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


Contents:
  Belgian Rock Candy (joep)
  re: First Wort Hopping/Hot Iodophor (hollen)
  Broken Thermometer (MS Mail)" <pscharmer at kraft.com>
  Re: A question RE: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale Yeast (Robert Bush)
  CANDI SUGAR, TRUB, ETC (ROTH.TER)
  sahti ("Jack D. Hill")
  My First Brew! (dchamp)
  Schneider Weisse redux (Rolland Everitt)
  Request for help on brewing problem (Gene Rafter)
  Removing bubbles from tubing ("Loll, SSgt Richard")
  Re: A question RE: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale Yeast (Bird)



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


Date: Tue, 26 Dec 95 09:58:06 -0500
From: joep at informix.com (joep)
Subject: Belgian Rock Candy

Todd,

 Todd> Greetings HBDers I came across some Belgian Rock Candy that our
 Todd> local homebrew shop just started carrying. I asked the owner
 Todd> about it but he hasn't used it yet in any of his brews. It comes
 Todd> in clumps on a string, which you have to strain out after it
 Todd> dissolves. I've never seen it mentioned on the digest or in
 Todd> recipes. Naturally, I knew where to ask for some advice.  I'm
 Todd> wondering which styles utilize each type (there's dark and
 Todd> light), what qualities it gives to the beer, and which step of
 Todd> the process is it added? This is probably of interest to other
 Todd> HBDers, so if someone has a good summary could you post to the
 Todd> digest?

I have used Belgian Rock Candy in a Chimay clone.  (used the dark kind).
I used 1 pound for a five gallon batch.  Basically, it boosted the
alcohol and, I imagine, changed the flavor somewhat.  Since I haven't
made a Chimay w/o it, I cannot comment on the flavor differences.

 Todd> Happy Holidays!  Todd Kirby

joe.
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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 95 08:29:26 PST
From: hollen at vigra.com
Subject: re: First Wort Hopping/Hot Iodophor

>>>>> "Pat" == PatrickM50  <PatrickM50 at aol.com> writes:

Pat> Also Pat Babcock mentions using "hot, slippery Iodophur
Pat> solution".  My quart bottle of B-T-F Iodophor Sanitizer states
Pat> "Add to cool or lukewarm water.  Never use hot water".  Anybody
Pat> out there know precisely why hot water is a no-no?

Iodophor is *much* more volatile at warmer temps and you will
*quickly* lose effectiveness.  The sanitizing properties of iodophor
have nothing to do with temperature, so heat is unnecessary and
shortens effective life.

dion

- -- 
Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x119       Email: hollen at vigra.com
Senior Software Engineer     Vigra, Inc.  San Diego, California

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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 95 10:39:00 PST
From: "Scharmer, Patrick S. (MS Mail)" <pscharmer at kraft.com>
Subject: Broken Thermometer


I recently brewed a batch of IPA, during which my glass thermometer broke
after hitting the wort chiller.  The thermometer was a Brewers Best floating
thermometer (the kind with the metal beads in the base to balance it.)
The part with the alcohol didn't break, however, the outer shell did and
all of the little metal beads spilled into the wort.  Does anyone know if
these beads are made of lead?  If so, is my beer ruined or is the
amount to small?  I was successful in removing almost all of them,
but I'm sure some made their way into the primary.  The temp
when the thermometer broke was somewhere around 150!F.

Any advice would be appreciated.
TIA,

Patrick Scharmer
pscharmer at kraft.com   or  uskgff8j at ibmmail.com

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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 21:11:24 +0100
From: bush at shbf.se (Robert Bush)
Subject: Re: A question RE: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale Yeast

In #1919 Marc Gaspard wrote:

>First, I'm trying to duplicate Traquaiar House Scottish Ale, & have
>modified a recipe from Cat's Meow.  Not to go into the recipe in too much de-
>tail, the original gravity on the 1st batch was 1.096, the 2nd 1.078 7 the
>3rd 1.080.  I pitched with a quart slurry.  My problem seems to be rapid
>flocculation, ending up with a VERY sweet beer, usually a finishing gravity
>of 1.022-25.

By sheer coincidence I'm sipping a Traquair House right now! It's not
available here in Sweden but I bought a couple in England. It seems to be a
nice enough (but not unique) British Old Ale. This is the first time I try
it so I don't want to give any advise as yet, only mention a couple of
things:

With an OG of 1096 and an FG of 1022 you would get approx. 9.9 % ABV.
Alcohol *is* sweet so it's not surprising that your beer is sweet.
Another thing is that you can't expect an OG 1096-brew to ferment down to
say, 1008. Maybe 1022-1025 is a bit high but I've brewed Doppelbocks with
FG's of 1020 without having problems with them being too sweet. The keyword
is balance; i.e. balancing the sweetness with a higher bitterness and
perhaps maltiness.
Good luck, Marc!

====================================
=            WASSAIL!              =
= Robert Bush, Eskilstuna, SWEDEN  =
=  E-mail:  bush at shbf.se           =
====================================



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Date: 26 Dec 95 11:55 PDT
From: ROTH.TER at SEATTLE.VA.GOV
Subject: CANDI SUGAR, TRUB, ETC


Original message: "CANDI SUGAR, SCOTTISH ALE YEAST" [#5834402]
From: <ROTH,TER at SEATTLE.VA.GOV>
 
 In # 1917, Todd asks about candi sugar. Primarily, the sugar is used in high 
gravity ales to add (in the case of dark sugar) some color and (very little) 
taste, but  primarily to increase OG without attendant increase in malt taste
content.  Most dubbles and all tripples use sugar to increase alcohol.
    I made a batch of abbey ale, using the sugar, but made the mistake of 
boiling it in the kettle instead of dissolving it in the sparge--the 
crystals are formed on a string which disintegrates in the boil and is a pain 
to strain out.  It was probably not a cotton string.  The beer was great, the 
Wyeast abbey strain is a pretty delicious, quite flocculent yeaast which did 
not seem greatly attenuative---my OG was 68 and the FG about 22.  _Very tasty, 
though!  For an ale of OG 55-65, use about 1 lb of the sugar.  Keep the 
fermentation temp below 65, unless you like phenolic notes.
    
    In HBD 1917, Marc G. asks about the indefatiguable Scottish ale yeast---I 
had an experience with 1728 in which it tootled away for the better part of 
12 days, but that was a high-grav ale which had been mashed at 158  degrees 
so there was a lot for the yeast to chew on.  And I oxygenated with my 
jeweler's oxygen tank, so the yeast was pretty healthy. The ale was excellent, 
though, and I've used it other times when it pooped out after a 6-day ferment.
  Although I have the little thermometer strips, I recently got carboy jackets
 so I usually don't take the temperature readings except at pitching.  So I 
don't know what effect differing temps had.
 BTW, you can get by with only a one-step increase-- ie, pop the pack, wait a 
day or two, and pitch  about 16 oz wort, then pitch at high krauezen...usually
 this yeast is perking within 6 hours.

    I need some help from HBD'ers regarding trub----I boil in the Easymash(TM)
kettle, and use an immersion wort chiller.  Get a good cold break, since our 
wellwater is about 48-9 degrees this time of year.  I am having  problems with 
trub being carried over to the carboy, whether I use a straining funnel or 
siphon into carboy.  If I siphon, I leave at least half a gallon 
of wort/trubs/hops in the kettle.  And the fine-mesh plastic filter in the big 
funnel passed the trub right through.  Any tips??

   BTW---5 gallons of wort in an 8-gallon enamel-on-steel kettle is exactly 
6.5 inches deep.

       Days since last rain:  8

  " Where did they go?  How many were they?  I have to find them, I'm
    their leader"

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Date:     Tue, 26 Dec 95 16:28:35 EST
From: "Jack D. Hill" <jdhill at BBN.COM>
Subject:  sahti


	Thank you all for your responses on where to obtain juniper berries.
The general response was that most or some specialized grocery/gourmet markets 
carry them and McCormick sells them in the spice section. I had never seen them
before but I ended up finding them at Bread and Circus here in the Boston area.
They cost $8 per pound.

	My intention was to make a Finnish sahti. From what I understand, sahti
is typically made at farms in Finland. They usually mash in some handy vessel
then lautered over a false bottom of juniper branches. The taste has been
described to me as being light in flavor and refreshing. Sahti can vary in
strength and often the strength is deceptive. The juniper is supposed to
provide a subtle component that you can't quite put your finger on. Sahti is
also brewed with small quantities of rye and fermented with bakers yeast which
provides a slightly tart flavor. Also, hops are not typically used. It has very
little carbonation.

	Anyway, so I've been told. I've never had a real sahti but I would like
to try one to see if my recipes are close. Is there anyone in Finland who would
be willing to send me a couple of bottles? I would gladly reimburse you. I 
doubt sahti is imported to the US.

	Here is the recipe for my first batch of sahti. My intention here was
to determine what flavor the juniper berries contribute.

10 gallon batch
  19 lbs 2 row
  .5 lbs 60L crystal
  .5 lbs rye
  .5 lbs dried juniper berries

mashed at 150 degrees for one hour, juniper berries in mash
sparged at 176 degrees for 1.5 hours to collect 11 gallons wort
boiled wort for 1 hour
whirlpool for 15 minutes then transferred through heat exchange
OG 1060
fermented with Wyeast 1028 London Ale Yeast 

The result was a very nice beer. There is something there that's unusual that I
can only attribute to the juniper berries but I'm not quite sure. I chewed a
few berries after the sparge and they had quite a sweet gin flavor. Next time I
may break up the berries before adding them to the mash to extract more berry
flavor.

Sisu,
Jack Hill
jdhill at bbn.com

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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 17:06:28 -0500
From: dchamp at esslink.com
Subject: My First Brew!

I just successfully brewed my first batch of homebrew (English Amber 
Ale and it tastes great)! I have to admit, it was one of the easy 
ones (just add water and sugar) but when I added the second batch 
of sugar (corn) just before botteling, the beer started foaming 
up and almost overflowed the sides! Should I have mixed the 
sugar in more slowly? What can I do to prevent this in the 
future? Thanks for any help.
dchamp at esslink.com

(well, everyone seems to have a cute comment so here is one
of mine)
Shared pain is lessened, Shared joy is increased!




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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 17:26:44 -0500
From: af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov (Rolland Everitt)
Subject: Schneider Weisse redux



Some weeks ago, I posted a message asking for information about the
yeast used in Schneider Weisse.  I had cultured some from a bottle,
and wanted to know what I had.  There were several responses, at
least two of which came from people who had consulted handbooks. 
I was reliably (I believe) informed that Schneider Weisse does not
use a separate bottle-conditioning yeast.  Rather, the fermentation
yeast is not filtered out, but allowed to finish the job in the
bottle.
 
Schneider Weisse is good stuff, and I wanted to try using the
yeast.  I had malt on hand, and didn't want to go after the
ingredients for a weisse, so I made a pale ale using 5# of Klages,
1 Oz. of Fuggles hops (boil), and half an ounce of Cascade (end of
boil).  I added Burton salts to the water, and a bit of Irish moss
near the end of the boil.  All my procedures were similar to what
I have been using to make English style ales with good results,
with one minor exception; I roasted 1/2# of ther malt for 20
minutes at 350F to darken it slightly.  OG was 1056, FG was 1010.
Fermentation proceeded well at about 65F.  I primed with 1/2 cup
Amber DME (for 3 gallons), and bottled.
 
After it has been four weeks in the bottle, I can say, without
false modesty, that this is the worst crap I have ever tasted.  It
is cloudy, which I expected, and don't mind.  It has good mouth-
feel, moderate carbonation, poor head retention, and a harsh
chemical flavor and aroma that remind me of 10th grade chemistry
lab - especially the day that Eugene Haggerty set Susan Kovarick's
hair on fire.
 
The flavor is not clove, or apple, or banana, or butterscotch, or
walnut fudge ripple, or any of the other flavors that I have heard
attributed to yeast.  It is a harsh, lingering chemical note not
unlike burning plastic or formaldehyde.
 
Comments and conjectures?

Rolland Everitt
af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov

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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 20:52:19 -0600 (CST)
From: Gene Rafter <grafter at creighton.edu>
Subject: Request for help on brewing problem

I brewed a dutch bock beer a few weeks ago and it was fermented 2 weeks 
in a 6 1/2 gallon glass carboy.  I then bottled it and waited a week to 
taste test.  It turned out to be very flat and dull tasting.  What should 
I do?  Add sugar or wait longer.  If I do uncap and add sugar to 
each..how much or is it time I need to give to this beer.  I have never 
had this taste in any of my beers brewed priviously.  What should I do?

Gene Rafter
Begining Brewer

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Date: Wed, 27 Dec 95 14:09:00 PST
From: "Loll, SSgt Richard" <lollr at hq36abw.andersen.af.mil>
Subject: Removing bubbles from tubing


In HB Digest 1918, Rolland Everitt, af509 at osfn.rhilinet.gov wrote:

>Michael Millstone wrote about a siphoning problem.  I have had
>similar problems, especially when using my handy-dandy spring-
>loaded bottling gadget (I don't know what the proper name is).
>The problem seems to be that when siphoning beer that is
>saturated with CO2, enough gas comes out of solution in the hose
>to form a large bubble.
>I'm sure that others have seen this problem - any advice?

Yes, pinch the hose.  I know it sounds strange, but try it.  If you pinch 
the hose at the apex (highest point) - do it quickly - the bubble will in 
most cases be carried down the tube and into your bottle.  I have no idea 
why this works (come on Fluid Dynamics Engineers - this is your chance) - 
but it does.

Ric Loll
rloll at nyx.cs.du.edu

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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 95 22:55:24 MST
From: roberts at Rt66.com (Bird)
Subject: Re: A question RE: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale Yeast

>>>>> "Marc" == Marc Gaspard <mgaspard at mailer.fsu.edu> writes:

    Marc> This is a question for perusers of Homebrew Digest: Recently
    Marc> I've made 3 batches od Scottish Ale using Wyeast 1728,
    Marc> Scottish Ale yeast, & I've had the damndest esperience with
    Marc> it.  I'm hoping someone else out there has used it & can
    Marc> give me some advice.  First, I'm trying to duplicate
    Marc> Traquaiar House Scottish Ale, & have modified a recipe from
    Marc> Cat's Meow.  Not to go into the recipe in too much de- tail,
    Marc> the original gravity on the 1st batch was 1.096, the 2nd
    Marc> 1.078 7 the 3rd 1.080.  I pitched with a quart slurry.  My
    Marc> problem seems to be rapid flocculation, ending up with a
    Marc> VERY sweet beer, usually a finishing gravity of 1.022-25.
    Marc> The 1st batch had to be rebottled with another dose of
    Marc> yeast, & is very vinuous.  The 2nd didn't need another dose
    Marc> of yeast, but is very sweet & taking its damn sweet time
    Marc> carbonating.  The 3rd is the oddest.  The primary
    Marc> fermentation (in glass; all in glass) went 8 days  at  ~66-68
    Marc> degrees F, & I time airlock bubbles for racking.  The
    Marc> bubbles never went below 10 per second.  

I had a similar experience (long fermenting time), and I finally just
raised the temperature to ~72F. That seemed to be what the 1728
needed to finish it's job.

- --Doug

- -- 
(A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et a beer?

Doug Roberts
roberts at rt66.com

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #1920, 12/27/95