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


Contents:
  Blood Sugar/Yeast Washing/Protein Rests (A. J. deLange)
  Hop Plug Utilization? /Labels (dflagg)
  Refridge Defrost Timer (Domenick Venezia)
  Freezer controller with mercury switch thermostat (Ulick Stafford)
  Priming bottles (Brent Irvine)
  Beer labels: removing them & making them ("Keith Royster")
  hop back, gott fitting, motorize glatt mill, defrost (HOMEBRE973)
  Re:Advice on Bottle Labels (Nigel Townsend)



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----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 10:33:43 -0500
From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange)
Subject: Blood Sugar/Yeast Washing/Protein Rests

Michael Swan wrote about a Dallas lawyer who got his client off on a DWI
charge by convincing the jury that wild yeast had fermented the sugar in
his blood sample. PLEASE POST THE NAME AND PHONE NUMBER OF THIS LAWYER!
Seriously, though, unless the guy was a diabetic his blood glucose should
have been around 100mg/dl or, in our terms 0.1P. Assuming that 10 P wort
gives about 5% ABV this "wort" would give about one one hudredth of that or
 .05% ABV. The defendent was reported at five times this level. Looked at
another way, 1 gram of sugar yields about half a gram of alcohol so a
normal person with 100 mg/dl blood sugar would wind up with 50 mg/dl blood
alcohol if all the sugar were fermented which  works out to .05% ABW or.06%
ABV. Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached your verdict?

John DeCarlo asked about yeast washing with carbonic acid, or more
particularly with selzer tablets. The yeast have already been washed in
carbonic acid. Fermenting beer is saturated with CO2. This will not give
the desired effect, however, since the pH of fermenting beer is typically
in the 4.5 - 5 range (certain styles fall outside this range) and for yeast
washing a pH of around 2 is desired. Saturating water with CO2 at
atmospheric pressure will result in a pH of no lower than 4 since not
enough CO2 can dissolve to get it lower than that. Raising the pressure
will lower the pH somewhat but it would obviously be impractical to carry
out the wash under pressure.

I believe selzer tablets contain sodium bicarbonate and a salt of tartaric
or citric acid. They are actually designed to neutralize acidity in the
stomach and thus tend to buffer at a higher pH. Phosphoric, citric,
tartaric and sulfuric acids seem to be the most popular for yeast washing.

Sam Pottle asked about protein rests. 50C is often stated as a best
compromise for a single rest with 55 being an upper limit. There are at
least two enzymes involved: proteinase which works best between 40 and 60 C
and peptidase which is at its best at the lower range 45-50C. Thus the
lower temperature favors the action of peptidase with improved amino acid
production whereas the higher temperatures favor breakdown of larger
proteins.

The only reason I can think of to avoid a protein rest in a highly modified
malt would be that the malt already has much of its protein in the
molecular weight range which is suitable for good head formation. The rest
would bring about further lysis with the result that there would be a
surfeit of the low molecular weight proteins and a dearth of the high with
resulting poor head formation and retention.

A.J. deLange   Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore!
ajdel at interramp.com



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Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 12:10:47 -0400
From: dflagg at agate.net
Subject: Hop Plug Utilization? /Labels

Mike Clarke writes:

>  One thought that made sense had to do with the amount of
> time it took for the plug to break down into individual leaves or cones,
> during that time not all the hops are in contact with the beer.  Anyone
> have any experiences with plugs for boiling/taste/aroma additions.

I cut/break the plug apart before putting in the boil (no sanitation
problems with handling it, the boil takes care of the nasties).  I've
not found much difference between plus and whole hops, but then I tend
to buy plugs in varieties that are not available whole.

============================

Vic Hugo writes:

> What is the best way to label bottles? 

I have a ream of 8 1/2 x 11 bond paper that is coated with a water
soluble glue on one side.  I use an Excel spreadsheet program to print
8 labels per page which I cut up and then glue on the my beer bottles.
Come empty bottle time, a hot water rinse and the labels come right off.

The paper comes from a local mill, "Eastern Fine Paper Co." and I got it
thru a family member who used to work there.  A local office supply 
store -should- be able to get if for you.  As for the spreadsheet program,
I would be more than happy to send the file to anyone who wants it.  
Just let me know what version of Excel you want to run it on (I can
save it as versions 2.1 through 5.0)

************************************************************
Doug Flagg                  |  "A Homebrew a day...
dflagg at orono.sdi.agate.net  |   Keeps the Worries away!"
************************************************************

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Date: Sat, 2 Sep 1995 10:54:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia at zgi.com>
Subject: Refridge Defrost Timer


I don't remember the original post that brought up the issue of
disabling the defrost timer in a frost-free refridgerator and what
the reason was.  It has been stated in the HBD previously that one
should NOT store your frozen yeast bank in such a freezer, and this 
is true, but it seems that cold-conditioning or lagering would pose 
no problem.

The thermal mass of 5 gallons of wort or beer is pretty high and I doubt 
that the actual temperature of the beer varies by much over the length 
of the defrost cycle.

Domenick Venezia
Computer Resources
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia at zgi.com




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From: ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie

	id m0sn95z-0006TDC; Mon, 28 Aug 95 19:39 BST
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 19:39:41 +0100
From: Ulick Stafford <ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie>
Subject: Freezer controller with mercury switch thermostat
To: Posting Address Only - No Requests <homebrew at hpfcmgw>
In-Reply-To: <199508280700.AA243373207 at hpfcmgw>
Message-Id: <Pine.3.89.9508281916.A164-0100000 at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

As the result of a number of requests I am writing a more detailed
description of my freezer controller.  I did not set out to make this this
way, but circumstances forced me to.  As far as cost is concerned, it is
not cheap unless you already have a number of the components, such as the 
thermostat  (if you or a friend updates to a more modern computer timer
heating A/C controller for instance).

You need
1.  A house thermostat.  This is a device that mounts on the wall and has
    a dial with a thermometer on the bottom and the setting line on top
    (or vice versa).  It contains a mercury trip switch on a wire 
    spring that expands and contracts with changes in temperature causing
    the mercury trip switch to close either the heating or cooling circuit.  
    The system is rated for 24 V DC, and will easily handle the 9 or 12 V 
    used in the system.

2.  A relay with a high enough contact rating for your freezer.  Divide its
    power requirement by the voltage and make sure the number of amps to
    which the relay is rated is greater.

3.  A transformer.  I used a 9 V transformer that I had lying around after
    buying my father a cordless phone (needed to get a 240 V transformer
    for use in Ireland).

4.  A few bits of wire, a small piece of plywood.

Tools required are those necessary to strip wire and a soldering iron, etc.
Also a screwdriver, drill etc.

Step by Step instructions.

1   Connect a piece of 2 core bell wire about 6' long to the cooling control 
    terminals on your thermostat.

2.  Screw your temperature controller to the piece of plywood, which should 
    stand on the freezer floor.  You may want to duct tape it in to be sure.
    It should not be mounted vertically, but tilted in a counter clockwise
    direction.  I mounted it exactly one sixteenth of a revolution counter
    clockwise which was easily gauged because the device had 8 sides.  Drill
    a hole in the back of the wood for the wire to go out.

3.  Cut into your freezer cord and pull out and cut the live wire and 
    solder its ends to the two relay contacts.  Solder one wire leading to
    the controller to one of the normally closed terminals on the relay.
    Solder the other terminal to one wire coming from the transformer, and
    the other wire to the other wire going to the controller.

4.  Plug in the transformer and turn the freezer to max.  Set about 10F 
    above your desired temperature.  You will need to calibrate your
    system exactly, but in effect the tilt gives the normally 40-90 thermostat
    a range 10F lower.
_____________________________________________________________________________
  'There was a master come unto the earth,  | Dr. Ulick Stafford, 
     born in the holy land of Indiana,      | Wexford Brewing Company,
  in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne'.| Ballyhurst, Taghmon, Co. Wexford
        http://www.nd.edu:80/~ulick/        | ulick at chemcon.internet-eireann.ie



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Date: Sun, 3 Sep 95 10:53:03 EDT
From: Brent Irvine <brenirvi at village.ca>
Subject: Priming bottles

There has been a topic that I seem to be unable to find a great deal of
information about. That is - priming. I know there is some discussion in both
the HBC and NCJOHB, but these discuss the 'right' way. Well, as always I would
like to tread another path. But before I do, I would like to ask everyone out
there.

Common practice seems to be to prime with about 3/4 cup of sugar which will
give a somewhat carbonated beer at cool drinking temperatures. However, there
are times I would like to have a cold brew out of my fridge. If I prime with
this amount of sugar, then these coldies are closer to flat, of course. How
much sugar can I use to prime in order to give a good carbonation, yet not be
too sweet, or worse yet, explode? Currently I am using 500 ml and 600 ml PET
bottles, so at least there would not be glass shrapnel in these 'experimental
stages'. Perhaps prime with 1 cup? 1.25? 1.5? How much? Anybody tried?

Another priming question. How much honey would be equivalent to 1 cup oc corn
sugar? I think it might lead to an intersting brew. I have already made beer
which called for honey (TNJOHB) and was quite pleased.

As per the recent request, HBD postings are fine to respond to my queries.
Thanks for any help, eh.

Brent Irvine
Lake Commando B&B
Cochrane, Ontario
*Home of the Polar Bear Express*


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Date:          Sun, 3 Sep 1995 14:19:18 +0500 ET
From: "Keith Royster" <N1EA471 at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us>
Subject:       Beer labels: removing them & making them

In a recent HBD Victor Hugo asks about an easy way to remove labels from
beer bottles.  If your refering to commercial beer bottle labels, an old
homebrewers trick is to use a mild solution of ammonia and water.  I use
about 1/4 cup NH3 in about 3 gallons a water a soak the bottles over
night.  I also use hot water and mix a little bit of liquid dish
detergent in to help the ammonia penetrate the label's surface.  Most
labels (except some foil labels) will melt off in a matter of hours.

Victor also asks about software for making labels.  I'm not aware of any
freeware or shareware programs specifially for making beer labels, but
you did mention that you have WP6.1, which is great for making labels. 
Just open up a blank document and choose Format/Page/Subdivide Page from
the pull down menu.  Specify columns and rows on the page, and you have
just created your own sheet of labels.  After you print them out, try
using whole milk as an adhesive.  Just brush it on the back of the label
and stick it to your bottles.  After it dries, wipe off any excess with a
damp rag. The protiens in the milk act as an adhesive but will come loose
easily when soaked in warm water.  Email me if you have any questions!

+------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Keith Royster, E.I.T.        |                         |
| Environmental Engineer       |  Beer makes you feel    |
| NC-DEHNR / Air Quality       |   the way you ought to  |
|    (704) 663-1699            |    feel without beer.   |
| N1EA471 at mro.ehnr.state.nc.us |                         |
+------------------------------+-------------------------+


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Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 13:02:09 -0400
From: HOMEBRE973 at aol.com
Subject: hop back, gott fitting, motorize glatt mill, defrost

Glad the digest is back again.  Thanks to the janitor.

Someone wondered about having cold wort flow thru a bed of hops to add hop
aroma/flavor.  The main problem with this is that it would be likely to
infect the wort unless a very good yeast starter was used.

A lot of posts concern replacing the push-button valve on a gott lauter tun.
 I found the easiest way to do this is use a rubber stopper with a hole in
it.  Place a glass, metal, or plastic rod thru the hole and attach one end to
the slotted manifold or just leave it under the false bootom if one is used,
and then attach the outflow to flexible tubing and add any kind of valve you
like.  This way you can direct the outflow to any place you want as long as
it is below the level of the tun.

Has anyone motorized a Glatt mill, and if so what would you recommend?

Also, someone recommended disabling the defrost on your frig. used for
lagering.  I don't see any purpose in this, the refrigerator temperature
won't be effected very much and even if it was, the heat capacity of  5
gallons of beer in a cold carboy is substantial and would barely change
during a defrost cycle. The defrost acts by heating up electic coils in the
freezer section.

With regard to lagering German beers, if my memory serves me correctly (a big
assumption), I would ferment  between 45 and 55 F and then if you are worried
about diacetyl, do a diacetyl rest at 65 F, and then lager for a month at 32
F.

Andy Kligerman
homebre973.aol.com

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Date: Mon, 4 Sep 1995 10:09:15 +1000
From: nigelt at delm.tas.gov.au (Nigel Townsend)
Subject: Re:Advice on Bottle Labels 

 vic at iglou.com (Victor Hugo) requested advice on a good way to label bottles.

A tip I picked up on this Digest is to use milk!  Simply brush the back of
the label with milk, I use a pastry brush, but a small paint brush will do.
I wait for a few seconds to allow excess milk to run off or be absorbed
into the paper.  Then place it onto the bottle.  If it slips, wait a few
more seconds.

When the bottle (contents hopefully) is consumed, leave the bottle (label
down) to soak in warm water after you have rinsed the insides.  The label
and milk come off easily after a few minutes soaking.

Nigel Townsend
Hobart, Tasmania
Australia



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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1822, 09/04/95