HOMEBREW Digest #2327 Sun 26 January 1997
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@ brew.oeonline.com
Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of
Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
URL: http://www.oeonline.com
Contents:
Re: Oxycap questions ("John R. Bowen")
Oxygenation speculations ("David R. Burley")
Diacetyl rest, tiny bubbles in my beer,skunked ("David R. Burley")
Answering my own question.. (eric fouch)
Stuff to ponder (Jim Liddil)
European HBD members - stainless 5 litre mini-kegs (Ian Smith)
World Cup of Beer Announcement (DAVE SAPSIS)
Mg is bitter (Bill Giffin)
RE: prononctiation of Gueuze ("R. Baert")
Delirium Tremens (Clifford Rones)
Re: Quality of cold break with immersion chillers? (Jeff Irvine)
Re: Cleaning Keg Dip Tubes ("Robert Waddell")
Magnum Hops (nkanous)
Plastic Model Cement (David Hammond)
Auto delete (Keith Hazen)
RE: bass bottles ("Don Leone")
Mash Yield Data for SUDS 4.0 ("WILLIAM R. RICH")
<none> (UTC -05:00)" <rbyrnes2.ford at e-mail.com>
Drilling a hole! ("Kelly C. Heflin")
w white shield/extraction points (BAYEROSPACE)
No Head! (Daniel Louis Lanicek)
Mint Stout (Moncsko)
YOUZA YOUZA YOUZA (ThE-HoMeBrEw-RaT)
pronunciation (ben stutzman)
Re: bavarian weizen yeasts (Todd Kirby)
Re: Hop tea (JohnT6020)
Forced carbonation vs. priming sugar (ELVIS942)
RE: Belgian Abbeys ("FCC(SW) Rich Moore") ("R. Baert")
Use of High Maltose Syrup? (middel)
Bitterness, Thanks Pat ("David R. Burley")
Re: Belgian Abbeys (Dion Hollenbeck)
Re: Keg Conditioning Beer (Dion Hollenbeck)
Worthington White Shield (Jim Cave)
The moral of the story is: Just bottle it (rootbeer)!! ("Kenneth A. Lee")
New home!! ("Robert Marshall")
Re: Re: Improving my beer (David and Nancy Conger)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 12:33:14 +0000
From: "John R. Bowen" <jbowen at primary.net>
Subject: Re: Oxycap questions
What is the straight scoop on Oxycaps? By what mechanism do they work?
Are they an O2 barrier or an O2 absorber? I have heard that they
contain ascorbic acid and become active when wet. If so, how should one
sanitize them to keep them from just absorbing atmospheric O2 before
they go on the bottle? Do the bottles need to be inverted for a while
to bring the beer into contact with the cap?
And more importantly, are they really useful for bottle conditioned
beer, as I anticipate that the live yeast will use most of the O2 in
the bottle, anyhow? Has anyone done a taste comparison with bottle
conditioned beer (filled 1/4" from the rim)?
TIA for the advice. -John
Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 97 13:37:36 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Oxygenation speculations
Brewsters:
Craig Amundsen speculates that young yeast (he defines as less than 8 bud scars
- and I define as not having been oxygenated) are not the source of estery
beers, rather it is the creaky old cells breaking down that are the culprits.
How does your theory or WAG explain the floculation/oxygenation relationship
that I think exists with certain of the highly flocculant ale yeast?
Does anyone have information about ester formation rate as a function of time
elapsed in a fermentation?
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 97 13:37:38 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Diacetyl rest, tiny bubbles in my beer,skunked
Brewsters:
AlK says about my comments on what happens in a diacetyl rest:
As for the diacetyl rest, it's primary purpose is to help the yeast re-
> absorb diactyl faster than if you simply went from fermentation at 50F
> to lagering at 40F.<<<<< The diacetyl rest has *nothing* to do with
carbonation,
> purging undesirable volatiles, dissolved oxygen>>>> (what dissolved oxygen --
> you simply raise the the temperature of the beer -- no transfer is implied
> or needed in the diacetyl rest) and the only compound other than diacetyl
> that I could imagine would be re-absorbed might be acetaldehyde. The
M&BS says 2nd ed vol2 p 692:
...."diacetyl rest". This period of a few days at 14-16 C (57-61F) encourages
the oxidative decaboxylation of alpha acetohydroxy acids to vicinal diketone*s*,
followed by the reduction to the corresponding diols. (Chapter 17).
***Essentially it involves intense yeast activity to *carbonate the beer*,
*purge undesirable volatiles* , *reduce *many* compounds chemically* (hence the
trade name "redox" for one process) and *take up all the dissolved oxygen.****
The emphases <<< >>>, * * and *** *** are mine and not Al's or M&BS'.
In my case, using my "krauesen starter" method to carbonate a keg I get these
results, which is how this conversation started.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I said:
>It may also be something as simple as the naturally carbonated beers have more
> >yeast in them which acts as nucleation sites producing finer bubbles
AlK says:
>
> This may be the most brilliant thing you've posted, Dave. I think it has
> real possibilities. We should investigate further.
>
I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this! A compliment, I think. {:>o.
Just kidding.
I also aquired a filter and a CP bottle filter recently. I have both 5 micron
and 0.5 micron filters. Let's talk about an experimental structure. Comments
from others appreciated.
- --------------------------------------------------------------
Hal Davis says:
> I guess I don't understand why Heineken in green bottles is so consistently
> skunked.
I remember reading somewhere, sometime,( can't guarantee the validity) that
Heinehen is not actually skunked (in the light sensitive way) but that it is a
property of the hops themselves. Any confirmation or denials?
- --------------------------------------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 97 14:04 EST
From: eric fouch <S=eric_fouch%S=fouch%G=eric%DDA=ID=STC021+pefouch%Steelcase-Inc at mcimail.com>
Subject: Answering my own question..
Date: Friday, 24 January 1997 11:11am ET
To: STC012.HOMEBRE1 at STC010.SNADS
From: Eric.Fouch at STC001
Subject: Answering my own question..
In-Reply-To: The letter of Thursday, 23 January 1997 11:15pm ET
HBD-
According to Charlie P. (page 254, NCJOHB), Alpha amylase degrades at 153F,
67C in two hours. Beta amylase degrades between 40-60 minutes at 149F, 65C.
So, if I mash in at 158F (and I did have my mash pot insulated, but apparently
not very well), and the temp drifts to 140 over the course of 90 minutes, I
got some, but not much activity out of the beta amylase (realizing the b.
amylase will degrade even quicker since 158F is higher than 149F) since b.
amylase still has *some* activity at the higher temp.
At any rate, b.amylase deactivates twice as fast as a. amylase, which is fine
for me, as I hold no prejudices against a highly dextrinous wort. If I were
trying to brew to style, I would be much AR about my mash temp profiles. For
now, I'm still making stuff mucho better than the budmilloors guys, which may
be no great feat, but at least even my mistakes taste great (less filling]).
I guess it's time to start brewing stylistically true brews, and slow down on
the Coffee House Porters, PunkinHead Ales, and O.J. Honey Ambers.
WHAT A GREAT HOBBY]
Eric Fouch
BJCP Wannabe
Bent Dick YactoBrewery
Kentwood MI
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 12:07:17 -0700 (MST)
From: Jim Liddil <JLIDDIL at AZCC.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: Stuff to ponder
This is from a recent J. Inst Brewing review article on mitochondria and oyxgen
in brewing. It is an excerpt. WAGs are not for me. :-)
Jim
www.u.arizona.edu/~jliddil
***********************************
In a traditonal brewing fermentation, wort is cooled and aearted to 6-8 mg/L
DO. Within 3 h of inoculation, all of this oxygen is removed from the wort.
During this period, there is intensive lipid synthesis. Of the oxygen
available to yeast at the time of inoculation, only 5-15% is used for sterol
synthesis, whilst another 15% is used for unsaturated fatty acid production.
The remainder is reportedly consumed by reactions such as the oxidation of wort
components, CO2 stripping and biological reactions. Kirsop proved that under
his experimental conditons the first oxygen-consuming process was
insignificant. CArbon dioxide stripping should not occur to any extent until
fermentation has progressed so the majority of the remaining oxygen not used
for lipid synthesis must be consumed by other biological reactions. These
observations have led some authors to suggest alternative roles for DO in the
yeast cell.
Oxygen has been identified as having some other roles in the yeast cell
although these roles are not given the same relative importance as its
participation in unsaturated lipid formation. These alternate roles include
oxygen participation in porphyrin and heme biosynthesis, the regulation of a
number of yeast genes, the ring cleavage of proline, the uptake of some
carbohydrates and the differentiation of promitochondira to mitochondria. It is
highly likely that many as yet unidentified roles of oxygen exist. In the
presence of inhibitors that functioned to block fatty acid desaturation and
ergesterol formation, the provision of dissolved oxygen led to enhanced yeast
growth and faster assimilable nitrogen uptake. Blocking the unsaturated lipid
production significantly decreased yeast growth and caused over production of
stress factors indicating yeast in poor overall condition. It is obvious that
yeast unsaturated lipid formation is likely the major role of oxygen in the
brewing fermentation but it is not the only role. CONVERSLEY, too much oxygen
has now been proven to NOT be a safegaurd against yeast degeneration BUT TO
DIRECTLY CAUSE IT. The optimised supply of oxygen is critical to the brewer.
However to truly optimise the supply one must know where and how it is
utilised.....
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 11:59:41 -0700 (MST)
From: Ian Smith <rela!isrs at netcom.com>
Subject: European HBD members - stainless 5 litre mini-kegs
I understand that a number of European countries (Germany) use recyclable
5 litre stainless steel mini-kegs. Does anyone know where I can purchase
or rent them in Europe. They are not used here in the USA.
Cheers
Ian Smith
isrs at rela.uucp.netcom.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 11:53:33 -0800
From: DAVE_SAPSIS at fire.ca.gov (DAVE SAPSIS)
Subject: World Cup of Beer Announcement
World Beer Cup? Nah.
World Beer Championships? Nope.
World Cup of Beer? Amen, bruthah.
Announcing a call for entrants and judges for the Third Annual World
Cup of Beer. Final judging will held be on March 29, again at
Barclay's Pub in north Oakland. Please send a message if you would
like a registration package, and I'll off it to you at the speed of
electrons. Entries are due March 15. New this year is an expanded
(but still funky) set of styles to be considered. As always, we need
judges. Particularly if you are somewhere near the Bay Area, and
could pool up a set of judges to do some preliminary flights, that
would be great. Contact me or Dave Klein (klein at physics.berkeley.edu)
for more details. Also visit the web page to check out the changes.
And a heartfelt tip of the mug to Pat, Karl, and all the rest for
getting HBD back under the control of your average, run-of-the-mill
homebrewers. We may not no what we're doing, but we do know what were
*not* doing.
Cheers,
--dave sapsis
http://www.hooked.net/users/regent/worldcup.htm
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 15:05:59 -0600
From: Bill Giffin <billgiffin at maine.com>
Subject: Mg is bitter
Top of the afternoon to ye all,
Al K said:
>>>Yes, the water would be harder after these additions, but it's the
sulphate that accentuates the bitterness and not the Ca or Mg.
<<<
M&BS state that MgSO4 is bitter in and of itself, couldn't be the Mg could it?
Bill
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 21:30:24 +0100
From: "R. Baert" <ronbaert at door.hookon.be>
Subject: RE: prononctiation of Gueuze
Jeff, this is the 2nd trial, the first message is rejected because the
systems will not transmit strange ascii codes,
therefore, I try to explain it via a German example: I am shure that you
know how to prononctiate the name of the city of Koeln. I cannot write it
with te O with two dots on it, otherwise the wessage will not go trough.
If you replace the ueu from gueuze with the German O wih two dots on it, and
you pronounce that "O" a bit longer,than it's OK. You may end with S, or ZE,
not Z, ( it's depending of the local area here, in the French and Flemisch
speaking part they say Geueze, in Brussels dialect, it's Gueus.
Do you know what the word Gueuze means? It is the old Flemisch word for
"GEUS, Geuzen = plurial" this are men who did not agree with the laws of the
church (Cardinals). It happened in Flanders a 500 years ago (when we where
under the Spanisch empire of Charles V, who is born a few kilometers from here..
Kind regards from the DUVEL and other strong beers area,
Ron Baert.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 15:46:35 -0500
From: Clifford Rones <ronescli at law.dol.lps.state.nj.us>
Subject: Delirium Tremens
Does anyone have a good recipe for cloning Delirium Tremens (no...not
the disease, the Belgian Strong Ale). I am primarily an extract and
specialty grains brewer so I would prefer an extract based recipe, but I
can do conversions if I have to. Also, I would be very curious what
would be the best yeast to use (I have generally used Wyeast cultures).
Thanks and Happy brewing. Cliff Rones.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 21:46:15 +0100
From: Jeff Irvine <irv at wireworks.se>
Subject: Re: Quality of cold break with immersion chillers?
Stuart was asking about the effectiveness of removing cold break with
an immersion cooler, and was particularly interested in not adding
extra work to his brewing process.
The immersion cooler will make a reasonable removal of cold break
if you filter it through a hop bed. Cold break works best with a
sudden shift in temperature. Should you wish to enhance your cold
break, you can always brew to a higher O.G. than wished, and then add
cold water just as you start cooling.
The bottom line is how much cold break to remove? I thought I had
the answer to that question based on my own experience. I have been
amazed however at the lengths at which people have been going to to
remove it, and decided to test this question once again. This time I
have used an independent blind tasting panel. It turns out that what
you like, is what you like. I find no consistant pattern in what is
preferred, however a consistancy within the same taster from one
occasion to the other.
I have one more experiment series fermenting in the cellar now, and
should be happy to report to you when completed.
In short- Yes, an immersion cooler can remove a large portion of
the cold break. Your own taste may determine whether you want more or
less of it removed.
Dr. Pivo
Return to table of contents
Date: 24 Jan 97 13:45:00 MST
From: "Robert Waddell" <V024971 at Tape.StorTek.Com>
Subject: Re: Cleaning Keg Dip Tubes
Robert DeNeefe <rdeneefe at compassnet.com> asks:
> Subject: cleaning dip tubes
(snip...)
> One problem remains: How in the world do I clean the inside
> of the dip tubes? Do they make pipe cleaners that long? The tubes
> smell of soda, and I really don't want my next batch to be Barq's
> Rootbeer Ale.
>
Robert,
I use a .22 rifle cleaning rod with a small square of "Scotch Brite" (tm)
on the end. I actually just push it through instead of threading it into
any rifle cleaning tools. I also soaked my kegs, when they were new,
in warm water with a large handful of baking soda to get rid of any
odors of the original contents. Not wanting to take any chances, I
replaced all of the "O" rings, too.
Just as an aside, Wayne Waananen took first place with his "Hi-Res
Root Beer" recipe in the Herb Beer catagory in the 1987 National
Homebrew Competition. It's in the Winners Circle booklet from the
American Homebrewers Assn. "Barq's Beer" may not be too bad. #%^)
If you're interested in the recipe and can't find the booklet drop me
a line and I'll type it up for you. (Hi, Wayne! Hope your new job
at "Five Star" is going well.)
RJW
__
I *L*O*V*E* my [Pico] system. 'Cept for that
gonging noise it makes when my wife throws it
off the bed at night.
Women...
--Pat Babcock
*** It's never too late to have a happy childhood! ***
******************************************************************************
V024971 at TAPE.STORTEK.COM / Opinions expressed are usually my own but
Robert J. Waddell / perhaps shared (though not by my employer).
Owner & Brewmaster: Barchenspeider Brew-Haus
*******************************************************************************
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 16:22:37 -0500 (EST)
From: nkanous <nkanous at tir.com>
Subject: Magnum Hops
Wondering if anyone has a pedigree, or better, a flavor profile on Yakima
Magnum hops. Saw some at the local homebrew store, alpha acid 14%. Anybody
have any experience? TIA.
Nathan
P.S. Thanks for the help on the iodide/iodine thing...oops!
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 16:37:30 -0500
From: David Hammond <hammond at nexen.com>
Subject: Plastic Model Cement
Hello, fellow brewers...
I have a brew that I am working on and its flavor leaves
much to be desired right now. In its latest incarnation,
I have been told that there is a flavor reminiscent of
plastic model cement.
Has anyone ever encountered this? What is it?
(Ingredients: Light DME,
Carapils,
Roasted Barley,
Eroica for bittering, and
Hallertauer and Tettnanger for finishing,
Muntons Dry Yeast)
Dave Hammond
New Hampshire
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 16:38:20 -0500
From: Keith Hazen <105063.2531 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Auto delete
Al sent me some private e-mail regarding liquid extract. Unfortunately my
mail setting was on auto delete, so I didn't get a chance to even look at
it. So if you don't mind please send it again. Sorry for the waste of
bandwidth and inconvienience to Al.
Keith Hazen
Bremerton WA
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 15:43:01 -0500
From: "Don Leone"<DLeone at gw.stlnet.com>
Subject: RE: bass bottles
hey there, couldn't cap bass bottles with my hand capper. the distance from
the top to the smooth part of the neck is to short to use these cappers.
finally bought a bench capper and it does them, guiness and many others.
take care.
"love animals, don?t eat them"
don leone
dleone at stlnet.com
http://home.stlnet.com/~dleone/index.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 13:40:33 -0800
From: "WILLIAM R. RICH" <RICHB at nisewest.nosc.mil>
Subject: Mash Yield Data for SUDS 4.0
After 25 extract batches, I
recently did my first all grain.
Thanks to all of the great
information I have received from
HBD and my local homebrew store,
everything went very well. I
couldn't believe how clear it was
when I bottled. Tasted great too!
For my second all grain batch, I
would like to use some Belgian
specialty malts (caramunich, and
aromatic) in the mash. When I went
into the SUDS 4.0 program to
calculate the expected OG, IBU,
etc., I found that these malts (and
several others) are missing from
the malt table. Where can I find a
listing of expected yields (in
points/pound/gallon I think) for
the various malts that are not
included in the SUDS 4.0 malt
table?
I am very happy with SUDS for
calculating expected OG, IBU and
mashing conditions. Are there
other programs available that are
better for calculating this
information? Is there a good
source for a complete listing of
expected malt yields? If I can get
my hands on this information, I can
update the SUDS malt table to
include the grains I want to use.
TIA,
Bill Rich
richb at nosc.mil
San Diego, CA
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 10:37:13 EST
From: "Rich Byrnes USAET(UTC -05:00)" <rbyrnes2.ford at e-mail.com>
Subject: <none>
Scared ya didn't I?
heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh
Ok, that's enough tomfoolery, back to work!
Regards,_Rich Byrnes Jr
B&AO Pre-Production F-Series Analyst \\\|///
phone #(313)323-2613, fax #390-4520_______o000_(.) (.)_000o
rbyrnes2.ford at e-mail.com (_)
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 17:27:19 -0800
From: "Kelly C. Heflin" <kheflin at monmouth.com>
Subject: Drilling a hole!
C'mon with the drilling stainless problems. Put a drill in a hand drill.
If you want, and I suggest you do, center punch it. I also suggest step
drilling it, from small to large. They sell something called a unibit,
its a drill that rises in 1/16 increments and it drills a beautiful
hole. It's only a 1/16" thick at most piece of metal we're drilling
here, it's gonna work.
Kelly (yes a sheet metal mechanic)
- --
Kelly C. Heflin
Kheflin at monmouth.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 18:20 -0600
From: BAYEROSPACE <M257876 at sl1001.mdc.com>
Subject: w white shield/extraction points
collective homebrew conscience:
dave burley wrote:
>> (al k:)
>> Are you sure you don't mean Worthington
>> White Shield, which was brewed/owned by Bass just before its demise?
>>
> It is entirely possible, but that's not how I remember it. It has been nearly
>three decades since I drank it and it wasn't that often, staying with the
>kegged versions of beers mostly. Was White Shield bottle conditioned?
michael jackson declares worthington white shield the classic example of
pale ale in his "world guide to beer". it was bottle conditioned. i say was,
because, according to some british transplant friends of mine, it's apparently
not produced any more. al k notes this also. one of my friends told me
that when he was still living in britain, worthington was available as
real ale. i'm not sure how many years ago it was, but he claims that when it
was well kept, it was outstanding. it tended to be quite fragile, though, and
if not kept well, it would go "off" quickly. that's all i know. i never had
the pleasure of trying it. in either style.
jorge wrote:
>I have read an article which mentions a certain way to express yield in
>points. I do not know the concept of this yield expression and how it is
>calculated. Can somebody explain it to me?
>I also read something related with extraction%. What is it and how is it
>determined? Is it anything that I should fix for a certain recipe or what?
>I would appreciate your help.
it is possible to express extraction in points per pound per gallon. for
example, if you used 10 pounds of pale malt and got 5 gallons of wort at
a starting gravity of 1.060, this means you got
5*60/10 = 30 points/lb/gal (or, points*gal/lb)
while this is useful, it's even more useful when also using a "maximum" figure
of extraction for different types of grist material. some homebrew books list
the "maximum" amount of extract for different types of malt and adjuncts.
the reason this is important is because it gives you a "brewhouse efficiency"
that is the result of your equipment and technique. this efficiency can
be used to predict the starting gravity of a recipe. this is most likely to
be successful for beers that use roughly the same amount of grist, i.e. you
won't get the same efficiency for a barley wine as you do for a bitter,
because you have to stop sparging with considerable sugar left in the lauter
tun on the high gravity styles.
for example: a pilsner using all 2-row pils malt will have a "maximum" extract
of about 35 points/lb/gal. this is based on one of dave miller's books.
for 100% efficiency, the recipe should contain (48*5)/35 = 6.86 pounds of pils
malt.
a steam beer, however, using a 7:1 ratio of 2-row pils malt to crystal malt,
will have a "maximum" extract of [(7*35)+(1*24)]/8 = 33.625 points/lb/gal.
(24 points/lb/gal is the "maximum" for crystal malt.) for 100% efficiency, you
would need 48*5/33.625 = 7.14 total pounds of grist. for a 7:1 ratio, this
would be 0.89 lb of crystal and 6.25 lb of pils malt.
if your "brewhouse efficiency" is 85%, in the first case for a starting
gravity of 1.048, you will achieve .85*35 = 29.75 points/lb/gal. this
means you need to use 5*48/29.75 = 8.07 pounds of pils malt. (note that all you
really have to do, *if you know your brewhouse efficiency*, is just divide the
"maximum" recipe grist quantity by your brewhouse efficiency, in this case,
6.86/.85 = 8.07.)
in the second case, for 85% efficiency, you would get .85*33.625 = 28.58
points/lb/gal. this is the average extraction for the ratio of malts in the
"maximum" extraction recipe. so, the total amount of grist required is
(48*5)/28.58 = 8.4 lb. for a 7:1 ratio of pils to crystal, this comes out
to 8.4/8 = 1.05 lb of crystal, and (7/8)*8.4 = 7.35 lb of pils.
but note that, similar to the pils recipe, you can simply divide each grist
type quantity by your brewhouse efficiency to get the same results:
pils = 6.25lb/.85 = 7.35 lb; crystal = .89 lb/.85 = 1.05 lb.
you have to have a set of "maximum" numbers for each grist type, and you have
to be able to calculate your actual points per pound per gallon, in order to
come up with a brewhouse efficiency. once you do that, you can predict
starting gravities as accurately as your brewhouse efficiency represents your
real performance. mine varies from 84 to 87 per cent for recipes like the
ones above. this means for gravities in the 1.048 range, i'm as much as a
couple of points off. i can usually get within a point, though.
there are many different things that determine your brewhouse efficiency and
affect its reliability. it's useful to look at past recipes where you plan
on using the same types of raw materials and the same techniques and
equipment. and , as stated earlier, the gravities need to be in the same
ballpark. generally, as your target gravity goes up, your brewhouse efficiency
will go down.
this probably bored a lot of you advanced guys, but it's helpful i think for
brewers just getting into all grain because it gives them a way to predict
starting gravity of a recipe, starting with the second time around.
brew hard,
mark bayer
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Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 19:12:18 -0600 (CST)
From: Daniel Louis Lanicek <daniell at jove.acs.unt.edu>
Subject: No Head!
Hello fellow homebrewers,
I am having a perplexing problem! My last two batches (a brown ale
and a porter) have had very little carbonation. There is no head, a very
little fiss when you pop open a bottle, and it tastes a little flat. The
perplexing part is that I prime the beer the exact same way at least a
dozen times and have never had this problem before.
I use 3/4 cup of corn sugar and boil it in a cup of water for 10
minutes. Then add it to the bottling bucket when racking 5 gallons of
beer. Can someone give me a clue? Is there a way to recarbonate the flat
beer I have now?
Thank you,
Daniel
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Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 21:12:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Moncsko at aol.com
Subject: Mint Stout
Seems like I always post something just as the HBD crashes or moves!
Anyway...here goes again....
I'll be brewing a Stout next and have wanted for about 3 years to add a mint
flavor going into the secondary to give it a refreshing hint of mint. I think
it would be interesting if not overdone. I was thinking about the mint cake
flavoring avail at supermarkets or maybe a cream de mint extract. Anybody
have any ideas or tried this before? Thanks for any help,
Jim Moncsko, Morrisville, NC.
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Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 21:21:22 -0600
From: ThE-HoMeBrEw-RaT <skotrat at wwa.com>
Subject: YOUZA YOUZA YOUZA
Hi all,
I just wanted to take a moment to thank Mr. Pat Babcock for being kind
enough to let me sucker punch him into keeping a real HBD alive.
Hats off to you Pat.
And thanks to Karl for giving time and services to this wonderful rag.
(Rant Mode ON!)
As you know I am not pleased with the AHA/AOB and their policies in the
manner that they have chosen to sort of "sell out" the american Homebrewer.
For me their lack of ability to give any care or concern with the HBD was
the last straw in a long line of problems.
I urge you all who are not satisfied with what the AOB/AHA has become to
write them, call them or email them and let your opinions and voices be heard.
(Rant Mode off)
Hmmmmm Now where the hell is me plaid???
-Scott
################################################################
# 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" #
################################################################
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Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 23:29:04 -0600 (CST)
From: stutzman at ipa.net (ben stutzman)
Subject: pronunciation
In the Flemmish language the letter g is almost always silent or pronounced as
as a real soft h and a vowel at the end of a word is pronounced as a short
sound. The way I heard the word Gueuze pronounced when I was introduced to
the fine and tasty blend in Brugge was some what like \hoo-ze\ or \oo-ze\.
Good brewing
Ben
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 00:49:24 -0800
From: Todd Kirby <mkirby at bgsm.edu>
Subject: Re: bavarian weizen yeasts
Glad to see the HBD looking like its old self. You guys did a great job!
Also, thanks for going back to the old numbering system, if for nothing
more than nostalgia.
Gavin Scarman asks about the Wyeast Weihenstephan (3068) giving the
appropriate clove-like characeristic to a Weizen. I just made a starter
this evening for this yeast and was again reminded at how nice the odor
is from the smack pack. Lots of clovey, almost banana-like odors
reminiscent of a good Weizen. If you haven't tried it yet, you should
definitely give it a shot. Be prepared for vigorous fermentation, and
maybe use a blowoff, even if you usually don't (it's a shame to see your
beer spewing out the top of a fermenter).
Best to all,
Todd Kirby
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 03:21:10 -0500 (EST)
From: JohnT6020 at aol.com
Subject: Re: Hop tea
Along these lines, I have experimented with hop tea in a somewhat different
form. I suspended the hops in water in a fruit canning jar, closed it up,
and pressure cooked it about a half hour. Presumably the hop acids are
maximally converted and the aroma is locked into the sealed jar. The
resulting tea can be added to the cooled brew like dry hoppping with
allowance for the greater bittering effect. This seems to work but it would
take a bit of doing to quantify how much bittering and aroma effect is
obtained.
73,
JET
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 03:26:32 -0500 (EST)
From: ELVIS942 at aol.com
Subject: Forced carbonation vs. priming sugar
I'm relatively new to the business-- (only 4 batches brewed so far, and all
very tasty) and this is my question. I took a recipe out of a zymurgy that
calls for 28 gallons and did my own calculations to reduce it to a 5 gallon
batch. It called for secondary fermentation (which I have never done),
lagering, (which I have never done), and forced carbonation. Is there any
reason why I can't add a standard amount of priming sugar before bottling and
let it carbonate that way? My fridge is set to 46 Degrees for fermentation.
Any thoughts or tips? Thanks. email address is elvis942 at aol.com.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 15:50:04 +0100
From: "R. Baert" <ronbaert at door.hookon.be>
Subject: RE: Belgian Abbeys ("FCC(SW) Rich Moore")
Rich,
The name of Trappist is protected, so there are many Abbey breweries and
only 6 Trappist breweries in Europe, 5 of them are in Belgium and 1 in
Holland. There are 6 Trappist monasteries in Belgium, only 5 of them are
brewing.
the names:
Belgium: Orval, Chimay, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren are brewers.
The name of their beer is the same as the place where the monastere is situated.
In the Trappist monastere of Achel, there are not brewing.
The Netherlands: Commercial name of the beer = "La Trappe", situated in
Koningshoven-Tilburg.
Only the Belgian Trappist beers have a long history of brewing abbey beers.
Note that 80 percent of the Trappist beers is subcontracted to big non-monk
breweries.
Kind regards from the bestbeercountry, Ron Baert.
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 10:34:39 +0000
From: middel at bconnex.net
Subject: Use of High Maltose Syrup?
Hi all,
I have been enjoying reading the digest for the last 6 months
now and have been getting a lot of good info out of it as well as
being utterly confused at times :), but I guess that's what learning
is all about.
I have been brewing for about a year now, my first 5 or 6 batches
being of the kit and corn sugar variety, the last few batches I have
moved on to brewing with extract with pretty good results so far.
This christmas past I recieved a Munton & Fison Blonde kit and being
anxious to get it started (as all my carboys were empty, and the beer
supply was getting low) I went out to get some DME from my local brew
shop, unfortunately it was closed till after new years, I went to
anither place and to make a long story short the owner convinced me
to buy 3 lbs of high maltose syrup instead of DME.
I just tasted my first bottle last night (a bit premature, but as I
said the supply was getting low) and the initial taste was pretty
fair but the aftertaste left a lot to be desired. It's hard to
describe but it felt as if it left a coating on the roof of your
mouth, and a real dry aftertaste.
Anyhow I'm wondering if anyone who has used maltose syrup before can
comment on this. I _don't_ plan on using it again!!
TIA and now I'll move back to lurking mode:)
Trevor Middel
middel at bconnex.net
Barrie, Ontario
Return to table of contents
Date: 25 Jan 97 11:13:16 EST
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Bitterness, Thanks Pat
Brewsters:
The other day, I suggested to an HBDer that increasing the hardness of his water
and specifically adding calcium and magnesium sulfate to his beer might increase
his friends' perception of what they call "bitterness".
AlK commented that it wasn't the cations of calcium or magnesium but rather just
the sulfate that was the active ingredient. I intended to respond but forgot
until I saw the following comment by John Pyles, a salt maker:
> Some marketers put out a low grade salt (not washed well) or add magnesium to
> make a "sea" salt. Most producers do their best to remove any **magnesium**
> because it tends to make the salt taste **bitter.**
** emphasis is mine
Also, on p 844 M&BS 2nd ed vol 2:
"...Bitter(1) is evoked by hydrophobic amino acids and alkaloids at the front of
the tongue, while Bitter(2) is produced by magnesium sulfate, phenolics,and
presumably iso-alpha-acids at the rear of the tongue."
Magnesium sulfate is used as a standard as one of the substances to evoke
bitterness in tasters. Its taste threshold is 4.6X10^ -3 M or 5.54 X10^ -2%. op
cit p848. Rather than salty, magnesium sulfate only tastes bitter op cit p 849.
Perhaps you recall my story some months ago which related how one of my British
friends on the way home from a youthfully exhuberant drinking session in a pub
suffered the effects of high levels of Magnesium Sulfate ( perhaps to reduce the
cost of the hops or non-availability) in beer produced during the second world
war. AlK is correct, too much magnesium sulfate and your beer will "go through
you like a dose of salts". And you thought Epsom Salts was only good to bathe
your feet in . Read the box.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to add my thanks to all the others to Pat Babcock and his unseen
minions ( if any) for taking over this terrrrific responsibility of HBD
publication and my congratulations for the seamless transfer. The seven
day-a-week responsibility is made up for by the lack of pay and vacation. I
also think the AHA/AOB should be given credit for quickly providing a temporary
home in our time of need. Believe me it helped all of us appreciate what a
great job was done in the past and that we desperately need a loving Janitor
rather than a corporation to make it work well. Thanks again, Pat Babcock.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK
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Date: 25 Jan 1997 08:19:07 -0800
From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen at axel.vigra.com>
Subject: Re: Belgian Abbeys
>> FCC(SW) Moore writes:
FM> What I would like to know is, what are the six Trappist breweries
FM> of Belgium, and the names of the beers they make? I know Chimay
FM> and Orval, but can't remember the rest.
There are only 5 Trappist breweries in Belgium. The sixth Trappist
monastery that can use the designation "Trappist" is the Brauerie
Schaapskooi near Koenigshoeven, Holland. The brand name is "La
Trappe" and they make an Enkel, Dubbel, Trippel, and Quadrupel.
Those in Belgium are:
Westmalle near Antwerp makes Dubbel and Tripel
Westvleteren in West Flanders makes three strengths, the most common
called St. Sixtus and is brewed under contract by an outside brewery
under contract.
Rochefort, the abbey at St. Remy makes Rochefort 10, a 9% brew.
Chimay makes red, white, and blue
Orval makes Orval, 5.7% alcohol.
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
Return to table of contents
Date: 25 Jan 1997 08:28:21 -0800
From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen at axel.vigra.com>
Subject: Re: Keg Conditioning Beer
>> MaltyDog writes:
M> I am in the process at the moment of moving to a totally
M> keg-oriented system. What I was interested in asking about was the
M> process of naturally carbonating in kegs; that is, "keg
M> conditioning." I was wondering if anyone who has had experience
M> with this method could enlighten us all on the procedures for doing
M> this, and how to calculate the right time to rack (I sure wouldn't
M> want a stainless steal keg to explode!)
See my web page and go to the gadgets link and you will find a
treatise in detail about fermenting in kegs.
As a summary, I rack to secondary when the primary krauesen has fallen
and the yeast are still active. Then I attach an adjustble pressure
relief valve on the "gas in" fitting and set it for about 20 psi.
With some beers that I did not catch in time, I do not even use the
relief valve, merely come back and check on the pressure every couple
of days.
No, you will never explode a keg since their WORKING pressure is 130
psi. As long as you let the krauesen fall before racking to
secondary, and check on the pressure every couple of days, the most
you could do would be to overcarbonate the beer.
If you goof on how much sugar is left on the low side, then you may
have to force carbonate, on the high side, and the relief valve, or
manual relief will take care of it. Sugar measurements are
unnecessary unless you just *want* to. Besides what do you think a
hydrometer is for, a fancy Xmas tree ornament? You have a cheap,
accurate way of measuring sugar content already, unless you don't
happen to have a hydrometer.
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
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 10:03:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Jim Cave <CAVE at PSC.ORG>
Subject: Worthington White Shield
Worthington White Shield was, and still is bottle conditioned.
I cannot find reference to White Label in either Protz or Jackson.
Jim Cave
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 12:07:20 -0700
From: "Kenneth A. Lee" <kenlee at ibm.net>
Subject: The moral of the story is: Just bottle it (rootbeer)!!
In the article about rootbeer, I realized how great the wealth of
information is that I get from this digest. My children have been bugging
me to make a batch of rootbeer for quite a while now. Glad to find out
what to look out for. I'm reminded of the following quote:
"The un-wise man will repeat mistakes. The smart man will learn from his
mistakes. The wise man will learn from other peoples mistakes." - Quoted
from an episode of the Commish.
While on the topic of rootbeer, What is the best/easiest way to make up a
batch. I have never done it and have only brewed from extracts up to this
point.
Thanks
Kenneth Lee
kenlee at ibm.net
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Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 11:13:55 +0000
From: "Robert Marshall" <robertjm at hooked.net>
Subject: New home!!
Thanks to those who've decided that they appreciate the homebrew
digest, and don't look on it as a burden the first time that someone
major goes wrong!!
Later,
Robert Marshall
robertjm at hooked.net
homepage: http://www.hooked.net/users/robertjm
- ----------------------------------------------
"In Belgium, the magistrate has the dignity
of a prince, but by Bacchus, it is true
that the brewer is king."
Emile Verhaeren (1855-1916)
Flemish writer
- ------------------------------------------------
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 14:22:34 -0500
From: dnconger at primenet.com (David and Nancy Conger)
Subject: Re: Re: Improving my beer
> I've got an easy answer to that: as soon as the strainer start to become
>clogged with hop gunk, fling the gunk into the kitchen sink. At most, you
>might have to rinse the strainer under the kitchen sink for a second or
>two. I can easily strain 2.5 gallons of wort (using 6 oz. of hop pellets
>for an IPA) into a carboy in less than 5 minutes.
That's exactly what I did. Pour, clog, rinse, pour, clog, rinse -- 45 mins.
I bet your strainer is bigger than mine. Now I feel inadequate. Thanks
anyway Matt.
David Conger
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