HOMEBREW Digest #2644 Mon 23 February 1998
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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:
HB Shops (GordonRick)
SRM colors in your computer? (John Bowerman)
You-Youse-Yins-Y'all / Charcoal FIlters & Minerals (KennyEddy)
Yeast powered chili,beer and flatulence ("David R. Burley")
Mail Order Supplier Wanted or Help in Japan ("OPEVER37")
after the bottling ("John Herman")
5L Minikegs ("Carl Shipman")
Carbon Filters (David Houseman)
Home Roasted Malt / Lager Ferment times (nathan_l_kanous_ii)
5L Party Kegs aka Minikegs ("Grant W. Knechtel")
explanation of -Youse- ("Jonathan G. Ingram")
plastic fermenter early retirement (Heiner Lieth)
nylons / hop bags (Heiner Lieth)
Aluminum and CIP (michael rose)
The Olympics and Hazy Beer ("Carl Shipman")
Bucket odors (Mark E. Lubben)
Re: Mash water calculations (Scott Murman)
Re: Fermenting (Not so) BIG ales (Jim Wallace)
Autolysed yeast - yum ("Steve Alexander")
Enzyme Mortality ("David R. Burley")
Heater Elements (Sully)
240V vs. 120V ("Joe K. Chang")
More Beer Color Info (Kyle Druey)
Hop cuttings in Australia / New Zealand (Simon Charlton)
Wyeast 1728 ("Michael Gerholdt")
Water Chemistry ("Gregg Soh")
Long Secondaries (Paul n Shelley)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 23:11:52 EST
From: GordonRick at aol.com
Subject: HB Shops
A few days ago, Michael Dingas wrote about mail order trouble. It can really
suck when mail order is your only option and you realize on brew day you
forgot a key ingredient!
Michael - I'm surprised Warner Robbins doesn't have a dozen HB shops. (Just
kidding!) There are not many places deeper in the Great American Beer
Wasteland (Bible Belt + small town + intense brand loyalty to Bud) Next time
you are up in Atlanta, stop by Amber Waves (LaVista Rd) or BYOB (downtown) and
grab a 50 Lb. bag of pale base malt and then mail order just the specialty
malts etc. Buy bulk hops and invest some of your freezer space. If you are an
extract guy, buy bulk extract shipped in plastic bags or buckets vs. cans.
Start a yeast ranch. Macon doesn't have a shop?
As a former mailorder guy, I never had any problems with retailers. Your post
struck a chord and I felt the need to un-lurk , steal a little bandwidth, and
do the soapbox thing vs. private e-mail. I want to publicly thank all the
various shops (no affiliation) that gave me GREAT service over the years.
Happily sending a replacement hydrometer when it broke in shipment etc.
I mail ordered from as far away as Spokane (Jim's Homebrew) to Minneapolis
(James Page) to Atlanta (BYOB). I was often willing to pay extra postage to do
business with some of these Great Americans because of the service and
assistance they provided. Service IS everything. Unfortunately, I can see how
the HB market has gotten alot more competative in the last few years and many
HB shops have closed down. :-(
Whenever I travel, I try to find the time to stop in at a local shop to browse
and BS with the shop owner or clerk. Hey! Who has ever walked into a shop not
needing something! - Picture the airport security guy pulling a baggie full of
whole hops out of the suitcase :-)
My hat is off to all the folks out there (too many to list) providing the
ingredients, knowledge, and enthusiasm that make this hobby so rewarding.
Thanks guys (and gals)!
Prost!
Rick Gordon
24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence?
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 03:57:01 -0800
From: John Bowerman <jbowerma at kfalls.net>
Subject: SRM colors in your computer?
Ooohh the light's bright ...
In HBD # 2642 Carl Shipman" <cshipman at dakotacom.net> wrote:
>
> If anyone makes a color scale and likes it, the next
question may be
> transporting it between computers. Major variables will be
monitor
> brightness and contrast settings. I think this can be controlled
with the
> exposure meter of an SLR camera and will be glad to respond to
e-mail on
> that topic.
>
There can be considerable variation in the intensity and actual
color of the RGB guns between monitors of the same brand and model
(when new, let alone after being used for awhile). Unless you
have the wherewithall (i.e. cash) to afford one of those
superduperdeluxeohwowgolly high end graphic art monitors getting
an accurate color rendition on the average consumer monitor is a
bit of a crap shoot. One possible way around this is to obtain a
set of pantone color strips and try to balance your monitor's
colors accordingly. Most of the graphic arts-types I know
consider these to be fairly standardized.
On the other hand, Hoptech offers a "Homebrew Color Guide" for
about $10 that provides a fair measure of color in degrees
Lovibond. FWIW, the tech sheet that came with mine says that
accuracy is from 3 to 19 degrees L.
Anyway, a thought ...
Back to the shadows ...
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 09:56:58 EST
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Subject: You-Youse-Yins-Y'all / Charcoal FIlters & Minerals
Dan Cole wrote:
If you'll allow a southern boy to comment on the "youse" thread, the plural
of "You" is not "Youse"; it is "Ya'll."
Here in Texas "Y'all" is singular. Plural would be "all y'all". Obligatory
beer post follows.
*****
Louis Gordon asks:
"If I use an activated carbon filter to remove chloramines, will it also
remove minerals that I need to be adding back with brewing salts."
No, the charcoal filter will not appreciably alter the mineral ("salt")
content of your water. That could be good or bad depending on where you live.
In El Paso it's bbbaaaddd since our groundwater has sifted though gypsum and
salt fields on its way to the Mighty Rio Grande. Our water looks like a bad
impression of Burton's.
*****
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 10:06:35 -0500
From: "David R. Burley" <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: Yeast powered chili,beer and flatulence
Brewsters:
Chris Niehaus says:
>In the list of ingredients for my Hormel Chili, the third from the last
>ingredient was "autolyzed yeast". Say what? Why? Anybody have
>a clue as to what purpose this is serving?
Well, if it is not there to give a meaty flavor, it is likely a
Vitamin B supplement. Brits and Ozzies have been
eating this stuff on toast since before the Great War. It is called
"Marmite" and like ski jumping must be learned to be enjoyed
at an early age. On the other hand we all know that his stuff is
also a yeast and bacterial nutrient and it may also add additional
POWer to the Chili by encouraging fermentation in the intestine. {8^)
- ----------------------------------
In that same vein, I would think beers with a lot of dextrins in
them would be prone to cause flatulence, simply because these
complex carbohydrates are broken down more slowly.
Just a WAG, any comments?
- ----------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Dave_Burley at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 98 17:53:46 EST
From: "OPEVER37" <OPEVER37_at_INDY-ADP at smtp-gw.cv62.navy.mil>
Subject: Mail Order Supplier Wanted or Help in Japan
Fellow Brewers,
I am fairly new to the list and a first time poster. I enjoy the list
and am learning lots. I have brewed a few batches of extract pale
ales and wheat beers which turned out well but was recently
transferred to Yokosuka, Japan. I am presently underway on the USS
Independence in the Persian Gulf and want to brew some more when I
return to Japan. My question is can someone supply me with a list of
email addresses for mail order sources on the west coast of the U.S.
and/or any source of supplies in the Tokyo/Yokohama area of Japan.
Thanks,
Paul
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 11:56:05 +0000
From: "John Herman" <interport.net at interport.net>
Subject: after the bottling
Okay, so I've fermented, I've bottled, I've left it in the bottles at
room temperature in a dark place for a few weeks. Where do I store
it? Should I store my bottled ales in the dark closet, or in the
fridge?
/*************************\
/* John Victor Herman *\
/* johnvic at interport.net *\
/* johnvic at echonyc.com *\
/*************************\
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 09:54:29 -0700
From: "Carl Shipman" <cshipman at dakotacom.net>
Subject: 5L Minikegs
A couple of observations that may be helpful to can fans:
The rim around the top is tall enough that you can pour in water to
submerge the bung. If it is leaking CO2 pressure, you may see bubbles. Mine
haven't leaked yet.
The rubber bung holds pressure the same way as a tubeless tire valve.
William's Brewing sells a food-grade viscous (like Vaseline) sticky
lubricant and recommends putting it on sealing surfaces. In order to
escape, internal pressure has to move a very thin layer of sticky stuff
between two surfaces, the dimensions favoring the sticky stuff (intuitive).
For cleanup, sticky can be removed with kitchen degreasers such as 409.
Hop to it.
Carl
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:38:47 -0500
From: David Houseman <dhousema at cccbi.chester.pa.us>
Subject: Carbon Filters
Happened into a new Home Depot today and in wondering about found a very
reasonable water filter kit with carbon filters. My intention was to use
that to filter water that comes from my outside water hoses (plastic flavor)
to my RV hose I use in the brewery (garage). Price was right and I was
getting the fittings when the plumbing manager warned that the carbon
filters are prone to the growth of bacteria especially with well water (I
have) which isn't chlorinated to begin with. Never having heard this I
postponed the purchase until someone on the digest with experience with
filtering water through carbon filters could shed some light on the use of
these filters with well water. Anyone got any advice?
Dave Houseman
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:10:32 -0400
From: nathan_l_kanous_ii at ferris.edu
Subject: Home Roasted Malt / Lager Ferment times
Greetings! I just stopped at the local coffee roaster to talk about
roasting some barley. He said a simple way to do it at home was to use a
hot air popcorn popper. As he told me about it, I looked at his coffee
roaster. Forced heat! Same idea! Anybody tried this? Any idea how long
to roast? Raw vs malted barley? Raw vs malted wheat? Any preferences?
Thanks.
WRT lager ferment times. Many recipes and books refer to fermenting lagers
for a couple of weeks followed by a "diacetyl rest" for a day or so and
then cool to lagering temps over a few days. I've only made two lagers.
Both of them, with 2 liter starters took at least 4 weeks to ferment. One
was held at 50 degrees. The other was initially cooled to 38 degrees (don'
t ask) and allowed to slowly warm to 59 degrees. How long do most of you
have to let your lagers ferment? TIA.
Nathan in Frankenmuth, MI
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 11:23:11 -0800
From: "Grant W. Knechtel" <GWK at hartcrowser.com>
Subject: 5L Party Kegs aka Minikegs
Gregg Soh asks in HBD 2643:
>Seeing as how there has been interest in the party keg system and
>wanting to know more about it myself, here are some questions of my >own.
First, almost all who've used them or sell them say that they >cannot be
force carbonated using the "carbonator" and a cylinder. I >suspect so too.
However, I've noticed that St.Patrick's of Texas >advertises the party keg
with suggestions that they may either be >carbonated using priming
sugar(less of course) or a co2 cylinder. Do >they know something we
don't?
5L minikegs were designed as a beer sales container, similar to a standard
beer can from the 50s. They are coated steel. They were not designed to
accommodate over pressure. If one primes at the same rate as normal for
homebrewing (3/4 cup corn sugar for 5 gallons), cans bulge, coating cracks
and beer is ruined by contact with iron. I suspect the same thing could
happen if force carbonated unless pressures were kept very low, at low
temperatures, for a relatively long time.
The original carbonater cap can be screwed on to a Minikeg CO2 tapper in
place of the CO2 cartridge holder, and a standard CO2 cylinder attached.
Newer carbonater caps have a lip inside which preclude this, the lip can
be removed by routing it away, and the cap used. This is not the way the
cap or tapper were intended to be used by either manufacturer, so it is
done at your own risk. I would only use it to dispense beer from the keg,
saving the roughly $1 per minikeg cartridge cost. Another alternative is
to use the available hand pump, which allows air in to replace beer
dispensed. This means the minikeg must be emptied soon, in one sitting at
best.
I have heard of people force carbonating in minikegs using standard
cartridges, but never first hand. It would be costly, and priming is
simple and inexpensive. If St. Pats is advocating using a standard CO2
cylinder for force carbonating, I hope they have a good lawyer due to
going so far outside manufacturer's intended use. I suspect they are
referring to use of the standard cartridges.
>Secondly, I was wondering if the taps can be removed mid-keg,
>without finishing so that you can tap a different keg and return later.
No, the tapper is installed by pushing the center section of the bung into
the keg with the tapper. It can be removed and reused along with the
tapper and bung after the keg is emptied. This is yet another way cornie
kegs are more versatile than minikegs. I like my minikegs, but look
forward to retiring them, soon.
-Grant
Neue Des Moines Hausbrauerei
Des Moines, Washington
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 15:40:52 -0500
From: "Jonathan G. Ingram" <jgi105 at psu.edu>
Subject: explanation of -Youse-
>Being a Philly boy, I have to admit that in philly we use "youse" as the
>plural of "you". Example- instead of saying " where are you guys going?" We
>would say "where are youse guys going". I hope I cleared up this confusion
>for everyone. I must also admit that I get tortured for saying this up at
>Penn State. They also laugh at the way I say water (WOODER), Eagles
>(IGGLES). But I'm proud to be a philly boy. -Jon
>Jonathan Ingram - jgi105 at psu.edu - http://www.personal.psu.edu/jgi105
>We Are Penn State!
>
Jonathan Ingram - jgi105 at psu.edu - http://www.personal.psu.edu/jgi105
We Are Penn State!
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 12:59:17 -0800 (PST)
From: Heiner Lieth <lieth at telis.org>
Subject: plastic fermenter early retirement
In HBD#2642 Vachom <MVachow at newman.k12.la.us> worte
>Don't use it, lessn' of course you want pickle tastin' beer. Get a new
>clean one and even then you should probably retire plastic fermenters
>every 5-10 batches--use 'em to soak bottle labels off, store grains,
I agree with the sentiment about not using the bucket until you've got all
the pickle taste/odor out of it. Perhaps the residual pickle flavor will
disappear if you use it to soak bottles in bleach water a couple of times?
I don't agree with plastic fermenter needing retirement after 5-10 batches.
If you treat them right they will last much much longer. I'm still on my
first bucket (~30 batches). Personally if find it much easier to treat a
plastic bucket right, than to treat a glass carboy right. I would say:
never use a scrub pad on a plastic fermenter (If you have some crud stuck to
the plastic, then use warm water and a sponge). I don't like to use any
brushes on the plastic either.
Heiner Lieth.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 12:59:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Heiner Lieth <lieth at telis.org>
Subject: nylons / hop bags
In HBD#2641 David Hill sez:
>I posted a while ago that I was using nylon ankle stockings to hold hops
>for dry hopping because I could not find a catering sized tea ball.
>
>Stockings work but are messy to clean and I in fact usually decide that
>the value of the time to clean one is far in excess of a new stocking so
>I have been just throwing them out complete with the hop pellet dregs.
I use hop bags made from a one "pair" of panty hose that my wife deem
unsuitable for further use. I cut off each leg and then cut each into two,
making 4 bags. Tying knots secures any open ends.
When I first set out to use these, the thought of where they had been, and
where the fluid they were about to soak in was heading, made me decide to
boil the h*$$ out of them first. That was a real good decision because it
turns out that there was a lot of dye in these. In fact I ended up boiling
and rinsing 3 times before the true color of the nylon (a greyish tan/white)
emerged.
So if you are using new ankle stockings without any pre-treatment, then I
would guess that the color of your beer is likely to be just a bit darker
than it would otherwise be. (yuck!) And throwing them away after first use
means you're tossing them at a point where they are actually just reaching
their prime.
I have found it very easy to dump the content out and rinse the hop bags.
It's a lot easier than prepping a new bag (boiling, etc..).
There are a few things to watch out for with these bags: see to it that your
stirring spoon doesn't have any burrs which catch the bag and cause holes. I
had a hole (1/4") appear during my last boil (but the bag stayed intact).
Don't cram all your hops into one bag; I use no more than about 1 oz of hops
per bag. Also, I understand that hop extraction efficiency goes down but I
can't attest to that because I don't have anything to compare with. I
generally squeeze the hop bag out in the wort several times while boiling.
Heiner Lieth.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 13:30:33 -0800
From: michael rose <mrose at ucr.campus.mci.net>
Subject: Aluminum and CIP
>From HBD 2643
>From: Samuel Mize <smize at prime.imagin.net>
>Subject: Why aluminum isn't used commercially
>Greetings,
>Aluminum is seldom used in commercial brewing because:
> - It reacts poorly to clean-in-place (CIP) chemicals
I've heard that the new CIP products are very neutral, could they be
used on Alum? Any body from 5-star monitoring?
Mike Rose, Riverside CA mrose at ucr.campus.mci.net
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:39:49 -0700
From: "Carl Shipman" <cshipman at dakotacom.net>
Subject: The Olympics and Hazy Beer
The queue lately seems short enough to allow this. If you are pretty busy
today, you might should just skip to the next posting.
I was reading Al Korzonas' good book "Homebrewing Vol. 1". The Olympics
were on TV and I was sipping a glass of my current tasty brew, widely known
in my house as Old Opacity.
On the TV, I noticed an ice skater suddenly leap into the air and spin
around three or four times. What is the usefulness of that, I wondered.
The public loved it. The judges gave him high marks according to the rule
book. I tend to rank things according to general utility, so I gave the
dervish a negative ten and returned to my book.
Soon, our friend Al was carefully explaining how to get haze out of beer.
What is the usefulness of that, I wondered. I think haze is usually protein
and vitamin-laden yeast. Ain't that good for you?
The public expects clear beer because they never saw any other kind. Beer
judges demand it for most styles, I assume because of the rule book.
Mentally I gave Al K a 5.9 for thoroughness.
Next time I serve a glass of Old Opacity to a guest, I intend to point out
with quiet pride that it has an ample portion of nutritious haze -- a
health benefit withheld from the public by the big brewing companies.
If a few of you influential brewers will help a little, I believe we can
turn this thing around and get it back on the right track.
Support nutritious haze!
Carl
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 17:16:28 -0500
From: mel at genrad.com (Mark E. Lubben)
Subject: Bucket odors
Several people have been posting both Pro and Con answers to
William Warren's question about using a pickle bucket for fermenting.
I don't have any direct experience with pickles, but thought I
would pass on my experience so others could avoid it. I was trying to
get some of those dreaded Sam Adams foil labels off (they really are
bulletproof.) I tried a two hour soak in 120F or so Spic-n-Span TM.
It only did a moderate job on the labels, but the pine scent did a
horrible job on my 7 gallon primary bucket. I tried everything
to get it out. Reading in HBD about using sunshine to deodorize pickle
buckets, I tried it for two weeks. Scentless! I thought I had it beat.
I made an Octoberfest, and spent weeks swapping frozen 2 liter pop
bottles in a cooler. When I opened the primary to siphon it to a
carboy, I got the first hint of disaster. The aroma of pine cleaner
was faint but unmistakable. Even after weeks in secondary and months
in the bottle all I tasted/smelled was pine. That is the only
whole batch (of beer) that I have tossed.
DON'T PUT ANY SCENTED CLEANERS IN A FERMENTING BUCKET (even for an hour)
----------===----------------------------------------
In fact even delabeling bottles with bleach leaves tiny bits stuck
to a bucket that I can't get off without seriously scratching the
plastic. Seems like a better career for that pickle bucket.
If you think a pickle bucket is ready for a fermenter, try
"brewing" a batch of plain water with LID ON for a week or so.
The delay may be a pain, but throwing out five gallons of
'dill' water is less painful than five gallons of beer.
Mark Lubben
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 15:54:47 -0800
From: Scott Murman <smurman at best.com>
Subject: Re: Mash water calculations
> > Isn't it a bit strange that the calculations are correct for
> > adding water to dry grains, but way off when adding to the mash?
> > I'm aware of the YMMV clause that comes with these formulas, but
> > still? The formula is basically the same.
>
> I had the same problem. From what I've seen so far, no formula
> or software takes the thermal capacity of the mashtun into account.
I'm sure you meant to say "no software that wasn't written in Perl by
an old UNIX curmudgeon". Check out
http://www.best.com/~smurman/zymurgy/scripts.html
Hopefully it would be totally useless for anyone who insists on using
Windows, but you should be able to dig out the equations for your
spreadsheets. I use it, and it does work pretty well.
You do indeed need to account for the thermal inertia of the mash tun.
You can easily determine this by heating some water, measuring the
temperature, pouring it into your mashtun, waiting 5 minutes, and then
checking the new temperature. You'll have to run through some
equations, but it should get you a value close enough for government
work. Check the HBD archives for the equations to use (enthalpy
remains constant), or Ken Schwartz's web page.
Using a thicker mash (~1.0 qt/lb) and a good lab-grade thermometer
also seem to help.
SM
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Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 11:26:17 -0500
From: Jim Wallace <jwallace at crocker.com>
Subject: Re: Fermenting (Not so) BIG ales
...............Andrew D. Kailhofer" <andy at aerie.bdy.wi.ameritech.com>
>I brewed a rocket-fuel Christmas Spice beer that was in the 1.110
>range OG, the number 1.114 comes to mind (can't find my notebook right
>this instant). I used the 1728 Scottish, and it actually fermented
>down "too low" (like 1.012-ish). I wound up resweetening it with...
..........No such luck here..... I have a strong scotch ale in secondary
now 3+weeks since brewday.. I used the 1728 stepped up to 2 Liters..no
aeration.. and cool ferment 56-58F... it started at 1.081 but is only down
to 1.036 now... it is still active 10 Bub/min and cloudy indicates yeast in
suspension.
This was designed to be a Traquair style and I pulled the second runnings
off for a small beer 'Bear Ale'.. starting at 1.045 and after 7 days 1.014
(CliniTest says its done) as intended
Both beers were mashed for high dextrin content... single infusion at 158F I
was expecting an attenuation of 66%
The only diff between the 2 worts was that I pulled 1 Gal of thick first
runnings (1.115) and boiled down to ~1pint (thicker than any extract I've
used) and added this back to the big beer. Also, I did pull it off the
primary yeast bed after the kreusen fell.. it had only dropped to 1.045 by
then... was I too early?? .. could that have upset the fermentation
program?? .. were my yeast not happy??
I have never had a strong beer take this long before.. is it stuck?? ..
there seems to be a lot of activity but the gravity is really dropping
slowly (clinitest now reads 1.5-2%+ fermenrtable sugar left).. I had a
chance to talk with Frank Smith (Ian's associate) at Traquair House last
fall and he says he quite often has a problem with slow fermentations and
just rouses it and turns up the heat some...
I am trying to avoid this..
Is this slow ferm normal at cool temps??
...any comments are welcome
___________________________________________
JIM WALLACE ... jwallace at crocker.com
http://www.crocker.com/~jwallace
___________________________________________
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 03:28:01 -0500
From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Autolysed yeast - yum
Christopher Niehaus asks ...
>In the list of ingredients for my Hormel Chili, the third from the last
>ingredient was "autolyzed yeast". Say what? Why? Anybody have a clue as to
>what purpose this is serving?
Food chemists have been toying with specific proteins and their related
Maillard
products for some time, creating specific flavor analogs. One of the early
commercial applications from the 1960s or 70s was the discovery that
proteins
in (autolysed) yeast can be used to create Maillard products that have
a good artificial meat flavor or broth flavor. This shouldn't be much of a
surprise since a well seared steak gains much of it's flavor from the
Maillard
reactions between the meat proteins and the (relatively small amount of)
carbo-
hydrates. I guess that yeast aren't the only ones to eat autolysed yeast.
Steve Alexander
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 10:37:49 -0500
From: "David R. Burley" <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: Enzyme Mortality
Brewsters:
After commenting on the enzyme mortality in a recent HBD,
I came across a tangentially related article in Chem and
Engineering News, 1/16/98 p29.
"Active Enzyme Found in 4,000 year old Mummy"
Check out the full article in Nature 391,343 (1998).
The article in part comments that the preservation methods
were so good that the mummy's bones contain an enzyme
that is still active. Alkaline phosphatase isolated contained
20% of the activity of a modern sample.
How were dem dry bones preserved? Sodium carbonate
( natron) and wood tar ( which is loaded with phenolics and
is antiseptic).
- --------------------------------------------------
Also in the Feb 2,1998 C&EN p25 is the article
"Yeast Engineered to Synthesize Steroids"
Full Article is in Nat. Biotechnol.,16,186 ( 1998)
French workers have engineered S. Cerevisiae yeast to
generate pregnenolone, the precursor to all steroid
hormones and convert it to progesterone.
Is the ability to ferment beer which is also
a birth control pill far behind? Would this be the
answer to a young stud's dream or what?
Leave it to the French! {8^)
- ----------------------------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
Kinnelon, NJ 07405
103164.3202 at compuserve.com
Dave_Burley at compuserve.com
Voice e-mail OK
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 07:45:57 -0800
From: Sully <sully at drunkenbastards.org>
Subject: Heater Elements
After Ken Sullivan contemplated cutting the voltage in half on his
4500W/240VAC and 1500W/240VAC heaters to get 2250/120 and 750/120, Ken
Schwartz said that "Running a load on half the voltage QUARTERS the
power." and offered Power = Voltage-Squared/Resistance as the proof.
This goes back a few years, but I always thought that
Watts = Volts x Amps
Which leads me to think that if you cut voltage in half, and feed the
same amperage, you'll cut the wattage in half. Am I missing something
here? I hereby disclaim any knowledge of the workings of electricity;
the stuff causes me shocking experiences. I'm just hoping that
everything I know isn't wrong.
Sully (If you buy stuff by the liter, you gotta pay with metric
dollars.)
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 11:03:00 -0700 (MST)
From: "Joe K. Chang" <jkchang at U.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: 240V vs. 120V
The major difference/advantage between using 240V over 120V is the amount
of amps. A 120V motor drawing 30 amps will only pull 15 amps on a 240V
circut. I would rather get zapped by 15 amps than 30 amps any day... If
you want to run a 240V GFI circut, you can pick up a GFI circut breaker
at a spa shop for about 100 bucks.....
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Joe Chang
University of Arizona
jkchang at u.arizona.edu or
jkchang at engr.arizona.edu
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 02:58:52 -0800
From: Kyle Druey <druey at ibm.net>
Subject: More Beer Color Info
Brew Dudes:
Here's a little more data on beer color. The MCU column lists the
estimated final beer color for the only three homebrewing references I
can find that provide data on beer color.
MCU MOREY DANIELS NOONAN AVG
1.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 1.2
2.0 2.4 2.0 2.0 2.1
3.0 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.1
4.0 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0
5.0 4.5 5.0 5.0 4.8
6.0 5.1 6.0 6.0 5.7
7.0 5.7 7.0 6.3
8.0 6.2 8.0 7.1
9.0 6.7 9.0 7.9
10.0 7.2 10.0 8.6
11.0 7.7 8.0 10.8 8.8
12.0 8.2 11.5 9.9
13.0 8.7 12.0 10.3
14.0 9.1 12.5 10.8
15.0 9.6 13.0 11.3
16.0 10.0 10.0
17.0 10.4 10.4
18.0 10.8 13.5 12.2
19.0 11.2 14.0 12.6
20.0 11.6 12.0 11.8
21.0 12.0 14.5 13.3
22.0 12.4 15.0 13.7
23.0 12.8 12.8
24.0 13.2 15.5 14.3
25.0 13.6 13.6
26.0 13.9 16.0 15.0
27.0 14.3 14.3
28.0 14.7 16.5 15.6
29.0 15.0 15.0
30.0 15.4 15.0 17.0 15.8
31.0 15.7 15.7
32.0 16.1 16.1
33.0 16.4 17.5 17.0
34.0 16.8 16.8
35.0 17.1 17.1
36.0 17.4 18.0 17.7
37.0 17.8 17.8
38.0 18.1 18.1
39.0 18.4 18.5 18.5
40.0 18.7 17.0 17.9
41.0 19.1 19.1
42.0 19.4 19.0 19.2
43.0 19.7 19.7
44.0 20.0 20.0
45.0 20.3 19.5 19.9
46.0 20.6 20.6
47.0 20.9 20.9
48.0 21.2 20.0 20.6
Morey is the equation found in the Brewery, Noonan is his beer color
data found in New Brewing Lager Beer p. 206, Daniels is his beer color
data from Designing Great Beers p. 61. The AVG is just the average
color for any data that is provide at each MCU. You can use the tabular
form above or the equations below:
EQUATION A B C
Morey 1.49 0.69 0
Noonan 15.03 0.27 -15.53
Daniels 1.73 0.64 -0.267
AVG 1.47 0.68 0.73
The form of the equation for final beer color is:
Final Beer Color = [A * (MCU^B)] + C
Just pick an equation and look up the constants in the table. Remember
that MCU for each malt is the weight multiplied by the degrees Lovibond,
divided by the beer volume. The MCUs for all the components of the
grist are then summed and used in the equation.
Nothing original here, I just regurgitated the work of others, and added
a few mathematical tweeks (Ya OK, I admit to being a beer engineering
geek, but this is part of the fun of it for me :>}). I am sure this
will capture the interest of somebody out there in HBD land.
Kyle Druey
Bakersfield, CA
Thank you NO Saints for giving the 9ers your starting TE and Mike LB,
you can gladly make starters out of our special teamers Drakeford (CB)
and Mitchell (LB). The 9ers should go to jail for stealing these
players
from you, what a deal!
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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 10:36:59 +1030
From: Simon Charlton <simon.charlton at unisa.edu.au>
Subject: Hop cuttings in Australia / New Zealand
Greetings Collective,
Thanks to all on HBD, you have helped me move from enthusiastic
beginner to someone who now has some idea about brewing. But seriously
the advice on brewing and the interest in many other topics I've gained
from some of the debates going on, it's a great forum and I look forward
to every issue.
Home hop growers in Australia and New Zealand, I'm searching for
a source of Hop cuttings. I've tried just about every avenue and can
only get wild or ornamental hops (with no idea of breeding). Any help
appreciated, as is any variety of brewing hop.
Cheers,
Simon Charlton <Simon.Charlton at UniSa.edu.au>
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 20:39:01 -0500
From: "Michael Gerholdt" <gerholdt at ait.fredonia.edu>
Subject: Wyeast 1728
I hope someone will tell me that I don't have to ask "Is my beer ruined?"
I reversed normal practice for some absentminded reason today. Racked off
the starter beer from a large yeast cake, pitched the yeast, then tasted
the beer.
It was like strong, acidic rose-hip tea, very tart. Nothing like beer at
all.
The yeast had behaved well - It was step up 3 in about a gallon of
well-aerated 1.060 wort (DME). Quiet for a few days, then a normal krausen
for a few days, then cloudy beer, then clear beer. Cool temps (55F).
I worked hard on a Scotch Ale, and had some incredibly tasty 1.082 wort. It
was a disappointing shock to taste the acidic starter beer.
I expect I just infected that lovely wort.
Someone say it ain't so!
Michael Gerholdt
cryin' in my homebrew in WNY
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 18:47:05 PST
From: "Gregg Soh" <greggos at hotmail.com>
Subject: Water Chemistry
Hi. I've been reading up on my water chemistry lately and from the
references we have that reside in the Brewery pages, as well as from
some homebrewing texts(TNCJOHB comes to mind), there is always a mention
of "ppm". We all know that this means "parts per millon", but are these
parts based on weight or by atoms?
There is alot of difference and one should not confuse them. Many
references state that, for example, 1 gram of Gypsum(CaSO4) dissolved in
1 gallon of water will yield theoretically/ideally ~61ppm of Ca and
~147ppm of SO4. When you add 1 gram of CaSO4, you are adding a measured
number of "moles" of this substance. In this mole, there would an equal
amount of Ca atoms and SO4 atoms, meaning that you are adding:
One gram Molecular Avogadro's No.of molecules
of / weight x / of water in x 1 million
salt used of Caso4 Constant one gallon
= 0.35ppm of both Ca and SO4 to 1 gallon of deionized water.
On the other hand, if ppm were a unit of weight, then everything would
make more sense.....for Gypsum at least.
If we look at Epsom salts(MgSO4), the addition of 1 gram to a gallon of
water will yield(according to texts) ~26ppm of Mg and ~101ppm of SO4. If
you divide the 1 gram of salt used by the relative molecular mass of
MgSO4 will give you the number of moles used. This, multiplied by the
atomic mass of Mg will give you the weight of Mg used. In one million
grams of water, this would mean 52.8"ppm" of Mg, twice that stated in
texts, as would follow the SO4 portion of Epsom.
To those who are familiar with the chemistry, please point out if I am
going wrong at any point. To those who know it, merely adding a stated
amount of any salt will not always yield the ion concentrations that are
theoretical. They are all there, but may precipitate out with other ions
to form other compounds and might not contribute to the mash chemistry
as you might want it to, especially when the temperature fluctuates.
Anyway, my two cents worth. Can anyone help me understand the basis of
the water profiles published in all the popular references?
Thanks,
Greg
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 20:43:03 -0800
From: Paul n Shelley <pracko at earthlink.net>
Subject: Long Secondaries
I don't get it. A LOT of recipies call for an initial 5-10 primary
fermentation and then for a lengthier fermentation in a secondary.
Following this, the recipes usually call for packaging and priming with
corn sugar. What I don't understand, and have NEVER been able to
achieve, is successful natural carbonation of a beer after it has been
in a primary and/or secondary for longer than about two weeks. Usually
the yeast has completely autolysed by this point and can no longer
reproduce due to the alcohol content. Has anyone been successful at
bottle conditioning their beers after a long (14-20 day) fermentation
without use of additional yeast? Why do recipes call for such a lengthy
secondary fermentation when corn sugar is being used as a primer? I can
see the benefits of conditioning a beer in the secondary for a long
time, but that's only if you have a CO2 tank to force carbonate it with.
Cheers,
Paul
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