HOMEBREW Digest #1396 Tue 12 April 1994

Digest #1395 Digest #1397


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


Contents:
  Alcohol levels in US brews... (Stephen Hudson)
  Original Budvar (Budweiser) labels (Maj Don Staib )
  Wyeast/Bock/Iodine/Schools (Richard Buckberg)
  A New Hop Root Question (Carlo Fusco)
  S.F. brew spots (Michael Carr - ATT ASCC)
  Cookers (mlittle)
  Re: Titanium Cooker (Robert Schultz)
  Grand Cru recipe (pblshr)
  Yeasty Flavor, Water Help (Chris Pencis)
  ph of sparge water (Robert Schultz)
  Re : Re : Raspberry Extract (Andy Pershall)
  SIERRA LISTSERVER (/R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/)
  Re: BW aging & priming (Jim Busch)
  Way high SG in steam beer after ferment ("Mark S. Woods")
  cappers (Phil Duclos)
  Brewing Better Beer (John DeCarlo              x7116          )
  Brewing Better Beer (John DeCarlo              x7116          )
  Starter Containers (Paul Sovcik)
  Yeast Starter Problems (KWH)
  How much cheaper is all-grain than extract? (Bob Bessette)
  Titanium Boiling Pot?!? ("Palmer.John")
  skimming the scum off the wort (James Kendall)
  Irish Moss Failure?? (Jack Skeels)
  My Gott (COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L)
  5 gallon kegs - 3/$33 (Jon Higby)
  BW for my new Daughter's 21st bd (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Alcohol content (Mark Worwetz)
  Explosive ferments (Bart Thielges)
  coffee stout (Allan Rubinoff)
  EasySludge(tm) :-) (Rich Larsen)
  Bye Bye (GNT_TOX_)
  Zima/Shandy? (Bill Rust)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 10:37:45 EDT From: mop3 at midas.ho.BOM.GOV.AU (Stephen Hudson) Subject: Alcohol levels in US brews... Just my $0.02 worth. I've just started collecting foreign beers (up to about 50 and going strong) and on _all_ beers sold in Australia it is mandatory to state the alcohol levels as % Ac/Vol. Part of our countries laws regarding the publics right to make informed choices of what their drinking. Imported beers must either have a label different from those in the US, or have a seperate label attached to the back of the bottle. Something for you collectors of beer bottles to think about. Anyway the results so far are: Bud 4.7% Schlitz 4.6% Miller Genuine Draft 4.5% The Coors bottle I've got somehow missed the Customs net. BTW, these beers are on a par with any of the local swill. Cheers - -- Stephen Hudson Cataloguing Section Telephone : +61 3 669-4563 Bureau of Meteorology Fax : +61 3 669-4254 Melbourne Victoria AUSTRALIA Email: S.Hudson at BoM.GOV.AU Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 94 22:50:42 -0600 From: staib at oodis01.hill.af.mil (Maj Don Staib ) Subject: Original Budvar (Budweiser) labels Was just cleaning up some bottles to put my latest brew in, and instead of throwing away the labels I soaked off, I thought someone out there who hasn't had the pleasure of seeing the Original Budweiser beer, might like an original label to call their own. It would make a great conversation piece for that American Budweiser drinker. I picked up this beer in Europe, and it is the original Budweiser, which was served to the Czech King as early as 1531. I have about 30 sets of front, back, and neck labels to send. I have more but I haven't soaked them off yet. I don't quite know how to go about giving them away, but I guess if you send me an email message with your name, I'll send you a message back telling you your place in line (1-30), and give you my address to send a SASE. I'll put the labels in your envelope and send them on their way back to you. If I get more than 30 requests, I could get off my duff, and clean up some more, I think I may have another 30-40 out there in their plastic returnable cases. We'll see what the response is! Also some of my friends have more bottles, and I have them earmarked to come to my humble homebrewery eventually. The Budweiser bottle is a bright green clear smooth glass bottle, the labels mostly orange and white, with a gold border. .33L, ALC 5.0% vol Looking forward to hearing back, well worth a couple stamps! The Braumeister Staib, in Layton, Utah! Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 01:24:52 -0700 From: Richard Buckberg <buck at well.sf.ca.us> Subject: Wyeast/Bock/Iodine/Schools I've had similar experiences with Wyeast American Ale yeast. It was slow to start, but once it got going it fermented to completion rather quickly. Seems to be quite efficient. I wonder if bag shows full expansion before the yeast is actually ready and fully activated. Thanks for the reply about the Celis Bock. Makes sense that it is an ale, though it had the right color and base flavor for bock, sans the low gravity. Nice stuff no matter what you might call it. I have been using Iodophor as a sanitizer for my last few batches. The claim is you don't have to rinse the carboy, bottles, etc. I didn't, and just bottled today so I don't have the results first hand. But I am wondering if others use Iodophor successfully, without rinsing. If so, this stuff is miraculous! For brewing schools, you might try UC Davis. They have classes for homebrewers and microbrewers alike. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 14:24:00 -0400 From: carlo.fusco at canrem.com (Carlo Fusco) Subject: A New Hop Root Question Hello Brewers, I have a different type of question concerning hop rhizomes. I planted my hops last year and I will have to dig them up this year since I will be moving. While poking around the roots today I found a couple of runners comming off the main clump of roots. I understand that these runners are the rhizomes, and I what to know if I can dig these up and replant them to make new plants? Or are they too young, or do they need to have buds of some sort on them? The rhizomes right now are about 1/2 the thickness of a pencil but basicly look like the sticks I planted last year. Thanks Carlo - --- * Freddie 1.2.5 * email: carlo.fusco at canrem.com Sharon,Ontario,Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 08:19:16 EDT From: carr at ascc01.ascc.att.com (Michael Carr - ATT ASCC) Subject: S.F. brew spots HB Digesters, Here's yet another request for breweries/brewpubs/neat bars for a location. This time it's San Francisco. I'm going to be out there (for the first time) on 5/17-22. Please let me know of any good spots to hit there or in the Monterey/Carmel area. Anchor comes to mind immediately, so tour info for that would be nice, but I know there are lots of other brew-related spots to hit too. Thanks!! You can email me at carr at ascc01.att.com or post to the Digest, whichever you prefer, though email will reduce Digest noise. Mike Carr _____________________________carr at ascc01.att.com___________________________ "All the other nations are drinking Ray Charles beer, and we are drinking Barry Manilow." - Dave Barry ___________________________________________________________________________ Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 1994 09:46:00 EDT From: mlittle at cclink.draper.com Subject: Cookers <<<<<< Attached TEXT item follows >>>>>> Text item: Text_1 Hi folks, I'd like to hear from anyone via private e-mail who has good (or bad) things to say about various brands of cookers, and businesses that sell them. I live in the Boston area and haven't had much success locating these. I plan to use a converted Sankey keg, so the cooker would need to be wide enough (at least 14 1/2" dia.). I'll summarize and post if I get a significant database. Thanks, Mark mlittle at draper.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 07:54:45 -0600 (CST) From: Robert Schultz <Robert.Schultz at usask.ca> Subject: Re: Titanium Cooker I'm not sure of the effect of titanium on beer, but I would think it should be ok. One reason for not using Titanium is its cost -- probably at least double of SS. Besides, you are one of the few people that has a brewpot capable of mach 2 or greater! Hope it works well for you in those cosmic brews... Rob. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 09:54:44 EDT From: pblshr at aol.com Subject: Grand Cru recipe Has anyone developed a WORKABLE recipe that emulates Celis Grand Cru? A bunch of us got together last weekend for a Belgian bacchanal (excuse me, "tasting") and I'm in love. A friend attempted the Celis Grand Cru, but something in the proportions or timing of his orange addition was off. You can e-mail the recipe privately if you wish. Tom Finan pblshr at aol.com "Confidence breeds style. If Norman Mailer were two inches taller, he could write like Ernest Hemingway." -- P.J. O'Rourke Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 09:08:17 -0500 From: chp at mail.utexas.edu (Chris Pencis) Subject: Yeasty Flavor, Water Help Hi all...Couple of Questions, but background first... I am a partial mash brewer, 12 batches, liquid yeast, immersion and counter flow chillers, primaries only, 5 gal. batches fermented in glass carboy. 1. My two previous beers have had a slightly yeasty taste throughout the batch (proper pouring taken into account). They have been a pale ale and a brown ale. The pale has a chill haze problem - I do use Irish Moss, but have yet to try reconstitution. Questions: 1. What is the possible problem? Wild yeasts? not too likely - no significant off flavors and good sanitation. Excessive yeast/sediment transferred in racking? Others...? 2. What solutions are recommended by the HBD wisdom? Use of a secondary? Note that this problem did not show up in my Oatmeal Stout (excellent IMNSHO) nor in an alt. Other previous beers had other problems, I'm finally getting down to the nitty gritty. TIA 2. I may be getting ahead of myself, but I got water data from City of Austin and was wondering...1) anyone in the Austin area want this data (electronic copy)? 2) Anyone willing to answer my questions such as: what the hell does one do with pH 10.1 water, total hardness 120 (better than the local lake with a hardness of 214). I am, due to the current lack of lagering capacity, an ale brewer. I'm looking to find the tweak in the water which may assist in a cleaner beer palate so I can truely appreciate every bit of the nice maltiness, esters, and hop aroma in my ales. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. ps. note the new Email address for those interested... Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 08:08:45 -0600 (CST) From: Robert Schultz <Robert.Schultz at usask.ca> Subject: ph of sparge water I have recently read a few things about the importance of lowering the ph of the sparge water to that of the mash. Anyone out there have any specifics on the effects of doing/not doing this? What does one normally use to lower the ph -- gypsum, lactic acid? Any formula to follow to use the correct amount? My tap water has a ph of about 8.5. Thanks. Rob. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Robert.Schultz at usask.ca, Senior Research Analyst, University of Saskatchewan ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ "I'm going off half-cocked? I'm going off half-cocked? ... ~ ~ Well, Mother was right - You can't argue with a shotgun." - Gary Larson ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 10:05:02 -0400 From: tron!eclus.dnet!pershall at uunet.UU.NET (Andy Pershall) Subject: Re : Re : Raspberry Extract I've had several questions concerning what raspberry extract I used for my 5 gal. of stout, and how I used it, so here's the info: 1. I used the natural raspberry fruit flavoring (4 oz, catalog number NF-20) from Brewer's Resource (1-800-827-3983). 2. I added all 4 oz. at the end of the boil, just before dumping everything into the cold water in the fermenter. 3. The entire fermentation was in the primary (I haven't yet had any off flavors or any other reason to rack to a secondary). In my own (perhaps biased) opinion, the resulting beer had a very noticeable raspberry aroma and flavor. I can't say whether this was by pure luck, or because of how I used the extract. If anyone out there uses this approach, please let me know how it turned out for you. -- Andy (pershall at eclus.bwi.wec.com) Woman (to Winston Churchill during a heated session of Parliment): "Sir, if you were my husband, I would put poison in your tea." Churchill: "Madam, if you were my wife, I think I would drink it." Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 10:37:12 -0400 (EDT) From: /R=HERLVX/R=AM/U=KLIGERMAN/FFN=KLIGERMAN/ at mr.rtpnc.epa.gov Subject: SIERRA LISTSERVER Help!. I have been successful several times in hooking up to the archives using the listserv. Lately I have tried several times, sent mail to Mr. Hanson, tried using America On-line but have gotten no successful responses and have not received error messages. Has anyone else had this problem, and can anyone suggest a solution? TIA, Andy Kligerman Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 11:13:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: Re: BW aging & priming > Finally, Jim Busch suggest that for a barley wine that I had fresh yeast > with priming sugar at bottling time. If I were to use a healthy > Champagne yeast to begin with would this still be neccessary. And if so, > what quatity should I be adding. Afraid of exploding bottles I guess. In my opinion, the high alcohol of the BW results in the fermentation yeast being too weak to reliably be used as a bottling yeast, and this is true for either strain used. I suggest that you allow the primary to go for 1-2 weeks, rack to a secondary and leave it until you are confident it is done fermenting. Then grow up fresh yeast, 50-100 ml of wort, pour off the "still beer, add the yeast slurry and priming sugar/wort in the bottling bucket. Phil Seitz has had excellent results using this technique for strong Belgian Ales. > ** > > Regarding Scott's planned 18 year old barleywine, here' my suggestions: > > No priming sugar at all. Sanitation is not perfect and you will have some > bacterial and wild yeast activity breaking down some of the unfermentables. > > My BW had no priming and is carbonating quite nicely after 6 months or so. I dont agree. You do have to make sure that the beer ferments out, you dont want to be bottling at 8P and adding sugar. If you can attenuate the beer to 4P, I would still use some sugar, and be extra careful with sanitation. The only bacteria that could be introduced at bottling time in a BW comes from the bottling and air, not the still beer. One of the points that has been overlooked in this thread is autolysis. For a keeping beer like this, it is even more important to remove the ferment yeast using secondaries and maybe racking between corny kegs and force priming. A 3 or 5 gallon corny would seem ideal, in ease and sanitation. Others argue that bottle conditioning is essential...... > > Subject: De Clerck's Textbook If you find one, buy two! Id pay big bucks for this. Good brewing, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 10:34:10 -0500 (CDT) From: "Mark S. Woods" <woodsman at genesis.mcs.com> Subject: Way high SG in steam beer after ferment I brewed Pappazian's 'The Sun Has Left Us On Time' steam beer a couple weeks ago using M&F light malt extract and Wyeast California lager. After a very vigorous 5 day ferment at room temperature I racked the beer and put it in my basement (about 56F-60F). That was about ten days ago. Yesterday I racked it again and checked the SG (prior to racking). It was a whopping 1.042. I forgot to check the initial SG, but it should have been around 1.048. How can the SG be so high still? The beer is still bubbling away down in my basement (slowly because of the temp). It tastes very sweet with a hint of the rotten eggs I've seen in my lagers. // Mark S. Woods | woodsman at genesis.mcs.com // | mwoods1+aLIF1%Allstate_Corp+p at mcimail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 09:39:29 MDT From: pjd at craycos.com (Phil Duclos) Subject: cappers I scrounged an old bench capper from a junk/antique store. Its made of stamped steel and is probably 30+ years old, maybe more. Cost was $15. It will probably last another 50 years with regular use. Doesn't do the jumbo 1.5l champagne bottles, but I use them rarely anymore. Its faster than a grab the neck kind and costs about the same. Screw it down to a small board for best results. That's my recommendation for a bottle capper! phil pjd at craycos.com pjd at clouds.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:35:57 EST From: John DeCarlo x7116 <jdecarlo at homebrew.mitre.org> Subject: Brewing Better Beer How to Brew Better Beer Than You Are Making Now. a book by me. 1) Improve your process. a) Equipment b) Sanitation c) Other Parts of Process 1) Crushing Grain 2) Mashing Grain (Full or Partial) 3) Sparging 4) Boiling Wort 5) Cooling Wort 6) Preparing Yeast a) Culturing b) Yeast Starters 7) Aerating Wort for Yeast 8) Fermenting (temperature control, etc.) 9) Bottling, Kegging 10) Carbonating 11) Serving 2) Improve your ingredients. Buy better Quality, Improve Storage Methods a) Malt or Malt Extract b) Yeast c) Water d) Hops e) Other (wheat malt, unmalted barley, honey, dextrose, fruit, etc.) This is only semi-serious, but I give this presentation orally to friends and brewers all the time. We can all of us (even the masters) improve on just about all of these brewing areas to make even better beer. The question is where do you stop? Fora like the HBD allow me to consider what others do and potentially consider changing what I do as an experiment. Whether you are all-grain or extract or partial mash or kegger or bottler or blow-off or no-blow-off, you have room to improve if you want to. If you don't want to (for such reasons as "I like the beer I make", "I've won homebrewer of the year three times already-enough is enough", "I won't until I find more time [me]") that's fine. Any comments on my outline are welcome. John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:33:05 EST From: John DeCarlo x7116 <jdecarlo at homebrew.mitre.org> Subject: Brewing Better Beer How to Brew Better Beer Than You Are Making Now. a book by me. 1) Improve your process. a) Equipment b) Sanitation c) Other Parts of Process 1) Crushing Grain 2) Mashing Grain (Full or Partial) 3) Sparging 4) Boiling Wort 5) Cooling Wort 6) Preparing Yeast a) Culturing b) Yeast Starters 7) Aerating Wort for Yeast 8) Fermenting (temperature control, etc.) 9) Bottling, Kegging 10) Carbonating 11) Serving 2) Improve your ingredients. Buy better Quality, Improve Storage Methods a) Malt or Malt Extract b) Yeast c) Water d) Hops e) Other (wheat malt, unmalted barley, honey, dextrose, fruit, etc.) This is only semi-serious, but I give this presentation orally to friends and brewers all the time. We can all of us (even the masters) improve on just about all of these brewing areas to make even better beer. The question is where do you stop? Fora like the HBD allow me to consider what others do and potentially consider changing what I do as an experiment. Whether you are all-grain or extract or partial mash or kegger or bottler or blow-off or no-blow-off, you have room to improve if you want to. If you don't want to (for such reasons as "I like the beer I make", "I've won homebrewer of the year three times already-enough is enough", "I won't until I find more time [me]") that's fine. Any comments on my outline are welcome. John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 10:43:34 CDT From: Paul Sovcik <U18183%UICVM at UIC.EDU> Subject: Starter Containers Just wanted to share a brewing idea with y'all.... I found a great container for making starters for Wyeast. I used to use a beer bottle with an airlock, but now I just sanitize a 2 L pop bottle and make the starter in there. Advantages include the fact that you can see the starter as it gets going, you can "dent" the bottle at first and watch it get pressure as it returns to original form, and to depressurize, just give a half twist to the top (without really breaking sterility). Plus, you can make almost 2 liters of starter in the same container. Now, a question: Has anyone used Eroica hops as a finishing hop or as a dry hop addition? Is it any good for this purpose? Paul Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:51 From: KWH at roadnet.ups.com (KWH) Subject: Yeast Starter Problems I have recently converted over to making yeast starters instead of my usual method of just dumping the packet(s) into the entire batch. The logic behind it seemed to be good insurance. My procedure has been to boil about a quart of water with DME and 1/4 tsp of yeast energizer for about 15 minutes, then pour into a gallon jug containing about a quart of preboiled and chilled water. The gravity of this mixture is about 1.035. After chilling in an ice bath (pitching temp in approximately 15 minutes), I aerate by shaking for 5 minutes. At that time, I sprinkle the yeast in (two packets of Red Star Ale Yeast on last attempt), agitate, affix stopper and air lock. Signs of activity are almost immediate. My problem is that, even after two to three days, the starter looks like golden brown mud. Nothing falls out of solution. I looked in Miller's book, which states that stable haze is nonflocculating microorganisms caused by wild yeast or bacteria. If this is true, then I am amazed that anything could live through the sanitation I put my equipment through when I'm working with yeast. I have had the same results three times in a row, all with different yeast. The starter does not have any off odors, rings at the neck, ropes, etc.., but it does have a muddy flavor to it. Should I pitch this muck and just fine the crap out of it? I really think that I am doing something fundamentally wrong -- Please let me know what it is before I lose my mind. If anyone has any suggestions for a tried and true, never-fail method, please share them with me by private e-mail. Thanks, Kirk Harralson Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 12:05:31 EDT From: Bob Bessette <bessette at uicc.com> Subject: How much cheaper is all-grain than extract? Ronald Dwelle writes: > I'm not eager to keep the all-grain/extract thread going. But I > would like to add that I do all-grain for one reason--it's lots > cheaper. I have been extract brewing for approximately 6 months now and I find it very expensive to do so. Can you experienced all-grainers out there give me a cost differential on all-grain vs extract for a basic English-type amber ale? I have been comtemplating investing in the equipment for all-grain brewing and if I could have a cost justification I might be able to sell it to my wife. Just for doing a pale ale utilizing 2 cans of unhopped light extract can run me as high as $28-$30. Granted the brew comes out excellent, based on my limited extract standards, but that is a bit pricey. I look forward to some cost analyses by you all-grainers out there. I'm sure such a justification came into your decision to go to all-grain as well. Thanks in advance... Bob Bessette bessette at uicc.com Unitrode Integrated Circuits Merrimack, NH Return to table of contents
Date: 11 Apr 1994 09:09:28 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Titanium Boiling Pot?!? In response to Gordon Saby's post about getting an ASTM B265, G2 Titanium boiling pot made for him by a friend, I offer this general information, lest his post starts a clamor for titanium brewing equipment. The same cleaning agents that work for stainless, may or may not work for stainless, but you won't hurt it by trying them. Titanium is very corrosion resistant, However...read on... ASTM B265, Unalloyed Titanium, Grade 2 (ref. Metals Handbook Ninth Ed. Vol. 3) Typical Usage: Aerospace airframe and engine components such as engine shrouds, casings and airframe hot gas ducting; corrosion resistant sparger (sic) tubes for the chemical process industry. Weldability is good. Corrosion resistance to various salts and acids is rated as a couple of thousandths of an inch per Year, and Nil (sic) in most cases. Thermal Conductivity = 9.5 BTU/ft hr F versus 9.4 for Stainless Cost for Ti about $8.00/lb versus $2.90/lb for Stainless Heating of titanium in air at high temperature results not only in oxidation but also in solid solution hardening of the surface as a result of inward diffusion of oxygen. A surface -hardened zone of alpha-case (or air contamination layer) is formed. Normally, this layer is removed by machining, chemical milling or other mechanical means prior to placing part in service, because the presence of alpha-case reduces fatigue strength and ductility. Hydrogen Embrittlement of titanium can occur in hydrogenerating solutions at room temperature and during exposure to reducing atmospheres at elevated temperatures. Elevated temperature atmospheric exposure also results in surface contamination by oxygen and nitrogen (oxygen preferentially), which can be extended subsurface to greater depths with increasing time or temperature. Violent oxidation reactions can occur between titanium and red fuming nitric acid. "What does this mean to a Homebrewer?" I hear you exclaim vehemently. Well, in terms of wort interaction, titanium is the next best thing to gold or platinum, and better than stainless steel. But, notice above where I cited the section on Heating and Hydrogen Embrittlement. Titanium has a great affinity for oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen acts as an alloying agent, strengthening and stiffening it. Unfortunately, it quickly gets to be too much of a good thing. Hydrogen goes a step further, in that there is no beneficial amount, and only embrittlement results. Why do I bring this up? Because many brewers use gas stoves or propane cookers to fire their boils. There are three types of combustion here: oxygenating, complete-combustion, or reducing. Assuming your stove or cooker is experiencing complete combustion, the pot would still be experiencing high temperature oxidation from the surrounding atmosphere at some point of its bottom surface. With either a oxygenating or reducing combustion, the pot is being exposed to either more oxygen or hydrogen. Of the three, the hydrogen would be the worst, resulting in cracking in a relatively short period of time. I suggest getting a piece of aluminum sheet to sit the pot on while heating, that should increase the usable life. Personal Comment: You lucky dog! On the other hand, given the anticipated atmospheric reactions, for the rest of you brewers, I wouldn't get too excited about it. John Palmer Metallurgist for International Space Station Alpha (aka Space Station Ralph) MDA-SSD M&P palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com OR palmer#d#john.ssd-hb_#l#15&22#r# at ssdgwy.mdc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 12:38:58 EDT From: James Kendall <kendall at ltee.hydro.qc.ca> Subject: skimming the scum off the wort Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:24 EST From: Jack Skeels <0004310587 at mcimail.com> Subject: Irish Moss Failure?? Fellow seaweed users, I tried to rehydrate my Irish Moss (Brewer's resource brand) by adding about 1/2 cup hot water to it (2 tsp. IM) the night before I brewed. By the next day, it had gelatinized in the jar. I scraped it out and added it to my boil, and it mostly stayed in large clumps. I get the feeling that this wasn't what was supposed to happen. I've used IM before (my first brew), but really didn't notice what it did. My questions: What gives? Easy-answer (tm) system: a) Hey Jack, RDWHAHB, it worked fine. b) Too little water. c) Don't use hot water. d) Don't rehydrate. e) Break up the clumps before you put it in the wort. TIA for the advice. Jack Skeels JSKEELS at MCIMAIL.COM Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 12:08:14 -0500 (EST) From: COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L at Lilly.com Subject: My Gott I am not the most mechanically inclined person (not the least either). I replaced the spigot in my Gott cooler with a bottling spigot after trimming the hole slightly larger. I trimmed a bargain plastic colander to fit exactly (well...almost exactly) for my false bottom. Thats it. Easy all-grain. I have made a couple tasty brews in it. The bottling spigot was about two bucks and the colander set me back a buck. Good luck and good beer!! Sandy C. From: COCKERHAM SANDRA L (MCVAX0::RX31852) To: VMS MAIL ADDRESSEE (IN::"homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com") Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:06:01 CDT From: unisql!jonh at cs.utexas.edu (Jon Higby) Subject: 5 gallon kegs - 3/$33 Thought I'd post this to the HBD (previously posted it to r.c.b). St. Patricks - (512) 832-9045 (Austin, Texas) 5 gallon ball-lock - 3/$33 5 gallon pin-lock - 3/$39 Price plus actual UPS shipping charges (no handling fees). All kegs are pressure tested, but do not have new gaskets (~$3/keg). Lynn (the owner) said she had about 500, but she's been shipping them them out like mad. She also said she had a line on another 1,000. UPS man said she shipped more last week than IBM (RISC 6000 line is manufactured here)! No affiliation, deals, kickbacks, etc. Just a happy local customer. Jon / / Austin Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 13:09:48 EDT From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: BW for my new Daughter's 21st bd For 5 gallons, start with a total of 25 lbs of malt. I'd go for something like this: 80% pale ale malt (20lbs) 10% Munich or other light roasted malt (2.5lbs) 4% Aromatic malt (from DeWolf Cosyns) (1 lb) 4% Special B malt (ditto) (1 lb) 2% Crystal (40-50L English, e.g.) (.5 lb) This should give a nice, complex malt base to the beer. Mash it with about 10 gallons of water, and drain the tun dry with NO additional sparge water. This should give you 6-7 gallons at around 1.090 (my mileage, anyway). For a long boil, go for the higher amount of water; your sparge gravity will be a little lower, but you'll boil off more water for a slightly higher OG (1.110-1.120). (You can sparge the remaining grains to get wort for another 5 gallons of a light beer, probably around 1.035-040, if you've got the boiling capacity.) Then you'll want lots of bittering hops, somewhere around 25-30HBUs. Keep in mind that the bittering will mellow, and that you want lots of hops to (1) balance the sugar and (2) enhance the keeping qualities. You might throw in some finishing hops, but I doubt they'd survive 20 years very well. If you do, a couple of ounces might give it a chance of surviving. 3 hours should be the longest you'd boil, because at that point, the hot break starts to break back down into soluble protein. Be careful about HSA. With all that malt, and the long aging, any oxidation effects will be painfully obvious. Build up a BIG starter (1 gallons is optimal) of a yeast that will ferment at low temperatures (I've had good luck with Wyeast Scottish). The starter gravity should be higher than normal, at least in the final stage. You'll probably want to do it in two stages, first 1 pint, then 1 gallon. Let the 1 gallon starter ferment all the way out, so there's a nice thick yeast slurry on the bottom. Aerate the wort very well. Just shaking it in the carboy will not do the trick. I use an in-line aerator made from a piece of copper tubing with little holes drilled in the side near the top. The siphon hose attaches to it, and I stick it into the carboy as I'm siphoning. You could also use the aquarium pump trick. Pour most of the liquid off the top of the yeast slurry, swirl the starter jug well to mix it up, and pour it into the carboy. Alternatively, you could make the starter directly in the carboy, and pour off the "beer" (or make a batch of regular beer first) before running the wort into the carboy. A 6-gallon carboy is probably a good idea, it will give room for the large krauesen that is sure to develop. Ferment COOL. A warm fermentation will produce undesirable levels of fusel alcohols that impart a harsh, solventlike flavor to the young barleywine. Although, with aging, they will oxidize into esters that may add to the flavor; I'm not sure. I've been trying to run my heavy beers around 50F, almost as if they were lagers. Be prepared for a long fermentation. Rack to secondary when the fermentation is basically finished, to get it off the yeast (don't want autolysis), but then leave it in secondary for a couple of months longer to make sure it's done, and to let the flavors "combine" and mellow a bit. At bottling time, pitch fresh yeast along with your priming sugar. Otherwise, you probably won't get any carbonation from your tired yeast. I would bottle with the oxygen-scavenging caps (SmartCaps?). The long aging period will allow any oxidation that's going to happen to happen. You want to minimize it, so anything you can do to help reduce it is good. =Spencer Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 11:41:30 -0600 (MDT) From: Mark_Worwetz at Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz) Subject: Alcohol content Howdy from Zion! Here in Utah, (correct pronunciation is Utarrrr) we measure piety in inverse relation to the alcohol content of our beverages. We have therefore had a long tradition of permitting only 'safe' major label beers in our supermarkets. Safe has been defined as 3.2% ABV. My questions are: Do all of the majors brew multiple strength beers? Do evil, sinner saturated states like Nevada and Californicate get all the strong beer while the pure of spirit people of Utarrrr and the Bible Belt get the 3.2? Do the majors devote some of their breweries exclusively to lighter beer? Do they brew it different or just utilize questionable practices like 'Ice Brewing' to kick up the alcohol for the bad people? P.S. To whoever posted the recipe for the "Jamaican Blue Mead" last year: Wow! Good stuff so far BUT 2 questions: Why did you keep the alcohol level down (only 8 gallons honey)? Did all of the color from your blueberries drop out? Mine came out looking like a white wine. Mark Worwetz Mark_Worwetz at novell.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 11:14:12 PDT From: hpfcla.fc.hp.com!relay.hp.com!daver!nexgen!bart (Bart Thielges) Subject: Explosive ferments In Homebrew Digest #1394, Doug Lukasik asks whether his switch to partial mashes or the use of yeast starters is the cause of his explosive ferments. I'd have to say that it must be the yeast starters. With well oxygenated wort, the large initial colony can really crank out the CO2. Without a starter, the yeast is consuming some of the sugars while it is building up its population and thus peaks at a lower rate of fermentation. I've been reading an old textbook on nuclear safeguards that I picked up at my local 24 hour self service 15 cent book store. At the end of the book are case histories of nuclear accidents. There seem to be parallels between these early reactor accidents and homebrew mishaps : Hyperactive primaries <=> supercritical fuel assemblies Wort contamination <=> Iodine contamination Kettle boilovers <=> reactor coolant boilovers Gushing bottles <=> supposibly subcritical cleanup solutions going critical The smell of burned wort on the heating elements that means "My housemates are gonna kill me" <=> The blue flash that means "I'm gonna die of radiation poisoning within the next two weeks." Yes, as you can see, nuclear science and brewing have a lot in common. Except brewing is a lot cheaper. And the supplies are easy to find. And no-one has yet died by adding too much yeast to their reactor . . . er, um . . primary. OK, ok, maybe there isn't THAT much in common after all. Bart bart at nexgen.com Equipment destroyed since last message : 1 racking cane (me), 1 hydrometer, 1 sauce pan (Masher Paul) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 14:17:06 EDT From: Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff at BBN.COM> Subject: coffee stout Eric Sarlin writes in HBD #1394: >To avoid this stale coffee taste in home brew, the coffee guy told me >not to put ground beans directly into the wort. Rather, make a pot of >strong coffee (about 10 cups), and run it through clean paper filters >(the kind used with drip coffee machines) at least twice. The filters >help to remove the oils and will give you a better tasting beer in the >long run. Add the coffee at the end of the boil, about when you add >the finishing hops. I recently made a small batch (2 gallons) of coffee stout by adding a quart of strong French Roast coffee to the brewpot after the boil. The coffee was made in a drip maker, so it was filtered through a paper filter, but I didn't filter it again afterward. The beer turned out great. The initial sip tastes like a good dry stout, but the finish is intensely coffeeish, and lingers for a *long* time. In fact, this is the most intensely flavored beer I've ever tasted. It takes a long time to drink a bottle of this stuff -- definitely a sipping beer. The stout has been in bottles for about 6 weeks now, and I haven't noticed any of the stale taste Eric mentions. Also, the head retention is good, which leads me to believe that not a lot of coffee oils made it into the finished beer. Still, filtering the coffee a couple times before adding it to the brewpot is probably a good idea. If anybody else wants to try this, I would suggest using a slightly lower coffee/wort ratio than I did, unless you really love coffee. Also, go pretty light on the bittering hops, because the coffee will add quite a bit of bitterness to the brew. -Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff at bbn.com> Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 1994 13:26:43 -0500 (CDT) From: Rich Larsen <richl at access1.speedway.net> Subject: EasySludge(tm) :-) Jack writes : >Not sure it is important but the copper color was over the entire tubular >strainer and not just where it contacted the copper tube. I think using the >term "copper color" is loading the statement. I agreed that it was that >color but if asked if it was brown I would also have said yes. Without >further data there is no reason to conclude that the coloring matter is >actually copper except that it fits into the senario that is being suggested. > >I have occassionally soaked these screens in lye solution to clean them and >they come out looking like new. My guess would be that the material in >question is of organic origin and has nothing to do with galvanic activity. I have an immersion chiller (don't start counter flow-ers :-) ) that I recently noticed has a brown substance on the surface. It seems pretty well bonded to the copper when dry, but when wet, comes off with a simple rub. This may be the same material, Jack. Underneath the deposits the copper is bright. I've been using this chiller for about 2 years without cleaning. Just rinsing. => Rich Rich Larsen (708) 388-3514 The Blind Dog Brewery "HomeBrewPub", Midlothian, IL (Not a commercial establishment) "I never drink... Wine." Bela Lugosi as Dracula Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 94 15:00 EST From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU> Subject: Bye Bye I've been asked by my company not to receive any more non work related mail at the office. If you need to reach me, I ask that you please send all correspondense to PASTI at AOL.COM, my new E-Mail address for the HBD. Send those malt extract reviews to this new address. Please don't send any mail to the address at the top of this message, because I will be forced to ignore it and delete it. I will be off the HBD for a couple of days, while America Online starts to get it. Andy Pastuszak Philadelphia, PA Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 94 18:54:00 -0640 From: bill.rust at travel.com (Bill Rust) Subject: Zima/Shandy? Greetings Brewers, I don't really have a noteworthy opinion on whether or Zima is beer or not, but I have tried it and it really does taste like Sprite! HYPOTHESIS: If English Shandy is made with equal parts of ale (stout) and lemonade... (ref. HBD1250) And if this English lemonade tastes like Sprite... (ref. HBD1251) And since Zima tastes like Sprite... Could one make a fairly potent version of Shandy by mixing equal parts of Zima and Ale (or Stout)? I'll do some field testing and get back to you(s). +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen; | BILL RUST | | Here's to the widow of fifty; | Systems Analyst | | Here's to the flaunting, extravagant quean, | | | And here's to the housewife that's thrifty. | | | Let the toast pass; | --=_=-- | | Drink to the lass; | | | I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass. | | | | | | RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN 1751-1816 | Shiloh, IL | | The School for Scandal [1777], Act III, sc. III | bill.rust at travel.com | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - --- ~ SPEED 1.40 [NR] ~ Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1396, 04/12/94