HOMEBREW Digest #1965 Wed 21 February 1996
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Water (A. J. deLange)
Big Open Ferment Error (Kirk Fleming)
Message in a Bottle (Charlie Scandrett)
Homebrew BOF at SANS '96 ("David L. Kensiski")
RE:RIMS Delivery ("Ray Cooper")
Yeast and sore throats (Brian McGovney)
Re: Scottish Ale (Fredrik Stahl)
british brewing apprenticeship programs (Dan_Imperato)
re:Force carbonate with N2/CO2 mix? (Denis Barsalo)
New Keg Conversion Web Page (Marty Tippin)
Grain Bed Depth ("David N. Pflanzer")
Seeking more Wyeast info (slcocker)
very basic question on RIMS (Lib)" <tmcdowel at library.bhs.org>
You probably already have the perfect tool for sankey kegs (Brian Pickerill)
arm in beer (liquori)
stuck fermentation (liquori)
Them Malty Scotch Ales (KennyEddy)
Re: Celis (Todd Kirby)
Re: Brewing Process (Michael T. Bell)
Questions - Sam Adams Lager Clone (Andrew McGowan )
WANTED: Pittsburgh, PA Contract Brewer (TheCHog)
6 1/2 Gallon Primary / Iodophor Reuse (Bill Rust)
CaCl2 ppm (Domenick Venezia)
glucose/sucrose starters ("Tracy Aquilla")
Bottling with a Nitrogen/Co2 mix (Scott Abene)
Free Immersion Cooler ("N4311B")
Attenuation Problem (Larry Scott)
3rd Annual Naked Pueblo Competition (Ray Brice)
Re: Attenuation Problem (Robert Bush)
New Neighbors (Tim Martin)
Calcium chloride, Celis, yield, O2 caps (Jeremy Ballard Bergsman)
Re: RIMS question (hollen)
Competition announcement (Algis R Korzonas)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 00:34:19 -0500
From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange)
Subject: Water
In #1961 Ken Schwartz asked about simple water recipes using commonly
available salts:
For each 100 mg calcium carbonate (sometimes sold as precipitated chalk)
added per litre of deionized water water you will realize 40 mg/L (ppm)
calcium, 100 mg/L alkalinity as calcium carbonate and 100 mg/L total
hardness as calcium carbonate.
For each 43 mg gypsum added to one litre of water you will realize 10 mg/L
calcium, 25 mg/L hardness and 24 mg/L sulfate.
For each 16.5 mg table salt (not iodized) added to one litre of water you
will realize 10 mg/L chloride and 6.5 mg/L sodium.
For each 103 mg epsom salts added to 1 litre of water you will realize 10
mg/L magnesium, 41 ppm hardness and 40 mg/L sulfate.
Using these amounts gives:
mg/L Hardness Alkalinity Ca Na Mg SO4 Cl
Chalk 100 100 100 40
Gypsum 43 25 10 24
Table Salt 16.5 6.5 10
Epsom Salt 103 41 10 40
Totals 166 100 50 6.5 10 64
10
These levels loosely approximate the waters of London, Munich and Dublin
and this water should be suitable for a pretty wide variety of beers. You
can adjust the proportions of the individual salts (all of which are
readily available) to acheive other ion contents. For example, 50 mg/L
chalk gives 50 mg/L hardness, 50 mg/L alkalinity and 20 mg/L calcium. A
good way to do this is to put the table above into a spread sheet and
fiddle with the left hand column as you watch the totals row.
When you have numbers you like, measure out the volume of deionized water
to be treated. Then add the salts. Now bubble carbon dioxide through the
water via an airstone (this is emulating mother nature) and stir until all
the chalk is dissolved i.e. until the water is clear. Now aerate it until
the pH gets a little over 7 or just let it stand. Eventually the pH will
reach 8.4 and you don't really need to check this. At this point the
profile should be about what you calculated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the same number Ron Thomson asks about pH of mashes made with his very
soft water. Very soft water has few minerals in it and so little "buffering
capacity". The pH of the mash is determined by the relative strengths of
the buffering systems of the malt and the water. As your water has little,
the malt will predominate and in the worst case, pale pilsner malt, you
should go to about pH 5.7 - 5.8. Any higher kilned malts in the grist will
result in a lower number.
When an acid rest is done, the calcium in the water reacts with the phytin
in the malt to release hydrogen ions and reduce the pH. As your water is so
soft (few calcium ions) it is unlikely that your pH will drop much during
an acid rest. Also note that acid rests take a long (hours) time. Typical
drops are about 0.1 pH unit i.e. to around 5.6 - 5.7.
The best way to determine the amount of lactic acid required to adjust to a
particular pH is to make a mini-mash i.e put a tenth of a pound of grist
into a beaker with about a tenth of the amount of water you intend to use
to dough in per pound. Mix well. Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes
and check the pH. Now take 1 part 88% lactic acid and 9 parts water and mix
them thoroughly. Pipette a tenth of a mL of this at a time into the mini
mash, stir thoroughly and check the pH. When the pH reaches the desired
value, the number of mL you used to get to that pH is the number of mL of
88% lactic acid you will require PER POUND of grist in the actual mash.
When adding to the actual mash, add half the amount determined in this
tirtration, check the pH and then add the rest in increments, stirring and
checking after addition, to make sure you do not overshoot.
* * * * * * * *
Again in # 1961 David Pike asks why city water at pH 8.5 comes out of his
charcoal filter at pH 6.5 - 7. My usual suspicion in this case is that the
filter is more than a charcoal filter i.e. a filter like a Brita filter
which removes all cations and replaces them with hydrogen ions and all
anions, replacing them with hydroxyl ions in which case the water will be
neutral (pH 7). The other factor to consider is that de-ionized water in
contact with the air will pick up carbon dioxide (as will un-deionized
water but the ions mask the effect) which results in a lowering of the pH.
This is simply confirmed by boiling a sample of the water and checking the
pH. If it drops back to around 8.4 then CO2 was probably the cause
(assuming that the filter is really an ion exchanger with a carbon cleanup
filter).
A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore!
ajdel at interramp.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 20:13:35 +0000
From: flemingkr at market1.com (Kirk Fleming)
Subject: Big Open Ferment Error
I brewed a 12 gal batch of a big stout (og=68) Sunday. The fermenter
of choice was a 72-quart Igloo cooler, which I though would be perfect
as the open fermenter. Bad call.
This morning the ferment was well underway, and tonight there was serious
activity. Three square feet of open fermenter really makes some noise
(literally). Anyway, when I put my face down near the surface I detected
warmth--wort temp read 88F--that's with a 68F room temp. I moved the
unit to the garage to cool, but it's probably too late.
Moral: Containers of the right shape and volume do not necessarily make
good fermenters, and don't underestimate the heat produced by fermentation.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 1995 08:44:28 +1100
From: merino at cynergy.com.au (Charlie Scandrett)
Subject: Message in a Bottle
My apologies to all who might have mailed me recently. I am marooned in
cyberspace and can only send mail. Your messages are in a bottle and will be
washed up on a sunny Australian beach soon.
Charlie (Brisbane, Australia)
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 00:04:41 -0800
From: "David L. Kensiski" <dlk at campus.mci.net>
Subject: Homebrew BOF at SANS '96
Attention SANS '96 attendees! I am attempting to organize (in the loosest
sense of the word) a Homebrew BOF at the upcoming SANS '96 conference. If
you are attending and are interested, bring a six-pack of your favorite
recipe and we'll get together, taste each others' fares, and share war
stories. Extract and full mash brewers alike are welcome.
SANS is the System Administration, Networking and Security Conference.
It takes place this year from May 12-18 in Washington, D.C. For more
conference details, check out http://www.usenix.org/events/sans96.html.
Check the BOF board at the conference for final details. Also, I'd like
to get a rough head count, so if you are interested, please email me and
let me know.
And it's not too late to get that batch brewing! I just racked mine to
secondary; it should be quite ready by May.
- --Dave
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 07:00:20 UT
From: "Ray Cooper" <Ray_Cooper at msn.com>
Subject: RE:RIMS Delivery
In HBD #1963, Keith Royster asked:
How do those of you with RIMS deliver the wort to the top of the grain bed
gently and evenly? And do you think occasional stirring of the grain bed is
necessary (maybe between temp steps) to eliminate temperature pockets, or
should the
grain be be shallow enough (even with a 10 gallon batch in a modified sankey
keg) so as not to have these temperature pockets?
I kind of followed the idea in the Zymurgy, 1992 Special Edition where the
mash liquor is delivered on top of a 1/8 inch thick piece of perforated
acrylic (plexiglass) which sits on top of the grain bed. I make sure that the
end of the delivery hose is beneath the level of mash liquor in the tun. This
tends to diffuse the flow to allow gentle distribution across the entire top
of the grain bed. This works great for delivering the sparge water as well.
The only problem has been that at 167F, my acrylic disk has warped. Since I
mash in a 10 gallon Gott cooler, perhaps a better solution would be one of the
round perforated stainless steel pizza pans that has been discussed recently
on the digest. I've been meaning to check those out.
This type of setup eliminates the ability to stir the mash except with
possibly a concentric stirring paddle which I have considered. As long as the
flow of wort liquor is sufficient to heat the grain bed thoroughly and
quickly, additional stirring should not be nessesary. I've only done 5 gallon
batches. I would probably incorporate a stirring paddle if I were to use a
converted Sankey keg to do 10 gallon batches, especially if it was
uninsulated.
On the subject of RIMS systems, after hearing of the problem of carmelization
of the mash liquor on the heating element of RIMS direct heat chambers and
cost considerations, I decided to try something a little different. I pump the
mash liquor from the bottom of the tun through 20 feet of 3/8 inch coiled
copper tubing placed in 2 gallons of water in a insulated plastic bucket
heated with a 1000 watt electric heating element. Kind of like an immersion
chiller. I was wondering if anyone else out there had tried something like
this? I know the efficiency has to be about 40 percent less (5 gal batch) than
a direct heat chamber when new because 2 additional gallons are heated, but
how badly is the efficiency of the direct heater affected by carmelization as
it gets used?
Ray
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 00:50:05 -0800
From: chemist at io.com (Brian McGovney)
Subject: Yeast and sore throats
Here's a question for the med students out there ... is there any
reason why yeast would cause a sore throat for some people if they quaff
young beer? I've made about seven batches now, all of which have been good,
if not stellar, with no overt signs of contamination (no scum, no bottleneck
rings after my first batch, no off flavors).
In the last 3-4 batches, I've begun to notice that after primary
fermentation, after I take an S.G. reading and drink the green beer from my
hydrometer jug or mug, I get a scratchy throat within 12 hours. The
possibility of a connection between the two has only occured to me recently,
and when it did, I immediately thought of some sort of otherwise
undetectable bacterial contamination as the cause.
However. Yesterday I brewed a batch of Pale Ale, and whoops, I pitched the
Wyeast packet before taking a hydrometer reading. Ahhh, what the hell, I'll
just take a quick one now. Syphon, measure, <gulp>. It's been a day since
then, and, yep, scratchy throat. But I had just pitched the yeast into wort
which had been at 212F less than an hour earlier! There's no way a bacteria
could take hold in the wort that fast (is there?).
If it turns out that I'm allergic to yeast, I'm really going to be cheesed
off. So, does anyone have an explanation?
I'm sure others would like to hear the answers to this on the digest, but as
I am temporarily unable to subscribe to the HBD, email replies would be
appreciated as well. And thanks in advance, ya buncha hopheads.
-Brian McGovney
chemist at io.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 11:25:21 +0100
From: fredriks at abel.math.umu.se (Fredrik Stahl)
Subject: Re: Scottish Ale
Ken writes:
>>Scotch ale should be pretty malty.
Gabrielle writes:
>>I just transfered my scottish export ale into the secondary last night
>>and took the gravity reading. (OG =3D 1.050, now SG =3D 1.017) After taki=
ng
>>the reading, I tasted it. It tasted a bit too bitter for a scottish ale.
Al Korzonas writes:
>I really don't know who it was that started the fallacy that Scottish Ales
>are much less bitter than English Bitters. It was probably the same person
>who said that Scottish Ales don't have a hop aroma. Take a look at Roger
>Protz's Real Ale Almanac (3rd Edition) and compare the BUs and aromas of
>British and Scottish Ales. There is little or no correlation between hop
>usage and origin. The primary difference between English Bitters and Scott=
ish
>Ales is that the former tends to be a little fruitier and the latter less
>fruity. Makes sense: it's colder up north and the yeast produce less ester=
s!
>You can find very malty Bitters from southern England and very bitter,
>*dryhopped* Scottish Ales.
This is a tricky subject since the scottish style has varied a lot historica=
lly.
What Al writes is certainly true for today's scottish ales (check out
Caledonian 80/- for example, an extremely hoppy and refreshing ale), and
what Ken and Gabrielle sais seems to apply to scottish ales of a century
ago, say.
Check out Greg Noonan's "Scotch and Scottish Ales" in the Classic Beer
Style series for a nice historical account of the style and both
present-day and 1850's recipes. The old scotch ales seems to have had much
higher OG:s (up to 1.120), FG:s (around 1.030) and low hopping rates. An
interesting detail is the similarity of the brewing method to lager
brewing. Roasted barley seems to be an important ingredient, though it is
not used in all present-day scottish ales.
Greg Noonan seems to follow the AHA style definition that states OG for
scottish ales between 1.030-50 and for scotch ale between 1.072-85. There
is quite a big gap between the styles - comments anyone?
I just transferred a wee heavy to the secondary and noted that I have
failed to the high FG I wanted. The OG was lower than expected due to a
disasterous sparge, around 1.059. I mashed using steps 30 mins at 40C, 20
mins at 60C and 50 mins at 70C. I expected to get an FG of around 1.020 but
when racking it was 1.012 !! The wort was pitched with the dregs from a
batch of Berghem Beamish fermented with WYeast #1084 Irish Ale. Even though
pitching rate was very high and lag time short, I thought that the long
rest at 70C would give a lot of unfermentable sugars. Not so! Next time I
will try a single-step mash at around 69C.
The beer was also fruitier than expected. It was fermented at 18C (measured
in the beer), but apparently I should have tried to lower the temperature
further.
Maybe the WYeast scottish ale would be a good idea too.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
=46redrik St=E5hl Tel: int + 90 166027
Math. Dept., Ume=E5 University Fax: int + 90 165222
S-90187 Ume=E5, SWEDEN E-mail: fredriks at abel.math.umu.se
*** Nemo saltat sobrius, nisi forte insanit ***
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 7:59 est
From: Dan_Imperato at vos.stratus.com
Subject: british brewing apprenticeship programs
Hi all,
I am writing this letter for a friend who doesn't have access to the
net. He has been homebrewing for a number of years and would like to open
a brewpub in Massachusetts. He would like the pub to be in the style of an
English pub with traditional ales being dispensed. He would like to to know
if there are any breweries/brewpubs here in the States/Canada or England
who advocate apprenticeship programs. Please respond if you know of any
and submit the contacts as well. Private email is fine. Thanks in advance.
Dan Imperato
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 08:12:14 -0500
From: denisb at CAM.ORG (Denis Barsalo)
Subject: re:Force carbonate with N2/CO2 mix?
Jack Stafford said:
> Last week I had my CO2 (carbon dioxide) bottle refilled and asked the
> guy if it could be refilled with anything other than CO2 to drive a keg
> of stout. When I suggested N2O he raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
> He said that to fill it with anything other than CO2 would require them
> to install a different valve in the top of the pressure bottle.
> He suggested that he could fill the bottle as is with a "beer mixture"
> that they provide. It consists of part CO2 and part Ar (argon). I made
> my own skeptical face and had it filled with straight CO2.
Can anyone explain why you would want to use Argon for beer?
Here in Montreal, there was a gas company selling what they called
"BeerGas" and I was told that it was a Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen mix.
Nobody ever mentioned Argon.
Also nobody ever mentioned the need for a different gauge or valve for use
with this "BeerGas".
Anyone have experience with either "BeerGas", CO2/N2O mix or CO2/Ar mix?
Denis
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 07:12:33 -0600
From: Marty Tippin <martyt at sky.net>
Subject: New Keg Conversion Web Page
I've written a web page detailing the new 2-tier, converted half-barrel
keg brewing system I recently built - if you're building or thinking
about building a similar system, you might check out my document for some
pointers.
You can reach it through the Library section of The Brewery
(http://alpha.rollanet.org) - it's called "A Two-Tier Converted Keg
Brewing System" or you can go directly to it at
http://www.sky.net/~martyt/2tier.html
The document is still being worked on but is nearly complete - I
anticipate being done with it by mid-week. If you find anything wrong
with the document or have questions or comments, please let me know via
e-mail. I'm also interested in opinions regarding the time it takes to load
the document on 14.4K modem lines - I may need to reduce the number of
graphics to make it load a little faster.
A text-only version can be made available for those without web access -
contact me if you're interested.
-Marty
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Marty Tippin | Tippin's Law #24: Never underestimate the
martyt at sky.net | power of human stupidity.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 08:18:47 -0500
From: "David N. Pflanzer" <pflanzer at gate.net>
Subject: Grain Bed Depth
I wrote (while discussing the gott coolers):
>Ideal grain bed depth is around six inches.
Al wrote:
>I've read that it is 18 inches, but this is for a commercial operation.
>Then again, what's the difference between what we do and a commercial
>brewery except for volume.
I should have been clearer in my post. My recollection is that ideal
grain bed depth is 1/2 of the smallest dimension (height or length) of
the mash tun. In the case of the round gott coolers this is about six
inches (the 5gal and 10gal gott have diameters of 11.5" and 13"
respectively). Could someone look this up? I am sure there is a
reference to this in one of the more scientific brewing resources.
David;
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 08:30:48 -0500 (EST)
From: slcocker at indyunix.iupui.edu
Subject: Seeking more Wyeast info
Hi,
Sorry if this has been posted and I missed it... I have barely been
lurking with school and all...
I would like to know if there is a FAQ or Wyeast homepage to know what
all the strains are of known origin. I am particularly interested in
finding out which particular strains come from which English Brewers.
One of particular interest is Whiteshield yeast (Bass) . A friend from
Burton-on-Trent raves about it.
Thanks,
Sandy Cockerham
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 96 22:38:00 PST
From: "McDowell, Thomas Y. III (Lib)" <tmcdowel at library.bhs.org>
Subject: very basic question on RIMS
Hello all,
There is a lot of discussion here on RIMS or a RIMS heater or something.
Please excuse my ignorance, but just what is a RIMS or a RIMS heater, or
whatever. Anyway, if someone could email me directly I would really
appreciate it. You see, it is a bit of a luxury for me to get the time to
read the complete digest two days in a row. Thanks in advance for your help.
Tym
tmcdowel at library.bhs.org
Return to table of contents
Date-Warning: Date header was inserted by BSUVC.bsu.edu
From: 00bkpickeril at bsuvc.bsu.edu (Brian Pickerill)
Subject: You probably already have the perfect tool for sankey kegs
>I took an old 15 gal keg that someone somewhere really banged up. The tap had
>been pried and it looked like it was dropped off the top a dorm. Finding it
>for $13 was a steal...I finally got the tap out without damaging the neck.
>There has to be a tool somewhere but I didn't have it. (Any suggestions for
>the future?) I then turned the keg over...upside down and cut the bottom out.
I find that a flat, Z shaped pry bar (nail puller) is just about perfect
for removing the dip tube and ball valve assembly from a sankey keg. My
pry bar is just the right width to engage the slots to turn the assembly
out of the keg.
- --Brian Pickerill, Muncie, IN <00bkpickeril at mail.bsu.edu>
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:48:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: liquori at ACC.FAU.EDU
Subject: arm in beer
I just brewed my second batch of beer and made a grave error. While the
wort was cooling and before I pitched the yeast, a vital piece of
equipment fell in the beer! Being very tired, annoyed, and panicked I
shoved my unsanitized arm into the wort to retrieve the object. I know
this is about the worst thing one can do. My question is: do you think my
beer is definitely ruined? I have it in the primary now and it is
fermenting, but will the beer have some horrid flavor? Should I dump it?
Also, I use BTF (iodophor solution) to sanitize equipment. Should I allow
everything to air dry without rinsing?
Thanks...Kevin...liquori at acc.fau.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:51:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: liquori at ACC.FAU.EDU
Subject: stuck fermentation
What is the best solution for stuck fermentation. In my last batch I
added priming sugar to the fermenter. This dropped the gravity very
little. In the end I had a stout with a very cidery aftertaste. It also
appears very high in alcohol.
Thanks...Kevin...liquori at acc.fau.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:56:48 -0500
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Subject: Them Malty Scotch Ales
Algis sez:
> I really don't know who it was that started the fallacy that Scottish Ales
> are much less bitter than English Bitters. It was probably the same person
> who said that Scottish Ales don't have a hop aroma.
All I can say is that in the time I spent touring Scotland and England last
summer, I found this "fallacy" to be based in *general* fact. Sure there
were exceptions but by and large the smaller "local" brews in Scotland were
sweet and mild while the English beers were stronger and more bitter. One
could argue that the larger "national" brands were fairly similar to each
other in style; when we were able to find unique "house brands" (mostly in
"real ale" pubs), I'd say it was more than a generalization. Perhaps the
WATER CHEMISTRY is coming into play here...(uh oh)...
Ken
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:52:25 -0500 (EST)
From: Todd Kirby <mkirby at bgsm.edu>
Subject: Re: Celis
OK, I still don't get it. Why has Celis restricted distribution after
supposedly taking steps to expand? Something just doesn't make sense
here!
Todd Kirby
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 09:07:59 -0500
From: belltex at onramp.net (Michael T. Bell)
Subject: Re: Brewing Process
Hello all,
This is my first post so please be gentle. I've been recieving the HBD for
about 1 month and have enjoyed the info. here very much. Lot'sa big
brains(and heads?). I hope I'm not walking on trodden ground, but I would
like the collective's opinion on two of my brewing processes.
1. I always rack to a secondary after initial activity has subsided, but I
recently read in the all-grain issue of Zymurgy in an article by Dr. George
Fix that many of us rack to secondary much to early (before fermentation
has stoped). It separates yeast and wort at a time when yeast are in a
diacetyl reduction mode. My question is this: Is a secondary really
needed? Is the quality of the finished beer that much higher or just
enough that only Micheal Jackson could tell the difference?
2. After boiling my wort, I put my immersion chiller in the brewpot until
chilled ( about 20 min.), whirpool, then rack to primary. Question:
Should I rack before I chill to remove the hot break and cold break
seperately? Allmost all posting I've seen do this but not for this
specific reason. Just wondering.
Ya'll have a good one.
Michael T. Bell
belltex at onramp.net
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 10:18:39 -0500
From: Andrew McGowan <AMCGOWAN at WPO.HCC.COM>
Subject: Questions - Sam Adams Lager Clone
I am wanting to attempt an all grain clone of SA lager. I have
a few questions:
1. Since I can't locate a source for Hallertau Mittlefrueh,
should I substitute Hallertau Hersbrucker or Tradition?
2. What are the appropriate hopping rates and schedules for the
hops ( Tettnanger and Hallertau ), including dry hopping
during the lagering phase since SA claims they do this?
3. What is the prefered yeast?
Answers to the above or any other hints would be greatly
appreciated!! Private email is fine. Thanks!!
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 10:51:51 -0500
From: TheCHog at aol.com
Subject: WANTED: Pittsburgh, PA Contract Brewer
*** WE NEED A BREWER ***
*** PITTSBURGH AREA ONLY (within 1 hour-ish away) ***
Coverhog Industries is seeking a Micro-Brewer or Homebrewer in the
Pittsburgh, PA AREA for contract brewing. 250 cases or less is required on a
regular basis.
If you're a small brewer we can help you boost your production by buying your
extra production or your whole production run.
E-mail: TheChog at aol.com
Fax: 412-243-1408
Ph: 412-243-1447
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 10:55:23 -0500
From: Bill Rust <wrust at csc.com>
Subject: 6 1/2 Gallon Primary / Iodophor Reuse
Just thought I'd run one past the collective...
My SO just gave me a couple of 6 1/2 gallon glass carboys. I've been using
only plastic for many years, and I was wondering about a few things...
1) Is a wine thief the only way to get samples (for SG checks, etc.) out of
the carboy? Do they make one long enough for a 6 1/2 gallon carboy?
2) Has any one made weizzen with only 1 1/2 gallons of head space? Won't
you need a blow-off tube?
3) Even tho I have a wort chiller, I'm asking this for a friend who also has
one... Wouldn't syphoning hot wort into the carboy create HSA? If so, how
do you avoid this?
- ---------------------------------------------
In a past digest, someone suggested reusing iodophor in kegs. It works this
way; 1) clean out a keg and fill it with an iodophor solution. Keep it
until next time to keg. 2) When kegging day comes, clean out another keg
and transfer the solution from the old one to the new one. 3) Rinse the old
keg and fill normally. Then keep the new one filled until next time.
I've sanitized 3 kegs this way with no loss of color or iodine odor from the
solution. What a great way to maximize the value of your Iodophor. It also
makes kegging day easy and fast. Thanks HBD!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Rust, Master Brewer | Blessings of your heart,
Jack Pine Savage Brewery | you brew good ale.
Shiloh, IL (NACE) | --Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 08:23:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia at zgi.com>
Subject: CaCl2 ppm
There are 2 forms of calcium chloride (CaCl2) commonly available, the
anhydride (CaCl2, no water molecules) and the dihydride (CaCl2.2H2O, with
2 water molecules).
One gram in one gallon will raise the concentration by (ppm):
Ca++ Cl-
---- -----
CaCl2 95.4 168.8
CaCl2.2H2O 72.1 127.3
Cheers!
Domenick Venezia
Computer Resources
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia at zgi.com
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 11:26:54 CST
From: "Tracy Aquilla" <aquilla at salus.med.uvm.edu>
Subject: glucose/sucrose starters
In Digest #1963:
harperj at olympus.net (James M. Harper) wrote:
>
>Regarding Tracy Aquilla's thesis on using only maltose as a yeast starter,
>wouldn't any fermentable polysacharide be equally as effective? It sure is
>easier to boil up some sucrose. ?????
>
>Jim Harper
>Sequim, WA
Don't get the wrong impression, I never suggested "using only maltose as a
yeast starter". Someone asked if there was a reason NOT to use glucose and I
gave one. Other fermentable sugars work also, including glucose and sucrose,
but the results might not be as good as if one had used malt extract.
Growing your yeast on maltose wouldn't be much better than using another
pure sugar solution lacking nutrients (particularly nitrogen). Malt EXTRACT,
OTOH, contains nutrients in addition to the sugar, and generally resembles
the composition of wort.
Tracy
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 11:18:40 -0600
From: Scott Abene <skotrat at wwa.com>
Subject: Bottling with a Nitrogen/Co2 mix
Well everyone,
Since I got not one response with this posting last time, I am going to post
it again.
I have been running my tap with a 70/30 Nitrogen/Co2 mix for quite some time
(yes it is amazing) and everything works great. However, when I bottle with
this mix I get a so-so carbonation with little or no head (head is good- heh
heh heh). This is even after the beer has been fully carbonated and aged.
I am bottling it under the same counter-pressure regime as when I bottle
with just a Co2 mix and the beer is carbonated perfectly from the tap with
th 70/30 mix.
Has anyone on the Digest bottled with this mix? Anybody have any pointers?
Private email is welcome.
Thanks,
Scott Abene (skotrat at wwa.com)
(.Scott Abene is a registered trade mark of The Boston Beer Company & Jim
Koch and used only with the permission of The Boston Beer Company & Jim Koch
****watch out or he'll buy up your name too!!!****)
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 09:39:04 PST
From: "N4311B" <N4311B at cnsp-emh.san.mrms.navy.mil>
Subject: Free Immersion Cooler
If you live in the San Diego area and need an Immersion
cooler, I have one you can have, I don't need two of them, I
also have a 30 ft roll of 5/16 copper tubing for making your
own and yes it's FREE also.
I live in the Chula Vista area, If interested call
Dennis at 427-1102 (evenings).
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 17:56:29 GMT
From: larry_s at ix.netcom.com (Larry Scott)
Subject: Attenuation Problem
> "Mike Bell" <Mike_Bell at ccmail.va.grci.com> wrote:
>I bottled the Bock a week ago, and the Pilsner this past weekend. The Bock
>had FG 1.010 and acceptable flavor characteristics. The Pilsner however
>had FG 1.022 and a noticeably sweet taste.
>I remember reading somewhere that Wyeast Bohemian can have attenuation
>problems, and I think that is what I have got. Has anyone else run into
>this problem with this yeast, and is there anything I can do at this late
>date? I did go ahead and bottle, and would dread the idea of having to
>open them all and dump them back into the fermenter to repitch. Even
>worse, I really don't want a pilsner grenade going off in my storage
>closet.
Hi Mike!
I just made a pilsner using the partial mash recipe for the Heineken
type in Papazians TNCJOHB.
I also used Wyeast's Bohemian yeast and my final gravity was 1.020. I
thought I had screwed up my mashing part of the brew (my first partial
mash) by having too many unfermetables due to improper mashing
temperatures (boy, what an understatement), but you give me
encouragement. Maybe my mashing was perfect (ROTFLWP) , and it was the
yeast that caused the problem.
Anyway, I went ahead and bottled. After 1 week the beer was sweet and
flat. It's now been almost 4 weeks, I popped one open the other night,
it's drier and lightly carbonated. It doesn't appear to be a candidate
for grenades, but lager yeasts do take longer to carbonate than ales
(I did a 1 week primary at 55 degrees, followed by 4 weeks lagering at
~42 degrees, fermentation had mostly finished 4 days after pitching a
500ml starter ).
Well, I guess we both will just have to monitor the carbonation as the
beer matures, and drink this batch right away :-)) if it starts to get
too fizzy.
Good luck, and let me know if any of the bottles go BOOM!
Larry in L.A.
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 11:10:36 -0700 (MST)
From: Ray Brice <ray at hwr.arizona.edu>
Subject: 3rd Annual Naked Pueblo Competition
Greetings,
The 3rd Annual Naked Pueblo Homebrew Competition will
take place Saturday April 21st at:
Trios in the Plaza Palomino
corner of Swan and Ft. Lowell
Tucson, Arizona
First Round Judging will begin at 10:00.
Best of Show Judging will begin at 2:00.
Awards ceremony will begin at 5:00.
This competition will be held in conjunction with "The
Great Tucson Beer Festival." All judges and stewards
will be given free admittance to this event.
This is an AHA and BJCP sanctioned competition featuring
all AHA categories. Please contact John Francisco
(520) 743-7961; cisco at tabasco.ccit.arizona.edu or
Jim Liddil (520) 881-8768; jliddil at azcc.arizona.edu for
a free entrants packet.
Complete on-line registration for entries and judges
is available on the Competition Homepage
(http://www.hwr.arizona.edu/agu/oph/naked.html).
Winner's of each category will receive awards. Best of Show
will receive a $100 gift certificate to the Home Brewery in
Sierra Vista, Arizona. 2nd and 3rd place in each category will
receive ribbons.
Cheers,
John Francisco
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 19:46:59 +0100
From: bush at shbf.se (Robert Bush)
Subject: Re: Attenuation Problem
In #1964 "Mike Bell" <Mike_Bell at ccmail.va.grci.com> asked about the Wyeast
Bohemian lager yeast:
<lots deleted>
>I bottled the Bock a week ago, and the Pilsner this past weekend. The Bock
>had FG 1.010 and acceptable flavor characteristics. The Pilsner however
>had FG 1.022 and a noticeably sweet taste. I also could barely detect the
<del>
>I remember reading somewhere that Wyeast Bohemian can have attenuation
>problems, and I think that is what I have got. Has anyone else run into
>this problem with this yeast,
The Wyeast Bohemian is my pet hate yeast! Here are my notes for a batch I
used it in:
"#2124 Bohemian Lager from Wyeast: I don't know if this strain is supposed
to be this bad a fermenter. It started after bubbling in the air-lock after
12 hrs but then it took over a month (no speeding-tickets here!) to go from
OG1055 to 1017 (at 12 deg C) and even that is considered a high final
gravity!
Day 3: Nice white head without "hills and valleys" but some randomly spread
"islands" (about 1/2 cm)
Day 4: As day 3 but thicker (2 cm).
Day 6: A "looser" head. Bigger bubbles.
Attenuation: 69%
Temp.: 6-12 deg C
Use: No, unless you read something else somewhere else
Flocculation: OK
<end of notes>
I don't think I can help in any way but warn people of this strain. I used
it in a Czech pils which was awful! Since I'm now not the only one that had
problems with this strain I know I did nothing wrong. I'll never try it
again.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% WASSAIL! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% Robert Bush %
% Eskilstuna,SWEDEN E-mail: bush at shbf.se %
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 14:39:30 -0500
From: Tim Martin <TimM at southwest.cc.nc.us>
Subject: New Neighbors
Hey Neighbors,
And I do think of you as neighbors. I am a first time poster. I want
you all to know how wonderful I think this forum is and how it has added
to my addiction...brewing. I live deep in the heart of the Smokey
Mountains and the heart of the bible belt and a dry county (no beer) until
recently, talk about a stranger in a strange land. Sooo.. needless to say
there aren't many brewers around here, except moonshiners.
However, all that changed when I discovered the modem, the net and
the HBD. I wish I had discovered you all five hears ago when I first
started brewing. Please keep up the great writing, the research and the
humor. I don't feel like a stranger anymore.
Sincerely, your "cyber neighbor"
Tim Martin
Buzzard"s Roost, NC
Buzzard"s Roost Homebrewry
"with that strong predatory taste"
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 12:05:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Jeremy Ballard Bergsman <jeremybb at leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Calcium chloride, Celis, yield, O2 caps
Rumors circulated:
> 3) Celis will be coming out with a new beer soon. The plan is for a
> Trappist Ale to be coming out sometime this spring or summer.
Pierre joined a monastery?
>
> They are also experimenting with a new beer due out sometime this year. It
> is rumored to be an Belgian Abbey-style beer similar to a beer Pierre brewed
> in Belgium called Forbidden Fruit. Sounds yummy to me!
I don't recall FF being an abbey style beer.
Looks like that old Belgian Waffle again.
>
> Check out their web page at http://www.celis.com
- ----------
> From: Mark <multis at fyiowa.infi.net>
> Subject: CaCl2 ppm levels
>
> Wolfgang L. Wedel wrote:
> How much does one gram (ounce) rise the ppm levels of Ca and Cl in my
> water?
>
> One gram of CaCl2 in five gallons of water = 19 ppm Ca and 34 ppm Cl
>
> Calcium is 36% by weight of CaCl2. 1000 mg X 0.36 divided by 18.9 liters (5
> gallons) gives 19 ppm Ca. Same calculation for Cl which is 64% of CaCl2.
Be careful, CaCl2 is often found in its dihydrate form in which case
Ca is 27% and Cl is 48% of the weight. Sorry, I don't know any easy way
to tell what you have -- I use my lab's osmometer to check what I buy.
- --------------
> From: "Kelly C. Heflin" <kheflin at monmouth.com>
> Subject: Understading yield.
>
> I thought I would eventually figure this out on my own, but no. What the =
> heck is the yield you get from the mashing and sparging process. I've =
> seen it expressed in points per ?=20
> Please explain.
Yield is the increase in specific gravity you obtain from mashing
grain. Since much of the increase is due to sugars released from the
starch of the barley (or whatever), it is a measure of how well this
conversion has gone and a also gauge to help you plan your next
recipe.
The units are the points ((SG-1)*1000) contributed by one pound of
grain to one gallon of water. For example, 33 pts per pound is
usually considered to be a good figure. If you mashed 10 pounds
of grain in 5 gallons of water and your SG was 1.066, you got 33
pts-gallons-per pound.
I have a more detailed write-up of this on my beer page:
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jeremybb/beerstuff/beerpage.html
- ------------
For those keeping score about my O2-absorbing bottle caps post,
I had used the "A", or absorbing, kind. So I gave them their best
shot. Back to HSA. Al, can I send you beer so you can tell me
when it is getting oxidized?
Jeremy Bergsman
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 96 12:09:23 PST
From: hollen at vigra.com
Subject: Re: RIMS question
>>>>> "Keith" == "Keith Royster" <keith.royster at ponyexpress.com> writes:
Keith> Now I have some RIMS questions. How do those of you with RIMS
Keith> deliver the wort to the top of the grain bed gently and evenly?
I use a manifold made of copper 1/2" rigid pipe, soldered with
lead-free solder. A vertical pipe goes down into a T. Each arm of
the T goes out to another T and past that to yet another T. This
gives 6 arms spread out from a central vertical pipe. At the end of
each arm is a 45 degree elbow, soldered on so that it is lifted from
the horizontal 45 degrees as well. Even feeding the single input pipe
with water from the tap at 100psi, the outflow of all 6 pipes is
extremely gentle.
Be sure to have enough mash water in your system so that the manifold
is completely submerged. For me, this is 1.1 qt./lb. grain plus a
constant 2 quarts (for the heater chamber, pump and hose volumes).
Keith> And do you think occasional stirring of the grain bed is
Keith> necessary (maybe between temp steps) to eliminate temperature
Keith> pockets, or should the grain be be shallow enough (even with a
Keith> 10 gallon batch in a modified sankey keg) so as not to have
Keith> these temperature pockets?
One of THE major benefits of a RIMS system is that the grain bed
temperature is very even due to the recirculation. First, stirring is
not necessary, but more important, stirring will mess up the natural
filter bed and you will lose the clarity of your wort, which is
another big feature of a RIMS. Don't do it, no matter how deep your
grain bed is, you should not have temperature variations. I am about
to do a mash during which I will actually use a 36" BruProbe to test
the grain bed evenness of heating. If there are any significant
uneven temperatures noted, I will surely post a retraction of the
above.
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, 20 Feb 96 14:26:06 CST
From: korz at pubs.ih.att.com (Algis R Korzonas)
Subject: Competition announcement
There has been a change in the location of the 1996
Brewers of South Suburbia competition. It will still
be held on March 23rd, 1996 in the southwest suburbs
of Chicago, but the brewpub at which the judging was
to take place will not be able to accommodate us on
that date. For more information please contact
Marty Nachel at 708-614-6258 or aleconner at aol.com
Please don't email me for info -- this is all the
information I have.
Al.
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