30.0 31.6 33.3 34.9 36.5 38.2 74F 22.8 24.5 26.2 27.8 29.5 31.2 32.9 34.5 36.2 37.9 39.5 76F 23.8 25.5 27.2 29.0 30.7 32.4 34.1 35.8 37.5 39.2 40.9 78F 24.9 26.6 28.4 30.1 31.8 33.6 35.3 37.1 38.8 40.5 42.3 80F 25.9 27.7 29.5 31.2 33.0 34.8 36.6 38.3 40.1 41.9 43.7 PRESSURE REQUIRED FOR DESIRED CARBONATION Volumes of CO2 desired Temp 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 01C 4.2 5.2 6.2 7.2 8.1 9.1 10.1 11.1 12.0 13.0 14.0 02C 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 03C 5.7 6.8 7.8 8.9 9.9 10.9 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.1 16.1 04C 6.5 7.6 8.6 9.7 10.8 11.9 12.9 14.0 15.1 16.1 17.2 05C 7.3 8.4 9.5 10.6 11.7 12.8 13.9 15.0 16.1 17.2 18.3 06C 8.1 9.2 10.3 11.5 12.6 13.7 14.9 16.0 17.1 18.2 19.4 07C 8.8 10.0 11.2 12.3 13.5 14.7 15.8 17.0 18.2 19.3 20.5 08C 9.6 10.8 12.0 13.2 14.4 15.6 16.8 18.0 19.2 20.4 21.6 09C 10.4 11.7 12.9 14.1 15.4 16.6 17.8 19.0 20.3 21.5 22.7 10C 11.3 12.5 13.8 15.0 16.3 17.6 18.8 20.1 21.3 22.6 23.8 11C 12.1 13.4 14.7 16.0 17.2 18.5 19.8 21.1 22.4 23.7 25.0 12C 12.9 14.2 15.6 16.9 18.2 19.5 20.8 22.1 23.5 24.8 26.1 13C 13.7 15.1 16.4 17.8 19.2 20.5 21.9 23.2 24.5 25.9 27.2 14C 14.6 16.0 17.4 18.7 20.1 21.5 22.9 24.3 25.6 27.0 28.4 15C 15.4 16.8 18.3 19.7 21.1 22.5 23.9 25.3 26.7 28.1 29.6 16C 16.3 17.7 19.2 20.6 22.1 23.5 25.0 26.4 27.8 29.3 30.7 17C 17.1 18.6 20.1 21.6 23.1 24.5 26.0 27.5 29.0 30.4 31.9 18C 18.0 19.5 21.0 22.6 24.1 25.6 27.1 28.6 30.1 31.6 33.1 19C 18.9 20.4 22.0 23.5 25.1 26.6 28.1 29.7 31.2 32.7 34.3 20C 19.8 21.4 22.9 24.5 26.1 27.6 29.2 30.8 32.4 33.9 35.5 21C 20.7 22.3 23.9 25.5 27.1 28.7 30.3 31.9 33.5 35.1 36.7 22C 21.6 23.2 24.9 26.5 28.1 29.8 31.4 33.0 34.6 36.3 37.9 23C 22.5 24.2 25.8 27.5 29.2 30.8 32.5 34.1 35.8 37.5 39.1 24C 23.4 25.1 26.8 28.5 30.2 31.9 33.6 35.3 37.0 38.7 40.3 25C 24.3 26.1 27.8 29.5 31.3 33.0 34.7 36.4 38.1 39.9 41.6 REFERENCE Volumes of CO2: British style beers = 2.00 - 2.40 Most other beers = 2.40 - 2.85 High-carbonation beers = 2.85 - 2.95 FORMULA If you use a spreadsheet or a programmable calculator for your brewing endeavors, this formula works very well (it was used to create the table): Pressure = F(Temperature, Volume) P = -16.6999 - 0.0101059 T + 0.00116512 T^2 + 0.173354 T V + 4.24267 V - 0.0684226 V^2 C-SHELL For you Unix users, here's the above formula converted to a C-shell script called "pressure": - ---------------------------------CUT-HERE---------------------------------- #!/bin/csh -f if ($#argv != 2) then echo "pressure: calculate pressure needed to acheive a certain volume" echo " of C02 in solution." echo "Usage: pressure volume temperature (F)" exit 1 endif set vol = $1 set temp = $2 set eqn1 = "scale=2;(-16.6999-0.0101059*$temp+0.00116512*$temp*$temp+0.173354" set eqn2 = "*$temp*$vol+4.24267*$vol-0.0684226*$vol*$vol+.005)/1" set pressure = `echo "$eqn1$eqn2" | bc` echo "To get $vol volumes of C02 into solution at $temp degrees F, you need:" echo "$pressure PSI" - ---------------------------------CUT-HERE---------------------------------- Have fun, -Alan .------------------------------------. | Alan Edwards: rush at xanadu.llnl.gov | Member: The Hoppy Cappers | or: Alan-Edwards at llnl.gov | homebrew club, Modesto, CA `------------------------------------' Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 10:16:59 PDT From: ghultin at sfu.ca Subject: yeast FAQ/filters/temps I certainly would like a yeast FAQ. I think that would be a tremendous help for new/intermediate brewers and for those like me who simply want to learn more. FAQs make a great place to learn enough to ask intelligent questions. I have a question about filtering beer. Out of curiosity, I just made some quasi-czech pilsner at a U-Brew-It-Here place, and they of course filter their beer to get that commercial look. Why should I filter, or not filter my homebrew? What would it do for my beer? (by the way, I have chosen not to patronize those brew-places again, they charge exhorbitant rates). Finally, I would like some information on warm temp brewing. If brewing ales, what are the consquences of fermenting between 18-24 degrees C ? My apartment is not air-con. nor do I have a basement (!). Is bacterial contam. my main worry, or will I develop some interesting, but perhaps 'out of style' flavours? geoff. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 1993 10:31:37 -0700 (MST) From: cjohnm at ccit.arizona.edu (John Mare) Subject: India Pale Ale's In a recent discussion on India Pale Ales (IPA's) the assertion was made that these are all high gravity ales. Conventional wisdom tells us that these ales were brewed at high gravity to allow them to travel well (ie. by ship to India), and our US beer competitions persist in defining IPA's as medium to high gravity (OG 1050 to 1065). It is interesting to observe, however, that in their land of origin IPA's are not in fact high gravity ales. Some of the truly outstanding examples of this type which I tasted on a recent beer tour of The British Isles include "Palmer's IPA" (Dorset, OG 1039, ABV 4.3%), "Robinwood IPA" (Yorkshire, OG 1040, ABV 4.2%), "Younger IPA" (Edinburgh, OG 1043, ABV 4.5%), "R&D Deucher's IPA" (Edinburgh, OG 1048, ABV 3.9%), and "Thompson's IPA" (Devon, OG 1045, ABV 4.6%). The Palmer's IPA has won the "Beer of th Show Award" at a British Guild of Beer Writer's beertasting, attesting to the fact that in Great Britain an ale with an OG of 1039 can both qualify as an IPA, and win awards. Perhaps we should focus less on categories and their physical parameters, and more on the sheer joy of producing fine ales fitting the broad spectrum of taste and aroma nuances found in the "real ales" of Britain. John M. of "John's Alehouse", where "the ale cures what ails ye"! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 12:51 CDT From: arf at genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: Steam Kettle >From: steve at Pentagon-EMH6.army.mil (Steve Lichtenberg x79300) >The principle advantages of using steam to heat your wort are 1. Speed. Since steam has about 6 times more latent heat than water at the same temperature, it will bring 10 gallons of liqquid to a boil in a few minutes. That presumes you have an infinite supply of steam. If you use the same burner to create the steam that you would have used to just heat the wort, you gain nothing. If you have a burner that produces enough steam to bring ten gallons of liquid to a boil in a few minutes, you might just as well put the kettle on it. > 2. Ability to maintain a rolling boil without having to worry about scorching. Scorching is only a problem in mashing as a rolling boil by itself precludes it. You may be referring to caramelizing in the boil but that is easily controlled by the amount of heat applied. Sorry but the steam jacketed brew kettle for the homebrewer sounds like a very complicated and expensive solution to a problem that does not exist. That is not to say however, that if it turns you on, go for it. After all, there are the RIMS fundamentalists out there so why not steam boilers in the kitchen? js Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 13:00:31 CDT From: Gene Zimmerman <ezimmerm at hp.uwsuper.edu> Subject: Farmer/Engineer etc. Salutations! When I made that comment about Farmers making wine and Engineers making beer, I was just saying that the creation of beer is more intricate than the production of wine. The fermentables are already present in wine, as Brewers, we must coax sugars out of the grains. Granted, winemaking doesn't seem easy, but I think brewing has the capacity for more complexity. I also have a comment for the fellow who has the most unfortunate infection problem. I noticed you _mentioned_ sanitizing everything you use, but didn't say you do anything to the yeast packet itself. I dunk mine in bleach water for a while before opening. I cut the packet with a reciently bleached pair of scissors. Just a comment. I hope you work it out. How many people brew in their basements? Unless it's an enclosed room, I can't see as it would be very sanitry at all. Most of them are a _little_ damp, dark, and although not warm, a constant temp. I think someday I'll have a brew set up in a basement, but I've always thought of sheet rocking off a room and putting ceramic tile on the floor and waist coat. Gene in Duluth (Soon moving to Laramie, WY (I don't know why...) :) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 13:18 CDT From: fjdobner at ihlpb.att.com Subject: AdvertisingWyeast Among other thing yesterday, Drew Lewis said: >........................................................ 3) Let the >Wyeast package swell until you are sure it will burst, then a little >more. Get that population as high as possible before exposing it to >your environment. My exeperience with letting the Wyeast go the extent of bursting has been poor. My original orientation was to treat the directions of letting the package swell to 1" as a minimum and anything greater than that was so much the better. I found that once the package is about to burst the yeast do not respond well in a starter environment. Has anybody else found that to be true? Again Drew says: > How about this: Once a month, each person who sells a product may >post a "I sell this product" message. No claims, no hype, no prices, >no details, just a clear statement of intent to sell. Interested >parties may then send them private email requesting info on their >product. These people should then refrain from taking part in >discussions on their or competing products. People with personal or >financial interest (close friends of sellers, etc) should show similar >restraint. Recomendations from satisfied customers in responses to >queries from other list members would always be welcome. I agree wholeheartedly with this recommendation. This would perform many services to us in this forum. It would allow the commercialists (me being one) to do their thing in a confined marketplace, would restrict commercial behaviour to what would be strictly proper and improper, provide product information to customers, and allow the real artists and scientists here their needed airtime to talk about their hobby/pastime/professions. I have truly restrained myself in all the highly shrouded pursuits of customers on the HBD and I feel good about that. I want others to do the same, however I see some of us want commercials and some do not. Drew's recommendation is an excellent one. There was also one just like it by someone else last week (sorry that I cannot give you credit as well but I cannot remember your name). Dear Moderator, I hereby propose the implementation of the above recommendation. How do we proceed? Shall I contact you directly? Frank Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 14:27:13 EDT From: Elaine <EBORIS at UGA.CC.UGA.EDU> Subject: re: Specialty Products Intl About the review of "Home Beermakers Guide" by Leigh P. Beadle Sad but true: When I first tried my hand at brewing over 10 years ago I bought an equipment kit which included Superbrau and L.P. Beadle's ~guide~. Looking back, I am amazed that I didn't get any truly BAD beers from following his advice. It took some time (and much better books on homebrewing) to rid myself of bad brewing techniques I gotten from that book. I wish that ~guide~ had been a joke, but no laughs, it just makes me angry thinking about it. Elaine Boris Student Information Systems Computer Services Specialist University of Georgia 706 542-0484 Athens Georgia Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Jul 93 13:13 CST From: Wolfe at act-12-po.act.org Subject: Not enough body & Brewpubs I recently got into homebrewing (plan on doing my fifth batch this evening). I have two questions. The first has to do with body. I like my beer "chewy" (or so my wife claims). None of my beers have been as full-bodied as I would like. How do I increase the body of the beer without necessarily increasing the alcohol content? Can I use dextrine malt without mashing it? What about Lactose? The second question may be due to a related problem. None of my Original Specific Gravities have been as high as I'd expected (given similar recipes I've seen). For example, my last batch was a stout (6 lbs. of dark liquid extract, 1 lbs. of dark dried extract, and .75 lbs. each of crystal malt (L50), black barley, and roasted barley; along with about a couple of ounces of Northern Brewer's hops). I estimated the Original Specific Gravity to be around 1.042 which was lower than I'd expected. What could be causing this? I may be putting too much water in the fermeter. I start my boil with 3.5 gallons, and I typically fill up the 5 gallon carboy with water and the boiled wort (thus compensating for the amount that evaporated during the boil). Could it be due to the type of extract I'm using? Could it be my water? (I have a Culligan water softener.) Could it be due to my estimation method? (I add a little to the SG reading for each degree over 60F according to the error estimates Charlie P. gives in his book. I think it is somewhere around 0.003 for each degree. I can't remember because I've got the formula in a database cell somewhere.) Finally, I am taking two trips soon and would like some information on brewpubs. Can anybody suggest brewpubs worth visiting in Louisville, KY or in San Francisco, CA? Ed Wolfe WOLFE at ACT-12-PO.ACT.ORG Iowa City, IA Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Jul 93 13:13 CST From: Wolfe at act-12-po.act.org Subject: Not enough body & Brewpubs I recently got into homebrewing (plan on doing my fifth batch this evening). I have two questions. The first has to do with body. I like my beer "chewy" (or so my wife claims). None of my beers have been as full-bodied as I would like. How do I increase the body of the beer without necessarily increasing the alcohol content? Can I use dextrine malt without mashing it? What about Lactose? The second question may be due to a related problem. None of my Original Specific Gravities have been as high as I'd expected (given similar recipes I've seen). For example, my last batch was a stout (6 lbs. of dark liquid extract, 1 lbs. of dark dried extract, and .75 lbs. each of crystal malt (L50), black barley, and roasted barley; along with about a couple of ounces of Northern Brewer's hops). I estimated the Original Specific Gravity to be around 1.042 which was lower than I'd expected. What could be causing this? I may be putting too much water in the fermeter. I start my boil with 3.5 gallons, and I typically fill up the 5 gallon carboy with water and the boiled wort (thus compensating for the amount that evaporated during the boil). Could it be due to the type of extract I'm using? Could it be my water? (I have a Culligan water softener.) Could it be due to my estimation method? (I add a little to the SG reading for each degree over 60F according to the error estimates Charlie P. gives in his book. I think it is somewhere around 0.003 for each degree. I can't remember because I've got the formula in a database cell somewhere.) Finally, I am taking two trips soon and would like some information on brewpubs. Can anybody suggest brewpubs worth visiting in Louisville, KY or in San Francisco, CA? Ed Wolfe WOLFE at ACT-12-PO.ACT.ORG Iowa City, IA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 19:26:01 GMT From: ccicpg!brian at uunet.UU.NET (Brian Davis) Subject: Re: Besieged by baleful bacteria In HBD 1177 Drew Lynch talks about preventing infections... >Let the Wyeast package swell until you are sure it will burst, >then a little more. Get that population as high as possible >before exposing it to your environment. The guy who runs our local homebrew shop talked about Wyeast at our last club meeting. He said that your best bet is not to pop the nutrient pouch inside the Wyeast package. He suggests that you just cut open the outer package, and poor the yeast into a sterile starter. He does this becuase the Wyeast nutrient appears to be infected. Maybe they can't sterilize the nutrient without destroying it. He claims that if you leave the nutrient pouch sitting on a warm kitchen counter, it will swell up on its own -- and not with yeast! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 15:36:46 CDT From: raudins at galt.b17d.ingr.com (Glenn Raudins) Subject: Burners for Culturing Does anyone know of a source of burners for use in yeast culturing? I have an "alcohol lamp" (a vessel with a large "wick" in it) but would like to find a burner with a more constant/controllable flame. Glenn Raudins raudins at galt.b17d.ingr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 14:35:29 PDT From: Gary Rich <garyrich at qdeck.com> Subject: Priming with Maple syrup > In HBD# 1174, Jonathan Knight of Grinnell, Iowa reminds me of my latest attempt > at a maple beer: > > >There seems to be an abiding interest in maple syrup in the HBD. I haven't > >done it, but have often thought of priming a light ale with it. I'm not > >crazy about using large amounts in the boil because of the cost and because > >it seems that such a delicate flavor would be destroyed that way. Can > >anybody report on how much maple character is imparted by priming, and how > >much syrup to use for this procedure? > > In my latest attempt at this I made a dry stout with > #7 Domestic 2-row > #1 flaked barley > #1 roast barley > #1 Vermont fancy grade light maple syrup (not that 2% stuff) > 1.5 oz Northern Brewer at 60min. > Wyeast Irish Ale > > The syrup being added ~3 minutes before I turned off the fire. I racked and > bottled as usual and primed with 3/4 cup of the same syrup. The resulting beer > had absolutely no maple character at all. What it did have was a big hole > in the flavor where the maple was planned to be. It also gushed (this is too > much syrup to prime with) and had too much roast barley tang. None of this > stopped my wife and I from drinking it. My wife commented that she liked > the strong roastiness. > > Unless I can get a quantity of of very dark maple, I don't think I'll try > this again. The light stuff just seems to all ferment out. I still think the > idea of priming with it is a good one, but use a dark syrup that will have > a higher percentage of non-fermentable sugars. > > Gary Rich garyrich at qdeck.com > > Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 93 17:35:13 -0400 From: rxh6 at po.CWRU.Edu (Randall Holt) Subject: Sparge Manifold/100% Wheat Beer/Balling vs. SG I don't contribute often to this newsletter, but I have a few things of interest: Sparge Manifold I, also, have built and used the sparge manifold suggested by Jeff Benjamin back in the 3/16/93 HBD and discussed in recent issues. One difference in construction, he suggests half-slots every 2 cm, I made half slots every 0.5 cm. The outflow rate was way too high, but can be restricted with a screw clamp at the tygon-tube siphon. I felt that adding more slots would create more evenly distributed flow throughout the grain, and improve the sparged leeching of maltose sugars from the grain. With only two all-grain batches under my belt, and as both used the sparge-manifold system, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I'm happy. I am planning to install a drain spigot in my mash vessel, as siphon starting158F liquor can really scorch the lips. 100% Wheat Beer Last winter I asked about 100% wheat malt, for use in an experimental brew, specifically to benefit a poor afflicted friend who is allergic to barley. Many responded that Ireks sells such, but I was worried that some barley was used in the mashing to provide a-amylase enzyme. So, I made the jump to full-grain (see above) in order to be certain that no barley contaminants would be included. But, based on helpful hints from HBDers, the a-amylase content of malted wheat is low, and so I used a bit of fungal-extract a-amylase enzyme (at your local brew-shop/mail outlet) which I think is used in sake fermentation (?). Well, the extract rate came to 29 points ( a tad low, possibly the enzyme), the wort fermented in the primary for 4 days and 2 weeks in the secondary, bottled up at about 4.5% EtOH. Taste? Well, it tastes like a tangy whole-wheat bread, with a little alcohol. I fed some to my barley-allergic friend, who smacked his lips, drank another sip and set the bottle down. He did not go into anaphylaxis, but did leave the other 35 bottles of wheat-beer behind. Personally, I couldn't blame him, but I like the flavor of barley. Not to let it go to waste, I tried mixing an older porter with two wheats - dynamite dark wheat. So, it wasn't a total loss, but I wouldn't suggest anyone bother with the 100 % wheat recipe - maybe some maple or honey might give a different flavor, but I'd guess that it just transforms the Wonder Bread flavor into Pancakes with maple syrup flavor. Balling (brix)/Specific Gravity Conversions A couple of weeks ago Pfr. Fix requested the conversion of Balling sugar density units to specific gravity units. He had a second order fit, something like P = - 205.347*(SG-1)*(SG-2.25) (my factoring), which he inverted via Newtons approximation to get a SG=f(P) function. The question Dr. Fix had, was (paraphrased) 'Was there a reason for this function, and did it have some historical significance?' I think that the significance is evident in the definition of; " Balling Saccharometer shows directly the per cent of sugar (sucrose) by weight at the temperature indicated on the instrument, usually 17.5 degrees." from CRC HBDK on Chem/Phys. under Hydrometers and Density Units. An table of %Wt vs. Specific Gravity vs. grams solute/liter solution is given in CRC under Specific Gravity of Aqueous Invert Solutions, where the %Wt (== Balling points) vs. specific gravity fits very closely to Dr. Fix's noted 2nd order fit. I believe, then, (and this is purely a guess) that the historical reasons for the Balling/SG curve are largely phenomenological, i.e. add sugar up to percentage of sugar byweight, then measure specific gravity. Although SG can be determined from partial fractions and pure SG's at varying temps (and will eventually lead to an approximation of the above 2nd order fits - an excercise which I leave to the reader), SG's vary; the most accurate method depends on laboratory readings. Again, this last bit is pure conjecture, based on extrapolated speculation. My 0.02 on NetAdverts vs. NetComplaints Frankly, I'd rather ignore a couple of blatant capitalists than suffer through megabytes of pissing and moaning about abusing the nets. If you are pissed off at someone for NetAbuse, then flame them, not the rest of us on the HDB. BIBO ERGO SUM - -- Randall W. Holt rxh6 at po.cwru.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1993 15:36:26 -0700 From: Leo Reilly <zanadu at well.sf.ca.us> Subject: Guinness I am sure that this has already been answered but I have been unable to find an explanation in previous postings. 1. Does the NO2 cartridge in the canned Guinness affect more than just the head of the brew? It seems to me that the canned Guinness is alot smoother and less bitter than the traditional bottled stuff. 2. What does the nitrous oxide actually do to the beer? I.e. how does it interact with the brew to give the creamy head and the smoother taste. 3. Is any other brewer using the NO2 cartridge? If so, who? 4. Would it make sense to use the NO2 cartridge in any other brew (lambic? porter? scottish ale?) 5. Are any home brewers using the NO2 cartridge for their homebrew, or contemplating trying it? I apologize if I am covering old ground, but "enquiring minds want to know"! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 21:13:01 EDT From: gdm15 at aol.com Subject: unscribe Please cancel my subscription to homebrew.... Thanks Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 93 21:06:59 cdt From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ at GRIN.EDU> Subject: hops storage, victory malt I have been asking a lot of questions lately, and I have been getting lots of great replies both on and off line -- thanks to all! The generosity shown by the experienced brewers toward those less experienced is one of the great strengths of this forum. Here is one question that didn't get answered, though: if I buy a bunch of whole hops and use part of the bag, how long can I expect the remainder to stay fresh in the freezer? I do not have a CO2 dispenser nor a vacuum sealer, so I would not be able to purge the container of O2. And someone else asked this eons ago, but I don't remember seeing an answer posted to the digest. What is "Victory malt"?? Does it have to be mashed, or can it be steeped like specialty malts? What characteristics does it impart to the beer? "Don't worry, be hoppy!" Jonathan Knight Grinnell, Iowa Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 08:38:37 EDT From: gfoerste at bajor.coat.com (Glenn D. Foerster) Subject: The Boiling Vessel I'm kind of new to homebrewing, and need to have a question answered by people "in the know." The first few batches I have brewed had something of a funny taste to them. COuld this be the result of using an aluminum pot for boiling the wort? gdf Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 08:56:39 edt From: mtavis at gemini.hyperdesk.com (Mike Tavis) Subject: Pike's Place yeast Alright all you Seattle-ites, here's a question for you. A few months ago a friend of mine brought me a bottle of Pike's Place back from Seattle. I tried it and absolutely loved the fruitiness (esters?) of this ale. I assumed that it was due to the yeast used in making the beer, so when another friend went to Seattle I made sure he brought me back another bottle so I could try and culture the yeast out of it. Well last night after several starter solutions and some offerings to the gods of beer I have what looks like a healthy Pike's Place sample. My only questions is: Is the yeast I cultured the same yeast used in fermentation or is a yeast used for bottle conditioning? Thanks in advance for your help. - -- Mike o o| Michael Tavis, HyperDesk Corporation o o| Suite 300, 2000 West Park Dr., Westboro, MA 01581 ---+ E-mail: mike_t at hyperdesk.com (508) 366-5050 Return to table of contents
Date: 9 Jul 93 03:58:40 EST From: "Anderso_A" <Anderso_A%55W3.CCBRIDGE.SEAE.mrouter at seaa.navsea.navy.mil> Subject: Fermenting in 100 degree weather Message Creation Date was at 9-JUL-1993 08:41:00 Greetings, This is just a data-point for those looking for information on how to cool their carboys on hot days: It's been 100 degrees F in Washington, DC for the last few days as well as for the next few days to come. I had not brewed a batch in 2 months due to extensive home repairs and had grown desparate (i.e. withdrawl symptoms) to brew again. I didn't realize it would be so hot, and I don't have central A/C. I have window units which I turn off when I go to work. What to do? I have a basement, but it's only 6 ft below ground level - but that's better than nothing. I placed the carboy in a large plastic bucket on the basement floor. I filled the bucket with about 8 inches of water and then covered the carboy with a towel. Then I put a fan right beside the carboy blowing constantly. I attached one of those strip thermometers which tells the temperature inside the carboy as opposed to the ambient air temperature. In the mornings after the night "lows" were 80 degrees, the thermometer would read 70 degrees. When I would read the thermometer at 4 PM, it would only rise to 75 degrees. Acceptable for ales. I still prefer brewing in winter, but at least it is possible to cool a carboy during a summer week-from-hell. Cheers, Andy A Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 09:26:19 EST From: "John DeCarlo" <jad at pegasus.mitre.org> Subject: Re: Starters From: Dave Justice <DD24005 at UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU> > Datapoint: I've been getting much quicker and visibly impressive > yeast starters going by using boiled or canned wort saved > from previous (all-grain) batches. I usually pitch the > starter before retiring at night and with this method, > I'm seeing a good 1/2" to 3/4" krausen in the starter > the next morning. No combination of DME and yeast > nutrients ever worked this well for me, I was lucky to see > any decent krausen after 1.5 days or so. Well, I don't know if this is good or bad. Basically, yeast starters are designed with only one purpose in mind: to increase the yeast population you pitch into your wort It has been my impression that there are two basic approaches: 1) Catch the yeast while they are already reproducing, *before* they have begun fermentation, and pitch them then. 2) Wait until they have all settled down for a long winter's nap and concentrate on pitching the yeast sediment in the starter. I would personally *worry* if I saw appreciable kraeusen. Is this silly? Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 06:26:42 PDT From: wegeng.henr801c at xerox.com Subject: Re: Cheap carboys It sounds like the seven gallon carboys that St. Pat's of Texas is selling are "used" from the chemical industry (where they are used for shipping acid). Homebrewers in many areas of the country will be able to buy similar carboys from industrial chemical supply companies, probably at a lower cost since they don`t have to be shipped. Apparently these carboys cannot be reused for their original purpose (I dunno why). Look in the yellow pages under Chemicals, and then make some phone inquires. Note that since these carboys contained acid they should be handled with caution until you clean then (with baking soda). Homebrewers in the Rochester, NY area can buy used carboys from Jones Chemical in Caledonia. The people at Jones are used to dealing with home wine and beer makers. /Don wegeng.henr801c at xerox.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 09:39:19 EST From: "John DeCarlo" <jad at pegasus.mitre.org> Subject: Content and Siphons As others have basically said already, there are lots of articles I skip over, like all the ones on kegging. But I might want to read it later, and don't want to keep others who need the info from getting it. Plus, if I really want info on, say, wort chillers, a well-designed posting containing a stupid theory works wonders <grin>. >From: korz at iepubj.att.com >Back to microbiology. Besides the zillions of bacteria on your hands, >there are hundreds of zillions of bacteria in your mouth. Sucking on a >siphon hose with your mouth is probably one of the best ways to infect >your beer with lactobacillus which is everpresent in the human mouth. >Lactobacillus will eat sugars that the yeast have left behind and cause >your beer to gush about four to six weeks after bottling. Well, Al, I appreciate your posting of seriously stupid advice, but the "start siphon with mouth" issue comes up all the time and many (including myself) have no problems with this approach. I always *start* my siphoning with boiled water in the tube, but whenever it stops for some reason, I end up using my mouth. In four years, my only infection has been because I used an infected starter. I can just see the testimonials pouring in again. Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 06:40:42 PDT From: "I grew up on rock 'n' roll, but these blues won't leave me alone 09-Jul-1993 0932 -0400" <ferguson at zendia.enet.dec.com> Subject: partial-boil is what I'm after Al writes: >Although I picked JC's post (sorry JC), there are a number of posters who >seem to be confused by this "high-gravity" brew thread. There's a big >difference between partial boil (which could also be called high-gravity >boil) and high-gravity ferment. I believe that the original post that >started this thread asked about what kind of compensation had to be made >for a high-gravity ferment. Well, a number of brewers have posted that >a higher gravity ferment will result in a beer with more esters. I have >found this to be true, but have not tried diluting the resulting beer >into a medium-gravity beer. I think what JC is asking about (as well as >a couple of others) is a partial-boil recipe. One in which, say, 3-gallons >of wort are boiled and then this is diluted into a 5-gallon batch in the >fermenter. You are correct here. A partial-boil is what I want to do, or, perhaps it is better worded at a partial-high-gravity-boil, which is diluted in the primary fermenter. I'm still looking for all-grain recipes that'll allow me to do this. I've done some partial mashes, hence I'm familiar w/ the process to some degree. Does one just cut the amount of H20 used during the mash process in half to get a high-gravity wort? I could probably handle mashing with a full grain bill and H20 (1 qt/lb), but my pot would be insufficient to handle the grain sparge through my lauter-tun... JC Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 09:12:54 EDT From: man at lcwdw1.att.com Subject: Re: Pin lock fitting removal Al writes: >I suspect that the grooved ones are actually ball-lock. The pin ones are >pin-lock. Coke uses pin-lock and Pepsi uses ball-lock. I personally like >the ball-lock ones because they are easier to recondition (you can simply >use a 12-point socket for the fittings, whereas for the pin-lock you need >to buy ($40) or build yourself a tool to remove the fittings. Some of us more stubborn (and cheap) brewers use Vise-Grips to remove pin lock fittings from kegs. Mark Nevar Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:13:46 EST From: "John DeCarlo" <jad at pegasus.mitre.org> Subject: Re: Low SG >From: "Bret D. Wortman" <wortman at centurylub.com> > In each case, the SG after sparging and after getting the total volume > of liquid to ~5 gallons was around 1.015. This seems awfully low to > me, as it'll result in beer that has (at most) around 1.5% alcohol > content. In my experience, 9 times out of 10, this happens because people mix the water and wort in the fermenter, but don't do it well enough. The result is that there is layering, and samples are likely to have really low readings. What *I* do nowadays when I have to add some water to top things off is to draw my sample from the wort first. Then I had the same proportionate amount of water to my sample as to the wort. So if I end up with 4 gallons of wort and have to add 1 gallon of water, I siphon off maybe 4 ounces of wort in the sample tube and then add 1 ounce of water to it. It may sound hard but is really very easy if your fermenter has every gallon marked off and if your sample tube is graduated as well. Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:26:40 EST From: "John DeCarlo" <jad at pegasus.mitre.org> Subject: Hot Break and Hops Well, the question again arises of when to add hops and what is the hot break, etc. I used to add hops right away as boiling started and had to be very careful about boil-overs. I now wait until a film or scum forms on top of the boiling wort (it doesn't take very long, maybe 10 minutes into the boil). With a strainer, I then remove as much of this is feasible. Within a few minutes you will see vigorous boiling with no film/scum on top and you no longer have to worry about boilovers. At that point you can add your hops (it gets hard to strain the film off with hops in your way). P.S. I didn't define hot break or anything here, except by accident. Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 09 Jul 93 09:25:33 CST From: Johann Klaassen <C34859JK at WUVMD.Wustl.Edu> Subject: What's wrong with my wheat beer? Howdy -- and here's hoping that someone can help. I've brewed two batches now using two cans of M&F's "wheat" syrup, in attempts to make a nice, light wheat like I'd get at my corner micro (were there one). However, both of these batches have turned out *quite* dark -- and I can't explain to myself quite why that's true. Could it be that my hour-long boils have darkened the otherwise light malt (which would shock me)? Is M&F Wheat always so very dark (and if so, why)? And what kind of extract can I use next time (I really don't have the time, energy, or space to go all-grain) to get the light color I'm looking for? I'm pleased with the taste of the stuff I've been getting, but the darkness has got me weirded out. Anyone with info that'll make it clear to me? TIA -- d8^) Johann c34859jk at wuvmd.wustl.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:35:53 EDT From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: sugar in beer I was recently re-reading Rajotte's book, thinking about trying for a "Grand Cru" style, with Celis's yeast (assuming, as has been claimed here, that the White and Grand Cru use the same yeast). He seems to contradict himself on the topic of the exact composition of "candi" sugar. On one page, referring to the "rock" kind, he says it's 99% sucrose. On the next page, referring to the liquid kind, he say's it's a mixture of sucrose and invert sugar. Elsewhere in the "Sugar" section, he says that brewers prefer invert sugar because it's easier for the yeast to "eat" (they don't have to break it down first). Does anyone know whether the inconsistency because that's the way it really is, or are one or more of the above statements incorrect? Does anyone know of a good source for invert sugar? I assume I can color it by carmelizing some of it. =S Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 1993 10:52:41 EDT From: "Sweet, Timothy" <TSWEET at WVNVM.WVNET.EDU> Subject: cider I'm looking ahead to apple season and would like to make some cider. Does anyone have advice on this--especially on type of yeast? Where I live I can get plenty of unpasteurized fresh-pressed apple juice, so the raw material will be of good quality. All replies appreciated. Tim Sweet tsweet at wvnvm Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 93 10:56 CDT From: arf at genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: 220V Airstat Now that I have fallen in love with my Airstat controlled "lagering room", I want to put one on a window air conditioner, which just happens to be what they were developed for. I was informed by Hunter that they no longer make the 220V version and I seem to be out of luck unless someone got one buy mistake or still has one in stock. If anyone has or is aware of either situation, please let me know. For whoever it was looking for a local source, you can call (901) 745 9222 and they will give you a list by Zip Code. Not a single source in Chicago but what would one expect for such a small town? Builder's Square carries them, but not in the city. js Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1179, 07/12/93