HOMEBREW Digest #1335 Thu 27 January 1994

Digest #1334 Digest #1336


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


Contents:
  WYEAST - 1084 - Irish Ale ("Robert H. Reed")
  thermometers (BIO)" <tillman at chuma.cas.usf.edu>
  Re: Irish ale yeast (florianb)
  Pete Soper, remember him? (florianb)
  Liquid vs Solid Media/ Bucket Hole/ SLC Suppl. (COYOTE)
  Hazelnut extract source (Michael Froehlich)
  Aromatic Malt/Keg Secondary (Phil Brushaber)
  FAQ (npyle)
  overcarbonation  (weigh, don't measure volume!) (Dick Dunn)
  A nit on potential extract (Marc de Jonge)
  Re: Ft. Walton brewers (Jim Graham)
  various (/R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/)
  Re: How long to prime??? (Josh Grosse)
  RE: shipping brew, pitching temp (Jim Dipalma)
  Re: FLAT beer (aew)
  Sanitizing Bottles (WKODAMA)
  Cardboard sixpack carriers, ceramic fermenters (8-293-5810 or (914))" <huckfinn at vnet.IBM.COM>
  Aeriation/Dry hops/REpitching (Jim Busch)
  Steam Correction (korz)
  Sierra Nevada or St.Ambroise PA (GANDE)
  SS Kettle problems (ELQ1)
  Re: Question on flavor (Celis White) ("Ben Piela")
  Secondaries/Oatmeal Stout/Waterloo Brewpub (Chris Pencis)
  Re: Oktoberfest trip and Munich Brewery Tours (Don Biszek)
  Should I Whole Grain? (BFRALEY)
  Utilization/Flat Steam/Bitter Yeast/Celis/Hops FAQ (npyle)
  Zima in NJ (Gary S. Kuyat)
  Re: Sam Adams T-shirt offer (Craig Artley)
  s.g. and attenuation errors (Jeremy Ballard Bergsman)
  Cooler Mashing ("Palmer.John")
  Homebrew Digest Request (SIMMONS)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 14:12:57 -0500 (EST) From: "Robert H. Reed" <rhreed at icdc.delcoelect.com> Subject: WYEAST - 1084 - Irish Ale J.A. Patrick writes: > > So, I am putting together a VERY comprehensive Bock tasting, and am trying to > make sure that I have obtained samples of all readily available "Bock" beers. > (Whether they are true Bocks or not! I intend to "call a Bock a Bock" DURING > the tasting, but will allow _poseurs_ to enter the tasting up front. The > truth shall triumph in the end!). Just a data point for your tasting: Celis Bock is actually a Belgian style ale, but is labelled a Bock because of "less than rational" Texas laws. From living in Texas many years, I can tell you that Shiner Bock is not really worth serious consideration in the genre of German Bock: I believe the main attraction to that beer is that it could be had for $4.50/case + dep.(in 1980 anyway). A cultish kind of beer. Also, didn't you omit Samuel Adam's Double Bock (what the heck is Samuel Adams - a presumed American Patriot - doing brewing a German Bock??) Jim Blue writes: > The yeast FAQ says that 1084 is "great for stouts" and "very niced for any > any cold-weather ale, at its best in stouts and Scotch ales." Question: > how would it be in an ordinary pale ale, brown ale, or IPA? Porter? I have used yeast blends in beers such as IPA, Barley Wine, and Porter with good results. Depending on how much you like diacetyl, you can vary the proportion of 1084 Irish Ale culture. I personally like diacetyl at slightly above threshold level: at this level it adds complexity and a slight "sweetness". If you use only 1084 Irish Ale yeast in your beer, you will get a very noticable diacetyl character. I have used 1007 German Ale and 1084 Irish Ale in a 80% / 20% blend with good results for several of the beer styles that you describe. The 1007 German Ale strain is a good choice (IMHO) for many English Ales because it finishes rather dry and produces a fair amount of esters. Rob Reed Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 13:51:08 -0500 (EST) From: "Tim Tillman (BIO)" <tillman at chuma.cas.usf.edu> Subject: thermometers > Is my thermometer useless/unfixable? I reccommend cooling the thermometer as cool as possible, preferably in liquid nitrogen or dry ice. Then let it warm slowly. The real idea here is to suck ALL the mercury into the bulb, so you need to chill it to that point. Salted ice wated may work. This technique often works. Tim Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 12:27:16 PST From: florianb at yang.cna.tek.com Subject: Re: Irish ale yeast blue at cam.nist.gov (Jim Blue) writes: >The yeast FAQ says that 1084 is "great for stouts" and "very niced for any >any cold-weather ale, at its best in stouts and Scotch ales." Question: >how would it be in an ordinary pale ale, brown ale, or IPA? Porter? The Irish 1084 is an excellent yeast for all types of ale. I've used it in a variety including stout, porter, red, brown, and pale. It goes in fast, kicks ass, and cleans up well afterwards. No icky-poo smells and tastes. It seems to ravage even when I don't promote it with a starter. It's my favorite yeast for ales. The Lambic from Wyeast is another really good one. Florian PS. I couldn't stay away forever. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 12:32:21 PST From: florianb at yang.cna.tek.com Subject: Pete Soper, remember him? For you old-timers, I got a card from Pete Soper at Christmas. Haven't seen him on the "radio" in quite a while. His email address doesn't work. Clues? Guess I'll have to, well, (write). Florian Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 13:04:10 -0600 (MDT) From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu> Subject: Liquid vs Solid Media/ Bucket Hole/ SLC Suppl. >john ....said.... home: john at hopduvel.chi.il.us work: isenhour at lambic.fnal.gov > You really have to seal petri dishes well (I use parafilm) and I prefer liquid because I feel there is less exposed area (like agar where there is no yeast growth *???*) and liquids can be sealed and transfered sterile more easily. My culture fridge is verboten for any other storage. (* I store beer in there too..but that's yeast +) * I would question relying solely on liquid cultures. One major advantage of the use of plates is that you can SEE single colonies. Even with slants you are able to get an idea if there is significant/obvious contamination. Additionally, it is my belief that slants/plates can last longer as a stable culture than a liquid culture. Due mainly to the fact that the medium is solid, therefore nutrients will diffuse to the culture in a slower fashion, thereby lasting longer than if they were all available at once. In micro labs most cultures are STORED on slants, plates, or frozen for longer term storage. It is rare to store a culture in a liquid medium. Also: for the average home rancher use of an inoculating loop and flame are more readily available than sterilized pipets for liquid transfers. I do re-use dregs, and will store them in flasks for a week or so, but prefer to work from my pure cultures, on plates and slants in the fridge, and feel I've had less contamination problems with this approach than from use/storage of liquid forms of cultures. I would at least suggest if you choose to maintain cultures in liquid it would be worth your while to streak out a plate once in a while and check for contamination. If you have a microscope...even better. But... * Another Note: I have seen methods for sterilizing filter paper for use with plate cultures. (blots) The method involved placing the filter paper in the microwave with a beaker of water and microwaving for 30 sec- min. If I remember right the filter paper was wrapped inside foil. I tried this, and did not find contamination due to the filter paper. Controls showed contamination when using non-"waved" filter paper. Bottom Line: IMHO Microwaving WILL sterilize things, but if the goods are dry it is necessary to have water present in the microwave at the same time, to absorb some of the waves, or damage to the unit can occur. *** Jonathan Knight was gonna cut a hole for a spigot in a bucket: Suggestion: Get or borrow a hole cutting bit for a drill and do it right. At least use a compass (face north) and draw a good circle. Then drill loads of pilot holes around the perimiter (Little ones) and fine tune it with the razor blade. Also: You must choose the height. For a primary "siphonless" fermenter I like to leave some room, about 3/4 inch up from the base. Reduces my trubbles in a transfer to a secondary. For a bottling bucket ONLY go right near the bottom. NOTES: When filling bottles don't turn the valve off all the way in between bottles, or you'll lose the liquid in the tube. Also watch for excess oxidation of the last bottle (or so) due to air coming in the through the valve as you near emptiness. Otherwise, it works well. Go for it! (you can cover it with a lid while bottling too, even purge with CO2 :) *** From: curt nickisch <curt.nickisch at m.cc.utah.edu> Subject: Re: SLC Homebrew Supply Shops > Well, there exist three homebrew supply shops in SLC. I've been frequenting Mountain Brew on about 2700 South State for the two years I've been brewing, although I first got set up at Art's Brewing Supplies at (I'm almost positive) 650 South Washington Street (250 West). Art's is a little more expensive, but for a serious homebrewer, he is more experienced and offers ambitious advice. His shop is also worth visiting even if it is a little more expensive, the whole shop has quite an atmosphere. Mountain Brew has a bigger collection of kits, and if you know exactly what you want to get, you may as well buy it there and save a little. * Rattle my change....I dunno 'bout that one. My experiences have been quite the opposite. I guess I can't compare the extracts, since I don't use them, but as for grain and gadgets I've definitely found Art to be cheaper. I find him to be rather slimy at times, but he's a business man. I was never impressed by the selection at Mnt Brew, whereas Art has some serious supplies on hand, usually well stocked with most stuff. He also sells hop rhizomes in the spring. He's got some nice vines growing around the place. Fun to fondle his cones when stopping by. It was even more fun to play with my own...once I got 'em growing. I've found his advice somewhat mixed. But I find the same thing here :) As for Mnt Brew, one thing I did like was their large supply of Vierka wine yeasts, including a MEAD yeast. Many styles offered. No connection with either of them. I've bought stuff at both. I mostly mail order now. Salt Lake is a fair drive from Logan, but when I do get down there... My advise. Call both and get their catalogs. Decide for yourself. :) Art's 801- 533-8029 *** Mnt Brew 801- 487-2337 I'm not familiar with BrewKraft. What is their phone#? (Sorry for the commercial interlude..Back to your regularly scheduled debate) John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////////////////////////////// PS: While folks are revamping their sig.lines, how 'bout including your e-mail address at the END of posts, 'cuz some of us can't work backwards to find direction for responses. Otherwise I'd e-mail more than post! *** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 13:54:15 -0800 From: froeh at jpats.naa.rockwell.com (Michael Froehlich) Subject: Hazelnut extract source Fellow Brewers, I have found a great source for natural extracts. I tasted the Oregon Nut Brown Ale featured in Zymurgy and found it to be one of my favorite beers tasted this year (and that covers alot of beers). I couldn't find any hazelnut extract in the stores however and I talked with several brewers and couldn't get any info. I found a company near LA that makes baking extracts and extract syrups used for flavoring coffees. I bought a 2 lb jar with a pump dispenser for $19 plus $3 shipping and they gave me a 1 oz sample of the 100% pure extract after I told them what I was brewing beer. So, I brewed 3 batches of Nut Brown Ale (4 gallons each). In one of the batches, I used a Hazelnut Extract (100% pure, 1 oz). In another I used a Hazelnut Syrup (used for flavoring coffee, 4 oz). The 3rd beer was not flavored. These beers were well received by my homebrew clubs as well as other brewers. The pure extract needed more aroma (probably use 2 oz per 5 gallons next time) and the syrup had a very strong hazelnut aroma as well as a drier mouth feel from the additional fermentation. The syrup is made with some form of fructose sugar but it did not impart any odd flavors. I would use about 3 oz per 5 gallon next time. The name of the place is Capriccio and is located in Chatsworth, CA (phone (310) 535-6610). They have over 100 different pure extracts and over 50 flavors of the syrups used to flavor coffee. The only problem that I had was buying such a large quantity of the syrup. You can only drink so much of this beer. The pure extract is more expensive but you can buy 1 lb jars. I have nothing to do with this company other than being a happy camper by making odd beers with their product and drinking them. _______ / \ o | Cheers! | o ____ .\_______/ o |o o| . Michael Froehlich |~~~| (| > |) (310) 647-1482 | |)\ |\_/| | | \ \_/ froeh at 129.172.56.36 |___| \ | OOOOO Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 94 17:09:17 CST From: philb at pro-storm.metronet.com (Phil Brushaber) Subject: Aromatic Malt/Keg Secondary Aromatic Malt I used DeWolfe Coysins Belgian Aromatic Malt for the first time today in a Marzen. Use it as 1 lb of my 12 lb grain bill. This stuff smells wonderfully promising. I am hopeful of it adding a super-malty taste to my Marzen. Question -- I also mashed using a Double Decoction. When I mixed the malts all together at the beginning of the mash it smelt very malty. But after two decoction boils it did not seem nearly so malty and in fact smelled like any other grain mash I have done. Do you think that the high temperatures of the decoction boil would have driven off some of the malty taste and aroma of the Aromatic Malt? Or am I just worrying about nothing. Anyone else have experience using DFC Aromatic? I love to hear about your success. Secondary in Stainless Thanks to all of you how helped me how to conduct a low pressure secondary in stainless steel kegs. Many suggested knocking out the poppet valve in the tower then attaching a hose over the tower and lead the tubing to a water jug a la a blowoff tube. I found that you don't have to rip apart your valves. Just unscrew the gas tower. You can get tubing which will fit snuggly over the threads. Then (because I am cheap) I went through a few diameter reductions in tubing (fitting the next smaller size into the larger feed tube) and finally settled down to a four foot length of 3/8" tubing. Seems to work great! - ----- Internet: philb at pro-storm.metronet.com UUCP: metronet.com!pro-storm!philb Bitnet: philb%pro-storm.metronet.com at nosc.mil Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 94 18:00:00 MST From: npyle at n33.stortek.com Subject: FAQ Tom Lyons writes: >Sorry, but I don't see in the header anything about >FAQs. >From the header: >Archives are available via anonymous ftp from sierra.stanford.edu. > (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via mail from > listserv at sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a > message to that address to receive listserver instructions.) Ask and ye shall receive. Send HELP to listserv at sierra.stanford.edu and you will find the information you seek. Good Luck. Oh, use this thing during off hourse or it will only talk to you for a short time (like 3 transfers total). Yes, I realize that it says nothing about FAQs. You have to stretch a bit from "archives" to "Frequently Asked Questions". Sorry. Norm Return to table of contents
Date: 25 Jan 94 21:40:47 MST (Tue) From: rcd at raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn) Subject: overcarbonation (weigh, don't measure volume!) LLDSC at utxdp.dp.utexas.edu (?) writes: > ... My only problem is that since my last batch (a dopplebock) was > seriously undercarbonated, I tried to make up for it in this batch. > Glass grenades is no understatement. I've had two bottles blow up > already. I put the remaining ones in the fridge... ... > 3/4 cup 3/4cup 3/4cup 3/4cup. I get it now. Not quite. You've "got it" that you *really* want to avoid overcarbonating, so keep a careful upper bound on the amount of priming sugar. So far, so good. Next comes "weigh,don't-measure weigh,don't-measure weigh,don't-measure" Measuring sugar, in any form ground finer than ordinary table sugar, is bound to be *seriously* inaccurate. This applies in particular to dry malt extract and to dextrose (corn sugar) in the form normally sold in homebrew shops...these can pack down to lose 20-25% of their volume! (This refers to "packing" by just tapping the container to settle it.) In other words, your 3/4 cup of dextrose might be equivalent to somebody else's full cup. That's a big difference, and in particular it leaves you with no margin for error. One other thought: darker and heavier beers tend to have more "unfermen- tables" that are really "slowly-fermentables"--they'll ferment after a while. Two ways to deal with this: * Be patient; be sure you've given a heavy beer enough time to "ferment out" before bottling. * Back off on the priming a little bit, in anticipation of getting some extra kick from the residuals in the beer itself. --- Dick Dunn rcd at eklektix.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA ...Mr Natural says, "Get the right tool for the job!" Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 12:03:24 +0100 From: dejonge at tekserv.geof.ruu.nl (Marc de Jonge) Subject: A nit on potential extract In HBD 1334 Dan morey writes: > Projected Dextrins: 1 + ((0.25 * 50) / 1000) = 1.013 > (Lowest possible terminal gravity) and futher on: > ....if this was the case and yeast where > *alcohol tolerant* our final gravities would always be 1.000! A minor nit: This is not quite true, life is more complicated than that. Final gravity drops approximately 1.5 points for every % alcohol by volume. For example, if you measure 1012 f.g. with 5% ABV the dextrin contents alone would give a gravity of 1020. By the way, the point you were making is of course still valid... -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Marc de Jonge dejonge at geof.ruu.nl Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 22:17:28 -0600 (CST) From: jim at n5ial.mythical.com (Jim Graham) Subject: Re: Ft. Walton brewers Yes, I'm a bit behind on issues of the HBD...but considering the fact that there hasn't been an HBD issue since Wednesday last week, I don't feel too bad. :-) I have to wonder, though, if anyone will ever see this.... On Fri, 14 Jan 94, Jim King (jim.king at kandy.com) writes, regarding my .signature: > Ft. Walton beach brewers! My mother lives in Panama City. Do you > know if there are any good homebrew supply shops in the PC/Ft. Walton/ > etc. area? There is one homebrew shop here in Ft. Walton, and I believe there are stores in Pensacola and Panama City, too, but don't quote me on that one. The local shop is ``The Spare Bedroom Winery Supply'', run by Don and Shirley Allison. The number there is (904) 862-4032. Address is 656A Beal Pkwy / Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32547. Btw, there are quite a few brewers in this area (though I must admit, I haven't been to any of the local meetings---they meet on Tuesday nights, and that just doesn't work out on this end). As a result, I'm not sure just how many homebrewers are in this area, but I do know that the various grocery/liquor stores have little choice but to stock a reasonable supply of import/micro-brew beer (it's not a great supply, mind you, but not bad, either, especially considering the fact that this isn't what most people would call a big city...but then, it's about as big as I can handle as it is...I suppose that's why I live on the island, away from the main part of the city <grin>). Oh well, on to the rest of this HBD, and then on to the last (?) issue.... Later, --jim - -- 73 DE N5IAL (/4) < Running Linux 0.99 PL10 > jim at n5ial.mythical.com ICBM: 30.23N 86.32W || j.graham at ieee.org Packet: N5IAL at W4ZBB (Ft. Walton Beach, FL) E-mail me for information about KAMterm (host mode for Kantronics TNCs). Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 08:30:13 -0500 (EST) From: /R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/ at mr.rtpnc.epa.gov Subject: various Hi, I'm reposting this since I got few responses last time. First, do many people add dextrin and crystal malts at the mashout or in the beginning of the mash. Thinking about it, wouldn't the enzymes in the mass breakdown the dextrins that you are adding these malts for in the first place? Secondly, does anyone have any info. on the price and distributers for the Glatt Mill. He has been unresponsive and says he does not distribute from his home anymore, only through distributers. Thirdly, I have sent in a card in response to the Sam Adams Newsletter for a free t-shirt. All I recieved so far has been more newsletters telling me about the wonders and great traditions of Sam Adams. This included how baseball players in the early days used to come by the original family brewery and dip their mugs right into the copper kettle to get fresh beer. I guess they were real men and just drank hot sweet wort! Thanks, Andy Kligerman now living on 10 acres with my own well and first brew in the secondary ( first brew in the new homestead, that is). Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 05:49 PST From: jdg00 at juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Josh Grosse) Subject: Re: How long to prime??? Spencer wrote: >You should mix VERY GENTLY. Here's what I do: I boil up a cup or so >of water with the priming sugar. Then, after I've siphoned a bit of >beer into the bottling container (I use a carboy, not having a plastic >bucket I trust near my beer), I gently pour in the sugar solution, and >continue siphoning. I figure the currents from siphoning mix in the >priming solution pretty well. Boiling the sugar solution reduces the >chance of infection and deoxygenates it. Spencer forgot to mention the reason you start with 1/2 gallon or so of wort BEFORE you add boiling hot sugar water. Here's why he suggests this. If you put in the boiling liquid without any wort to absorb the heat, your carboy makes the most interesting CRACK sound! Since then, I've always covered my sugar water solutions while they're still boiling, and then let them sit and cool to room temp. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Grosse jdg00 at juts.ccc.amdahl.com Amdahl Corp. joshua.grosse at amail.amdahl.com Southfield, Michigan 810-348-4440 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 09:07:39 EST From: dipalma at sky.com (Jim Dipalma) Subject: RE: shipping brew, pitching temp Hi All, Just a quick anecdote regarding the shipping of brew. In HBD 1334, <STOREY at fender.msfc.nasa.gov> writes: >It is shipped to me by RPS >These guys know *exactly* what is in the box. My father-in-law gave me a subscription to Beer Across America for Christmas. I happened to be home the other day when the guy from RPS showed up. As I had just stepped out of the shower, I left the poor fellow on the front porch while I scrambled around looking for a robe. The temperature was a balmy -8F (God, I love New England winters). When I finally answered the door, I asked the guy why he didn't just leave the package, and he said, "Hey, I didn't want your beer to freeze." Makes you wonder if this "no alcohol" rule is just UPS weirdness. ************* John Montgomery asks about pitching temperatures for lagers. You should chill the wort to 48-50F prior to pitching. Pitching into room temperature wort will result in faster starts, but will also result in high levels of diacetyl and ester production. Depending on the strain of yeast, there may be more of these substances produced than the yeast can reduce later on. If you then move the fermenter from room temperature to refridgerator temps, some of the yeast will die from temperature shock. The trick is to pitch *very large* amounts of yeast at 48-50F, which will minimize the lag time without producing off flavors in the finished product. I'd also recommend an external controller for your fridge, as you may find it difficult to get the fridge to 50F using it's built in controller. While on the subject, I've heard the Hunter Airstat is no longer being made. Does anyone know of something equivalent?? I'd like to pick up another one. Cheers, Jim dipalma at sky.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 09:48:17 -0500 From: aew at spitfire.unh.edu Subject: Re: FLAT beer Paul Writes: Recent openings (now two weeks after) have little fiz at all. I had this problem once, I attributed it to poor mixing of the priming sugar. Usually, I put the sugar water in the bottling bucket and rack the beer onto it thus mixing it well as the beer flows in. In my batch that had uneven carbonation I forgot and added the sugar almost at the end. I assume the heavier SG solution sank to the bottom thus overcarbonating the first few bottles and under carbonating the rest. Losing my abnesia solved the problem. Hope yours is that simple. -Al Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 09:44:13 -0500 From: WKODAMA at aba.com Subject: Sanitizing Bottles In #1334, Ulick noted, in response to my Grolsch top meltdown, that he removes his Grolsch tops prior to sanitizing. I'm curious: do you mean that you remove just the rubber gasket or is it the entire metal "cage" and (ceramic) top works? If it's the whole shebang, do you sanitize it separately? As you know, the top has a little nub that protrudes through the gasket, and is a potential infectant carrier. Also, does removing/reinstalling that fatigue the metal? Wesman Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 09:43:16 EST From: "Paul Austin (8-293-5810 or (914))" <huckfinn at vnet.IBM.COM> Subject: Cardboard sixpack carriers, ceramic fermenters Two questions: 1.Does anyone know where I can get overrun sixpack carriers? Does any brew supply carry them? I'd like to have blank ones so I can print stuff on them myself. 2.Does anyone make ceramic (ie, glazed clay, not glass, tho glass does qualify as 'ceramic' in some ways) fermenters? Seems to me that ceramic or glass-enameled fermenters would be useful if they were opaque. Paul Austin Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 10:26:58 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: Aeriation/Dry hops/REpitching > Subject: WORT AERATION > Short, simple question: Has anyone ever used a small air compressor (the type > that drives an airbrush, for example) to aerate their wort? Sure, its a very common aeriation technique. Get a .2 micron filter to ensure clean air into the carboy. Remember that air only contains 20% O2, so the levels of dissolved oxygen will be lower than when using pure O2. *************** > Sierra Nevada PA: Anyone out there have a tried and tested > all-grain recipe for something similar? 5-10% caramel malt, single infusion at 152F, mash off at 170. Add Perle or Cascade (whole hops work better for me) about 1-2 oz for kettle hop, finish and or flavor hop with 1-2 oz Cascade, and dry hopping helps, with about 1/2-1 oz cascade. Wyeast 1056. OG 1.050ish, FG 1.012ish. *********** > Subject: Question on flavor > I once tasted a batch of beer that a friend had made, that had > gone bad, and this exact taste was in evidence, only stronger. He told > me that it was pyruvic acid. Your friend was misinformed. Pyruvic acid is the normal precursor to Ethanol. It is a fundemental part of normal fermentations. ************* > Subject: yeast from trub > > I will be racking a dopplebock soon into a secondary carboy. What is the best ^^^^^^^^ > way to save some of the dormant yeast from the trub at the bottom of the No!!!!! Never , ever culture from a high gravity beer. The upper end "rule of thumb" is 1.060. > Subject: Dry hopping - How to? > > 1) Are some hops better than others for dry hopping or is it a matter of tase. Yes. EKG, Fuggles, Cascade, Centennial, S. Goldings, are my favorites. > When dry hopping, do you: > 1) Dump loose hops in the primary and xfer them over to the secondary? Yes, but I leave em there, as I keg directly from the primary. > 2) Dump loose hops in the secondary This is what most people do. > 3) put the hops in a mesh bag of some sort and put in the primary and seconday This is done for ease of removal. I suggest leaving them loose, and using a copper scrubby with a rubber band over the siphon tube when racking. A few hop parts wont hurt. Good brewing, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 09:44 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Steam Correction In private email, Bob Regent said, that when he visited Anchor Brewing a few months ago, they reported that the experiments with ale yeast didn't go well and that they switched back to the Steam(tm) yeast for the Porter. I appologize for posting dated information. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: 26 Jan 94 16:04:03 GMT From: GANDE at slims.attmail.com Subject: Sierra Nevada or St.Ambroise PA Richard sez: >From: Richard Nantel <72704.3003 at CompuServe.COM> >Subject: Sierra Nevada >Sierra Nevada this. Sierra Nevada that. I'm sick and tired of all >this talk about Sierra Nevada pale ale. We can't get the stuff up >here in Canada so quit rubbing in how great it is. I've read more Richard, rush out and buy a 6 of St.Ambroise Pale Ale. It's very close to SNPA without the sediment (boo..), and just as good IMHO. It's made in Montreal to boot!.....Glenn +----------------------------------+-----------------+ | Internet: gande at slims.attmail.com| "640K ought to | | Glenn Anderson | be enough for | | Manager, Telecom. Facilities | anybody." | | Sun Life of Canada |-Bill Gates, 1981| +----------------------------------+-----------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 08:18:38 PST From: ELQ1%Maint%HBPP at cts27.comp.pge.com Subject: SS Kettle problems Morning from the left coast all you brew folks, After discussing the values of a "Cajun Cooker" with the local Brew shop owner, he relayed a problem he was having with his SS kettle, seems that he was getting small cracks in his kettle from the high heat flame of his cooker, he thinks that the heat is chasing the nickle content from the SS kettle right where the flame hits the kettle. His solution was a 1/4" round steel plate just below the cooker grill to absorb the intense heat. He hopes this cures the cracking problem. Anybody else have this problem? Does this seem likely to any of you metalurgists out there in the great vast reaches of of the HBD? He is using a SS keg and not a clad kettle. Thanks for any input, solutions, and offers of free brew. Ed Quier ELQ1 at pge.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 10:19:43 -0500 From: "Ben Piela" <ben at fcmc.COM> Subject: Re: Question on flavor (Celis White) Hi. This is my first post to the HBD and I am just a beginner brewer, totally just starting out. I recently went to a MicroBrew Beer tasting session over at Little Shop of Hops in Midtown NYC and one of the beers we tasted was Celis White. The Celis White Beer generated the greatest reaction from all that were involved. The moderator ( Sal ???, master brewer for New York Harbor Ales. Sorry I forgot his last name) said something to the effect that corriander was involved in the brewing cycle and contributed to the aroma and flavor. For me, being the beginner that I am in tasting and in brewing, I thought it tasted somewhat similar to Hacker Pshorr Weisse Beer and I actually liked it. But, then again, everyone has different tastes. Ben Piela Fuji Capital Markets Corporation Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 10:01:23 CST From: chips at coleslaw.me.utexas.edu (Chris Pencis) Subject: Secondaries/Oatmeal Stout/Waterloo Brewpub Hello folks in beerland....One question and some comments... 1. Can anyone please relate to me their experiences pro and con on the use of secondaries in short term fermentations (og's < 70) - I have yet to use one and am wondering if I am missing anything (I also currently do partial extracts...so you know my mindset)? 2. I bottled a week ago a recipe for a partial mash oatmeal stout. I was shooting for a replica of Youngs, what I got was very close, a sweet stout with some of the creaminess from the oats. I am very pleased, and will happily recommend the recipe, ask and ye shall recieve email. 3. For those of you in the Austin/Texas area, I recently visited the Waterloo Brewpub and found it to be off to a nice start. Three beers currently on tap....well worth trying. I will not attempt to critique them for two reasons, one: I do not presume myself to be Austin's own Michael Jackson (the Brit, not the twit) and two, they need encouragement and support now more than they need criticism (IMHO). Please help the Austin brewpub scene get rolling, quaff a locally brewed pint! Those of you in the area, please email me with your impressions on Waterloo or any other new brewery in town....TIA. Good Luck and Good Brew - Chris Chris Pencis-chips at coleslaw.me.utexas.edu-Blue Devil Transplant University of Texas at Austin-Robotics Research Group-Go DUKE! Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 10:39:58 CST From: biszek at rose.hp.com (Don Biszek) Subject: Re: Oktoberfest trip and Munich Brewery Tours I don't want to rain on Bob Kosakowski's fun, but...... He (and others) are arranging a trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, cost, $2000 - including Airfare, some transportation to sites, and hotel. Well current costs to Munich are about $700 rt, and I stayed in a lovely B+B near the Science Museum for $60/night for a double. That comes to $1000 for 10 days in Munich, not including food and beer. This B+B serves a huge breakfast, so, some of your meal money is taken care of. I know airfare may be more, but try ticket consolidators. I know it doesn't include some transportation, but the subway (U-bahn) is cheap! The extra $1000 must be going somewhere, because this is not a good deal. don Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 11:33 CST From: BFRALEY at aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu Subject: Should I Whole Grain? I have a couple of questions for you experienced, especially wholegrain, brewers. I have been extract brewing for one year and have experienced excellent results. I now use Wyeast liquid yeast and am building my own wort chiller. My question is should I take the plunge and go for whole- grain brewing? I think I understand the basic process and am reading Miller's book right now. My one problem is that I am in graduate school and trying to study for my Phd exams next fall and so time is an issue. I know I will need beer (perhaps in large quantities!) and I prefer homebrew to store bought. Is the extra time and expense ( I need a grain mill) worth it? I'd appreciate some feedback and suggestions. Thanks in advance. Brad Raley University of Oklahoma "Beer-Nature's Perfect Food!" Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 10:55:51 MST From: npyle at n33.stortek.com Subject: Utilization/Flat Steam/Bitter Yeast/Celis/Hops FAQ Welcome back Glenn Tinseth! I am most curious to hear about your hop utilization research, but, well, ummm, you realize this makes life difficult for us poor homebrewers. Its back to the old question of "do I use the correct numbers, or do I use the numbers everyone is used to (Rager's)?". Well, knowledge is power, but how do I convert that power for use in the brewery? ** Regarding Paul Austin's flat steam beer: I think that you didn't mix your priming sugar well. The first two bottles had lots of it, and the next few got very little. I would guess that you'll find some more that are overcarbonated. Just keep looking (and next time, stir better!). ** Jim Busch writes about bitters: >Yeast: Wyeast London, Youngs, Fullers cultures. Why the London? This is not a flame, I'm just curious. London is famous for its porters, whereas the good bitters are from Burton-on-Trent and scattered parts, no? I would assume that the British ale yeast would be best for bitters (and best bitters). Of course, this is assuming that Wyeast's naming scheme is something more than random choice of names (bad assumption?). Ulick writes later in the same HBD: "(but then Wyeast names often have no relation to the source). Hmmmm.... ** Bill Knecht writes that Celis is pronounced "See-liss". I thought it was "Say-liss". Tomayto, tomahto. Oh, the Celis White does not have an uncorrected chill haze as you say, but then I should let the experts comment on Belgian Wits. I know you've wounded some Wit lovers with your remarks, but I'm not that sensitive. I do like Celis White. ** George asks about dry hopping. I suggest you try the hop.faq file and see if it answers your questions. Send the following message to listserv at sierra.stanford.edu: get homebrew hop.faq. You should get a reply in a few minutes. Norm Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 13:13:45 "EST From: Gary S. Kuyat <gsk at sagan.bellcore.com> Subject: Zima in NJ Full-Name: Gary S. Kuyat Zima hit NJ Yesterday. If you try this stuff, don't think "beer". It's like a slightly yeasty tasting vodka and weak tonic. I didn't finish mine, but some people might like it. It's unfair to judge this as beer, malt-beverage maybe, but definately not beer. - -- -Gary Kuyat gsk at sagan.bellcore.com (908)699-8422 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 11:22:17 -0700 From: cartley at slate.Mines.Colorado.EDU (Craig Artley) Subject: Re: Sam Adams T-shirt offer In yesterday's digest, Mark_Worwetz at Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz) asked: > A few months ago I received a Sam Adams(tm, of course) propaganda leaflet > that contained an irresistable FREE T-SHIRT offer. Being a collector of > such drivel I filled it out and mailed it away. I've since heard nothing > from them. Has anyone else seen this offer? Has anyone received anything? Someone else asked about the T-shirt offer a while back. At the time I replied that I had sent in the coupon just after the GABF (early October), but hadn't received anything. Well, about 3 weeks ago the T-shirt finally arrived in the mail. As a matter of fact, I happen to be wearing it at this very moment (underneath a sweater of course, so I don't actually generate any advertising for the Jim Koch Litigation Team). It took 3 months, but it finally got here. (The material is pretty thin, but it was free....) Craig Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 1994 10:29:03 -0800 (PST) From: Jeremy Ballard Bergsman <jeremybb at leland.Stanford.EDU> Subject: s.g. and attenuation errors Mark_Worwetz at Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz) writes: > > A few months ago I received a Sam Adams(tm, of course) propaganda leaflet . . . . Has anyone received anything? I just received my shirt yesterday. I'm adding a "not" to the trademarked phrase emblazoned on both sides. dmorey at iastate.edu writes about potential extract: > Projected OG: 1 + ((31 * 8) / 5) / 1000 = 1.050 > (This is our potential extract) > > Projected Fermentables: 0.75 * 50 = 38 pts of fermentables > (Projected OG - FG in pts) > > Projected Dextrins: 1 + ((0.25 * 50) / 1000) = 1.013 > (Lowest possible terminal gravity) Actually, the terminal gravity would be less than this due to the addition of EtOH (s.g. <1) to the beer. This is similar to the difference between real attenuation and apparent attenuation. Apparent attenuations tend to be between 70 and 80%, in other words, the s.g. drops 70-80% of the amount above 1.000 during fermentation. In fact, the amount of material actually fermented is more like 55-60% (is this number right? It's something like this). The EtOH makes it seem like the attenuation is higher. > In this wort, the potential extract IS NOT the expected > fermentable soluble matter in the wort. It is a total measure of > the mass extracted during the mash process, this matter may > contribute to fermentables, non-fermentables, head retension, > color, flavor, etc.... My point is don't confuse specific > gravity and potential extract as the measure of fermentable > products in the wort, if this was the case and yeast where > *alcohol tolerant* our final gravities would always be 1.000! This last statement is doubly (a word?) wrong. Alcohol tolerance rarely limits the degree of attenuation. Most yeasts can handle at least 8% EtOH, which means that, roughly, a wort of OG 1.080 can be fermented without limitation by alcohol tolerance. Final gravities are above 1.000 because the OG is made up of unfermentable material (as in your example above) such as dextrins, proteins, etc. If all of the material contributing to the fraction of the OG over 1.000 were fermented the FG would be <1.000 due to the EtOH. Jeremy Bergsman Never a BW-wasting sig. (D'ohh! Oh well.) Return to table of contents
Date: 26 Jan 1994 11:14:59 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Cooler Mashing Kelly Doran wrote: 1.) When using a 5 gallon IGLOO cooler, how many pounds of grain will it hold and still be able to maintain an exceptable water to grain ratio for the mash? I predict this will be the start of an interesting discussion on Cooler/Mash Tun practices. It reminded me of a question that I asked our brewshop guy, Don Seichert, and that is "How deep can/should the grain bed be?" His answer was, one half of the shortest cross sectional dimension. For example, in a 14x16 x15 high cooler, the maximum grainbed depth should be 7 inches. What do Y'all think? In relation to Kelly's question, this would be how many lbs of grain will fit in that cooler to a depth of 7 inches. Of course, it would be wet at this point. Also, the common amount of water quoted for mashing is 1.3-1.5 quarts per lb of dry grain. On my last batch, porter, my grain bed depth was about equal to the cross section dimension, but I didn't get stuck (whew). 2.) How much will the temperature drop in 45 to 60 minutes using a single infusion mash? I preheat my cooler with boiling water, so that when I add my mash, I don't lose heat to the walls. I have not experienced more than a one degree drop in temp over the hour that I mash, according to the dairy thermometer that I leave floating in there. Its a good cooler and I put the lid on tight. John Palmer MDA-SSD M&P palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com - always happy to answer metallurgy questions Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 94 14:28:52 EST From: SIMMONS at FRED.DNET.ICD.Teradyne.COM Subject: Homebrew Digest Request Please sign me up. simmons at chief.dnet.teradyne.com many thanks. Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1335, 01/27/94