HOMEBREW Digest #2503 Wed 10 September 1997
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of
Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
URL: http://www.oeonline.com
Contents:
Kiss My Entire Butt / Home-Roasted Crushed Grain / 135 Rest (KennyEddy)
GABF (Ian Smith)
Step Mashing in a Gott (MCer1235)
Aeration Miracle !! (Darrell)
Bottle/Keg Alternative? (Greg_T._Smith)
Batch sparging - rates (Doug Moyer)
Jethro on Special B ("Rob Moline")
irradiation ("Ted Hull")
re:Yeast Culturing (Charles Burns)
Cousin of Son of Fermentation Chiller (Charles Burns)
Wet Cold (HH)
CBS event ... (Tom Fitzpatrick)
1997 Mazer Cup Mead Competion (Spencer W Thomas)
Entire Butt (cont'd) ("Michel J. Brown")
Gyle/Spiese for CO2 ("Michel J. Brown")
Uk suppliers (David Pickett)
Highlights - improving mash efficiency responses (LBarrowman)
efficiency problem (mirsjer)
Hop Harvest/Prices (Lorne P. Franklin)
Minute Oats: what to do with it ? (Mike Spinelli)
Is it a Homebrew? ("John R. Bowen")
using milk jugs/polyclar question (Eric Tepe)
Fridge: thanks and an update ("Dave Draper")
Boiling a sample for an iodine test (Dave Johnson)
Culturing yeast from a bottle of homebrew? (Richard Taft)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 11:03:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Subject: Kiss My Entire Butt / Home-Roasted Crushed Grain / 135 Rest
Sorry about the subject line -- couldn't resist.
*****
Scott Murman asks about home-roasting already-crushed malt:
"I would think that simple toasting of pale ale malt wouldn't be affected
much, but possibly the stewing/carmelizing method wouldn't work as well.
Comments?"
At first glance I'd have to agree. There's probably nothing intrinsically
wrong with stewing or roasting crsuhed malt, but the stewed stuff would
probably be prone to premature drying, which would affect proper conversion
of the starches to sugar as is desired. When roasting / toasting, I guess
you could more easily over-do it, since the individual pieces are smaller and
would cook through quicker. It's probably worth a try with a pound of grain,
for a lousy buck.
Scott, ask your HB supplier if you can use their mill for free, as long as
you buy the grain from them. If they nromally charge a milling fee, then
offer to pay that. What difference would it make to them if you buy the
grain and mill it immediately, versus buying it, taking it home, processing
it, and returning the next day to mill it?
*****
The current discussion of 122F versus 13XF rests has been interesting and
informative. Just shows to go you how much things have changed in malt
processing since the "classics" we rely on so much were written. Will there
be a new "Textbook of Brewing" published before the millenium?
In any case, I have a question. If I decide to put a rest at 135-ish, what
is the likely effect og beta-amylase at that temperature? Do I risk
offsetting MMWP development with a dryer, more-fermented product due to
excessive BA activity?
*****
Ken Schwartz
El Paso, TX
KennyEddy at aol.com
http://members.aol.com/kennyeddy
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 09:06:57 -0600 (MDT)
From: Ian Smith <rela!isrs at netcom.com>
Subject: GABF
Does anyone know when the Great American Beer Festival starts this year ?
Cheers
Ian Smith
isrs at rela.uucp.netcom.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 1997 12:07:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: MCer1235 at aol.com
Subject: Step Mashing in a Gott
Hi all!
I will be mashing in a Gott this brewing season and would like some advice
about step mashing.
I would like to do 122F/155F, 122F/135F/155F and 135F/155F mashes in a Gott.
What is the thickest I should mash in at the lower temperature (qt/pound)?
and what is the thinest that I want my sach hold to be (qt/pound)?
In one of his books, Noonan talks about thicker mashes being better for lower
temps and thiner ones for higher temps, is this correct?
Thanks in advance, Rene'
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 10:00:36 -0600
From: Darrell <darrell at montrose.net>
Subject: Aeration Miracle !!
Thanks to all who have helped with my RIMS problems. I'm getting
there... slowly.
But, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!!
One of the problems I had was that my tubing was allowing air to enter
at the bulkhead out of my mash tun. (Pump goes dry, plus HSA) After I
got that problem solved, I was hit with a brainstorm for aerating the
wort. Recirc with a "leak" in the inlet to the pump.
HOLY SMOKES !!!
Maybe someone's already done this, but if not, you can't imagine the
results. For a 10 gal. batch, I cooled through a CF wort chiller to
another tun. I was hooking up my pump to pump the wort into the carboys
when this idea hit me. Instead of just pumping to the carboys, I first
left the tube fitting on the inlet of the pump loose, and pumped back
into the tun. What came out the tube was CREAM !!! The leak in the
inlet allows air to suck into the liquid stream, then the impellers of
the pump whip it up into a froth. In less than 1 minute, I had milky
looking wort, with so much foam I couldn't believe it.
If you prefer using pure oxygen, just tee in a line for your oxygen
prior to the inlet of the pump, and *slowly* trickle it in. You'll have
"whipped oxy-wort"!!! I think this would *greatly* reduce your oxygen
consumption also, since your efficiency must go through the roof! For
more sanitary air, just do the same thing, with a tee, a valve, and a
filter.
I was originally going to post this message to the RIMS'ers out there,
since we already have the pumps, but *anyone* can do this. I'm using a
Grainger 1P677 that costs about $80, but one could buy a "cheapy" that
doesn't have to handle high temperature (the wort will be cool) for
about $25. Compared to the cost of aeration stones, etc. this seems
like a *very* cost effective device. For those using pure oxygen, I
believe that the savings in oxygen consumption would pay for the cost of
a pump. With a proper flow meter, you could calculate your pumping speed
and the flow rate of the oxygen to match so that you only flow as much
oxygen as your wort can take. No (or little) waste.
- --
Darrell Garton
Montrose, CO
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 97 12:02:31 EDT
From: Greg_T._Smith at notes.pw.com
Subject: Bottle/Keg Alternative?
I am planning a tailgate party in a couple of weeks. I am trying
to figure a way to get some homebrew there, but they do not allow
any bottles or kegs (which they consider to be anything under
pressure, eliminating mini-kegs, Party Pigs, and the like). Is
there any alternative left for me to use? I can't think of any,
but I am just wondering if there is any little trick I could try.
I hate resorting to buying canned beer, but if I must... at least
there are a few that are drinkable (if I can get my hands on them).
As usual, thanks in advance for any advice,
Greg Smith
BarnBrew Brewing Co.
Claryville, NY
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 13:18:34 -0400
From: Doug Moyer <moyer-de at salem.ge.com>
Subject: Batch sparging - rates
Collective,
I still haven't actually done my first all-grain batch yet. (The
inconveniences of brewing at someone else's house...) I have a 5 gallon
Igloo with a 1/2" CPVC manifold. I have three seperate valve
arrangements that I could use, and I would like to know a bit more
before deciding. I am interested in batch sparging. This is my plan:
(1) Preheat Igloo to 155 deg
(2) Mix grains (11.75 #) with 3.75 gal of 167 deg water (should go to
155 deg)
(3) Stir and hold for 60 minutes
(4) Pull out 1 gallon of sweet wort and boil.
(5) Add back to mash. Mix. Rest 10 minutes. (should go to 168 deg)
(6) Recirculate until clear. Drain into kettle.
(7) Add 3.75 gal of 168 deg water. Mix. Rest 5 minutes.
(8) Recirculate until clear. Drain into kettle.
Now my question:
(Q) Depending on the valve that I use, I can get anywhere from a drip to
about 1 gal/minute. How fast should I run off, and why does it matter?
TIA
Doug Moyer
Big Lick Brewing Collective
"Big Lick - Dripping with anticipation"
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 97 13:08:25 PDT
From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at ames.net>
Subject: Jethro on Special B
Jethro on Special B
>From: Dana Edgell <edgell at quantum-net.com>
>Subject: Special B
> If Special B is made by only one maltster (DW-C) why is the color
>contribution from it subject to such a wide range of variance/unknown? Is
>there really a huge batch to batch variance that needs to be somehow
>accounted for every time it is used?
>Brewmasters recipe Guide -> 300-500EBC/110-225L
>Papazian's Companion -> 500EBC/221SRM
>Zymurgy Special 95 -> 75.0-250.0L (220.0)
>BT George Fix Article -> 221L
>BT's 97 Market Guide -> 264-343EBC/100-130L
As with any malt, variances in color and other specs do occur. The only
way to know the real values are to obtain the spec's on individual lot
numbers from the manufacturer
Being unable to find much of my references at this time, being in some box
somewhere...(Is my filing system ruined?......) ;-) , I am unable
to give you much more than the following...DWC Special B, Lot Number
253206-Lovibond 143.8, Lot Number 149206, Lovibond 135.2.
A quick look at a couple of other malts...Caramel 10, Schreier, Lot Number
024037, Lovibond 10.2, Lot Number 296036, Lovibond 12.0.
DWC Aromatic, Lot Number 313146, Lovibond 17.4, Lot Number 145146,
Lovibond 18.5.
As you can see, differences on the order of the Special B numbers, 135.2
versus 143.8 will have less of an impact on your final color, than will a
Caramel 10 variation of 10.2 vs. 12.0, assuming these are the only color
malts used in a batch.
I have from time to time seen quite large swings in color specs on certain
malts, but unless your malt supplier, eg, homebrew shop, keeps lists of
these spec sheets, and identifies the Lot Number of the malt you are
buying, it's really a crap shoot.
As far as how much to use...I can only offer this on 2 of my brews. I was
quite fond of Special B for my Porter , Peated Porter and Stouts, but only
used a smallish amounts to round out the flavor profiles, eg, 25 lbs in 500
for the porter, and 25 in 575 lbs for 7BBL batch of Stout.
I used to pay a lot of attention to these numbers, but to be blunt, is a
+/- variance of even 20 degrees lovibond going to have much impact on 25
lbs of Special B in a 575 lb stout mash? Nope. Of course in lighter colored
beers, this difference may be huge, depending upon the percentage of
specialty malts, of differing colors used. (100 L vs 225 L? Now there's a
swing!)
I have used a mash of 250 lbs 2 Row, 50 C-10, and 25 Wheat for a golden
ale, but have also used 250 2R, 25 C-20, and 25 Wh, for a variation on the
same beer that hit the same color, but achieved a less malty flavour
profile often favored by mega brew drinkers. Now considering that there is
only 25 lbs of C-20 in a 300 lb mash, I don't believe that anything other
than a huge swing in Lovibond numbers on the C-20 would have much of an
impact on the final color.
I think it is quite important for all-grainers with a bit of experience
under their belts (only 'cos beginning all-grainers already are paranoid
enough) to study these numbers, and be able to employ them to advantage, in
the quest for mastery of the craft. Repeatability will be enhanced. But,
after one learns these manipulations, you may also find that you know where
it will make a difference, and where it will not. Once you are accustomed
to a certain range, a quick look at spec numbers will tell you when you
have to make adjustments, and when you don't think it matters enough to
bother. The more technically demanding may disagree, but that's up to them.
As with anything, YMMV.
Again, ask your malt suppliers for the Lot Numbers, and get them to obtain
them from Schreier (or Briess, or GW, or whoever....actually Briess is
quite easy to work with, as they print the Lovi. numbers on each bag, but
not things like extract potential, etc.) copies of the spec sheets for the
Lot Numbers involved. Spec sheets change quite often, indeed with the
introduction of each different lot of malt introduced to the marketplace,
and unless your supplier keeps up on this, it is quite easy to find that
Lot Number *.* may not be listed on the current spec sheet, especially if
the malt you buy is old. ( And it doesn't take long for this to occur...not
that the malt is ancient, just that many new lot numbers may be introduced
in a short time.) In this instance, you must have Schreier go back through
their spec sheets to find an individual Lot Numbers characteristics.
A top flight homebrew shop will have these numbers available for you,
inform you of the Lot Numbers for the malts you buy, and keep up with the
spec sheets, where applicable. If they find that they can't get this info
for you, they may desire to change their sources of malt supplies, use a
different distributor, or get it direct from the maltster.
Jethro
Rob Moline
Brewer At Large
brewer at ames.net
"The More I Know About Beer, The More I Realize I Need To Know More About
Beer!"
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 97 9:06:05 EDT
From: "Ted Hull" <THull at brwncald.com>
Subject: irradiation
Here's how I responded privately to Rob:
>Rob:
I don't really know about using radioactive material
for pasteurizing beer, but I have seen ads for small medium
pressure UV light systems to do the same. I think the ad was
originally in last year's BT Market Guide, but I'm not sure.
It's basically a small pipeline chamber that the beer passes
through and is exposed to the lamps. I would hope that someone
had determined before marketing this that it didn't oxidize hop
oils. The wavelength range for UV disinfection equipment in
wastewater treatment (my field) is pretty tight, so hopefully
you don't see the same effect as visible light produces.
Otherwise, you'd have to register it as the Skunkifier (TM) UV
System. Probably have a hard time finding a rep for it with that
name.
Good luck in your new location!
Ted Hull
Atlanta, GA<
I'm reasonably sure the company is Aquionics.
It's important to keep in mind that either Pilsner Urquell or
Shepherd Neame's U.S. distributor may already hold the rights to
the term used above. And their version operates on the K.I.S.S.
principle and doesn't even require any electricity!
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 97 12:36 PDT
From: cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charles Burns)
Subject: re:Yeast Culturing
Ian Wilson asks about generating a quart of yeast slurry in Hbd #2501.
The only way I was ever able to come up with a full quart of slurry was to
visit the local brewery (elk grove brewing co), sanitized jar in hand and
beg for some. Bill's always been quite generous and takes the time and
trouble to fill my jar. He uses 1056 for all his ales (even the Altbier) and
2206 for his Marzen.
When starting my own, I use a 1 gallon wine jug with #7 drilled stopper. I
typically capture 1 or 2 quarts of left over wort from each batch of beer
and strain the gunk out of it, storing in quart jars in the fridge. When
time to grow a starter, I mix a quart of wort with a pint of water, boil off
the pint of water and pitch it with the smakpak into the gallon jug. Each
1-2 days, I decant the beer and pitch another quart of starter wort. If I'm
really careful and really lucky, the starter will be at high krausen (or
near it) when I'm ready to pitch the starter into a full batch of wort. When
this happens, I get fireworks in the fermenter sometimes as quick as 45
minutes later (like the barleywine I did a couple of weeks ago).
In my opinion a quart of slurry is pretty much wasted in a 5 gallon batch.
When I get the quart from the brewery, I always split it among at least 4
batches (and thats a $16 savings).
Charley (beer judge in training) in N. Cal
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Burns, Director, Information Systems
Elk Grove Unified School District
cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us, http://www.egusd.k12.ca.us
916-686-7710 (voice), 916-686-4451 (fax)
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 8 Sep 97 13:50 PDT
From: cburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charles Burns)
Subject: Cousin of Son of Fermentation Chiller
A very slightly modified version of the Fermentation Chiller on Ken Schwartz
page(http://members.aol.com/kennyeddy/chiller/chiller.html). I could not get
a 4x8 sheet of the extruded polystyrene, only 2x8 sheets are available
around here. So I had to redo the cutting instructions and ended up with a
smaller fermentation chamber, but big enough for 6.5 gallon carboy easily.
If anyone wants a copy of the cutting instructions I can clean 'em up and
scan them for you.
Its done and it works great (test run)! I had to give up on the digital
programmable thermostat that a friend scrounged for me. It would only come
on sporadically and I never could figure out what conditions made it work. I
guess I'm HVAC challenged. I ended up at home depot and picked one up for
$16, works like a champ.
I also went ahead and put in the "running indicator lamp" even though it was
pretty redundant. The fan makes enough noise that you can hear it 20 feet
away so the lamp becomes unnecessary. But it was fun to do. Maybe my
scrounged fan is louder than usual, it came from a computer graveyard,
probably an old IBM XT.
I soldered all the joints, not just the LED. It gives strength and good
continuity to all electical connections. With temperature changes and
condensation it just made good sense.
The cord off the AC/DC adapter was only about 4 feet long. Not long enough,
so I used some bell wire (same as thermostat wire) to extend it to about 10
feet. These were also soldered and then taped.
I included the "lip" modification with quarter round. The quarter inch wide
weatherstripping did not have enough "sticking" power. I switched to 3/8
inch and it was 1,000 percent better. I used a can of the expanding foam
insulation to seal up all the cracks. A little expensive at $6 per can.
I did blow 2 jugs before I realized you gotta leave some expansion room for
the water to freeze in (duh). Fill them up about 90% only.
Definitely use "c" clamps and boards for cutting the polystyrene. I had some
scrap 1x2" that worked perfectly. Did it in the garage with the doors all
closed otherwise the wind would have blown styrofoam all over the place.
Took about 1.5 hours to mark all the cuts (extremely carefully) and about 2
hours to do the actual cutting. The clamping took longer than cutting, but
definitely worth the effort. Another 4 hours to glue it all together.
Actually took only a few minutes but I let things set up a bit after each
piece was glued together. Do the cauking and sealing as you go, don't wait
until its all glued together and then go back and try to caulk, too hard to
get at tight corners.
I hope to do a pilsner this coming weekend and really check out the operation.
Thanks to Dr Ken Schwartz I can now make lagers year round!
Charley (working on a PU Clone recipe) in N. Cal.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 14:32:58 -0700
From: HH <hhouck at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Wet Cold
Drying the fridge: I've tried a couple of things to dry out my 40o chest
freezer. Got some 'plant crystals' (silica gel?), put it in a canvas bag.
They absorb water only by direct contact, take a while to dry out and tend
to get slimy. Anybody else use a moisture absorbing device/compound?
I see bucket-of-stuff dehumidifiers in catalogs, but don't know how well
they work. What are the physics of moisture transfer? Put something dry in a
humid location and it gets damp. Old newspapers can do that. What's being used?
Another thought... would keg-lube on the fridge/freezer seals help keep it
air-tight?
-Harry Houck
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 16:42:56 -0500
From: Tom Fitzpatrick <fitz at FNAL.GOV>
Subject: CBS event ...
The Chicago Beer Society presents:
Spooky Brew Review 1997
A BJCP registered homebrew competition
October 25th, 1997 at Prairie Rock
Brewing Co., Elgin, IL
Enter to win one (or more!) of our
festive Halloween ribbons. They
certainly are unique! Prizes too!
Simple entry forms, no full recipes
required!
Judges, sign up early for category
preferences, as seats for this contest
fill up quickly (Possibly due to our
contest day raffle and after event party!).
Enter one of our special categories
for only $1 :
Smashed Pumpkin Award - send us your
absolute worst concoction for a special
ribbon. All entries must be drinkable!
Spooky Award - use your imagination,
come up with the scariest looking beer
for a special ribbon. Again, it must be
drinkable!
Two bottles per entry, $6 for each
entry, $5 each for 4 or more.
Entries accepted between October 11th
and 18th.
See http://www.mcs.com/~shamburg/cbs/spooky97.html
for complete details and forms, or contact
Tom Fitzpatrick at fitz at fnal.gov or (630) 840-3230.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 1997 23:47:47 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu>
Subject: 1997 Mazer Cup Mead Competion
Entry details *and forms* for the 1997 Mazer Cup Mead Competition can
be found at
http://realbeer.com/spencer/AABG/mazer_mead.html
The forms are available only in Adobe Acrobat ("pdf") format. If you
can't handle that, you'll have to write to the organizer Ken Schramm,
<schramk at wcresa.k12.mi.us>.
The forms can be filled in on-line if you have a sufficiently recent
version of Acrobat Reader (I know 3.0 will do it, I'm not sure about
earlier versions). The values you fill in on the first page of the
recipe form carry over to the bottle forms, except that only the first
line of the "honey type and amount" field carries over.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer at umich.edu)
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 02:47:46 -0700
From: "Michel J. Brown" <hommade at spiritone.com>
Subject: Entire Butt (cont'd)
Thanks to Jonas, Charley, Randy, Mark, Paul, and Tom, I confirmed the
meaning of the Entire part, in relation to Porter ale, and brewing.
However, no clear definition has come to light in regards to the "Butt"
portion of the equation! Pardon my French, I just don't seem to get the
connection in relationship to the use of the word "Butt" in this context.
Where's the Oxford English Dictionary when you need it? TTYAL, ILBCNU!
Dr. Michel J. Brown, D.C.
homemade at spiritone.com
http://www.spiritone.com/~homemade/index.html
"Big Man don't drink no stinking light beer!"
"Big Man drink beer what got BIG TASTE!"
Big Man Brewing (R) 1996
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 02:59:08 -0700
From: "Michel J. Brown" <hommade at spiritone.com>
Subject: Gyle/Spiese for CO2
Is there any problem with using a quart of 1.060 wort to carbonate a =
corny keg to traditional steam beer pressures? I've redlined before, and =
gotten good results, but I'm concerned when adding boiled wort to the =
finished brew. Any experienced brewers out there have any comments about =
my proposal? Enquiring minds want to know!=20
Dr. Michel J. Brown, D.C.
homemade at spiritone.com=20
http://www.spiritone.com/~homemade/index.html
"Big Man don't drink no stinking light beer!"
"Big Man drink beer what got BIG TASTE!"
Big Man Brewing (R) 1996
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 09:21:26 +0100
From: David Pickett <dave.pickett at zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: Uk suppliers
On Monday 8th September "Roy R. Rimmele" <flossbos at mindport.net> was
asking about UK Homebrew
>Thought I ask for help here.....I'm going to the UK in about 6 weeks.
>Does anybody know the location of homebrew shops throughout England &
>Scotland. I've tried surfing the new and one of the newsgroups with
>minimal success. I'm very interested to see how they sell their supplies
>(and what they sell. I'm always looking for new books, gadgets, and
>information.....Thanks in advance....:{)...Roy
There is a lot of information about suppliers of brewing equipment etc at:
http://www.breworld.com/homebrew/supplier.html
Also there is an 'index by town' listing of HB shops at:
http://www.breworld.com/homebrew/supindex.html
Hope this helps and enjoy your trip.
dave....
- --
Dave Pickett
NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPERS LTD
--THE SUN--THE NEWS OF THE WORLD--THE TIMES--THE SUNDAY TIMES--QVC--
Facilities Management Department
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 07:38:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: LBarrowman at aol.com
Subject: Highlights - improving mash efficiency responses
Thanks to all who responded to my plea for help improving mash efficiency.
(BTW, I use a non-adj. Malt Mill) It looks like I could use a lot more
patience, all around. I do too much by the seat of my pants and don't spend
enough time brewing. This would include sparging, taking measurements,
milling, doing calcs, etc. Sigh... Ritalin is probably the only real cure for
me. In the meantime I will just buy more malt and try to set aside an ENTIRE
day for brewing.
Here are the highlights:
1) Crush - "Foremost is poor grinding of the malt. (go back and review my
suggestions for milling the malt twice)."
2) Sparge Time & Mash Out - "....just went back to HBD and realized you were
making 10 gallons... you should DOUBLE your lautering time! 45 minutes is
acceptable for 5 gallons!"
"A mashout has given me about 5 points. I've been removing the liquid from
the mash, heat it to 'just before boiling', and adding it back to the tun. I
then give a good stir, rest for 10-15 minutes, then recirculate (again)."
3) Conversion - "try modified iodine test. Boil a teaspoon or so of mash -
including the grains - in the microwave for a minute or so to free up any
starch. Squeeze the grains between two spoons and test the liquid with
iodine. Reddish is OK and is negative for starch, blue-black or darker is
positive for starch and you need longer mashing, perhaps."
4) pH - "check *after* mashing in and if it's lower than 5.0 add a tiny bit
of calcium carbonate till it's about 5.3... if it's higher than 5.8 or so,
you can add lactic or phosphoric acids drop by drop till it's about 5.3 or if
you are making something like a Bitter or IPA, you can add calcium sulphate
(gypsum) to lower pH but this only works in the MASH, not in the liquor. In
beers like Bohemian Pils, you can lower the pH by adding calcium chloride (if
you can find it) into the mash, which will add calcium without adding
sulphate."
5) Temperature - "*REALLY* need to control this better." "Each degree that
you are off changes the reaction rate by approximately 10%, so either add hot
water, or use an immersion heater or chiller to keep the mash at proper
temp."
6) Gravity - "After I sparge, I take a gravity reading, and make SURE TO
CORRECT IT FOR TEMP"."...measurements vary if I measure the gravity after the
boil and after transferring."
7) Calculation - "One thing to watch out for is how the "efficiency" is
measured. Pro brewers tend to measure "efficiency" in terms of percentage of
the grain mass, so that 79-80% is the theoretical maximum, when ALL the
sugars in the malt are converted and extracted. Homebrewers tend to measure
it in terms of percentage of the theoretical maximum extraction.
To put this in concrete terms, suppose you get 30 "points" in 1 gallon from 1
pound of malt. In "pro" terms, this would be 100*30/45 66%. In "homebrew"
terms, this would be 100*30/36 83%.
This difference is one reason I prefer to quote "pt-gal/lb" figures. Besides,
it's really easy to translate from pt-gal/lb to expected final gravity. In
my experience, a "good" to "very good" extract rate is 30 pt-gal/lb. I got
better than that once when I used a RIMS-type system and professionally
crushed malt. Now that I'm crushing my own malt with a Corona mill, I more
typically get about 25 pt-gal/lb. I know this, and so I adjust my grain bill
accordingly."
"...re-reading Noonan's Scotch Ale book last night I noted that he indicated
efficiencies in the 65-68% range. But he talked of getting 31pts/lb/gal. On
my system using my software that would be more like 86% using a potential
extract of 36pts/lb/gal. I regularly get 88% and up to 91% when I do
decoctions. So when Noonan and other talk about mash efficiencies in the 68%
range, I've got to believe that they are using some other calculation than
what I and other homebrewers use."
8) What Me Worry? - "I have essentially the same setup as you (rectangle,
slotted copper) but I do 5 gallon batches for the most part. I have tried
fooling with water chemistry, I've tried step mashes with boiling water (very
difficult to control mash temp), I've tried decoction, I've tried no sparge,
I've tried acidifying sparge water, I've tried mixing in distilled water with
my hard well water. Jeeze, I never realized till writing this email how many
things I really have tried...
I stay between 68 and 71 percent. I use 70% in all my recipe formulations and
it gets me extremely close (close enough) to my target og's. I give up trying
to get efficiency. Now I just want the right color and flavors. I assume that
my equipment is doing what it can do and nothing I do with materials or
process is going to make it (efficiency) any better.
Even with all that, I made my first barleywine on Sunday, OG: 1.119!"
Thanks again!!
Laura
Charlotte, NC
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Date: Fri, 09 Sep 1994 08:06:12 -0700
From: mirsjer at charlie.cns.iit.edu
Subject: efficiency problem
Hi-
This weekend I started the post-summer brewing season...
I formulated an IPA recipe aiming for an OG of 1.052... I used a total
of 10lbs. of grain (8# US 2row, 1# 2row toasted, .5# crystal, .5#
carapils)...
My efficiency was roughly 50% (this was a crude calculation), around
1.035
WHY?
I mash in a 10 gal. Gott cooler..I use a homemade takeoff on the Phil's
spargearm. I mashed for 1.5 hrs...had conversion. I sparged with 5
gallons of what I believe was just below 180degree sparge water.
Question: I use a metal dial thermometer. Could a margin of error of a
few (maybe 5) degrees seriously affect my efficiency? I believe now that
the thermometer is inaccurate.
How do I calibrate it (assuming that I don't have another thermometer)?
I put it in a pot of water on the stove - at the start of the boil, it
read below 212 degrees.
Advice please, as my last few brews came out significantly below target
OG.
Also, after the boil, I tried siphoning the wort out of the kettle,
using a copper scrub pad tied to the end of the racking cane. I did the
whirlpool... however, after a certain point, it became nearly impossible
to restart the siphon, and after enough attempts I became worried about
infecting the wort. Can anyone recommend an efficient way to siphon
MOST of the wort out of the kettle into the primary carboy? This one
has caused me to waste too much wort.
Thanks!
Jeremy
Ferment till it hurts!
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Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 09:41:30 -0400
From: lachina at mindspring.com (Lorne P. Franklin)
Subject: Hop Harvest/Prices
In light of Jethro's report of 1997 hop crops being affected by blight and
the liklihood of prices rising, ya'll may want to stock up on supplies now
from Hoptech (800/dry-hops; http://www.hoptech.com/index.html).
I just ordered leaf hops for the year and found to my delight that they're
currently selling all of their domestic leaf stock at 50% off in order to
make room for the new crop of hops. Though aged a little, I've read very
positive things about HopTechs handling procedures; so, I'm not too
concerned with loss of virtue in the herb.
Lorne
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad
to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time. . . ."
- --Jack Kerouac
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Date: Tue, 09 Sep 97 10:36:26 est
From: paa3983 at dpsc.dla.mil (Mike Spinelli)
Subject: Minute Oats: what to do with it ?
HBDers,
I'll be making a 20 gallon batch of Oatmeal Stout this weekend
modeled after Dan Morley's '96 AHA Gold recipe found in the '96 Zymurgy Special
issue.
I'd like to do a single step infusion, but am concerned if the quick oats
need a rest of some sort. I was thinking of maybe taking 4# of quick
oats and 4# of pale malt and doing a 100F rest for 30 mins. , then adding
this at dough-in of the main mash and mash the whole thing in the
mid 150s.
Will resting the quick oats around 100F buy me anything? I know
some brewers mash the oats w/o any low temp. rests, so I'd like
to know what the HBD consensus is.
Thanks
Mike Spinelli, Cherry Hill NJ
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Date: Mon, 27 Aug 1956 14:09:18 +0000
From: "John R. Bowen" <jbowen at primary.net>
Subject: Is it a Homebrew?
I have a philosophical conundrum. As an experiment, I am brewing a
prepared wort kit from The Brew House. I purchased a strong fully
ready wort (sp. g. about 1.075) that I diluted to 1.048. It is
prehopped and preboiled--just add water, salts and yeast. What could
be simpler?
Is this a real Homebrew? Yes, I'm watching it ferment at home, and
yes, I opted to choose a liquid yeast over the dried one supplied.
But since I didn't even have to boil anything, did I really brew it?
Certainly I'll drink it and serve it to friends, but is it the sort of
thing that I would want to enter into Homebrewing contests? Can I
take pride in any awards?
Or is this pushing the envelope of real (even extract) homebrewing a
bit too far?
John
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Date: Tue, 09 Sep 1997 11:31:16 -0400
From: Eric Tepe <tepee0 at chmcc.org>
Subject: using milk jugs/polyclar question
In response to Christian Miller's question about using rinsed milk jugs.
If the jugs were just rinsed and not sanitized I would keep a close eye on
the beer. Milk contains alot of bacteria even though it is pasteurized.
The FDA only requires enough bacteria to be killed by pasteurization to
pass certian microbiological tests for that milk to be put on your store
shelf. (If you doubt this-buy a pint of milk and leave it at room temp for
1-2 days. The milk will spoil-if there was no bacteria present then this
would not happen. That is why there is an expiration date on it) Milk is
also a very nutrient rich media and gets contaminated very easy. Even if
you rinsed a couple of times I would guess that if you rinsed the inside of
the jug and plated it on a nutrient rich agar plate, that you would get all
sorts of growth. But how it will effect your beer I do not know.
If you were to do it over- I would rinse the jugs several times with
very hot soapy water and allow them to soak, rinse very well and
sanitize with bleach. Better yet get some glass jugs (try labatorys,
because we get alcohol in dark 4L glass jugs all of the time)
Good Luck!
I have a brief question. Will polyclar work if you chill your beer (to
below 40F) to get the chill haze to come out of solution or will it only
work while the haze causing compounds are in solution?
Thanks to all posts and responses.
Eric R. Tepe Private e-mail O.K.
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Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 11:03:54 -6
From: "Dave Draper" <ddraper at utdallas.edu>
Subject: Fridge: thanks and an update
Dear Friends,
First off, a very hearty thank you to all the many respondents I had
when I posted about my fridge woes recently-- I learned a lot from
all the email I got. The situation has serendipitously improved,
and here's an update, with another request, this time mostly for a
reality check.
Quick recap: the fridge ran fine for several days, at cold temps,
and then failed as I was warming it up to ale fermentation temps,
compiling the resultant temps at given external Temp controller
settings. For a few days after that problem, which was identified
by my respondents as a Ground Fault Interrupt being tripped by some
kind of short in the fridge, the unit sat unplugged, during which
time it of course was able to wholly defrost and dry out. For the
hell of it, the other morning I plugged it in, just to see what
would happen, and it fired right up, no GFI trip, no problem. This
shows that there is nothing permanently wrong with any of the
components, luckily, and also argues against some kind of bare wire
contact, because the fridge had not been touched, let alone moved,
during its idle time. This leaves the possibility, also mentioned
by many of my respondents, that the problem was moisture-related in
some way--either condensation in a bad place or melted frost, both
of which would not be present after days in the 100+ degreeF garage.
My theory, then, which belongs to me, is that frost formed by sitting
at the colder temps was melted as the fridge was warmed and caused
the short. To test this, my plan was to bring it back down to cold
temps and then step it back up to ale territory again, to try to
duplicate the problem. So after two days at the coldest setting, I
engaged the external controller and set it first to 45 F.
This morning when I checked, I found that I had screwed up and set
the controller to 65F, not 45. Duh. The fridge was running fine,
holding at 63 F or so, no GFI trip. So instead of my carefully
controlled experiment, I had a direct path to the final conditions--
and the fridge took it without complaint.
This suggests that perhaps the first problem was more or less a
one-time thing, because when I got it, it had a lot of frost buildup,
and maybe that was more than it could handle when it started warming
up to ale temps. After sitting to defrost and dry out, the same
warming did not produce the problem. So, this is my request for a
reality check from you fridge heads: Does that interpretation make
any sense? It does seem to explain the observations, but I don't
know enough about this stuff to know what other explanations there
might be.
As before, private email best, and many thanks once again to all who
helped me out on this.
Cheers,
Dave in Dallas
- ---
*****************************************************************************
Dave Draper, Dept Geosciences, U. Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX 75083
ddraper at utdallas.edu (commercial email unwelcome) WWW: hbd.org/~ddraper
Beer page: http://hbd.org/~ddraper/beer.html
...I drink cool ale... ---Kirk Fleming
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Date: Tue, 09 Sep 1997 12:19:24 -0400
From: Dave Johnson <djohnso at OPIE.BGSU.EDU>
Subject: Boiling a sample for an iodine test
Greetings Fermentacious Collective,
Dave Burley writes in regards to his iodine test...
>It is a question of practicality as AlK points out
> and why I suggested you look at the liquid
> you squeeze between two spoons
>after boiling a small sample of mash in
>the microwave to get a true estimate
>of the degree of completion.
Question: Why does a potato's taste change from bitter to sweet after
boiling or baking?
Answer: Starch is broken into sugars.
Question: Does barley starch behave differently than potato starch?
Answer: ???
Regards,
- --
Dave Johnson
djohnso at opie.bgsu.edu
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Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 11:51:20 -0400
From: Richard Taft <rtaft at unx.dec.com>
Subject: Culturing yeast from a bottle of homebrew?
I've seen lots of posts about culturing yeast from the
primary and the secondary, and from bottles of commercial
beer, but nothing about culturing from a bottle of homebrew.
It seems like a good solution for me. I don't usually brew
on the same day I bottle. Most times I don't even brew
within the same week of bottling.
Any reason why I shouldn't use my own homebrew?
- --
Rick Taft Digital Equipment Corporation
V: (732) 577-6034 200 Route 9 North
F: (732) 577-6003 Manalapan, New Jersey 07726
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