Homebrew Digest Thursday, 12 September 1996 Number 2185
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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:
1632 MS Keg Carbonation (Zurekbrau at aol.com)
Irish Reds (Ashley)
False Bottom Size (Pete)
Bad beer/meta ("David R. Burley")
Badger Beer From Rick Olivo (AKA Strange Brewer) (Rick Olivo)
RE Matthew Bryson & Red White and Blue (Rick Olivo)
Munich vs. crystal for Fest beers (Ken Willing)
copper hysteria! (Andy Walsh)
Curious Lager fermenation temperature (Marshall Muller)
Shake rattle and roll ((John (The Coyote) Wyllie))
FAQ on FWH (David Root)
Beer for Dummies. Brew library worthy. ("Preston M W (Mike)")
re: Corning factory outlet? ("ted hull")
Re: Czech Pils sched/Dreaded Starch Haze (Don Trotter)
Counterflow chiller cleaning ("Braam Greyling")
carbonating kegs ((Michael McCaw))
RE: How much grain do you decoct? ((George De Piro))
Malty questions & comments ((George De Piro))
Hello, Dave ("Paul Kensler")
[none] ((Neal Lerner))
RE: Corning factory outlet? ((Jeff Knaggs))
Re: siphons, magic color changing wort chillers, etc... ((Mike Uchima))
Northdown Hops (Bill Rust)
CAMRA II (Bill Rust)
beer thief (Rscholz at aol.com)
out of date CO2 bottles (orion at mdc.net)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Zurekbrau at aol.com
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 21:43:40 -0400
Subject: 1632 MS Keg Carbonation
In responce to this question.
> I'm wondering if it is better to force carbonate in the keg, or prime
>the keg and let it naturally carbonate?
I have primed keggs with sugar and forced carbonation. I have had over
carbonation problems every time I primed keggs with sugar. With forced
carbonation and following carbonation tables in Dave Millers book I have
always had good carbonation levels.
Rich Zurek
Carpentersville IL USA
Zurekbrau at aol.com
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From: Ashley <ashley at u030.aone.net.au>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 12:00:27 +1000
Subject: Irish Reds
Does anyone know anything about Irish red ales, eg Guiness's Kilkenny (that
is the export name)? Recipes and info would be great.
Thanx in advance
Ashley
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From: Pete <brewer at taconic.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:06:19 -0400
Subject: False Bottom Size
What is the best size to cut a circle for a false bottom in a keg =
conversion lauder tun? Might it be possible to hammer stainless perf =
stock into a convex dome like Phils and weld a stainless tube to the =
center?=20
TIA
Pete Bruno
brewer at taconic.net
Return to table of contents
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Date: 11 Sep 96 23:03:10 EDT
Subject: Bad beer/meta
Brewsters:
Eric suggests that adding metabisulfite to beer will pasteurize it in the
process of recovering a too low SG beer. Not so! Metabisulfite is not active as
a sterilant at beer pHs. It is only significantly biologically active as
sulfurous acid at pHs below 3.0 as in wines.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Return to table of contents
From: Rick Olivo <ashpress at win.bright.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 22:23:49 -0500
Subject: Badger Beer From Rick Olivo (AKA Strange Brewer)
I would like to ask for some help in researching a brew that was
consumed in southeastern Wisconsin in the 1820's through the 1840s or
so. A BIT OF BACKGROUND... Early in the 19th century, large discoveries
of lead lying close to the surface of the ground in what
would later become southeastern Wisconsin encouraged a mining boom that
presaged the gold rush. The Wisconsin lead rush saw communities of lead
miners springing up overnight. So eager were these men to dig up the
richs of lead (used for many purposes, especially lead bullets, soft
castings etc.) that they lived in their diggings, had stores and homes
in holes in the ground. This, rather than the small fierce animal (which
is rare in Wisconsin) gave Wisconsin the nickname "The Badger State."
These men did not just live on the edge of the fronteer. They lived and
worked in the howling wilderness. They, like all of their era, were also
copious beer drinkers. Since they didn't even have time to raise a roof
over their heads, they certainly didn't have time to grow barley or
hops. they made do with whatever brews they could come up with, some
fair, some foul. Of these, one of the most famed was a drink called
"Badger Beer." From what fragmentary evidence I have been able to turn
up from state historical archives, the beer consisted of maple syrup
(sugar?) and honey obtained in trade with friendly indians, and spruce
needles as a bittering agent instead of hops. I understand that the
beverage was quick to ferment (my guess is that they used sourdough
yeast) being ready to drink in a month after inital fermentation. It was
described as "liquid joy" by one traveler upon tasting it for the first
time and "far superior to ordinary brews." It was described as very
pale, fragrent, and refreshing. I must admit I am puzzled by the
rapidity at which it was ready to drink. I know honey meads can take
over a year to properly mature. How could this brew be ready to drink so
soon? At any rate, Badger Beer went out of existance when agriculture
and the burgeoning brewing industry in Milwaukee made it easy to get
low-cost beer without the trouble of brewing it. Badger beer thus
vanished into the mists of time. I beleve this mysterous and appealing
beverage should be revived. I welcome any comments and feedback here or
as e-mail to me (Rick Olivo, my address is ashpress at win.bright.net)If by
any chance someone has an actual recipie. I will gladly share my first
case with them! Thank you for your intrest and assistance. Rick Olivo,
aka Strange Brewer. (Note: None of this is copyrighted or reserved in
any way. Life is way too short to deal with that nonsense.}
Return to table of contents
From: Rick Olivo <ashpress at win.bright.net>
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 22:47:26 -0500
Subject: RE Matthew Bryson & Red White and Blue
Matthew's flame against Red White and Blue brought back memories of
college back in 1970, when we bought six packs of RW&B for 99 cents...
It wasn't great beer, but it would get you where you were going, and
that's all that mattered. It certainly isn't the worst beer I ever had.
That dubious honor is a tie beetween Buckhorn beer and a case of Old
Dutch beer I bought at 89 cents a sixer in 1986 in Pikeston, Ohio while
selling cable TV to hillbillies.
Rick Olivo
(AKA Strange Brewer)
ashpress at win.bright.net
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From: Ken Willing <kwilling at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 14:24:13 +1000 (EST)
Subject: Munich vs. crystal for Fest beers
Here in Australia, all our brewing malt is made from 2-row barley, and I
guess it's fairly OK -- not quite what Dr. Fix would call "garbage malt", I
don't think.
On the other hand, none of the locally available malt is what could really
be called "premium", either. (And importing [even small quantities of
crystal] from Germany is prohibitively expensive -- completely out of the
question.) There's now a local hybrid on the market called "Franklin", which
begins to approximate premium European malt in having a somewhat better
(lower) protein structure, and apparently having some of the other
characteristics of Pils (the fresh malt smells headily sulphury, in a
European way).
But *all* of the colored malts available here (a light and a medium kilned
malt, both called "Munich", and several degrees of crystal) -- all of these
are made from the poorer, standard barley.
My question is this: Given this situation, what would be more likely to
make a better Oktoberfest? -- (recipe-wise) -- Should one achieve *all* or
nearly all of the malty-melanoidin level by using crystal (as recommended
years ago by G. & L. Fix in the _Vienna_ book?); or: would it be better to
get the same melanoidin level by using a base featuring some "Munich" (made
from the same, ordinary barley), plus a reduced fraction of the crystal? --
Thus, the question really is: for European-style bronze/malty beers in
general is there an in-principle reason to prefer crystal over Munich, if
both of these malts are produced from the same nothing-to-write-home-about
kind of barley?
I accept J. Frane's point that Oktoberfests ideally ought to have a
"toastiness" which crystal alone can't achieve, and therefore in principle
something like Munich should be used. But my experiments seem to give me a
better tasting beer when I achieve the desired melanoidin level by using
only crystal. Dr. Fix: Is there something about mediocre Munich which
makes it a worse option than mediocre crystal -- when those are the only
two options available?
Thanks
Ken Willing <kwilling at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au>
Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia
Return to table of contents
From: Andy Walsh <awalsh at crl.com.au>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 14:32:42 +1100
Subject: copper hysteria!
K. Sprague asks about off flavours in beer due to copper (Cu).
As there will probably be many replies to this I'll keep it
brief.
Cu ions play a major role in beer flavour stability.
The Cu ions are thought to catalyse (comparatively inactive)
molecular oxygen into more reactive forms such as hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2). In the boil this may lead to (the much
feared by homebrewers!) HSA, with associated husky/astringent
flavours (as reported by Narziss) even in fresh beer.
Such beer will also have poor flavour stability.
I presume that "dirty" copper (copper oxide) is more soluble in
wort than clean copper, hence would promote greater oxidation.
Any copper equipment that comes in contact with wort should
thus be shiny before each use, or done away with altogether!
Comments from chemists/metallurgists?
***
Andy "the hysteria continues" Walsh.
Return to table of contents
From: Marshall Muller <Marshall.Muller at dsto.defence.gov.au>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 17:05:06 +0930
Subject: Curious Lager fermenation temperature
Brew Gurus
I plan on brewing my first lager soon.
I'm using a YeastLabs Californian Lager (L35 I think) which in which a local
home brew brochure recommends fermentation between 55-64 degrees.
The 'award winning' brown ale recipe I'm following used 59 degrees.
Aren't these temperatures too high for a lager, or is the Californian Lager
yeast not a *true* lager yeast? Also, why was a lager yeast being used in a
brown ale?
_____________________________________
On the alcohol thread, I too have noticed I don't feel the effects of alcohol
quite as much when you're having a quite one compared to at a party. I put it
down to the fact you move about more at a party which seems to increase your
metabolism, thus causing the alcohol to be absorbed into the blood quicker.
Marshall
Return to table of contents
From: ccoyote at sunrem.com (John (The Coyote) Wyllie)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 04:37:50 -0600
Subject: Shake rattle and roll
>From: scotty at rand.nidlink.com
>Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 10:59:14 +0000
>Subject: force carbonation
>
>just bought a corny keg setup to go in my spare fridge. I would like
>to force carbonate my beer and was wondering the best way to go about
>doing this. .. I have heard about shaking the keg with pressure on to
>speed this process. Most people use a higher pressure than the table
>suggests if they shake the keg to carbonate. Doesn't this
>overcarbonate the beer? Please help.
* In my experience with kegs- you can carbonate by simply setting the
pressure where you want it, and waiting, and waiting. But hell, you might
as well prime and wait it out if thats your plan. One of the big
advantages of CO2 and kegging (IMHO) is the ability to speed the process
up! You can get a keg comfortably carbonated in a couple days, rather than
waiting a week.
Heres my routine and pointers (YMMV)
Sanitize, AND sterilize your keg. Assemble, and prefill (purge) with CO2.
Rack beer into keg. Leave some head space (about 5 or 6 inches). As any
young teenie bopper will tell you- six inches is /THAT/ much (thumb &
forefinger held up). Purge the head space again w/CO2 (ok, so maybe its
overkill, but the CO2 is right there!). Affix keg lid, and add slight
pressure (5-10 psi) to set the seal. -A couple of pointers: Rinse the
large O-RING in HOT water to soften it up for a better seal. Before adding
any pressure on the keg- position the keg lid, but instead of pushing the
lever down, pull up on it first and wiggle/twist it into optimim position-
again for a tight fit. Apply the pressure now- just a little, THEN flip
the lever down.
I used to promote attaching the gas line to the liquid out line, and
pumping in gas. You can do this, but don't use the gas fitting on the
liquid fitting (or vice versa, then are NOT interchangable, and over time
will scratch and get beat up to the point where they leak. Big hassle!)
screw the liquid fitting onto the gas line if you want to do this. BUT- do
not drop pressure from the regulator or the liquid will backflow into the
regulator and gunk it up. NOT good!
What I do now gets the same basic effect-
Attach the gas line to the gas IN fitting on the keg. Lay the keg
on its side, or hold in against your lap/thighs and "Shake Rattle Roll"
that baby. Increase the gas pressure to 25-30 psi. You will hear gas
enter the keg. If you hold it sideways the gas will pass through liquid as
it enters. You can either stand there and shake that bugger till your back
is broke, and you are exhausted, or lay it sideways- go about other tasks
and give it a vigorous roll every 5 mins or so. (I've always got something
that should have been cleaned up in my "brewery". Good time to catch up!)
The purpose here is to get CO2 dissolved in the liquid. You are
aiming to get up to a certain carbonation level- most likely is that after
a bit of shaking you will still be below that level. I do this right after
racking, so my brew is still warm. The next step is to put it in the
fridge upright with gas attached at about 25 psi. I leave it overnight,
then after a day or so drop the pressure down to 5psi and serve. The first
couple glasses are real foamy (I always tend to jump the gun -early ) then
become undercarbonated. I usually drop all pressure off, then add back
just enough to push the beer. After another day, time to equilibrate, I'll
run the keg at 2-5psi and everything smooths out.
This method works well for me. Granted- it always seems to take a while to
get the carbonation truly balanced out. Never seems to fail- the VERY last
glass I draw always seems to have finally achieved that perfection of head,
internal bubbles, mouthfeel, and clarity. Then phfooooooooosh. All gone
byby. Murhpy!
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
/// John- The Cosmic Coyote -Wyllie\\\ ccoyote at sunrem.com
'As long as he's got 8 fingers and toes, he's ok by me!' H.J.S.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
From: David Root <droot at concentric.net>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 07:21:12 -0400
Subject: FAQ on FWH
I'm going to brew my 3rg all grain this sunday and would like to try
FWH but I cannot find a FAQ could someone please help?? TIA
Email would be best
David Root Lockport NY droot at concentric.net
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From: "Preston M W (Mike)" <mpreston at ford.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 07:16:03 -0400
Subject: Beer for Dummies. Brew library worthy.
There once was a man named Stu-
About beer, he hadn't a clue.
At the behest of his chummies,
He read Beer For Dummies,
And now he's the Master of Brew!
- -from the introduction of the newest
release from IDG Books "Beer for Dummies".
- --
"lager sir is regal"
Mike Preston
Return to table of contents
From: "ted hull" <Ted=Hull%GEN%Atlanta at brwncald.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 2:05:52 EDT
Subject: re: Corning factory outlet?
Bruce asked about cheap carboys:
I saw 5 gal. glass carboys at Reading China & More in Atlanta
(Ashford Dunwoody) for $10. I know that's a bit out of Bruce's
way, but it is a chain with locations all over. Maybe you can
find similar deals elsewhere. And for Atlanta folks, the word
is out.
Ted
Return to table of contents
From: Don Trotter <dtrotter at imtn.tpd.dsccc.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 07:47:58 -0500
Subject: Re: Czech Pils sched/Dreaded Starch Haze
Bill Griffin replied to John Posing's mash schedule. I haven't read
much on decoction, but I teng to agree. Would the total water/grain
ratio be best at 1-1.2 quarts/pound? On that, I believe adding water
to the decoction would not hurt, if it was boiled off before
reintroducing the decoction to the mash.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mike Uchima replied to sharrington at CCGATE.HAC.COM about haze. I agree
about the *protien* haze, and would suggest also the possibility of
much tannin extraction, due to the extra long mash at a very high pH.
Of course, the mash tends to acidify, however, the sparge may have also
been high pH. I also agree about the protien rest. It really depends
on the malt. Most lager malts produced today work fine without a
protien rest, due to their high modification. There have been many
threads on this. One notable thread by Dr. George Fix. Try picking up
the 1995 Zymurgy special issue too. There are lotsa good articles on
malt and mashing. I use Klages and don't see this problem. Of course,
I can get a bit retentive about acidification. My mash and sparge
water are treated.
don
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From: "Braam Greyling" <acg at knersus.nanoteq.co.za>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 15:01:35 +200
Subject: Counterflow chiller cleaning
Hi there
I have built me a counterflow chiller with copper-pipe and garden
hose. It is working really well.
What is the best way to clean it ? I usually let clean water flow
right through the copper tubing for a while.
Before use I sanitise it by letting boiling water flow through the
copper until the water that flows from the outlet is also boiling
hot.
Is this o.k. ? What about rust ?
Thanks
Braam Greyling I.C. Design Engineer
Nanoteq (Pty) Ltd
tel. +27 (12) 665-1338 fax +27 (12) 665-1343
- ---- 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case ----
- ---- coincidence ????? ----
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From: mwmccaw at ix.netcom.com (Michael McCaw)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 06:19:41 -0700
Subject: carbonating kegs
George de Piro writes that one should keep the CO2 keg high to avoid
beer in the gas line. I had this happen once, no joy at all!
There is another easy (and much safer) fix, though. Put a liquid in
fitting on your gas line (or a y connector with two fittings - even a
valve, if you want to get fancy) and carbonate through the long tube
that goes all the way to the bottom of the keg. This has several
advantages - less shaking is required, as all the CO2 has to bubble
through the beer if the keg is upright, and if you're shaking it
horizontally, the beer cannot slosh directly into an open pipe leading
to your gas line. I have never had beer in my gas line since
switching.
Brew On!
Return to table of contents
From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 09:28:28 -0700
Subject: RE: How much grain do you decoct?
Hi all!
Kevin tells the collective that his mash tun isn't big enough to hold
all the grain and water he wants to mash, so he wants to decoct to
reach each temp rest. He needs to know how much grain to decoct.
In my experience, I pull a volume of very thick mash equal to about
one-third of the volume of mash water. It is uncharacteristically
unscientific of me to not use formulas, etc, but this works for me.
If you are worried about undershooting the target temp (as Kevin would
be since he has no room for more boiling water to be added) just pull
more of the thick mash. Add the grains back slowly, but keep the
decoction hot as you add it back (it cools relatively quickly if left
open on the stove top). If you are going to overshoot, it's no big
deal. Just let the decoction cool and take longer to add it back.
In Kevin's situation, it's better to decoct too much of the mash than
not enough!
Have Fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
Return to table of contents
From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 09:43:57 -0700
Subject: Malty questions & comments
Hello again,
In communications with Mark Bayer a question arose: how important is
it to brew with grains from the country that is known for the style
you are trying to emulate?
I believe that it is important to use the best malt you can find, but
do you really need to use German Pils malt for a Muenchner Helles, or
would Belgian Pils malt do just as well?
I'm sure that the different climates in which the grain is grown will
effect it, but will this be noticeable in the final product?
I happen to brew a lot of Germanic styles, and I happen to use mostly
German malts, but it's mostly because I like their quality. I'm sure
that other countries make good malts, too.
-------------------
My next question/comment has to do with malt quality. A few weeks ago
I went to a nearby homebrew shop and asked for English chocolate malt.
The counter-guy handed me a bag of what looked like black malt. I
said, "This looks like black malt." He smelled it and said, "No, it's
chocolate." He then showed me the Munton & Fison bag that he took the
malt from, and sure enough, it said that it was chocolate malt.
I bought it, but felt uneasy, because it really did taste like black
malt! I obtained more M&F chocolate malt from a different shop. It
looked, smelled, and tasted like I expected.
What's the deal? Do malt suppliers sometimes mislabel their bags? Do
the maltsters sometimes screw-up a batch, and instead of dumping it,
sell it to homebrewers? Or is there that much variation in English
chocolate malt?
Any comments?
Have Fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
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From: "Paul Kensler" <pkensler at ix.netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 08:46:18 +0000
Subject: Hello, Dave
David Burley writes:
David Whitman ( I know a David Weidman and David Widman , what a nice
name name David is)...
David Cummings ( another nice first name - does this mean there is a
higher percentage of Daves who make and drink beer than average?)
Interesting observation. At any rate, David is, indeed, a fine name.
Paul DAVID Kenlser, Plano, TX
As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man,
I have chalked up many a mile.
Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks,
And I've learned much from both of their styles.
--J. Buffett
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From: nlerner at MIT.EDU (Neal Lerner)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 10:05:19 EDT
Subject: [none]
Hi, folks. Just to add an anecdote to the recent thread about barley wine
yeast attenuation and the one about skipping the secondary. First the
latter. For my one summer brewing experience (and it isn't so much
off-flavors that I'm concerned about; it's heating the house up with
several hours of gas stove activity. Too sweaty), I brewed an APA in my
never-ending attempts to come close to Anchor Liberty Ale. In the interest
of impatience, I went with only a primary ferment (in plastic and open
fermentation w/ three skims over eight days). Following the advice of a
helpful brewer on this list (sorry, can't remember who), I then went right
to bottling and siphoned the beer into my bottling bucket into a solution
of Knox gelatin (one package for 4 gallons) and my bottling sugar. Well,
last night I cracked the first bottle after two weeks of conditioning.
Clear as any beer I've brewed even though the beer *looked* cloudy as
anything when I bottled. As I believe Al pointed out, there is an amazing
amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottles, but that's a minor
annoyance.
As far as the yeast part of this story is concerned, for this batch I used
BrewTek's American Ale II. Amazing attenuation. OG was 1.060; FG was
1.007! This from a stepped-up one quart starter. I've also used a slurry
of this yeast that I repitched into a BW which went from 1.096 to 1.017.
And carbonation was fine after a month of bottle conditioning. Anyone else
had these experiences with this yeast?
Neal Lerner
nlerner at mit.edu
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From: jak at absoft.com (Jeff Knaggs)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 09:19:40 -0400
Subject: RE: Corning factory outlet?
> My next question is about getting a couple more glass carboy's for a
>reasonable price. I am going up into Bar Harbor Maine at the end of the
Haven't seen this appear on the HBD for at least a year...
Call your local bottle water distributer and ask about used glass carboys.
Here in the Detroit area, I get nice (very dirty!) 5 Gal carboys from
Absopure (no affilation) for $5. You've got to be careful to inspect for
cracks, chips, etc. As most bottlers have switched to plastic, these
deals probably won't last (I always buy an extra or two with the
anticipation that the next time I call they'll say "all gone").
Jeff Knaggs
jak at absoft.com work
hufkna at mich.com play
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From: uchima at fncrd8.fnal.gov (Mike Uchima)
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 10:47:31 -0500
Subject: Re: siphons, magic color changing wort chillers, etc...
George De Piro writes about starting siphons by using a 2-hole carboy cap, and
pushing the beer out of the carboy with CO2 pressure...
For us non-kegging types who don't have a CO2 tank, there's a related approach
which works almost as well, at least when the *destination* container is a
carboy. Put a carboy cap on the receiving carboy, with a racking cane shoved
through the center hole; attach the outlet end of your siphon to the racking
cane. Then, attach a piece of racking hose to the other hole in the cap, and
suck. The vacuum created in the receiving carboy will start the siphon; and
you're not sucking on anything that's going to come in contact with your beer,
so there's minimal infection risk. You can also control the amount of
splashing (i.e. aeration) -- if siphoning to primary, just poke the racking
cane barely through the cap, so the wort falls the whole length of the
fermenter; if siphoning to secondary, push the racking cane all the way to the
bottom, so it starts without splashing.
+++
"k. sprague" <homebrew at ix15.ix.netcom.com> writes:
> However, in between beer batches, my copper wort chiller sits on the
> shelving unit and oxidizes. Then, I put in the boil kettle for 15 mins to
> sanitize and when I pull it out at the end, the chiller is bright, i.e. no
> oxidization. Does this not contribute to off flavors in the beer?????
> Anyone else noticed this???? I ask because my last two batches of beer
> (since inception of my wort chiller) have tasted awfull. Anyone care to
> comment? TIA.
I've noticed the color change in my chiller as well. Haven't noticed any off
flavors that I can attribute to it, though. What sort of bad taste are you
getting?
Maybe you'll just have to brew often enough that the oxidation doesn't have
time to build up between batches. :-)
+++
Mike Adams <mike at telesph.com> sez:
> Quite true. The tylenol I bought this morning carries a specific warning
> about not taking tylenol if you've already consumed or plan to consume
> alcoholic beverages.
So where does that leave cold remedies like NyQuil, which contain both
acetaminophen *and* alcohol? Are they changing the formulation to take out the
alcohol (or the acetaminophen)?
+++
David MCconnell Higdon <dhigdon at wam.umd.edu> asks:
> Now for my question. Has anyone ever used water filtered with a britta
> filter? how did it turn out?
Yes. And my beers did seem to improve when I started using it. However:
o It is godawful slow, and you have to keep refilling it every 5 minutes or
so (assuming you have the pitcher style). Takes *forever* to filter enough
water for a batch of beer.
o At least around here (Chicago area), the levels of chlorine in the tap
water are high enough in the summertime that the Brita doesn't do a very
good job of removing it. There's still quite a bit of chlorine left -- you
can still smell/taste it.
Lately, I've switched to one of those little faucet mounted carbon filters (I
think mine is called "Instapure", or something like that). If you keep the
flow rate low, the water coming out has no detectable chlorine taste or odor.
I attach a piece of racking hose to it, and run it into one of my carboys, so
I can filter a full 5 gallons more or less unattended.
+++
Brad Anesi <BANESI at novell.com> said:
> Mark, your advice is correct - in fact, if brewed true to German style, a
> dunkel should have NO chocolate malt used whatsoever. Of course, I
> recently made a Chocolate Lager which has been regarded by many as
> the finest beer I have ever created, and it had more chocolate malt than
> most American Brown Ales!
Anything like the Longshot Black Lager? I actually thought the Black Lager was
fairly decent stuff. (Didn't care too much for the Longshot Pale Ale, though.)
- -- Mike Uchima
- -- uchima at fncrd8.fnal.gov
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From: Bill Rust <wrust at csc.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 10:57:40 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Northdown Hops
Howdy All,
I just aquired a CAMRA recipe and was doing the conversions to U.S.
measurements and I came across a requirement for Northdown hops. Anyone
heard of them? I would appreciate any info you guys have including alpha
acid % and a resonable substitute if the hop can't be obtained. TIA.
Skol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Yes, it's grain...which any fool can eat;
Bill Rust | but, for which the Lord intended a more
Master Brewer | divine means of consumption. Let us give
Jack Pine Savage Brewery | praise to our maker and glory to his
http://www.i1.net/~wrust | bounty, by learning about beer. FRIAR TUCK
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: Bill Rust <wrust at csc.com>
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 11:04:05 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: CAMRA II
Oops, forgot to ask the 2nd part...
According to the recipe, you mash 11 lbs of grain at 60 deg C for 90
minutes. They describe it as a 'red' bitter, SG of 1.043??? What am I missing?
Any thoughts, suggestions, would be appreciated.
Skol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Yes, it's grain...which any fool can eat;
Bill Rust | but, for which the Lord intended a more
Master Brewer | divine means of consumption. Let us give
Jack Pine Savage Brewery | praise to our maker and glory to his
http://www.i1.net/~wrust | bounty, by learning about beer. FRIAR TUCK
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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From: Rscholz at aol.com
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 12:17:42 -0400
Subject: beer thief
this is not exactly brewing related but maybe some of you
homebrewers in BC Canada know something about this? ;-)
SURREY, British Columbia, Sept 12 (Reuter) - A thirsty thief hijacked
a transport truck loaded with $60,000 Canadian ($43,748 U.S.) worth of beer,
police in this town outside Vancouver said on Thursday. Surrey police said a
man
armed with a handgun forced the truck's driver to go to a nearby town where
he
released him and then took off with the beer truck. The truck was loaded with
5,700 cases of beer. Police said the suspect was still at large.
richard scholz
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From: orion at mdc.net
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 12:16:46 -0400
Subject: out of date CO2 bottles
Recent posts about getting CO2 tanks a bargain basement prices reminded me
that I recently purchased a tank setup (including Sanke type keg adapter,
and regulators) for $20 (five pounder) at a flea market. The tank is full of
CO2, and I certainly plan on using it for carbonation.
However, the date on the tank suggests that its last hydrostatic
test was back in June of 1989.
Can anyone tell me if this tank is still covered by the test, or does it
need to be tested again. My CO2 supplier is one that doesn't actually refill
the tanks, but swaps them (these are NOT fancy new aluminum tanks...) for
full ones. If I brought this tank to them, empty, what would I expect......
Thanks for comments
OD
Orville Deutchman
Brewer of Down Under Ale!
Hobby Brewing at its Finest!
I'm relaxing, and having a homebrew!
orion at mdc.net
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