HOMEBREW Digest #2935 Sat 23 January 1999

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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: Posting Questionable Data ("Alan McKay")
  Suitability of Wyeast 1728 "Scottish Ale" for high gravity worts ("Dave Humes")
  Polenta/ attenuation (Dave Sapsis)
  Need a URL again, please! ("Kelly")
  Plastic bucket for boil vessel (steve)
  A newbie question please... ("Kelly")
  RE: Subject: yeast starters ("Kelly")
  Suppliers (John Wilkinson)
  Questionable posts, Dry Yeast, Boilovers (Joe Rolfe)
  The Brewhouse, Whistler, BC (Charley Burns)
  Kegging without CO2 (tbevans)
  Whisk(e)y ("Brad McMahon")
  Yeast Purity ("Rick Wood")
  RE: Wyeast 1968, easy starter oxygenation ("Rich, Charles")
  Brew Stands ("Mark Nelson")
  Reply to Tom's question about Aluminum foil (CptOzzy)
  Mash Temp Calculations (John Varady)
  old-style keg conversion (Jim Suggs)
  The Jethro Gump Report ("Rob Moline")
  Re: Stainless steel screen ("rrscott")
  Re: Coffee Stout (Brendan Persinger)
  Drunk Monk Challenge (Steve McKenna)
  More on Cutting out Keg Tops ("Donald D. Lake")
  Blue Corn Beer (Ken Schwartz)
  yeast (Jason.Gorman)
  Solenoid Valves (The Holders)
  Re: Whiskey yeast (Wade Hutchison)
  Solenoids, Polenta, SS Screen ("John Griswold")
  More Fun with Air Tools! (Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products)
  More on dry yeast purity ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  Maybe "D", none of the above ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  Foamy aeration ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  Lager bottling question (Kris and Marie Cowling)
  sweetness source (Boeing)" <BayerMA at navair.navy.mil>
  Re: whisky yeast ("Stephen Alexander")
  CAP question ("Bryan L. Gros")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:15:58 -0500 From: "Alan McKay" <amckay at nortelnetworks.com> Subject: RE: Posting Questionable Data Jeffrey Kenton writes : > If you disagree with what I have to say, please address me > directly at the email address above. There's no need to discuss > replies on the HBD. So you're allowed to vent to the HBD, but everyone else should just keep their traps shut now that you've had your say? > I have read the HBD for several years, and have posted occasionally. I have > used the HBD as an excellent source of information, and have improved, in > my opinion, my brewing skills. However, one thing really gets under my > skin, which is posting conjecture. Posts that contain the phrase, "I don't > have the resource to hand, but...." or "I can't recall exactly how process > xxxx works, but here's what I remember...." or "I remember from Organic > Chemistry fifteen years ago that..." really make for a great number of > worthless posts. These types of posts only make it possible for twenty > people to reply that the intial post was off the mark, often all coming in > the very next issue, or delaying the queue for several days. While I do agree with you in spirit, I think the onus is on the reader, not the poster. I give a lot of advice (mainly in rec.crafts.brewing) that otherwise would not be given if I had to go look it up every time. When I'm uncertain of something, I say so. I tell people when to take it with a grain of salt, and they should do just that. As I mention on my homepage at : http://www.magma.ca/~bodnsatz/brew/tips/disclaimer.html "Our reluctance to buy into electonic advice stems simply from our 15+ years experience on the internet, which has earned us the knowledge of how easy it is to make yourself look like an expert in such a forum. Take that statement self-referencially to your current hosts if you please. You should be cautious of all information you obtain from the Internet (whether it be about brewing, or some other topic altogether), unless you can be absolutely certain that the person or people you are getting it from can be trusted." IMO if you aren't operating as stated above, and if you don't already work on these assumptions, then you should reconsider whether or not you are ready for the Internet. > 2. Consult as many references as possible before posting a new topic. > 3. Please make sure to include the reference when posting something > out-of-the-norm. This is just being utterly ridiculous. Citations and so on, while they would be useful in some circumstances, is just being too anal IMO. This isn't a scientific journal (though at times you wouldn't know it), and quite frankly I don't think it should become one. cheers, -Alan - -- Alan McKay Nortel Networks Norstar WinNT 613-765-6843 (ESN 395) amckay at nortelnetworks.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:31:17 -0500 From: "Dave Humes" <humesdg1 at earthlink.net> Subject: Suitability of Wyeast 1728 "Scottish Ale" for high gravity worts Greetings, I recently exchanged email with someone on another forum who stated that he was using Wyeast 1728 "Scottish Ale" to ferment a barley wine, OG 1.098. I wondered about the suitability of a highly flocculent yeast like 1728 for a high gravity beer. But, the Wyeast Labs description of 1728 states that it is suitable for high gravity ales of all types. It just seems to me that you would want a yeast that remains in suspension as long as possible for a high gravity beer, and that you would want to choose a yeast that is capable of fairly high attenuation. 1728 is neither. I suppose it may have good alcohol tolerance, but otherwise what makes it a good yeast for barley wine? Dave Humes >>humesdg1 at earthlink.net<< Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 11:32:27 -0800 From: Dave Sapsis <DAVE_SAPSIS at fire.ca.gov> Subject: Polenta/ attenuation Just like Jim with a post on Lambics of the AHA pops up, I autoreflex reply to *my* favorite adjunct: Markus asks about using Polenta instead of corn meal. The only difference between raw (ie not already partially cooked) Polenta and Cornmeal is the texture. I have found that the coarser Polenta works even better in the mash tun, and conveys an absolutely bomb corn character -- to my palate much better than brewers maize (ie, gelatinized flakes). Wondering about this perception, I boiled a small amount of each in some water, and the aroma of the flakes had a faint staleness while the polenta was bright, sweet, and very corny. Of course this could be due to poor flakes. However, a good coop probably has reasonably fresh bulk goods. On a similar vein, I recently used bulgar (cracked wheat) in subsitute of my normal flaked wheat in a plambic. Worked lovely. Regarding Mark's question of attentuation and sach temps: I routinely mash my ordinary bitters (nominally 85% UK pale malt, 10 % glucose, 5% crystal) around 144F. Underattentuation strikes me as a more common malady, and while this temp converts fine, there is no loss of malty character, as long as high quality malts are used. The grainbill no doubt interacts significantly with mash regime and feremet in the level of attenution. Particulalry the use of high levels of crystal malts will lead to lower atteaution, and a generally sweeter finish. Search for Mort O'Sullivan's excellent post on caramel malt characteristics for why. A classic example is provided by Fuller's, which according to the brewery mash all their bitters at 65C (149F); I found the Cheshwick Bitter to be bone dry, while the ESB was cloyingly sweet. This was real ale, mind you, not the pasturized stuff stateside. Incidentally, Fuller's uses the Fuller's yeast (Nudge Nudge, wink wink, say no more...) cheers, - --dave Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:36:02 -0600 From: "Kelly" <kgrigg at diamonddata.com> Subject: Need a URL again, please! Hello, Could someone please re-post the URL for the site that had all of the different set ups for all-grain brewing? I thought I had bookmarked it, but, apparently Netscape <hiccuped> and didn't record it. It had several setups with pictures of each... TIA, Kelly New Orleans Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:37:11 -0600 (CST) From: steve at globaldialog.com Subject: Plastic bucket for boil vessel I recall seeing a page on the net in the past describing someones system they made using a 220volt heating element installed in a plastic bucket for mashing and boiling. I cannot find it again now to save my life. Does anyone on the list know of the site I speak, or one like it? Any comments on such a system? Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:53:10 -0600 From: "Kelly" <kgrigg at diamonddata.com> Subject: A newbie question please... Could someone tell me what Fusel alcohols are...why they are bad, what the taste is like (so I can know how to detect), and how to prevent them? Thanx!! Kelly Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:14:11 -0600 From: "Kelly" <kgrigg at diamonddata.com> Subject: RE: Subject: yeast starters Hi George, I'm a newbie brewer, and new to the list, but, I think I know the answer to this one. You want your brewing yeasts to get as fast of a start on re-producing and fermenting as possible so as to prevent possible contaminating yeasts and bacteria from thriving. Remember, in any medium where microbes can thrive, it is a competition between them....and if you give your yeast cells an advantage of numbers and they are particularly viable, then they will win the 'war' to grow and thrive in the wort. They will beat out the 'nasties' and will therefore be the primary fermenters/flavorers of your beer. Hope I got this one right, and I'm really enjoying the list so far.....!! Kelly New Orleans Original Message----------------------------------------------- >Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 12:18:49 EST >From: FLHNEM at aol.com >Subject: yeast starters <snip> > My second question asked what the harm in fermentation delay is? >Frank Hight >Worcester, Ma. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 14:54:43 -0600 From: John.Wilkinson at aud.alcatel.com (John Wilkinson) Subject: Suppliers There has been discussion of late about local homebrew supply stores and I thought I would relate a recent experience. Over a year ago I bought a can of grape juice concentrate from my local supplier, Home Brew Supply of Dallas, and made a white wine. When I opened the can the concentrate was dark and apparently oxidized. I already had everything ready so I went ahead and made the wine. The stuff turned out undrinkable. It was quite a while after I bought it that I found it was no good so I thought it too late to mention to my supplier. Well, I was just in his store to buy a few odds and ends and we got to talking about wine and I mentioned my experience. Without hesitation Jack told me to go get another can. Now I call that good service. You can bet he is going to get my business. I kind of doubt I would have gotten such instant and sure response from a mail order place that doesn't even know me. John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas - John.Wilkinson at aud.alcatel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 18:18:36 -0500 From: Joe Rolfe <rolfe at sky.sky.com> Subject: Questionable posts, Dry Yeast, Boilovers Jeff Kenton mentioned questionable posts.... I am guilty as charged there but am I the only one to admit this?? I responed to Jeff offline (x2), but maybe what this list needs is a "resume" from posters so that everyone can determine the experience levels. Computers hide alot of details, and anyone can be a brewmaster behind the keyboard. I try to be brief, give the bullets and most people can figure out how to implement the details in the environment they have. No two breweries are the same. If anyone feels that info is questionable, indicate asap, dont wait. Dry Yeasts - there are places here and in Europe that provide excellent quality dry yeast to commercial brewers and if a homebrewer want to fork over $200 to $400 for it. (questionable data alert - i dont have the address here of the one I am thinking about in Denmark - but if anyone is interested I can get the address and the person I was in contact for you)... You pay for one vial and it should last a life time. It comes with a purity certificate. So this Lallemand set up should be interesting. For those that want early access - talk to your local commercial brewer and see if they can purchase it for you if they dont become readily available to homebrew shops. For boil over prevention (possibly questionable data here)...try adding some hops before the boil and after "skimming the scum" that forms. Dont cover the kettle entirely. It works - most of the time for me. But I still kept the hose close by, just in case. Good Luck and Great Brewing Joe Rolfe Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 99 16:00 PST From: caburns at egusd.k12.ca.us (Charley Burns) Subject: The Brewhouse, Whistler, BC Just back from a ski trip to Whistler and to my great joy found a wonderful little brewpub, The Brewhouse, right in the middle of Whistler Village. The beer was passable, the food was outstanding. The giant wood fired rotisserie held at least 18 chickens and a few prime ribs. The best beer was the Bitter, a fine example of the style. The nut brown was full of diacetyl, the "lite lager" was insipid and oxidized. The stout was clean but a bit light in body although very drinkable. Pale ale was a tamer version of the Bitter, but clean and drinkable as a session beer. The Lifty Lager which in my opinion was a pilsner, but not billed that way, was very good and according to server is their best seller. If you're going sking, get to Whistler and try that rotisserie chicken and prime rib - fantastic. Charley Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 15:45:45 -0800 From: tbevans at internet.omm.com Subject: Kegging without CO2 Does anyone have experience with kegging beer and then dispensing it with a hand pump (like they do in certain English pubs), as opposed to using CO2 to dispense. I have not even progressing to kegging my beer yet but would like any information available about this process and whether it is feasible for us homebrewers. Thanks much, Tim Evans Los Angeles Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 10:34:47 +0930 From: "Brad McMahon" <brad at sa.apana.org.au> Subject: Whisk(e)y >From: Scott Murman <smurman at best.com> >Subject: whiskey or whisky >While the topic of whiskey is in the air, does anyone know why there >are two spellings - whisky and whiskey? > -SM- single-malt snob I don;t actually know _why_ there is a difference in spelling, just that Scots spell it without the 'e', and Irish have theirs with an 'e'. So unless you are referring to Irish whiskey, you should spell it 'whisky'. Brad McMahon brad at sa.apana.org.au Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:18:43 +1100 From: "Rick Wood" <thewoods at netpci.com> Subject: Yeast Purity Hello HBD, I would like to make a few comments regarding yeast purity info that has been given in the HBD recently. First CFU / mL does mean Colony Forming Unit per 1 milliliter. A CFU is a single organism or a conglomeration of organisms that develops into a colony of normal appearance on the plate. We all know that yeast reproduces by budding. After the bud is a certain size it is considered a new organism and counted separately even though the two are still attached. This mother yeast cell and daughter bud will be counted as 1 CFU. Sometimes yeast or bacteria can form clumps of organisms significantly greater that 2. Therefore 1 CFU does not necessarily mean that one yeast cell or one bacterial cell is present per volume. Going to Wyeasts page we note three pertinent statements: Average cell counts are 35 - 75 X 108/ ml Bacteria ; < 1 cfu / ml Wild Yeast and Mold ; Negative in 10 ml suspension What does this tell us: First to pass this bacterial requirement we should see less than 1 cfu per milliliter. This would imply that we would need to have a negative bacterial count if we tested 1 mL of sample, or less than ten organisms (CFU) if we plated 10 mL. If we plated 10 mL of suspension and got 5 CFU that would be 0.5 cfu/mL and thus meet the standard. Further consider that the average cell count mentioned above is 5,500,000,000 (5.5 billion cells) per milliliter. So the standard tells us that we should have less than 1 bacterial cfu / 5.5 Billion yeast cells. Also consider the Wild Yeast and Mold standard - negative in 10 ml. That means less than one organism in 10 mL or less than 1 Wild Yeast (and Mold) organism in 55 Billion Beer Yeast Cells. The Dry Yeast standard commented on by Matt in HBD2929 was Less that 1 Wild Yeast per 2,000,000 beer yeast cells. Although this sounds good - less than 1 in 2 Million, it is higher than the Wyeast standard of less than 1 in 55 Billion beer cells. The Wyeast standard is 27.5 times better. Note that the Wyeast Page gives information regarding their Brewery size product. I could find no info regarding the Smack Pack Homebrew product. Regarding the Smack Pack Homebrew product the important numbers are the numbers after the pack has been smacked and/or a starter prepared. Some of this relies upon Wyeast sanitation but the homebrewers abilities and care in making the starter are also (perhaps more) important. The Dry Yeast product does not rely upon our abilities in producing a starter. Regards, Rick Wood Brewing on Guam Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 17:08:10 -0800 From: "Rich, Charles" <CRich at filenet.com> Subject: RE: Wyeast 1968, easy starter oxygenation Scott, Brewing in Columbia, SC. responds to Mark's earlier post: >>I intend to use Wyeast 1968 for an ordin'ry next weekend. I've heard that >>it is very flocculent and requires rousting during primary. Is this true? >>If so, what is a rousting plan that provides satisfactory results? > >Hi, Mark. Great choice of yeast. This is one of my favorites, and is very >good in bitters. I would like to burst your Momily, though. I have also >heard this same comment about 1968, and it seems to get repeated very often. >In my experience, I have never had any difficulty in getting it to ferment >out. This is one of my favorite yeasts too. I think it gets its reputation for dropping out in mid-ferment from temperature sensitivity. If I keep it above 64-65F it always does fine, but if the ferment temp drops much below that it acts like it "faints" and just drops out. That is when I've had to rouse it after bringing the temp back to 66-68F (my target), and it just goes back to work like nothing happened. By the way, an easy way I oxygenate my starters is to purge the headspace of the starter's vessel with pure O2, close them and just shake the foamy h*ll out of 'em. I think it's a lot less risky and intrusive than plopping my airstone in and bubbling. I oxygenate them like this two to four times per step, usually whenever I walk past it and haven't done it for awhile. There's immense surface area exposed to O2 in the foamy mess inside. Cheers, Charles Rich Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:12:15 -0500 From: "Mark Nelson" <menelson at mindspring.com> Subject: Brew Stands Badger said: >I am on the verge of making this step myself.. and i was wondering if people >had recomendations for Brewstands that i can buy, not being a welder or >knowing of one... First, I would like to second the question. I've begun researching commercially available stands and haven't found many. Badger, check out www.onlinebeer.com for one option. I've also found that St. Pats www.stpats.com has a cart-like three-tier stand. Sabco, of course, has a full blown RIMS available also. Secondly, if anyone has other recommended brewing stands, I would appreciate hearing about them. I would like one with three burners and the appropriate gas lines. I'd looking at using coolers for the HLT and mash tun, and purchasing/making a single keg for the boil pot, for now, but expanding to 1/2 BBL HLT and mash tun as funds become available. Thanks in advance. Mark "meeting with the GA House Regulated Beverage Committee next week on 6% limit - wish me luck" Nelson Atlanta GA USA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 21:28:02 EST From: CptOzzy at aol.com Subject: Reply to Tom's question about Aluminum foil Tom I'll let you know in a week or two. I currently have 6 gal of IPA and 6 gal of California common in primary. I already have the bottles cleaned, sanitized, rinsed and capped with aluminum foil. I'll rinse them one more time before use, but I had some time to kill a few days ago so I thought I'd get the bottles ready. Cpt. Ozzy Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 22:05:07 -0500 From: John Varady <rust1d at usa.net> Subject: Mash Temp Calculations I have put together a web page this contains all the formulas necessary for infusion and decoction mash calculations. These formulas will allow you to calculate: Amount of Initial Strike Water for an infusion mash. Temperature of Initial Strike Water for an infusion mash. Amount of Step Infusion Water Required to boost the mash to the next temp. Temperature of Step Infusion Water Required to boost the mash to the next temp. Decoction Mass of Mash Required to boost the mash to the next temp. Temperature of Decoction Required to boost the mash to the next temp. Check it out and let me know if I have made any errors. The link is: http://www.netaxs.com/people/vectorsys/varady/hbmash.htm Later and Enjoy. John John Varady * New email address ***> rust1d at usa.net Glenside, PA http://www.netaxs.com/~vectorsys/varady Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 18:54:42 -0500 From: Jim Suggs <jvsuggs at clarityconnect.com> Subject: old-style keg conversion As traffic is pretty light, I'll throw a question into the fray: I've decided to upgrade some equipment this winter, instead of spending a lot of time actually brewing. I finally visited my local junkyard looking for scrap kegs. They had a couple, but they were of an older (not Sankey) style. I brought one home. It's got some kind of valve on top, and a wood/cork bung in a hole in the side. I'm thinking of using it as a mash/lauter tun, with an easymasher(TM). I've already got a nice big converted Sankey kettle. My question is this - is there an easy way to seal that hole, or better yet, use it for something useful? Or am I going to be stuck trying to get a plate welded there? Thanks a lot, -suggs The Dungeon Brewery Corning, NY Far enough away from Jeff Renner not to really matter. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 22:50:32 -0600 From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at isunet.net> Subject: The Jethro Gump Report The Jethro Gump Report >From: Badger Roullett <branderr at microsoft.com> >Subject: New Dry Yeasts... >Can you give any hints as to specific ones? So we can really drool, and >get all lathered up for their eventual release. Sorry, not yet....but you will drool! And keep your lather to yourself! (You know, FermCap might help control that lather!) >Any suggestions as to who to write to encourage them to release to us >sooner? You just did! >From: rlabor at lsumc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald) >Subject: RE: The Jethro Gump Report/2 >The Chief of Engineering of the starship Enterprise, Scotty, has always >kept >his position, as he knows the fine art of supplying and reducing output on >demand. "But captain - she's already at 110 percent, any more and I am >afraid she'll blow" "Dammit, Ron, I'm a BREWER, not a STARSHIP ENGINEER!" No, one of the best things I ever did was work for another brewery, where I could learn new procedures, and techniques.....I wish there were about 20 more! More than that, and the same principle applies to homebreweries, is the opportunity to see the flaws, and benefits in a brewing setup.....and learn from them....and there are benefits/flaws in EVERY brewery......... And in every brewery, there lies an opportunity to learn.....and that I did...... Besides, Scotty never brewed a Hemp Ale, I'll bet! Cheers! Jethro Gump Rob Moline brewer at isunet.net "The More I Know About Beer, The More I Realize I Need To Know More About Beer!" Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 22:15:26 -0800 From: "rrscott" <rrscott at jps.net> Subject: Re: Stainless steel screen I use a large 3M "greeny meanie" scratch pad rolled into a tube and held onto the copper tube in the kettle with a stainless steel hose clamp. Use another small hose clamp at the far end of the tube to seal it. They filter quite well, yet have good flow. Restaurant supply stores should have the oversize pads. Their normal use is for cleaning pots and pans. Bob Scott From: Doug Moyer <shyzaboy at geocities.com> Subject: Stainless steel screen Brewers, Inspired by Jack Schmidling's web page, I am putting together my own version of an EasyMasher (R). Does anyone know of a good source of stainless steel screen? Jack's page mentions kitchen strainers. What have the rest of you DIYers done? Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 23:07:33 -0800 From: Brendan Persinger <kapital at exo.com> Subject: Re: Coffee Stout >I've made one coffee stout, and sampled several batches made by a >close friend. All >were made with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ground coffee beans added 10 or 15 >minutes prior to >the end of the boil. Then strained out while pouring into the >fermentor. They all >tasted good, but 1/2 cup makes for a VERY coffee stout. My next batch >will have 1/4 >to 3/8 cup in it. I'm afraid to admit it, but I just made a porter I haven't tried brewing a coffee stout, because up until now I didn't have any clue as to how much coffee to use. However, I do brew coffee all the time in a French press, which is a bit more "hands-on" than a coffee machine. I use beans that aren't completely ground up (still a bit "chunky"), add water at around 200 degrees F, steep for 4 minutes, then filter. My girlfriend, who has worked for Starbucks for a couple of years, insists that coffee shouldn't be boiled or steeped too long, as these extract harsh flavors (tannins, maybe? not sure...) from the grounds. Based on this, for a coffee stout I'd try steeping the coffee grounds for about 4 or 5 minutes shortly before the wort boils. On a related note, depending on how fresh your coffee beans are and what you're using as a filtering medium, you might extract oils from the coffee beans (regular paper coffee filters remove these oils; I don't know what effect a cloth 'specialty grain'-type bag would have) which might affect the head retention in your final product. -brendan Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 03:28:45 -0500 From: Steve McKenna <stmckenna at compuserve.com> Subject: Drunk Monk Challenge The Urban Knaves of Grain Present The 1st Annual DRUNK MONK CHALLENGE AHA/BJCP-sanctioned homebrew competition March 6, 1999 at Founders Hill Brewery, Downers Grove, IL This is the first event in the race for 1999 Midwest Homebrewer of the Year. Accepting all AHA categories of beer, mead, and cider, plus THE MENACE OF THE MONASTERY, a special category for the best beer in a style traditionally associated with monks: Belgian dubbel (2b), tripel (2c), pale (2d), strong pale (2e), and strong dark (2f), and German doppelbock (12c). Entries: $5 each for 1-4 entries, $4 each for 5 or more entries. Menace of the Monastery entries are $2 each (counted separately). Two bottles required (just one for Menace), all the usual rules. Awards: ribbons for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each category judged, plus 1st-2nd-3rd Best of Show and 1st-2nd-3rd Menace of the Monastery. 1st place BoS receives a one-year membership in the AHA; 1st place Menace receives a free entry in the 1999 AHA National Homebrew Competition. Raffle will be held after the competition for volunteers. Deadline: Entries must arrive between February 20 and 27. Ship to: The Drunk Monk Challenge, c/o Two Brothers Brewery, 30W114 Butterfield Rd., Warrenville, IL 60555. Drop-offs: You may also drop off your entries in person at Two Brothers Brewery, Founders Hill Brewery, or Beer in a Box (Winfield, IL). In addition, we will accept entries at the CBS 1st Thursday meeting at Goose Island Brewery in Chicago on March 4. Since this is after the entry deadline, those bringing entries on March 4 MUST pre-register by mailing entry forms and fees to the Two Brothers address before Feb. 27. Judges and stewards may bring entries with them on competition day, but only if they are pre-registered by Feb. 27. Social: volunteers' party will be held on Friday night, March 5. Potluck on Saturday after the competition. Details to be announced later. Beds For Brewers will be available for out-of-town volunteers. Contacts: for competition info: Shane Coombs, srcoombs at synsysinc.com, 630-393-7303 (H), 630-820-5150 (W). For judge/steward info: Joe Formanek, jformanek at griffithlabs.com, 630-378-4694 (H). Even more info, including entry forms: see the Drunk Monk Challenge website, http://www.synsysinc.com/srcoombs/ukgdmc.htm, or the UKG website, http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stmckenna/ukg.html. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 07:47:27 -0500 From: "Donald D. Lake" <dake at gdi.net> Subject: More on Cutting out Keg Tops Yesterday, I cut out the top of a stainless steel keg to convert into a brewing kettle. Here's what worked for me.: I used a standard reciprocating saw (Saws-all) with a standard fine-tooth blade. I rested the saw on the keg handles to use as a guide. After marking my line, I made 3 drill holes closed together near my starting point. Using a chisel on the holes, I created a slot to get started. I did the sawing and my father kept it lubricated with a tremendous amount of oil (we used a 50%/50% mix of motor oil and mineral spirits). We only used one blade! I did the final deburring with a rounded file. The job was complete in about 20 minutes. I think the key was making it a two-man job and using a lot of lubricant. The only thing I would do different next time is to use a longer blade. Don Lake Orlando, Florida dlake at amuni.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 05:59:55 -0700 From: Ken Schwartz <kenbob at elp.rr.com> Subject: Blue Corn Beer >From Jeff Renner: > >Markus Berndt <Markus.Berndt at Colorado.EDU> asks > > >I came across a box of blue corn > >meal. Has anyone ever used this and, does it have any effect on the color > >of the resulting beer? > > Never have, and I don't think I've heard of anyone using it, either. I > hope if you do, you'll report back. Check HBD2238. "Dutch" (no other name given) did a batch with blue corn, and reports that while the resulting beer was darker than expected, most of the blue color stayed in the mash tun. - -- ***** Ken Schwartz El Paso, TX kenbob at elp.rr.com http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer Return to table of contents
Date: 22 Jan 1999 08:45:22 -0500 From: Jason.Gorman at steelcase.com Subject: yeast I plan on making a dubbel or trippel. Are there any good Belgian imports that bottle with the original strain that I could make a starter from? I know many of them bottle condition with a different strain than they ferment with. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 05:49:58 -0800 From: The Holders <zymie at sprynet.com> Subject: Solenoid Valves Grainger (http://www.grainger.com) has a brass solenoid valve part# 1a577, and the matching 24V coil is part# 3a439. The temperature rating is 180F, and should run about $60 a copy. Wayne Holder AKA Zymie Long Beach CA http://andinator.com/zymico Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 09:19:03 -0500 From: Wade Hutchison <whutchis at bucknell.edu> Subject: Re: Whiskey yeast I was fortunate enough to visit a distillery in Scotland last summer, and I was trying to get some information out of the distillers, who were just hanging around and cleaning up. They claimed they used "distiller's yeast" that they bought from some (beer) brewery - they also said they skim the kraesen (sp?) off the beer tanks and re-pitch. So at least Glengoyne seems to care (a little) about the yeast strain they use. The beer fermenters were pretty cool - they were about 20 feet high, and 10 feet across wooden tuns - with no airlocks or seals on the top. Of course, they also only ferment for 48 hours before they start to distill. All-in-all, a way cool place. >Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 09:07:53 -0500 >From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu> >Subject: whisky yeast > >"Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>, back from the >wilderness, writes: > >>Jeff Renner adds >>>Oddly enough, the distillers are not particularly fussy >>>about yeast and typically use dry yeast. >>I'm not sure that selecting dry yeast means that distillers are less picky. > <snip> Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 09:19:15 -0500 From: "John Griswold" <griswold at ma.ultranet.com> Subject: Solenoids, Polenta, SS Screen >Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 09:13:14 -0500 >From: "H. Dowda" <hdowda at usit.net> >Subject: Source for Solenoid Valves > >Any one have a source for low voltage, liquid (sparge water temps), >solenoid valves. You might check W.W.Grainger. They have more stuff than Sears! www.grainger.com Another wonderful resource for all things industrial is the Thomas Register ( www.thomasregister.com ) which lists manufacturers of almost everything... Cheers! Jeff Renner writes about cornmeal/polenta: >This has been reported to me as being used successfully (I happily seem to >be a clearing house for CAP). It is pricier than ordinary corn meal. Be >sure to mash any cornmeal with 30% malt for ~20 min. before boiling it and >adding it back to the main mash. This (along with a bunch of other stuff) confuses me. Why mash the cornmeal prior to boiling it, which (presumably) gelatinizes the starch contained within the corn. Isn't this contrary to "conventional wisdom"? I've always read that the adjuncts (rice, corn, whatever) must be fully cooked prior to being added to the mash. Thanks in advance for more education... >Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:51:38 -0500 >From: Doug Moyer <shyzaboy at geocities.com> >Subject: Stainless steel screen > >Brewers, > Inspired by Jack Schmidling's web page, I am putting together my own >version of an EasyMasher (R). Does anyone know of a good source of >stainless steel screen? Jack's page mentions kitchen strainers. What >have the rest of you DIYers done? Copper or brass would also be good, I >guess. I've seen elsewhere that reinforced hoses for washing machines have a stainless braid within them. Can't confirm - my wife won't let me dissect her washing machine... John Griswold griswold at ma.ultranet.com http://www.ultranet.com/~griswold Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 09:40:41 -0500 From: Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products at humphreypc.com Subject: More Fun with Air Tools! In my post regarding cutting out the tops of Sankey kegs, I failed to mention that the same tools can be used to cut a hole for a ball valve: Mark the location with "cross-hairs" and a circle the size of the desired hole with a "Sharpie" marker. Using the disc of the muffler cut-off tool (put your face shield and hearing protection back on!), make a series of cuts in the shape of an asterisk within the circle. You probably won't be able to cut through the wall of the keg with a fresh disc (lessee here, the chord length of a section of circle of diameter d is equal to ...) but you can still remove a lot of material. By the time you've made 8 - 10 cuts, you should be able to see the "star" forming on the inner wall of the keg. A little judicious use of the disc from the inside, centered on the star, will open the hole. Using a conical stone in your die grinder (you *did* buy a die grinder along with your cutoff tool and compressor, *didn't* you? Everybody Sing!: "Spend Big Money At Menard's") begin to open the hole to the full diameter. Watch that you don't wear the stone through in a single spot -- when the end breaks off you'll have a hot piece of stone doin' maybe 20,000 rpm careening around the ol' garage lookin' for something to smash. When it's the right diameter, deburr the edges inside and out as much as possible, and install your fitting and/or ball valve. Mark in Kalamazoo Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:05:06 -0500 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: More on dry yeast purity Having the spec sheets on Copper's dry yeast I will relay their data. They state a control level of <20,000 aerobes/gram, <200 lactics/gram. This may seem to be a lot of aerobes for a yeast culture. If a 7 gram packet was to be pitched in 5 gallons of wort (I gonna call 5 gallons 20,000mL, a 0.396% error) this would give <140,000 aerobes/20,000mL = <7 aerobes/mL. George Fix calls less than 50 cells/mL acceptable for pitching yeast, less than 7 cells/mL I guess would be excellent. Consider if you step up a liquid culture 2 times in making your starter, you would have to be working in a laminar flow hood in lab conditions, that most homebrewers don't have, to avoid picking up 50 aerobes at the the first transfer. Then there is the lag time where you are aerating the whole time favoring the aerobes. The aerobes are multiplying before the yeast start budding and fermenting. It is easy to see that though the liquid cultures we get are very pure; by the time we've made starters and exposed the starters to atmosphere 2 or 3 times the purity probably just only matches the purity of a quality dry yeast. This does not address the viability of the yeasts in these cultures. The drying of the yeasts causes mutation and a loss of viability (these specs weren't given) but if you don't use an excellent yeast nutrient in your starters the liquid yeast will suffer mutation and loss of viability also. The point being; don't be afraid of the dry yeasts available these days. They are a clean, easy way to a beer. If your schedule is tight and you can't plan 5 days in advance to bring up a liquid culture then go with the dry. The time that you didn't use making starter solutions can be spent on wort production or maybe bottling, or maybe drinking! Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:05:12 -0500 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: Maybe "D", none of the above In reading about the evolution of the Guinness gas for a creamy head. I understood the idea was to create a creamy head like that produced by a hand pulled stout from a beer engine. To that end the engineers had to conquer the problem of how to push beer through 5 tiny holes with enough pressure to produce a good tight head without over-carbonating. So lowering the partial pressure of the CO2 by mixing with N2 let them drive the beer through a "sparkler" that created the shearing forces that "bust out" the CO2 to form the fine head. The head quality is dependant on the protein levels of the beer and the disruption of the CO2 as it is dispensed. So it boils down to the special faucet used in nitrogen dispense that actually forms the head. The Guinness-gas is just the enabler. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:05:13 -0500 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: Foamy aeration John Herman asks how to manage aeration with all that foaming. This is simple, use "Anti-Foam", frequently used by wine makers to avoid losses due to foaming. Start with 4 or 5 drops and add a drop or two as the foaming returns. Any shop that deals with Crosby-Baker should carry it, or can get it for you. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:56:30 -0600 From: Kris and Marie Cowling <cowling at northnet.net> Subject: Lager bottling question Hello brewers: I'm a novice homebrewer; been brewing extract for about a year. I've been lurking on this list for a while, and now I have a simple (hopefully) question to ask. I'm currently lagering my first attempt at a lager and want to know if the beer should be bottled at lagering temps and allowed to bottle condition at room temp, or should the beer be allowed to warm to room temp before bottling? I expect to bottle this batch in about two weeks or so. Thanks for any and all advice! - --Kris Cowling Winneconne, Wisconsin Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 13:10:10 -0500 From: "Bayer, Mark A (Boeing)" <BayerMA at navair.navy.mil> Subject: sweetness source collective homebrew conscience_ scott murman wrote: >A high sacc. temp. also shouldn't contribute much sweetness, per se.Any sugar in the wort will >be consumed by the yeast, unless somethingis very wrong. what is the source of sweetness in beer? if the yeast consume all the sugar, what makes the sweet beer styles sweet? brew hard, mark bayer great mills, md (but only until april) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 14:41:33 -0500 From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Re: whisky yeast As it turns out Jeff Renner is also a whisky nut - another reason why I need get to Ann Arbor sometime soon. >"Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>, back from the >wilderness, writes: > >>Jeff Renner adds >>>Oddly enough, the distillers are not particularly fussy >>>about yeast and typically use dry yeast. >>I'm not sure that selecting dry yeast means that distillers are less picky. > >I was basing my comments in part on the interview with Michael Jackson in >Malt Advocate - late Fall issue, p. 38 "I think they [Scottish distillers] >massively fail to comprehend the importance of yeast strains. There's >really a whole lot that hasn't been explored there." Perhaps he is right. M.Jackson's 'World Guide to Whisky' pg 9 mentions the use of dried yeast. J.S.Hough. 'Biotechnology of Malting anf Brewing' mentions frequent use of a mix of brewing and distillery yeast. Mort O'Sullivan wrote to me by private email some time ago (I trust Mort won't mind being quoted in this regard) that ... M>Traditionally, distillers used a mix of "distiller's" yeast and brewery M>yeast from the closest brewery. These days, the trend is to use only M>distillers "M" yeast, which is a strain developed by DCL and Maclays M>Brewery of Alloa (hence the "M"), but it is now provided to distilleries by M>baker's yeast manufacturers. 'Food Chemistry' Belitz&Grosch, (Springer-Verlag) mentions the importance of certain esters, acetaldehyde, acetals, carbonyls, certain phenols and various nitrogen compounds (like pyrazines) in whiskey. Some clearly are fermentation byproducts, while some others are the result of yeast autolysing in the boiling still !! I guess I still don't know whether distillery yeast selection is primarily based on flavor or functional characteristics - but the yeast, whether dried or not, are selected with some degree of care. Perhaps not enough - but I have a hard time perceiving the fermentation flaws in a Springbank 21 or a Bowmore 17. Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 11:45:54 -0800 From: "Bryan L. Gros" <gros at bigfoot.com> Subject: CAP question Jeff Renner writes: >> Oh, here is another question. Next to the corn meal I found polenta, >>which is coarsly ground corn. Can this be used instead of corn meal or >>flaked maize (of course I will boil it to gelatinize it)? > >This has been reported to me as being used successfully (I happily seem to >be a clearing house for CAP). It is pricier than ordinary corn meal. Be >sure to mash any cornmeal with 30% malt for ~20 min. before boiling it and >adding it back to the main mash. Why? I forget exactly what gelatinization is, but why mash the cornmeal first, then boil, then mash again? Thanks. Bryan Gros gros at bigfoot.com Oakland, CA Organizer, 1999 National Bay Area Brew Off http://www.valhallabrewing.com/~thor/dboard/babo99.htm Return to table of contents
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