HOMEBREW Digest #2693 Tue 21 April 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:
  Tired of Bottles! ("Ronald D. Zuber")
  cat vomit/CO2 (Brad Johnson)
  Cameron Stovetop Smoker Users? ("Mark Nelson")
  Re: CO2 (Doug Moyer)
  Re: converting oxygen tank to co2 (RobertJ)
  Chinook / Pyrex / Cat Balls (John Varady)
  High pH Tap Water ("Jeffrey M. Kenton")
  Milk Stout ("David R. Burley")
  Libery Clone Mash Temps ("Capt. Marc Battreall")
  Tinseth hop calculations (Matthew Arnold)
  Re: Feline Upchuck Steam ("Matthew J. Harper")
  Planting Rhizomes (John Varady)
  Re:  Cat Vomit Steam Beer Recipe ("Brian Rezac")
  Injecting (Al Korzonas)
  haze and improving with age (Al Korzonas)
  Rinsing Iodophor, thin beers, protein rests ("Jim Busch")
  briess pale ale malt vs. imports ("Henckler, Andrew")
  Paradise Seeds ("Tomusiak, Mark")
  Kornelius Kegs in the Bay Area ("Douglas P. Keith")
  Keg leakage ("Barry Wertheimer")
  Bottle conditioning lagers.../Dunkel comment ("Riedel, Dave")
  Kolsch Questions ("Capt. Marc Battreall")
  California Cat Vomit ("Hans E. Hansen")
  Husks and polyphenols (Al Korzonas)
  Coke Keg Lids (antnee56)
  1/2 bbl keg grain capacity ("Philip J Wilcox")
  Yakima Goldings? (scotty)
  malting/kilning weird grains (Ahenckler)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 22:44:22 -0700 From: "Ronald D. Zuber" <zuber at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Tired of Bottles! Ok, now I've had it. I can't look at another bottle. Can somebody (anybody) give me an idea on how to switch to kegs? How much does it cost and what I need? Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 06:23:02 -0400 From: Brad Johnson <bjohnson at berkshire.net> Subject: cat vomit/CO2 *Around 11PM I went to oxygenate this batch and pitch into the yeast starter. I uncovered the pot and as I started to bubble the oxygen through the wort, Sylvester, my large male cat hopped up on the counter to see what was going. He sat there for a while watching with a VERY strange look on his face and kept sniffing the starter and swallowing. And then, before I could react, HE VOMITED INTO THE STARTER. * I think we have here our definitive clinical trial for CO2 hazards to the homebrewer . . . . . . Brad Johnson Berkshire BroadArrow Brewery Bjohnson at berkshire.net Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 08:37:53 -0400 From: "Mark Nelson" <menelson at mindspring.com> Subject: Cameron Stovetop Smoker Users? Does anyone in the collective use a contraption called a Cameron's Stovetop Smoker to smoke malt at home? I have one and have been thinking about trying to smoke a portion of a porter or stout malt bill. Any help would be appreciate. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 09:39:00 -0400 From: Doug Moyer <moyer-de at salem.ge.com> Subject: Re: CO2 Ray Estrella writes on the well beaten subject of CO2: "So if you stay out of your carboys, you should be safe." In that vein, it appears that you can get a very high concentration of CO2 in a chest freezer if you have a leak in your gas line or connections. Even a slow leak seems to build up the CO2 level over time. I ran into this when I was cleaning out my chest freezer, and was bent over with my head inside the box wiping away. I first noticed the "scent" (actually a tingle in my nose) and then developed a strong headache. I don't think there was any likelyhood of passing out and falling into the chest freezer and asphixiating, but it was still unpleasant. FWIW Doug Moyer Salem, VA Star City Brewers Guild Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 10:13:21 -0400 From: RobertJ <PBSys at pbsbeer.com> Subject: Re: converting oxygen tank to co2 To convert an oxygen tank to CO-2 you're going to have to change the valve in the tank to accept a CO-2 regulator. (Each gas has it's own unique fitting to prevent mistakes) You will also have to know the opening diameter on the tank in order to get the proper CO-2 valve. depending on where purchased it might be cheaper and easier to get a used CO-2 tank or to rent one Bob Precision Brewing Systems URL http://www.pbsbeer.com Manufacturer of 3 Vessel Brew Systems, HERMS, SS Brew Kettles, SS hopbacks and the MAXICHILLER (fastest CF chiller available) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 10:05:41 -0700 From: John Varady <rust1d at usa.net> Subject: Chinook / Pyrex / Cat Balls On Chinook: This is a nice bittering hop and I don't like to see it wrongly accused of being harsh. Most high alpha hops used excessively will lead to a harsher bitterness then low alpha hops used to achieve the same IBUs. To back this statement up, we have a case study currently running with the Great HBD Palexperiment. 47 five gallon batches have been brewed using Chinook for bittering. We'll see if any comments come back post judging indicating a harsh bitterness was present. From the brewers tasting comments so far, it is a nice recipe with a pleasant bitterness. Since the digest is slow, here is the exact amount of ingredients shipped to each participating brewer: Name: Palexperiment O.G.: 1.0?? Style: Oregon Pale Ale I.B.U.: ??.? Volume: 5.0 Gallons A.B.V.: ???% Grains/Fermentables Lbs Hops AAU Grams Min Crisp Marris Otter Pale Ale 8.20 Chinook 10.5 23.00 75 Hugh Baird Medium Crystal 1.00 Cascade 4.8 23.00 30 Briess Munich 0.80 Cascade 4.8 23.00 15 Cascade 4.8 23.00 0 Yeast: American Ale Wyeast 1056 Mash at 154F for 90 mins. The experiment is running along nicely. We have all brewed and some of us are starting to bottle. Bottles will to sent to Louis Bonham sometime in June for lab testing. The on line web page is still under construction, but should be up soon for each brewer to enter his brew session specifics. Then the number crunching can begin. The existing web page on the HBD server at: http://www.hbd.org/~brewola Another data point about Chinook: Anybody familiar with the Sister Star of the Sun recipe knows that it is a high acclaimed, award winning IPA. David Brockington uses enough Chinook in that recipe (3 oz in 5 gallons) to debunk any such statements that Chinook is harsh and should be avoided. ===== While brewing an Abbey beer this weekend, I was explaining the reasons for quickly chilling wort to a friend. He mentioned Pyrex carboys and asked if they would be useful in any way, and I came up with this idea: After boiling, transfer the still hot wort to a Pyrex carboy. Take a sanitized balloon (or condom) and fill it with a suitable amount of pure oxygen. Attach this balloon to the top of the carboy so that it will have some sanitary oxygen to suck in as the cooling wort contracts. This should also serve to oxygenate the wort. When the wort has cooled sufficiently, the balloon is removed and the yeast pitched into what should be a completely sanitary (sterile?) environment. The cold break will be in the carboy using this method, but it would also be there if using a CF chiller. Since Pyrex carboys sell for about $100, this option may not the be most viable, but otherwise does anyone see up/down sides to this? ===== Jim Bentson gives up the gory details about some of the things that can go wrong when making a starter with his revolting cat hair ball story. All I can think is something awful must have happened to him in the past due to underpitching to cause him to take the course of action he did. I'd pitch a smack pack directly into my wort before using starter medium that was yakked in by a cat. But that's just me, to each his own. I have made cannibalistic beer once when I lost a chunk of my knuckle into the kettle on a sharp edge on the cut out top of the keg whilst stirring. Blood, skin and tears. Later, John John Varady Glenside, PA rust1d at usa.net Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 09:33:35 -0500 From: "Jeffrey M. Kenton" <jkenton at iastate.edu> Subject: High pH Tap Water Howdy folks, A great deal of buzz has been given to the high pH numbers reported from a fellow poster's recipe. pHs in the 9s are common straight from municipal taps because neutral and acidic waters are apt to corrode water pipes, among other things. Plus, since most waters have very little buffering capacity, the pH will plummet when treated with an acid source (phosphoric, lactic, BP, etc.) and will stabilize at the buffering capacity of the acid source (around 5.2 for BP), or rather the pH of the acid when using mineral acids. Basic waters may cause some problems if not heated to boiling before adding extract syrups, however. (Gives some time for the chlorine and other stuff to evolve before adding the sugars) At least that's what the guy at the water plant said to me... Jeff - ------------------- Jeff Kenton brewer at iastate.edu Ames, Iowa jkenton at iastate.edu (515) 294 9997 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 10:39:49 -0400 From: "David R. Burley" <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com> Subject: Milk Stout Brewsters: AlK comments on my comments about "milk" stout being touted as a useful dietary supplement ( among other things) for nursing mothers. He correctly states that many stouts other than those called "milk" were touted for this purpose. I did not mean to imply otherwise. But milk stouts were perceived to be more healthful and therefore promoted to nursing mothers and the connection to promoting more and better milk is obvious. It almost makes it a mother's duty to down a few. AlK incorrectly states that milk stout has to have milk sugar in it. Michael J. Lewis in "Stout" Classic Beer series says: p 50 "Milk Stouts might contain some small percentage of lactose (milk sugar) but not necessarily." The connection between milk and health was used by purveyors to imply healthfulness and richness in alcoholic beverages. ala Bristol Milk Sherry and Bristol Cream Sherry. Although not quite the same emphasis, in Germany the wine Liebfraumilch ( Mother Mary's Milk ) is another example and other uses through out history. Milk chocolate was promoted as being more healthful because it had milk in it. Certainly the dairy industry has done a wonderful job of marketing their products to Northern Europeans and their progeny for hundreds of years. There are undoubtedly some deep seated emotional ties to milk for anyone who has a mother Lewis even comments that the Kent dairy farmers asked to run their cows through the brewery grounds to imply the connection with milk. Lewis says on page 27: "Milk and Cream Stouts arose perhaps as a means of boosting the already implied healthful properties of stout by adding milk products such as lactose or whey or (in one patent) concentrated peptonized (partially hydrolysed) milk." So you can see that calling a stout "milk" had a lot of marketing implications, made it OK for mothers to drink stout openly, thus, giving a larger market. Lewis has a table on page 28 comparing the vitamin and mineral content of milk stout and regular stout. A quick glance down the table shows the milk stout to be the same or lower than a regular stout in its healthful content. I was surprised to learn that AlK had a milk stout 5 years ago in Britain, since I thought the name had been made illegal. Perhaps I confused the US laws with the British laws. Or perhaps this was served in a pub and not in a bottle in commerce? Got Milk (Stout)? 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: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:06:22 -0400 From: "Capt. Marc Battreall" <batman at terranova.net> Subject: Libery Clone Mash Temps Hello All, Got so carried away with the Liberty clone business that I forgot to include the mashing regime in the recipe. It may not a perfect routine according to alot of peoples standards, but it was what I used and it worked out pretty good. I suppose you could substitute an infusion schedule, but I have had good results with this. I use 1.3 quarts per pound of grain as a guideline, mash my grains with a MaltMill (tm) set at the factory setting, which is approx .045, and mash and lauter in a 10 gallon Polarware ss kettle with ss false bottom. Haven't had a stuck mash yet! (knocking on wood). Try this regime; 130-132F strike water - 122F-15 min, 138F-15 min, 152F-50 min, 168F-10 min mash out. Sparge with approx 5-6 gallons of 172F for at least 45 min. Sorry about making this a 2 part recipe. - -- Captain Marc Battreall Islamorada, Florida Future site of "The BackCountry Brewhouse" Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 15:25:10 GMT From: marnold at netnet.net (Matthew Arnold) Subject: Tinseth hop calculations I have a question for anyone who uses Tinseth's hop calculations. I emailed this message to Glenn Tinseth himself, but have not yet received a reply. I'm a beta tester for a new brewing program which incorporates Tinseth's formula. I contend that, based on the information on Glenn's website, the program uses his formula incorrectly. The calculators on Tinseth's website agree with the program's results _if_ the gravity you use is the original gravity, i.e. post-boil gravity. It seems to me that Tinseth's calculators are in fact asking for the pre-boil gravity. His CGI calculator asks for "Boil wort gravity (specific gravity)" and the javascript one asks for "Wort Specific Gravity (during the boil)" (see http://realbeer/hops). Obviously this will make a major difference in the calculations. Here's an IPA example that I gave to the author of the program. I use a propane cooker and easily boil off 1.5-2 gallons in an hour: O.G. after boil: 1.066 (five gallons) Gravity of the boil: 1.047 (seven gallons) Hop additions: Centennial 10.5% AA: 2.5 oz--60 minutes, .5 oz--10 minutes; Cascade 3.5% AA: 1 oz--10 minutes, 1 oz--knockout IBUs using 1.066 as gravity: 88 IBU (the program and Tinseth's calculators agree) IBUs using 1.047 as gravity: 104 IBU Any thoughts? Matt P.S. Has anyone else not received the latest BT yet? Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:54:36 -0400 From: "Matthew J. Harper" <matth at progress.com> Subject: Re: Feline Upchuck Steam Uh yeah, nice story Jim Bentson! I think the *worst* problem you're going to have is that this will *undoubtedly* turn out to be your best batch yet and now you're going to have to schedule brew time around your new job AND your cats intestinal urges! :-) I think this is more likely a ONEshot brew rather than a LONGshot brew, no? <grin> Now that I've gotten that out of my system, so to speak... Intro: I'm more a lurker than anything else, though I've been getting the digest (almost) daily from 6+ years now. I'm *finally* in the construction stages of a dedicated, well-ventilated, natural-gas fed, filtered water based brewery in the basement! YES! I'm strongly considering a RIMS setup since I need to insert a pump into the equation anyway due to height restrictions in the basement. (It's only 7.5 feet and my liquor tank is rather tall...) I've looked far and wide on the web and back issues and find I'm lacking in some desired details. Why the hell I'm posting: Normal procedure is to mount the RIMS heater element into a length of 1.5 inch Copper Pipe. Being one to learn from *other* peoples mistakes, I'm looking for more details on construction of said pipe assembly. I can get/cut/sweat the pipes, do the wiring, Grianger account access, etc. etc. I just don't have the time to do this over and over again, that's a big point behond going RIMS in the first place! Would some kind soul *please* share thier design(s) with me for their heater unit? I'm curious about stuff like: Threaded endcaps? Issues around cleaning the element, How'd you integrate your thermometer(s)? I don't have the $$$ for a high end whiz-bang controller unit; how have people faired manually or partial-auto using thermostat based heater units? Thanks for ANY and all info! -Matth Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:50:04 -0700 From: John Varady <rust1d at usa.net> Subject: Planting Rhizomes I am about to plant my rhizomes in the yard and was thinking about cutting the bottom off of 5 gallon buckets, burying these up to the top and filling with dirt. The rhizomes would then be planted in the bottomless bucket. I would like to keep the hops from spreading and thought this would be the best way to guarantee that they only grow where planted. Will this present any drainage problems or such? I don't want the hops to spread all over my garden. John John Varady http://www.netaxs.com/~vectorsys/varady Boneyard Brewing The HomeBrew Recipe Calculating Program Glenside, PA rust1d at usa.net Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:15:29 -0600 From: "Brian Rezac" <brian at aob.org> Subject: Re: Cat Vomit Steam Beer Recipe In HBD #2692, Jim Bentson <jbentson at htp.net> wrote: > Around 11PM I went to oxygenate this batch and pitch into the yeast starter. > I uncovered the pot and as I started to bubble the oxygen through the wort, > Sylvester, my large male cat hopped up on the counter to see what was going. > He sat there for a while watching with a VERY strange look on his face and > kept sniffing the starter and swallowing. And then, before I could react, HE > VOMITED INTO THE STARTER. > <snip> > So I filtered the mess through a coffee filter and checked the residue for > mice feet ( there were none but there was a large hair ball). I took the liquid, > added more water and reboiled for twenty minutes. After it was chilled I > took a deep breath and tasted a spoonful. Hmm- it tastes the same as usual. > > As I write this, the starter is happily fermenting towards full krausen and > will be pitched later today. I will keep all informed. > <snip> > (For those interested in replicating the recipe,use one tablespoon of Little > Friskies Liver & Chicken + one inch hair ball warmed to intestinal > temperatures for about 2 hours. Allow to steep in the sweet wort starter for > about 2 minutes ) > > PS I challenge the AHA to use this recipe for Cat Vomit Steam Beer > UNALTERED in next year's MegaBrew Contest!!!! > Brian, are you up to the challenge? Jim, We were actually considering a similar recipe for Big Brew '98. The biggest hurdle that we ran across, however, is synchronizing the emesis of so many house cats. We decided that it would be enough of an accomplishment just to synchronize homebrewers across the nation. Here at the AHA, however, we encourage the fluvial surge of ideas spurting in from homebrewers everywhere. We masticate and digest these ideas and regurgitate them into new AHA programs or we lump these ideas with existing programs. So, keep those ideas flowing! Thanks for the suggestion, Jim. PS - Big Brew '98 is not a competition. We may have a competition down the road with the batches that were brewed, but the goal of Big Brew '98 is to just brew together as a community. E Pluribus (Br)Unum! - {From Many, One (Brew)!} Brian Rezac Administrator American Homebrewers Association 736 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80302 brian at aob.org http:/beertown.org "I don't think you guys understand. "Chunks" is my cat!" - punch line (altered) to a joke recently received via the Internet Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:51:37 -0500 (CDT) From: Al Korzonas <korz at xnet.com> Subject: Injecting Mark writes: > I recall a little while ago someone suggesting the use of a >syringe for blasting air into their stout to create a head similar to that >of Guinness. That got me thinking....what about using a big syringe for >"injecting" wort to aerate it before pitching? The only problem I can >think of would be a risk of introducing ambient "nasties" into the wort. It would work, but you would have to do it many times. AJ's tests showed that pouring from one container to another (which is something like "injecting" the *entire* batch into itself) *once* would only provide a marginal amount of oxygen for some yeasts (some yeasts won't be happy unless you give them a minute of pure oxygen!) and would definitely not be enough if you were brewing a 1.120 Barleywine. Al. Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL korz at xnet.com http://www.brewinfo.com/brewinfo/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 13:14:06 -0500 (CDT) From: Al Korzonas <korz at xnet.com> Subject: haze and improving with age Harry writes: >the 2 ft. length of hose between the corny and the picnic tap (also in >the fridge) does clear with time. <snip> >Fill a >glass with beer and the "new" beer now in the hose is cloudy. <snip> >Does this sound like good old protein haze? Could the pelleted >dry-hopping >cause cloudiness in the beer? Why does the line clear, but not the keg? I don't think it's the dryhopping. It could some kind of protein haze or it could be some slowly-flocculating yeast. I assume that the hose is sitting in a coil on top of the keg, right? Haze and yeast will settle after some time and in the hose, it has a very short distance to falls (compared to the several feet in the keg). In the keg, the beer may be clearing, but you keep drawing from the bottom. Do the kegs suddenly become very clear? If so, you could rig up a system you draw from the top of the keg rather than the bottom (a floating pickup). The proper solution is to find the source of your haze and solve that. Your second question may give us another piece of the puzzle... read on. >2) Could inadequate oxygenation of wort lead to a nasty flavor in your >beer that fades with lagering? All of my beers (including the batch >mentioned above) have a distinct harsh taste to them (some more than others) >that fades with time in the fridge. There are two things that cause harshness that fade with time: polyphenols and higher alcohols. The polyphenols (tannins) will also contribute to haze formation, so I think that may be your problem. Polyphenols are extracted from your malts and hops and the level of extraction gets excessive when the pH is too high. Have you checked your pH? You should *not* be steeping your malt in the entire 5 gallons of water (even if you have relatively low-bicarbonate water) and even one gallon per pound might be too much if you have high-bicarbonate water. Try pre-boiling your water and decanting the water off the white precipitate. This water (if you have enough calcium) will be much lower in pH. If you have very hard water, you probably have a water softener... if it's an ion-exchnage softener, bypass it for your brewing water! Pre-boiling ion-exchange (the kind that uses a block of salt or salt crystals) softened water will do very little because you need the calcium (that the softener removes) to remove the bicarbonate. If it's higher alcohols, a lower fermentation temperature or a different yeast may help, but then you still have this unexplained haze... Al. Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL korz at xnet.com http://www.brewinfo.com/brewinfo/ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 14:22:59 +0000 From: "Jim Busch" <jim at victorybeer.com> Subject: Rinsing Iodophor, thin beers, protein rests In digest 2692, Hans comments on the old rinse/no rinse issue when using Iodophors. Hans notes that some of the respondents mentioned that they rinse fermenters but not other equipment. This is in direct contrast with my practice and given a little thought it is easy to understand why one does not want to do this (unless they are certain that the rinse water is nearly "sanitized"). Fresh wort is most prone to infection and before the krausen gets going I would not want anything of potential infection coming close to my wort. As for finished beer, I am not nearly as concerned and often use a tap water rinse. Hans also asks about thin beers and mentions extracts and degree of attenuation. A beers body is not really predicated on degree of attenuation so much as protein spectrum. A recent article by Dr Narziss in Brauwelt indicates that beers of very high apparent degree of attenuation (ADA in the 83-84%, which is very high indeed) do not suffer from a loss of body. The key is the percentage of high molecular weight nitrogenous fractions over 10,000 Mol Weight should be kept in the 20-22% range of total nitrogen fractions. Narziss notes that doughing in at 52-62C and taking the first decoction at 62C is a good compromise with todays modern continental malts. This has worked quite well for me with Weyermann malts and makes me ponder the Siebel folks comments on the lack of utility of rests in the 55-60 range. Surely there are several important malt enzymes still active at this range that will contribute to the overall balance of the finished beer. Once again, Narziss agrees that rests in the 45-55C range should be minimized as the resultant beers display an "empty, harsh beer which lacks liveliness". As for ADA and full bodied beers, I once again note that Bavarian Maerzens are highly attenuated but also have very high degree of malt fullness and body. German Altbiers are another good example. What this means for Hans is that he is at the mercy of the extract manufacturer and other than changing brands his main alternative is to employ partial mash programs to recover his beer proteins. I would suggest a mash of 1 kilo of pils malt with his specialties. Speaking of decoction, did anyone else catch the article in American Brewer by Dr Lewis where he claims that decoctions have no effect on the finished beer??! I can see an argument whereby decoctions impart more astringency, or increase haze, or decrease bottle stability or increase mash yields or darken wort color or lend melanoidens to the beer but to claim that there is no effect is mindboggling to me. But hey, Im not a doctor just a rocket scientist. ;-} Prost! Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 14:34:04 -0400 From: "Henckler, Andrew" <ahenckler at findsvp.com> Subject: briess pale ale malt vs. imports Greetings, all: I have used British, Belgian and German pale malts exclusively for the last 2 years. In a fit of curiosity, I am re-investigating the wonderful world of domestic malts. I have bought a sach of plain old Briess 2-row pale malt to play with. What I am curious about is the Briess pale *ale* malt, which wasn't available the last time (years ago) I bought domestic malts. How does this malt compare to Marris Otter and other UK pale ale malts in terms of modification, yeild, ease of mashing and, most importantly, flavor? The briess web-site shows this stuff at 100 degrees Lintner, which is a good bit higher than UK pale ale malts, if memory serves. I've read the genericized analysis briess has posted; I relly want to hear from those of you who have used this stuff in a small scale setup, esp. in single infusion mashes. TIA! Andrew P. Henckler Senior Research Analyst Industrial Products & Services Practice Strategic Consulting & Research Group FIND/SVP-THE BEST PEOPLE TO FIND THE ANSWERS 625 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10011 Tel: (212) 807-2754 Fax: (212) 807-2782 E-mail: ahenckler at findsvp.com Web: http://www.findsvp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 11:55:27 -0700 From: "Tomusiak, Mark" <tomusiak at amgen.com> Subject: Paradise Seeds Greetings all...I recently came across a homebrew supplier on the internet that is advertising something called "paradise seeds" for Belgian brewing, indicating that they lend a spicy, peppery flavor. Anybody have any idea what these are? I dug around for some info on them, and came up with conflicting references to paprika and cardamom, amongst other things. Any thoughts would be appreciated, Mark Tomusiak Boulder, Colorado Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:14:35 -0700 (PDT) From: "Douglas P. Keith" <keithd at holmes.uchastings.edu> Subject: Kornelius Kegs in the Bay Area I just bought a kegging system and am looking for extra kegs. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on some inexpensive Kornelius Kegs in the SF Bay area? Actually I only need them for one big party, I already bought two (for $40, and $30) and want to have about 5 or 6 for one party. Thanks Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 15:17:43 EST From: "Barry Wertheimer" <wertheim at LIBRA.LAW.UTK.EDU> Subject: Keg leakage Greetings, Although no replies were posted, I received several private responses to my post about a leaky soda keg, and thought I would summarize the responses in case anyone is interested. The consensus response was that my liquid out poppet was not sealing properly, either because of some crud in the way (e.g. hop particle), or because the poppet was bad, or possibly the valve itself was bad. I was pretty sure it was not a crud problem, because I clean the fittings periodically, and the leakage had recurred over a couple of batches of beer. The o-rings were all replaced when I acquired my kegs, so I knew that was not the problem. I also had replaced several poppets on different kegs, but was not sure if this particular poppet had been replaced. I went ahead and replaced the problem poppet, and have experienced no leakage thus far; it appears the poppet was the culprit. One reply suggested using teflon tape around the valve threads, to get a better seal. I tried this before replacing the poppet, without success. This might be helpful for non-poppet sealing problems. Thanks to all who replied. - ---------------------------- Barry Wertheimer wertheim at libra.law.utk.edu Knoxville, TN Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:18:59 -0700 From: "Riedel, Dave" <RiedelD at dfo-mpo.gc.ca> Subject: Bottle conditioning lagers.../Dunkel comment Mark asks about bottle conditioning lagers... need fresh yeast? I made a series of lagers between January and March. The first, a Dunkel (OG 1.053) has been in the bottle about a month and the carbonation is fine. The second, a Vienna (OG 1.051) has been in the bottle 2 weeks. It too, seems to be carbonating w/o any problems. I have a third batch (pilsner: OG 1.049) which is still lagering... I'll post if it doesn't behave. The two bottled batches were fermented using Wyeast 2206 (Bavarian) at about 54F for 2 weeks and lagered at about 35F for 6 weeks. I primed with corn sugar to about 2.5 vols C02 and let the conditioning occur in the low 60s for 2 weeks before lowering to the middle to upper 50s (after opening a bottle and checking for carbonation). - -------------- Just a note on the Munich Dunkel style... with hopping around 20 IBU and the restrained contribution from the yeast, this is a pretty blah style IF you don't get a full malty flavour and aroma (which is of course the whole idea). I suggest to anyone thinking of trying it to use all Munich malt as the base and/or add a little Aromatic to ensure lots of maltiness... maybe I should have decocted? Cheers, Dave Riedel Victoria, BC, Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 15:22:29 -0400 From: "Capt. Marc Battreall" <batman at terranova.net> Subject: Kolsch Questions Hello All, A few questions for the collective and any Kolsch experts out there; I have a Kolsch going in the primary fermenter and it has been there for 10 days at 56-58F. I used a Wyeast #2565 - 800 ml starter, stepped up three times from a new culture pack. The OG was 1.047 and I just checked it today and it was 1.010, which is obviuosly close to finished. There is however, still a very tall (1.5-2.0 inch) rocky, milky krausen head on it. The fermentation activity has been understandbly slow considering the temperature, but the presence of the size large krausen head indicates that maybe there is some fermentation left to be done. Should I not worry, follow my instincts and hydrometer and rack it to the secondary for cold conditioning or wait it out a few days more? Any opinions, experiences, or guidance from the gang will be appreciated greatly. TIA, Marc - -- Captain Marc Battreall Islamorada, Florida Future site of "The BackCountry Brewhouse" Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 12:23:09 -0700 From: "Hans E. Hansen" <hansh at teleport.com> Subject: California Cat Vomit If the cat had been pointed the other direction, would the beer style be California Crap? This gem should be saved for future generations. Submit it to Cat's Meow. Jim: Was any alcohol consumption involved here? Hans E. Hansen hansh at teleport.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 14:31:22 -0500 (CDT) From: Al Korzonas <korz at xnet.com> Subject: Husks and polyphenols Dave writes: >With your water pH in the 9's you likely are extracting phenols >from the barley husks. Wheat having no husks doesn't have >this problem, so that's why the wheat batches were OK. Actually, very little of the polyphenols are in the husks. Check your copy of Malting and Brewing Science (you did get the newer edition, right?) and see the comparison of polyphenols and silicates in mashes made from regular and de-husked barley malt. Polyphenols were relatively unchanged whereas silicates were decreased significantly in the de-husked batch. Overcrushing does increase polyphenol extraction, but they *don't* come from the husks. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 18:03:20 -0400 From: antnee56 at juno.com Subject: Coke Keg Lids Hi All, I'v come across some old 5 gallon coke kegs, 2 have lid relief valves and 5 do not. Does anyone have info on installing a relief valve in the lids or should i use them and not worry. Every article i read recommends having them and i'm a little hesitant to use them without the relief valves. If anyone out there has installed relief valves or something comparable on lids your help will be greatly appreciated. Happy Brewing , Tony in Trenton, NJ _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 19:03:51 -0400 From: "Philip J Wilcox"<pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com> Subject: 1/2 bbl keg grain capacity From: Philip J Wilcox at CMS on 04/20/98 07:03 PM I am considering a 10 gal batch of Big 10/20 for the Big Brew. I have 2-tier 1/2 bbl system using the very shallow 11" mash screen by HBT. I only get a quart or so under the screen. I haven't scorched any grain yet! knock on wood. I am wondering about the grain capacity. I had no problems with the 27 lbs of grist for the1.076 Doppelbock (2 decoctions). That's 81% Efficiency using Brewers Workshop. It filled the tun almost 2/3 full. So in theory 40 lbs of grist is possible. Has anyone out there achieved this? With my efficiency (81%) I only need 36 lbs to get my 10 gal of 1.096. Ok Half-barrel gadgeteers here is the next poll-- Mashing 1. What are your max capacities? Theory and actual attempted 2. What are your efficiencies? 3. Do you recirculate? 4. Are you RIMSing? 5. False bottom type. Hopping 1. What are your efficiencies? A Whole B Pellet C Plug 2. Whose #'s do you use for IBU's A Brewers Workshop B Glen Thisights (sp) C Rager D Standard IBU Email me, and Ill Re-post the survey results. Phil Wilcox poison frog home brewery Sec/Tres Prison City Brewers Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 16:32:04 +0000 From: scotty at enaila.nidlink.com Subject: Yakima Goldings? My local brewshop sells some hops that read "Yakima Goldings" on the package. I was curious about what these really are. Are these Kent Goldings that are grown in the Yakima Valley? Are there any real flavor/aroma differences between the two? Thanks for the info, Scott Rohlf Coeur d' Alene, ID scotty at nidlink.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 21:31:26 EDT From: Ahenckler <Ahenckler at aol.com> Subject: malting/kilning weird grains Hi folks: I received a food dehydrator as a gift about 6 months ago and this puppy has a thermostat on it that allows you to adjust drying temps. It would be ideal for drying hops (set the temp real low to keep the aromatics) if I had room to grow them (tough to find space in the big apple... oh how I miss my big, Ohio back yard). The thermostat goes up to 135 degrees F (if memory serves). Wouldn't this be about right for gently and efficiently drying/kilning home malted grain? I'm thinking along the lines of malted amaranth, quinoa or other wild and wooly grains which might add some distinctive notes to a beer. What do all of you think? Return to table of contents
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