HOMEBREW Digest #1995 Wed 27 March 1996

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


Contents:
  kilt / grain mill motor ("Keith Royster")
  First Wort Hopping (Jim Busch)
  Yeast Rehydration (Algis R Korzonas)
  Sparge/Not Sparge. (Russell Mast)
  Re: ploidy in yeast, more on filtering ("Tracy Aquilla")
  Dishwasher sanitization (Rosenzweig,Steve)
  California Common (Kelly Heflin)
  Iowa City Homebrew Classic (Wolfe)
  Red ale color request ("Taber, Bruce")
  all-grain ("Jeremy E. Mirsky")
  Sixth Annual March Mashfest Results (Brian J Walter (Brewing Chemist))
  Oklahoma beer laws (Mark Taratoot)
  Sarasota, FL (RUSt1d?)
  Re: Grain. Convince me. (David North)
  mini beer batches (Gregory King)
  Dry Hopping in a Corny Keg (cisco)
  Beer Temperature (Clay Crenshaw)
  Miller and the heart of the hop. (Jeff Smith)
  BreWater 1.05 Brewing Water Synthesis Utility (KennyEddy)
  10 gallon recipes (Paul.Lambie)
  AHA Conf Roommate (Jim Liddil)
  2,3 Pentanedione (TMartyn)
  Adjustments from 5 to 10 gallon batches (Keith Chamberlin)
  Least attenuative/amylase/sugars/filtering/iodophor/fill level/colour (Algis R Korzonas)
  Cleaning chemicals (SandBrew)
  New RIMS Owner (ShoeJ)
  Iodophor concentrations (Louis Gordon)
  Munich Helles Stinks ("Barry Blakeley")
  RIMS Pump (russ tjepkema)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:14:05 -0500 From: "Keith Royster" <keith.royster at ponyexpress.com> Subject: kilt / grain mill motor In HBD#1993 Bob Rogers worries about the effects of brewing a dry stout while wearing a kilt. While the plaid may have detrimental effects on this style of brew, I would think that wearing a kilt might actually be beneficial for other recipies. For example, Papazian's Goat Scrotum Ale.... and now for something completely different...... - ----------------------------------------------------------------- I also have a quick question that is slightly brewing related: I recently found a discarded trash compactor that I thought might be a good source for a motor to motorize my grain mill. But once I dismantled the thing, I found the motor to have 5 wires attached to it, instead of the expected 2 (electrons in, electrons out). Also, there seems to be some sort of mechanical spring-loaded lever/switch attached to it running parallel to the axis. I imagine that the extra wires may have something to do with reversing the direction of the motor, and maybe the switch does too. Any body out there have any idea how to wire this thing, and what the heck is the switch for? Any help is appreciated. Keith Royster - Keith.Royster at ponyexpress.com at your.service - http://www.wp.com/ at your.service/ Web Services - Starting at just $60 per YEAR! Voice & Fax - (704) 663-1098 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:24:49 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: First Wort Hopping The talk of first wort hopping is interesting indeed. I just wanted to point out that this is generally a Pilsner beer procedure, and may or may not be directly appicable to general beer styles, in particular the more agressively hoppy ales with their multiple hop additions. A couple of points: Generally used only with low alpha high quality aroma hops, since these are the hops used in Pils. Thats why the kettle IBUs should not be altered. Pils beers are seldom hopped later than 20 minutes before knockout. Hopping in the whirlpool should give drastically altered hop aroma qualities than hopping at 20 minutes, or at 90+ minutes, or dry. Pils beers have an intense depth of hop complexity. They are not simple beers to make. The aroma contributions should not be obtained from dry hopping and comparing one with the other is futile. Jim Busch A Victory For Your Taste! Now tapping: Victory Festbier, Brandywine Valley Lager, HopDevil IPA, Prima Pils, Milltown Cask Mild and St. Victorious Doppelbock http://wanda.pond.com/~clrleaf/victory/Victory.html Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 10:22:52 CST From: korz at pubs.ih.att.com (Algis R Korzonas) Subject: Yeast Rehydration Ross writes: >I would have to agree with Al on the overkill. >Over the years at the BOP, we used various dried yeasts, >including Nottingham, Whitbread, Edme and Mauri. >15 grams were rehydrated in +/- 250 ml of cooled wort, 10 to 15 >minutes prior to pitching in approx. 53 liters (14 US gallons) of >wort, cooled to 72 to 76 degrees F and well aerated. Fermenters >were then moved to a temperature controlled room held at 68 F. Depending on what you mean by "cooled wort" I see one problem and one potential problem with your procedure. Firstly, it is not recommended to rehydrate yeast in wort. Dried yeast first want water and the sugars in wort mean that the yeast see a different osmotic pressure than from plain water and it makes it harder for them to properly rehydrate. I've found in my own experience, that rehydrating dried yeast in cooled (75F) wort has tripled lag times. The potenial problem is what you mean by "cooled wort." If you mean cooled to 110F, then it's not as bad as 70F wort, but not as good as 110F water. Again, this is all from experience and from a Newsletter published by Lallemand (makers of Nottingham, Windsor, etc.). Al. Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL korz at pubs.att.com Copyright 1996 Al Korzonas Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 10:30:57 -0600 From: Russell Mast <rmast at fnbc.com> Subject: Sparge/Not Sparge. Well, dangnabbit. I recently said "If you're doing all grain, you don't have a sparge" when I meant "If you're doing EXTRACT, you don't have a sparge." Not sure how I made that error, but it looks like I've confused the dickens out of tons of people. I do all-grain, and, yeah, I do have a sparge. Sorry for the cornfusion. I'll be more careful next time. -R Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 11:30:23 CST From: "Tracy Aquilla" <aquilla at salus.med.uvm.edu> Subject: Re: ploidy in yeast, more on filtering In Digest #1992: Michael Coen <COEN.MICHAEL at igate.pprd.abbott.com> wrote: "All this talk of mutations and genetic drift. I would think, naively maybe, that a brewing yeast would be unusually stable in its genetic makeup since there are multiple copies of each gene. Unless a mutation was dominant I would think the chances of getting a really detrimental change in brewing character would be extremly remote. Just a thought." Good point. However, while in the vegetative stage of its life-cycle (i.e. budding, not sporulating), S. cerevisiae is haploid. Interestingly, S. uvarum is diploid, hence it might actually be more stable. Relatively speaking, brewers' yeast is pretty stable genetically. As mentioned previously I believe, the most common problematic mutations in yeast occur in the mitochondrial genome (respiratory mutants). and fitz at fasicsv.fnal.gov (Tom Fitzpatrick) Subject: Re: Filtering "I was also under the impression (sorry, no reference) that "sterile" filtration was accomplished below .3 micron (also called "cold" filter- ing, like MGD lite ice?). Anyone out there have any firm numbers on filtering to remove all yeast and bacteria?" Jim was probably referring to the fact that with a 1 micron filter, you'll definitely be removing all of the yeast and most likely all of the bacteria. However, it's true that 0.22 microns is considered the standard for sterile filtration, but as mentioned previously, there are bacteria even smaller than this. Whether a particular filter yields a sterile product is highly dependent on the bacterial load and the size of the bacterial contaminants present. Jim writes on p. 24 of BT Jan/Feb '96: "Yeast cell sizes tend to fall in the 5 - 10 micron range, which is why a rough or polish filtration is usually done at 5 microns." and Michael responds: "Do you have a reference for the range of yeast sizes? Anybody? The range I remember but don't have a reference for is .8 - 5 micron." In Malting and Brewing Science (2nd. ed. volume II), see the chapters on yeast taxonomy and yeast biology (can't remember which, but there's a chart). Tracy in Vermont aquilla at salus.med.uvm.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 08:38:56 PST From: Steve_Rosenzweig at wb.xerox.com (Rosenzweig,Steve) Subject: Dishwasher sanitization Jon Vilhauer writes in HBD 1992: > I've never been able to see much sense in using a dishwasher >for beer bottles. It seems unlikely that much wash water ever gets >inside. If it's heat we want, wouldn't the oven be better? I use about a cup of bleach in the dishwasher in a normal cycle. I too, was skeptical at first of the sanitization possibilities, but since I start with fairly clean bottles anyway, I figured what the heck - I hated my old bottle sanitizing method so much anything was worth a try. On the first batch of bottles, I opened the dishwasher in the middle of the cycle and _whoosh_ I got a whiff of a cloud of hot chlorinated steam! I figure even if the _water_ isn't getting directly into the bottles, the chlorinated steam is, so that should provide adequate sanitization, especially in conjunction with the heated drying cycle! I started kegging due to my aversion to bottling, but now I'm swinging the other way. I'll still keep a few kegs going, but I'll short fill a keg, fill a few bottles, and top off the keg with CO2 - hey what if I want to enter a particular batch in a contest? This way I've got a few samplers as well as potential yeast cultures! (Although this could give me an excuse to buy/build a counter pressure filler! ;-> ) Using the dishwasher takes all the scut work out of bottling - now its downright enjoyable! Even clean up is easier when you do the bottling on the opened door - just close the door and rinse when you are done! Anyway - the proof is in the beer as they say, and I've been working (?) through several batches bottled with this method - and I've yet to find a bad one! (? if only drinking brew were work! - I'd be Michael Jackson!) Stephen Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:56:43 -0500 From: Kelly Heflin <kheflin at monmouth.com> Subject: California Common Someone wrote about a week ago, that their california common yeast was still going after a long time. I transferred mine to secondary yesterday after fermenting 8 days in primary. I was a little disapointed with the gravity, 1.018. Well I'm happy to say within about 8 hours there was an inch layer of foam and it was bubbling well. I guess that stuff just keeps ..going, and going.. I just got my copy of sudssw. Put in all the stuff for this Steam Beer I'm talking about. I'm right at the upper limit for this style on gravity and alchol percent, but I'm way over on the bittering scale. I used 2 oz. of Northern Brewer. These things said they were 9.5% . All the recipes I looked at said 2 oz of Northern Brew. Maybe theirs were lesser percents. I also used 1 oz of cascade for finishing. 1 of the north brew was only boiled for a half hour. It was 1.056 gravity to start. Is it gonna be too hoppy? (I'm not worried, just wondering.) About that Suds program. I heard there were recipes in it. Anybody know anything about that. (Yes I plan on registering it as soon as I know if I can use it.) see ya kelly Kelly C. Heflin kheflin at monmouth.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 10:56:48 CST From: Wolfe at act.org Subject: Iowa City Homebrew Classic The 1ST IOWA CITY HOMEBREW CLASSIC WHEN: May 18th, 1996. Judging begins at 10 AM. Awards at 6 PM. WHERE: Iowa City, Iowa CATEGORIES: We'll accept entries in all AHA beer and mead styles (no cider or sake). Categories may be combined for style categories in which fewer than 7 entries are received. JUDGING: Every entry will be judged by at least one BJCP judge. Score sheets will be returned for all entries. Contact Ed Wolfe if you are interested in judging. AWARDS: First, second, and third place ribbons will be awarded in all categories. Winners will be advanced to Best of Show judging. First, second, and third place ribbons and prizes will be awarded in the Best of Show Beer and in the Best of Show Mead judging. MIDWEST BREWER: Midwest brewers who are awarded ribbons in this competition gain points toward the 1996 Midwest Homebrewer of the Year Award. The Iowa City Homebrew Classic is the third of five Midwest Homebrewer competitions. Contact Dennis Davisson for more information about the program (414-545-9246). ENTRIES: Send TWO bottles (brown or green glass, blackened crown capped, with no labels or other identifying marks) with a bottle label attached with rubber bands (NO TAPE) and an entry form and entry fees. We're using the standard AHA bottle labels and entry forms. Entry fees are $5/entry for 1-3 entries and $4/entry for 4 or more entries). Make checks payable to THIRSTY. SHIPPING: Send your entries to: 1st ICHC c/o Ed Wolfe 5118 Morse Road Iowa City, IA 52240 THE ENTRY DEADLINE IS MAY 10th. QUESTIONS: Call Ed Wolfe at 319-643-7354 or email him at wolfe at avalon.net or visit the THIRSTY Home Brew Page at http://www.avalon.net/~wolfe/THIRSTY.html Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 12:02:00 EST From: "Taber, Bruce" <BRUCE.TABER at NRC.CA> Subject: Red ale color request I just popped the cap on my first attempt at a 'light' ale and I'm happy to report that it passed the ultimate test ...... my wife likes it ! I must admit, I think it's pretty good too. The color is typical commercial swill blond but the flavor is definitely 'premium'. I'm the guy who had the nerve to request a Budmilloors recipe from the collective a few months back. I typically brew dark, full body ales but I wanted something closer to commercial beer for my guests. I used the recipes that were sent to me to formulate my own attempt that uses rice as the adjunct and only 1 oz. of Saaz to bitter. Anyway, I think I'll do another batch since the nice weather is approaching (is this the longest winter on record or what), but I can't bring myself to ever make the exact same beer twice. I would like to make a similar ale but with a distinctive 'red' hue. My first thoughts are to try 2 oz. (60g) of roast barley OR 1/2 lb. (250g) of Munich malt in the same colorless base. I don't want to change the flavor much, just the color. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. TIA Bruce Taber (we've still got snow in Ottawa) taber at irc.lan.nrc.ca Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:14:12 -0600 (CST) From: "Jeremy E. Mirsky" <mirsjer at charlie.acc.iit.edu> Subject: all-grain The obvious consensus is that all grain is superior to extract brewing. But, for the intimidated novice, the information overload is frustrating: ph - conversion - runoff - etc..... I've heard of the Gott cooler method, but it wasn't very clear to me. I understand that the total ingredient cost is less, but what about equipment? I currently use a 5 gal. enamelled canning pot for extract recipes. What do I really have to know about water ph, starch conversion, etc.? If I do this, I'd like to do it as cheaply as possible. BTW, the last post I made received numerous helpful responses. Again, I would like to thank everyone. \ <Wow, this brewing stuff can really drive someone to drink!> Jeremy mirsjer at charlie.acc.iit.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 10:24:31 -0700 (MST) From: walter at lamar.ColoState.EDU (Brian J Walter (Brewing Chemist)) Subject: Sixth Annual March Mashfest Results Sixth Annual March Mashfest Results This Mashfest has been our most successful to date. 201 entries were collected and judged Friday and Saturday March 22-23, 1996. The Mash Tongues would like to thank all who entered and all who made the trip to Fort Collins to judge. Best of Show Beer (180 Beer Entries) Tony DeMarse, Greeley CO Brewnion Colony May Q-P Honey Wheat Specialty, Classic Style American Wheat Best of Show Mead (21 Mead Entries) Scott Mills, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Mighty Fine Wine Traditional Mead Lagers (19 Entries) First Place Dave Shaffer, Lafayette CO Lizard Head Lager Second Place Cory Buenning, Conifer CO Hop Barley & the Ale'ers Dark Side Lager Third Place Bill Irwin, Littleton Foam on the Range Kolsch 5 Kolsch Pale Ales (19 Entries) First Place Gregory Cross, Rocky Ford CO Broken Heel IPA IPA Second Place Dave Shaffer, Lafayette CO Mullethead Ale Third Place Bill Irwin, Littleton CO Foam on the Range EPA #3 English Pale Ale English Bitters (16 Entries) First Place John Leazer, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Firelight ESB English Special Bitter Second Place Patrick Moore, Englewood CO Tingling Nosehair ESB English Special Bitter Third Place Scott Mindrebo, Lake Jackson TX Brew Bayou (Hoppy) Cold-Conditioned Ales (13 Entries) First Place Dave Cuthbert, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Uncommon CA Common Second Place Keith Schwols, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Alt Enough To Drink Altbier Third Place John Landreman, Colorado Springs CO Wildcard Alt Altbier Scottish Ales & Porters (14 Entries) First Place Dave Shaffer, Lafayette CO Storm Peak Porter Porter Second Place Brian Kelly, Denver CO Deep Wort Pests Porter Porter Third Place Larry Pyeatt, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Easy Trails Porter Porter Brown Ales (18 Entries) First Place Larry Pyeatt, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Easy Trails Mild Brown Ale Second Place Roger Whyman, Littleton CO The Unfermentables Bear Creek Brown Ale II Third Place Richard Morris, Jr., Colo Springs CO Twink's Brown Ale Stout Beers (20 Entries) First Place Bruce DeBolt, Lake Jackson TX Brew Bayou Oyster Creek Stout Second Place John Leazer, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Knockout Stout - Round 4 Third Place Paul Rasey, Milliken CO Brewnion Colony Shamrock Stout Wheat Beers (14 Entries) First Place Mark Groshek, Denver CO The Unfermentables Wunschloses Ungluck Weizenbier German Weizen Second Place John Landreman, Colorado Springs CO Bison Weizen German Weizen Third Place John Adams, Westminister CO Keg Ran Out Club (KROC) A Chicken In Every Pox Belgian & Strong Ales (20 Entries) First Place Richard Mincer, Cheyenne WY High Plains Drafters Trifurcated Trippel Strong Ale Belgian Tripel Second Place Ray Poarch, Arvada CO The Unfermentables (Not Named) Third Place Mark DeMay, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Brain Lubrication Smoked & Specialty Beers (12 Entries) First Place Tony DeMarse, Greeley CO Brewnion Colony May Q-P Honey Wheat Specialty, Honey Amer Wheat Second Place Keith Schwols, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Dragon's Belch Rauchbier Third Place Brian Walter, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Winter Rye Specialty Beer, Rye Fruit & Herb Beers (16 Entries) First Place Jim Suhoza, El Dorado CA Haze Chilly Willy Chile Beer Second Place Scott Mills, Loveland CO Mash Tongues Flower Power Rosewater Beer Third Place William Geithman, Erie CO Keg Ran Out Club (KROC) Son of CBS Raspberry Cocoa Stout Meads (21 Entries) First Place Scott Mills, Loveland CO Mash Tongues Mighty Fine Wine Traditional Mead Second Place John Carlson, Denver CO Hop Barley & the Ale'ers Crystal Meth Mint and Cranberry Honey Third Place Keith Schwols, Ft Collins CO Mash Tongues Hot to Trot Cinnamon, Chili Flakes (Hot Cinnamon) Score sheets should be in the mail this week; target date is Thursday. Direct any comments or questions to Brian Walter, walter at lamar.colostate.edu Brian J Walter | Homebrewer, Certified | walter at lamar.colostate.edu Chem grad - CO St Univ| Beer Judge & President| RUSH Rocks Best! Fort Collins, CO | Mash Tongues Brew Club| GB Packers-11 X NFL Champs Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 09:25:08 -0800 (PST) From: Mark Taratoot <taratoot at PEAK.ORG> Subject: Oklahoma beer laws Bernie wrote: > I was in Oklahoma briefly this winter and took a trip to the local beer > store near Oklahoma City. I found that most of the "good beers" were > unavailable cold. The store clerk informed me that it was state law that > beer over a certain alcohol percentage could not be sold cold. (Probably > so it would not be consumed too fast). No, they are just looking out for our better interests. Most beer is sold cold -- too cold to drink. So you have to take it home and let it sit out for quite a while before it warms to the correct serving temperature. Oklahoma is doing us a great favor by not over-chilling their beer so it is ready to drink sooner! - -- Mark Taratoot "...though my problems are meaningless, taratoot at peak.org that don't make them go away." -Neil Young Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 12:26:11 -0500 From: RUSt1d? <rust1d at swamp.li.com> Subject: Sarasota, FL Here we go again.... I will be traveling to Sarasota, FL soon and would like to know where to go to support my beer drinking hobby/habit. Locations within 50 miles would be nice. John Varady Boneyard Brewing Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 12:38:36 -0500 From: dnorth at ijco.com (David North) Subject: Re: Grain. Convince me. Howard asks about switching from extract to all grain in #1992. His view point was so close to my own I felt it was worth delurking for. I was also an experienced extract brewer and it was getting to the point that most of my batches were partial mashes with varying amounts of pale malt. It was taking most of an afternoon anyway so a few batches ago I took the plunge. With my environment and equipment I think it is probably easier now than what I was doing before. Mostly because my mash/lauter tun is the same vessel now (a Gott cooler) and I don't have to mess with that nasty extract. The length of time is about the same, but I have much more time during the session to do other things. The quality is good, but is was before so I'm not sure that is a big deal. I expect it will give me more flexibility in recipes and styles. When I made the switch I was thinking that I would still do extract batches and I probably will, but at this point I don't have any great urge to do so. It would have to be pretty much of a straight extract batch for me to do it. Finally, grain is cheaper than extract, but that is not as cool as turning all that starchy grain into sweet wort! I say go for it. It is more fun and in my case, easier. David North Knoxville Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 13:18:41 -0500 (EST) From: Gregory King <GKING at ARSERRC.Gov> Subject: mini beer batches In HBD #1992 Russell Mast (rmast at fnbc.com) wrote: >I've made several one-gallon all-grain batches, using improvised equipment. >(Often as "yeast starters" but, hey, why dump the liquid, especially if it's >not that much extra trouble to make it tasty?) I'm also in the practice of drinking the spent wort from my yeast starters (this stuff is essentially beer, right?). In fact, I've been pleasantly surprised at how good it tastes, and I just use light DME and a few hops pellets (I admit that I'm not expecting to taste great beer at this point). Preparing miniworts for yeast starters with DME involves boil times of about 15 minutes, which is in the right time range for achieving good hop flavor utilization. Now whenever I build a yeast starter I try to increase my hops knowledge by using a type of hops in the miniwort that I haven't brewed with yet. Greg King gking at arserrc.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:51:41 -0600 (CST) From: cisco at tabasco.ccit.arizona.edu Subject: Dry Hopping in a Corny Keg >Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1996 11:58:27 -0500 (EST) >From: "Michael E. Ladue" <Mike.Ladue at cle.ab.com> >Subject: Dry Hopping in a Corny Keg > >What is the technique for dry hopping in a Corny keg? I know that it's >possible, I'm just not sure how to do it. > >One method that I've heard of is to just put your hop pellets in the >keg...no sock, no marble, no nuthin'. Supposedly, it creates a hop bed >that floats on the beer, imparting itself in a uniform matter into the >beer. You'd be using the keg as a secondary fermenter or serving out of >it at this point. This is a good way to get a clogged pick up tube or connector. Any hops,whether pellets or leaf, must be contained in a pourous container. I dry hop with both leaf and pellets and use those fine mesh nylon bags that are about 6 inches square and close with a draw string. I then use a racking cane tube plastic clamp, attach the tied up bag to the clamp and run the string inside the backside of the clamp that attaches to the pick up tube( you need to do this because the the cornelius keg's pick up tube is a slightly smaller diameter than the plastic racking cane tubes that this clamp was designed for.) I then attach this down low on the cornelius keg's pick up tube - just low enough so that the bag will not interfere with the opening of the pick up tube. This keeps the hops totally submerged rather than floating on the surface and nothing gets near or interferes with the pick up tube (all my pick up tubes have at least a half inch cut off the bottom). I've been using this setup for quite a while with no problems. I much prefer it to dry hopping in the secondary, it takes a lot less hops also. I use 1/4 oz to 1/2 oz. There is no need to use any more than 1/2 oz because this system is sooooo efficient. John 'Cisco' Francisco Senior Applications Systems Analyst University of Arizona Office: (520) 621-6727 Pager: (520) 218-0925 http://aruba.ccit.arizona.edu/~cisco/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 14:16:33 -0500 From: ccrenshaw at mail.utexas.edu (Clay Crenshaw) Subject: Beer Temperature Howdy Fellow Zymurgists: I've often been told by 'laymen' that after beer has been refigerated, its quality will be compromised if it's allowed to warm back up. Is there any truth to this? If so, does it apply to homebrew as well as store-bought? What actually happens to the beer when the temperature fluctuates like this? TIA for the feedback, Clay "If we first bulid up the nobler part of our nature [yeast starter], then the inferior part [nasty beasties] cannot overcome it" -Mencius, 3rd century B.C. Chinese philosopher Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 14:40:59 -0600 (CST) From: snsi at win.bright.net (Jeff Smith) Subject: Miller and the heart of the hop. I haven't tasted the new Miller yet but I keep thinking aren't they the geniuses who came up with "Clear Beer"? Just a Thought. Jeff Smith | '71 HD Sprint 350SX | snsi at win.bright.net | Barnes, WI "It's just like tractors, some tractors do some tractors don't." Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 16:00:52 -0500 From: KennyEddy at aol.com Subject: BreWater 1.05 Brewing Water Synthesis Utility As promised, my brewing water synthesis utility is now posted for download at ftp://users.aol.com/kennyeddy/water/brewater.zip You'll need VBRUN300.DLL in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you don't have it, you can get it from any software downlaod library; I put a compressed version at ftp://users.aol.com/kennyeddy/files/vbrun.zip This version of BreWater (1.05) appears to be "bug-free" but if you do notice anything goofy going on please let me know. It's freeware so you can share it with others without registration. Twenty-six "target profiles" are included, gleaned from a variety of published sources. Two sample completed worksheets are also included. BreWater includes a help document which is basically the same thing as the water chemistry primer I uploaded a few days ago. To keep things simple(r), I limited the additives to epsom salt, baking soda, chalk, non-iodized "table salt", calcium chloride dihydrate, and gypsum. All of these are readily available additives, although I have had trouble locating CaCl2 (but I haven't looked that hard -- any suggestions?). While not all targets can be precisely synthesized using only these salts, a great many can be well-approximated. Salt measures are automatically scaled when changing water volume, and you have your choice of measurement units (teaspoons or grams of salts, gallons or litres of water). Salt measures can be typed in or scroll-bars dragged while resulting concentrations of calcium, sulphate, magnesium, sodium, chloride, carbonate, hardness, and alkalinity are conntinually updated. A dilution function allows you to experiment with diluting "your" water in addition to making salt additions. Printing, loading, and saving of profiles and worksheets is implemented. I hope you find it to be useful. Ken Schwartz KennyEddy at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 13:12 -0800 (PST) From: Paul.Lambie at ncal.kaiperm.org Subject: 10 gallon recipes I've been brewing 5 gallon all-grain recipes and plan to try a 10 gallon batch this weekend. Jim Dipalma recently wrote that scaling up from 5 to 10 gallons is not linear particularly with regard to darker specialty malts and recommended multiplying by a factor of 1.5 for these grains. Hop utilization also changes with batch size - is there a significant difference in utilization between 5 and 10 gallons so that adjustments in hops need to be made? Any other suggestions for increasing my batch size to 10 gallons? Any experiences or references would be appreciated. Paul Lambie P3 Brewers Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 15:15:20 -0700 (MST) From: Jim Liddil <JLIDDIL at AZCC.Arizona.EDU> Subject: AHA Conf Roommate I am looking for a roommate for the AHA conference in June. If you are interested or know of someone who is please contact me via private e-mail Jim Liddil jliddil at azcc.arizona.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 17:39:11 -0500 From: TMartyn at aol.com Subject: 2,3 Pentanedione In #1991, Russell Mast properly corrected my post about the presence (or not) of honey notes in L'Achouffe. Sorry, I got my threads mixed up. Right, 2,3 pentanedione is not produced by honey, its a vicinal diketone that <tastes> like honey. I'm going home to drink a beer in penance. In #1993, AJ explained the process by which 2,3 pd if formed, and suggested to produce it, select a strain that favors 2,3 pd over diacetyl. The beer I referenced in #1988 was fermented with Wyeast 2206, which is a fairly good diacetyl reducer, but I've never heard or read that it produces 2,3 pd above the taste threshhold. So what were the mash/ferment conditions that would have created such an obvious 2,3 pd level? I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I'm really curious. Tom Martyn TMartyn at aol.com Brattleboro, VT Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 18:43:01 -0500 From: Keith Chamberlin <Keith.A.Chamberlin at gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: Adjustments from 5 to 10 gallon batches Jim Dipalma writes in HBD #1993: >BTW, you're eventually going to discover that there is more to >scaling up to 10 gallon recipes than simply doubling the ingredients in a 5 >gallon recipe. The darker specialty malts, chocolate, roasted barley, etc., >simply do not scale up in a linear fashion. I've been multiplying the dark >grains in my 5 gallon recipes by 1.5, and doing some tweaking. Just something >to be aware of when you go to brew a stout or porter on your new system. Ok, so if you have to tweak the dark grains, is there any tweaking to be done with the hopping? I've heard some people say just doubling the hops is a good place to start and you can adjust to your tastes once you get used to the new system, but I was wondering what some others results are. I know in talking with Glen Tinseth that one big factor that isn't included in his hop utilization table is how good a boil you have. Some that do electric stovetop boils probably don't get near the extraction of the outdoor 200,000 BTU propane cookers do. But consider that you would be boiling the same way what ratio change would you make to the hop addtions? BTW thanks to all who answered my question about iodophor calculations. Keith Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 13:40:29 CST From: korz at pubs.ih.att.com (Algis R Korzonas) Subject: Least attenuative/amylase/sugars/filtering/iodophor/fill level/colour Jack writes: >I checked the literature and it says 1084 is the >least attenuative of the Wyeast line. According to the literature I've gotten from Wyeast, Wyeast #1338, European Ale, is their least attenuative yeast. *** Bill writes: >Amylase enzyme *creates* sweetness by converting starch into sugar. >However, extract already has the sweetness converted (hence the name). Well, yes and no. Amylase converts starch into sugars *and* large sugars into medium-sized sugars *and* medium-sized sugars into small sugars. Generally speaking, the smaller the sugar is, the more sweet it is (i.e. fructose is sweeter than sucrose and sucrose is sweeter than lactose). Dextrins are not very sweet at all, but if you have a lot of them, your beer will be sweetish. Amylase will break down dextrins into fermentables which will subsequently be fermented by the yeast, so the sweetness Bill talks about won't get into your glass -- the yeast will eat it. Amylase will reduce sweetness if you have a very dextrinous wort. *** Russel writes, quoting Richard: >> - AVOID adding large amounts of corn sugar to the recipe. >I'd say avoid adding -any- at all, except to prime the bottles for >carbonation. Well, I disagree. You cannot make a beer like Duvel without adding some refined sugar. You just can't make a beer with its alcohol level and light body by using all-malt. Tripels and Dubbels also are going to be too heavy if you make them all-malt. You must add some refined sugars. Typically the Belgian brewers use candi sugar, but white candi sugar is just sucrose, so you can use table sugar, but the difference to the yeast between sucrose and glucose is primarily that they don't need to create invertase to break the sucrose down to its component glucose & frucose molecules. Use refined sugar when it's necessary. The problem is when you use 4 pounds of sugar and 3.3 pounds of malt extract -- that will make sorry-tasting beer! *** Tom writes (quoting Jim): >>As for lackluster beers from filtering, this can be a result of micro- >>filtration which is sterile filtration below 1 micron. I feel this is >>very undesirable. <snip> >I currently use 1 micron and .5 micron absolute (99.9% eff.) >filters for lagers and some light ales (pale ale, IPA, Koelsch, etc.) and >have not noticed a lack of body or head retention. You also have to consider the pressure at which you are forcing the beer through the filter. If you use too much pressure, you will push yeast through a filter with a pore size smaller than a yeast cell. Ed Busch, at the AHA Nationals a few years ago, talked about filtering and used a plastic bag partially filled with water as an example of a yeast cell. You can imagine how a bag partially filled plastic bag of water could fit through a hole much smaller than the actual bag dimensions, no? What I'm saying here is that if you force the beer through the filter at high pressure, you can push through yeast, protein, etc. making your 0.5 micron filter act more like a 3 micron filter. I'm not saying that this is what you're doing, Tom, but just bringing this up as a related point. It would explain why you don't get significant body loss from filtering at 0.5 microns. *** Keith writes: >I never really sat down and figured out how much liquid iodophor to use so >when I saw someone say they used 1/2 oz in 5 gallons I did calculate it and >that turned out to be about 781ppm, not the recommended 12.5 ppm. Am I >doing something wrong? I normally go by color, but would like to know what >12.5 and 25 ppm equate to in gallons and ounces. Sorry I'm not a chemist. You assumed that all the concentrate is iodine. The 12.5 to 25 ppm is the level of titratable iodine you want in the finished solution. Therefore, 1/2 ounce of concentrate per 5 gallons will give you what you want. *** Tom writes: >I read with interest Al Korzona's contribution on 3/22/96 regarding >fill levels and carbonation. Can anybody tell me why more airspace >would give better carbonation. I would think _more_ beer (and less >headspace) would produce more CO2. Also for the average tall neck >bottle, can anyone tell me the optimum fill level? How about for >Grolsch or Fischer Alsace bottles? One hypothesis is that the pressure in the bottles somehow slows the yeast down and this is why the "very full" bottles carbonate slower and perhaps incompletely. As for the "optimum" fill level, I would say between 3 and 5 cm. If it's a 16 ounce bottle, then I would imagine that 4 to 6 cm would be a good level. (P.S. That should be Al Korzonas' unless you prefer Korzonas's.) *** KennyEddy writes: >The formula is basically to take *each* ingredient -- grain, extract, sugar, >fruit, old nylons -- and multiply its weight in pounds times its lovibond >color rating. Add these all together, and divide by the batch size in >gallons. The lovibond rating is in degrees lovibond per pound per gallon, so >this is why the formula works. It works for a very small portion of the Lovibond scale. Check out Ray Daniels' three part series on beer colour in Brewing Techniques or the appendix in George & Laurie Fix's Vienna/Oktoberfest/Maerzen book. Personally, I feel that if you don't overdo any ingredient for the style, you will get the colour right. If you add a pound of Special B to a Pale Ale, it will be too dark. If you add 1/2 pound of chocolate malt to a Vienna it will be too dark. If you add anything but Pilsner and Dextrine malts to an American Pilsner, it will be too dark. If you don't use anything but DWC Pale Ale malt in Bitter it will come out too light (all M&F Pale is borderline too light) Use common sense and the colour will come out in the right range for the style. Al. Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL korz at pubs.att.com Copyright 1996 Al Korzonas Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 19:43:43 -0500 From: SandBrew at aol.com Subject: Cleaning chemicals Hi there. In an earlier posting, I recomended some cleaning chemicals produced by a company out here in Denver called Five Star. In particular, a compound called PBW is IMHO the best alkaline cleaner on the market. It appears that I am not alone. I have gotten a copy of a letter from George Fix to Five Star in which he states: "...I have decided in my own personal brewing to completely switch from a caustic based cleaner to your product, and a similar conclusion was reached in the two commercial operations (for which he consults for). The reasons for this are the following: (I) While the use of gloves is recommended when applying PBW (as it is for any cleaner) PBW is nevertheless orders of magnitude safer than caustic cleaners. In particular, problems associated with direct skin exposure are trivial in comparison. (II)PBW exhibited strong surface activity, remarkably so considering it is a safe product, As far as we could determine, PBW's surfactance is as strong as caustic cleaners. It can be used in CIP systems or manual systems with no loss of cleaning time over what is incurred with caustic cleaning solutions. (III) PBW has an excellent rinseability. There is a growing preference for rinsing equiptment with cold (rather than hot) water both on the front and back end of the cleaning cycle. PBW is well suited to such procedures, and with a standard acid sequestering step in this cycle, residual alkalai will not be a problem." This will be published in an upcoming article in Brewing Techniques. I have no interest in Five Star, I do have an interest in promoting safe and sanitary brewing and cleaning. If you are interested in this product you can contact Bob Nold at FiveStarAF at aol.com or at the upcoming brewers conference in Boston. Again if any one out there has any questions that I can help on please feel free to E-mail me. Thanks for the bandwidth. Wayne Waananen, Brewmaster, SandLot Brewery at Coors Field Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 20:05:49 -0500 From: ShoeJ at aol.com Subject: New RIMS Owner I have just purchased RIMS equipment from Brewcraft Ltd. I was wondering how different people have set up their RIMS systems. Especially the returns to the mashtun, and the outlets from the mashtun. Has anyone setone up with a GOT cooler? A rehabbed SS keg? Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks Dave Return to table of contents
Date: 25 Mar 96 20:35:43 EST From: Louis Gordon <103232.1227 at compuserve.com> Subject: Iodophor concentrations Replying to Keith Chamberlin and others who delute iodophor until the color looks right, 12.5 ppm equates to the following amounts: 10 Gallons = 1 Oz. = 2 Tablespoons 5 Gallons = 1/2 Oz. = 1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons 1 Gallon = 3/5 teaspoon = 36 drops 1 Quart = 9 drops Don't worry, a drop is the same amount regardless of the bottle it comes out of because of surface tension. Louis Gordon Minneapolis Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 14:43:04 mst From: "Barry Blakeley" <BlakeleB at den.disa.mil> Subject: Munich Helles Stinks Hi, all! I recently brewed a Munich Helles (or as close as I can get using extracts), and I noticed a rotten odor coming through the airlock. I used 6.3lb extract, some steeping grains and Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager. The yeast was 5 months old (I'll never buy yeast again without checking the date). It fermented at 60-75'F. I hoped the beer would not absorb the odor, but the first bottle I opened was really disgusting. The usual signs of bacterial infection are not present. What caused this odor and what should I do to prevent similar occurrences in the future? %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% "Those aliens from the 8th dimension? I'm looking at them right now!" Barry Blakeley blakeleb at den.disa.mil Denver, Colorado If I had 3 stars, my opinion would be that of the Defense Information Systems Agency. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 22:15:05 -0500 From: russ tjepkema <russtj at edgenet.net> Subject: RIMS Pump Now that I've got my converted keg, I want to add a RIMS pump. I'm looking for sources for the small pump. My one source, for reconditioned pumps, was sold out and didn't expect to get anymore. The other pumps he had could handle liquid temps up to 150 degrees (a little low). Any help appreciated Russ Return to table of contents