Homebrew Digest Thursday, 6 June 1996 Number 2061

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   FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
        Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
        Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!

Contents:
  immersion chiller summary (Dan)
  leaky corny kegs (BOBKATPOND at aol.com)
  False bottom question (diagen at netvision.net.il (Nir Navot))
  Re: Inline heating ("Kevin McEnhill")
  Kosher Beer (KJBREW at aol.com)
  Yeast/Water (ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange))
  A Wrench in the cogs of the Rumor Mill... ("Patrick G. Babcock")
  Re: leaky corny kegs ("Patrick G. Babcock")
  Hammermilling  and whirlpooling (Kathy Booth)
  Predicting Beer Color (George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro))
  Jethro Gump and Big Words ("David R. Burley")
  Results of an Apple Ale Attempt: Suggest (COLLICR1 at MAIL.STATE.WI.US)
  Kosher for Passover? ("Allan Rubinoff")
  Cold-conditioning ales leads to O2 staling? (Brian Bliss)
  Scottish Ale / Grain Bag Mashing / SUDS Malt & Hops Database Files (KennyEddy at aol.com)
  Airlock activity and wheat (Dan Morley)
  Am I the only one? (Marty Tippin)
  The Home Brew Rat/copyrights/Russell Mast/Mills/ (skotrat)
  Grassy tasting beer (gravels at TRISMTP.Npt.nuwc.navy.mil)
  When is a beer, not a beer? (rmast at fnbc.com)
  Re: transition to all grain, muddy brew (dipalma at sky.com (Jim Dipalma))
  Re: oxidation, yeast growth, RIMS reproducibility ("Tracy Aquilla")
  Re: When does your beer become beer? (Bill Rust)
  yeast packets ("Dave Higdon")
  Re: Irish What? (jfrane at teleport.com (Jeff Frane))
  Indoor use of burners (Steve Potter)
  Public Health Officials to shut down all homebrew supply outfits ("Keith Royster")
  Wort Chiller (matthew.t.apple.1 at nd.edu (Matt Apple))
  Re: RIMS Definition (jstone at stratacom.com (Joseph Stone))

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dan <DJTIM at delphi.com> Date: Tue, 04 Jun 1996 22:36:34 -0500 (EST) Subject: immersion chiller summary In HBD #2044 Greg King Posted on immersion chillers ..snip, snip... h>To get the same volume of water flowing through chillers with h>different tubing diameters, the chiller with the narrower tubing must h>be longer. The relationship is inversely proportional to the square of h>the tubing diameters. For example, 3/8" tubing is 1.5 times wider h>than 1/4" tubing, so the length of the 1/4" tubing chiller must be h>1.5*1.5 = 2.25 times longer than the 3/8" tubing chiller to hold the h>same volume of water. Sorry Greg but whoever told you that the smaller diameter chiller should be longer is incorrect and doesn't understand heat exchanger design. The underlying assumption of getting the same volume of water through the chiller is the right idea, but this should be accomplished by increasing the flow rate not length of tubing. If you lengthen the tubing and maintain the same flow rate all that will happen is that the extra length of tubing will become less effective at removing the heat from the wort. One of the critical factors in good heat exchanger design is maintaining a high temperature differential between the hot working fluid and the cold working fluid. As this temperature difference becomes smaller less heat transfer will occur. So what will happen is that with 1/4" tubing the water in that extra length of tubing will be getting very hot (approaching wort temperatures) and therefore its effectiveness at cooling becomes nil. Net result....the 1/4" diameter chiller should be SHORTER and not longer, IF you maintain the same flow rate. *********************** In HBD #2043 Jeremy E. Mirsky writes: >>My second question pertains to my hydrometer readings, which are >> >>usually discrepant with the recipe or the calculated gravity. This >>time I boiled about 3.5 gals of wort and tried to mix as well as I >>could with the water in the fermenter. Suds4.0 gave me a O.G. of >>1.046, yet my reading was about 1.038 (after cooling below 80 deg.) >>This has happened with most of my batches. Has anyone had similar >>experiences? and James Williams replies... >This may seem like a dumb question, but have you calibrated your >hydrometer? Test your hydometer by taking a reading using distilled >water. It should read 1.000. If not, the difference is the correction >factor you need to add or substract to your measurements in the future. This is a very good point. I was getting readings WAY off and found that when I calibrated my hydrometer it was off by 0.010!!!!! However, this didn't totally account for my differences between predicted and actual SG. I think that another factor is how strict you are on volumes. I usually add 1/2 gallon more water to account for racking losses. I believe this also contributes to the difference but I also believe that the predicted yield from the grains or and even extracts is very good guess but like everything else in life predictions and reality are two different things. Caution: I am a newbie with only 4 batches under my belt, so my responses are based on only a little experience and a lot of intuition. *********************** Cheers. This brew's for you. Dan Timmons djtim at delphi.com '[1;32m== IntJet: QWK, UK & US, Windows, GUI, OLR !! '[1;35;40m-=> Delphi Internet Jet SST v3.012 - (C) PBE Return to table of contents
From: BOBKATPOND at aol.com Date: Tue, 4 Jun 1996 22:09:36 -0400 Subject: leaky corny kegs I've been having problems with leaking around the lid on some of my kegs, I replaced the rubber seal without any improvement. Has anyone else had this problem or have a suggestion as to what to try next? TIA Bob Morris Return to table of contents
From: diagen at netvision.net.il (Nir Navot) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 10:01:55 +0300 (IDT) Subject: False bottom question Can someone sort out for me the issue of percent open area in mash/lauter tun false bottom? Specifically, what is an acceptable/normal area for a non-RIMS system for tuns with capacity of 1 bbl (US 31 gal) and up? Cheers, Nir - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nir's Brewery Rosh Haayin, 40800 Israel Fax 972.3.9012398 Return to table of contents
From: "Kevin McEnhill" <kevinm at kci.wayne.edu> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 05:58:19 -0500 Subject: Re: Inline heating In HBD#xxxx, "Michael T. Bell" <mikeb at flash.net> asked about in-line heating elements for a RIMS setup. I don't have a system yet but I did try my idea out in just plain water and it seemed to work fine. After reading Morris's articel on RIMS using a hotwater heating element, I thought about the carmalizing question alot. My solution (so far not tried on real wort), was to heat a water bath and run a copper tube with the wort inside through the boiling water. Actually, now that I think about it, what I had was an immersion chiller running backwards. Instead of the coils sitting in a pan of ice water, they were in boiling water. This arangment is what I am currently building (at an incredably slow pace) for Dragon's Inn Brewery (my wife still calls it the garage). I think this system has quite a few advantages to direct heating. First, the maximum temperature that touches the wort is 212F, surger doesn't carmalize at that temp. Second, the mass of the water bath will provide a more constant heating source than trying to control an electric element. Third, if you have an immersion chiller, you only need to ad a pump. Forth, if the pump quits while you are switching laundry, you don't have to worry about the heater burning the wort. The system seems elegant to me, and as soon as I can find a seven gallon boiling pot, I'll let everyone know how it worked. < Insert witty phrase here > kevinm at kci.wayne.edu <Kevin McEnhill> Return to table of contents
From: KJBREW at aol.com Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 08:13:13 -0400 Subject: Kosher Beer Although grains are kosher for passover by themselves, it is the action of yeast on the grains which makes them chometz or not for passover. Grains used in making matzoh are guarded from harvest to grinding to ensure that no moisture comes into contact with them. I think this guarantees that any MALT product is NOT kosher for passover. As far as wine goes, the wine is considered kosher if it was made by a jew. Concentrate must be certified kosher for the wine to be kosher, but wines from fresh fruit are automatically kosher if a jewish person makes them. Mead is also fine. I asked my brother, an ordained rabbi, about all of this and he explained it in great detail. There is alot more to kashruth than this, but, if your kitchen is kosher anything you make there will be kosher as long as the ingredients themselves are kosher. Malt, hops, yeast and water are parve, neither milk or meat, and are therefore kosher. Return to table of contents
From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 08:27:18 -0500 Subject: Yeast/Water Jonh Wilkinson had several questions in #2060: 1. From my understanding, what has been said before in hbd, the yeast will not respire in the presence of fermentable sugars in the wort. Is this not correct? Yes. Yeast, though equipped with the mechanisms for it (mitochondria) do very little respiration but understand that respiration has a very narrow meaning here: transfer of electrons to oxygen in the presence of hydrogen ions to form water. They do use oxygen mostly for other purposes. 2. If this is the case, will they [yeast] enter their reproductive stage again if oxygen is introduced later while there are still fermentable sugars present? Yes, provided the other nutrients they need for growth (FAN, essential amino acids) are also present. This is why oxygenation is avoided later in the fermentation. The yeast will revert to reproduction and produce the metabolites associated with that phase which are not usually desireable. Some brewers do purposefully aerate later in the fermentation because they want these fermentation products. 3.Also, if the reproductive or growth stage produces undesirable byproducts then most of us must get them in our brews as we usually underpitch and aerate the wort. In my opinion, this is true although in my own brewing I find that the consequences of oxygenation to or above saturation are less than the evils of not oxygenating. It depends on the style of beer and the yeast strain. 4. If reusing yeast from a previous batch where there is probably an adequate amount, should we avoid aerating the wort to avoid yeast entering a growth phase and producing these undesirable byproducts? I think everyone agrees that you should oxygenate to air saturation levels (20%, 8mg/L). Some will say don't go above this. I'll say do. In truth I think it depends on the strain of yeast, the beer being brewed, the gravity of the wort, the pitching level and so on. The best thing to do is experiment and see what level of aeration gives the best results in the finished beer. I consistently get better results with higher levels and suspect it is because I never have an adequate cell count (even though I typically reach about 8E6/mL) but it may also be the particular strains I use. 5. I am thinking of buying an oxygen bottle so I can be sure I have enough O2 in solution. I understand the yeast clear the O2 from the wort in short order but how long should it take for them to complete what growth they are going to have and settle out? In my experience, once the starter gets past the first couple of feedings the rate of oxygen and sugar consumption soars. As a practical matter I oxygenate once in the morning and once in the evening when the culture is at the liter level. I usually do the last feedings and aerations on a weekend day and oxygenate several times about half an hour apart. About half an hour after the last oxygenation fermentation starts and that is usually over in a couple of hours. One can then decant, replenish the wort and resume oxygenation. Don't worry about the few cells that go down the drain with the spent wort. You are selecting for those with better flocculation properties. 6. ...my brewing water is very soft and low ph. I don't see that I would need added calcium for acidification since the water is already acidic but do I need it for break formation and for the yeast? If so, won't the mash be acidified even more? pH is a measure of the imbalance between alkalinity and acidity, not the amount of either. The amount of calcium needed for pH adjustment depends very much upon the grain you are using. You don't say anything about the alkalinity of your water but soft water is usually low in alkalinity so that not much calcium is needed for acid adjustment, even with the palest Pilsner malts. A little extra calcium for the sake of break formation, yeast metabolism, etc, can't hurt. If added as the sulfate (gypsum) harsh hops bitterness will result. If added as the carbonate the pH will increase but this may be desired if high kilned malts have pulled the pH too low. Calcium chloride is more or less neutral but does, of course, lead to salty tastes if sodium is high which it shouldn't be if the water is soft. Soft water is usually OK as is for Pilsners. If you don't like the pH try calcium chloride as a calcium source or add a little lactic acid to the mash. A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore! ajdel at interramp.com Return to table of contents
From: "Patrick G. Babcock" <pbabcock at ford.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 09:16:07 -0400 Subject: A Wrench in the cogs of the Rumor Mill... Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... The rumor that Russell Mast, Scott Abene and I are one in the same is false, groundless, and totally untrue. I have it under good authority that, in the wee hours of the afternoon yesterday, right-wing extremists of the Humorless Bastard Brigade joined with the Post Content Vigilantes and snuck into the AOL server, subdued Majordomo, and planted a message to create the effect! Hell! I don't even CARE that Irish brewpubs proudly display their toilets behind glass windows for all their patrons to see! I don't even CARE about some ridiculous 1-800 number that you call to hear some Moronic Dork [TM - the Boston Brewing Company] try to sound like a Trappist Monk in Kokomo Indiana, only to find its a toll-free answering machine (someone OBVIOUSLY has far too much time and money on their hands...). Nor due I claim familiarity with Heather and her exploits! Of course, I must admit to having seen Ginger in her Gilligan's Island days. I hear she didn't age well... Heck! I don't even have the shirt! ('Course John & John do. Well done, Commando Russ!) Let's put this issue to rest now! The perpetrators *WILL* be discovered! They *WILL* be punished (as if this isn't punishement enough)! I have already place my order for the case of Bud Red Light Ice which they will have to drink in retribution! Beware the Frozen Crimson Illuminated Acetaldehyde Avenger! Um, er, coffee's a little strong this morning... See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at oeonline.com http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/brew.html Copyright 1996 Juan Valdez. Doctor sez only half the rights are reserved 'cause caffeine makes me nervous. Return to table of contents
From: "Patrick G. Babcock" <pbabcock at ford.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 09:19:51 -0400 Subject: Re: leaky corny kegs Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... On Jun 4, 10:09pm, Bob Morris wrote: > Subject: leaky corny kegs > I've been having problems with leaking around the lid on some of my kegs, I > replaced the rubber seal without any improvement. Has anyone else had this > problem or have a suggestion as to what to try next? TIA Try some Keg Lube [tm] or Lubrifilm [tm] on the large o-ring. Or any other "sterile" vegetable-based lubricant. Avoid vaseline - it attacks the rubber of the seal. Avoid K-Y - it is water (hence, beer) soluble. See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at oeonline.com http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/brew.html Copyright 1996 Johnson & Johnson. All rights friction-free. Return to table of contents
From: Kathy Booth <kbooth at isd.ingham.k12.mi.us> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 09:25:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Hammermilling and whirlpooling In a commercial brewery tour in Portland, (Widmer?) they used hammermills for grinding. I was under the impression that the whirlpooling process removed the particles of husk that would be probematic to the homebrewer without industrial equipment. Its been acouple of years so the exact placement of the whirlpool in the flow chart is unclear to me. Also unclear is how you sparge the mash with hammermilled grist. I used a hammermill in feed grain situations, and the grain is thrown against a strike plate and then the reduced particles escape thru a sieve as I remember from a distant childhood. Cheers, jim booth, lansing, mi Return to table of contents
From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 10:29:26 -0700 Subject: Predicting Beer Color I've noticed that when trying to predict beer color using the data in the Zymurgy Great Grain Special Issue, the beers are usually a tad lighter than I calculate. Should the "potential color" number also be multiplied by your efficiency, or am I just experiencing variation amongst different lots/brands of malt? George De Piro (Nyack, NY) Return to table of contents
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM> Date: 05 Jun 96 10:21:49 EDT Subject: Jethro Gump and Big Words Rob Moline of Little Apple Brewing, Manhattan, Kansas, and now of Jethro Gump Brewing continues to insist that his methods do not support theory. He adds sugar solution to his secondary without stirring and waits long enough for diffusion to completely disperse the sugar. I guess you Kansassians are really patient. All I have to say about using big words like Brownian is, if you can't walk the walk, don't talk the talk {;-) Keep on brewing, Dave Burley 103164.3202 at compuserve.com Return to table of contents
From: COLLICR1 at MAIL.STATE.WI.US Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 09:29:44 -0500 Subject: Results of an Apple Ale Attempt: Suggest I've been homebrewing on and off for the last 9 months and finally had a beer turn out. I had a little problem with bleach in the first couple of attempts. Anyway, I tried to make an all extract Apple Ale. Here's ther recipe: 5 lbs Light Malt Extract 4.5 gallons of Preservative Free Apple Cider 1.5 oz Cascade Hops 1 package dry Edme Ale Yeast I boiled the Extract with 1.5 gallons of water for 40 minutes Adding the 1 oz of hops at the beginning and .5 oz of hops with 3 minutes left. After cooling the wort, I added it to the 4.5 gallons of Apple Cider and pitched the yeast. Admittedly, I didn't take a hydrometer reading. I fermented this mixture for 2 weeks and then kegged it in the 5 liter mini-kegs using 1/3 cup of corn sugar as priming for the batch. After ten days, I decided it was time to give this brew a try. I was delighted that it actually tasted like beer, unlike my other attempts, but I was surprised that the Cider did not impart a stronger apple flavor or sweetness. It actually tastes more like a peach beer to me than an apple beer. The body of the beer is real good though. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I could adjust my recipe to get more Apple flavor and sweetness. I've read that for the sweetness I could add lactose or other unfermentables and would appreciate any comments about this method that you'd be willing to share. Thanks in advance, Craig Return to table of contents
From: "Allan Rubinoff" <allan_rubinoff at mathworks.com> Date: 5 Jun 1996 10:28:18 -0400 Subject: Kosher for Passover? In HBD #2060, Mark Garetz <mgaretz at hoptech.com> writes: > What is not kosher for passover is any bread or cake that has been leavened > or in other words allowed to rise. This is usually caused by yeast, but > leavening by baking powder is out too. > > One might assume, therefore, that NO beer can be kosher for passover because > it contains yeast. Can't say for sure, but my opinion would be that yeast > itself is not a problem because WINE is an integral part of the passover > seder (meal) and we know that is fermented by the actions of yeast the same > as beer. Using this reasoning, I would assume that beer could be construed > to be kosher for passover. When the dietary laws were written, they didn't > know yeast existed, and various rabbinical bodies over the years have > interpreted and reinterpreted the laws (dietary and otherwise) to fit the > times. This is self-contradictory. Wine is OK because there is no grain involved. Beer is not OK precisely because it does fit the category of "bread or cake that has been leavened." The combination of grain and leavening makes beer strictly forbidden for Passover. The leavening doesn't even need to be added by the brewer (or baker), either. It can be present in the air or in the ingredients. To make matzoh kosher for Passover, it must be baked within a few minutes (18?) of mixing the flour with water. This is to prevent any leavening from taking place, through the activation of wild yeast in the flour or air. Given this constraint, it's obviously impossible to make beer kosher for Passover. Allan Rubinoff rubinoff at mathworks.com Return to table of contents
From: Brian Bliss <brianb at microware.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 09:39:38 CDT Subject: Cold-conditioning ales leads to O2 staling? Ken Willing <kwilling at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> writes: > So I'm back to my original question: Is headspace O2 a legitimate concern, > or is it unlikely as a source of O2 leading to staling? (I'm referring to > high-melanoidin ales whose staling problem I initially thought was > melanoidin mediated; but hot-side aeration has been radically eliminated, so > it seems doubtful that early melanoidin oxidation is the cause.) > > For some time, I've been fining my ales with gelatin and then > cold-conditioning them in the secondary vessel at around 4C. for a couple of > weeks, before bottling. I have a persistent problem of these beers going > cardboardy, muddy, with loss of distinctiveness of flavor, etc., as early as > 6 weeks in the bottle. Given this kind of cold-conditioning, full > carbonation after priming/bottling can take up to a month; so the beer is > sometimes good to drink for only about two weeks... > > My question is: After cold-conditioning that drops nearly all the yeast out > of suspension, is it conceivable that the remaining low yeast contingent in > the bottle is simply insufficient to absorb oxygen quickly enough to prevent > reactions with dissolved and headspace O2 to form staling compounds? Use polyclar to drop the yeast out, instead of gelatin. It reduces oxidation in the beer & removes excess tannins, both to a point. Free O2 may not be your problem, however. When you drop the yeast out as you are doing (ala english bitters), rather than letting the beer sit on the yeast for a few weeks after fermentation appears to mostly be over, you are not giving the yeast a chance to reduce the acetaldehyde in the beer (which it produced earlier). Acetaldehyde is responsibe for a fresh "green apple" flavor, quite to my liking. It is, however, inherently unstable, and will lead to the staling you describe in a matter of a few weeks. If it is long-term stability you are after, then don't drop the yeast out as early, and introdue fresh yeast at bottling time. This will help carbonation develop more quickly, absorb free O2 left in the beer, so the beer will be better earlier and last longer. If someone knows a way to prevent acetaldehyde from decomposing (or slow the process down - while keeping the beer at the proper serving temperature), please let us know. bb - ------------------------------ Return to table of contents
From: KennyEddy at aol.com Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 10:50:23 -0400 Subject: Scottish Ale / Grain Bag Mashing / SUDS Malt & Hops Database Files Clark D. Ritchie asks for a Scottish Ale recipe. I whipped up a Heavy last winter that has gotten great reviews, so I'll pass it on here: 8 lb Light DME (or 10 - 11 lb pale malt for all-grain) 2-4 oz chocolate malt (for color) 1 lb 40L crystal 1/2 lb Peated 1/2 oz Perle (7.5%) 30 min 1/2 oz Chinnok (11.3%) 20 min 1 oz Fuggle (4.5%) 10 min (about 20 IBU) Wyeast European Ale (had a bad experience once with the Scottish yeast!) Ferment at 65F 1 week (need plenty of headspace!!) secondary 2 weeks at 65F OG 1.070 FG 1.020 Ages well! I'd perhaps kick up the hopping just a bit but it's pretty decent as-is. BTW I've tasted similar recipes with 2 lb and 3 lb of the peated malt - -- I think 1/2 lb is perfect to prevent this form becoming a Rauchbier! Those other brews were simply overpoweringly peaty. This is a pretty big beer but the dry smokiness takes the edge off the alcohol. As I said, a bit more IBU's (maybe 25 or so) would perfect the balance. ************** Chris Cooper's method of all-grain brewing may have its flaws for that kind of process, but it leads to a somewhat simpler way to partial-mash than trying to rig up a lauter tun / sparge apparatus in the kitchen. Mash your grains in a grain bag that is tied such that the grains are quite loose (not compacted). Meanwhile, prepare some clear water (maybe a gallon or so) in another vessel by heating to ~170F. After conversion, "steep" the bag up and down several times in the mash water. Now lift the bag, allow the grain to drain into the mash water, then do the same dippity-doo rinse a few times in the clear water. Again, lift and drain over the rinse water pot. Combine the contents of the two vessels, heat to boil, add extract, and proceed. If you're patient or have another vessel handy, you can get better extraction using a second rinse vessel, but this probably is just getting that "last 10%". Note that you need to be sure that the volume of mash water plus the volume of rinse water will still fit into one vessel or the other! ************** I updated my copy of SUDS with the grain data form the Zymurgy Great Grain Issue, and hop info from a variety of sources. I've posted the SUDSMALT.DBF and SUDSHOP.DBF files at ftp://users.aol.com/kennyeddy/files/sudsmh.zip if anyone wants to expand their SUDS databases. You can get at it through my web page as well (URL below). **FAIR WARNING** -- these files will overwrite your current files, and saved recipes using now-non-existent "old names" will come up with goofy color/gravity figures. Hops data will be unaffected. You might want to add the stock SUDS grains back in, along with any you've added, or rewrite your recipes with the new database in place. ************** Ken Schwartz KennyEddy at aol.com http://users.aol.com/kennyeddy Return to table of contents
From: Dan Morley <morleyd at cadvision.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 09:16:42 -0600 Subject: Airlock activity and wheat Hello, I have a question that has been puzzling me since I started brewing with wheat. I have done numerous beers (extract and all-grain) using anywhere from 5% to 50% wheat. Whenever I use any amount of wheat, I find that there is always bubbles passing through the air-lock of the secondary, no matter how long I let it sit in the secondary for. And I always have a rim of fine white foam around the top of the secondary. When I brew without wheat, I find that eventually the bubbles stop (or get very slow). The first wheat beer I made I left it in the secondary for six weeks, thinking that it was still fermenting!!, thankfully I have learned how to determine when fermentation is complete other that counting bubbles! Does anyone know what it is with wheat that will cause the foam and the continuous activity in the air-lock?? Thanks Dan Morley Return to table of contents
From: Marty Tippin <martyt at sky.net> Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 10:51:49 -0500 Subject: Am I the only one? (I know everyone is tired of this sort of post, so I'll keep it brief. Don't bother flaming me either; we both have better things to do...) Am I the only one who is consistently getting a slow feed on homebrew digest mailings?? The digest consistently shows up around 10:00pm CDT - a good 22 hours or so after it was supposedly "sent" - putting me well behind the curve on information dissemination. Used to always be waiting in my inbox by 6:00AM CDT before "the big change." I find this delay more than a little distressing. I can manually request the digest from majordomo and get response in a matter of seconds, so it's obviously not a problem at my end nor anwyhere in between. Shawn tells me the delay si because I'm at sky.net, and the mail is sent alphabetically by domain; if that's true, I sure feel sorry for the folks at yellow.submarine.com and zulu.net... Anyway, if you're in the same boat I am, PLEASE be sure to fire off a letter to Shawn telling him about it - maybe something will be done if enough people voice their complaints. - -Marty Return to table of contents
From: skotrat <skotrat at wwa.com> Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 11:09:16 -0500 Subject: The Home Brew Rat/copyrights/Russell Mast/Mills/ From: pbabcock at ford.com Date: Tue, 4 Jun 1996 16:40:41 -0500 Subject: The Home Brew Rat/copyrights/Russell Mast/Mills/ Pssssssst Buddy, Wanna buy a Grain Mill? It's adjustable. copyright but not sold by Scott Abene (1996) ################################################################ # ThE-HoMe-BrEw-RaT # # Scott Abene <skotrat at wwa.com> # # http://miso.wwa.com/~skotrat (the Homebrew "Beer Slut" page) # # OR # # http://miso.wwa.com/~skotrat/Brew-Rat-Chat/ (Brew-Rat-Chat) # # "Get off your dead ass and brew" # # "If beer is liquid bread, maybe bread is solid beer" # ################################################################ Return to table of contents
From: gravels at TRISMTP.Npt.nuwc.navy.mil Date: Wed, 05 Jun 96 12:20:44 EST Subject: Grassy tasting beer Hi All, I kegged a brown ale on Sunday and dry hopped in the keg with 3/4 oz. of Tettenanger hops in a nylon hop bag, I weighted the bag down with sanitized marbles and attached it to the liquid in tube with a sanitized binder clip. This is the first time I've dry hopped in the keg. I usually dry hop in the secondary. Here's the problem; My beer tastes grassy! Now, don't get me wrong, I like grass, I walk on it all the time, but I don't like drinking it! What is the problem? Is it the hops? I can still taste the true hops flavor behind the grassyness. I've used these hops before, but not for dry hopping, and have never tasted anything like this. Could it be that I just need to let the hops age a little? If so, will they age properly under 30 psi. of CO2? I guess I'll just have to drink pour a pint from the other keg for awhile and try not to worry while I'm waiting for replies..... Thanx, Steve Gravel Newport, Rhode Island "Homebrew, It's not just a hobby, It's an adventure!" Return to table of contents
From: rmast at fnbc.com Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 11:35:17 -0500 Subject: When is a beer, not a beer? > From: Mary Towle <MTOWLE at mhz.com> > Subject: When does your beer become beer? > In determining the age of your beer, when is ground zero? It really depends on what you're talking about. If you mean for telling people how old your beer is, like if they ask the age, I usually try to give both numbers. Like "I started this batch 6 weeks ago, but it's only been in the bottle for one week" or something. > Or, when does your beer become beer? I like to go with a Gibsonian definition, using the concept of affordances - a beer becomes beer when it says "drink me", often only moments before quaffing, but sometimes that's still while it's boiling. (If you know what a Gibsonian is, raise your hand, and then go soak your head.) > - - - - One of us says it is beer as soon as you pitch the yeast. That sounds more like religious bias than gender bias. Doesn't the book of Isiah say "God knew you before you were in the carboy" or something like that? > What does the homebrewing public have to say about it? As the official spokesperson for no one in particular, I'd like to say "who cares?" Thank you. The one thing I can safely say is that as long as your equipment is kosher, the beer is kosher, whether or not it's beer yet. Russell Mast copyright 1996, Stuart Cheshire. Return to table of contents
From: dipalma at sky.com (Jim Dipalma) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 12:51:45 EDT Subject: Re: transition to all grain, muddy brew Hi All, In HBD #2060, Bill Kowalski writes: >A saccharification rest at 155-160F is (at best) at the upper limit of the >saccharification temperature range, and will produce a very high ratio of >unfermentables to fermentables. Additionally, conversion at these >temperatures requires a much longer period than at cooler temps (say 150F), Sorry, I have to disagree. At the cooler temps, you'll get mostly beta amylase activity. This is something of an over-simplification, but essentially beta amylase breaks a single glucose molecule of the end of a starch chain - significant starch reduction does not occur with beta amylase alone. A mash held at 150F will convert of course, but that's because alpha amylase is also active at that temperature. To illustrate this point, there was a tangentially related thread that appeared on this forum recently regarding the use of well-modified malts in a decoction mashing schedule. Specifically, the discussion focused on the effect of leaving the rest mash at protein rest temperatures for an extended period of time when the malt was already highly modified. It was felt that too much protein reduction was taking place, and the body and head retention of the finished product was suffering. I adapted my decoction schedule accordingly, and shortly thereafter brewed a pils where the rest mash was left at 130-135F for over an hour while the decoction was processed. Just before adding the decoction back, I tasted the mash. It was noticeably sweet, but an iodine test showed it had not converted. This was exactly what I expected - beta amylase alone would produce some sweetness, due to the production of glucose and the subsequent formation of maltose, but not full conversion. OTOH, I have found 155F to be an ideal temperature for rapid conversion, as there is significant activity by both alpha and beta amylase at that temperature. I routinely hold the first saccharification rest at 155F when doing decoction mashes, as it makes no sense to manipulate the sacc. rest temperature of thick decoctions. The wort sugar profile is altered when the decoction is boiled anyway (some caramelization, more unfermentables), regardless of which conversion temperature was used, so it makes sense to select a temperature that leads to fast conversion. Over the past 4 years and 50-60 decoction mashed batches, I've had only 3 or 4 occasions where the decoction failed to convert fully in 30 minutes and required a longer rest. >so I don't think a 30 minute rest is going to do the job. See above. >Chris' post got me thinking about a question that has been on my mind for a >while now: When we make high gravity beers, we usually take the first >runnings from the mash for the high gravity beer, and then either use >subsequent runnings for a "small" beer or just discard the remaining sugars >with the grain. My question is why don't we just keep recirculating the >first runnings until all the soluble sugars are "rinsed" from the grain? The >first runnings are obviously not saturated with sugars (or else we wouldn't >be able to perform concentrated boils with malt extract) so we should still >be able to dissolve additional sugars into these runnings. I guess the >easiest way to answer this question would be just to try it and see what >happens, but if anyone has any ideas or insights, I'd love to hear them. Well, I think you certainly *can* improve extraction by increased recirculation of the first runnings. From what I've read of Dave Miller's writings, I believe this is exactly how he obtains the rather gaudy extraction numbers he reports. However, I think there's a tradeoff here. Recirculation, unless done in a tightly insulated closed system like a RIMS, will result in heat loss and an increased risk of HSA. If you're like most of us and collect the initial runoff in a small pan and manually return it to the top of the tun, this can be a problem. There is also the time factor. Grain is cheap and time is precious, so IMHO it's easier to just toss another pound or two of base malt on the grain bill rather than go to great lengths to squeeze every last bit of sugar out of a mash. One man's opinion. ***************************************************************** Also in HBD #2060, Tom Puskar writes: >I made an all grain batch to use as my first kegged batch. >Now, here's the problem. The batch looks like muddy water! >1. When I chilled the batch, I adjusted the flow of both cooling water and >wort so the wort cooled to about 70F. It ran into the chiller quite clear >but came out cloudy. I think maybe I din't precipitate the cold break enough >and instead of dropping out in the fermenter it just stayed as a sort of >emulsion. I've never used a CF chiller, but 10 minutes cooling time sounds very fast to me. Is this normal for a CF chiller?? >2. The yeast is a really lousy flocculator and is just staying in >suspension. Could be, some strains I've used stubbornly refuse to drop out of suspension. If it is yeast, gelatin will take it out, but since you've already kegged the batch gelatin is not really an alternative. >4. The beer gods were angry with me on brewing day. Why, were you wearing plaid? :-) >Oh yeah, I did a single infusion with the strike water at about 170 and >setlling in to about 155 for an hour. No protein rest. What malt did you use?? Was it a domestic malt by any chance?? Tom, I'm inclined to agree that the cloudiness is cold break material. The fact that it went into the chiller clear and came out cloudy is kind of a big clue that's what it is. If you used a domestic or undermodified malt, and skipped a protein rest, the wort likely had a somewhat higher protein content than normal. The rapid chilling time would have coagulated a great deal of this protein, and given you a large quantity of cold break material. I have this happen when I brew in the winter and my tap water is only about 45F. I can chill 11-12 gallons of wort in 15-20 minutes, but the cold break looks like huge wads of cotton candy floating around in the fermenter. Unfortunately, I'm at a loss to suggest a remedy. I've got a couple of batches at home that were unknowingly brewed with a very poor quality malt, horribly undermodified, that have the same problem. Large amounts of cold break that stubbornly refuses to settle out, the beer looks like mud. I've tried extensive cold conditioning, fining with polyclar, then with gelatin, no luck. If anyone has a solution, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Cheers, Jim dipalma at sky.com Return to table of contents
From: "Tracy Aquilla" <aquilla at salus.med.uvm.edu> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 13:03:28 CDT Subject: Re: oxidation, yeast growth, RIMS reproducibility In Digest #2060: Ken Willing <kwilling at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> wrote: >So I'm back to my original question: Is headspace O2 a legitimate concern, >or is it unlikely as a source of O2 leading to staling? IMO, yes, it's a legitimate concern and it is possibly the main source of O2 leading to the staling of bottled beer. >My question is: After cold-conditioning that drops nearly all the yeast out >of suspension, is it conceivable that the remaining low yeast contingent in >the bottle is simply insufficient to absorb oxygen quickly enough to prevent >reactions with dissolved and headspace O2 to form staling compounds? Yes, it's conceivable. Even if the beer isn't cold-conditioned for a long time and there remains a 'normal' amount of yeast in suspension, it probably won't be able to absorb all of the O2 from the headspace. The key is to minimize the O2 in the bottle. There was a decent article on minimizing O2 in bottled beers in Brewing Techniques recently (March/April '96). John Wilkinson <jwilkins at imtn.tpd.dsccc.com> wrote: >I have been recently reading the CAMRA Homebrewing book and a very nice >read it is, too. The author stated that oxygen in the wort caused the >yeast to respire and multiply. From my understanding, what has been said >before in hbd, the yeast will not respire in the presence of fermentable >sugars in the wort. Is this not correct? It is true, S. cerevisiae cannot respire (i.e. oxidative phosphorylation) in wort. The reason for the misnomer is that many people equate respiration with the uptake of oxygen, while biochemically-speaking, it's much more than that. >The gist of what the books author >said was fine in that he was pointing out that oxygen was necessary for >yeast growth and should not be present later. Oxygen is not necessary/required for the growth of S. cerevisiae, but it is required by most other species of yeast (eg. Brettanomyces. sp.). >A part I am still not sure of, though, >is what causes the yeast to go into a reproductive phase. Is it the >presence of oxygen and fermentable sugars? If this is the case, will they >enter their reproductive stage again if oxygen is introduced later while >there are still fermentable sugars present? I think A.J. deLange said that >in hbd #2059. It would seem to make sense. There's really no such thing as a 'reproductive phase'. Any suitable carbon substrate (eg. sugar) will allow yeast to bud. The rate of budding is very slow during the lag phase and fastest during the log phase, but the cells continue to bud throughout the entire fermentation, until the level of fermentable sugar is depleted. However, when a fermenting culture is provided with O2 (i.e. aerobic fermentation), it will both ferment and bud even faster, but will not respire. Aerobic fermentation will also produce certain compounds (particularly acids) in higher quantities than will anaerobic fermentation. This can taint the beer. Oxygen doesn't really make the yeast grow, it just makes it grow faster. > Also, if the reproductive or >growth stage produces undesirable byproducts then most of us must get them >in our brews as we usually underpitch and aerate the wort. If reusing >yeast from a previous batch where there is probably an adequate amount, >should we avoid aerating the wort to avoid yeast entering a growth phase and >producing these undesirable byproducts? I suppose for brews done from >starters we have to aerate our wort and just accept the byproducts as an >adequate amount of yeast from a starter seems unlikely. Wort DO levels have a most significant impact on esters, although wort composition, fermentation temperature, and the yeast strain used also have a significant impact. It is true, by underpitching and aerating the wort, one is providing conditions conducive to ester production, but whether or not this is desirable depends on the style being brewed. With most ales, esters are desirable, while with some ales and most lagers, they are not. One way to minimize ester production is to use a higher pitching rate and minimize or even completely avoid wort aeration (and keep the temp down). Repitching the yeast from one batch to the next usually amounts to overpitching slightly. In such a case, one can expect less esters, even if the wort is aerated, but there will still be a significant amount of budding going on. >I understand the yeast clear the O2 from the wort >in short order but how long should it take for them to complete what growth >they are going to have and settle out? How long should I wait after each >step to be safe in decanting the liquid. Or should I even worry until >time to pitch? I wait 2-3 days. It's usually just about done in 2, and most of the yeast has dropped to the bottom by 3. The only time to worry is when the yeast is old and has been sitting more than a week. In that case, feed it once before pitching. "Keith Royster" <keith.royster at ponyexpress.com> wrote: >Perhaps. But I'll have had the enjoyment of building my RIMS, I'll be >done sooner and with much less effort, especially if you're brewing >a style that calls for a stepped infusion mash or a decoction mash. >And I'll also be able to reproduce it much more accurately. First, I'd like to address the last statement. I don't do RIMS and I'm skeptical of this comment. Can someone who does RIMS please provide some comparative variance numbers to support this claim? When referring to accurate reproduction, are we talking basically about the OG and fermentability of the wort, or something more? Secondly, I'd like to hear from RIMS users who do decoction mashes. Do you think RIMS and decoctions go well together? Maybe I'll try... Tracy Return to table of contents
From: Bill Rust <wrust at csc.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 13:19 EDT Subject: Re: When does your beer become beer? Good day Brewsters, Robert A. Uhl writes... >> - - - One of us says it is beer as soon as you pitch the yeast. > >Wrongo. At the moment of pitching, one has a 5 gallon drum of really >nasty sweet stuff. This is known as wort... Actually, that's incorrect. The pro brewers I've talked to claim that it's beer when you add the yeast. BTW, good luck to all the finalists in the NHC today! ----------------------------------------------------------- Bill Rust, Master Brewer | for (beer=99; beer>0; beer--) { Jack Pine Savage Brewery | take_one_down(); Shiloh, IL (NACE) | pass_it_around(); } ----------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------ Return to table of contents
From: "Dave Higdon" <DAVEH at qesrv1.bwi.wec.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 13:32:17 EST Subject: yeast packets when is it best to pitch liquid yeast, when the pack expands to 1 inch, on the day when the incubation period = months old, or what ever comes first. Return to table of contents
From: jfrane at teleport.com (Jeff Frane) Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 11:28:25 -0700 Subject: Re: Irish What? >From: "FINLEY, BARRY CURTIS" <BFINLEY at MUSIC.CC.UGA.EDU> >Date: Tue, 04 Jun 1996 13:48:50 EDT >Subject: Irish brown ale > > >I would like to get some ideas for brewing an Irish brown ale. No offense intended, but what the hell is an Irish brown ale? Other than another bogus marketing scheme from Coors, I don't see that it's a real beerstyle. The Irish do drink a couple of beers that aren't stout (although not much) but, historically, they brew porter. Period. Some of it is stout porter, true, but still: porter. If you want to brew an Irish brown ale, it sounds like you can do anything you want and call it Irish brown ale. That's probably what Coors did. - --Jeff Frane (x) non-copyright material included Return to table of contents
From: Steve Potter <spotter at Meriter.com> Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 13:38:36 -0500 Subject: Indoor use of burners I am interested in setting up a natural gas burner in my basement. All the information tha I have come across so far relates to LP burners, not NG burners. My specific questions are as follows: 1. With a 30,000 BTU NG burner, what is the realistic risk of using it in a basement? Return to table of contents
From: "Keith Royster" <keith.royster at ponyexpress.com> Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 15:42:36 -0500 Subject: Public Health Officials to shut down all homebrew supply outfits OK, now that I have your attention, I would like to bring a serious story to your attention. A friend of mine who runs a mail-order homebrew supply store out of his home had a surprise visit very recently by a women from the county health dept. Apparently someone complained that he was packing hops without a permit! No, I'm not joking, this really happened! Apparently you need a permit from the county health dept. to repackage and sell consumables(?). He has been most generously (what's the emoticon for sarcasm?) granted 30 days to either pack it up and close, or make the necessary modifications to his outfit and apply for a permit. Since he doesn't have the $20,000 necessary for the latter option, it looks like he may have to close down. This could have far reaching implications, so in the interest of helping a fellow homebrewer out, and to protect our own interests in homebrewing, I'm hoping that somebody out in the HBD collective knows something about this and how to get out of it. It seems to me that he should not be subject to the health officials since he is not producing or processing the hops. He's only repackaging them. Besides, do hops fall under the definition of consumables? I don't know about you but after using them I throw mine out, except for the rare occasion when I feed them to my golden retriever (sorry, bad joke). Please, oh grand HBD wisdom, don't fail me now! Keith Royster - Keith.Royster at ponyexpress.com at your.service - http://dezines.com/ at your.service Mooresville, North Carolina Return to table of contents
From: matthew.t.apple.1 at nd.edu (Matt Apple) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 17:50:05 -0500 Subject: Wort Chiller Quick question from an ignorant newbie... I just got a wort immersion chiller, courtesy of UPS. What the heck am I supposed to do with it? Do I dunk it into the brew pot or what? Also, I got a faucet adapter for my carboy/bottler jetspray cleaner, but it only fits the bathroom sink, not the kitchen sink (since I live in an apartment, there's no outside faucet or basement). Maybe I need a plumber... Matt A. matthew.t.apple.1 at nd.edu http://www.nd.edu/~mapple - --- End of forwarded mail from Homebrew Return to table of contents
From: jstone at stratacom.com (Joseph Stone) Date: Wed, 5 Jun 96 18:51:26 PDT Subject: Re: RIMS Definition I've decided to leave the RIMS acronym well enough alone, however, I did like the terminology of Kirk Fleming, Ken Koupal and others. Continuous Recirculation of the Wort (i.e. Pump) Heat (Gas/Electric) Applied in the Recirculation Path (Inline/Direct) Feedback-Based Temperature Control (Manual/Automated/Programmable) I've attempted to enumerate a few variations, Manual Gas Inline RIMS Example. The Rodney Morris' prototype, a "spiral of 3/8-inch copper tubing which he placed over a (gas) burner...". The heat delivered by the gas burner is manually adjusted based on the observed response of a temperature sensing device. Manual Gas Direct RIMS Example. Identical to the Manual Gas Inline RIMS only the heat from the gas burner is applied directly to the mash vessel. Manual Electric Inline RIMS Example. An electric heater element in a tube. The power applied to the heater element is manually adjusted based on the observed response of a temperature sensing device. Manual Electric Direct RIMS Example. Identical to the Manual Electric Inline RIMS only the electric heater element would be located within the mash vessel. Automated Electric Inline RIMS Example. Identical to the Manual Electric Inline RIMS only a controller adjusts the power applied to the heater element based on the feedback of a temperature sensing device. The controller is capable of maintaining a single temperature without human intervention. This is the original Morris' RIMS. Programmable Electric Inline RIMS Example. Identical to the Automated Electric Inline RIMS except that the controller is capable of maintaining a multiple step temperature profile without human intervention. - ------------------------------ Return to table of contents