HOMEBREW Digest #2878 Wed 18 November 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:
  re: Regulators (John_E_Schnupp)
  Re: Weinacht Weisse (The Greenman)
  re: RIMS False Bottom for GOTT (John_E_Schnupp)
  re: Aluminum questions (John_E_Schnupp)
  Old bay beer (Mikey Beck)
  Miller Commercial ("Houseman, David L")
  Glass Carboy Valve (randy.pressley)
  Re: flat beer (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Aluminum questions (Jeff Renner)
  Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Holland, Grand Rapids, LaPorte & Hammond ("Bruce Garner")
  yeast suck-up clarification ("Spies, Jay")
  How to make a Bock from a Doppelbock (Charley Burns)
  Zymurgy and Nottingham (AlannnnT)
  NPT/MPT (John Wilkinson)
  Re: Brass and Lead (John Palmer)
  RE: Aluminum questions (LaBorde, Ronald)
  Thanks To Pat and Karl (ThE GrEaT BrEwHoLiO)
  re: Chill haze and RIMS (MaltHound)
  stokes flow - fact or fiction?/isinglass preparation/old bay/wyea (Boeing)" <BayerMA at navair.navy.mil>
  flavor not foot, low malt beer ("David R. Burley")
  Sparging temperature (Charley Burns)
  O2 gauge & corona mill (RMerid7682)
  Another Belgian Ale problem (SRNagley)
  Fw: gas on fire ("Thomas Kramer")
  reply to: "Regulators" from HBD#2877 (Herbert Bresler)
  Re: Pressure sparging (David lamotte)
  Re: Power Sparging (Bret Morrow)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 22:23:16 -0800 From: John_E_Schnupp at amat.com Subject: re: Regulators >This weekend I purchased a regulator at a flea market for 10$. It looks to >be in good condition. It appears to be brass; it has (I think) a 7/8" female >tapered thread flare fitting on one side, and a 1/2" tapered thread male >nipple on the other. It says "Listed compressed gas regulator" "2 stage >oxygen" "Craftsmen model #313.54302" on the face. It has two intact guages, >one to 3000lb the other to 150lb. > >Could I use this for C02? Probably not in it's present configuration. It sounds like this regulator was used on an acetylene tank, but can't be sure from the description. There are several types of CGA (compressed gas adapter) fittings. Each one is for different types of gas. You wouldn't want somebody accidentally hooking up a N2 bottle instead of compressed breathing gas, would you. That's why the different fittings. The oxygen label means that it is suitable for use with oxygen, but it doesn't mean that it has been used on a oxygen tank. O2 is a very strong oxidizer and can violently react with internal working of the regulator if they were not designed for O2 use. NEVER use a regulator on O2 that does not have an oxygen use certification. That being said, if there is a gas supplier in your area, you should be able to take the regulator to them. They'll probably have the correct CGA fittings for CO2. The most expensive part is the regulator and it sounds like you've got a deal. I'd also think about getting the functionality of the regulator checked. John Schnupp, N3CNL Colchester, VT 95 XLH 1200 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 03:17:40 -0700 From: The Greenman <greenman at sdc.org> Subject: Re: Weinacht Weisse Greetings Steve and all: I used the question posed by Steve as an excuse to call my German friends. Once I had been on the phone long enough for my Deutsch to come back, I asked the question and after some initial confusion associated with morning(I forgot about the time difference and called at 8:30 am German time) I got some answers. They then called a friend in Bavaria and got some better answers when they called back. Accordingly, this is what I was told. They style you asked about is better known to homebrewers as "Weizenbock." There are some guidelines, it is 50-60 percent wheat malt, sometimes lower. Its full bodied, and bitterness is extremely low. Traditionally, Weinacht Weisse is Dark with some toasty malt flavor. and the original gravity should fall somewhere in the 1.070-1.075 range. My dear friends assumed it was a hefe-weissen (with yeast) so it may cloudy stuff. They forgot to ask the brewer (oh-well) Personally, I enjoy hefe-weissen Steve, you should ask your friend if he remembers the color and if it was cloudy, and shoot from there, if he remembers it well enough, tell me because now I'm curious. Weissbeir is my thing. I would probably brew using Wyeasts Weizen Yeast (3068) and if it wasn't cloudy, It was suggested to roll it gently across the table. Hope that helps! Daniel "Greenman" Griffin Socorro, NM - -- .-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-. T. Daniel "Greenman" Griffin "Knowledge is the herald of Sorrow" "When it is dark enough, you can see the stars" Student/Spod/ANGSTer/Brother/SysAdmin '-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-' Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 04:08:13 -0800 From: John_E_Schnupp at amat.com Subject: re: RIMS False Bottom for GOTT >Do any of you GOTT RIMSers have a false bottom design that's >particulary elegant, easy, cheap, etc? An enquiring (though I made mine from some SS screen with 1/8" holes. I used SS screws and nuts to make the legs. The one thing I did was to cut the screen slightly undersized and then cut slit in a length of poly tubing. I wrapped this around the edge of the screen. Provides a nice tight fit and the rough edges of the screen don't cut into the side of the cooler. My outlet is a 3/8" NPT male fitting thru the original grommet. On the outside of the cooler I used an oring and a female fitting. I haven't had any leaks. There are several others who have done similar things. You'll find some good descriptions on various web sites. John Schnupp, N3CNL Colchester, VT 95 XLH 1200 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 04:23:24 -0800 From: John_E_Schnupp at amat.com Subject: re: Aluminum questions >How did you get your fittings installed? Did you weld in a >coupling? Did you use bulkhead fittings? Any specifics would be greatly >appreciated. > >BTW, I'm getting a 60 qt for the mash/lauter tun, and an 80 qt for the >boiler. The aluminum is 1 gauge (.281") My pots are thinner (not sure of the exact gauge) but here's what I did. I drilled and tapped a 1/4" NPT hole about .5-1" up from the bottom. Your .281" thick should work great. I soldered a bushing into a ball valve and tapped it as well. I then inserted a close nipple in the valve and soldered. The valve assembly was then screwed into the pot until it was good and tight. In my set-up, there were enough threads protruding into the pot so that I could attach a 1/4" NPT female to 3/8" compression fitting. I've done this to a 32 qt pot (my former boiler, now hot water tank) and a 60 qt pot (my boiler). Never had a leak. Just be sure you don't strip the threads in the aluminum. I did mail order some solder that is lead/toxic metal free and is supposed to be able to solder almost any metal except titanium. I haven't tried it yet but this might work either by itself or in addition to the threads. I'd use it in addition to threading. The threads would provide the mechanical connection and the solder would seal any leaks. John Schnupp, N3CNL Colchester, VT 95 XLH 1200 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 06:00:33 -0800 (PST) From: Mikey Beck <stilts121 at yahoo.com> Subject: Old bay beer >Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:44:56 -0500 >From: "Spies, Jay" <Spies at dhcd.state.md.us> >Subject: Old Bay beer / flat beer >All - >Mikey Beck has the unmitigated temerity to call Old >Bay (seasoning of the Gods) **RANCID** !!! You shall >be immediately drawn and quartered if you are caught >setting foot in Maryland . . . Since you're not the only proud Marylander to suggest I be "drawn and quartered" for calling Old Bay "rancid", I will have you know that I do indeed live in Maryland, just outside of Bawlmer :^). So pbbbbbbbbbbttttttt :P glad to be born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, mikey. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free at yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 09:33:57 -0500 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: Miller Commercial One of Miller's recent TV commericals comments on the powdered sugar on the donut as just a layer of protection between the greese on the mechanics fingers an his nutrition, going on to say that, hey even if some of the grease on his fingers makes it to the donut, "that's just flavor to a Miller man." Well, I guess it had to come from somewhere ;-)) Business week had an interesting article on Miller's frustrating and as yet unrewarding attempt to gain market share. A new plastic bottle. Innovative TV advertizing (actually pretty entertaining). Yet if they just spend a little of what they spend on advertizing on additional malt and hops.... Dave Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 9:34:56 -0500 From: randy.pressley at SLKP.COM Subject: Glass Carboy Valve I saw a picture in a magazine ad of a carboy with a valve attached on the bottom. Has anyone tried to modify their carboy and attach a valve. I'm interested in how difficult it is to cut through the glass. My thoughts were to cut a hole big enough to attach one of those bottling bucket valves. The tricky part would be holding the nut from inside the carboy in order to tighten the valve. My hope is to avoid the bottling bucket and the siphon hose. Also transfer into the secondary would be easier, not to mention getting gravity readings without having to use a wine thief. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 09:34:59 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu> Subject: Re: flat beer "Spies, Jay" <Spies at dhcd.state.md.us> writes that when bottling: >I try to "steal" some of the yeast from the primary by >siphoning off some of the primary cake. I swirl the racking cane around >in the primary to suck up a lot of the yeast, and usually don't end up >taking more than a cup or so. Yikes - a cup of yeast in 5 gallons? I'm not worried about the flavor contribution, but all the yeast in the bottom of the bottle spoils the clear brew I've worked so hard to achieve. While I mostly keg now, I do still bottle. I generally try to carry over as little yeast as possible, and certainly don't try to get more from the primary of another brew. I want as little yeast on the bottom of the bottle as possible. I generally get no more than the thickness of a coat of paint. Fining with gelatine ehlps fi I'm in a hurry. Then even a careless pour results in nearly clear beer, and with a little care, I get no yeast at all, even after carrying the bottles somewhere. I've also never had a failure from dead yeast, including lagers. It may take a while, but they always carbonate. Jeff -=-=-=-=- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 09:57:57 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu> Subject: Re: Aluminum questions William Graham <weg at rmi.net> asks: > So, does anyone have any experiences using aluminum that they >would like to share? > How do you clean your pots? > How did you get your fittings installed? Did you weld in a >coupling? Did you use bulkhead fittings? Any specifics would be greatly >appreciated I use three 10 gallon aluminum stockpots in a bottom fired RIMS. I really like them. Mike O'Brien of picoBrew fitted them with bulkhead mounted valves and fabricated copper false bottoms for the mash and boil kettle. He used copper bushings and I have been concerned about electrolosis between them and the aluminum kettle, but so far, so good. I have cleaned the boiler once in dozens of brews with Five Star cleaner (can't remember the name). Did a good job. Otherwise, I use a nylon "chore-ball"-like scrubber when I'm done brewing each time. As Bill says, the big advantage of aluminum (other than cost) is heat conductivity (10X that of SS, I read here many years ago). That is also its disadvantage, at least in a mash tun. I've wrapped mine in aluminum foil/plastic bubble wrap. This works well, but the burner head does eventually ruin the bubbles. I've rewrapped mine once and it's about time to do it again. I'd guess it lasts maybe 15 brews, maybe a little more. I've recently begun to use a 10 gallon Igloo for the sparge water, so I really don't need the third kettle. Folks have posted here in the past that the Igloo is safe for hot liquids, and I've had no warping, but the smell of the hot container after I'm done leaves me with some health concerns. I do wonder what kind of plasticizers or other nasties are being leached into my sparge water. It has no taste, but that's not infallible. Jeff -=-=-=-=- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 09:20:36 -0600 From: "Bruce Garner" <bpgarner at mailbag.com> Subject: Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Holland, Grand Rapids, LaPorte & Hammond The above cities are the destination for the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild as we take our yearly road trip this weekend. The tentitive itinerary is below. Hope that some of you "just west of Jeff Renner" types (Forrest and Eric come to mind off the top of my head) can find the time to meet up with us and have a beer. We have tours going at many of the places we are visiting and can probably add you in. Bruce Garner Friday, November 20 9:00 am - Depart Madison 5:00 pm - Arcadia Brewing Co., Battle Creek 7:00 pm - Olde Peninsula, Kalamazoo 9:00 pm - Kraftbrau, Kalamazoo 10:00 pm - Bell's Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo Saturday, November 21 10:30 am - Roffey Brewing, (perhaps followed by New Holland) Holland 3:00 pm - Grand Rapids Brewing, Grand Rapids (tentative) 5:00 pm - Bob's House of Brews, Grand Rapids (club dinner) 8:00 pm - Arena Brewing Tour Other evening choices: Canal Street Brewing, Big Buck Brewing & Steakhouse Sunday, November 22 11:00 am - Bell's Brewing, Kalamazoo 11:00 am - Packers play Vikings 1:00 pm - Back Road Brewery, LaPorte, IN 3:00 pm - Three Floyds, Hammond, IN Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:22:19 -0500 From: "Spies, Jay" <Spies at dhcd.state.md.us> Subject: yeast suck-up clarification All - It's clear that I wasn't clear in my post about "stealing" yeast from the primary for use at bottling. I *meant* to say that I suck up a cup of *liquid*, not a cup of *yeast*. The amount of actual yeast is probably no more than a few tablespoons full. I've gotten several puzzled replies, and figured a clarification wouldn't hurt. Jay Spies Wishful Thinking Basement Brewery Baltimore, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 98 07:45 PST From: caburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charley Burns) Subject: How to make a Bock from a Doppelbock How to make a Bock from a Doppelbock Or, Stupid Brewer Trick #134. The day was fantastic, 55 degrees, sparkling blue sky, very light breeze and the mountains white with their first good snowstorm of the year. I was set to once again brew the Dopplebock that did so well last year in competitions. I had taken very detailed notes from that brew (assisted by Brian S) so I was very hopeful that duplicating the batch was possible. Everything went as planned, got the grains measured and milled, mashtun heated up, strike water heated up and nailed the 138F protein rest. Pulled first decoction, took it up to saccarification at 158F, rested 40 minutes and boiled it for 20. If you've never done a decoction - do it. The aromas of boiling grain that has been mashed at 158F are incredibly heavenly. Dropped the boiled grains back into the rest mash and nailed 159F - perfect. Heated and treated to PH 5.75 6 gallons of sparge water. Took second decoction and boiled it 15 minutes, once again heavenly aromas. Back to the rest mash and hit 165F. Its too good to be true, the brew is going perfect! So, why not, have a couple of homebrews with lunch. Started at 9:30 am and its 1:00 now, ready to start sparging. Re-circulated a gallon before wort ran cool. Boiling grains really blows them apart and it takes quite a while to set the grain bed. Now for the slowest sparge I have ever done, took 1 hour and 15 minutes. The brew smells so good I can hardly contain myself. But, I'm worried. This looks like its really strong. I was targeting 1.090-1.095 for an original gravity. So I stirred up the 7.5 gallons of wort and then took a reading. 1.093! Oh my god, wayyyy too strong, it'll boil down to 1.116! I quickly did some more math and decided to take 1 gallon out and replace it with 1 gallon of water. So I go into my 90 minute boil, everything is progressing fine, hops and Irish Moss go in on time and I chill it down to 68F. After settling it goes into the primary along with a 1 quart starter of Wyeast 2308 and I pull a sample from the kettle as it goes. 1.077! Huh? What happened? Here's the stupid part. Even though I had stirred the wort to take my pre-boil sample, I have a false bottom in my kettle to catch the hops. The wort UNDERNEATH the false bottom never got stirred up into the wort at the top. When I took the sample, I took it from my kettle spigot at the BOTTOM. All the first runnings wort, the absolutely strongest, was under the false bottom, causing the sample to be totally wrong. So now I have a bock, instead of a dopplebock bubbling away in the primary. Oh well. In two weeks when the primary is finished, I'll have one helluva yeast starter for a 1.091 dopplebock which I will try again. I did take that 1 gallon of heavy wort and mix it with some second runnings and made a half batch of 1.040 spiced holiday ale too. So it wasn't a total loss anyway. Charley (a few mile west of Jack) brewing just down from the snowline in N.Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 10:26:03 EST From: AlannnnT at aol.com Subject: Zymurgy and Nottingham Andrew Stavrolakis wrote..I haven't read the Zymurgy article rapping dry yeasts, but I have used Nottingham extensively to brew *many* different types of beer and have found it to be very predictable in its performance. Andrew, did you notice that the Zymurgy article stated that the sample beers were all shaken in transport to the tastings? The authors concede that the tasted samples were turbid (my word-not theirs) because the corny kegs of beer samples did not have time to settle after transport to the tasting site. That makes all the rest of the article useless. Can you discredit a beer yeast for being "yeasty" after you stir up the yeast? Perhaps the next time, a little (prior, ha) planning will help make the results more reliable. Just my opinion, Alan Talman East Northport, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 98 10:21:06 CST From: jwilkins at wss.dsccc.com (John Wilkinson) Subject: NPT/MPT AlK wrote: >I made a copper NPT (national pipe thread, despite hundreds of books >saying otherwise, "MPT" is an incorrect acronym) nut by cutting a >copper MPT-to-brasing fitting. Which is it? First he said MPT was incorrect and then wrote MPT-to-brasing. A typo, I suspect. Interesting note, though. Last night I was in an ACE Hardware store buying some fittings and noticed they had packages of fittings marked MPT and FPT for male and female NPT fittings. It seems they don't know either. Or do they? John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas - jwilkins at wss.dsccc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 08:59:46 -0800 From: John Palmer <jjpalmer at gte.net> Subject: Re: Brass and Lead Bill asks if a study has ever been done to examine whether lead is re-exposed or leached from brass fittings after many batches. To the best of my knowledge - No. I suppose we should get some Lead Detection swabs and swab our parts and see if any lead is detected. I can think of several parts I have that were de-leaded several years ago and have seen a lot of use since. I will try to remember to test them. I am not worried about it because of the compatibility of wort and brass/copper alloys. In addition, the amount of lead in a brass fitting is small. Less than 7% in all alloys that we would be using, some as low as 3%. Think about it. If you have 100 grams of fittings, you have less than 7 grams of lead, of which you are only exposing the surface area of the part for dissolution. You would have to calculate the surface area of all the fittings and figure the volume percent of the lead phase (less than wt%) and determine how much you are ingesting based on dissolution rate. It is going to be tiny. But you are right, this question should probably be answered definitively. John Palmer metallurgist jjpalmer at realbeer.com Monrovia, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:10:25 -0600 From: rlabor at lsumc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald) Subject: RE: Aluminum questions >>>> How did you get your fittings installed? Did you weld in a coupling? Did you use bulkhead fittings? Any specifics would be greatly appreciated. <<<< I never weld. I know most do, but why? I like to fabricate bulkhead fittings - or really just use various fittings in combinations that achieve a bulkhead fitting. Once welded, always welded. Also, the welding can cause sanitary problems, rusting problems, etc.. !!-SHIELDS UP SCOTTY-!!. I like to experiment and be able to make changes and this gives me the flexibility to do that. I can remove everything if I want to do a thorough cleaning. Ron Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor at lsumc.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:39:42 -0600 From: ThE GrEaT BrEwHoLiO <skotrat at wwa.com> Subject: Thanks To Pat and Karl Hi all, About two years ago some of you may remember the the AOB/AHA was killing the HBD. The end of this great resource was surely doomed if something was not done to save it. Well anyway, I suggested to Pat that he was the only sucker errrr I mean brewer that could really do it justice by taking it over and saving it from the sure untimely death that my buddies at the AOB/AHA were giving it. Pat contacted the OEONLINE people and somehow suckered the already over worked/underpaid/rarely thanked and all around great guy named Karl Lutzen to go along with the idea of saving the HBD. To make a really long story short these guys brought back the HBD to what it was... A great free brewing resource for all to enjoy. Being that the 2 year mark is right around now I personally wanted to say THANK YOU PAT AND KARL FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS AND UN-ENDING HARD WORK!!! The entire Homebrew community owes you's bumbs a great big thanks. Hats off to you guys... I will now return to my normal grumpy plaid loving self... C'ya!!! -Scott "Geesh I am tearing up on me Kilt!" Abene ThE-HoMe-BrEw-RaT Scott Abene <skotrat at mediaone.net> http://skotrat.dynip.com/skotrat (the Homebrew "Beer Slut" page) "The More I know About Cathy Ewing, The More The AHA SUCKS" Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 13:36:24 EST From: MaltHound at aol.com Subject: re: Chill haze and RIMS In HBD 2877 Charles Beaver said: <> Charles, I noticed a very similar pattern when I first switched to a RIMS system. It might be the mash-out that is the culprit. My theory is that by raising the mash temperature to 170 deg F you may be liberating more starch and protein at a temperature that the enzymes are no longer able to deal with them. After a few hazey batches I loweredc my mashout temp to ~160 deg F and are more careful to sparge at a bit lower temp. Of course, YMMV Regards, Fred Wills Londonderry, NH Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 13:50:29 -0500 From: "Bayer, Mark A (Boeing)" <BayerMA at navair.navy.mil> Subject: stokes flow - fact or fiction?/isinglass preparation/old bay/wyea collective homebrew conscience: paul wrote: >Scott references "stokes flow". >From the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics:"Stokes Law: Gives >the rate of fall of a small sphere in a viscous fluid. When a small sphere >falls under the action of gravity through a viscous medium, it ultimately >aquires a constant velocity." Clearly, this has nothing to do with the flow >of a liquid (such as wort)through a porous medium (such as a grain bed). >It may, however apply to dropping a rubber gromet into a batch of high >gravity beer ;). Also,Stokes has nothing to do with the Reynolds number. actually, it is reynolds number that defines stokes flow. for some good pictures of stokes flow, check out An Album of Fluid Motion, Van Dyke, Milton, The Parabolic Press, Stanford, Calif., 1982. also, i never got a response to the isinglass preparation question. i'm still mystified, if anybody has any advice. regarding old bay: being a recent transplant to southern maryland, i am a big fan of the ubiquitous blend. celery salt seems to be the overriding flavor, but there's a lot of pepper and paprika also. in michael jackson's beer companion book, he writes that one of the most memorable meals of his life was a peppery crab feast in a brewpub in baltimore that was accompanied by.......irish dry stout. the pepperiness was undoubtedly from old bay or a close imitator. jackson writes that, at first thought, this seems an unlikely combination, but given the excellent pairing of oysters and dry stout, it's not too much of a leap to believe that whatever it is about dry stout that accentuates the taste of oysters could do the same for the flavors in blue crab. for michael jackson to say it was one of the most memorable meals of his life, that's a strong statement. this guy has probably tasted a broader selection of authentic cuisine than all but a few on the planet. (supporters of old bay rejoice). unfortunately, i'm due to move back to st louis in the spring, and blue crab will be out of season until then. i never tried stout with blue crab. :-( my klschbier came out of the 7 gallon carboy this morning. i've never had to use a blowoff with a 7 gallon carboy before. wyeast 1007 - temp in room 68 deg f. truly a top fermenter, from the amount of yeast blown out. brew hard, mark bayer great mills, md *south* of jeff renner by a good piece, i reckon Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 18:14:27 -0500 From: "David R. Burley" <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com> Subject: flavor not foot, low malt beer Brewsters: Donald Breistle and Ted Major insist on interpreting Wurz as foot,base,source etc. Breistle now suggests that perhaps it Derives from the German word for value. Wurz is German for foot of a mountain, and the like, as indicated. WUrz ( with an umlaut over the u ) is the German word for wort. WUrz (umlaut) has a meaning like spice, flavoring, zest and malt liquor when applied to beer making. Wine drinkers will know this as a component word in the grape and wine named GewUrztraminer -"SpicedTraminer"- to describe the taste. It does not derive from "wert' - German for worth or value. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Wall Street Journal; today (Monday) had an article on a new low-malt beverage ( called Buddy) that Bud is introducing into Japan. It has introduced a competitor in the beer style called Haposhu which has much lower malt ( like 24%) and Bud's has higher alcohol (6%) than competing low malt beverages on the order of 5 to 5.5%. Normal beer in Japan has to have at least 66.7% malt to be called "beer". Haposhu means "sparkling alcohol drink." This low malt beverage is being sold since it can be made from lower cost ingredients (beans, millet, rice and a barnyard grass calle "hie") and has a lower price in these restrained economic times in Japan. The price? a 12 oz can sells for $1.20 versus $1.80 for beer! Yeah, per can. This is the first time Bud has ever brewed a beer different from their mainline brew. The reason says A-B "We're trying to cater to a diverse market" Yeah right. Bud hopes to up their market share in the market to 1.2% from its current 1% and to be at 3-4% by the year 2002 ( the year that spokesman obviously retires) Pass the Zima! 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: Tue, 17 Nov 98 16:17 PST From: caburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charley Burns) Subject: Sparging temperature "Gregory M. Remake" <gremake at gsbalum.uchicago.edu> asks about sparging temps in hbd 2877: I've found some contradictory information regarding proper sparging temperature. I understand that to avoid tannin extraction (assuming an appropriate pH), I don't want the grains to reach a temperature much above 170F. Many sources state this as the reason to heat sparge water no higher than 170F. However, other sources maintain that due to thermal losses, one may use sparge water near boiling temperatures and never raise the grain bed above 170F (assuming a properly slow flow rate).<snip>... Yes, there are lots of different recommendations on this. I read in George Fix's notes (either Vienna book or the 40/60/70 article) that he recommended sparging at about 160F. The last few batches I've been keeping my eye on what my grain bed temperatures are throughout the sparge. Frankly they don't change much at all and it doesn't matter if the sparge water is 185F down to 170F. My last batch was a double decoction and the grain bed hit 165F dead on with the second (mashout) decoction. I sparge for 1 hour and 15 minutes and the grain bed never changed a single degree. Started with 185F water and it was 170F by the time the hour was over. One point, I never let the grain bed run dry anymore. I always heat up 1 or 2 extra gallons of sparge water and keep and even flow the entire time. I do this because the first time I did it by accident, it resulted in a very nice clean, nearly trooooob free wort. If you've ever watched the clear tubing from your mashtun as the grain bed runs dry you'll see that your clear wort all of a sudden gets filled with chunks of grain as the water runs out. Charley (oversparging) about 2,000 miles west of Jeff, 2200 miles west of Al, 3,000 miles west of Dave B, 30 miles east of Dave Sapsis, 29 miles south of Martin Lodahl, 90 miles north of Randy, 60 miles east of Brian Gros, 70 miles east of Fritz Maytag, 20 miles north of Dave Brattstrom and on my way to Las Vegas for 24 hours of Comdex. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 19:17:17 EST From: RMerid7682 at aol.com Subject: O2 gauge & corona mill Hello all Someone picked up an oxygen gauge and asked if it will fit a CO2 tank. Gauges will usually only fit one type gas cylinder. But they can maybe be refitted to fit. The stem with the large nut on it is different. They can possibly be changed to one that fits. Do you have a friendly local welding supply shop? Take in and talk to them, they will usually tell you if it will work or can be made to work. Sometimes they may have a used gauge that you can trade in on if yours can't be made to work. You can get a hose barb to screw on the small fitting for your CO2 line to the keg in the size to fit you CO2 line. Someone else asked about setting up a Corona mill. Check Miller's "The Complete Handbook of Home Brewing". Basically turn in adjustment screw until until you can feel it touch the ball bearing and beginning to push the outer plate towards the inner one. Back off one full turn and tighten wingnut. Crush a cup of malt and look at it. If the crush is too coarse, tighten another 1/2 turn. Or vice versa too fine a crush. Crush another cup. Check and fine tune. Roger Meridith Decatur,IL Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 19:37:04 EST From: SRNagley at aol.com Subject: Another Belgian Ale problem Hello all, I'm a first time poster although I've been lurking for a while. A recent problem I've experienced and a similar one to Dean Fikar's has driven me to post. Although, I'm a recent convert to all-grain brewing (2 batches so far), the problem involves my last extract brew, a Belgian Tripel. The beer started at 1.084 SG and I pitched what I thought was plenty of starter (the entire slury from a previous batch of lower gravity Belgian Ale). It did sit in my fridge in a quart jar for 2-3 weeks before making the starter for the tripel. The brew took off within a couple of hours after being aerated by pouring back and forth between my boiling kettle and a plastic pail. The beer fermented for about 8 days in my basement at somewhat cooler temps (65F) than I had expected. I also realized that I had somewhat more than 5 gals in my 6 1/2 gal primary carboy, so when I racked to secondary I was prepared with a gal wine jug for the extra volume. Both of these bottles were kept in the same area of my basement at the same temps. I actually moved them closer to a space heater because I thought the temp may have been a littler too cool. Anyway, without making this any longer than it already is, the 1/2 gallon or so in the small jug cleared like a charm and after 3 1/2 weeks the 5 gallon main batch is as cloudy as the day it was racked. I checked the gravity on both and the one in the 1 gal jug is 1.010 - the other 1.020! There doesn't appear to be any activity. I'm at a loss for why this happened and am wondering what I should do now - pitch more yeast? - add some kind of finings and bottle anyway? The brew was one of the simplest I've made - 9 lbs. of DME, 1 lb candi sugar and 1 lb of table sugar, lightly hopped - oh, and the yeast I used was Wyeast Abbey II (1762). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Steve Nagley Old Forge, PA - that's NE PA brewing in the heart of coal country Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 20:17:16 -0500 From: "Thomas Kramer" <tkramer at monad.net> Subject: Fw: gas on fire - -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Kramer <tkramer at monad.net> To: post@hbd.com <post@hbd.com> Date: Tuesday, November 17, 1998 8:09 PM Subject: gas on fire >while I guess this is tom 2 cents on fire safety. Today I was brewing a, >all grain Belgium ale. Every thing was going fine my grains were mashing, >while I had my sparge water heating outside on my propane cooker, all of a >sudden I hear the noise from the propane surged, I look outside and I saw a >big fire ball. Some how my propane tank had caught on fire, there were >flames everywhere on the tank, on the line from the tank to the burner, it >look like it might blow up any time. Luckily I had a fire extinguisher near >by, and I sprayed the thing down and it put the fire out. The regulator, >and gas line was melted through, and now there was yellow chemicals >everywhere. I am not shure were the leak came from, but I know one thing I >was glad I was near by and that I had a fire extinguisher, and also I only >lost my sparge water not my beer. From now on I will always do a soapy >water leak check before I use my cooker, and will never leave a cooker >unattended, and I will always have a extinguisher near by. > >Tom,, Keene, NH > Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 22:11:08 -0500 From: Herbert Bresler <bresler.7 at osu.edu> Subject: reply to: "Regulators" from HBD#2877 In HBD#2877 Andrew Stavrolakis asked about the gas regulator he bought cheap: Andrew, Sorry, the regulator you bought is intended for oxygen and almost certainly has the wrong fitting on it -- it won't mate with a CO2 tank. The fittings are made different for different gasses (to avoid mix-ups). Also, the second stage (to 150 psi) is probably too coarse for proper regulation of CO2. You really want better control of your CO2 (to within 0.5-1.0 psi). On the bright side, you already have a regulator for oxygenating your wort. Good luck and good brewing, Herb Bexley (Columbus), Ohio Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:21:02 +1100 From: David lamotte <lamotted at ozemail.com.au> Subject: Re: Pressure sparging ShoCKValue (AKA Pete Santerre) wrote: <snip> < This got me to thinking - (Uh oh) < <Would it be possible to put in an 'easy masher' type pickup on the <end of the 'Out' line in a corney keg and use this to do a < pressurized mash? </snip> I doubt if any of us have mashed as you describe, but I do have one datapoint on using a corny as a hop back after the boil which may be relevant. I simply fitted a stainless 'scrubby' to the end of the 'out' dip tube and threw in my handfull of whole hops. I then let the hot wort run into the keg instead of putting it through my counterflow chiller. It worked great BTW, and not only filtered as required, but imparted the delicious hop aroma that I was seeking. But I had the following problems, and I believe that you would face the same issues with your setup. 1. It took forever (1 hour actually) to run 22 litres through, even though I was using ~ 50 PSI of CO2. The scrubby just packed solid with all the trub. I would expect a squishy (pronounced like SQUEEGY but with a fISH sound in the middle) mash would compact even more. 2. Due to the high liquid temperature, it pretty much ruined all the rubber parts on the keg. While I don't know for sure, I expect that the mash filters used to make industrial beer would gently squeeze the mash over a large surface area so as to avoid totally pulverising it. David Lamotte Brewing Down Under in Newcastle N.S.W. Australia Just a few quick keystrokes from Jeff Renner, wherever he may be. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:22:48 -0500 From: Bret Morrow <bret.morrow at mci2000.com> Subject: Re: Power Sparging Pete asked about using CO2 pressure to "power sparge." Randy Mosher had a design in Zymurgy, Vol 17, number 2, page 29. It is a real nice design. The only concern I have is the location of the wort uptake manifold in the mash keg--it is a 6" piece of 1.5 inch (who cares how many cm!) copper pipe with slots of holes drilled into it. The potential problem I see is that the upper most slots or holes are at least 6.5-7 inches off the bottom of the corny keg. It may or may not be important. Pete, I was just going to e-mail you, because everyone else reads Zymurgy! ;-> Bret Morrow Johnson Brewing Return to table of contents
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