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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  re: bottling problem, trub (Donald P Perley)
  Re: Not-so-orange Honey Lager (Michael Bergman)
  sterilizing (Ed Falk)
  possible trouble with priming step (Stuart Crawford)
  Anybody at EDUCOM,  brewerys in Ann Arbor? (John_Isenhour)


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Date: Mon, 16 Oct 89 09:10:57 EDT
From: perley at glacier.crd.ge.com (Donald P Perley)
Subject: re: bottling problem, trub

Francois Felix writes:

>First, I made my first batch a month ago, and bottled it 2 weeks ago.
>I have used malt sugar as priming sugar (not corn sugar).
>
>Something strange seems to happen. In each bottle there is a little
>bit of "something" floating on the top of the beer (there is also a
>deposit in the bottom, but that's suppose to be that way is not it?).
>
>Does that means that my first batch has been infected with a wild
>yeast?

More likely bacteria or mold. Its difficult to tell from the description
(and sometimes even up close), but it could be something benign.
The best course is to taste it.  If it tastes good, drink it.  If not,
dump it.  

>My second question is about the second batch I brewed last week.
>Contrary to the first one, I did not make it from a hop flavored malt
>can but from the real stuff (barley, hops, etc). I strained the wort
>while putting it in the carboy, but a quite big deposit (2-3 inches)
>appears very quickly in the carboy (even before I added the yeast).
>Should I transfer the beer in another carboy to prevent this deposit
>to be in contact with the beer during the fermentation process, or is

The deposit is normal for a mash, and I'd be suprised if CJOH didn't 
mention it somewhere.  There are mixed opinions as to whether you 
should rack the wort off this sediment (called trub).  I usually do.
It would be better, however, to get your fermentation going as soon
as possible, rather than wait a day worrying about whether to transfer the
wort off the sediment.

-don perley
perley at trub.crd.ge.com


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Date: Mon, 16 Oct 89 09:39:52 EDT
From: bergman at m2c.org (Michael Bergman)
Subject: Re: Not-so-orange Honey Lager


 Glenn Colon-Bonet writes:


	  I boiled 4 of the peels for 30 min, and
	   added the last orange during the last 5 minutes of the boil.
	   The batch had a wonderful orange aroma during the boil and
	   througout fermentation, but when I tasted the first bottle
	   of it yesterday, it has absolutely no orange aroma or flavor!


	I have not brewed with orange peel, but I have cooked with it,
and I would say that the mistake was in adding it to the boil at all.
Orange peel has a bitter oil in it, which is long lasting, and the
delightful orange aroma, which is fleeting.  I'd think that the
"wonderful orange aroma during the boil" was *all* of the aroma, being
driven off.  Also, the white part of the peel has only bitterness,
only the orange part has that smell/flavor characterised as "orange."

	So I would recomend carefully cutting off just the outermost
layer of the peel, keeping the pieces as large as possible without
including any of the white, and then experimenting with dipping it
into the pot in a spice bag during the last minute of the boil, then
removing it, or adding it to the primary or secondary fermenter and
not boiling it at all.

--mike bergman
	      Massachusetts Microelectronics Center
	      75 North Drive, Westborough, MA  01581, USA +1 (508) 870-0312
	UUCP: harvard!m2c!bergman    INTERNET:   bergman at m2c.org         


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Date: Mon, 16 Oct 89 09:38:39 PDT
From: falk at Sun.COM (Ed Falk)
Subject: sterilizing

Hi; I'm new to the list, so apologies if this has been asked recently, but
what are good ways to sterilize bottles and equipment?  I have friends
who are allergic to sulfites.
     -ed falk, sun microsystems
	sun!falk
	falk at sun.com

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Date: Mon, 16 Oct 89 16:51:38 PDT
From: Stuart Crawford <stuart at ads.com>
Subject: possible trouble with priming step

I've just bottled my first batch of beer, and I'm a little concerned about the
priming process.  I'm using a single fermentation system and, immediately
before bottling, I siphoned the wort into a clean container.  In order to
minimize the amount of sediment that I transferred to this container, I let the
first cup or so flow into a bottle that I later discarded.  I am now worried
that I did not transfer enough yeast to allow carbonation to occur.  Is there
any way, short of waiting for a week and opening a bottle, to determine if
carbonation is occuring?  If carbonation does not occur, can I prepare a yeast
solution and add a drop or so to each bottle, reseal and wait again?  Thanks in
advance,
			Stuart

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Date: Mon, 16 Oct 89 21:27:16 EDT
From: John_Isenhour at um.cc.umich.edu
Subject: Anybody at EDUCOM,  brewerys in Ann Arbor?

I arrived at Educom in Ann Arbor Michigan today, I was wondering if
anybody 
else on the list is here.   I would be glad to meet some evening and
discuss homebrewing.  Are there any neat breweries in the Ann Arbor area? 
if so please  let me know. 
 
John Isenhour 
 educom address -  Internet   john_isenhour at educom89.cc.umich.edu 
                -  bitnet     user7601 at educom89 
 local INFONET ID  7601 
 

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End of HOMEBREW Digest #280, 10/17/89
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