HOMEBREW Digest #1516 Fri 02 September 1994
Digest #1515
Digest #1517
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Peat smoked malt warning (Bob Jones)
Yeast culturing (Richard Buckberg)
Starters (Steve Scampini)
Smokin' Peat / Ring around the Neck-ie/ Yeast Starters (COYOTE)
Filtering/Straining Irish Moss (Turner)
Re: Peated Malt (Steve Armbrust)
Peat Smoked Malt (Jeremy Ballard Bergsman)
Portland, smoked malt, scotch ale, belgians, Brickskellar, Celis (uswlsrap)
Fuller's ESB coloring (Chuck E. Mryglot)
YeastStarters/ring-around-the-collar/MarisOtter/MotorizedMM/Celis (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Hop Help! (Victor Franklin)
Re: Flaming Bacteria (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
RedBrick Press (Larry McCloskey)
Mexican beer (DARREN TYSON)
recipies (TJM17)
Beer drinking songs (PENTECOST)
Caustic Soda (David Allison 225-5764)
water filters (John Hippe)
Phosphoric acid source? (BTEditor)
peat-smoked malt source (Tony McCauley)
Follow up on peat smoked malt (uswlsrap)
Homegrown hop curing. (Emuel Aldridge)
Corn vs. cane (Ed Ditto)
Can't Get Protein To Settle (fwd) (Phil Brushaber)
Red Star Ale yeast (Henson W.C.(Bill))
Head Retention (Chris Strickland)
How Do They Make Dry Beer ("NAME SEAN O'KEEFE, IFAS FOOD SCIENCE")
Parts for 5l CO2 tap ??? (Jim White)
Malta drink (Dwight Walker)
Belgian Beer Series (Spencer.W.Thomas)
Hunter Airstat Alternative? ("Bob Knetl")
gelatin (Rich Larsen)
Roller Length (Jack Schmidling)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 07:41:31 +0900
From: bjones at novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
Subject: Peat smoked malt warning
A brewer in my homebrew club bought a sack of peat smoked malt and used some
of it in an ale. It was not a pleasant experience. Too much peat smell and
taste! Over the past year that one bag of malt has been split and tried by
several members of the club. My feeling after tasting all these experiments
at varying degrees of addition of the malt is "Don't use peat smoked malt".
This stuff is intended for making scotch whiskey not beer. If you are after
smoke smells and flavors in you beer, then find or make some smoked malt.
Peat flavors and smells are not appropriate in ANY style of beer, IMHO.
Now that said, if you are determined to put this stuff in your prized Scotch
ale, then I would suggest about 2 ozs per 5 gals. This will keep the peat
notes in the background. Of course this won't be enough smoke smell and
flavor either. There have been several micros that have dumped entire
batches of beer made with this malt, so be careful!
Bob Jones
bjones at novax.llnl.gov
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 07:46:02 -0700
From: Richard Buckberg <buck at well.sf.ca.us>
Subject: Yeast culturing
Thanks to all who replied to my request for information on culturing yeast
starters. In brief, the consensus seemed to be to make a starter around
1.040 rather than 1.020, and don't expect to see any krausen. Most
suggested heavy aeration, and a few suggested yeast nutrients or energizers.
I pitched the starter that I thought might not have taken. About 250 ml of
"beer" went into the bottom of a 5 gallon and a 7 gallon carboy. I then
added 1.058 wort (IPA) and in about 24 hours there were signs of very active
fermentation.
About 36 hours after pitching I had the Mother of all Primary Fermentations.
It looks like the gremlins are in there with paddle wheels. High krausen,
globs of stuff floating up and down, and swirling currents make this look
like the inside of the triple load washer at the laundromat. Any questions
I might have had about that strain of yeast and the starter I used are now
dispelled.
Thanks for all your replies and help.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 11:23:30 EDT
From: Steve Scampini <scampini at hpangrt.an.hp.com>
Subject: Starters
It seems to me that many of the posts regarding starters miss an
important point - that the object of making a starter is to get a large
quantity of desirable yeast. It is not to make a small quantity of beer.
My guess is the best way to make yeast is probably different from the
best way to make beer and that the criteria for a good starter may well
be different from the criteria for a good beer (krausen, taste, color,
cloudiness, shelf life, etc..). I suspect many "recipes" for starters
are based on recipes for beer. Can some of you experts out there comment
on how to judge a good starter from easily observable parameters?
TIA Steve Scampini
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 09:38:08 -0600 (MDT)
From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu>
Subject: Smokin' Peat / Ring around the Neck-ie/ Yeast Starters
There's been a lot of discussion lately about smoking grain, and
a few suggestions (in the FWIW department). So now you can get the
REAL FACTS, from the snoot of the Coyote! :)
Supplier: I know I've seen it, I know I have. I thought it was the
Beverage People, or Brewers Resource, so before misleading you all
I just ran and checked my catalogs. Wrong on both accounts, unless it
was a diffferent issue. My aluminum tainted brain is not helping!
But there was SOMEONE who offered a special of Peat Smoked grain
for making scottish ales authentic.
As for DOING IT: The word of wisdom is: It ain't PEAT MOSS you want to
smoke, but PEAT WOOD. I generally run across hickory, and a couple others
at home-yard supply stores.
As for how to smoke grains: There was a fancy article in an issue of
Zymurgy, but it's a bit more extravagant than most of us might go for.
The bottom line was: Cool/moist smoke. This can be achieved fairly
well with one of those dome smokers. (~$30) You put charcoal in a bottom
tray, cook it up, the drop your wood (well soaked!) in after the coals are
ripe and white. A tray of water is placed on the upper rack, and you set
you salmon, and grain on the tray. Close up the dome, and let-'er rip.
Plan on MANY hours of slow smoking time. (you might want to avoid the fish,
and just put some cheese on, less cross-flavoring that way :)
Personally I wouldn't suggest using a propane BBQ for proper smoking.
There is a definite quality due to the REAL fires of charcoal. If you
don't have a smoker- go buy one, or check the salvation army, surplus stores
etc. They are nice to have around. But if you've got a charcoal grill
you can still manage. Build a fire in one corner, let it overcook (past white)
Make a screen/mesh container for the grains. You'll want to use
BIG CHUNK size wood for smoking, the chips aren't nearly as good, the burn
too quick. You want the to smolder NOT burn. So soak them overnight in
water. Change the water a couple times to leach out some of the tannins.
When you fire is ready, place the wood on top/near the edges- spaced so they
don't snuffocate the charcoal. It will still need air to burn.
(for a gallon's volume of charcoal use about 5 big chunks of wood???)
Make sure you have the fire pushed to one corner of the grill. Place a
pot of water on top of the charcoal area. Then put the grains on the grill
far away from the fire source. You don't want to heat the grains- they'll
burn! Set the rack high if you can. Close up the lid, and light up a good
pipe or cigar, and smoke along with your grain. Grab a few homebrews and
kick back for a few hours (at least 3 I'd say). Check the grain from time to
time, and stir it, so you don't burn any, especially shuffle some away
from the heat source.
Add your grains to a mash as you would specialty grains. It might be
best to minimize the mash time of the smoked malt so you don't lose
the smoky character, so add halfway, or at the end.
I'd recommend 2-5 # for a standard mash regime. You could smoke the
whole amount of the pale malt for a more powerful flavor.
After fermentation, have some of the smoked cheese and salmon handy, cuz
you'll have a strong desire for it! :)
I have a lot of apple wood available to me and plan to use it.
Anyone have any experience with smoked applewood beers? Perhaps I'll
have to throw in some apple cider with such a ferment!
***
Contaminants: Come in many sizes and colors. A ring around the surface
CAN be one type of contaminant. It can be yeast too. If you added Zuccini
(You crazy fool!) to a brew- you may have a ring of lipids. Does it have
a cooked vegetable smell and flavor to it?
Haze, dryness, sour smells, etc.....can all be signs. The Zymurgy
special issue on trouble shooting has some good tables. Several books do also.
***
Yeast Starters: Pierre sed
>
The problem is that this is not a starter, but a mini beer. A starter
should NOT ferment, but grow aerobically; get rid of that air lock, in
fact get rid of that bottle as well: make your starter at the bottom of
your primary fermenter, where you will get a huge surface/volume ratio.
Splash it around regularly, and do not close the fermenter: Use a loose
plug of sterile cotton for a carboy, or a freshly boiled kitchen towel
for a bucket. That way, all the sugar is used to make more yeast, not to
make alcohol.
* Um, yeah uh, er...the basic idea is sound, but you are asking for
contamination! A yeast starter should be as pure of a pure culture as
you can come up with. Until it has developed a nice CO2 security blanket
you are begging for trouble (at least in my fur and flea ridden household!)
by excessive air contact. You want dissolved O2 in the starters wort.
Make your starter (be it 1.020, or 1.040- you choice!) and cool it.
Then SWIRL the living daylights out of that puppy. But do so in a closed,
securely confined container. If you happen to have a erlenmeyer flask and
a orbital shaker you're in business. The swirling action will add plenty
of O2 for a yeast starter. Pitch you yeast culture and swirl every once
in a while. This will keep it aerated. But KEEP IT CLOSED, don't stick
matches, fingers or baby binkies in there. They have no place in a pure
culture of yeast!
As for timing: If you're using a liquid yeast packet, not the time it takes
to puff up fully. Count on you starter taking as long to multiply.
My rule of thumb is overnight for the packet (unless it needs more) and
overnight for a 1 liter starter. Then by the evening when my wort is
racked, the starter's ready to go. With healthy yeast, works like a charm.
If they are slower, go two days each.
Someone mentioned making a starter at the beginning of the boil, and it
being ready by the time the wort is cool. That may work if you're talking
about REHYDRATING a dry yeast packet, but if you're working with cultures
or liquid yeast packs you need MORE time to properly multiply.
\\\\ Just my 2c for the day. Do I know what I'm talking about?
Just ask my KING SCRUMPY STOUT that's tumbling in turmoil in the
basement as we speak. Irish Ale yeast: took off before nightfall.
I also used the "new" Whitbread from yeast labs. It has LAGGED!
Anyone have any experiences with it, good or bad?
The Cosmic Coyote Has Spoken
aka John Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu ////
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 12:10:30 EST
From: turner at cel.cummins.com (Turner)
Subject: Filtering/Straining Irish Moss
OK results are in such as they are. It seems that filtering/straining after
boiling the wort has little or no effect on the finished beer. Some people
reccomended filtering the wort through a strainer and the natural hop bed that
will quickly collect there. Others just dumped everything into the primary and
let it settle out. Others were somewhere in between. Everyone thought their
method produced good beer, so it is probably a matter of personal preference.
Having tried the "dump it in" method I think the sludge in the primary is
really gross, but probably can't hurt me. Last night I tried straining through
the hop bed, but it only took a small amout of wort to completely block the
strainer. Feeling that longer exposure to open air was probably more harmful
than stuff in the fermenter, we sort of sloshed it around until most of the
wort was through, then poured a little water over the hops collected there to
get all the good stuff out of them, and then dumped the hops into the sink,
repeating until all the wort was in the fermenter. The wort turned out
reasonably clear, but it is a dark beer, so A) it is hard to tell, and
B) it proabaly doesn't matter.
PS. The batch I added Irish Moss to is ready to bottle, but doesn't seem more
clear than other batches.
Thanks to the following respondents to my questions about filtering and
Irish Moss.
Brian B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk
Stephen Harrington sharrington at msmail4.hac.com
Wayne UTKE at ics.uwex.edu
Keith Prader keith.prader at wtgw.worldtalk.com
Doug djones at iex.com
Rick Larson rick at adc.com
Michael Valintiner Michael.Valentiner at cdsmn.mn.org
Steve Turner turner at cel.cummins.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 10:49:28 PST
From: Steve Armbrust <Steve_Armbrust at ccm.co.intel.com>
Subject: Re: Peated Malt
Text item: Text_1
People have been asking where to get smoked malts. I know that Steinbarts
in Portland, OR carries Hugh Baird peated malt. (They advertise in Zymurgy
and probably BT, so you can get the address and phone number there.)
But take care with this stuff. I recently experimented with 1/4 pound of
peated malt in a 5-gallon batch of ale, and it added quite an impact. I
couldn't taste it at all when I sampled the wort after the boil. But after
fermentation, the taste was more smokey than I wanted. I used my own
made-up recipe, so that could be the problem. But still, I don't think
peated malt is for everyone.
Steve Armbrust
Steve_Armbrust at ccm.hf.intel.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 12:08:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeremy Ballard Bergsman <jeremybb at leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Peat Smoked Malt
The Beverage People in Santa Rosa, CA have it. Get their number from
1-800-555-1212. Jeremy Bergsman jeremybb at leland.stanford.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 15:11:04 EDT
From: uswlsrap at ibmmail.com
Subject: Portland, smoked malt, scotch ale, belgians, Brickskellar, Celis
- ----------------------- Mail item text follows ---------------
To: I1010141--IBMMAIL
From: Bob Paolino
Research Analyst
Subject: Portland, smoked malt, scotch ale, belgians, Brickskellar, Celis
Well, I'm not having a beer at lunch, but at least I can spend my
lunchtime talking about it in response to a bunch of HBD items (and a
question of my own)
First, a quick question--is James Spence accessible on the net for
competition questions, form requests, et cetera.
The responses:
PORTLAND: I requested and received (thanks) the Portland (OR) review
from CompuServe (TM) that was offered in a previous HBD. It turned out
to be simply a quick trip review and was not a comprehensive
listing/review. It's fine for what it is (although I disagreed with some
of the evaluations), but I thought I'd let people know that it's not a
comprehensive list, and perhaps save the person who offered it from the
burden of excess email from people who are really expecting something
else. It's a frequently requested topic, and I'd be willing to offer my
observations on the Portland scene for whatever they might be worth. (I
don't live there; I've visited only twice, most recently in early
August) I'm willing to post a brief write-up, but not right now. If any
of you Rose City natives (or transplants) want to say something about
it, I'd much rather hear your perspectives than hear myself talk (uh...
read myself write? oh, never mind :-) )How about it, Portland?
SMOKED MALT--I'll have to check my catalogue, but Brian North (North
Brewing Supply / Franklin, Wisconsin / sorry, don't have address right
at hand, but I bet Mitch Gelly could give it to you right away) sells a
distiller's malt. I haven't used it because the time I considered trying
some, he was sold out. Will get the rest of the information for you.
DISCLAIMER: I have no financial interest, just a satisfied customer...
SCOTCH ALE questions: Check the current AHA style guidelines.... Scotch
Ale is a high gravity style and, if memory serves, is classified with
Old Ales/Strong Ales and _not_ with Scottish Ales.
BELGIAN Ale file??? I followed the instructions to get the compilation
of the recent Belgian posts (send a blank message with SUBJ: Help) and
got back what might be considered an error message that instructed me
how to get an index of the lambic digest, but nothing about the recent
items. How do I get the file if not as instructed?
BRICKSKELLAR... No offence intended, but the post sounded like the child
who insisted on going to the ice cream place with 100 flavours...and
ordered vanilla. I have not been to the Brickskellar. I've heard that it
has a wonderful collection of breweriana and lots of bottled beer, but
it is basically a beer tourist trap. I may try it sometime despite the
warning. Personally, if I'm seeking out beer when travelling, I'd rather
go someplace where I can get the local brews fresh on tap. I don't
dispute that much of what they had was good beer, but it could have been
easily obtained elsewhere (including at home) at less-than-Brickskellar
prices. I figure if you're going to go there, you might as well get the
exotic stuff you can't get elsewhere. Again, this is just my $0.02 and
not a flame; the real test is whether you enjoyed yourself.... Keep
beerhunting!
CELIS.... To the best of my knowledge (including attending a dinner
where he spoke), it is pronounced SELL-ISS. Hope that helps when you ask
for it at your neighbourhood liquor store. It _is_ wonderful stuff when fresh!
Bob Paolino
Disoriented in Badgerspace
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 15:12:07 EDT
From: cem at cadre.com (Chuck E. Mryglot)
Subject: Fuller's ESB coloring
Among the recent postings about Fuller's formulations:
Jim DiPalma writes:
> I've made a few attempts to clone Fuller's ESB, it's one of my favorite
>commercial beers. I've found that using flaked maize as ~8% of the grain bill
>produces that smooth, slightly grainy sweetness in just about the right
>proportion.
> I've had no success in getting the color dark enough, despite a fair
>amount of 70L crystal. I wasn't aware they used caramel.
Just what is caramel?
Thanks,
ChuckM
Return to table of contents
Date: 30 Aug 94 18:54:00 GMT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: YeastStarters/ring-around-the-collar/MarisOtter/MotorizedMM/Celis
Thomas writes:
>For 20 - 25 l (approx. 5 gallons) of wort:
>
>Boil 500 ml (approx. 1 pint) of tap water with 2 tbsp of ordinary sugar.
>Let it cool to 30 C (86 F), keeping it sterile. Transfer to a sterile
>vessel (glass is best, because you can see the froth), add the package of
>yeast, and stir vigorously. Keep in a warm, dark place (like an oven set to
>86 F). In 30 - 120 min, the starter should be actively hissing and bubbling
> - ready for pitching. If you're not sure, one good test is to light a match
>and lower it into the vessel: if the yeasts are active, the CO2 will choke
>the flame.
>
>I prepare the starter while boiling the wort, and when the boil is over,
>the starter is ready.
This is very bad advice for a number of reasons:
1. By "ordinary sugar" you probably mean sucrose, right? Yeast can and do
eat sucrose, but it has been found that yeast that have been raised on
pure sucrose or glucose seem to later have difficulty fermenting maltose.
Starters should have a similar proportion of maltose in the wort into which
you plan to pitch. My source for this information is from an article in
the ASBC Proceedings, whose title escapes me.
2. In 30-120 minutes, you may have activity, but you certainly won't have
grown anywhere near the proper number of cells for a 5 gallon batch. If
you are talking about rehydrating a package of dry yeast, the yeast will
be much healthier if you rehydrate in pure, sanititized, 90-110F tapwater.
The higher osmotic pressure of wort or sugar solution makes it difficult
for the yeast to uptake the water. This data is from the Lallemand yeast
newsletter, experiments that I've done personally and from the Yeast Special
Issue of Zymurgy.
3. If you are talking about making a starter from a puffed-up Wyeast package,
then the times you state are much too short. The proper time to pitch is
NOT at high kraeusen as most books state, but rather after the yeast are in
the stationary phase -- well after high kraeusen. It is at this time that
the yeasts' glycogen levels are the highest and the lag phase will be the
shortest. Granted, you can make delicious, prize-winning beer from non-
optimal pitching (I've done it myself), but it's good to know the theory
even if you diverge from it occasionally. References: Practical Yeast
Management, Dr. Paul Monk, Fermchem Pty. Ltd., Brewery Operations Vol 6,
pp. 127 and "Impact of Yeast Handling Procedures on Beer Flavor During
Fermentation" Pickerell et. al., American Society of Brewing Chemists
Journal, Vol 49:2, 1991, pp.87-92.
********
Rob writes:
> I have a question concerning how to tell if your beer is
>contaminated. My neighbor says that if you tilt a bottle and the beer
>leaves a line on the inside neck, then the beer is contaminated. If
>you tilt the bottle and no residue is left, then the beer is fine.
A bottle infection of aerobic microbiota produce a ring-around-the-collar
(RATC), but there are a great many infections from anaerobic bacteria which
would much rather sit in the very bottom of the bottle, so you won't get
RATC from them. Based upon experiments that I've done, I am quite confident
that the most common cause for RATC is from priming solution protein and
not from infection. Oils in the beer can also cause RATC, but this is
even less common, I feel, than infections. The solution to the protein
in the primings (i.e. DME, wort, spiese or extract syrup used for priming)
is to either use corn sugar for priming or (if you insist on malt-based
priming) make sure you boil your priming solution well and then force
cool it. Do not add the hot and cold break to the green beer!
**********
Norm writes about barley varieties and malting houses. I'd like to make
a few small corrections. Maris Otter is a barley, not a malting house.
Crisp Maltings makes Maris Otter Malt from Maris Otter barley. I've heard
(no kidding) that there's a new malt on the horizon called Maris Badger,
but then perhaps it is just a joke -- you know that British wit.
**********
David writes:
>I am interested in motorizing my adjustable MaltMill with a motor that sits
>on the platform and drives the roller using a belt and pulleys. Any
>suggestions for doing this? I am interested in the type of motor to use
>and the size of the pulleys necessary to run it at an optimal RPM.
I have motorized mine and am very happy with it. I used a 1/3 HP motor,
running at (I believe) 1720 RPM, turning a 1.25" diameter pulley, which
drives a 12" pulley on the MaltMill. Without modification to the grain
chute, I'm milling at a rate of 10 seconds per pound. I did have to
extend the base board because the 12" pulley makes the motor have to be
further away than the standard base will allow. If you can find a slower
motor, you could maybe use a smaller mill pulley and use the standard base.
Note that with a much smaller mill pulley, you may need more horsepower.
********
Martin writes:
>Is "Celis" pronounced like "say-lee" or "sell-iss" or...
Sell-iss.
Al.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 11:53:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: uswnvg!vfrankl at uunet.uu.net (Victor Franklin)
Subject: Hop Help!
I didn't get HBD 1512 for aug 29th so I don't know if this was addressed...
Someone had asked for a good source of hops. well, there is a homebrew
store near me that is VERY carefull with there hops. they have a large
selection and they are adding to it all the time. The hops are vaccum
packed in oxygen barrier bags (of course), and are labeled clearly. they
have a full catalog of brewing supplies. What impresses me is the
careful way in wich they handle all of there supplies.
If you would like a catalog feel free to call them at :
Evergreen Brewing Supply 1-800-789-BREW
standard discalaimers apply. I have NO affiliation with them. I am just an
extremely satisfied customer.
Happy brewer (drinker)
Victor Franklin
vfrankl at uswnvg.com
Return to table of contents
Date: 30 Aug 94 19:51:00 GMT
From: korz at iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Re: Flaming Bacteria
Wyllie Coyote writes:
>Al asked
>>I've read this before and don't believe that working near a lit bunsen burner
>>can keep bacteria away from your plates. Can someone explain to me why it
>>would? The way I see it is the heat rising from the burner will cause upward
>>air currents in the general vicinity of the work. The rising air must be
<snip>
>* Ok, we have a little misunderstanding of the function of the burner
>here. A bunsen burner is in no way supposed to be an alternative to a
>laminar flow. It does not "sterilize" the air in any way/who/ or how.
>
>The function of a flame in "asceptic technique" it to heat objects, e.g.
>inoculating loops, lips of flasks...etc. And to create "Positive airflow"
>out of vessels- e.g., test tubes, flasks...etc. Such that air IN the tube
>is heated, and thusly moves out of the tube, henceforth airborn contaminants,be
>they bacteria, mold, yeast, etc. are not able to enter the vessels, whereby
>contamination is avoided.
<snip>
>Additionally, when pouring plates you should tilt the flask containing molten
>sterilized agar and flame the lip of the vessel gently (don't make it glow
>red like a loop, just heat the surface slightly, and down the side a bit)
>When a plate is poured the agar flows out from the sterile lip surface and
>drops into a plate. Don't touch the lip to the plate.
>You can then keep the flask sideways so the drop on the lip stays
>there, and does not flow down the outside collecting contaminants.
>Reflame the lip, and pour the next plate. Thing is- DON'T stand the flask
>upright between plates, flame the lip each time to keep it sterile, and keep
>air moving OUT of the flask.
Sorry about having to quote so much, but I'm still confused. Okay, let's
assume that the purpose of working near a lit burner is to heat the flask
so that air goes OUT of the flask. But no matter how much you heat the neck
of the flask, as soon as you pour media from the flask, the space taken up
by the media will have to be replaced by something. Well, as I see it, it's
going to be air. Whether you tip the flask back and forth or if you keep it
perpendicular to the table, you will still suck air into the flask as the
media pours out. So I'm still confused how working next to a flame will
reduce the chances of getting your plate contaminated by airborne microbiota.
Al.
Return to table of contents
Date: 30 Aug 94 16:39:40 EDT
From: Larry McCloskey <74557.1102 at compuserve.com>
Subject: RedBrick Press
Does anybody know the status or whereabouts of RedBrick Press, the publisher
of several microbrewery history/guidebooks (California Brewin', Brewery
Adventures in the Wild West, etc)? They used to be in Reston, VA, but
don't seem to be around [there] anymore.
Thanks, Larry McCloskey 74557.1102 at compuserve.com
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 16:00:07 -0600 (CST)
From: DARREN TYSON <TYSONDR at SLUVCA.SLU.EDU>
Subject: Mexican beer
Greetings fellow homebrewers,
I really enjoy Mexican food, and with it, Mexican beer. My questions
are: 1) What type of hops are common in Mexican brews such as Dos Equis
or Tecate? 2) Does anyone have an extract (+specialty grains if needed)
recipe for Dos Equis? 3) Can anyone recommend any other Mexican beers?
Thanks for all replies in advance.
May all your beer be homebrewed,
Darren tysondr at sluvca.slu.edu
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 17:12:47 -0500 (EST)
From: TJM17 at JAGUAR.UOFS.EDU
Subject: recipies
This is my first time posting somthing here so please excuse me if i am
doing this wrong. I am requesting some very basic beer recipies as well
as cider recipies. I am a college student so if at all possible could
you send a list of equiment that i would need have to accomplish basic
fermentation that is cheap and easy to find at the grocery store.
thanks for your time.
t.
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Date: 30 Aug 1994 18:36:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: PENTECOST at BROOK.EDU
Subject: Beer drinking songs
Greetings. I'm not on this list (yet) but I'm hoping that someone on it
can give me a hand; if so please respond directly.
I'm going to the Oktoberfest in Munich in a couple of weeks and am trying
to locate the lyrics, in German, to popular folk and beer drinking songs.
If you can provide any text, references to publications or anonymous ftp
sites or WWW servers in Germany, I would be extremely grateful.
Thanks. Gregg.
p.s. - I did send a subscription request to homebrew-request but I know
that it could take some time since it's not a listserv.
Gregg S. Pentecost PENTECOST at BROOK.EDU.
Manager of Micro Systems
The Brookings Institution
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 16:21:00 -0800 (PST)
From: David Allison 225-5764 <ALLISON.DAVID at A1GW.GENE.COM>
Subject: Caustic Soda
Next Question -- What is the best concentration (w/v) to use NaOH for
cleaning stainless steel? I currently have a 50% w/v solution and am
looking for the proper dilution to use. Yes -- I know to be careful with
NaOH. :)
TIA
-David
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 20:37:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Hippe <johnd at iglou.com>
Subject: water filters
I have been thinking about buying a water filter but am quite unsure what
I should be looking for. I am thinking about either a faucet mounted
type or under-the-counter type. When I looked at them in the stores the
only information available was in the form of "reduces chlorine" and the
like. Does anyone have any relevent data? I am looking in the price
range of 30-50 dollars and want to eliminate chlorine and, if possible,
bicarbonates.
TIA,
- --
John David Hippe
Internet: johnd at iglou.com
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 22:50:58 EDT
From: BTEditor at aol.com
Subject: Phosphoric acid source?
A reader asks:
>Do you have a source for small (one- to five-gal) amounts of food-grade
phosphoric acid? I use hot caustic solution for brew equipment cleaning and
need to use an acid wash after the caustic cleaning. I also need a source
for iodophor. Thanks.<
BTW, reader lives in El Paso area.
Please reply directly to bteditor at aol.com. I will forward replies to reader.
Thanks-sm
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 22:06:57 -0500 (CDT)
From: afmccaul at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Tony McCauley)
Subject: peat-smoked malt source
I was recently told that Liberty Malts of Seattle carries peat-smoked malt.
Liberty frequently advertises in ZYMURGY. You could give them a try.
(Commercial connection? Heck no!! The place is 2000 miles from where I live.)
Tony McCauley -- afmccaul at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
.
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 94 23:11:38 EDT
From: uswlsrap at ibmmail.com
Subject: Follow up on peat smoked malt
- ----------------------- Mail item text follows ---------------
To: I1010141--IBMMAIL
From: Bob Paolino
Research Analyst
Subject: Follow up on peat smoked malt
As promised, here's Brian North's address and phone:
North Brewing Supply / 9009 South 29th Street / Franklin, WI 53132
414.761.1018 / call early evenings....his hours are 6-9pm daily (yes, he
has a day job)
The distiller's malt is Maris Otter (Crisp Malting)
Brian carries probably about 40 different malts! DeWolf-Cosyns, Durst,
Hugh Baird, Crisp/Maris Otter, Weyermann, Ayinger, Briess, Schreier.
Once again, here's the disclaimer...no financial interest, just a
satisfied customer...
For those of you who might be ordering other stuff when you get your
distiller's malt, he has a decent enough selection of hops, but where he
really seems to stand out is in the selection of grains and in draft
systems. I _don't_ keg, but if I ever decide to, that's where I'd go. He
knows his stuff and could help you customise your setup according to
your needs.
Okay, I'm overstepping beyond the answer on the peat-smoked malt
question, but this plug is pretty tame compared to the St.Pat's stuff
I've seen bouncing back and forth.
Cheers!
Bob Paolino
Disoriented in Badgerspace
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 03:54:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: Emuel Aldridge <ealdridg at moe.coe.uga.edu>
Subject: Homegrown hop curing.
I'm sure this question has come up here before. What's the best way to
cure hops? I have a 12X12 hop trellis that produces a lot but I don't
know the best way to process them. Also, is it necessary to cure hops
before using them or can you just boil them up green?
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 07:14:59 -0400
From: aa3396 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Ed Ditto)
Subject: Corn vs. cane
I got interested in the cane vs. corn question a few months ago,
and was priming mostly with corn sugar, although in each batch I
would prime a few bottles with cane sugar. I've noticed that
in each batch, I'm more likely to overprime with the cane sugar.
As the beer ages, it seems that the cane sugar primed bottles
are more likely to be too gassy.
This could be attributable to human error, I guess. I haven't
done anything really "scientific" with this study; it's just
a trend I've noticed.
Once again, all flame to bgates at microsoft.com. He doesn't read
it either.
- --
Ed Ditto
TVA/Chattanooga
aa3396 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 05:09:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Phil Brushaber <pbrush at netcom.com>
Subject: Can't Get Protein To Settle (fwd)
I have been experimenting with a couple of Dopplebocks over the last
two months and run into the same problem with both. After using Irish
Moss and running through a counterflow chiller I get a great cold break.
The proteins coagulate into stuff that looks like pasta. Problem is no
matter how much I chill it I can't get the stuff to settle all the way to
the bottom so I can rack the wort off the protein before pitching the yeast.
This has not been a problem with lighter beers. In those the hop
material, protein etc. settles to the bottom in about a half hour and I
am in business. With my first Dopplebock I gave up and carried the trub
over into the fermenter. After 14 days at 45^, those protein beasties
are STILL hovering about 1 1/2" above the bottom of the fermenter.
Anybody have a solution? It it possible to filter this stuff out without
oxegenating the beer? Thanks!
pbrush at netcom.com
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 07:36:28 -0500
From: awchrd2 at peabody.sct.ucarb.com (Henson W.C.(Bill))
Subject: Red Star Ale yeast
To the collective wit & wisdom of the Digest,
I have a friend that has read somewhere that Red Star Ale yeast gives a
bitter finishing flavor. I have not seen this discussed in the digest in
the past few months and I would like some opinions,comments,etc. Private
post is OK. I'll summarize and post if interesting.
TIA,
awchrd2 at peabody.sct.ucarb.com (Henson W.C.(Bill))
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 09:00:08 -0400
From: stricklandc at cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov (Chris Strickland)
Subject: Head Retention
> I have come to the conclusion that these differences in head retention
> and carbonation quality are due simply to the amount of time the beer
> is allowed to sit with carbonation before dispensing. If you give
> your beer at least one week to sit with pressure on the keg I think
> that you will find you get the same great head retention as with
> natural conditioning.
I use to think this was false, afterall look at the commerical beers like
bud, etc. The bubbles are big and don't last very long. However, when I
made a trip through Vermount I drink some brew from the Catamount brewry.
Because of the small bubbles and long lasting head I thought it had to be
naturally carbonated. But when I stopped by for a tour, I asked about
natural carbonation and was told that they slow force carbonate the beer over
a period of one week.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Chris Strickland | Allin1: stricklandc |
| Systems Analyst/Statistician | Email : stricklandc at cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Date: Tue, 30 Aug 1994 10:26:23 -0500 (EST)
From: "NAME SEAN O'KEEFE, IFAS FOOD SCIENCE" <SFO at gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>
Subject: How Do They Make Dry Beer
I was reading a book the other day that mentioned that DRY beers were made
by using a genetically engineered yeast strain. Does anyone out there
in Homebrewland have the inside poop on this? Private EMail fine.
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 10:17:58 EDT
From: Jim White <JWHITE at MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Subject: Parts for 5l CO2 tap ???
I have a Beer King CO2 tap for 5l kegs, which (due to my own stupidity) has a
couple of spooged parts. The parts needed are ones small ones which are part of
the CO2 delivery system. Most significantly the metal tube which pierces the
CO2 cartridge.
The only numbers I can find, are on the box, and located in Germany. This
is an inexpensive (about $35.00) and, largely, plastic tap.
Has anyone re-built, or repaired one of these things... and if so, where
you get the parts?
Jim
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
James M. White| Tele: (207) 581-3528 | Bitnet: JWHITE at MAINE.BITNET
| Fax: (207) 581-3531 | Internet:JWHITE.CAPS.MAINE.EDU
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 10:36:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dwight Walker <walkd01 at bwco.com>
Subject: Malta drink
Hi all;
On a recent trip to Puerto Rico we drank a beverage called Malta that
contained malt, corn syrup, flavor (?) and maybe something else. It was
slightly carbonated and the label said it contained less than .5%
alcohol. Does anybody have a recipe for this or any ideas how I might go
about making it? I thought of just 'wingin' it but I could end up with a
bunch of not-so-nice finished product.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Dwight
walkd01 at unicorn.bwco.com
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 11:17:45 EDT
From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu
Subject: Belgian Beer Series
As was previously noted, Phil placed them in the lambic archive (email to
netlib at longs.lance.colostate.edu with the word "help" as the message text).
I've also put them in my WWW "beer page", in the Recipe Files section.
See http://guraldi.hgp.med.umich.edu/Beer/.
=Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI
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Date: 31 Aug 1994 11:43:36 U
From: "Bob Knetl" <bob_knetl at amber.spawar.navy.mil>
Subject: Hunter Airstat Alternative?
Subject:
Time:11:30
OFFICE MEMO Hunter Airstat Alternative?
Date:8/31/94
I called two stores in Norfolk and Hampton VA, IRT
Gregg Tennefoss' alert that Hunter Airstats may be
available in HQ stores in the VA/NC area. Sorry to
say I had no luck. One clerk said that they did have
a device called Cool Jack (standard disclaimer!!)
manufactured by the Ivy Group of Chicago, IL which
sells for $20 and sounds like it works on the same
principle. (I called Ivy at 312-334-8265, but there
was no answer). The unit will control a 120V A/C from
50-90 degrees F. Has anyone seen this device and if
so do you think it's worth looking into as an
alternative? I have not seen it in the VA/DC area.
I also called Hunter and they recommended searching
out smaller hardware store chains such as Ace which
may still have inventory.
Bob Knetl
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 08:30:33 -0700
From: Richard B. Webb <rbw1271 at appenine.ca.boeing.com>
Subject: low alcohol brews
In HBD #1514, Clay Glenn reports on his experiments with heating beer to drive
off alcohol. He has several questions that need answering, and here are my
lucky guesses.
One question he had was how much alcohol (if any) he got rid of. I question him
back: what were the final gravity readings of the two batches? As alcohol is
less dense than water, it should be (theoretically) easy to determine the
difference in alcohol from the difference in specific gravities of the
'boiled' and 'not-boiled' beers.
Secondly, when seeking to remove alcohol, it isn't quite necessary to get the
beer heated up to alcohols boiling point. The vapor pressure of liquid (in this
case alcohol) near the boiling point should be sufficient to drive off the
liquid. In the book 'The lore of the Still', there are directions for doing
something like this. The temperature is increased gradually, and the different
molecular weights of the different alcohols cause different boiling temps,
which are arrived at gradually. Of course, in using a still, the emphasis is on
recovery of the correct alcohols, and the discarding of the others (throw away
the first and the last alcohols, save the stuff in the middle), but to discuss
this idea would seem to be condoning illegal acts. Not me...
Just a few thoughts...
Rich Webb
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 12:05:40 -0500 (CDT)
From: Rich Larsen <rlarsen at squeaky.free.org>
Subject: gelatin
Jeff Writes :
>Would anyone recommend using gelatin for a clarifying agent in the
>secondary? I usually don't really care if there's some haze in my
>beer, but I think this style deserves to be crystal clear.
>
Gelatin drops out yeast. So if its a chill haze, it probably won't
help you.
>How do you use the gelatin? TIA.
1/2 tsp dissolved in a cup of 170F water, added to the secondary.
Make sure its dissolved completely, otherwise you'll get chunks
floating around.
Keep cool, (the beer not necessarily yourself ;-) ) and allow to
sit for 7-10 days. If you can keep it at 40F that would be great.
BTW Because this knocks out the yeast, you may not be able to bottle
as usual and expect it to condition properly. I force carbonated the
last batch I used gelatin in.
=> Rich (rlarsen at squeaky.free.org)
Rich Larsen (708) 388-3514 * free.org free Internet access (715) 743 1600
Also on HomeBrew University (708) 705-7263
"I never drink... wine"
Bela Lugosi as Dracula
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Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 12:15 CDT
From: arf at genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Roller Length
qailx -s "Roller Length" homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
>From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com>
>Jack, thank you for your response but I think you missed my point (This is
*NOT* intended as a flame). My point was that I don't understand why the
same throughput could not be achieved with, say, 5-inch rollers, since
that's their effective length anyway.....
I do not have a copy of my response but if you still insist that the
effective length is only 5 inches, I don't seem to have made the point very
well. Rather then repeat myself, the bottom line is the effective length is
a function of cranking speed. The faster you crank, the more you use.
> Would that not cut the cost of the rollers in half?
It would only reduce the cost of the steel roughly in half but that is
peanuts.
I have had on the shelf, MALTMILL jr (tm) for over two years and never
bothered bringing it to market because of the economics involved. This has
5" rollers of the same diameter as the standardard MM but the total savings
at the manufactuing level is less than 10%. I chose to go the other way (MM
II) and let someone else chase the low end of the market.
Seeing what Glatt has done, tells me I made the right choice. They offer 4"
rollers, only 1 1/4" in diameter, with a severly reduced throughput and a
rather trivial price differential.
> I don't mind over-engineering, particularly in a consumer product, but I'm
not aware of any benefit I am receiving with 10-inch rollers.
Try running it at 400 RPM and the benefit will immediately become obvious.
One other benefit that is non-tivial is that fact that Glatt has to use gears
to get the smaller rollers to feed properly and the MM self-feeds because of
the longer rollers (among other reasons). In order to keep the cost down
Glatt is forced to use plastic gears and this has caused users no end of
grief.
js
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1516, 09/02/94