HOMEBREW Digest #1444 Wed 08 June 1994

Digest #1443 Digest #1445


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


Contents:
  Aeration, how long is long enough? ("Christopher V. Sack")
  "Alt" yeast question (Jonathan G Knight)
  brewing books [from spencer] (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Caledonian Bottles (Paul Murray)
  Contamination? (Kent Verge)
  Re: Autolysis (Rich Fortnum)
  Re: Amylases (Rich Fortnum)
  Re: Cold Breaks (Rich Fortnum)
  Re: Different Grains (Rich Fortnum)
  Extractions rates, etc. (Michael Sheridan)
  Hop utilization questioned (Jon Petty)
  Pale ale? (Steve Robinson)
  Brewing Equipment (Guy Mason)
  Quality Vienna Malts ("Lee A. Menegoni")
  Lids on German Steins (Jim Cave)
  More Zima (Bob Ambrose)
  Re: Reinheitsgebot and kettle salts (Jim Busch)
  RE"accepted brewing practice" (Jim Busch)
  Malts of the World (Jeff Frane)
  Thanks (Phil Miller)
  storing malt extract (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Michigan Brewpubs ("Joe Stone")
  Attention Mathematicians! (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Extract Eff, Kettle SG Change ("Manning Martin MP")
  Re: Pale Ale? (Jim Brewster)
  Refrigerator Problem (David Knight)
  Corn/Rice Extract (Randy M. Davis)
  Ring around neck=infection always? (BUKOFSKY)
  Power Sparger (Ed Oriordan)
  Homebrew shops/good deals in Denver/Ft. Collins? (Kelly Jones)
  piss yellow, beer strength (HOMEBRE973)
  what temp to finish my lager? (Andy Rowan)

Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Articles are published in the order they are received.) Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc., to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L at UA1VM.UA.EDU), then you MUST unsubscribe the same way! If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first. FAQs, archives and other files 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.) Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored. For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen at novell.physics.umr.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 6 Jun 1994 23:11:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Christopher V. Sack" <cvsack at lor.syr.edu> Subject: Aeration, how long is long enough? Dear Homebrewers: A couple of weeks ago I made a comment that an airpump/airstone would oxygenate wort within 30 minutes. I then recieved notes asking if I had any proof and where did I get my values for oxygen saturation. Well, these comments sent me to the library, but my research schedual has postponed my reply until now. My comments were second hand from a colleague who worked with dissolved components in aqueous media (ie. stuff in water). When I checked the library computer for articles on oxygenation, I was surprized at the number of articles it found. When I tracked down the first couple, I found that they all dealt with the oxygenation of waste water in treatment plants handling 100,000+ gallons per day. I was reluctant to report any of these results until I located articles that correlated "bench top experiments" (under 20 gal.) to operating waste water treatment plants. Surprizingly, the rate of transfer does not change upon upsizing, only the the volume of air required. For those who are interested, the mass transfer equation is: C(t) = C* - {(C* - Co) * exp[-KLa(t - t0)]} C(t) is the oxygen concentration at time t (mg/L) Co is the oxygen concentration at time t0 (mg/L) C* is the oxygen saturation level at the test temperature (mg/L) KLa is the mass transfer coefficient (per hour) t0 is the initial time point, usually 0 (hours) t is the time when C(t) is measured (hours) exp is the exponent base e The volume and density of the liquid do not effect the rate! The density does not even effect the oxygen saturation level. The five values for fine bubble aeration KLa varied from 6.3 to 13.8 per hour in the four articles I ended up using. The average was 10.3 per hour. (The articles also listed the KLa values for coarse/big bubble and surface aeration, but I did not include them in my average.) >From a colleague's Dissolved Oxygen Meter, the oxygen saturation values are: DO temp (mg/L) deg.C. deg.F. 9.07 20 68 8.24 25 77 7.54 30 86 6.93 35 95 These values are for water in equilibrium with air at one atmosphere. The units of mg/L are the same as ppm (parts per million). Lets look at a practical example. Starting with boiled wort, which is deoxygenated (Co = 0 mg/L), that has been cooled to 70.deg.F (C* = 9 mg/L) and a tranfer coefficient as described above (KLa = 10 per hour), I get the following results (and a crude ASCII graph): DO time mg/L % sat. min. 1 11 0.71 9| *(8.5) *(8.9) *(8.99) 2 22 1.51 8| *(8.0) 3 33 2.43 m 7| * 4 44 3.53 g 6| * 5 56 4.87 / 5| * 6 67 6.59 L 4| * 7 78 9.02 3| * 8 89 13.2 2| * 8.5 94 17.3 1|* 8.9 99.0 27.0 0*________________________________________ 8.95 99.5 31.2 | | | | | | | | | 8.99 99.9 40.8 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 min. One final note. In going from tap water to sludge, the saturation level does not change, only the "effective transfer rate". The coefficient KLa becomes alpha * KLa, where alpha varies from 0.6 to 1.0 The actual value for alpha is determined by compairing the tapwater oxygen transfer rate to the sludge transfer rate. Remember that sludge contains lots of undissolved materials. I think wort is closer to water than it is to sludge! For the example above, if alpha = 0.8, the KLa becomes: 0.8 * 10 per hour = 8 per hour. The time for 0 to 8.9 mg/L (99% sat.) would increase from 27.0 min. to 33.8 min. Literature references available upon request. ___ ___ Sincerely, / ) | / / ) __ __ | Christopher V. Sack Chris / | / (___ __ ) / )| / Chemistry Dept. / | / ) / / / | / S.U.N.Y.-E.S.F. (____/* |/* (____/ (__\ (__/ |/ \ <cvsack at lor.syr.edu> Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 1994 22:38:54 -0500 (cdt) From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU> Subject: "Alt" yeast question I have read HBD opinion which says that the Wyeast "European" (I forget the number) is an "alt" yeast, but I have also read, I think in a mail-order catalogue, or perhaps even the Wyeast "Yeast Profiles" sheet, that the "German" (1009 I think?) is in fact "the" "alt" yeast. I have not tried the "European" meself, but I made an extract+specialties brew loosely based on Papazian's guidelines for an Altbier in that nifty little chart he has, and it's one of the best brews I've made! At any rate, I'd like to invite some more discussion on this: will the real Altyeast please stand up? Jonathan Knight Grinnell, Iowa Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 00:28:34 EDT From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: brewing books [from spencer] I'd like to add another book to Jeff's list: Randy Mosher's new Brewing Companion, published by Alephenalia Press, 1994. It's much more in the nature of a reference manual than a narrative introduction to brewing. But, it incorporates dozens of useful tables and charts, has several kinds pages for recording your brewing sessions and recipes -- lots of "blank" (that is, not filled in) pages in the book, or you can make copies and put them in a binder. It's got chapters on basic brewing, ingredients, recipe design, styles, etc. And it's visually exciting (as you might expect, given Randy's background as a graphic artist). 10 years in the making, and it shows. Unfortunately, it's also got a bunch of (mostly just annoying) typos. List price is $19.95 =S Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 16:19:15 +1000 (EST) From: Paul Murray <pmurray at lingua.cltr.uq.oz.au> Subject: Caledonian Bottles Philip Proefrock asks if there are more suitable bottles for homebrew than Caledonian Brewery bottles. He says that the Caley bottles have a lip that prevents the bottler from getting a grip. I have bottled about 75 L in Caley bottles with no problems. I used a two handed lever capper, which while not a bench capper, seemed to work fine. It didn't cost much either. I know that St Andrew's Ale (as it is sold in the States) comes in 12oz bottles, whereas Caledonian 80/, 70/, & Golden Promise (their organic beer) come in pint/20 oz/500ml bottles. Maybe the larger bottles are a different design. Now that I live in Australia I no longer have access to Caledonian bottles, but I can recomend them to anyone who does. It is well worth experimenting with different cappers to find one that is compatible, because while Caley bottles may not be the most fun to fill, they are certainly loads of fun to empty. :-) Happy Bottling Paul Murray (pmurray at lingua.cltr.uq.oz.au) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 03:19:54 CDT From: kverge at conch.senod.uwf.edu (Kent Verge) Subject: Contamination? I am a relative novice at brewing, and was wondering about contmination during the process. My first batch went well, but my second batch had a few bottles that really foamed up, and I'm wondering if it was caused by contamination. Does anyone know if that is a symptom, and, if so, what I can do to keep it from happening again? TIA, Kent Verge University of West Florida kverge at conch.senod.uwf.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 09:47:27 GMT From: Rich Fortnum <rich at beerich.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Autolysis >In reading Foster's book on Porter over the weekend I came >across a comment from him that ale yeast was more prone to >autolysis than lager yeast. Sorry I can't be more exact than >that, I'm at work and I don't have his book in front of me. My >experience to date would tend to suggest the opposite is true. >I've never had a batch of ale yeast autolyse on me, but I have >had a couple lagers go after sitting at room temp for three >weeks or so. Comments anyone? Ale yeasts find cold temperatures more hostile than lager strains. So, when placed in this condition, they try to kill others for the sake of living themselves. When I say 'this condition' I mean cold conditioning. Diacetyl rests as a warm condition is only for max 5 days, at cool temperatures also. Chill your lager. That's what lagering is - cold aging/conditioning. Cheers. BeeRich Malting, Brewing & Distilling Science Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland e-mail: rich at beerich.demon.co.uk Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 09:48:47 GMT From: Rich Fortnum <rich at beerich.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Amylases >I'm going to use powdered amylase enzyme to convert starches in flaked >maize. Does anyone have any experience in doing this? What charging ratio? >How long? Is temp different than 148=B0F? Do I need to boil maize first? If >so , how long before adding enzymes? Which amylase is it? Alpha or beta? Make sure you know which one. Read up on both of them in Papazian. Use the same temperatures. Use about 20 ppm. If you're using flaked maize, you don't need to boil. If you're using maize grits, then you have to cook. Cook grits for 20 minutes at boiling temps, with a little bit of 2-row to keep it from turning into a solid lump. Add to the rest of the mash, then add amylases. You should rely on your malt for enzymes. Use a maximum of 35% flaked maize. Cheerio. BeeRich Malting, Brewing & Distilling Science Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland e-mail: rich at beerich.demon.co.uk Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 09:49:38 GMT From: Rich Fortnum <rich at beerich.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Cold Breaks >Am I correct in thinking that a proper cold break is necessary >only in all grain brewing? Seems I've heard that somewhere before. > >I am a lowly extract brewer and sometimes after cooling my wort >before adding it to the primary, I have a sediment at the bottom of >my boiling kettle. I've always dumped it into the fermenter but >should I? Always try to maximize cold break, by rehydrating and adding Irish Moss before end of boil. 10 minutes should do, if rehydrated in water beforehand, say three hours before. Keep it out of your fermenter. Just do your best, with this matter. BeeRich Malting, Brewing & Distilling Science Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland e-mail: rich at beerich.demon.co.uk Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 09:50:14 GMT From: Rich Fortnum <rich at beerich.demon.co.uk> Subject: Re: Different Grains >When I brewed my first all grain brew, I went to me local supply store and >the recipe I was trying was just a basic Pale Ale (Just wanted to start >simple). They had a variety of 2 row grains. They had American Pale Malt, >German Pale Malt and Belgin Pale Malt. They also have a similar grouping >of Crystals and Wheats from differnt countries. They are all essentially the same type of barley (not variety though) and should be generally the same. You're playing with malting practices, total nitrogen amounts, and more in depth things. They will all work, but will change your product slightly. Obviously, you'll use British malt for pale ales, if you can get some. German and Eastern European malts will have malting and mashing problems, and are great for decoction mashes (which was the orignal way of using these malts). >The store told me that they are basically all the same, just from different >countries. Basically. >Is this true, or does one country make a better grain than the other. What >are the major differences? The prices were the same or only 5 or 10 cents a >pound difference. Not better, just different. They all have their optimal uses, in different situations. So, better per style, or utilization. Major differences are malting quality, extraction rates, amounts of small starch granules...don't worry about it. What you could do to answer your own question is make three batches, each using one type. Keep everything else the same. Temperatures, volumes, times, pH and the like. It could be great information. Cheers. BeeRich Malting, Brewing & Distilling Science Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland e-mail: rich at beerich.demon.co.uk Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 7:28:25 EDT From: mikesher at acs.bu.edu (Michael Sheridan) Subject: Extractions rates, etc. Hi y'all I don't have one of those funky copy-and-snip email editors, so forgive me for poor style in this post. 1) Derek Sikes asked about his Unpale IPA from extract. We tried making one of Charlie's Pils and it was <awful>. If you want a pale ale, start with a simple bitter, like Charlie's Righteous Real Ale. It's also a good basic extract recipe for experimenting with hops, fruit, etc. 2) Ken R. wants to know about using twist-offs--- don't. They can't handle the pressure. In an ideal world, you'd want lots of 'bar bottles', i.e., Bud longnecks. The bottles they use for bars (refilled at least a few times) are thicker than the regular storebought returnables (crushed, melted, and remade into bottles. It's amazing how wasteful we are!). We use Sam Adams bottles (the thin ones) and haven't had any problems. 3) Karl MacR wrote about making his stout 'stringer' (couldn't resist ;-)) We've used honey to boost alcolhol content in a couple of dark brews. It ferments out VERY thoroughly, but can give a 'honey bite' flavor when its still young or if you use too much. Stick with a pound or so for a 5 gal batch until you get a feel for the flavor. 4) And now the real reason I'm writing this-- extraction rates. We made an oatmeal porter the other day, and I figured our final extraction rate at 23 pts/#/gal. Yuck. I think it's because we have an uninsulated Zapap lauter tun that radiates heat. I stuck the floating thermometer in the tun to monitor its temp, to see if it stayed around 168 degrees as we sparged. No way. It dropped down to 150 or so within 20 min., so we started heating our sparge water up to 200 degrees to compensate (yeah, we know, tannins, etc. At least its a porter, that'll hide a bit of that flavor). No dice; could'nt get the temp above 165. Putting the lid on the buckets helped, but I'm still a tad frustrated with this low temp-low extraction thing. Jeff Renner wrote that he has a 'insulated and caulked' Zapap. Huh? How do you clean it? What's it look like, etc.? The lesson we learned with this porter-- we're going to follow the SG, not the recipe. That is, we diluted our wort (with 1 gal) in the fermenter to top it up to 5.5 gal, and THEN took the SG. Mistake. We had diluted it down to 1.037, a bit below the 1.045 or so we wanted for the 'style'. If we had just gone with a 4.5 gal batch, we wouldn't have had to add 1 # dried extract to boost the SG. Thanks for coping with a long and rambly post. Any opinions on improving the Zapap would be HIGHLY appreciated. Have a good day, y'all. Mike Sheridan and Kristina Simmons mikesher at acs.bu.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 7:58:31 EDT From: Jon Petty <jpetty at PICA.ARMY.MIL> Subject: Hop utilization questioned I have to take exception to the hop utilization vs gravity published in the HBD recently. I recently made two identical IPAs with the exception that the second batch I only boiled the hops and added the extract to the hot water after the hops were strained out. I did this to compare results. The second brew was extremely bitter compared to the first. Both used 1.5 oz of Norther Brewer, 7.5% AA. in a 1.052 ale. I can't compare taste because of the bitterness difference but clarity and color are the same and the second batch had a rockier head. I've since made a brown ale, same OG using 3/4 oz of NB boiled without the malt for 60 min and bitterness is comparable to my first IPA. This turned out to be one of my best in 28 batches. I seem to remember someone (Glen Tinseth ?) getting hop utilizations of 46% when boiled in plain water. This figure more approxamates my taste results. Besides higher utilization of hops, there is no boil-over or break mat'l to worry about when the malt isn't boiled; are there disadvantages ? Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 08:31:03 EDT From: Steve Robinson <Steve.Robinson at analog.com> Subject: Pale ale? > from Derek Sikes "ueymids at trex.oscs.montana.edu" > I'm on my 8th or 9th batch of homebrew and have made only darker beers so far. > I've enjoyed, browns, porters, some splendid stouts and bitters, a dark steam > etc. But I finally got the urge for a pale. I attempted an IPA using > Charlie P.'s recipee but I used amber malt and so missed the piss-yellow > color I was hoping for. So I have tried again... I imply from this that you are expecting a straw yellow color such as found in BudMillerCoors. An IPA ought to be a nice deep copper color. You mention that you have made some bitters, and an IPA should be a slightly stronger version of a bitter. Your S.G. of 1.040 sounds about right for an extract version. You don't mention what your hop rates were, but this sounds like it should be a nice beer when it's done. Steve Robinson Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 09:03:49 +22305931 (EDT) From: gam at beluga.must.com (Guy Mason) Subject: Brewing Equipment Greetings : I need to tap the collective wisdom of HBD. First a quick thank you to everyone who responded to my post on bottling with honey. The Goat Scrotum Ale ala Guy is a smashing success. Now on to the big question. Does anyone out in HBD-land have any experience using the Stoelting Home Brew System? It seems like a wonderous thing for those of us who limit their hardware expliots to changing light bulbs. Of course there is always the cost so... Private E-mail is welcome, all the usual disclaimers, I'm not a salesperson/ distributor/yada-yada-yada TIA _ _ O O /---------------------------uuu--U--uuu---------------------------\ | Guy Mason I think, | | MUST Software International therefore | | E-mail : gam at must.com I brew | \-----------------------------------------------------------------/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 10:07:50 EDT From: "Lee A. Menegoni" <lmenegon at nectech.com> Subject: Quality Vienna Malts Ireks of Germany makes a fine undermodified Vienna malt that has sufficent enzymes to convert itself and can be used as the base malt in Vienna and Fest beers. George Fix, in a previous HBD post, mentioned a less pricey quality German Pilsner malt from Durst, thay also make a Vienna Malt. These are more modified than the Ireks. The DeWolf/Cosyns Belgian malts Pilsner and Munich (only 7L) are high quality highly modified malts. The only issue with the Belgian malts is they have a lower level of SMM, a precursor of components that produce malty flavor, than the German malts. The D/C crystal malts were very well reviewed by Doctor Fix in his article on Belgian Malts in one of the early issues of Brewing Techniques. He particularly liked the Caramel Vienna malt. The article additionally included updates for the Vienna beer recipes published in the Fix's beer styles book. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 8:02:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Cave <CAVE at PSC.ORG> Subject: Lids on German Steins I was asked the other day "Why are there lids on German Beer Steins?" I thought it might have been an inovation for farmers and the like to keep dirt and straw and such out of their beer while working in the fields. Does anyone know the real reason/history of it. Thanks, Jim Cave "I brew, therefore I am!" Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 1994 10:55:18 -0400 From: ambroser at apollo.dml.georgetown.edu (Bob Ambrose) Subject: More Zima It appears this "beverage" (or whatever you want to call it) is really catching on. Now you can buy it in 22oz bottles! I don't think it will be long before we see quarts and 40oz bottles. Would you like to drink 40oz of Zima? Maybe if someone had a gun to my head! :) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 11:14:46 -0400 (EDT) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: Re: Reinheitsgebot and kettle salts > From: bjones at novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones) > Subject: German purity law??? > > >From: "Dennis Lewis" states........ > >When I was in Munich last year, I got a tour of Spaten and they were > >making Franziskaner weissbier at the time. They used no other water > >treatments than calcium chloride. It's my opinion that water high in > >sulfates is not necessarily good for making weissbier because the > >SO4's contribute a dry palate to the brews, when you are looking for > >a sweeter, more malty one. > How does this fit in with the German purity law (I couldn't spell Rein...)? No problemo. Kettle salts are allowed by rein..since the water has these materials occuring naturally. Through the normal warped logic, if it occurs naturally, you can add a few hundred times the amount and still be "pure"! So, go ahead and add Gypsum or chlorides. Good brewing, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 11:33:53 -0400 (EDT) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: RE"accepted brewing practice" What do you know, I expect the Oracle to respond directly, but instead I get flamed by a Don Put <dput at csulb.edu>: > > > > > Subject: "Misinformation" revisited > > > > > > >Subject: RE: tannin leaching by boiling water, free ads in BT > > > > > > >I just got done skimming this misinformation . . . > > > ^^^^^^^^ > > Perhaps if you had READ the complete article, you wouldn't have jumped to > > such needless conclusions. > > Perhaps if you had been brewing as much and long as I have, and have been reading this misinformation on this digest for as long as I have, you would have realized that any regular HDBer has read this stuff many times before. Its the same article that was rejected by Zymurgy, and what do you know, it ends up in the "more technical" journel, BT. Go figure! >> >>I got pretty peeved for two reasons, one is that "tips" like these have >>no basis in brewing science and are contrary to accepted practice, >especially with regard to increased leaching of tannins from the lauter tun. > >In theory, of course, you are right. However, the words "accepted practice" >leave the resonant sound, in my mind, of lemmings running for the cliff. >Granted, there has been a great deal of advancement in the brewing trade, >and craft for that matter, by the careful study of processes. We have all >gained a fair amount of control over our hobbies as a result of this, but I think there is always room for new ideas and new ways of approaching things. I fail to see the relationship between advocating increased tannin extraction and European rodents jumping into the sea! Its hardly on the cutting edge of brewing science to realize that sparge waters above 180F increase tannin extraction, see DeClerc, or Hough et. al. I suspect good coverage of this is also found in Miller and Noonan. How making beers that are more astringent is advancing the hobby is beyond me. > >> The folks who brought us lambics, pilsners, and steam styles of beer went against "accepted practice." Of course, they were concerned with different >> types of fermentation techniques, and we are dealing with sparging >> techniques here. At the time of origin of these beer styles, there was no "accepted practice"! It was being defined. > >> >If you had read Jack's article carefully, you would have stumbled across the >> words: ". . . but if you use boiling water in THIS system, the average >> temperature will be well below 170F and you will be lucky to keep it above >> 150F" (my emphasis). > > Now just what the 'ell does this mean, anyway! Where is this mysterious average temp to be located? Is he attempting to claim temp readings far away from the surface area that has now increased the tannins extracted in the lauter (hot water hits surface, surface is cooler, heat exchange takes place, and leaching of tannins). Or is this "sparge bowl" some amazing heat sink whereby water drops precipitously from 212F to 176F! I mean, whats 35F difference between friends?? And I thought one of the "wonders" of kettle mashing is the ease of a mash off, ending in a tun at 170F. If the tun is 170, and the sparge 212F, just where is this temp delta coming from? SS is a poor conductor, even if it is not insulated, which it should be at this stage of the process. > > >Jack is merely stating what he has found to be true with regard to the easy mashing system. I lauter in a Gott cooler and I get > very little temperature drop, but I imagine if I used a kettle the heat >transfer would be much greater. Therefore, I would need to boost my initial > sparge water temperature, wouldn't I? Wrong again, Don. If you use sparge water above 180F, you are going to increase the tannins extracted. I also use a kettle to mash in and a "kettle" to lauter in . I can assure you it is better to sparge with 170F water than with 190F. > > >>Secondly, the "article" is basically free advertising for JSP and had > >>no buisness being in the articles section , it belonged in some product > >>review area. > >While there were references to obtaining said easy mashing system from >Jack Schmidling Productions in the article, there was also a comprehensive >parts list that anyone with a little motivation could have used to assemble >all the necessary parts, i.e., build their own easy masher. Also, you'll >notice in the article it wasn't referred to as the EASYMASHER(tm). The >"article" as you call it appeared in the section reserved for brewers >entitled: "Brewers' Forum." Which, in past issues, has brought us such >notable contributions as: >"Modifying Half_Barrel Kegs for Use as Brewing Vessels," by Martin Manning >"A Three-Tiered Gravity-Flow Brewing System," by Bob Caplan >"Beer Tree: A Three-Tiered System with Roots in Simplicity," by David O'Neil >and many others. All of the articles that have appeared in this section >of the magazine are written from the [home]brewer's perspective. Hence, the >designation "Brewers' Forum." > > Did any of the above authors have a vested interest in the articles they wrote? This is probably the reason that Zymurgy rejected it. now back to the previously scheduled maltmill_digest, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 08:19:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Frane <gummitch at teleport.com> Subject: Malts of the World Larry Kelly writes, plaintively: > > When I brewed my first all grain brew, I went to me local supply store and > the recipe I was trying was just a basic Pale Ale (Just wanted to start > simple). They had a variety of 2 row grains. They had American Pale Malt, > German Pale Malt and Belgin Pale Malt. They also have a similar grouping > of Crystals and Wheats from differnt countries. > > The store told me that they are basically all the same, just from different > countries. > Isn't there a malt FAQ somewhere? I remember it being put together a couple of years ago... Interesting that your local store carries a good selection, and hasn't the faintest idea why. The short answer is: THEY ARE WRONG!!! Malts originating from the US, Belgium, Germany and England are quite different from one another, as they should be. Brewers in different countries make different sorts of beers, have different requirements for those beers and different expectations of their malt. I *think* this is addressed in the malt FAQ. If not, it should be. Another, highly-prejudiced short answer: the specialty malts (caramel, etc.) from Europe (Belgium, especially) are superior to those produced in the U.S. They are made from better barley and are made through better processes (I said I was prejudiced!). To my thinking, the malts from Belgium's DeWolf-Cosyns are the finest in the world. If, in fact, you can buy these for a few cents a pound more than domestic, DO IT!! - --Jeff Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 94 10:28:07 CDT From: Phil Miller <C616063 at MIZZOU1.missouri.edu> Subject: Thanks Thanks to all who responded to my query on how long beer keeps. Keep Brewing Phil Miller P.S I am moving to Carboy-Brewing from plastic bucket brewing---any tips or hints about this type of "brewery"? Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 12:20:15 EDT From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: storing malt extract > >From *Jeff* Renner > Eric Miller wonders about spoiled canned extract. I've seen enough > swollen cans to know it's possible, especially if the factory > didn't process them right. The older they get, the more chance > they have of going off, and they certainly aren't going to improve. > I'd sure move that can from 85^F to a cooler place! Dave Miller writes in this month's issue of Brewing Techniques: Liquid malt extracts ... seem to slowly deteriorate in the can or drum from the day they are packaged. Very old malt syrups become dark and acquire a coarse, molasses-like flavor that is obvious in beers made from them. .... About all you can do is [to] keep it at moderate temperatures (60-80F) and use it within six months. On the brighter side, he says: Dry malt extract will show deterioration by absorbing moisture from the air and hardening. I have seen it keep for a year when stored in a very dry room packed in a double layer of airtight plastic. =S Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 09:38:06 PDT From: "Joe Stone" <JSTONE at SJEVM5.VNET.IBM.COM> Subject: Michigan Brewpubs I hate to do it, but here it is ... another brewpub request. If anyone has information related to brewpubs in Michigan, please e-mail me directly. Thanks, Joe Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 12:44:04 EDT From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: Attention Mathematicians! Here's a table I use to for making high gravity beers from first-runnings, only. I then sparge second runnings to make a weaker beer from the remaining extract. The method is this: mash with the specified water-grain ratio, then drain the bed dry. Use these "first runnings" for your strong beer. You can sparge as fast as it will go, because if your mash is properly mixed, the sugar in the liquor and in the grain are in equilibrium, so no extra sugars will be extracted by going slowly. How to read the table: the first column is quarts of water per pound of grain. The second is the specific gravity of the run-off in "points" (e.g. 105 means 1.105). The third column is quarts of run-off collected per pound. The final column is your extract efficiency in pt-lb/gallon. These are pre-boil figures, so if you boil down from 6 to 5 gallons, you'll get another 15% or so (e.g., 1.105 -> 1.120, which I actually got in my most recent "bombastic beer" attempt). qt/lb SG collect extract 1 105 .4 10 1.25 90 .65 15 1.5 80 .9 18 2 60 1.4 21 These numbers work for my system, and were determined by experiment. Your mileage may (will?) vary. I'm assuming that each pound of wet grain absorbs .6 quarts of water. A recent article in Brewing Techniques gave a figure of .4 qt/lb, which would obviously increase the amount of run-off (and would improve the efficiency). =S Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Jun 1994 12:40:01 U From: "Manning Martin MP" <manning_martin_mp at mcst.ae.ge.com> Subject: Extract Eff, Kettle SG Change >From *Jeff* Renner: >Larry Kelly asks when to figure (pt/lb/gal), in the boiler or in the >fermenter. I take at the fermenter. This, of course, lowers my value. >I always lose a fair amount from my early estimate when the boiler is >full after the sparge (I do cool my sample). I would guess that most >of this is due to loss in hops and trub. However, you report 29 at the >beginning of the boil, 26 at the end, and 20 after dilution. Something >here isn't right, and I don't think it is all due to the lack of linearity >when diluting. My standard practice is to assess extract efficiency at the end of the sparge, and armed with this information, adjust the boil time to hit target gravity. A good approximation of the change in SG over the boil (or for dilution) is that the ratio of SG points (start/finish) is equal to the volume ratio (finish/start). I consider losses due to hops and trub to cause a reduction in the available final volume, and these usually cost 2-3% (of the final volume). I do not worry about any changes in SG due to trub formation, or the change in wort volume due to the spent hops. In spite of this, the change in gravity from the start of the boil to the end seems, as near as I can measure, to follow the (constant extract) SG-volume relationship previously stated. Since the final volume I measure includes the displaced volume of the hops and trub, and is therefore a bit high, I would guess that the effects of hop volume and trub formation are off-setting. A 10% change in extract, as in going from 29 to 26 pt/lb/gal, seems out of line, and I would suspect some sort of measurement error. Consider these: The measured volume of wort in the kettle must be corrected to the same reference temperature as the SG; a 4% adjustment if you measure volume at boiling and correct to 60 degrees F! The run-off must be well mixed prior to taking an SG reading, and failure to do this can give huge errors. I find the typical amateur brewer's hydrometer, with 0.002 calibrations, very difficult to read, and each 0.001 error here (1.050 wort) will cause a 2% change in calculated extract. Martin Manning manning_martin_mp at mcst.ae.ge.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 12:49:03 -0500 From: jmb31 at cornell.edu (Jim Brewster) Subject: Re: Pale Ale? In HBD # 1443, Derek Sikes wrote: >I attempted an IPA using Charlie P.'s recipee but I used amber malt and so >>missed the piss-yellow color I was hoping for. The problem is not in your recipe but in your expectations of what a "pale ale" should look like. An IPA is pale by the standards of 18th century England, when porters were the standard drink. Thus an IPA should be amber to deep copper in color, which hardly seems "pale" to Americans weaned on piss-yellow lagers! It is also true that beer looks a lot darker in the carboy than in your glass. This is just a function of amount of liquid the light must pass through. Does Charlie really expect you to get 1.070 from 7# of extract in 5 gal? 1.040 sounds closer to reality. Go for 10# next time, and consider adding some bittering and flavoring hops if you aren't already doing so. Keep on brewing, Jim Brewster Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 13:02:19 EDT From: David Knight <dknight at ren.iterated.com> Subject: Refrigerator Problem This is not 100% brewing related, but I don't know where else to ask this so I'll keep it short and simple. A couple of months ago I bought a used frost free refrigerator for lagering. The refrigerator is about 8 years old and sits in our garage (hooked up to a Hunter Airstat). When I first bought it, everything worked fine (I used the internal thermostat to get down to about 35F). However, temperatures here in Georgia have been getting hotter and hotter lately, and the humidity has increased significantly, to the point that the garage can get up to 100F during the day. As a result, my refrigerator is working full-time just getting down to around 55F. Am I simply asking too much of this poor beat-up appliance? Should a 'working' refrigerator be able to handle conditions like that? Would it be possible to get a refrigerator that could maintain 35F when the room temperature is around 100F and humid? Should I just sell the thing and buy a smaller refrigerator that I can store in a closet inside my house? Thanks in advance for any assistance. -Dave Knight dknight at ren.iterated.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 11:04:17 MDT From: Randy M. Davis <rmdavis at mocan.mobil.com> Subject: Corn/Rice Extract Rich Webb asks... >Does anyone out there in HBD land have a good handle on likely >extraction rates for grains such as rice and corn? The best info I have been able to find on corn and rice indicates that they are high in starch and low in protein and both provide typical rates of extraction of around 40 deg./lb./gal. - -- +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Randy Davis: Mobil Oil Canada Calgary, Alberta Canada | | rmdavis at mocan.mobil.com | | Phone (403) 260-4184 Fax (403) 260-7348 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 13:11:01 -0400 (EST) From: BUKOFSKY <sjb8052 at minerva.cis.yale.edu> Subject: Ring around neck=infection always? I'm not worrying, only curious.... The last few brews I have made have developed rings around the bottle neck where the beer meets the glass. According to various sources, this is a sure sign of infection. However, all of the beers are crystal clear and delicious, even after a few months. Can this effect occur without there being an infection? The only correlation I have is that these beers were made in much warmer conditions (10 degrees higher than non-ringed beers). The yeasts used were Wyeast British and the new Wheat. Am I kidding myself that everything is O.K.? -Scott No cute comment. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 13:33:32 -0400 From: edo at marcam.com (Ed Oriordan) Subject: Power Sparger At this point I assume a fair number of people have read the most recent Zymurgy. Can anybody explain the benefits of the "Power Sparger"? The author seemed to be implying that the benefit of the system was in its ability to save time (i.e. you can force more sparge water through in a shorter amount of time). I use a copper manifold in a cooler, and I have to slow down the speed at which I can draw sweet liquor off(I use a valve on the output side). -IF- I wanted my sparges to go faster I would leave the valve wide open. Can somebody explain what I missed? Is the author implying better extraction in a shorter time(which would be a benefit)? Or is he merely showing a way to decrease the sparge time (which to me would be at the expense of extraction, which is not a real benefit)? Ed O' edo at marcam.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 11:56:05 -0600 From: Kelly Jones <k-jones at ee.utah.edu> Subject: Homebrew shops/good deals in Denver/Ft. Collins? Hello all: I'll be in Denver and Ft Collins later this month for the AHA conference and Ft. Collins brewfest. While in the area, I'd like to check out local homebrew shops, especially if there's any bargains to be had. In particular, I'm interested in finding some imported (eg German or Belgian) malts at reasonable prices, as my local homebrew shops seem to carry domestic malts, and the shipping cost for malt is prohibitively high. So, does anybody know of any good shops and/or good bargains? email me, and I'll post the results later. Thanks, Kelly Jones Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 94 14:18:32 EDT From: HOMEBRE973 at aol.com Subject: piss yellow, beer strength Derek Sikes asked about getting a light color beer (paleer pale ale). This is quite difficult to do with extracts unless you go to a full 5 gallon boil and use the palest of extracts such as Alexander's or William's pale extracts. The canning process itself would most likely tend to darken extracts and carmelization tends to occur if you don't do a full 5 gallon boil Karl MacRae asks about getting a higher strength beer without sweetness. Honey is probably the best way to do since it does not give a cidery flavor. However, you must choose the blandest honey (clover?) you can find or you will add other flavors. Andy Kligerman Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 15:48:54 EDT From: rowan at ocean.rutgers.edu (Andy Rowan) Subject: what temp to finish my lager? Hi, OK, so I went and made my first lager. Left it in the fridge in the carboy for a couple extra months, out of laziness/busyness, and finally bottled it the other night. So the question is, for this last finishing stage in the bottles, what temperature do I want? If it's too cold, I'll grow old waiting, right? If too warm, what results? Andy ================================================== | Andy Rowan | | Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis | | Rutgers University, New Brunswick NJ USA | | rowan at ocean.rutgers.edu | ================================================== Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1444, 06/08/94