HOMEBREW Digest #1668 Wed 01 March 1995
Digest #1667
Digest #1669
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Homebrewing in Germany (Sawyer David CDT)
Anderson Valley Yeast ("Frederick L. Pauly")
Hydrometer Calibration / Dry Hopping / Root Beer Yeast ("Becker, Robert")
Mai Bock (Glenn E Matthies)
RE:quality (Jim Busch)
Recipe for Fuller's Ales (Jeff_Wolf_at_Penril-Eng)
"Cheep" Pumps ("Dutcher, Pier")
Canning methods for wort ("Harralson, Kirk")
Hefe-Weizen (Jeff Stampes)
American light lager recipe (Spencer.W.Thomas)
Iron removal cartridge (TJWILLIA)
Kettle valve without welding. (djt2)
Storing yeast slurry (rnantel)
Keg Fridge Sources ("Mahoney, Paul")
HSA: the 'why' of AB's approach (Michael Sharp)
slow fermentations / Chlorine / dirty kitchen (Eamonn McKernan)
UK Homebrewing Costs? (Robert Pyle)
Lager Fermentations (Don Rudolph)
Where can I get good hops? (gravels)
dry-hopping using pellets. (Steve Matkoski)
DWC Pilsen Malt (M.Marshburn/D202)
Dropped Stout, Butter Texture? (Nic Herriges)
Hops fixups (Mark E. Thompson)
Counter-Flow Chiller: How Clean? (JHojel)
AOB Style guide (Domenick Venezia)
Good Scale/Biere de garde? (MClarke950)
extraction efficiency woes cured!! ("Rick Gontarek, Ph.D.")
Water/Sanitization Situation (Tony McCauley)
Artificial Cellar (Gilad Barak)
O2 permeability though polyethylene (Peter Hughes)
Scarab Red Ale (TPuskar)
HIgh Temperature, Low Pressure Hose (Kirk L. Oseid)
Re: Kettle Sight Glass and Fittings (Jeff Berton)
1995 AHA Guidelines (Kirk R Fleming)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 07:12:51 EST
From: x52074e1 at WESTPOINT-EMH2.USMA.ARMY.MIL (Sawyer David CDT)
Subject: Homebrewing in Germany
Hello, I'm in the Army and recently choose Germany as my first post. Since
fine beer is readily availiable, the need to homebrew is not great; but I'd
like to continue doing it just to get better at it. I was wondering if one is
allowed to homebrew in Germany and if so whether or not there are any special
restrictions on doing so. Any help would be appreciated.
Dave Sawyer
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 07:38:08 -0500
From: "Frederick L. Pauly" <flp2m at galen.med.virginia.edu>
Subject: Anderson Valley Yeast
Someone had asked what type of yeast the Anderson Valley Brewing
Co. used. I put a note on compuserve and Todd Rosemen replied
that a friend of his Andy Deuchars is one of the brewers who said
they use Whitbread Ale yeast for everything. He also said that if
you stop by he would be glad to give you a sample.
Rick Pauly
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 08:57:09 EST
From: "Becker, Robert" <beckerr at cclink.tfn.com>
Subject: Hydrometer Calibration / Dry Hopping / Root Beer Yeast
Cheers,
I have brewed several batches with a new hydrometer I just acquired
and have gotten consistently lower results than I expected. My
hydrometer has a piece of paper rolled in the inside. As an engineer
I question that it is true. How does one calibrate a hydrometer?
Saying water is 1 is like saying it has a pH of 7. What is the
expected density range of tap water? bottled water? distilled water?
saline water? For that matter, alcohol? oil? Does anyone know a
good method to "calibrate" my hydrometer? Are there different types
of hydrometers? I have only used these glass/paper ones.
I now approach the group with my tail between my legs. Sure enough
when cleaning the kitchen after I was all done with my spiced ale, I
came across my finishing Hops. Doohhh! I completely spaced out and
forgot to add it. Help. What can I do to save my beer? I have taken
a very sudden interest in "dry-hopping." Can I add the hops to the
fermentor? It's churning away as we speak. Suggestions?
Finally, I recently tried brewing root beer, but my root beer smelled
like yeast. Like a beer yeast is different than bread yeast, is there
a root beet yeast? The root beer kit I got from my home brewer shop
used a champagne yeast. Does anyone have any good root beer recipes?
Thanks
Rob
beckerr at tfn.com
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 09:08:23 -0500
From: au075 at freenet.buffalo.edu (Glenn E Matthies)
Subject: Mai Bock
I have been searching for a recipe for a Mai Bock. Does anyone
have one they would care to share with me? (Extract or partial
mash). I'm not sure what the OG for the style is. I assume that
OG should be the same as a standard Bock would be. Is this
assumption correct? Email fine. Will post if anyone is
interested.
Glenn Matthies
au075 at freenet.buffalo.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 10:37:25 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch at eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: RE:quality
Rich asks:
<1) How does the "best" homebrew compare with the the "best" commercial beer?
<"Best" is difficult to determine, but can any generalizations be made with
<respect to the beer produced by homebrewers versus commercial brewers, once
<a reasonably high level of competence is attained?
If the homebrew is fresh and the brewer good, than homebrew is every bit
as good if not better than the commercial.
<2) How do the raw materials used by commercial brewers differ from those
<used by commercial (micro) brewers? I would imagine that the malt is quite
<similar, the yeast more varied, and have no idea about the hops.
Depends. A lot of us are now using imported malts and hops, something
some commercial operations will not pay for. A lot of use the same
stuff.
<3) Finally, how much of largescale brewing is art vs. engineering, or asked
<another way, could many other micro breweries produce a copy of, say an
<Anchor Liberty Ale or a SN Celebration Ale, if it were in their business
<model to produce such a product? If money was no object, and a brewery wanted
<to produce a five star beer, using the best ingredients and state of the art
<equipment, could most brewers pull it off or are there still lots of
<intangibles left which translate into a disparity of results.
Its mostly knowlege and money. Money to buy the right equipment, knowlege
is obvious. Your examples are extremely easy to duplicate in the homebrewery.
Its the very malty lagers that are much harder to do.
- --
busch at mews.gsfc.nasa.gov
"DE HOPPEDUIVEL DRINKT MET ZWIER 'T GEZONDE BLOND HOPPEBIER!"
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 10:57:49 EST
From: Jeff_Wolf_at_Penril-Eng at smtplink.penril.com
Subject: Recipe for Fuller's Ales
I have perused the WWW, and even the Cats' Meo CD ROM for partial
grain or extract recipes for Fuller's ESB or London Pride bitters with
no luck. If someone has seen one, please let me know where it is.
Thanks,
Jeff Wolf
jwolf at penril.com
Return to table of contents
Date: 27 Feb 95 08:05:49 PST
From: "Dutcher, Pier" <PEDU at chevron.com>
Subject: "Cheep" Pumps
From: Dutcher, Pier -PEDU
To: OPEN ADDRESSING SERVI-OPENADDR
Subject: "Cheep" Pumps
Date: 1995-02-27 07:54
Priority:
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Algis writes -regarding the use of inexpensive fountain pumps - <"Careful...
these may not be food grade and also may not be made to handle hot liquids
or sanitizers."> I don't have the original request for info. about pumps,
but, as I recall, the requester wanted some method of recirculating water
through the cooling coils of his chiller. Unless the chiller has a leak,
the quality of the water going through it is kinda irrelevant. Just for
jollies, I pulled the pump apart when I first got it to see what made it
tick. The impeller and pump housing appeared to be made of the same stuff
my primary fermenter is, but I certainly didn't perform a spectro-analysis
to verify my "findings." I have no intention of pumping wort through it,
but if some other adverturous soul would like to see what happens if a
similar pump is used on boiling Clorox, I'd love to see the results. ;-)
Pier (pedu at chevron.com)
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 11:35:48 EST
From: "Harralson, Kirk" <kwh at news.roadnet.ups.com>
Subject: Canning methods for wort
The idea of canning starter wort in quart-sized mason jars, as
described in a few books and here on the digest, really appeals to me,
being as lazy as I am. A friend let me borrow her "Blue Book of
Canning", written by the same company that makes most of the jars
(Ball). It broke canning down into two methods: water bath, or
boiling (212F); and pressure (240F). It associated these two methods
with acidic foods (ph < 4.6) and low-acidic foods (ph >= 4.6)
respectively. Basically, it said that low-acidic foods may contain
botulism spores that cannot be killed at 212F, and that it was
necessary to go up to 240F, which requires canning under pressure. I
assume that most starter wort ph is somewhere in the mid 5's.
However, most (not all) of the descriptions I have read of people's
canning methods for wort are for using boiling water. I talked to
some people who claim they have canned various low-acid vegetables for
years without using pressure methods, and everything was fine. Is
this safe? Is there something I'm missing? Other than this question,
I felt this book was an *excellent* source for information on methods,
requirements, etc., and well worth a trip to the library.
Kirk Harralson
Bel Air, Maryland
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 10:11:13 MST
From: jeff at neocad.com (Jeff Stampes)
Subject: Hefe-Weizen
Well I am going to defer to the wishes of my S.O. and go for an honest
to god, cloudy, clovey hefe-weizen. I have the important part worked
out, Our local Tabernash brewery (Gold medal-style) is going to provide
me with 50 ml of yeast to make my own starter. So knowing I have a
genuine hefe-weizen yeast strain, I am now concerned about the recipe and
procedures.
Given the low extraction efficiency I am still trying to work out, I was
planning on a higher grain bill than called for:
6 lbs. 6-row Lager Malt (Munich? German? Bavarian?)
9 Lbs. Wheat Malt
I was planning on a 60-90 minute 125F protein rest
a 60 minute rest at 152F
a 30 minute rest at 158F
a 170F mash-out
sparge with 5 gallons of 170F H20 and boil down to 6 gallons.
For hops, I was planning a 60 minute boil with Tettnang, and using some
Saaz at the end for nose.
Given the cloudy nature of these brews, I assume that my standard procedures
of adding irish moss at the end, or clearing with polyclar or isinglass will
not apply. For fermentation, I was planning on 14 days at 45F in primary,
followed by another 14-21 days in secondary at 45F (that's the cellar temp.)
Then keg, and age until the hottest day of the summer!
Looking for any suggestions on this recipe and methodology, as well as
any past hefe-weizen experiences. I want to be sure I make this one
perfect!
- -- Jeff Stampes -- NeoCAD, Inc. -- Boulder, CO -- jeff at neocad.com --
- -- Ultimate Frisbee...It's not just for dogs anymore. --
- -- Any fool can make bread out of grain...God intended it for beer! --
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 12:28:05 EST
From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu
Subject: American light lager recipe
A friend recently was given a gag gift at a going-away party. It
alleged to be an official A-B beer kit. In it were:
a can of light malt extract
a bag of rice
a hop cone (yes, just one)
a packet of baking yeast
The instructions, which I can't recall most of, were hilarious. I do
remember one, though, that went something like "To get the proper
hoppiness, for a five gallon batch, cut the hop in half, and save the
other half for another batch."
=Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 12:16:03 EST
From: <TJWILLIA at vm.occ.cc.mi.us>
Subject: Iron removal cartridge
Greetings All,
I have just recently moved to a new location where I know the iron in the
water is too high for brewing. I stumbled upon an item listed in Ward's
Biological Supply catalog (no affiliation, just thumbing through), a de-
mineralizer cartridge with hose nipples on either end for tube connection.
Is there any chance something like this could solve my iron problem? The
price is fair ($75) if it works, but I'd like the opinion of this forum before
jumping ahead. If this isn't my solution, would some of you gentle folk
e-mail or post any suggestions to solve my dilemma?
Gun bai!
Tom Williams- Milford, MI
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 12:40:29 -0500
From: djt2 at po.cwru.edu
Subject: Kettle valve without welding.
Guy asks about fitting a valve to a keg without welding
My kettle has a ball valve just like you describe. It is a 3/4" valve that
has two female ends. I drilled/ground a hole in the keg just above the weld
line, and held the valve in place using a ersatz bulkhead joint made from a
brass coupling (garden-hose male to 3/4" male). I used 3 or 4 silicone
rubber hand-cut washers, I don't know what "fiber" washers are made of.
Hasn't leaked yet, and I like the fact that I could change the arrangement
if I want.
] / ]-- Kettle Wall
#]# / #-- Washers
^^^^^|#]#============*============
^^^^^^^^
Hose-3/4 adapter 3/4 Ball Valve-connected to Brass ell
(Brass) (mine is teflon-lined SS)
|^^^^^^^^
^^^^^ #]#==========================
#]#
]
Note that you'll be draining out of the side of the keg, about 2" off the
bottom. I thought about putting a 1/2" flare with a bent tube down near the
bottom. In fact, it seems better to have the drain where it is; The trub
level settles to about 1/2" below the drain, and I just tip the near-empty
keg to get the last couple of quarts. Works for me. You might want to add a
Chore-Boy hop filter if you use leaf hops.
Another tip if you haven't cut the top off already; I stole a 14" skillet
lid from my wife and cut a hole in the top to fit; this way you can place a
fairly tight lid on the batch if you want. Others have suggested cutting
the whole top rim off (leaving the handles), but then a kettle lid is
nearly impossible. My way makes it a little harder to clean the keg, and
you've *got to* smooth down the burrs on the edge, for your arm's sake. You
can always cut the kettle further if you want.
Have fun,
Dennis
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 12:37:05 +0000
From: rnantel at ibm.net
Subject: Storing yeast slurry
I'd like to use the Irish ale yeast slurry from my currently
fermenting Guinness in a strong Scottish ale I'm planning for next week.
Can I fill a sanitized mason jar with this slurry, store it in the
fridge for 2 to 4 days, bring back to room temperature and pitch?
If yes, is there anything else I need to know?
Thanks
Richard
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Richard Nantel
// Westmount, Quebec Canada
// (rnantel at ibm.net)
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 13:00:00 PST
From: "Mahoney, Paul" <MAHONEYP at hq.sylvania.com>
Subject: Keg Fridge Sources
I recently put together a kegging system and am now looking for a new/used
keg fridge. Specifically one that can handle a Sankey that has either been
converted for use with 4 Cornelius Kegs or one that can be converted.
Private e-mail is fine.
TIA
Mahoneyp at hq.sylvania.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 11:21:33 -0800
From: Michael Sharp <msharp at Synopsys.COM>
Subject: HSA: the 'why' of AB's approach
Hi,
A few days ago I responded to Art Steinmetz's question about HSA being
ignored at Breckenridge by posting some observations I made while on
a VIP tour of AB in Fairfield, CA.
What I neglected to include was why they do things the way they do.
A quick recap for those tuning in early:
> About a year ago I got a VIP tour of the Anheusier-Busch (sp?) plant as
> part of the quarterly MBAA (Master Brewers Assoc of America) meeting.
>
> They have developed equipment to mix hot air with the hot wort as soon
> as it leaves the kettle. This is done in an ~3 story tall tower maybe
> 15' in diameter. In this tank the uncooled wort is dropped from the top
> (I imagine some kind of large assembly for distributing it evenly over
> the diameter of the tank) against an upward air flow of something in
> excess of at least 100F, I believe 160F was the number but this was a
> while ago. The bottom of this tower collects the hot wort and channels
> it to the necessary chilling equipment.
>
> This step caught me by supprise so I asked specific questions to make
> sure I didn't misunderstand. The person answering was a very
> knowledgable plant foreman with something between 15 and 20 years of
> experience so this was not the case of a confused tour guide.
> In the past HSA has been described to me as a bit of a religious issue.
> There are two obvious sides and you're in one camp or the other. All
> the data produced by one camp will never convince the other and vice
> versa.
>
> I realize this doesn't really explain to you why anyone would do one
> thing over another. I'm really not interested in starting a relgious
> war so I'm going to avoid that all together. However, I think that
> it is important to point out that there are two equally valid sides
> to this issue.
Since posting this I have had further discussions about this with a staff
member and good friend at UCDavis' Brewing Lab. What I've included below
is, of course, third hand info from notes I took during the brief
conversation. Hopefully this will cover the why well enough for most.
She said they where sparging out 'off flavor precursors', many of them
volatile sulfur compounds. She also said that this system was specially
designed by?/for? AB and that they are the only company she knows of that
does it. It is relatively new technology (relative to the DeClerk references
at least, I'm not sure how new it really is) and its AB proprietary. There
are no papers available on this process.
She also added that the equipment works under substantial pressure but didn't
say how much.
Her opinion was that they where, in part, using this process to compensate
for the old hops (apparently some are aged & quite cheesey) and their yeast's
fondness for generating lots of sulfur/DMS from everything it can find.
Apparently the hops are aged for consistency (of the final product)
sake. (?) Don't ask me why. Maybe AB lambic isn't too far in the future?
8-)
Now I'm not going to argue one point over the other. The benefits of each
extreme are for you to weigh. (I personally don't care about this issue.
I make lambic. When was the last time you had a lambic with lots of malt
character?) I only hope to point out that this is more than a black and
white issue. My personal belief is that the advantages of one approach
over another are highly dependent on your process and on the style you
are trying to create.
--Mike
- ----- End Included Message -----
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 14:48:48 EST
From: Eamonn McKernan <eamonn at rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca>
Subject: slow fermentations / Chlorine / dirty kitchen
Doug worries about slow starters
I routinely get slow fermentations. I asked at my local homebrew store,
and the guy there says that he always keeps his carboy at room temperature
for the first day, until things get going. And again gives it a day at room
temperature once racked to the secondary. Says it really speeds things up.
He even does this for lagers, supposedly with no ill effects. My attitude is
relatively relaxed however. Space is not a problem for me, so I just wait
the extra time. I prefer waiting for two reasons. Usually, slower fermentations
produce less off-flavours. Though this depends on what style of beer you
want to brew. As well, bacteria are supposedly slowed down a lot more than
yeast are by low temperatures. My sanitation measures are decent, but I don't
like being anal about it, so giving my yeast the advantage helps me relax.
********************
There was a recent posting about not letting chlorine solutions dry on
equipment, because something crystalizes when it dries. Does this ring a bell
for anyone? Please e-mail me if you remember the digest number please. I
just read this month's CABA newsletter where it was suggested that brewers
sanitize their beer bottles whenever they feel like it by soaking in bleach
water for a day or more. Then letting them dry without rinsing, and covering
the tops with aluminum foil. Something like Papazian's suggestion in the
Companion. This seems to be a bad idea if nasty tasting chlorine compounds
crystalize out. I was hoping to write them a response, but need the reference
please.
*******************
And now for something important. I brew (all grain) in the kitchen. Family
members complain that a brown resinous scum has started to appear in
a thin layer on the walls and ceiling throughout the kitchen. My beer has been
blamed. I plan on checking this out next time I brew (clean a small patch of
wall just before brewing, then inspect it closely immediately after). It
seems possible that the 1 1/2 hours of wort boiling could be sending sugars
into the air as well as water. But I always have the fan on maximum, and
the pots are under a fume hood, so I'm slightly skeptical. I really don't want
to have to face cleaning the entire kitchen after every brew session. Please
tell me that no one's ever heard of this problem before. Anyone?
Thats all for now
brew on!
Eamonn McKernan
eamonn at rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 14:53:16 -0500 (EST)
From: rpyle1 at ef2007.efhd.ford.com (Robert Pyle)
Subject: UK Homebrewing Costs?
Howdy,
My wife and I just got the news that we will be spending the next
three years in England. We will be living near Chelmsford, Essex,
and I am curious about the availability and cost of homebrew
supplies and equipment.
We will be moved over there, so stocking up and moving some
ingredients is not a problem, but I don't know if malt, etc. is
significantly more expensive in England. Could anyone over there
give me a price list for a 'brewer's market basket' of malt
extract, hops, specialty grains, bottle caps, yeast, etc?
Also, if there are any homebrewers in the Brentwood/Chelmsford
area, or even better, a brew club, let me know!
E-mail is probably better, and if anyone is interested, let me know
and I can post a summary. It may be interesting to come up with a
market basket and compile equipment and ingredient prices around
the world.
Thanks in Advance,
Rob Pyle
rpyle1 at ef2007.efhd.ford.com
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 12:03:12 -0800
From: drudolph at ix.netcom.com (Don Rudolph)
Subject: Lager Fermentations
Doug Flagg (doug.flagg at chksix.com) writes in HBD #1666 about
sluggish fermentations using lager yeasts. I have brewed many
lagers, and initially I had the same problem, namely slow
starts and poor attenuation.
The procedures Doug uses are by the book. Build a starter to
at least a 1/2 gallon, aerate when adding new wort, ferment close
to primary fermentation temperature, and aerate cooled wort before
pitching starter. The biggest improvement in my lager
fermentations occured when I switched to a fermentation vessel
with a 1:1 height-to-width ratio, and when I began using an
airstone to aerate the cooled, trub-free wort.
The only suggestions I can make are:
1) Check the gravity of your starter wort, it should be close
to the starting gravity of your brew.
2) If you are using extract for starter wort, try adding yeast
nutrient, in case the extract lacks something the yeast need.
3) Check cooled wort pH, make sure it is in the mid-5's when
pitching.
4) Pitch at high krausen. While building up starters, I
usually wait until the yeast fall and fermentation stops. Then
I decant off the spent wort and add fresh wort, aerating
vigorously. After the 1/2 gallon starter falls (about a day or
two before brew day), I decant again and add a pint or two of
fresh wort and aerate like hell. On brew day, this starter is
at high krausen, in exponential growth phase, an ideal
condition for pitching yeast.
Also, remember that lager fermentations are boring compared to
ale fermentations. The yeast hang out at the bottom of the
vessel and don't throw a huge head during fermentation. Temps
are cooler, reactions are slower, and we have to just groove on
the laid back way lager yeast do their beer making thing, man.
Waiting 24 to 48 hours is not at all unusual with lager
fermentations. The only thing to concern yourself with is if
the fermentation goes to completion, and you get the
attenuation you want. Good luck!
Don Rudolph
Seattle, WA
drudolph at ix.netcom.com <- NEW ADDRESS (in case you care)
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 15:16:04 EST
From: gravels at TRISMTP.npt.nuwc.navy.mil
Subject: Where can I get good hops?
Hi, I'm an amateur homebrewer (about 10 extract
batches) and I just started subscribing to the HBD about two
weeks ago. I'm glad I started reading because I've learned
a lot about the art of homebrew already. There are a couple
of questions that I want to ask.
First, I'm looking for a good source of hops,
I've read 'The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing' and I've
heard enough about the proper packaging and storage of hops
in this digest to know that my supplier is selling me an
inferior product. If anyone could give me the name and
address of a reputable hops company I would appreciate it.
Second, I use a 7 gal white plastic bucket for my
primary and it has a leaky valve. I've returned the valve
to the store and the supplier says that this is a
common problem with this type of valve. I think it's a
design flaw. Anyway, I want to glue the valve, one
sleeve fits into another and it will glue nicely but, what
kind of glue should I use? I'm sure someone must have run
into this problem before because I've seen these valves in
every brew shop I have been in. (It's the one with the red
ball valve that 3/8" plastic tubing fits onto).
Thanks, I can use any help I can get.
Steve Gravel (gravels at trismtp.npt.nuwc.navy.mil)
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 16:02:21 -0500
From: sematkos at mailbox.syr.edu (Steve Matkoski)
Subject: dry-hopping using pellets.
Hi,
I just racked a Pale Ale into my secondary and wanted to know if it is
alright to dry-hop with pellets that are just dropped into the carboy or
do I have to use a hop bag of some sort?
-steve.
sematkos at syr.edu
Syracuse University
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Date: 27 Feb 95 15:02:10 EST
From: M.Marshburn/D202 at cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil
Subject: DWC Pilsen Malt
HBD'ers
I've got an 11 pound sample of this malt and was expecting to brew a
light lager. Now I've changed my mind (warmer wx) and want to brew a pale
ale. I've used DWC Pale Ale malt in a single step infusion mash that turned
out really good. Can I use the Pilsen in the same manner, or should I use a
one or two step mash with rests???. I had thought something like 7lbs Pilsen
and 1lb each carmelpils, biscuit and caramunich, single step mash at
158-152F. I would like to make a beer with the good body a single step
provides. Can I expect that type of beer from this malt???
m.marshburn/D202 at cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 13:48:58 -0800
From: nic at analogy.com (Nic Herriges)
Subject: Dropped Stout, Butter Texture?
In HBD 1666 Al K. writes:
>I *speculate* that it may not
>necessarily be an issue of aeration being essential for the *yeast*, but
>rather essential for the *beer* (to produce it's characteristic, buttery
>flavour).
I've seen a comment similar to this in a few of the "dropping" thread
responses. Is this "buttery flavour" due to excess diacetyl creation?
Also, are we talking about a butter "flavour" or a buttery "texture" or
"mouthfeel" or both?
The reason I ask is that, while the dropping thread was in its infancy, I
thought "what the heck" and racked a stout into secondary about 3-1/2 days
after pitching (earlier than I normally might but after activity had slowed
to <1 bubble/min). I didn't expressly aerate it but some occurred. I
bottled it yesterday after an additional 10 days in secondary. Only
minimal additional fermentation occurred (1016 to 1014). It didn't
actually taste "buttery" (may have been masked by the "stoutness") but it
"felt" buttery (a kind of "round" mouthfeel that started about halfway
through and persisted somewhat). Could this have been a by-product of
being "dropped" so late or is some other factor at work here? Can I expect
this to mellow with age? It's not a terribly strong or unpleasant texture,
just unexpected.
TIA, "collective wisdom."
Nic Herriges
nic at analogy.com
Portland, OR
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 95 14:50:55 PST
From: Mark E. Thompson <markt at hptal04.cup.hp.com>
Subject: Hops fixups
Full-Name: Mark E. Thompson
Justin Haber wrote:
> A friend of mine, without HBD access, recently brewed and kegged a batch
> of ale using his left-over hops. Apparently, the hops were no good, as the
> resultant beer has neither hop aroma nor bitterness. Is there any way to hop
> finished beer and save this batch? Private e-mail is o.k.
I think that hop oils that have been extracted with co2 are most likely your
best bet.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Mark E. Thompson |Internet: markt at cup.hp.com |
| Hewlett-Packard Company |FAX: 408/447-4729 |
| Distributed Computing Program |Tel: 408/447-5185 |
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 18:52:16 -0500
From: JHojel at aol.com
Subject: Counter-Flow Chiller: How Clean?
To all you brew barons:
1) I need everyone=92s suggestions as to how to clean a counter-flow chi=
ller.
I have worked in a brew-pub. To clean the heat exchanger (basically a l=
arge
counter-flow chiller) you would circulate a caustic solution through it a=
fter
it was used. Obviously, the reason this was done was to completely disin=
tegra
te or dislodge anything that might have attached itself to the inside of =
the
piping. How can I achieve this at home? I already have a good way of
sanitizing it before I use it (Star-San); but I don=92t know what would b=
e the
best way of cleaning it after I use it. I=92m not convinced that running=
hot
water through it does a good enough job.
2) I need feedback on brewing software (PC)?. I=92m looking to buy a so=
ftware
package and would like user comments.
=
Thank you,
James
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 17:28:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia at zgi.com>
Subject: AOB Style guide
I had the AOB (AHA) 1995 style guide e-mailed to me by accessing their
email server (info at aob.org, "styles" as the message body) and there are
no specific gravity ranges quoted for any of the styles. What gives?
Is this an attempt to define away the "big beer" out-of-style problem
so eloquently described by Spencer Thomas in the most recent issue of
Zymurgy (letters)? Is this part of the AHA/BJCP conspiracy? Have
aliens infiltrated the AHA in an attempt to bring down western
civilization through confusion of beer styles? The TRUTH is out there,
but where?
In contrast the 1994 HWBTA (Home Wine and Beer Trade Association) style
guidelines contains specific gravity ranges for all styles.
Domenick Venezia
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia at zgi.com
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 20:50:15 -0500
From: MClarke950 at aol.com
Subject: Good Scale/Biere de garde?
The Beverage People 1(800) 544-1867 had a good scale that did
ounces/grams/fractions of ounces. They probably still sell it, I use it for
hops and spices. I'm not a rep, just liked the product and service.
My question is: does anybody have knowledge of Biere de garde. Michael
Jackson lists it as a French beer. I am looking for style information so I
can create a recipe. Types and percentages of hops and grains used, special
mashing, ect. Any information would help.
Mike Clarke
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 21:24:44 -0500 (EST)
From: "Rick Gontarek, Ph.D." <GONTAREK at FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV>
Subject: extraction efficiency woes cured!!
To: smtp%"homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com"
Subj: Extraction efficiency woes cured!!
Hello everyone. I have written to the digest several times in the last
few weeks whining about my poor extraction efficiency with my gott cooler
setup. First, i want to thank everyone who took the time to write to me
with suggestions. There were too many of you too thank, but if you're ever
in Baltimore, look me up and I'll buy ya a beer (or give ya a homebrew!).
To recap, I brewed an amber ale using about 13 lbs of grain.
I wound up with a lower-than-expected og, with an efficiency of about
22 pts/lb/gallon. This was the third time I used my new Gott with a Phil's
phalse bottom and gott such a lousy o.g. The pH of the mash was okay, so
i wrote asking for help.
Many of the responses I received had to do with the folowing.
Note my comments after each one:
1. Check the accuracy of your thermometer and hydrometer.
I did this...they are both fine.
2. Make sure that your sparge water is not channeling through the grain bed;
this will cut-down your extraction.
After monitoring the gravity of the runoff, I am convinced
that this is not happening to me. I am careful to sprinkle
the water on top of the grain bed, leaving a bit of water
on top at all times.
3. Do a mashout and check the temp of the grain bed.
This may have helped. Previously I was mashing in my Gott
cooler, with no feasible way to do a mashout. This time I
mashed in my brewpot, and was able to mashout to 70degC.
Also, previously I heated my sparge water up to the right temp,
but turned the heat off subsequently. I am sure that towards
the end of the sparge the water was much cooler. this time
I kept the burner on very low to keep the sparge water hot.
After mashing in the brew pot and mashing out, I carefully
transferred the mash to the gott tun (being careful not
to splash around).
4. Measure the o.g in the brewpot after sparging (correcting for
temp and volume). Also measure the o.g. after chilling the wort.
This I feel was the single best piece of advice I
received. My previous habit was to chill the wort
with an immersion chiller, pour it all into a fermenter
to allow the trub to settle out, and then transfer to
another sanitized carboy. Losing upwards of several
quarts of wort in the process was surely affecting what
I thought was my OG. This time I measured after the sparge
and after chilling (prior to trub removal), and I got
an extraction of 33.5 pts/lb/gallon!! Woo-hoo!! Have a
homebrew and celebrate. Using 6 lbs of American 2-row and
2 lbs of white rice, I got an o.g. after cooling the wort of
1.054.
5. Don't be afraid to mill the grain a bit on the fine side
Previously I was buying my grain from a local supplier
who was grinding it for me in his Glatt. I bought a new
PhillMill and thus was able to monitor the crush myself.
While I cannot say if this had any effect on my results,
It certainly couldn't have hurt!
6. RDWHAHB...so what if you need to use more grain?
Normally I would agree, but I was really trying to improve
my technique. And so my perseverance and your collective
wisdom prevailed!
Thanks again to everyone who helped me out! If anyone wants more
details in my quest for the better extraction efficiency, email me.
Rick Gontarek
Owner/brewmaster of the Major Groove Picobrewery
Baltimore, MD
gontarek at fcrfv1.ncifcrf.gov
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Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 23:05:52 -0600 (CST)
From: afmccaul at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Tony McCauley)
Subject: Water/Sanitization Situation
The dust is finally starting to settle after moving into my
new home. One of the things the move brought me is a well
as the source of water. The water is very hard and iron
laden. In order to combat the tough water conditions there
is a water softener and an iron filter. We have also added
an R/O filtration system for drinking and brewing water.
So far so good. Now for my concern, sanitatization. I've
been told by several of the water treatment experts that
there the water is afflicted with iron bacteria. These
little critters make some pretty nasty looking stuff in the
toilet tanks. Chlorine takes care of them quite readily.
My sanitization practices for carboys, bottles, etc are
soaking with a weak chlorine solution (1-2 ounces / 5
gallons) followed by a hot water rinse (I haven't measured
the temp of the hot water from the houses heater yet). If
the iron bacteria survive the water heater, I'm just re-
introducing them with my rinse water.
Questions:
- Can anyone tell me if I need to concern myself with
these bacteria in the brewing process?
- Assuming I need to be concerned, what temperature
will kill them?
- Can you suggest an alternative method to sanitize
that can be used on short notice (see below).
(Below)
My household contains 5 children (6 counting me per my
wife). Brewing tends to be done more on the spur of the
moment (plays havock when trying the build up a yeast
culture). I need a method that will not require the surface
(carboy, etc) to be drip dried. Iodaphor is an option, but
my understanding (limited) is that iodaphor treated surfaces
will need to be dry in order to ensure the iodaphor is gone.
TIA for the help.
Hoppy Brewing,
Tony McCauley -- afmccaul at ilstu.edu
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 07:50:05 --300
From: gilad at orbotech.co.il (Gilad Barak)
Subject: Artificial Cellar
Following a post on the HBD that was posted last May, I got the book
"How and why to buils a wine cellar". While the book is full of
information it is targeted to those who have a basement, or intend to
build one or dig somehow into the ground.
What I am looking for is information on how to construct an artificial
cellar: An insulated chest that keeps a steady temperature and humidity
ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.
Any information will be helpful (pointers to literature, personal
experience etc).
Private Email is OK
TIA,
Gilad
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilad Barak - Israel
gilad at orbotech.co.il
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 95 09:09:58 GMT
From: Peter Hughes <peterh at inmos.co.uk>
Subject: O2 permeability though polyethylene
Hello everyone, I'm joining in the HBD as a fully paid-up Wheeleresque,
dropping type of homebrewer, and by my count the third Brit to contribute
in the last week (a record?).
Anyway, playing catch-up,in digest 1661 Al Korzonas picks up the UK pressure
barrel thread:
>I suspect that the problem was not in the headspace, but in the container
>itself. All the "pressure barrels" I've seen coming from the UK have been
>made of polythene (called polyethylene in the US). This plastic is notorious
>for being permiable to oxygen...
Any solutions? I can certainly confirm that my pressure-barrelled ale has a
lifespan of 4-6 weeks, especially noticable with the barrel being close to
empty. As far as I know, small (5-gallon) SS kegs are thin on the ground in
the UK. Wild idea maybe, but can I coat my existing polyethylene barrels with
something to slow the O2 diffusion process down? Otherwise, does anyone know
of a cheap source of SS kegs in the UK?
Thanks,
Pete Hughes - Bristol UK (...now peterh at bristol.st.com)
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 07:34:10 -0500
From: TPuskar at aol.com
Subject: Scarab Red Ale
I recently received a bottle of Scarab Red Ale from the Oasis Brewery in
Boulder CO. Does anyone know the composition of this brew? Malts, adjunts
and especially yeast? I streaked a plate of the sediment and am curious as
to what it might be. Any info will be appreciated.
TIA
Tom Puskar
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 95 08:09:41 EST
From: klo at fluent.com (Kirk L. Oseid)
Subject: HIgh Temperature, Low Pressure Hose
I am currently assembling a system to store hot water for sparging.
The water will be heated in my brew kettle, then transferred to an
elevated 48-qt Rubbermaid picnic cooler. This will occur while the
mash is in progress. Once the sparge begins, I will let the hot water
drain slowly onto the mash.
I am concerned about the choice of hose material between the cooler
and the mash tun. Should this hose be PVC? Vinyl? Reinforced?
Any other options? The temperature will be as high as 180^F during
initial cooler-filling stage. The hydrostatic head on the hose
will be less than 1.0 psi.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Kirk L. Oseid klo at fluent.com
Fluent, Inc. tel 603/643-2600
10 Cavendish Court, Lebanon, NH 03766 fax 603/643-3967
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 09:04:45 -0500 (EST)
From: jeff344 at voodoo.lerc.nasa.gov (Jeff Berton)
Subject: Re: Kettle Sight Glass and Fittings
Kirk writes:
>I feel the need to add a sight glass to my keg-based kettle to more
>accurately measure start and finish volumes. Can anyone suggest a
>source for both the sight glass itself and the lower fitting it
>would go into?
I have a ten-inch sight glass mounted on my converted keg kettle. I mail
ordered it from McMaster-Carr Supply, which has many different sight glasses to
choose from. Materials and prices vary, some have glass guard rods, some have
valves, some even have dial thermometers mounted in them. Mine costs $16,
mounts through the keg with O-rings, and, at the risk of starting an old
debate, some of it is made of aluminum!
- --
Jeff Berton, Aeropropulsion Analysis Office, NASA Lewis Research Center
jeff344 at voodoo.lerc.nasa.gov
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Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 07:08:16 -0700
From: flemingk at usa.net (Kirk R Fleming)
Subject: 1995 AHA Guidelines
Gary Bell asks:
>Someone mentioned the 1995 style guidelines. Are they posted anywhere
>for downloading?
They may already be posted--I don't know where. I just completed the
guidelines last night in HTML format, and need to go over some of the
value-added data originally started by Spencer. I should be donw with
the proofreading today. As soon as I can coordinate with Lutzen and
Stevens of The Brewery Web page, expect to see the Guidelines there.
Kirk R Fleming
-flemingkr at afmcfafb.fafb.af.mil
-BEER: It's not just for breakfast anymore.
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1668, 03/01/95