HOMEBREW Digest #1681 Thu 16 March 1995

Digest #1680 Digest #1682


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


Contents:
  Cheap Pots and Ramblings (Kevin Emery DSN 584-2900  )
  floating Phalse bottom (Bob Monroe)
  Extract degradation (Pierre Jelenc)
  RE:tanks and stuff (Jim Busch)
  RE: Pitch Timing (Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna)
  Homebrew Clubs list (Shawn Steele)
  IBU Calcs./Sierra Nevada clone Q's ("Patrick E. Humphrey 708-937-3295")
  beer judge exam (Skip Little)
  SUDS 4.0 now at Stanford (David Draper)
  Getting Started (BVICKERY)
  testing (ALLIN1)
  Septic and Bleach/ Canadian Mail Order? (Gordon Mowat)
  bottle Cappers ("Westerman, Robert")
  San Diego update (Dave Shaver)
  all malt priming (Anthony Meehan)
  HI (SCHEIDELRICK)
  hbd subscribers in Ireland (Ulick Stafford)
  Long Ferments (Chris Strickland)
  Microbrews in Utah (ADNEYK)
  Beer Engines (Bob Jones)
  Bizarre RIMS Concepts (Kirk R Fleming)
  Hops: which method works? ("ANDY..PBX 5152")

****************************************************************** * 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. 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 ARCHIVES: An archive of previous issues of this digest, as well as other beer related information can be accessed via anonymous ftp at ftp.stanford.edu. Use ftp to log in as anonymous and give your full e-mail address as the password, look under the directory /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer directory. AFS users can find it under /afs/ir.stanford.edu/ftp/pub/clubs/homebrew/beer. If you do not have ftp capability you may access the files via e-mail using the ftpmail service at gatekeeper.dec.com. For information about this service, send an e-mail message to ftpmail at gatekeeper.dec.com with the word "help" (without the quotes) in the body of the message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 Mar 95 7:34:38 EST From: Kevin Emery DSN 584-2900 <ksemery at cbda9.apgea.army.mil> Subject: Cheap Pots and Ramblings I was in Dollar General yesterday and they have 34 Qt enamel on steel pots for $15.00. This is a great deal for you folks that don't yet do full boils. One side note... My "canning" brewing pot covers 2 burners, and still takes a good while to boil. This pot is taller, and covers only 1. I received my king cooker yesterday... Rated at 200,000 BTU. How long can I expect it to take to bring 10 gallons to a full boil???? I converted a 1/2 barrel keg into a brew pot.... I have a compression fitting welded on the inside, and plan to hook some copper tubing with holes in it to loop once on the inside to act as a hop back. I used a circular saw to cut the top off the keg, filed it down and its great (no handles, but I don't plan to lift it anyway). For a lid, I found a large pizza pan, put a handle on it, two holes for the chiller to run into/out of, and can't wait to try this new set up. Standard Disclaimers. Kevin North East, Maryland (They would have called it Merry Land if they had had some of my brews!) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 08:49:30 -0500 From: Bob Monroe <monroeb at cosmos.uicc.com> Subject: floating Phalse bottom I thought I would pass along a suggestion for users of the Phil's Phalse Bottom (tm) for all-grain brewing. I have been using a Phil's Phalse bottom (tm) during sparging of my all grain brews for quite some time, and have continually fought the problem of the Phalse bottom floating up, which could (and has) resulted in a stuck run-off. I recently solved the problem very simply an cheaply by buying a section of 1/2" O.D. copper pipe, bending it in a circle, and laying it around the outer edge of the Phalse Bottom. The pipe fills with water and weighs down the Phalse bottom so it will not float. It does not cover a lot of the holes in the Phalse bottom, so it doesn't impede the sparging process. I tried other solutions such as using racking hose as a gasket, and using a section of copper pipe in between the fitting on the P.B. and the drain hose, but nothing worked as well as using the copper pipe as a simple weight around the outside of the P.B. For what it's worth... -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bob Monroe | Senior Engineer | PH: (603) 429-8596 Unitrode Integrated Circuits Corp. | FAX: (603) 424-3460 7 Continental Blvd. | e-mail: monroeb at uicc.com Merrimack, NH 03054-0399 | -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 95 10:22:31 EST From: Pierre Jelenc <pcj1 at columbia.edu> Subject: Extract degradation In HBD #1680, Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff at bbn.com> asks: > Also, does anybody know *why* syrup degrades and DME doesn't? The degradation in question is the Maillard reaction, also known as the browning reaction. Sugars (mostly the carbonyl groups) react with proteins (mostly the amino groups) to form colored, complex, heterocyclic compounds whenever they are left in contact long enough (can of syrup) or at high enough temperature (steak on a grill). Like all chemical reactions, it proceeds more easily if the reactants can move around to find each other. That is why syrups will darken faster than DME; but the latter will darken as well, given time or heat, albeit at a much lower rate. Pierre Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 10:44:46 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: RE:tanks and stuff Micah says: <Remove the sanke probe from the keg and replace with a 2 in clamp <end ferrell ( so you clamp on a butterfly valve and stand pipe for <racking) weld a 4-5 in clamp end ferrell to the ( now) top end of <the keg for an easy , arm thru sized cleaning port. Micah is showing he is an engineer that loves overkill! My god, a 2" port for a 12 gallon fermenter!! You do need at least 1.5" to put a triclover butterfly, but I dont see the advantage of going bigger, the cost per fitting increases rapidly with size. I also prefer the idea of 1.5" triclovers on top, but this is because I wouldnt clean through it, except for a recirc'ing spray ball CIP. I guess my question is: why not use it right side up? If you are using a 4" top port, this can be put at the former sankey fitting. Then you can use a smaller and cheaper bottom port. Cool idea, though. <If there is interest I can get more detailed. Im interested! How would the stand pipe work? Joseph says: <There is some split about the priming method's contribution to flavor. I use table sugar, if at all. Kelly says: < It appears that the BATF has allowed this company to <trademark the term "Wit", meaning from now on, only these folks will be <able to use this term on their beers. God, I hope its only in the narrow sense. They should be required to use the whole name and logo, Wit!. As long as the exclimation point is present, it should be trademark'able. I would still hope that I could market Jims Wit. Mark writes: <On the subject of Beer Engines, some people are confused about what constitutes <a Beer Engine. The pseudo beer engine in Zymurgy is simply a sprinkler <faucet. It is missing the pump necessary to be a true Beer Engine. <I am looking to buy or build the entire pump & tap assembly. Ive had beer off of Bob's pseudo beer engine and it was very good and very similar to real cask ales. The sparkler, in conjunction with extremely low CO2 levels is what makes a real ale. Some traditionalists would argue that gravity feed is the only true real ale, and in this case, the sparkler is non existent. The pump is a means to a end, not the required component of real ale. Pumps are convienent, I love mine, but they are quite costly. Bob invented a practical cheap method of making a very similar product, if you can drill small enough holes in the end. Good brewing, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 95 12:40:38 EST From: Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna at RELAY.COM Subject: RE: Pitch Timing RE the latest thread concerning the optimum time to pitch yeast, Jim wrote: >"The yeast pitched should be cells in the stationary phase, which >have the >maximum content of reserve polysaccharide glycogen." As a fairly new homebrewer, I've been following this thread with keen interest. I've always tried to pitch at high krauesen - because that is what I found to be the "std wisdom". If I follow the above logic correctly, it suggests the optimum time to pitch is after the yeast has fallen. It would also seem to suggest that it is not such a good idea to add fresh wort to a starter (to activate the yeast) before pitching. If I've missed the boat on Jim's argument, please jump in and correct me. Would the original gravity of the wort have any bearing on this argument? I've got a starter going for a trippel, and I'd like to try this out...oh-I suppose the argument holds for building starters too? Tim Fields Timf at relay.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 10:59:51 -0700 From: Shawn Steele <shawn at aob.org> Subject: Homebrew Clubs list Well, I've noticed lots of people wanting to know about homebrew clubs in their area. The AHA's list of registered homebrew clubs is available by sending e-mail to info at aob.org and including the key word "CLUBLIST" somewhere in your e-mail. The file you get back is ALL of the AHA's registered clubs, so it's about 58K long. If you prefer the web, the club list can be accessed at "http://www.aob.org/aob/clublist.html" The web's club list has been divided into 4 parts so the transfer time shouldn't be bad. - shawn Shawn Steele Information Systems Administrator Association of Brewers (303) 447-0816 x 118 (voice) 736 Pearl Street (303) 447-2825 (fax) PO Box 1679 shawn at aob.org (e-mail) Boulder, CO 80306-1679 info at aob.org (aob info) U.S.A. http://www.aob.org/aob (web) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 12:50:00 -0600 (CST) From: "Patrick E. Humphrey 708-937-3295" <HUMPHREY.PATRICK at igate.abbott.com> Subject: IBU Calcs./Sierra Nevada clone Q's In HBD #1678 Frank Longmore writes about calculating IBU's: >In the process of un-confusing myself about calculating IBU's, >I re-stated the formula, and summarized what I've read. Here 'tis: >----------------------------------cut here----------------------- >CALCULATING INTERNATIONAL BITTERING UNITS (IBU'S) > (%Utilization) x (%Alpha Acid) x (Weight of Hops in Ounces) x .75 >IBU = ---------------------------------------------------------- > (Volume of Wort in gallons) x (Gravity Adjustment) ) Forgive my naivety, I only have 5 batches under my belt, but how can a partial/extract brewer use the above formula to determine the % utilization of the syrup used? Should I even try? Do we assume that their (the manufacturers) extract efficiency is "x"% by default? Would any utilization percentage of the specialty grains come into play and how can I determine that? *********** On with another question... I recently brewed Tony Babinec's Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone from the Cat's Meow (vers. 2). Tony helped me convert the recipe to a partial extract formulation. Here it is: 6.6# light unhopped malt extract 1/2# Cara-pils 1/2# caramel 1 oz. Perles (boil) 8.5 alpha 1/2 oz. Cascade 4.6(?) alpha (15 min. remaining) 1/2 oz. Cascade 4.6(?) alpha (5 min.) Specialties steeped 1 hour at 155-160 deg. F (68-71 deg. C) 1 hour boil Wyeast 1056 The %AA of the Perles is higher than Tony's recipe. His calls for 6.5% The %AA of the Cascades were lower (his, 6.3%) 0.G. - 1.048 F. G - 1.010 Primary: 8 days now in secondary (12 days and counting) A taste of the primary at racking was rather bitter. Is this the style of an American ale of this type? How long might it be before some of this extra bitterness subsides? I like a hoppy brew but not extremely bitter. Tony suggests that the bitterness might be due to the very late addition of the Cascades. Thanks Tony, for all your help! Sorry for all the questions, just think of me as a young child wanting to learn more about something that fascinates him. Pat patrick.humphrey at abbott.com ************* Can't think of a fancy German sig... ;-) ************* Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 14:25:29 -0500 From: little at charlotte.med.nyu.edu (Skip Little) Subject: beer judge exam I am thinking of taking the judge exam to become a certified beer judge. I do not know the format of the exam or anything about it, I would appreciate any info via private email is fine. TIA Slainte, Skip Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 06:10:04 +1000 (EST) From: David Draper <ddraper at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> Subject: SUDS 4.0 now at Stanford Dear Friends, the SUDS program release 4.0 is now safely ensconced at the homebrew archive site. As usual, ftp to ftp.stanford.edu, and look in directory pub/clubs/homebrew/beer/programs/sudsw, the filename is sudw40.exe. Don't forget to set to binary before transferring! Cheers, Dave in Sydney - -- "Life is short; grain is cheap." ---Rich Lenihan ****************************************************************************** David S. Draper, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia. email: david.draper at mq.edu.au fax: +61-2-850-8428 ....I'm not from here, I just live here.... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 16:03:54 -0500 (EST) From: BVICKERY at lakers.lssu.edu Subject: Getting Started I am interested in starting homebrewing. At home there is a brew store nearbye so ingredients should not be a problem. What the problem is I would like to know of a "starter-set" that is reliable and not overly expensive. Thank you for all of your support. Brian M. Vickery Fish and Wildlife Management Major Lake Superior State University Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 15:28:12 -0600 (CST) From: ALLIN1 at giotto.jsc.nasa.gov Subject: testing test message Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 17:40:29 -0500 From: gcmowat at fox.nstn.ca (Gordon Mowat) Subject: Septic and Bleach/ Canadian Mail Order? On Mar 14, freigang at tcpcs2.dnet.etn.com asks about the impact of sanitizing solutions on the bacterial activity of a septic tank. Two factors come into play when dumping materials into your septic tank. The first is the concentration of the bleach solution. The second is the volume of liquid. The higher the concentration of the disinfectant or the larger the volume of waste has an impact on the bacterial flora and the agitation of materials in the tank. You are probably safe with Chlorine concentrations less than 100 ppm and volumes of less than 30 gallons. You could check with your local Health Dept. (or who else might inspect or consult on septic systems). Failures are most ofter related to higher flows than the system was designed for, rather than kill off of the little beasties. Relax and have a home brew. Now...........my question to the esteemed members! Anyone know of a relieable, cheap etc. mailorder supply house in Canada that has a catalogue etc. Local shops (rural Nova Scotia) do not have fresh, reliable or cheap supplies (other than syrup kits) Thanks in advance. Return to table of contents
Date: 15 Mar 1995 15:40:21 -0600 From: "Westerman, Robert" <robert.westerman at spmail.jsc.nasa.gov> Subject: bottle Cappers I would like some suggestions as to the preferred bottle capper (type and brand)! I want to give one as a gift. TIA Robert Westerman robert.westerman at spmail.jsc.nasa.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 15:59:55 -0600 From: Dave Shaver <shaver at healthcare.com> Subject: San Diego update I spent nine days in San Diego recently and I thought I would update the list (and the pub database) on what I found beer-wise. Hops! Bistro and Brewery: Visited four times since they were only a few blocks from my hotel. Helpful to note that they are located on the west side of the UTC shopping center at SE corner of Gensee and La Jolla Village Dr. Food was outstanding three of the four times---just good on one visit. Brew was average at best. They had a Scottish Ale that was better than average and their Raspberry Ale was an outstanding fruit beer. Well balanced with excellent raspberry nose and finish. They claim to use 230 pounds of fresh, whole, locally-grown red raspberries per batch. Kitayama Cafe - Sorrento Valley Turns out this is now called the Karl Strauss Brewery Gardens. Nice location in the San Diego Tech Center. I went at night so I did not get to enjoy the gardens, but it looked wonderfully landscaped. Exact same menu and brew as the Old Columbia Brewery downtown but in a better location. Brew varied from good to better than average. Way too many lighter beers on the menu---the stout was good, but lacked any strong roasted flavor. Food was average. Comments from Tom Baier <BAIER_T at SALT.PLU.EDU>: "The gardens are (5 acres?) of japanese gardens with waterfalls, koi ponds, etc. with a brewery. Best Pils and Lagers I have had outside of Germany, and a great place. Closed to the public on Saturdays. On Sundays, they sometimes have live music outside. Enthusiastically recommended." Old Columbia Brewery and Grill Helpful to note this place is downtown on Columbia. The map I had did not show Columbia St going all the way downtown so I wasted a bit of time way too far north. As noted above, exact same menu and brew Brewery Gardens. The specific items I had on the menu here (reuben sandwich and roasted pablano chiles) were both really good. Beer here was the same as the Brewery Gardens: average to really good. Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: "Always has a good selection of excellent beer, good menu, somewhat pricey." Comments from Steve Dempsey <steved at ptdcs2.intel.com>: "Second only to Sudwerk in Davis for lagers." St. James Bar Changed names and is now known as Triangles. TOTAL WASTE OF TIME, beer wise. Remove it from the list. :-) They had Builleoors and a single random micro. Food was expensive by my standards---$18+ per person. Nice wine selection; $5+/glass. Pizza Nova; I don't have address or phone, but they are on the SW corner of Gensee and La Jolla Village Dr directly across the street from Hops! I visited here twice, mostly because it was fast and they had good food and brew. Three micros on tap (all very fresh) and excellent wood-fired pizza. Good service during my visits. Pacific Beach Brewhouse Lucked out and ended up there on $1 beer night. All of their beer was very good to outstanding. Their Belgian Strong was outstanding and I fell in love---much too deeply :-)---with their Red. The Red had lots of character, a wonderful blend of crystal malts and Cascade hop flavor/nose. Double yummy. Thankfully I was not driving. :-) Stout is pushed with nitrogen. Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: "Skip Virgilio is Brewer, He will be happy to talk to you if you catch him there. The Belgian Strong Ale (GABF Gold Medal) should be on line by now. Skip makes some of the best ales in S.D. (IMHO)" Comments from Steve Dempsey <steved at ptdcs2.intel.com>: "Particularly good specialty beers. Good pizzas." San Diego Brewing I did not visit here. Comments from Tom Baier <BAIER_T at SALT.PLU.EDU>: "It is located out by Jack Murphy stadium in a strip mall. Don't be fooled by the outside. Great selection of beers, and the brewer is a total beer stud. When I was there, he had two of his beers...on cask. And several others on draught. Unpretentious, friendly, good beer. Go." Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: "Brew their own, and have 50+ micro brews on tap from around the world. Good food, reasonably priced, a LOT of beer to choose from. Pizza Port: I did not visit here. Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: "REAL casual, surfer type place, excellent pizza, great ales." Comments from Steve Dempsey <steved at ptdcs2.intel.com>: "First brewpub to serve stout on nitrogen tap. It's really an average small sports bar that happens to brew a few beers. Hardly worth a special trip. If you have some other reason to go north, like going up to the wild animal park, Solana Beach is on the way and this would be a reasonable place to stop for a beer." Brewski's Gas Lamp Pub I did not visit here. Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: "(now RJ's Riptide brewery) - Downtown. More upscale, the ales are nice. Copper brewhouse behind the bar..." Comments from Steve Dempsey <steved at ptdcs2.intel.com>: "Under new name and ownership, same address. Better beers, good food" La Jolla Brewing Co. I did not visit here. Comments from Frank J. Leers <fjl at dpci.sannet.gov>: " In famous downtown La Jolla, beers are just o.k. Pub fare - food is good." I look forward to another visit when I can hit up the remaining brewpubs. When you visit remote locations (or something new opens locally) don't forget to send updates like this to the publist maintainer, John R. Mellby <jmellby at m2.dseg.ti.com>. /\ Dave Shaver \\ Plano, TX \/ Internet: shaver at healthcare.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 17:34 -0500 (EST) From: anthony_meehan at Merck.Com (Anthony Meehan) Subject: all malt priming I primed my last several batches with DME instead of sugar. These have varied between belgian style ales to pils, w/ alcohol contents anywhere between 4 and 6% (right where they're supposed to be), and one was a whole grain deal. However in comparison to sugar primed bottles, it has been taking much longer to carbonate, is less carbonated, and the beer is slightly sweeter even after four months of conditioning. Someone is sleeping on the job! BTW- The primary fermentations have all been very clean and complete. The question is... I also use polyclar. Could the polyclar be settling the yeast out of action? permanently? Greg Graboski c/o Tony Meehan meehan at merck.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 17:42:20 -0500 (CDT) From: SCHEIDELRICK at bvc.edu Subject: HI Could you please send me some good recipes.Thanks. Return to table of contents
From: ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie id m0rp3aB-0006OzC; Thu, 16 Mar 95 00:38 GMT Date: Thu, 16 Mar 1995 00:38:25 +0000 From: Ulick Stafford <ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie> Subject: hbd subscribers in Ireland To: homebrew <homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com> Cc: ulick.stafford at nd.edu Message-Id: <Pine.3.89.9503160028.A98-0100000 at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Just a quick request for any hbd readers in Ireland to contact me to discuss homebrewing questions relating to Ireland, such as suppliers, etc. _____________________________________________________________________________ 'There was a master come unto the earth, | Dr. Ulick Stafford, born in the holy land of Indiana, | Chemical Consultancy, in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne'.| Ballyhurst, Taghmon, Co. Wexford http://www.nd.edu:80/~ulick/ | ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 20:50:12 -0500 From: cstrick at iu.net (Chris Strickland) Subject: Long Ferments I have a ferment that's been going on for three weeks now. The bubbles are about once every 10 - 15 seconds. I'm using the same recipe I normally use with 1 lb less of grain. About 5.07lbs of Klages, 2.5 lbs of British and 1 lb of 60lb Crystal malt. I'm using a london ale yeast. Normally my ferments are completed in about 10 days. - -------------- Chris Strickland cstrick at iu.net Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 21:00:45 -0500 (EST) From: ADNEYK at delphi.com Subject: Microbrews in Utah In response to a recent HBD query (sorry, author unknown): Salt Lake City has Squatter's Brewery at 147 W Broadway. Fuggles at 367 W 200 South Salt Lake Brewing Co. at 375 W 200 South and Red Rock Brewing Co. at 254 S 200 West. There's also a brewery in Park City but I don't know the name. ken adneyk at delphi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 18:25:58 +0800 From: bjones at bdt.com (Bob Jones) Subject: Beer Engines >On the subject of Beer Engines, some people are confused about what constitutes >a Beer Engine. The pseudo beer engine in Zymurgy is simply a sprinkler >faucet. It is missing the pump necessary to be a true Beer Engine. >I am looking to buy or build the entire pump & tap assembly. > >Thanks, >Mark Alston > Well Mike your are right about people being "confused" about what a beer engine is. A true beer engine is indeed a hand pump, but its only function is to move the beer from the keg to the tap and on into the glass. It must do this with enough pressure to not only move the beer but with enough velocity to create or generate the head via the sparkler on the end of the faucet. The pseudo beer engine "achives" the same thing. In this case it is the CO2 that replaces the pump. If the gas pressure is kept low enough there won't be any noticable uptake in carbonation. The upside to this gadget is you are left with about $300-400 more money. If you are looking for the cool look of a real english beer engine, by all means open you pocket book and let'er rip. Bob Jones bjones at bdt.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 19:58:23 -0700 From: flemingk at usa.net (Kirk R Fleming) Subject: Bizarre RIMS Concepts I've been toying with the following idea for indirectly heating and controlling RIMS mash temperatures...feedback is hereby solicited: Design Goals: 1. Provide a completely controlled heating system with enough reserve reserve capacity to both maintain mash temperature at a given setting, AND to perform the temperature step boosts as rapidly as possible. 2. Isolate the mash from any heating elements to allow use of elements having high energy density and/or less-than-ideal element materials (non-stainless, coated, etc.). Operational Concept: Pump the wort through a heat exchanger--imagine a coil in a can of glycol. Heat the glycol directly with the electric element of your choice. Monitor both the mash temperature going into and leaving the heat exchanger, AND monitor the glycol temperature as well. Write the control law for the system to guarantee glycol temp never gets boosted high enough to overshoot on mash temp, but so it CAN be taken above desired mash temperature minimize the time required to make mash temperature boosts. IOW, "superheat" the glycol to the maximum degree possible without the outlet mash temp going over the target temp, and shut the heating unit down early enough so the remaining cool wort will take sufficient energy out of the glycol to lower its temperature to mash target temp. [NOTE: By "superheating" I don't mean heating the glycol above its normal BP..I mean heating the glycol above the target *mash* temp.] This last idea could require the control system know how much wort was left in the tun at what temperature in order to know when to shut down the heating element. But...I *think* the control only needs to know the 1st and 2nd time derivatives of the incoming wort temp. (People who actually *know* something about controls, please help out) But, even if this operational mode were not allowed and the glycol was never permitted to get above target mash temp, the heat xchnger concept still has some potential advantages: 1) it prevents direct contact between the wort and the heating element, guaranteeing no-scorch, no leaks at the element, and allowing use of high heat density low-cost elements to get steep gradients 2) may provide a more stable temperature (the thermal mass of the glycol) requiring fewer control inputs (advantage: manual control of the heater may be feasible as a backup mode of operation) If "superheating" of the glycol (or other working fluid) IS workable, then the real advantage would be the use of two heaters in the glycol--a big primary heater for fast temperature boosts, and a 2ndary control heater for constant-temperature maintenance. No need to manually add auxilliary direct-fire heat or to endure long temperature boosts. Also, given a good exchanger design with lots of capacity, a greater volume of wort could be elevated in a given time, it seems. Disadvantages are pretty easy to find...anyone see any advantages at all? Any big holes? This is brainstorming now, so compliance with conservation laws is not all that mandatory...and poorly thought-out challenges are as welcome as any. :) Kirk R Fleming Patriot, Beer Punk Colorado Springs CO Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 22:11:45 EST From: "ANDY..PBX 5152" <copea at kenyon.edu> Subject: Hops: which method works? Hello everybody, This might be an easy question for the experienced brewers on this list. I'm only on my third batch, so I can plead ignorance. Question: If I want to get a stronger hop flavor (I'm using whole hops) would boiling the bittering hops (Northern Brewer in this case) for a longer period of time do it? Or would using more hops but brewing for the same time be the best way to do it? Could it be a combination of both? I really like the Pale Ale I made recently and would like to improve upon it by getting an even bigger hop bite in it. Any advice you might have would be appreciated. Please respond to the list as other novices might benefit from this type of message. Thank you all in advance.... Andrew Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1681, 03/16/95