(formerly Volume 02 : Number 032)



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Contents:
  Re: Air filter - The Final Answer
  Temperature too low to pitch yeast?
  Mash Thickness (D.A.Bradley)
  Re: Heineken Recipe
  Big Head
  Glass or plastic to lager in
  Re: decoction
  Maple syrup in beer
  enzymes--how long from grain to water
  U.P.S. and its official policy on shipping beer.
  Re: AlK catches up
  Re: mash acidification, filtering, gimme a break, simple beer,continuous fermente,c
  [No Subject Provided By Sender]
  Wyeast 1968
  flaked, steel cut, rolled, huh?
  Air Filters
  Re: Homemade filter (Bob McCowan)
  Lengthy fermentation?
  [No Subject Provided By Sender]
  LM34 Temperature-Sensor Suggestions
  Carapils vs. light crystal (Alex Santic)
  Caustic soda
  Spreadsheet for recipes/procedures
  Live/dead yeast
  Aeration


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

Date: 15 Jan 1997 10:00:45 -0800
From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen at axel.vigra.com>
Subject: Re: Air filter - The Final Answer

>> Keith Royster writes:

KR> Ronald LaBorde <rlabor at lsumc.edu> responds to Mark Preston's 
KR> <prestonm at labyrinth.net.au> question regarding filters and fish 
KR> aeration pumps used to aerate your wort.

KR> Well, I have the one and only, the end-all be-all answer to that
KR> question.  Are you listening?  The answer is "You don't keep the air
KR> sanitized!  EVER!!" At least not at any practical homebrewing level.

KR> I've been using my aeration pump sans filter for a dozen
KR> batches now and have had zero contamination problems.

Have to add my two cents to Keith's post in agreement with him.  I
have been injecting welding oxygen into my wort for about a year now
with no filtration at all and I have no problems with contamination.
Go to any microbrewery or brewpub and ask them what they do.  I have
never seen a filter on the oxygen tank.  

Yes, thanks Keith, pitching adequate quantities of healthy yeast into
properly oxygenated wort is probably the best thing one can do to
avoid contamination, given that one's sanitation procedures are
reasonable already.

dion

- -- 
Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x164                 Email: hollen at vigra.com
                                             http://www.vigra.com/~hollen
Sr. Software Engineer - Vigra Div. of Visicom Labs  San Diego, California

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 11:34:35 -0500
From: "Steve McKeeby (Phone 616-342-3102 - Fax 616-342-3718)" <mckeeby at tcpcs3.dnet.etn.com>
Subject: Temperature too low to pitch yeast?

I have brewed numerous batches of beer but recently built a counterflow wort
chiller to cool the wort on its way to the fermenter. I have used this chiller
twice with great results but I am wondering if I really need to check the temp.
at the outlet. The wort on both batches was around 55F at the chiller exit and
we pitched the ale yeast immediately. The yeast appears to start the same as 
when we pitched around 70F. No problems have been encountered but a fellow 
brewer indicated that if I pitch too cold I am hindering the yeast and could
cause myself problems in the future. Is there any truth to this? I thought it 
was just a problem to pitch the yeast at too high of a temperature. Any comments
are appreciated.

TIA, 

Steve 

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 17:16:24 +0000 (GMT)
From: DAVE BRADLEY IC742 6-7932 <BRADLEY_DAVID_A at LILLY.COM>
Subject: Mash Thickness (D.A.Bradley)

Steve "Mr. Enzymology" Alexander writes:

>If you want extra soluble protein for body, a thick mash rest at
>55C-62C/131F-143F should help considerably.

This agrees with most of the homebrew literature I've read.
Fermentability is lower for worts obtained from thicker mashes,
and soluble nitrogen/protein concentrations are higher.
Both results lead to a thicker bodied, luxurious ale.
Historical methods for making Old Ale/Strong Ale (Mosher) call
for a thick (1qt/lb) mash because of these effects I believe.
Of course such mashes call for higher mash temps too, furthering
adding body.  I suspect part of this is the increase of dextrins
and soluble proteins, but I have to believe that under higher mash
concentrations there is an important contribution from browning reactions.


Dave in Indy
Home of the 3-B Brewery, (v.) Ltd.

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Date: 15 Jan 1997 13:04:57 -0500
From: John Penn <john_penn at spacemail.jhuapl.edu>
Subject: Re: Heineken Recipe

                       Subject:                               Time:1:53 PM
  OFFICE MEMO          Re>Heineken Recipe                     Date:1/15/97

  I don't know if there's a Heineken recipe in the Cat's Meow, an excellent
source for recipes, but be sure to skunk that beer to get the true Heineken
smell/flavor.  Not sure how much sunlight you'll need, probably calls for some
experimentation.  Try leaving various clear or green bottles in sunlight until
you zero in on it.
   John Penn

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 12:23:13 +0000
From: "Nathan L. Kanous II" <nkanous at tir.com>
Subject: Big Head

I hadn't responded to the original post expecting everyone else would.  One
thing that I
have found that helped head development and retention (incredibly) was
changing the
protein rest from the commonly mentioned 122 degF to something between 130
and 135 degF.
 This particular protein rest promotes the degradation of larger proteins
into "head
developing" proteins if you will.  My understanding is that most modern
highly modified
malts don't need the protein rest, but I include one because I think (a.k.a.
don't know)
that my extraction efficiency improves, probably just because the mash has
more time for
dissolution of soluble sugars.

Give the higher rest temp a try.  I didn't have any obvious increase in
haziness by
doing this.  Up to this point, the lower temp protein rest seemed to me to be
counterproductive in that I got beers with incredibly "thin" heads.  Not much
head
formed, reminded me of soda pop head and disappeared quickly.  Now, I'm sure
other
factors have influenced head retention as well.  For me, the higher rest
worked well and
I will continue to use it.

Nathan Kanous

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 13:32:47 -0400
From: skilborn at bgsm.edu (Scott Kilbourne)
Subject: Glass or plastic to lager in

Fellow homebrewers-
I'm interested in doing a series of batches, about one every other week.  I
want to lager as long as I can, but can't afford so many glass carboys tied
up for two or three months each.  Other than contamination concerns, what
is the downside of using food grade plastic fermenters for secondaries?  I
realize that the plastic may be more oxygen-permeable than the glass, but
what are the results?  I want to do Munich-style dunkels from extract (if
anyone has any recipe suggestions).  I'd also like to reuse the yeast
(which one?) if I can.  I was thinking about going in the primary for two
weeks, racking off, saving the sludge and reusing it as a starter for the
next batch later that day.  Comments or suggestions for procedures?
Hopefully by spring I'll have a small wall of secondaries happily (if
slowly) bubbling away...
Thanks for the help.
- -scott

Scott Kilbourne
Coordinator, Imaging
Biomedical Communications
Bowman Gray School of Medicine
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC   27157-1011

(910) 716-9402 (voice)
(910) 716-2808 (fax)
skilborn at bgsm.edu

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 97 13:14:38 CST
From: Brian Bliss <brianb at microware.com>
Subject: Re: decoction

I wrote:
>>... I would,
>>however, recommend not using one in a mash consisting of a
>>large percentage of colored malts, like what would happen
>>in a munich beer.  When I have tried this, I have gotten
>>tannins so hot they burn your mouth.

Steve Alexander replies:
>stating that they (as do I) regularly decoct munich and vienna malts.
>Perhaps the problem is the source of the malt.  One widely distributed
>US maltster uses 6-row barley for every malt except one labeled as
>2-row pale.  I can imagine that a decoction from it's 6-row munich or
>6-row crystal might turn out badly.
>
>Brian - whose colored malts did you decoct ?

First of all, I've never had the problem with a pound or two of
crystal malt, chocolate malt, or roasted braley - only when using
large percentages of 5L-20L malts, i.e., munich-like.  Unfortunately,
I do not remember what type of barley they were.  I do remember the
worst offender was supposedly maris otter pale, but it was pretty
obvious that I had been sent a bag of the wrong thing, because it
was way too soft and darker than acceptable for any pale malt, so
I used it in place of munich malt some brews, and the decoction
brews turned out horrible.  In fact, I think I only used it in
decoction brews.  It's not the only bad example of an overly-tannic
brew that I've had, but all the overly-tannic decoction brews I've
made have one thing in common:  a large percentage of medium-light
colored malts in them (and in the decoction itself).

I would be inclined to agree with the comment that inferior grain
is the likely culprit.  Nowdays, I just play it safe and put only
pils malt, pale malt, malted and unmalted wheat, and unmalted
barley in the decoction, and leave any darker grains in the main
mash.

BTW, I am extremely sensitive to tannins in beer.  My face turns
a bright red and my breathing gets shallow when I drink an offending
brewski.  Quite a few of the munich-style beers set me aglow, so
to everyone who responded "but that's the way munich beers are
traditionally made", I say "Yep, and most are tannic."

bb

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 15:29:39 -0800
From: George De Piro <George_De_Piro at berlex.com>
Subject: Maple syrup in beer

     Hi,
     
     Jeremy and W. Scott write in about using maple syrup in beer, a la 
     Pete's Maple porter.
     
     Having tasted this beer, I would guess that either the mash 
     temperature is very high or they add the maple syrup at bottling and 
     then pasteurize it so the syrup isn't fermented (they would need less 
     syrup this way, too, a $avings...).  That is assuming that they don't 
     use flavoring compounds, of course.
     
     The beer is very sweet, and the maple flavor comes through.  I think 
     that you need residual sweetness to enhance the relatively delicate 
     flavor of maple syrup, or else it gets lost in the beer.
     
     Of course, hop rates should be VERY low to allow the maple flavor to 
     be expressed, too.
     
     Have fun!
     
     George De Piro  (Nyack, NY)

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 13:21:40 -0700
From: Michael Mendenhall <mmendenh at br.state.ut.us>
Subject: enzymes--how long from grain to water

How long does it takes for enzymes to be dissolved into the mash liquid? 
Five-10-15 minutes. . . more?  Recent decoction discussions got me
wondering.

- -Mike Mendenhall
mmendenh at br.state.ut.us

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 15:30:20 EST
From: Ken G Smith <sparge at juno.com>
Subject: U.P.S. and its official policy on shipping beer.

Well, here you go kids... After having trouble shipping beer to The 
War of the Worts in Pennsylvania, I decided I would contact U.P.S. 
and find out their official stand on the matter. I guess I have to 
send a copy of this to Brew Your Own as well as all the other brewing 
related rags in the U.S.

Date sent:        Tue, 14 Jan 1997 22:55:31 -0700
From:             Chara <customer.service at ups.com>
To:               Ken Smith <ksmith at industryone.net>
Subject:          Re: rules reguarding sending beer via ups

Ken Smith wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I would like to have a clarification on your rules on sending
> home-brewed beer via ups to contests. I recently (within the past
couple
> days) read an article in a major home-brewing magazine about this very
> subject. In the article they mention NOT to ship beer via U.S. Mail
> because it is against the law. However, they went on to state that
U.P.S
> and FedEx would gladly accept the shipments. However, last Tuesday, I
> took a box to my local (Grand Rapids, MI) U.P.S. terminal with
'Fragile'
> stickers on the box. The counter person inquired as to the content of
> the box and I was truthful and told her it contained beer. She
> imediately got an attitude and told me she could NOT accept the
package.
> I asked her why and she said it was against the rules. When I asked her
> who's rules, she said U.P.S. Well, needless to say, I was turned away
> with the only option of going to FedEx and shipping it thru them. They
> were glad to accept the package and also glad to take your business
from
> you.
> 
> Please, clarify the rule. I will send a copy of this to the magazine
> that published the article, so they can make a clarification on the
> matter and publish a correction if necessary.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Ken Smith
> ksmith at industryone.net

- -- 

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for your inquiry.  Please note the following UPS restrictions
on shipping 
beer:

- -Special licensing is required for transporting alcoholic beverages
- -All UPS service levels (air and ground) are available
- -Interstate transportation is not allowed
- -Intrastate transportation is allowed within the following states only:
	California
	Illinois
	Michigan
	New York
- -Shipping requires a UPS "Adult Signature Required" sticker for each
package.

We hope this information proves useful.  If we can be of further help,
please let us 
know.

Thank you for using UPS Internet Services.

Mark
01/14/97 S-3

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Date: 15 Jan 97 16:00:51 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: AlK catches up

Brewsters:

AlK has been saving up comments since before Christmas:

> Dave writes:
> >1) Make up a Krausening starter of 1-2 Tlb of Hopped malt extract plus 4 oz
of 
> >corn sugar ( I suppose sucrose would be OK?), 12 oz water, boil and cool, 
> >Remove
> >small amount of yeast with some beer from the bottom of the secondary with a 
> >siphon. pitch yeast and beer into the starter.  When it is foaming (high 
> >Krausen)  usually 12 hrs, 
> >Immediately ( before the sugar in the Krausening starter gerts used up): 
> 
> This is very imprecise kraeusening... "1-2 Tlb" should probably be "1-2 tbsp"
> and still, that's not precise at all.  I don't have my books here or I would
> give the proper formula for calculating the amount of malt you want to use,
> but I believe this has been posted.  My main point here is *the method
> described above is more likely to give you the wrong level of carbonation
> than the right level!*

Al, 

I use hopped liquid extract  so it is very difficult to precisely measure a
small quantity.  Besides, the priming sugar is the major contributor to the
carbonation level.  If the priming sugar is 10 oz ( as in my bottle-conditioned
American Lagers) then 1-2 tlb (variation of max of 0.5 oz, probablty 0.4 oz for
the extract which is 20% water) is less than 5%. The variation between 1 and 2
tlb is a hardly  noticeable (if any) variation.  At 4 oz priming sugar in the
keg, the 1-2 tlb can represent a variation of  10% or so and really not a
substantial difference that can't be corrected for by a CO2 addition if needed.
I've never really had a problem. 
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >7)  Always deliver with the spigot *wide open* to minimize foaming and to get

> >correct condition of the beer in the glass.  Try this with your current
beers. 
> >My delivery hose is 3 feet long, but it is irrelevant how long the hose is, 
> >except the longer the hose the more foam you will deliver due to heating of
the
> >beer if the hose isn't cooled. Even in a cooled hose, beer in the line will
get
> >foamy and deliver a spurt of foam at first. After the first delivery in a
close
> >sequence of deliveries, I don't think it makes any difference.  Just don't go

> >crazy. 

AlK says:
 
> Yes, always deliver the beer with the faucet wide open, but the length of the
> hose *DOES* indeed make a difference.  The longer the hose, the more pressure
> will drop *inside* the hose and the smaller the pressure difference will
> be between the beer AT the faucet and the room air pressure.

BTW the pressure at the faucet exit IS room pressure

> If the hose
> is too short, the pressure drop from the inside of the faucet and the
> outside will be too big and a lot of your beer will turn to foam.
> 
> This "the hose length doesn't matter" kegging information has been posted
> and printed FAR too many times.  It is *wrong* and I wish that people would
> stop posting it.

I don't remember the exact context of these comments, but I seem to be
responding to a particular problem with someone's kegged beer.  I agree with
your above comments and if you re-read my past posts you will see I have made
identical ones here also. The whole point of using the 1/4 or 3/16 inch beer
lines rather than say 1/2 inch lines is to get a gradual pressure drop from PSIG
to atmosphere and reduce foaming at a reasonable flow rate.  Throttling the flow
at the delivery valve will produce foam due to the rapid pressure drop across a
short distance. Using a longer hose reduces the flow rate  at a given PSIG

 I suspect the hose length thing was referring to something else. As I read my
comments, it seems to be talking about hose heating up causing foaming or some
such thing and as it says after delivering the several beers in close sequence,
the length of the hose doesn't make any difference.  Which is true in a
practical sense, since the hose is a reasonable insulator being thick walled
pressure tubing from plastic.
- -------------------------------------------------------------
> This is wrong.  Beer can be served at a lot more than 15 psig.  The reason
> *you* can't is because you believe that hose length doesn't matter.

Please don't quote me out of context and then speculate what I believe.  Ask me
or go back and carefully re-read ALL my posts on the subject.
- ------------------------------------------------------------
> I don't have my books here, but I'll bet that with 10 feet of 3/16" ID hose,
> you can serve 50F beer at 20 psig (assuming it is not overcarbonated --
> i.e. it is at steady state at 50F and 20 psig).

I agree a longer hose will allow you to have a higher head pressure, or
alternatively a long delivery hose will require a mixed gas (nitrogen/CO2) or a
larger diameter hose to allow delivering the beer at a reasonable rate without
overcarbonating it. I never said I didn't believe this.  

Then again, don't speculate, try it.   
- ---------------------------------------------------------.
Keep on brewin'


Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK

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Date: 15 Jan 97 16:00:46 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: mash acidification, filtering, gimme a break, simple beer,continuous fermente,c

Brewsters:

Chas Peterson asks
 
> I tend to use a bit of acid blend 
> in my brewing (my water's pretty basic...)

Why not try a phytase rest? or pure lactic acid?  Better in beer than the fruit
acids in acid blend.

>would like to bottle condition my beers by filtering immediately and adding
back some unfiltered beer

Unless your idea is to rough ( 5 micron) filter your beer immediately after
fermentation and then use a 0.5 micron filter on cold beer to polish it of chill
haze, I don't understand why you want to do this.  Just let your beer stand for
a week in two 5 gallon carboys as a secondary where it will clear substantially
( and get a diacetyl rest for lagers) and then bottle with an active krausen
starter made up from priming sugar, 1-2 tlb malt extract and some yeast siphoned
from the bottom of the secondary.  Alternatively filter cold beer out of the
secondaries through a 0.5 micron filter and then bottle as above.  Adding
unfiltered beer back will not allow you to remove the chill haze completely.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Braam Greyling says:
> 
> With all the discussions about removing hot and cold break from the 
> wort I am getting a little confused.
 
> As I understand it:  It is good to remove the hot break because it 
> may give some estery tastes to your beer and other off-tastes. Cold 
> break however is a yeast nutrient and it is better to leave it in the 
> wort.

Yep, exactly correct.  Lipids in the cold break help build the cell walls of the
yeast. Holding back the hot break plus lots of other junk helps reduce off
flavors.  Straining the hops out by pouring through a strainer( versus siphoning
through a strainer made of screen or a scrubber), breaks up the flocs of hot
break and allows it to pass into the primary fermentation vessel.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
      
 Mattia Porro asks:
> 
> Which is the simplest method to make beer at home?

If simple is your only goal you came to the wrong place.  If good is your goal
then read on.  Start with malt extracts.  I suggest something like a John Bull
100%  malt extract ( the can of extract is probably 6" in diameter and weighs
maybe six pounds) beer of your choice. Do not use any sugar in the wort even
though you might be tempted to try to save a buck or two by using less extract,
it is not worth it.  Don't waste your time and effort on second best in anything
you choose to do.   Boil  the extract and a gallon or two of water for 1/2 hour
( with some Goldings hops in a cheese cloth bag added in the last ten minutes
for a bitter, for example, Saaz or Hallertauer if you choose a contintental
style) and cool it to 70F or so in a sink of cold water  before you pour it
through the air into your fermentation vessel which has cold, boiled water in
it, ferment it and you will have a good beer if you kept everything sanitary.  I
made one of these recently for a beer class and the result was very acceptable.
As you progress through partial mashing to all grain mashing your starting
materials and techniques will change and it will become less simple but the
quality will substantially improve.  Learn about it through reading and here in
the HBD. 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
: Ken Sullivan asks an age old question:

>  Voila! Continuous yeast reproduction, continuous fermentation,
> just add more wort..  what am I overlooking??  

I love to see creativity in action.  Unfortunately, many before you have thought
about continuous fermentation and tried it with all the brewing and engineering
skills of the big brewers.  No one does it commercially, despite millions spent
on pilot plants for many decades on several continents. Contamination,
variations in flocculation rates and many other things prevented this from
becoming commercial.  Maybe today with computer controls , etc. things would be
different. I can see it now: out of the RIMS, through the CC cooler and into the
continuous fermenter.Hmmmmm.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
After racking to a secondary, adding water and putting his beer into his
basement at 40F Kut Amann asks about his stalled fermentation:

> Does anybody know what sort of temperature range these yeasts
> are really capable of handling?  I once used dry yeast at about
> 38 F, and they seemed to be pretty happy.  

1) you may have added oxygen by racking and putting in water. - this will cause
the yeast to shift gears for a while and the beer may need to get re-saturated
with CO2 at this lower temperature 2) You may have removed most of the yeast by
racking it off 3) the move to 40F should have been done in stages of about 8F or
less to prevent shocking the yeast into dormancy 4) you may not have a real
lager yeast, but a low temperature top fermenter .

First action is to do nothing for several days and see it it re-starts. If no,
then warm it back up until it restarts. Cool it down slower next time  at  <8 deg F
per day if you are sure you have a real lager yeast. Given your above results It
will likely be sloooow at 40F, so don't be surprised
- ------------------------------------------------------

Keep on brewin'


Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK

 

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 18:01:35 EST
From: John C Peterson <petersonj1 at juno.com>
Subject: [No Subject Provided By Sender]

I have two questions for the "gurus" out there.  1)  What is the longest
that I can store my beer in bottles?  The question arises because my wife
just found out that she's recently going away for 2 1/2 weeks.  Without
my drinking partner, a large batch won't get consumed as much.  Good
thing the Super Bowl is coming up.

and 2) is there a "Freshman" homebrew digest?  With my last posting, I
learned that there are many "Freshman" brewers like myself subscribed,
but some of the discussions such as yeast strains and Planispiral
Chillers are still beyond my grasp.

John Peterson
Aurora, CO
Freshman Brewers: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/6841
mail:petersonj1 at juno.com

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 97 18:23:08 CST
From: John Wilkinson <jwilkins at imtn.tpd.dsccc.com>
Subject: Wyeast 1968

Since several people have been discussing Wyeast 1968 I thought I might
as well toss in my experiences.
W1968 is my most commonly used yeast by far.  I aerate my wort well by
pouring between buckets, pitch healthy starters, and ferment at ~65F.
My final SG will range from 1.008 to 1.015 with OG of 1.040 to 1.065.
Usual OG is about 1.050 and final SG is usually about 1.012.
I usually brew two to four consecutive batches reusing the yeast from
the previous batch so all after the first have very generous amounts of
yeast and tend to have the lower final SG.  I never rouse the yeast during
fermentation.  I pitch it and leave it to work for a week.  The beer is
usually very clear after that week.  Since I started aerating well and
pitching large starters I have no problem with high final SG.
This is easily my favorite yeast.

John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas - jwilkins at imtn.dsccc.com

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 16:37:34 -0800
From: smurman at best.com
Subject: flaked, steel cut, rolled, huh?

One thing that still confuses me, whether I'm baking a bread or
brewing beer, is the difference between flaked, cut, rolled, quick, 
etc. when referring to oats and other cereals.  Does anyone have
a straight-forward summary?

SM

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:49:44 -0500
From: Kevin Sinn <skinner at MNSi.Net>
Subject: Air Filters

I agree with Keith Roysters' comments about air filters and sanitized air. 
I use an aquarium pump and air filter to aerate my wort.  My filter uses
cotton and activated carbon.  I'm not attempting to sanitize the air by
using this filter, as I agree with Keiths' comment that whether the air is
going through an air pump and filter, or it's already in your carboy when
you shake it, it's the same air.

I use a filter to keep out dust and eliminate (as best as possible) odours.
 The cotton I use in the filter will hopefully trap any dust particles,
while the activated carbon should filter out any unwanted kitchen odours,
as well as the possible rubber odour from the air pump's bladder. 
Sanitizing the air was never a concern when I built this filter.  I realize
that it may be possible, but IMHO it's not a practical endeavour.

Comments would be appreciated.

Brew-on!

- -Kevin Sinn
Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Filled with mingled cream and amber
I will drain that glass again.
Such hilarious visions clamber
Through the chambers of my brain ---
Quaintest thoughts --- queerest fancies
Come to life and fade away;
Who cares how time advances?
I am drinking ale today.

	- Edgar Allan Poe

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Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 10:21:21 -0500
From: Bob McCowan <bob.mccowan at bmd.cpii.com>
Subject: Re: Homemade filter (Bob McCowan)

> From ideas read on the HBD I built a filter.  It took me a while to find
>out what I could easily get in my local area, but once I found out what can
>be had it was real easy.  
>
>  From the drug store, I bought a cheap plastic hypodermic injector syringe.
>It does not need the needle, just the plastic part will do.  Throw away the
>plunger as it is not needed.
...
> The small end that the needle would normally connect to is now inserted
>into the small tubing available from the fish store and the pump is
>connected on the other end of this tubing.  Get a rubber stopper to fit into
>the larger part of the syringe.

There were (are) some similar instructions on Tim and Melissa's brewing page
- - I think it's at the Brewery now...  Anyhow they suggest getting two
syringes filling them and taping them back-to-back.  Then the same size
tubing can be used on each end, and an airstone will fit on the tubing...

I'm thinking on trying this, since for some reason the submicron syringe
filters keep clogging on me.  Maybe I'll try putting this inline before my
submicron filter, maybe it'll keep particles from clogging the filter...

Bob

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob McCowan                            
                                     
ATG/Receiver-Protector            voice:  (508)-922-6000 x208
CPI BMD				    fax:  (508)-922-8914
Beverly, MA  01915               e-mail:  bob.mccowan at bmd.cpii.com

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 22:57:15 -0500
From: Kevin Sinn <skinner at MNSi.Net>
Subject: Lengthy fermentation?

Hello from the Great White North!

On December 30, 1996 I brewed a red ale, using Wyeast Irish ale yeast. 
Primary fermentation went well, starting at about 6 hours, peaking after 2
days, and slowly tapering off.  On January 6, I racked to a secondary
(glass carboy).  The OG was 1.056, and when I racked the SG was 1.020. 
It's now January 15, and I'd like to mini-keg this batch, but there's still
some activity in the carboy.  There's a bit of foam on the top, and about 1
bubble/minute in the airlock.  There are no signs of infection, and it
tastes great.  Due to a screw up on my part, primary fermentation took
place at about 73F (oops!), whereas secondary has been at approx. 69F.

Should I wait longer to keg this batch?  Is this "lengthy" fermentation
unusual?  I'll wait longer if I have to, but after tasting this brew, that
could be a problem!

Here's the recipe (5 gallons):

7.5 pounds light unhopped LME
6 ounces crystal 60L
2 ounces roasted barley
1.75 ounces Fuggles 4.6%AA for 60 minutes
.5 ounces Fuggles 4.6%AA for 5 minutes
1.25 ounces Fuggles 4.6%AA steeped for 3 minutes at end of boil
1.0 tsp Irish Moss
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale w/ starter

Thanks for the assistance.

- -Kevin R. Sinn
Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Filled with mingled cream and amber
I will drain that glass again.
Such hilarious visions clamber
Through the chambers of my brain ---
Quaintest thoughts --- queerest fancies
Come to life and fade away;
Who cares how time advances?
I am drinking ale today.

	- Edgar Allan Poe

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 22:32:44 -0600
From: John Lifer jr <jliferjr at blue.misnet.com>
Subject: [No Subject Provided By Sender]

subscribe homebrew-digest
John in Mississippi -----'nother brewin' fool

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Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:50:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Heiner Lieth <lieth at telis.org>
Subject: LM34 Temperature-Sensor Suggestions

I've used the LM34 sensor on my equipment at work (data logging equipment
for use in horticultural research). Ken Schwartz' post is the sort of thing
I wish I'd had when I first tried to work this sort of thing out.

Originally I had my technician track down an epoxy that was eletrically
non-conductive but thermally conductive.  If someone needs this info, I can
have him dig in the files for this.  It worked pretty well but we ended up
with a much simpler solution: shrink-wrap tubing. We've used it on both the
TO-92 package and the metal can.  Once you get the cable and chip soldered
(along with any resistors that you might want/need) you slip a 2-inch piece
of shrink-wrap tubing over the sensor, the exposed wires, and part of the
cable. Then heat this tubing with a hot blow-drier (we have an industrial
one that we use in the lab; I don't know if a conventional hair drier is hot
enough). The tubing will shrink and the glue inside it will become sticky -
everything becomes sealed.  When it cools everything is tight. You can trim
away excess tubing from the tip of the sensor (if you don't then the sensor
will be a bit slower to respond to changes).  I have a bunch that we did
like this and a few have even survived an episode in an autoclave.

Heiner Lieth.

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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 01:39:34 -0500 (EST)
From: Alex Santic <alex at salley.com>
Subject: Carapils vs. light crystal (Alex Santic)

Question for y'all.

Is there any basic difference between the way Carapils and crystal malts
are made? Recently I needed some Carapils in a pinch and added a small
amount to an equipment order. The only type available from that particular
vendor was an English variety (I think it was M&F or something like that),
whereas normally I would probably have ordered DWC. 

Yesterday I brewed a pale ale in which I intended to use both Carapils and
medium crystal malts in equal proportions. So I noticed that the English
Carapils was labeled as being 20L. Is there any essential difference
between this malt and light English crystal (apart from about 6L
difference)? The color issue isn't critical (looks like it'll be a very
pretty reddish brew), but did I actually achieve what I intended, or did I
just load up my beer with much more conventional crystal malt than
intended? 

I had the impression that the point of Carapils malts was to add some 
head retention and sweetness/body to the beer without having a major 
impact on color. I know there are distinct differences between products 
from various maltsters, but perhaps the varieties of Carapils are even 
less interchangeable than I thought.

- --
Alex Santic - alex at salley.com
Silicon Alley Connections, LLC
527 Third Avenue #419 - NYC 10016 - 212-213-2666 - Fax 212-447-9107
http://www.salley.com

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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 14:28:30 +200
From: "Braam Greyling" <acg at knersus.nanoteq.co.za>
Subject: Caustic soda

Hi there

First I would like to say thanks to the guys who responded to my 
question about trub removal.

I got some caustic soda the other day at the supermarket. 
I am thinking of cleaning extremely dirtie cornies with it. 
Can somebody give me some tips please ?  Will it react with the 
rubber of the o-rings and the plastic ? 

Thanks a lot !

Braam Greyling

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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 12:46:59 -0000
From: Graham Stone <gstone at dtuk.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Spreadsheet for recipes/procedures

Does anyone have a spreadsheet/word template/database etc. that they use to 
record their recipes/procedures?  The sort of thing I have in mind would 
allow me to records every parameter about a brew that may be significant as 
far as being about to reproduce it or hunt down problems.

TIA

Dr. Graham Stone
Dunstan Thomas (UK) Ltd
- ------------------------------------------------------
web: http://www.demon.co.uk/dtuk/
email: gstone at dtuk.demon.co.uk
phone: +44-1705-822254
fax: +44-1705-823999
- ------------------------------------------------------

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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 12:57:42 -0000
From: Graham Stone <gstone at dtuk.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Live/dead yeast

I brew bitter from yeast which is recovered from the previous batch and 
have managed to use the same yeast for me last 20 or so batches.  However, 
I have been told that I should only do this 4-5 times before regenerating 
the yeast from a fresh starter/agar slant.  He problem was inferred to be 
that the yeast I am using from one batch to the next contains too many dead 
cells.  Is the comment about reculturing the yeast true?  If so, and 
acknowledging that I want to produce plenty of starter yeast, can anybody 
suggest a favourite way to reculture sufficient yeast for pitching into 
10-12 (UK) gals?  Alternatively, does anybody know a way to determine the 
quantity of viable cell in a volume of yeast and a method of separate out 
the dead yeast cells from the viable ones?

Dr. Graham Stone
Dunstan Thomas (UK) Ltd
- ------------------------------------------------------
web: http://www.demon.co.uk/dtuk/
email: gstone at dtuk.demon.co.uk
phone: +44-1705-822254
fax: +44-1705-823999
- ------------------------------------------------------

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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 08:16:34 -0500 (EST)
From: John Goldthwaite <ir358 at cleveland.Freenet.Edu>
Subject: Aeration

I have been following the recent conversations about wort 
aeration and I would like to relay my SIMPLE procedure. There are
a good number of people out there who seem to be making this a 
lot harder and time consuming than it needs to be. For 5 gallon
batches I do the following:
Transfer wort to plastic primary (full of scratches,3 yrs old &
no ill effects)
Take OG reading.
Take my long handled spoon and submerge it about 6 inches beneath
the surface. Make sure the edge of the spoon is touching the side
of the bucket.
I then work the spoon back and forth briskly along the side of the
bucket in a small arc to agitate the wort. I do this until I get
lots of foam kicking up. Usually a minute or two. 
Then pitch a 2 quart starter. Sometimes only 1 qt, which affects
the lag time more than the FG it seems.
Then repeat the above process again for a minute or two. 
Put the top on the bucket and you're off to the races.

I guess if you do primary in glass that this process would need to
be modified a little.  It seems that the membership here does
not lack in the creativity department. I might suggest doing 
the bucket process and then wait 4-8 hours, then transfer to
glass primary.  This way you kill two birds with one stone. 
Plenty of aeration and trub/cold break removal.  I do both 
all grain and extract and have never had a problem with FG's 
being high.  I am usually around 1.010-14 and have been as low 
as 1.008 depending on the yeast strain of course.  A few 
caveats; don't expect a high gravity beer (Bock,Triple,Barley
Wine etc) to ferment out much past 1.020; yeast strain can
affect FG, Mash temp can affect FG, and it does seem that
Laaglander dry extract causes problems also.  So in summary,
don't get a hernia shaking your carboy, don't waste 2-4 hrs
using a fish tank pump, and unless you enjoy it, don't roll
the fermenter around on the back 40.  Hope this helps in the
quest for lower Final gravity and better brew. 

- --
"If my words did glow, with the gold of sunshine...(Garcia/Hunter)

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #2312