HOMEBREW Digest #1717 Fri 28 April 1995
Digest #1716
Digest #1718
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Lightstruck Carboy ("Kevin L. Smith")
infection follow-up (Rob Emenecker)
Arkansas Breweries ? (Keith Frank)
Karboy Kover (kpnadai)
Another try (guyruth)
Another try (guyruth)
Microwave for sterilization/PureSeal bottlecaps (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
sparging with boiling water (Bryan L. Gros)
SA Dry Hopping/Hop Tea (Kevin Wetherby)
na alternatives (ramsey)
Primary explosion (Phil Hitchman)
Gelatine !!! (Phil Hitchman)
Re: Dinged Enamel ("Lee C. Bussy")
The Robot (Will Self)
Gott Cooler Mash Tuns (Bunning W Maj ACC/DOTE)
RE: primary explosion (Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna)
siphon aeration / cap sterilization / light-struck carboys ("Keith Royster")
re: how long for all-grain (I stepped inside and didn't see too many faces 27-Apr-1995 1008 -0400)
Good beer gone bad! ("James Giacalone")
Easy Masher/AI Robot (aardvark)
OG Calculations ("Palmer.John")
A Hydrometer Question (P Brooks)
Recipe Help (ROSSBEER)
bottles and beer (David Foulk)
Opps. (TArnott)
Re: Color Wheel (Bill Toothaker)
Re: primary explosion (Bill Toothaker)
Coyote... (ELQ1)
Sombody's cornered the market! ("Joseph E. Santos")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 14:35:30 EST
From: "Kevin L. Smith" <CCKEVIN at amber.indstate.edu>
Subject: Lightstruck Carboy
> I understand lots of folks brew
>outdoors and they often use a glass primary - likely also clear.
> Are we putting the whole batch in jeopardy of being sunstruck
>while it is concentrated in this one big clear bottle?
YES!
> Would a shift to brown glass carboys contribute to quality?
Yes, but not necessary...
> Would it make sense to consider using some kind of carboy
>coating or a cover to keep the light out?
I also ferment in a sunny kitchen under a "breakfast island"
(much to my wifes disapproval :). Until about 4 batches ago, I would
just put the beer into the fermenter, set it under the island and
letigo. I kept getting an off flavor in my beer that I didn't like,
and had already checked all of my sanitation methods, then I thought
about the 'lightstruck' scenario....My remedy costs about $.01...a trash
bag with a hole cut in the bottom, over the top of the carboy.
This works great in the winter, but in the summer...Black attracts
heat...so put the carboy in your bottling bucket with some water and
lay a towel over the top, draping it into the water for evaporation
cooling! nature is great!!! ... almost like she intended for us to
make beer!!
______________________________________________________________________________
From : Kevin L. Smith
Programmer/Analyst If U had a chance 2 see
Indiana State University the Future would U try?
Phone : (812)237-3985
e-mail : cckevin at amber.indstate.edu - O(-+>
Opinions expressed are my own, and definitely B wild.
do not reflect the opinions of my employer!!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 95 15:43:12 PDT
From: Rob Emenecker <robe at cadmus.com>
Subject: infection follow-up
Thanks to all who responded to my questions in Hombrew Digest #1713 regarding
infections and gelatin. What follows is a consensus/majority rule of the
responses to my questions...
A--Is the ring around the neck a sign of infection or could it be gelatin
solidifying at the surface?
The likely cause of this happening was priming with DME. The material
on the neck was hot break/cold break materials from using malt extract
instead of priming sugar or honey.
B--Is it too early in the bottle (only 1 week) for the gelatin to set into a
film on the bottom?
BY ALL MEANS YES!!! As matter of fact the majority of respondents
could not figure out why I even used gelatin at the time of bottling.
In all honesty I read it in a thread on the Beer & Brewing section of
the Wine & Dine forum on AOL. I cannot remember who the info came
from, but the mere mention of using gelatin at bottling time got many
raised eyebrows!!!
C--What in the world is that pungent odor (it is not strong or immediately
apparent, only after sniffing the beer can you tell it is there)?
This was the one question that got a lot of conflicting responses.
It was either infection, the DME fermenting or the gelatin. I came up
with my own opinion from the responses and decided that it was a
combination of the fermenting DME AND the gelatin. The reason for this
was that last night I tried several more bottles of the Turtle's Wheat
and the pungent smell had all but disappeared. Also I had a signifi-
cant decrease in the material floating at the top of the bottles (and
in my mug after pouring).
Thanks to everyone who responded to my queries. (Boy folks just what till I
start doing all grain brewing... oh the questions I have!!! ;)
- --Rob
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
: "There are only two things in life that oooooo :
: we can ever be certain of... _oooooooo :
: ...taxes and beer!" /_| oooooo :
: Cheers, // | ooo :
: Rob Emenecker \\_| oo | :
: remenecker at cadmus.com (Rob Emenecker) \_| o| :
: Cadmus Journal Services, Inc. |______| :
: Linthicum, Maryland 21090 :
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 15:05:31 -0500
From: keithfrank at dow.com (Keith Frank)
Subject: Arkansas Breweries ?
I will be traveling to Arkansas for Memorial Day Weekend. I plan
on being in the Hot Springs and Little Rock areas. Can anyone
suggest any breweries or brewpubs that I should check out ?
TIA,
Karl Wolf
c/o keithfrank at dow.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 95 15:24:45 PDT
From: kpnadai at adsnet.com
Subject: Karboy Kover
>I understand lots of folks brew
>outdoors (I hope to get there one day!) and they, like me, often
>use a glass primary - likely also clear. Are we putting the whole
>batch in jeopardy of being sunstruck while it is concentrated in this
>one big clear bottle? Would a shift to brown glass carboys contribute
>to quality? Would it make sense to consider using some kind of carboy
>coating or a cover to keep the light out?
NEW! From the people who brought you the BREW-HICKEY...
Introducing the Karboy Kover. Sort of like sunglasses for your carboy!
Available in the following colors:
- "mirror" look (for you bad boy brewers, policemen also)
- black horn rim (for extract nerds)
- black horn rim, broken in half, mended with masking tape (all grain types)
- black "Tom Cruise" version (when you are tired of RDWHAH and you'd
rather say "What the f*!")
- "natural" look (imprinted with an image of a beautiful, healthy, award
winning fermentation in progress. Slip this over your carboy whenever
your brewing friends come over and you don't want them to see the
swill you really are brewing)
homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Get your Karboy Kover today!
$39.95 mail order, $79.95 from your local homebrew store.
- ------------------------> By the way <---------------------
This is not meant to make fun of John's post, which I think raises an
interesting point...
Kevin Nadai
kpnadai at adsnet.com, formerly MnMGuy at AOL.com
>
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 95 15:05:12 EST
From: guyruth at abq-ros.com
Subject: Another try
I'm sure everyone is getting tried of my tries, but the last one got
kicked out for excessive line length. Here goes nothing (well hopefully
not) Spring Thing results hopefully will follow. By now I'm not sure
anyone really cares.
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Date: Wed, 26 Apr 95 15:05:23 EST
From: guyruth at abq-ros.com
Subject: Another try
Filename: "6118055". File Length: 5376 bytes.
This file is contained in 1 split message chunk(s).
This is message chunk 1 of 1 and was processed on
Wed, 26 Apr 95 14:39:48 EST:
- ---- cut here ----
5th Annual Dukes of Ale's
Spring Thing Beer Competition
April 1, 1995
Best of Show - First Fire IPA, Bob Zamites, Santa Fe, NM
Best Ale - First Fire IPA, Bob Zamites, Santa Fe, NM
Best Lager - Beelzebub Bock, Scott Moore, Albuquerque, NM
Best Specialty - Speaking in Tongues, Laure Pomianowski, Santa Fe, NM
German Ale (4 entries)
Gold - Urig II, Derek Maes, Rio Rancho, NM - 36.67
Strong Ale (6 entries)
Gold - Residual Barley Wine, Mark Delaney, Albuquerque, NM - 39.33
Silver - Barley Wine #4, Gordon Olson, Los Alamos, NM - 32.00
Bronze - Old Buck, Jeff Buckels, Albuquerque, NM - 29.00
Brown Ale (6 entries)
no Gold awarded
Silver - Old Swine Brown Ale, Jeff Welch, Santa Fe, NM - 34.00
Bronze - Chinook Brown Ale, K. Harden & B. Ausderau, Albuquerque, NM - 31.67
English Bitter (4 entries)
Gold - Buck's Best Bitter, Jeff Buckels, Albuquerque, NM - 43.67
Silver - ESB No. 4, Jeff Buckels, Albuquerque, NM - 30.00
English Pale Ale (15 entries)
Gold - First Fire IPA, Bob Zamites, Santa Fe, NM - 43.67
Silver - My Pale Ale, Lonnie Haden, Albuquerque, NM - 39.67
Bronze - Anasazi Pale Ale, Larry Sitney, Santa Fe, NM - 37.00
American Pale Ale (12 entries)
no Gold awarded
Silver - Hop Madness, Bryan Bennett, Los Alamos, NM - 31.67
Bronze - Hard Hat Pale Ale, Jim Goodding, Albuquerque, NM - 31.00
Scotch Ale (8 entries)
Gold - Thumbs Up, W. Parker-Wood & Bev Nulman, Albuquerque, NM - 37.00
Silver - Pay the Piper, W. Parker-Wood & Bev Nulman, Albuquerque, NM - 34.67
Bronze - Just Beer, Tobin Shulman, Santa Fe, NM - 30.00
Porter (10 entries)
no Gold awarded
Silver - Uncle Tom's Robust Porter, Tom Hart, Albuquerque, NM - 34.50
Bronze - Portly Parker's Porter, W. Parker-Wood & Bev Nulman,
Albuquerque, NM - 31.00
Stout (14 entries)
Gold - Put Ya' Down Under, Bryan Bennett, Los Alamos, NM - 38.33
Silver - Meal-in-a-Mug Oatmeal Wheat Stout, Steven Solik,
San Jose, CA - 36.67
Bronze - Leefe's Stout, Jeff Graves, Albuquerque, NM - 34.00
Bock (6 entries)
Gold - Beelzebub Bock, Scott Moore, Albuquerque, NM - 37.33
Silver - Old Cabron, Derek Maes, Rio Rancho, NM - 33.00
Bronze - Clipper Bock, Mike Spilde, Albuquerque, NM - 28.33
Munich (1 entry)
no Gold awarded
Silver - Ein Munchner, Paul Claassen, Albuquerque, NM - 33.67
American Lager (8 entries)
Gold - American Light, C. J. Harrington, Tijeras, NM - 35.67
Silver - Golden Ale, Michael Kronenberg, Rio Rancho, NM - 35.33
Bronze - Tightrope, Laure Pomianowski, Santa Fe, NM - 34.00
Pilsner (10 entries)
Gold - German Pils, Keleher & Folkner, Albuquerque, NM - 37.00
Silver - Sandia Peak Pilsner, Mark Delaney, Albuquerque, NM - 31.00
Bronze - Carls Brau, Paul Claassen, Albuquerque, NM - 26.75
Fest Beer (8 entries)
Gold - Viennese Waltz, K. Harden & B. Ausderau, Albuquerque, NM - 36.67
Silver - Vienna, Vienna, Paul Claassen, Albuquerque, NM - 30.00
Bronze - Oktoberfest Smash, Paul Claassen, Albuquerque, NM - 28.00
Calif. Common-Steam (5 entries)
no Gold awarded
Silver - European Common Ale, Mark Delaney, Albuquerque, NM - 34.67
Bronze - Bucket of Steam, John Hintz, Albuquerque, NM - 29.00
Fruit Beer (9 entries)
Gold - Raspberry Pop, Jim "Badger" Mildren, Rio Rancho, NM - 37.33
Silver - Wower Cherry Ale, Lonnie Haden, Albuquerque, NM - 36.00
Bronze - Eleanor's Seedy Pomegranite Ale, Eleanor De Leon,
Los Angeles, CA - 34.67
Herb Beer (9 entries)
Gold - Jimmy's Holiday Cheer '94, Jim Goodding, Albuquerque, NM - 37.00
Silver - St. Nichelob Spiced Ale, Guy & Barbara Ruth, Albuquerque, NM - 34.33
Bronze - C'mas Ale, Art Priebe, Albuquerque, NM - 31.67
Smoked Beer (6 entries)
Gold - Speaking in Tongues, Laure Pomianowski, Santa Fe, NM - 40.33
Bronze - Smokey the Bev, W. Parker-Wood & Bev Nulman, Albuquerque, NM - 26.00
Bronze - Peter Piper's Smoked Porter, Guy & Barbara Ruth,
Albuquerque, NM - 26.00
Chile Beer (1 entry)
no Gold awarded
Silver - In the Heat of the Night, Guy & Barbara Ruth,
Albuquerque, NM - 32.33
Wheat Beer (9 entries)
Gold - He's Bock, Art Priebe, Albuquerque, NM - 40.00
Silver - 49er Weizen, Nick Franke, Los Angeles, CA - 37.33
Bronze - Alt Bayrische Typ, Paul Claassen, Albuquerque, NM - 28.00
Belgian Style (9 entries)
Gold - Witness, Laure Pomianowski, Santa Fe, NM - 36.00
Silver - Canoncito Special Ale, Bob Wilcox, Santa Fe, NM - 33.67
Bronze - Abbey Triple, Derek Maes, Rio Rancho, NM - 31.33
Other Weird Beers (8 entries)
Gold - Holiday Ale, Dennis Cunningham, Albuquerque, NM - 35.75
Silver - Prurient Porter, Jeff Tomlinson, Albuquerque, NM - 35.50
Bronze - Pumpkin Ale, Sam & Jackie Garrell, Albuquerque, NM - 35.25
***************************************************************************
Requirements for Gold, Silver & Bronze medals are as follows:
Gold - 1st place in class with a minimum score of 35 points
Silver - at least 2nd place in class with a minimum score of 30 points
Bronze - at least 3rd place in class with a minimum score of 25 points
A Silver medal was awarded to the 1st place winner in a class whenever
they did not get the required minimum 35 point score.
A Silver and/or Bronze medal may not have been awarded if there were no
contestants in a class who received the required minimum point score.
Moore, Albuquerque, NM
Best Spe
- ---- cut here ----
Return to table of contents
Date: 26 Apr 95 17:34:00 -0500
From: korz at iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Microwave for sterilization/PureSeal bottlecaps
Irwin writes:
>Microwaving is ideal for
>sterilization as it kills microorganisms and even spores rapidly,
>without the side-effect of long-term heating...
Are you absolutely sure? I've read various things about microwaves
and sanitation/sterilization, but none of them definitive. Could
someone else support or deny Irwin's claim?
***
Andy writes (asking about PureSeal (aka SmartCaps) bottlecaps):
- How do these caps work?
There are several varieties ("absorber" and at least one other kind) but
I'm only familiar with the "absorber" variety, so that's all I'll talk
about here. Their plastic lining is made of a special plastic which absorbs
oxygen in the headspace AND the plastic is oxygen-barrier for (I believe)
nine months. I have read somewhere that the plastic contains sulphites
and this is the mechanism by which the oxygen absorbtion is done. The
absorbing capabilities are activated by moisture so the caps should be
bought in sealed plastic packages and stored dry.
- Do they really work and are they worth using for long-term storage?
The Chicago Beer Society did a test comparing these caps with regular ones.
The primary difference was that the absorber capped beer had a better hop
aroma than the regular capped beer. I have been using these caps exclusively
and have entered some relatively medium-gravity beers into competitions up
to two years after bottling with no mention of oxidation on the scoresheets.
Perhaps this is due to the caps or maybe just good technique keeping O2 out
of the bottle in the first place. My opinion: even if they don't make a
significant difference, how much more per batch do they cost, 50 cents?
- What is the proper means of sanitizing these caps?
I spoke with the lead engineer who designed them and he said that boiling
them will ruin their absorbing capabilities. He recommended using 200ppm
bleach (1 tablespoon per gallon of cool water) and then rinsing with water.
That's what I've been doing. I'm afraid that the oxygen in B-Brite and
One-Step might "use up" some of the oxygen absorbing capabilities, so I
choose to avoid using that stuff for the caps. I've also tried iodophor,
but when I put the caps into the iodophor, its amber colour disappeared
immediately, so I tossed those caps and went back to good old 200ppm bleach.
Al.
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Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 16:56:26 -0700
From: bgros at mindseye.berkeley.edu (Bryan L. Gros)
Subject: sparging with boiling water
Just a few notes on my sparge from last weekend.
I use a Gott cooler as a hot liquor tank and mash in a converted
pony keg. I bring my sparge water to a boil and then drain it
into the pre-warmed cooler and seal it. I figure the water in the
cooler is probably 200F tops. Last weekend I brought my mash
to about 165 and then started sparging. With my digital
thermometer in the grain bed, I watched the temperature climb
from 165 to 175 as I sparged (took 35 to 45 min).
I hate to say it, but I think this is similar to what Jack was
advocating a while back and it works well for me. I got
30.5 pts/lb/gal with this batch, a little above avg.
- Bryan
bgros at mindseye.berkeley.edu
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Date: Wed, 26 Apr 95 22:44:48 EDT
From: Kevin Wetherby <KMWET at UKCC.UKY.EDU>
Subject: SA Dry Hopping/Hop Tea
In reply to Sean O'Keefe's posting:
I have dry hopped with the SA hops once and had favorable results. The hop
aroma and taste was what I was after- comparable with SA's beer. I also tried
making a hop tea using the same recipe with very different results. I threw in
some hops (about 1 oz) at the end of the boil of the corn sugar just prior to
bottling. The best way to describe the flavor was grassy. After about 5 weeks
in the bottle the "grassiness has disappeared and it has a hint of fruity
bouqet. One of my friends who is always willing to sample my batches liked the
hop tea version, where I preferred the dry hopped - to each his own. FWIW: I
have also received 2 - 400 gram bags for the price of one as someone else a
month or so ago posted.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 04:19:52 EST
From: ramsey at tccbbs.com
Subject: na alternatives
Kirk Harralson wote that an alternative to na beers might be a low
calorie beer (ie. Belgian Driving Beers)
Kirk,
The reasons that I wanted some knowledge of how to make a non alcoholic
beer was not for the calorie content. (Though it maybe it should have
been for my husband's sake! <G>) But what I really needed was a VERY low
alcoholic content for my son's. They've tasted our homebrew and LOVE it
and wanted to know if I could make a na version for them. I guess
O'Douls just can't compete with the taste of mom's. :) I'm just hoping
the na is possible...have you PRICED na in the stores lately?????!
Cheryl Feucht
Massillon, Ohio
Ramsey at tccbbs.com
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 10:00:26 BST
From: phitchma at mpc-uk.com (Phil Hitchman)
Subject: Primary explosion
On 25th April, Thomas Lajoie wrote:
> I recently brewed John Campbell's Honey/Wheat recipe from HBD# 1705 (I
> don't plan on priming with honey though!!) It went into the primary
> bucket Sunday and seemed to be fermenting nicely.....BOOM!! Tuesday
> morning my airlock and lid had launched. I noticed that there was a
> foamy residue approaching the top of the bucket, and this apparently
> clogged the airlock, causing the explosion?? Anybody got any
> suggestions on how to avoid this in the future?? Is my batch ruined
> or just stick it out and wait??
Sounds like it's going fine to me Tom ! I brew British Ales and use an 'open'
fermentation method. Basically, the bucket is loosely covered with the lid
until the fermentation takes hold then it is removed completely ! I don't
brew Lagers or Wheat beers so don't know whether this is feasible with a
bottom fermenting yeast. In any case, I would never seal the beer in until
the primary (vigorous) fermentation has finished. With a good, top fermenting
yeast this would be after 2-3 days.
It doesn't sound like the batch has been ruined, so I should just stick it out
and wait !!
Phil.
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 10:28:53 BST
From: phitchma at mpc-uk.com (Phil Hitchman)
Subject: Gelatine !!!
I'd just like to stick my oar into the Gelatine debate.
I don't see why you need to use it at all !!
I have used galatine in the past but the only real difference is that it
tends to clear a bit quicker. Since I condition all of my beers for a minimum
period of 6-8 weeks, the beer is well cleared by then anyway. Why do you
lot use it ? I'm sure there is a very good reason and I'd love to know.
I generally use Irish Moss in the boil and the yeasts I use are normally stolen
from bottle conditioned ales (such as Sheppherd Neame, Fullers etc.) and
settle down quickly and firmly of their own accord. All of my beers come out
crystal clear and I make the whole range, from Pale Ale to Stout so why use
Gelatin ? I've heard that it can actually take some of the flavour out of the
beer (although I don't know how true this is).
I was recently touring a micro brewery in England (Crouch Vale in Essex) and
noticed that they had big containers full of 'Liquid Finings'. I wish now
that I'd asked them a few questions about it !
Phil.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 06:05:09 +0000
From: "Lee C. Bussy" <leeb at southwind.net>
Subject: Re: Dinged Enamel
Troy Howard asks about enamelware pot repair:
Troy, we used to get porcelain repair at the hardware store in a
little tube. It worked well for sinks and such but you might give it
a test run with water and a little vinegar (to simulate the lower pH
of the wort) in a good rolling boil to see if it will hold up.
The open part can cause flavors from the iron (steel) to affect your
beer but I personally think the net affect would be small.
- --
-Lee Bussy | Screaming on the Internet with |
leeb at southwind.net | Windows 95!!!! 32 Bit made simple! |
Wichita, Kansas | http://www.southwind.net/~leeb |
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 06:20:12 -0600
From: wself at viking.emcmt.edu (Will Self)
Subject: The Robot
Kelly Jones says:
>The REAL bad news is, the humor impaired are dropped almost immediately.
>The AI Robot has no tolerance for digest readers who can't recognize a
>joke.
I don't see why I have to have a sense of humor to keep from getting dropped
from the Digest. I regard this as entirely unfair. Not only that, I don't
believe the Robot itself probably has much of a sense of humor, because to
me, a sense of humor is a uniquely human phenomenon, not shared by machines
no matter how intelligent they may be. Humor is real intelligence, not
artificial intelligence, which is humorless. I have never seen a robot
that can get a truly funny joke. The more I think about this humorless Robot
dropping me because maybe it doesn't understand my form of humor the madder I
get. Not only that, but I think the Robot should drop anyone who persists
in continuing this stupid thread.
On another front, I am ending the design stage of my stovetop system based
on 2 five-gallon pots. I am planning to recirculate not only the mash but
also the wort at end of boil and during cooling. I think there may be big
advantages. Send me a note if you would like to discuss this further in
private.
The HBD has been invaluable to me in my planning.
Finally, here is my Baroque Worry, and I'm sorry to say I'm not joking here.
As I cool my boiled wort, it will contract, causing kitchen air to be drawn
into the boiling vessel. The kitchen air will be laden with germ-carrying
dust particles. Tell me then, can I prevent this somehow? Please don't just
suggest that I not worry about this; I have already suggested that to myself,
to no avail. Does anyone else have this concern?
Will Self
Billings, Montana
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 07:06:00 +6
From: Bunning W Maj ACC/DOTE <bunningw at ns.acc.af.mil>
Subject: Gott Cooler Mash Tuns
I've been in the habit of stovetop mashing and then transferring the entire
mash to a false bottom plastic bucket for the sparge. I plan on going to a
10 gallon Gott cooler with a Phil's false bottom for both mashing and
sparging. Does anyone have any suggestions on what size false bottom to get
and what to do about removing and sealing the drain tube? Is there a food
grade and temperature resistant sealant so there won't be any leaks? Any
response would be welcome.
Bill Bunning <<bunningw at hqaccdo.langley.af.mil>>
Member of the mile high homebrewer's association
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 09:09:11 EST
From: Tim_Fields_at_Relay__Tech__Vienna at relay.com
Subject: RE: primary explosion
In HBD 1716, "Thomas Lajoie" <lajoiet at CC.IMS.DISA.MIL> states re his
fermenter lid "exploding off":
>Anybody got any
> suggestions on how to avoid this in the future??
Try using a blow-off tube. Should solve the problem.
and..
>Is my batch ruined or just stick it out and wait??
Stick it out! I've had similar problems. If your ferment remains active,
it should take care fo any potential contamination.
Tim Fields
Timf at relay.com
Relay Technology, Inc., SQL/DS Division
Vienna, VA, USA
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 10:10:11 EST
From: "Keith Royster" <Royster at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us>
Subject: siphon aeration / cap sterilization / light-struck carboys
Just a few quick comments on HBD#1715:
#1) Martin Manning warned that placing a hole in a siphon tube at an elevation
above the bottom of the source vessel will cause the siphon to be broken when
the level of the wort is lowered to the same elevation. This is true, but ONLY
if your hole(s) are too large or too many. If you make the hole(s) small
enough so that a stream of tiny bubbles are sucked into the racking tube, the
pressure inside the tube will always remain below atmospheric pressure and the
siphon will not be broken. You also get a better aeration efficiency (IMHO)
with smaller bubbles because of the greater surface area/volume ratio of the
bubbles. So keep the hole small enough that air can't be sucked in so quickly
that the siphon is broken and you can place the hole anywhere you want! (Tip:
Place a hose clip or C-clamp on the hose at the location of the hole(s). This
will help pinch open the small holes and also may assist in the pressure drop
due to the decreased diameter of the tube [Venturi? / Bernoulli?])
#2) John Schmitz asked about methods for cap sterilization. Some people swear
by boiling them, but I've heard of the heat un-seating the rubber ring in the
cap on occasions. I B-Brite mine.
#3) There was another question (from John Grivetti?) about how to protect a
carboy from being light struck. Forget any special coatings! Just take a
brown paper bag, turn it up-side-down, and cut a small circle in the bottom
(now the top) for the neck of the carboy to fit through. Drop it on the
carboy!
+------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Keith Royster, E.I.T. | On Non-alcoholic brews: |
| Environmental Engineer | The man who called it |
| NC-DEHNR / Air Quality | 'near beer' was a bad |
| (704) 663-1699 | judge of distance. |
| N1EA471 at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us | - Philander Johnson |
+------------------------------+-------------------------+
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 10:12:24 EDT
From: I stepped inside and didn't see too many faces 27-Apr-1995 1008 -0400 <ferguson at zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: re: how long for all-grain
>Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 10:52:27 -0400
>From: Btalk at aol.com
>Subject: mash brewing time
>
>I'm wondering how long it takes most folks to do a full mash brew.
For me, i do 10 gals in about 5 hrs. 5 gal batches are 4.5 hrs.
mill grains/heat mash h20: 30 mins
mash: 60-75mins, start heating sparge h20 at end of mash, say, at 60mins
sparge 45 mins in GOTT.
boil 60-75 mins
chill 25 mins(10-12gals).
pitch/measure SG 5 mins
I mash/sparge in a 10 gal gott.
i heat water/boil using a 200k btu king kooker.
i ferment right in my boiler, so, no hassle with sterilizing/cleaning crap.
concurrency helps: by the time the wort is coming to a boil, i have just
about all the mashing / sparging things cleaned. when it is time to end
the boil, i put the chiller in, boil another 5mins, kill the heat, and
chill. at that point, i have NOTHING to clean... just pitch, and cover.
jc
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 9:03:21 MDT
From: "James Giacalone" <JGiacalone at vines.ColoState.EDU>
Subject: Good beer gone bad!
I recently brewed an all grain wheat beer that turned
out really well! It has a great clove-like flavor, nice color,
and a creamy head. (I was really amazed that I brewed this!).
We had a party at my house last week and we chilled a case
of these in the fridge. They were great at the party but the
leftover beers in the fridge changed dramatically over the
next two days. The foamy head was gone and the clove flavor
diminished too! Although it still tasted better than coors I am
really puzzeled at this change. The other cases that were not
refrigerated taste as good as the first one I opened and have
good head retention. Could this be that the hefe was still active
enough to be destroyed by chilling? If so why would the entire
character of the beer change and not just the head?
Could some of you more advanced brewers help me out?!!
TIA JIM
(There's a tear in my beer..)
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 07:39:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: aardvark <bvaughn at netcom.com>
Subject: Easy Masher/AI Robot
Hello all about a week ago matthewk at csd.uwm.edu ask for any good bad
info on the Easy Masher. At that time I had just picked up one from a
local HB shop hear in Denver and used it for the first time last week
and found it to work very well. This was my first all grain batch. I did
a 2.5 gallon batch I dont have any thing bigger than a 5 gallon pot.
REVER CITY RED
3 LBS 2-ROW
1/2 LBS MUNIC MALT
1/2 LBS WHEAT MALT
1/4 CHOCOLATE MALT
1/2 CRYSTAL MALT 40L
1/4 OZ CHALLENGER HOPS
1/4 OZ CONTINENTAL HOPS
1/4 OZ TETTNANGER HOPS
AMERICAN ALE YEAST
The procedure I did was:
Step Mash
30 minutes at 122 degrees
30 minutes at 153 degrees did iodine test passed
10 minutes at 170 degrees
Sparged with 170 water now this is the part I not sure about and have
the some qustions about.
After clearing the runoff I brought a pot of water to 170 F and siphoned
water into a bowl on top of the grain bed using fish tank tubing
and did this intell run off did not taste sweet. This only took
15 mins I got 3 gallons of wort. Is this spraging to fast?.
The start gravity was at 1.056 I was real happy about that and
figured that all went well. It is now at 1.006 but it taste like
wet grains. I will bottle it and let it condition and see what
happens. This was going to be a red ale but it seems that the
chocolate malt and crystal malt made it a Black Tar Ale and I do
mean BLACK! I cant hardley see thew it. Was this just to
much chocolate malt?.
After using the Easy Masher I could say I am real happy with it and will
use it for my extract brewing as well the screen works real good for
filting the hops at racking time. I have no relations with the Easy
Masher just a very happy customer.
PS the AI robot was a joke so I have been told however I to was going to
send a message like Daves he just beat me to it. Kirk maybe you should
put at the end THIS IS ONLY A JOKE I can see that we are not the only
ones that took it as the truth. Oh by the way I too enjoy a joke as
well :^).
Brad. bvaughn at netcom.com
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: 27 Apr 1995 08:39:51 U
From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com>
Subject: OG Calculations
Hi Friends,
My post a couple days ago regarding extraction efficiency for a first mash got
me wondering about the Nominal values I quoted. These were 30 pts/lb/gal for 2
Row Base Malt and 10 for Crystal 60. My source for these numbers came from a
Brewing Techniques (M/J '93), Brewer's Forum article by Karl King and he
sourced Noonan, Mosher and Bauer. Here are the numbers from that article:
Malt Pts/Lb/Gal
- ----- ----------
Pale Malt 30
Dextrin 20
Crystal 20 15
Crystal 40 12.5
Crystal 60 10
Wheat 25
Vienna 23.5
Munich Light 20
Munich Dark 18
Cara Pils 20
Cara Vienne 15
Special B 5
Chocolate 3
Roasted Barley 1
Black Patent 0
I use these degrees of extract in a spreadsheet program to calculate my OG for
a new recipe based on the lbs of each malt used and the volume of my recipe.
My Doubts about these numbers surfaced yesterday when I was looking at Malt
Spec. sheets with Mike Froehlich over at his homebrew shop. Those spec. sheets
quoted the % Percent extract for various malts as ranging from 60-75% by
weight. Roast Barley being 65%. This was confusing as I would not expect this
kind of unmalted "charcoal" to contribute any fermentables that would raise the
OG.
I went home and pulled another copy of BT which had another recipe formulation
article by Martin Manning, and in it he quoted a formula that converted these
percent extractions to specific gravity:
SG = %E x lbs x 46.31 / volume; which means for 1 lb/gal you multiply the %E by
46.31. I am not sure of the source of that constant.
What this tells me is that 1 lb of Roasted Barley in 1 gallon of water would
raise the OG by ~28 pts! I don't think so!! Am I missing something here?
I have had good success using the numbers quoted above and it occurs to me that
they may in fact be adjustments made by figuring a 90% mash/lauter efficiency.
Would those of you who understand these spec. sheets please comment? I would
like to understand the discrepancies and any fudge factors before I write about
this again.
Also, I understand that there are similar %E numbers published in some of the
brewing freeware and shareware, but since those are Unix and DOS programs and I
am a Mac user, I have never seen them. How close to your target OG do you get
when using these programs? Do they have fudge factors built in?
Thanks,
John J. Palmer - Metallurgist for MDA-SSD M&P
johnj at primenet.com Huntington Beach, California
Palmer House Brewery and Smithy - www.primenet.com/~johnj/
palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com
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Date: Wed, 26 Apr 1995 15:44:50 -0700
From: pbrooks at rig.rain.com (P Brooks)
Subject: A Hydrometer Question
Well, lest another mostly-lurker get caught by the unsubscribe robot <G>, I
figured now was the time to post one of those questions that's been waiting
for just such an opportunity.
I was reading some back HBD's and in HBD #1704, I happened to see:
> Paul Shallbetter
> pshallbe at faribault.polaristel.net
> "Can ANYBODY help me find a hydrometer I CAN READ!?"
And this brought to mind a question I've had for a while that perhaps some
of our chemistry or physics type people can answer.
It's my hydrometer - here's the situation, the question, and the followup
question.My hydrometer, one of the basic homebrew store type - half inch
(or so) diameter bulb, with rolled up paper in the neck, and no built-in
thermometer - came in a plastic tube, one end closed and one end capped,
about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter, and about half an inch taller than the
hydrometer. This is what I used to take my readings. Standard procedure:
fill the tube to a predetermined level with wort in some stage, so that
with hydrometer inserted I'll still have about half an inch before the wort
overflows the tube; gently insert the hydrometer to right around where I
expect the gravity to be, and spin gently and let go. Sure enough, the
hydrometer spins and slows down, and stabilizes at the gravity, and then
(and here comes the problem), just before the hydrometer stops spinning, it
sort of sallies over to the edge of the tube, and neck of the hydrometer
seems to almost magically attach itself to the side of the tube, with a
little wort between the tube wall and the neck of the hydrometer rising in
a small 'mound' above the surface of the rest of the wort (No, I'm not
going to attempt ascii graphics of the whole thing here ;-)). In the
process of 'becoming affixed', the hydrometer rises a few points - leading
me to try again.
Here's the question - why does my hydrometer love the wall of it's tube
home? Surface tension? Inter-molecular translocation? Karma? And possibily
more relavent - how can I make it stop.
Thanks, and now, as Bob often say - go have a beer.
ciao,
pb
- --
pbrooks at rig.rain.com -- Renaissance Information Group
http://www.rdrop.com/~pbrooks/index.html
"A 16th Century Paradigm for using 21st Century Information"
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 12:01:43 -0400
From: ROSSBEER at aol.com
Subject: Recipe Help
I am looking for a recipe for a friend of mine. He loves a beer made near
Chicago called Bader Brau. Can anyone help me with a good clone for this?
(extract or grain), TIA
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 10:09:46 -0600
From: dfoulk at gsvms2.cc.gasou.edu (David Foulk)
Subject: bottles and beer
Andy Kligerman asked about the relative effectiveness of brown vs green
bottles at filtering light from beer. Another poster whose name I did not
save, sorry for the slight, quoted Zymurgy article putting the effectiveness
at filtering light at about 96% for brown and 20% for green. When I bottle
I line my hard cardboard cases with black plastic lawn bags that are cut
open per CP. Once the bottles are in the case I then line the top of the
cases and put them in a closet to finish. I assume I am reducing my mess
potential from beer fireworks and also eliminating the concern for light. I
am more concerned for the heft of the bottles as Molson and other green
bottles seem less heavy that Bud and Miller Lite bottles (at least they do
that right). Am I off base here. As a new brewer I have considered other
things I have done to be insightful and creative only to find that I have
waited for expensive bad beer.
***************************************************************************
David Foulk
Dept. Health Science Ed.
Georgia Southern University
Phone 912-681-5266
FAX 912-681-0721
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 12:23:08 -0400
From: TArnott at aol.com
Subject: Opps.
Hi. First, I like the HBD and all the information I get. This is my first
post and I just thought I'd try to help someone learn from my mistake.
I brewed an english style bitter, and racked it to 5 liter kegs. Well even
though I had done this before, I filled the kegs to capacity rather than
leaving enough room at the top.
The results (as if you couldn't guess yourself): My once cylyndrical kegs
look like beer balls and you can shave with the foam that came out when I
managed to wrestle the tap into it. At least the bungs didn't blow (I'm sure
my neighbor wouldn't have appriciated them blowing through her bedroom
floor).
Anyway. I hope my next post is as interesting as most of the other stuff I
read here.
ted arnott
p.s. If you let the bitter sit in the glass for a while, it still tastes
good!
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 12:42:26 -0400
From: beerman at amberwaves.mv.com (Bill Toothaker)
Subject: Re: Color Wheel
>DR J>Date: Tue, 25 Apr 1995 08:50:22 -0400 (EDT)
>>From: "Joseph E. Santos" <jesantos at WPI.EDU>
>>Subject: Color Wheel?
>>
>> Question?
>>Since my subscription has not been deleted I must be doing OK :)
>>I have been brewing for a few years and have yet to find a reference for
>>the SRM standards other than using the color unit calculations. Are there
>>any?
>>
DR J:
I found these posts at rec.crafts.brewing on the news service and down
loaded them yesterday hope they help. I heven't tried them yet.
>I just came across a post by the very Dennis Davison who makes the color
card. The email address is:
>ddavison at earth.execpc.com
>The card you mention is manufactured by Dennis Davison,
>multi-award-winning homebrewer. I have one and it is extremely useful,
>and well worth the $10 or so that Dennis charges for it. The card has 9
>windows at srm = 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, 11, 14, 17, and 19. Shortly after I
>bought mine, Dennis told me that he had the cards measured by
>spectrophotometer at the Siebel institute and they were all bang on to
>within a couple percent relative--for homebrewer's purposes, that's as
>close to exact as one could ever want.
Brew On!!
******************************************************************
* Bill the Beerman * for electroic homebrew catalog: *
* Amber Waves Homebrew * beerman at amberwaves.mv.co *
* & Dart Supplies * Trivia Question of the week *
* 5 Central Ave. * Name 3 beer brands that *
* Rochester, NH 03867 * Have a bull on their label *
* (603)335-4707 * HOPPY BREWING!! *
******************************************************************
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 12:42:30 -0400
From: beerman at amberwaves.mv.com (Bill Toothaker)
Subject: Re: primary explosion
>Date: Tue, 25 Apr 95 11:24:56 EST
>From: "Thomas Lajoie" <lajoiet at CC.IMS.DISA.MIL>
>Subject: got dropped/primary explosion
>
> Hi,
>
> I recently brewed John Campbell's Honey/Wheat recipe from HBD# 1705 (I
> don't plan on priming with honey though!!) It went into the primary
> bucket Sunday and seemed to be fermenting nicely.....BOOM!! Tuesday
> morning my airlock and lid had launched. I noticed that there was a
> foamy residue approaching the top of the bucket, and this apparently
> clogged the airlock, causing the explosion?? Anybody got any
> suggestions on how to avoid this in the future?? Is my batch ruined
> or just stick it out and wait??
>
Tom:
Your beer should be fine. In the future the best remedy would be to use a
carboy and get a blowoff tube (1 1/8" dia) wich fits tight in the neck. The
other end goes in a container of water. A gallon milk jug works great
because the hose fits tight in the neck also.(put hole for air to escape in
handle) This hose will carry the Krausen(foamy stuff) away from your brew
along with removing some bitter tannins, giving you a "smoother" beer. This
should also keep you from blowing your top. Brew On!!
>
******************************************************************
* Bill the Beerman * for electroic homebrew catalog: *
* Amber Waves Homebrew * beerman at amberwaves.mv.co *
* & Dart Supplies * Trivia Question of the week *
* 5 Central Ave. * Name 3 beer brands that *
* Rochester, NH 03867 * Have a bull on their label *
* (603)335-4707 * HOPPY BREWING!! *
******************************************************************
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 9:47:13 PDT
From: ELQ1%Maint%HBPP at bangate.pge.com
Subject: Coyote...
Its nearing the end of winter, the scurvy dog Coyote should be coming out
of hibernation any time soon, and raiding the local breweries, Be sure to
lock up your grain koops, Soon his howling sill be heard, and all will be
well.
Ed Quier ELQ1 at PGE.COM 707-444-0718wk
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Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 13:21:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Joseph E. Santos" <jesantos at WPI.EDU>
Subject: Sombody's cornered the market!
Thank you one and all who answered my question regarding the color wheel.
I've received 20 responses so far and they all seem to point to Dennis
Davison's index card size slide with various colored films on it. I guess
I'll be getting another toy for brewing soon. Just don't tell my wife :)
Thanks again
DR J (Just another happy homebrewer!)
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1717, 04/28/95