HOMEBREW Digest #1599 Thu 08 December 1994

Digest #1598 Digest #1600


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


Contents:
  lambic...NOT / priming / low-alcohol beer (uswlsrap)
  Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale ("Blahnik, Vance")
  Worlds Cheapest Counterpressure Filler! (Glenn Anderson)
  Kraeusen crud ("nancy e. renner")
  1-800 Brew Catalogs (James A Lindberg)
  Champagne bottles, Fermentaps, faux lambics ("Harralson, Kirk")
  Aeration - To easy to be healthy? (Rick Starke)
  FOOP (Domenick Venezia)
  carboy glug-no-more (FFWJOHN)
  Sam Adams <TM> Hops (Michael L Montgomery +1 708 979 4132)
  Sam Adams Triple Bock ("Dave Suurballe")
  Pots/Temperature Control (JSTONE)
  Aeration procedures / Hop Teas (MHANSEN)
  GLATT MILL INTEGRITY (Evan Kraus)
  Roller Mill Project Complete (Chris Barnhart)
  smoking grains (MicahM1269)
  Re: Steam Bock (Jim Ancona)
  Re:  Water Heater Conversion (Keith Frank)
  Don't Throw it out! (George Kavanagh O/o)
  UNANTICIPATED FERM TEMP (Charles Wettergreen)

****************************************************************** * NEW POLICY NOTE: Due to the incredible volume of bouncing mail, * I am going to have to start removing addresses from the list * that cause ongoing problems. In particular, if your mailbox * is full or your account over quota, and this results in bounced * mail, your address will be removed from the list after a few days. * * If you use a 'vacation' program, please be sure that it only * sends a automated reply to homebrew-request *once*. If I get * more than one, then I'll delete your address from the list. ****************************************************************** 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: Tue, 06 Dec 1994 11:23:13 EST From: uswlsrap at ibmmail.com Subject: lambic...NOT / priming / low-alcohol beer - -------------------- Mail Item Text Follows ------------------ To: I1010141--IBMMAIL From: Bob Paolino Research Analyst Subject: lambic...NOT / priming / low-alcohol beer Tim Laatsch in LarryLand asks about Lindeman's: Can you say expensive fruit soda? I knew ya could. (In fact, you did in your post whether you know it or not.) Yes, lambics are supposed to have a sour character (and lots of other things). I'm no expert, just a satisfied imbiber,but stay away from that Lindeman's swill! If you want to get a little more information, try subscribing to the lambic-digest. The discussion covers Belgian brews generally, but you get some real lambic-heads there who will tell you more than you ever imagined you'd want to know. Send subscribe request to lambic-request@ lance.colostate.edu Eugene Sonn asks about priming: I prime by starting with the boiled corn sugar and water in the bottom of the "target" bucket and rack the beer on top of it with the hose on the bottom of the bucket. The "swirling" action seems to be enough to mix the sugar and the beer. Make sure your hose is long enough to lay on the bottom of the bucket and you should have no problem getting a consistent mix without any other stirring or splashing (which you want to avoid anyway). Don Ulin asks about non-alcohol beer: I don't know about _non_-alcohol beer, but I have made a decent enough low-alcohol beer. OG was 1.024, with a pound of carapils in five gallons to give it some body. Nothing remarkable, but good enough for a third place ribbon at the Wisconsin State Fair among a wide range of styles (i.e., the category for anything that didn't fit in a category). Go easy on the hops. It was a cheap enough experiment--two cases for $7-8: One 3.3 pound bag of NW extract, a pound of grain, hops totalling about an ounce, and a pack of (yes) dry yeast. Pierre Rajotte's Belgian ale book in the style series gives a recipe for a table beer he calls "Driver's Choice." OG is 1.016. Haven't tried it. I can recall the published OG because I recently had the book out while giving telephone advice to someone on tripels (how's that for a contrast in alcohol content?) and paged by that part of the book. Not that one shouldn't be careful, but my understanding from recent research (only a newspaper reader's knowledge) is that the alcohol and pregnancy thing has been overstated. It's hard to imagine that an occasional 1.016 beer should be a problem for a healthy person. YMMV. I'm not a physician and I don't play one on TV. Now go have a beer, Bob Paolino / Disoriented in Badgerspace /uswlsrap at ibmmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 94 11:00:00 PST From: "Blahnik, Vance" <vanceb at p01.uci.com> Subject: Spanish Peaks Black Dog Ale Does any body out there know what the hop profile in Spanish Peaks' Black Dog Ale is. I really like the flavor and am unable to determine what hops are used. Thanks!! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 09:25:05 -0800 From: Richard B. Webb <rbw1271 at appenine.ca.boeing.com> Subject: Beer flavor not wheel but log The 'beer flavor wheel' is an attempt to standardize a language through which tasters can agree on a word to flavor corelation. I don't know why it's in the form of a wheel, but if the wheel is unraveled, it looks a lot like this. Pay particular attention to the lack of indentation for this report. If you use it, indent using the following standard: Class 1 0110 0111 0112 Class 2 etc. I hope that you find this useful in trying to communicate just what you're tasting in your beers, meads, wines, sakes, ciders, or feathers... Rich Webb, Kent, WA USA Recommended descriptors of Beer Flavor Relevance Key: O: Odor T: Taste M: Mouthfeel W: Warming Af: After flavor Class Term Relevance Comments, synonyms, definitions Class 1 - Aromatic, Fragrant, Fruity, Floral 0110 Alcoholic OTW The general effect of ethanol and higher alcohols 0111 Spicy OTW Allspice, nutmeg, peppery, eugenol. See also 1003 Vanilla 0112 Vinous OTW Bouquet, fusely, wine-like (White wine) 0120 Solvent-like OT Like chemical solvents 0121 Plastics OT Plasticizers 0122 Can-liner OT Lacquer-like 0123 Acetone 0130 Estery OT Like aliphatic esters 0131 Isoamyl acetate OT Banana, peardrop 0132 Ethyl hexanoate OT Apple-like with note of aniseed. See 0142 Apple 0133 Ethyl acetate OT Light fruity, solvent-like. See also 0120 Solvent like 0140 Fruity OT Of specific fruits or mixtures of fruits 0141 Citrus OT Citral, grapefruit, lemony, orange-rind 0142 Apple 0143 Banana 0144 Blackcurrant OT Blackcurrant fruit. For Blackcurrant leaves use 0810 Catty 0145 Melony 0146 Pear 0147 Raspberry 0148 Strawberry 0150 Acetaldehyde OT Green apples, raw appleskin, bruised apples 0160 Floral OT Like flowers, fragrant 0161 2-Phenylethanol OT Rose-like 0162 Geraniol OT Rose-like, different from 0161. Taster should compare the pure chemicals 0163 Perfumy OT Scented 0170 Hoppy OT Fresh hop aroma. Use with other terms to describe stale hop aroma. Does not include hop bitterness (See 1200 Bitter) 0171 Kettle-hop OT Flavor imparted by aroma hops boiled in the kettle. 0172 Dry-hop OT Flavor imparted by dry hops added in tank or cask. 0173 Hop oil OT Flavor imparted by addition of distilled hop oil. Class 2 - Resinous, Nutty, Green, Grassy 0210 Resinous OT Fresh sawdust, resin, cedarwood, pinewood, sprucy, terpenoid. 0211 Woody OT Seasoned wood (uncut) 0220 Nutty OT As in Brazil-nut, hazelnut, sherry-like 0221 Walnut OT Fresh (not rancid) walnut 0222 Coconut 0223 Beany OT Bean soup 0224 Almond OT Marzipan 0230 Grassy 0231 Freshly-cut grass OT Green, crushed green leaves, leafy, alfalfa. 0232 Straw-like OT Hay-like Class 3 - Cereal 0310 Grainy OT Raw grain flavor 0311 Husky OT Husk-like, chaff, 'Glattwasser'. 0312 Corn grits OT Maize grits, adjuncty 0311 Mealy OT Like flour 0320 Malty 0330 Worty OT Fresh wort aroma. Use with other terms to describe infected wort, e.g. 0731 Parsnip Class 4 - Caramelized, Roasted 0410 Caramel OT Burnt sugar, toffee-like 0411 Molasses OT Black treacle, treacly. 0412 Licorice 0420 Burnt OTM Scorched aroma, dry mouthfeel and sharp acrid taste. 0421 Bread-crust OTM Charred toast. 0422 Roast-barley OTM Chocolate malt. 0423 Smoky OT Class 5 - Phenolic 0500 Phenolic OT 0501 Tarry OT Pitch, faulty pitching of containers. 0502 Bakelite 0503 Carbolic OT Phenol. 0504 Chlorophenol OT Trichlorophenol (TCP), hospital-like. 0505 Iodoform OT Iodophors, hospital-like, pharmaceutical. Class 6 - Soapy, Fatty, Diacetyl, Oily, Rancid 0610 Fatty acid 0611 Caprylic OT Soapy, fatty, goaty, tallowy. 0612 Cheesy OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity. 0613 Isovaleric OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity. 0614 Butyric OT Rancid butter. 0620 Diacetyl OT Butterscotch, buttermilk 0630 Rancid OT Oxidative rancidity. 0631 Rancid oil OTM Oxidative rancidity. 0640 Oily 0641 Vegetable oil OTM As in refined vegetable oil. 0642 Mineral oil OTM Gasoline (petrol), kerosene (paraffin), machine oil. Class 7 - Sulphury 0700 Sulphury OT 0710 Sulphitic OT Sulphur dioxide, striking-match, choking, sulphurous-SO2 0720 Sulphidic OT Rotten egg, sulphury-reduced, sulphurous-RSH 0721 H2S OT Rotten egg 0722 Mercaptan OT Lower mercaptans, drains, stench 0723 Garlic 0724 Lightstruck OT Skunky, sunstruck 0725 Autolysed OT Rotting yeast (see also 0740 Yeasty). 0727 Shrimp-like OT Water in which shrimp have been cooked 0730 Cooked vegetable OT Mainly dialkyl sulphides, sulphurous-RSR 0731 Parsnip / celery OT An effect of wort infection 0732 DMS OT Dimethyl sulphide 0733 Cooked tomato OT Tomato juice (processed), tomato ketchup. 0736 Cooked onion 0740 Yeasty OT Fresh yeast, flavor of heated thiamine (see also 0725 Autolysed). 0741 Meaty OT Brothy, cooked meat, meat extract, peptone, yeast broth. Class 8 - Oxidized, Stale, Musty 0800 Stale OTM Old beer, overaged, overpasteurized. 0810 Catty OT Blackcurrant leaves, ribes, tomato plants, oxidized beer. 0820 Papery OT An initial stage of staling, bready (stale bread crumb), cardboard, old beer, oxidized. 0830 Leathery OT A later stage of staling, then often used in conjunction with 0211 Woody. 0840 Moldy OT Cellar-like, leaf-mold, woodsy. 0841 Earthy OT Actinomycetes, damp soil, freshly dug soil, diatomaceous earth. 0842 Musty OT Fusty. Class 9 - Sour, acidic 9000 Acidic OT Pungent aroma, sharpness of taste, mineral acid. 0910 Acetic OT Vinegar 0920 Sour OT Lactic, sour milk, Use with 0141 for citrus-sour. Class 10 - Sweet 1000 Sweet OT 1001 Honey OT Can occur as an effect of beer staling, e.g. the odor of stale beer in a glass, oxidized (stale) honey. 1002 Jam-like OT May be qualified by sub-classes of 0140 Fruity. 1003 Vanilla OT Custard powder, vanillin. 1004 Primings 1005 Syrupy OTM Clear (golden) syrup. 1006 Oversweet OT Sickly sweet, cloying. Class 11 - Salty 1100 Salty T Class 12 - Bitter 1200 Bitter TAf Class 13 - Mouthfeel 1310 Alkaline TMAf Flavor imparted by accidental admixture of alkaline detergent. 1320 Mouthcoating MAf Creamy, 'onctueux' (Fr.). 1330 Metallic OTMAf Iron, rusty water, coins, tinny, inky. 1340 Astringent MAf Mouth puckering, puckery, tannin-like, tart 1341 Drying MAf Unsweet. 1350 Powdery O Dusty cushion, irritating (with 0310 Grainy) mill room smell. TM Chalky, particulate, scratchy, silicate-like, siliceous. 1360 Carbonation M CO2 content. 1361 Flat M Under carbonated. 1362 Gassy M Over carbonated. 1370 Warming WMAf See also 0110 Alcoholic and 0111 Spicy. Class 14 - Fullness 1410 Body OTM Fullness of flavor and mouthfeel. 1411 Watery TM Thin, seemingly diluted. 1412 Characterless OTM Bland, empty, flavorless. 1413 Satiating OTM Extra-full, filling. 1414 Thick TM Viscous, 'epais' (Fr.). Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 1994 13:04:13 -0500 From: gramps at interlog.com (Glenn Anderson) Subject: Worlds Cheapest Counterpressure Filler! I've been shopping around for parts to make a CP filler and before purchasing anything I stopped to analyze exactly what I was doing. I want to fill a bottle with minimum oxidation/foam/loss of carbonation. Here's what I do. Step 1, purge the bottle with CO2, I simply connect an empty keg to a dispensing tap and give the empty a shot. Step two, fill the bottle with my funky-new-filler(tm). Step 3, cap, store and drink. How to build the funky-new-filler(tm): attach about 6 inches of 3/8 tubing to the end of the keg tap (or whatever size fits your tap well). Attach about 10 inches of rigid plastic or SS tubing to the end of the 3/8 tubing (again, or whatever fits). Slide a #2 bored stopper over the rigid tubing, far enough on so that the tube extends almost to the bottom of a bottle when the stopper is seated snugly. Place the funky-new-filler(tm) into the bottle, and press the tap to start the beer flowing. The bottle will fill about 1 inch before the pressure equalizes inside the bottle to the keg pressure (I use 15 PSI to dispense). At his point some skill is required, and can be obtained through practice. Gently squeeze the stopper and some of the pressure will leak by, allowing beer to flow. continue to squeeze in a pseudo-controlled fashion until the bottle is full. I fill until beer actually leaks by, assuring me that the bottle is void of any gas, be it air or CO2. Remove the funky-new-filler(tm) and there will be about the right ammount of headspace to satisfy the judges. Removing the filler will draw air into the bottle as the level drops, but I figure no more than an expensive commercial filler. Total cost for the filler, 45 cents. ...Glenn Glenn Anderson Manager, Telecommunications Facilities, BCS Sun Life Of Canada EMAIL: GRAMPS at INTERLOG.COM Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 13:04:43 -0500 (EST) From: "nancy e. renner" <nerenner at umich.edu> Subject: Kraeusen crud (From *Jeff* Renner) Okay, we've all talked about the benefits of blowoff, skimming, etc, and danced around the *real* $64,000 question. Just what is that waxy brown crud on primary walls, blowoff tubes, etc.? I've seen this argued for twenty years (Zymurgy, Dave Line, everybody else.) Some say it is your precious isomerized hop acids, and that removing it will reduce your hopping bitterness. Others say that it is some unwanted bitter component (hot break, cold break?) that should be removed or you will get an unwanted harsh bitterness (ever tasted it? You will be tasting bitter for many, many minutes). Others say that it is just collapsed kraeusen (foam). I've heard lots of opinions. Does anyone *really* know? I mean, like chromatography results or something? Documented facts? This certainly has bearing on the blowoff/skimming discussion. Please, some of you chemists, tell us. Jeff in Ann Arbor, MI c/o nerenner at umich.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 12:26:16 CST From: jal at ted.cray.com (James A Lindberg) Subject: 1-800 Brew Catalogs 1-800 AND INTERNET BREW NUMBERS FOR HOMEBREW CATALOGS Big Basin Brewing CA 800-509-2739 Brewers Resource CA 800-827-3983 Fun Fermentations CA 800-950-9463 Great Fermentations CA 800-542-2520 GFSR CA 800-544-1867 South Bay Homebrew Supply CA 800-608-2739 74557.1102 at compuserve.com Williams Brewing CA 800-759-6025 Yeasty Brew Unlimited CA 800-928-2739 Maltose Express CT 800-625-8673 Barley & Hops Trading FL 800-810-4677 Hearts Homebrew Supply FL 800-392-8322 Sebastion Brewers Sply FL 800-780-7837 Brew Your Own Beverages GA 800-477-2962 The Whistle Pig GA 800-947-5744 S.P.S. Beer Stuff IA spsbeer at ins.infonet.net The Brewer's Coop IL 800-451-6348 Alternative Garden Supply IL 800-444-2837 Heartland Hydr & HB IL 800-354-4769 Beer & Wine Hobby MA 800-523-5423 The Modern Brewer MA 800-736-3253 The Vineyard MA 800-626-2371 Brew N Kettle MD 800-809-3003 Gus's Discount Warehouse MI 800-475-9688 The Yeast Culture Kit Co MI 800-742-2110 Brew and Grow MN 800-230-8191 Pine Cheese Mart MN 800-596-2739 James Page Brewery MN 800-347-4042 Semplex MN 800-488-5444 jiminmpls at aol.com Wind River Brewing MN 800-266-4677 The Home Brewery MO 800-321-2739 Alternative Beverage NC 800-365-2739 BrewBetter Supply NC Brewbetter at aol.com Stout Billy's NH 800-392-4792 Coyote Home Brewing Suply NM 800-779-2739 The Brewmeister NJ 800-322-3020 Red Bank Brewing Supply NJ 800-779-7507 Brew By You NY 800-986-2739 Brewers Den NY 800-449-2739 The Brewery NY 800-762-2560 Hennessey Homebrew NY 800-462-7397 The Hoppy Troll NY 800-735-2739 New York Homebrew NY 800-966-2739 Great Lakes Brew Supply NY 800-859-4527 US Brewing Supply NY 800-383-9303 The Grape & Granary OH 800-695-9870 Brew Ha Ha PA 800-243-2620 Beer Unlimited PA 800-515-0666 U-Brew SC 800-845-4441 BrewHaus TN 800-638-2437 DeFalco's TX 800-216-2739 Homebrew Sup. of Dallas TX 800-270-5922 St. Patrick's of Texas TX stpats at wixer.bga.com The Brewer's Club VA 800-827-3948 HomeBrew International VA 800-447-4883 Something's Brewing VA tayers at aol.com The Homebrew Store WA 800-827-2739 Evergreen Brewing Sup. WA 800-789-2739 Jim's Homebrew WA 800 326-7769 The Cellar WA 800-342-1871 The Stumbling Dwarf WA 800-789-4273 Belle City WI 800-236-6258 Market Basket WI 800-824-5562 North Brewing Supply WI 800-483-7238 The Brew Place WI 800-847-6721 The Malt Shop WI 800-235-0026 U.S. Brewing Supply 800-728-2337 BrewShack 800-646-2739 Highlander 800-388-3923 Hoptech 800-379-4677 Stout Billy's 800-392-4792 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 94 13:26:40 EST From: "Harralson, Kirk" <kwh at roadnet.ups.com> Subject: Champagne bottles, Fermentaps, faux lambics Stephen Tinsley writes about Champagne Bottles: >champagne bottles (I spelled it wrong yesterday) are an excellent way to >bottle beer, and that American bottles work and foreign bottles don't. <snip> > Again, go to your nearest recycle center, especially around the >holidays. I have been told that the green glass doesn't even have any A better alternative is to find a local restaurant with a champagne brunch and ask if you can take them. I have about ten cases of champagne bottles (along with the original boxes) that came from one place. They are much easier to rinse if you get to them within an hour or so. These have several advantages -- they hold more, most have a concave bottom that traps yeast settlement and they are made with VERY thick glass. I dropped a full bottle on concrete from waist level and it did not break. Disadvantages include not fitting on the top rack of my dishwasher (this is a huge disadvantage to me), they will not fit upright in my refrigerator except on the top shelf and somtimes I'm in the mood to only have 12 ounces (very, very rare). You can also bottle wine in these bottles, but the id of the neck is smaller, and you have to really force the cork in. Surprisingly, they aren't that bad to get out. I have also tried using the plastic corks with wire wrappers for sparkling meads, but either they did not contain the pressure or my mead decided not to sparkle... Pete Misiaszek writes about the FERMENTAP: >I purchased two Fermentaps about a month ago and have put them through >their paces. I have to say, I like them alot. What the Fermentap consists <snip> >harvesting as well as draw-off of spent hops and break. By connecting two >in series, CO2 from the primary can be vented into the secondary to purge >it, and the beer can be racked to the secondary "closed-system" without >siphoning. The parts seem to be top quality, and the service has been I thought one of the big advantages to these systems was that primary and secondary fermentation could be done in the same carboy by simply draining the break material, spent hops, etc.. Has anyone had any trouble with these leaking? I have heard only positive comments about these and I am considering buying a couple. Timothy P. Laatsch writes about Lindeman Kriek Lambic: >I recently had my first opportunity to taste an "authentic" Belgian Kriek >Lambic. It's made by a company called Lindeman's and comes in a miniature <snip> >a cherry beer/champagne. It was certainly drinkable, but just not what I was >expecting based on what I've read. My question to the more seasoned >imbibers: Is this typical of the style or did I just purchase an expensive >dud? Thanks for your patience. BREW ON! Someone else wrote recently that Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic was not actually a lambic at all. This is the only "lambic" I have ever tried, and I liked it quite a bit. I have been looking at lambic recipes and thinking about making something similar to SA. If this is not a lambic, I guess I have no idea what one tastes like either. What would SA Cranberry Lambic actually be classified as? No matter what it is, I would still like to make something like it. Kirk Harralson Bel Air, Maryland Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 14:08:35 EST From: fastarke at rickstr.mawes.ingr.com (Rick Starke) Subject: Aeration - To easy to be healthy? Good day Brew Crew, A while ago there was a thread regarding improving the performance of your little yeastie dudes by ensuring proper aeration. I had never really thought to much about this, but I took it to heart, and, after pitching, commenced to shaking/stirring until my need for oxygen was greater than my yeasties. Well, of course, like the rest of the collective wisdom here, this added the desired effect (a more vigorous/complete ferment)... mostly. One day while chilling a batch of Cranberry-Honey Porter, and sending my little yeastie beasties for their before dinner bath (rehydrating), I was contemplating this "Aeration thing" and decided to try pouring the cooled, sterile wort through the strainer I use for sparging, (plain old SS basket screen kitchen type strainer) ala' your kitchen faucet aerator. I poured about 1/3 of my 1.060 wort in through the strainer (lotsa bubbles) sent my yeastie dudes in for dinner, and poured the rest of my wort in through the strainer. (lots more bubbles) A very vigorous ferment started within hours and my brew was down to 1.010 within a week (that was when I checked it). As for an unscientific data point, my brother brewed a Porter the next week which he didn't do this to, 1.048, and we wound up bottling at 1.022 (with our fingers crossed). Two weeks later we brewed a Pale Ale, used this method (same yeasty family-Edme) and that dropped to 1.011 in a week. My question... what's wrong with this, it seems to easy. I am more into the hobby/art of brewing than the "science". I understand that pouring my cooled sterile wort through the air could induce nasties, but I figure if beer was brewed in the "old days" by people who rarely even bathed, I won't kill mine by pouring through a strainer. I am not really worried, I more want to know if I happened upon a cheap, easy way that may benefit others without worrying about aquarium pumps, airstones, inline oxygen injection and saturation points. By the way, after many worries, the Cran-Honey Porter will probably be OK... preliminary tastings indicate the possibility that I used too much cranberry (4.5 lbs), The regular porter tasted GREAT at bottling, but hasn't been "officially" taste tested yet. The Pale Ale is in secondary, and I am preparing to sacrifice more virgin (never flocculated) yeastie dudes. Maybe an Imperial Stout.... hmmm. Back to "Lurker-land" Rick Starke fastarke at ingr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 11:47:52 -0800 (PST) From: Domenick Venezia <venezia at zgi.com> Subject: FOOP Both Don Rudolph and Maribeth Raines mention fried eggs and the agglutination/coagulation of albumin as an analogy for the proposed mechanism of FOOP. First albumin is a complete globular protein, not a short peptide. Second, frying/poaching/scrambling an egg at temperatures at or above the boiling point of water is a considerably more drastic action than shaking cold beer in a keg. I don't think that you can use a fried egg as an analogy for, or an example of, FOOP. That said, and after following the discussion, I must say that the argument that denatured peptides will in some measure associate with each other, i.e., agglutinate, and thereby no longer be available for foam production has merit. I've also been convinced that the breaking of chemical bonds is not a factor in FOOP. There are still a lot of "ifs". If FOOP is a real phenomenon. If the hydrodynamics drives the refolding equilibrium to the agglutination side. If agglutination actually removes peptides from foam production. Some tests come to mind. Just shaking beer flat beer should reduce its foam production. This is a qualitative test of the existence of FOOP. If denatured peptide agglutination is a factor then boiling beer and rechilling should reduce foam production considerably, although I routinely do 2 hr boils and get good breaks, my beers foam just fine. Also, I think I just contradicted my first paragraph. Maybe nobody noticed. Shaking beer should alter the molecular weight profile of the protein. If FOOP exists and is due to bond breakage then the profile should move to lighter (shorter) peptides, if agglutination is a factor then the profile should get heavier. I know that I can do the first test easily, just flatten some beer (gently pour into a bowl and allow to outgas for 24 hrs) then put a measured amount in a graduated cylinder, stopper and shake (by hand) a given amount. Measure and note the height of the foam. Shake the remaining beer on a lab shaker for 24 hrs and repeat the hand shake test. If enough people do it perhaps we can come to a consensus. Send me your protocols and your results and I'll compile them. The second test (boiling) can also be done using the hand shake test. Again send me your protocols and your results. Domenick Venezia ZymoGenetics, Inc. Seattle, WA venezia at zgi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 94 13:55:37 CST From: FFWJOHN at MIZZOU1.missouri.edu Subject: carboy glug-no-more Here's a tip for users of narrow mouth glass carboys. It is impossible to pour liquids from these carboys with a lot of sloppy glugging as air is sucked in through the liquid stream. A simple homemade vent will cure the problem. Use a length of old siphon tubing a foot or so long. Bend the piece of tubing into a U-shape. Insert one end into the carboy past the neck of the opening. Hold the other end along the outside of the carboy. If you are using a carboy handle, you can use the handle to hold the outside portion of the tubing in place. Clean pouring - no more splashing cleaning solutions - and the carboy will drain MUCH faster than before. -John Krstansky Return to table of contents
Date: 6 Dec 94 19:21:00 GMT From: mlm01 at intgp1.att.com (Michael L Montgomery +1 708 979 4132) Subject: Sam Adams <TM> Hops This is not an advertisement for nor support of Samuel Adams. I came across an ad that stated Boston Beer Co. <TM> was offering the same hops that are used in Sam Adams <TM> beers (Hallertau Mittlefreuh) for sale to the public. I remember the radio ad and the picture in Boston Beer Co.'s <TM> newsletter showing Jim Koch <TM> handpicking whole flower Noble Hops. I thought that I would like to try these hops, at $12/pound and no shipping - not too bad of a deal. 2 months went by, then I finally received a package from Boston Beer Company. I opened the package, and to my surprise i found pellet hops. Now I use pellet hops on occasion, but I had assumed that Sam Adams <TM> was made with whole flower hops. I still don't have a problem with pellet hops, but why does Jim Koch <TM> go to the trouble to say that all his hops are hand picked. I didn't know that there was a big difference between 1 pellet or another. Oh well, enough rambling. I need a beer. Mike Montgomery mlm01 at intgp1.att.com Return to table of contents
Date: 6 Dec 1994 14:45:11 -0800 From: "Dave Suurballe" <suurb at farallon.com> Subject: Sam Adams Triple Bock The bottle label of Sam Adams Triple Bock says it's made in Ceres, California. I don't know of any breweries over there; are there any readers in the Modesto area that can help identify the source of this beer? I know there's some wineries around there, like Gallo, but I hesitate to think... Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 13:58:19 PST From: JSTONE at SJEVM5.VNET.IBM.COM Subject: Pots/Temperature Control For those of you considering spending the money for a Sabco pot, you may want to consider an alternative. I purchased two 15G SS Vollrath pots (with lids) from Something's Brewing in Vermont, 802-660-9007, for $155, each. Something's Brewing had the pots shipped directly from Vollrath (in Wisconsin) to Precision Brewing Systems (PBS) in Stanton Island, 718-667-4459. Ask for Ellen (at Something's Brewing) and mention my name if they have questions regarding direct shipping the pots. PBS offers a number of modifications: bottom drains, thermometer welds, false bottoms, ... and they will entertain custom modifications as well. For my sparge vessel, I had them weld a SS 0.5" fitting and SS 1" fitting adjacent to one another, approximately 2" up from the bottom of the pot. The 0.5" fitting accepts a thermowell and an I.C. temperature sensor and the 1" fitting accepts a hot water heater element. The hot water heater element is NOT a standard 1" pipe thread. PBS had the fitting custom made. If you're interested in the hot water heater element fitting, ask for Ken, mention my name and I'm sure they'll fix you up. In my opinion, their workmanship is excellent. Their false bottom is an 18 gauge SS disk with punched holes, custom-made for a (relatively) tight fit. One of the disadvantages of this geometry, as opposed to say an EM or slotted pipe, is the fact that a significant amount of recirculation is required to establish the grain bed. I had a terrible time with astringency until I introduced a recirculating pump into the system. Initially, I used the pump to recirculate during mash out (10 - 15 minutes). This seemed to adequately clear the wort while minimizing HSA. With my automated system, which involves a water heater element in the recirculating path, the wort will be recirculated through the duration of the mash. In a prior append, Don (DONBREW) mentioned variations on the Rodney Morris temperature controller circuit. Up to this point in its development, I'm very happy with my decision to use solid state relays (SSRs) as my main temperature controller circuit. Having a PC (with an I/O card) at the heart of the system makes temperature control trivial (and in my opinion, somewhat elegant). The temperature is read by the PC from an I.C. temperature sensor and used to control the state of the SSR (on or off). I've been experimenting with the control algorithm. Initial measurements suggest I can hit a target temperature with no more than 1 oF of overshoot and maintain the temperature within +-0.5 oF. I've only tested the algorithm against limited volumes of sparge water. I hope to begin testing full volumes and the recirculating path within a week. For Don, who's looking for a cheap solution, I'm not sure I can help. I consider Bob McIlvaine an expert in this area (temperature controllers and monitors ... not cheap ;*). A number of his products are available through JB Distributing, 603-465-7633, including a temperature sensor with SW which utilizes the printer port of a PC. Dion also has a lot of experience in this area. Last time I talked to Dion (HOLLEN), he was still working on perfecting a board for a Morris-like temperature controller. I suspect these guys will tell you that the difficulty in integrating a PC with a Morris-like controller is interfacing a TTL-level signal from a PC into a 110 V circuit (a problem I solved using the SSR). Joe Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 1994 16:45:24 -0600 From: MHANSEN at ctdmc.pmeh.uiowa.edu Subject: Aeration procedures / Hop Teas Hey HBDers, With all this talk about aeration, a procedural question comes to mind. After the wort is cooled and siphoned into the carboy, many authorities suggest letting the wort sit overnight and then to rack the beer off the cold break. What is the proper order of racking off cold break, pitching, and aerating? At this point, I am more concerned with aerating and pitching than I am with racking off the cold break. However, I don't have the best temperature control (crack the window, close the window, crack the window, etc.) and I am concerned with fusel alcohols being formed from trub and warm fermentation temps. If I aerate and then pitch, fermentation is almost always going after 6-8 hours after which it becomes impossible for obvious reasons to rack off the cold break. Should I be that concerned with fermenting with cold break and other stuff that passes through the strainer? Or just aerate, pitch, and forget it? Question two about aeration: For those who use aquarium pumps, what size do you use? - --- I recently bottled a Christmas ale that wasn't bitter enough and I wanted to add more bitterness. Has anyone ever made a hop tea and added it at bottling time to add bitterness or even flavor/aroma? What I am looking for is some way to quantify H oz of hops in W amount of water boiled for T minutes to give me X IBU's when added to Y gallons of beer. Can someone point me to a source or help me out? Will standard IBU calculations (Rager, Garetz, etc.) work here? I am aware of bottled hop oil but I am not sure I want to use it. Thanks and brew on my friends, Mike (michael-d-hansen at uiowa.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 6:06:00 EST From: Evan Kraus <ejk at bselab.BLS.COM> Subject: GLATT MILL INTEGRITY This post is not an advertisement After hearing all this KRAP about the MM and the Glatt Well I have one of the original Glatt's To Date I have MILLED (Less then one year) 542 POUNDS OF YOU NAME IT MALT, PALE, CHOCOLATE, BLACK, CRYSTAL, ROASTED, WHEAT, RICE ETC !!!!! AND PLENTY OF ROCKS !!!!! With a Right angle Drill attached to the GLATT that runs 500 RPM WELL MY PLASTIC GEARS SHOW NO WEAR AND HAVENT FAILED YET WHY NOT STOP THE ATTACKS BETWEEN GLATT & MM Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 7:38:44 EST From: Chris Barnhart <clbarnha at letterkenn-emh1.army.mil> Subject: Roller Mill Project Complete Hi all, Thought I would post the results of my recent roller mill project. First of all, thanks to all the folks who contributed valuable insight during the initial concept formulation. My overall goal was to design an adjustable mill using mostly common, easily obtained parts that is relatively easy to build. The end result is a mill with these features: - 2" diameter steel rollers, diamond knurled, supported by sealed ball bearings. - Motor driven - All major assemblies made from hardwood, masonite or particle board. - Cost about $100. Lower, if you're a good scrounger (My cost was $57.00 including the motor!). For those interested, I have written a description of the project with bill of materials and a full set (seven) of dimensioned drawings. Send me a private E-Mail with your snail-mail address for a copy. Chris "Barny" Barnhart clbarnha at letterkenn-emh1.army.mil Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 07:59:25 -0500 From: MicahM1269 at aol.com Subject: smoking grains Smoking Grains This is one area of home brewing where I have be told that I have gone too far, but with success. I do not have a smoker but I have worked out a way to produce very good smoked malt. I use unmalted dried barley ( whole ) let it soak for several days at 50 F then sprout the grains, let acrospire grown to about 1 inch. And then I put the green malt in a roasting pan with many, many small holes punched in it. This is then placed in my bar b que over smoldering wood chips. The chips have been soaked in water for several days prior to prevent burning. I usually smoke the barley this way over night. After smoking I finish dring the malt in the oven at the lowest temperature possible. This may seem like a lot of work but it will result in excellent and genuine smoked malt rather than malt that is smoked. micah millspaw - brewer at large Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Dec 94 8:21:17 EDT From: Jim Ancona <Jim_Ancona.DBS at dbsnotes.dbsoftware.com> Subject: Re: Steam Bock In HBD 1598, Jeff Guillet writes: >Pity me. I am refrigerator challenged and have no way of lagering. > >I would, however, like to make a bock (maybe even a dopplebock) using >Wyeast's California Lager (#2112) and the low temperatures this time of >year in my garage. Temps range from 38-52F. I tried the 2112 this fall for a Vienna which I'm very happy with. I then made a Dopplebock, using the yeast cake from the Vienna as a starter. I just bottled it last week. It tasted very good at bottling time, and I hope will get better with cold storage. Both beers were fermented mostly in the 50-58 degree range in a root cellar (part of my basement). Both are quite malty and the Vienna has 'lagered' nicely into a very smooth tasting brew, one of my best. I have high hopes for the Dopplebock as well. My 'lagering' involves storing the bottled beer at temps in the 40's (too high for real lagering). So I say, go for it! As an aside, the yeast FAQ says, "highly flocculant, clear brilliantly" and it's not kidding. Both beers are crystal clear, and what little yeast there is in the bottle attaches itself to the bottom and sides of the bottle. No sediment when pouring this stuff, but I have to use the bottle brush on each bottle while rinsing to clean the yeast out! Good luck! - -- Jim Ancona janco at dbsoftware.com jpa at iii.net Opinions expressed are my own, and not those of D&B Software. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 07:49:16 -0600 From: keithfrank at dow.com (Keith Frank) Subject: Re: Water Heater Conversion Many years ago, my water heater died also. I removed the burner, mounted it in a 5 gal. can, and obtained a grating for the top to set my brew pot on. I spent a couple of bucks to change the orifice to the appropriate size for propane and voila! I have been using this burner for years and love it. It even has a pilot light. I have no trouble getting a rolling boil in 5 or 6 gal. in a short period of time. Keith Frank (keithfrank at dow.com) Lake Jackson, Texas Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Dec 1994 09:15:11 -0500 From: George Kavanagh O/o <George.Kavanagh at omail.wang.com> Subject: Don't Throw it out! In HBD 1598, M_MACADAMS at mail.chester.co.pa.us writes: >Everything seemed to go o.k. and the O.G. was 1.048. This was >four days ago and I have seen no action in my "S" airlock, not >even off-placed water levels. Yesterday I checked the gravity of >the wort and even though there has been no bubbling, the level is >down to 1.014. Is it possible that fermentation occurred without >me realizing it? Does a lower hydrometer reading necessarily >mean that fermentation is/has occurred? Should I keep taking >hydrometer readings until it levels off, or should I scrap the >batch and try again? Don't scrap it; finish it off! If the gravity has fallen, there has been fermentation. You didn't say what type of fermenting vessel you are using: began with a plastic bucket that came with a "beginner homebrewer kit", and noticed that the lid dosent fit air-tight. Result being that initially the airlock bubbled rapidly as large volumes of gas were produced, but then when the fermentation settled down to a lesser rate, the air lock didn't bubble, the gas escaped elsewhere rather than push up the airlock's water to make bubbles. I initially panicked, since I had been looking forward to watching the bubbles for several days. The beer, however, was fine. Depending on the composition of the extract you used, and the fermentation temp., fermentation may not proceed much past the 1014 you now read. Relax, etc.... -gk ( George.Kavanagh at omail.wang.com ) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 08:27 CST From: chuckmw at mcs.com (Charles Wettergreen) Subject: UNANTICIPATED FERM TEMP To: homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Here, I think, is an interesting data point. I had cooled my 1.090 wee heavy down to 65 degF prior to pitching one quart of Wyeast Scotch Ale yeast (1968?) (slurry). After aeration with an aquarium pump, I attached the blowoff tube and a Fermometer (liquid crystal temperature display, stick-on) to the carboy. I cover my carboys with quilted carboy cosies to protect from light and prevent temperature fluctuations. I usually ferment my Scotch ales in the refrigerator at 50 degrees, but for a variety of reasons I decided to ferment this one in my 66 degree basement. After several hours I checked on the state of the ferment. The fermentation was proceeding nicely with bubbles out of the blowoff tube about every three seconds. Imagine my surprise when the Fermometer showed that the carboy was at 74 degrees! I checked my recording thermometer and the temperature was 66 degrees, and had only varied between 66 and 68 degrees. As the fermentation picked up, to the point where the foam began to blow out the tube and bubbles were coming out almost continuously, the Fermometer temperature continued to rise. I don't know where it finished because it was off the scale (>78 degrees) of the Fermometer. Once the bulk of the fermentation had finished, the Fermometer temperature dropped back down to ambient temperature (68 degrees). I've checked my thermometers and the Fermometer and I have every reason to believe that they are reasonably accurate, keeping in mind that the Fermometer *is* a liquid crystal and only indicates in 2 degree increments. I think this might explain esters in a brew that were not anticipated because they were fermented at "cooler" temperatures. Chuck /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* Chuck Wettergreen Chuckmw at mcs.com Geneva, Illinois /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* * RM 1.3 * Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1599, 12/08/94