HOMEBREW Digest #2984 Mon 22 March 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:
  HALF ARSED BREW SHOPS (TWOC)
  Oud Bruins: More than one style. (MaltyDog)
  BoB/BHC (John Varady)
  Split session brewing responses (Greg Remake)
  Pump Connections (RobertJ)
  RE: On motorized mills? (LaBorde, Ronald)
  Carboy cleaning (Domenick Venezia)
  cleaning carboys (Jeremy B. Pugh)
  Minor correction to my judge variability post ("George De Piro")
  Sanitizer Stability ("Eric R. Theiner")
  RE: seeking pump experience (Robert Arguello)
  RE: seeking pump experience ("Pat Galvin")
  How to be a good customer? (GuyG4)
  Judging Variability: Problems with BJCP Exams (Ted McIrvine)
  Fred Garvin Leaks (Eric.Fouch)
  Pump & Chiller (John Varady)

Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild's 13th annual Big and Huge - 28 March 1999: Rules and forms at www.globaldialog.com/madbrewers Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org. **SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE REQUESTS MUST BE SENT FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, the autoresponder and the SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE commands will fail! Contact brewery at hbd.org for information regarding the "Cat's Meow" Back issues are available via: HTML from... http://hbd.org Anonymous ftp from... ftp://hbd.org/pub/hbd/digests ftp://ftp.stanford.edu/pub/clubs/homebrew/beer AFS users can find it under... /afs/ir.stanford.edu/ftp/pub/clubs/homebrew/beer COPYRIGHT for the Digest as a collection is currently held by hbd.org (Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen). Digests in their entirity CANNOT be reprinted/reproduced without this entire header section unless EXPRESS written permission has been obtained from hbd.org. Digests CANNOT be reprinted or reproduced in any format for redistribution unless said redistribution is at absolutely NO COST to the consumer. COPYRIGHT for individual posts within each Digest is held by the author. Articles cannot be extracted from the Digest and reprinted/reproduced without the EXPRESS written permission of the author. The author and HBD must be attributed as author and source in any such reprint/reproduction. (Note: QUOTING of items originally appearing in the Digest in a subsequent Digest is exempt from the above. Home brew clubs NOT associated with organizations having a commercial interest in beer or brewing may republish articles in their newsletters and/or websites provided that the author and HBD are attributed. ASKING first is still a great courtesy...) JANITORS on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 22:23:36 +0800 From: TWOC <twoc at ois.net.au> Subject: HALF ARSED BREW SHOPS >Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 22:12:18 >To: homebrew at hbd.org >From: TWOC <twoc at ois.net.au> > >RIGHT. > DICK Seiben owes me a pound & a half of special barbeque sausages.Started reading the hbd while cooking the evening meal.Idon't know if it was the hot plate or my temperature rise that did the damage; HALF ASSED indeed- then I read the " ASSED".The spelling of "ARSE" gave him away. > I was in Chicago a year or two back, and went to a couple of "Brew shops". One I think was called "beer in a Box"-it was closed!Next I tried a place with a name somethig like "The Golden Sheaf" - it was owned by a "Al K-something-or-other."---he was't there: nor was anything else.Can't think of the name of the other:- but it had bugger-all anyway.Coming from a small "Brew Shop" in W.A. (thats Western A-Bloody-stralia) I found it hard to believe that my "piddly" little hobby shop was actually bigger than some of the "Must See" shows in the States. > Then it hit me.The problems in Australia, the problems in America, the answers that Tricky & Geo the Biro have are not even on the same land mass.One thing though, if you own a "Brew Shop", you don't complain:- you change. In this I agree with things said; I looked from a different direction. > (1)In Australia, most brewing is done with a "kit & a kilo". Because beer is so cheap in the U.S. you don't brew for cost,in Australia we do.However some people can afford the beer - but brew for the flavour-these are the people we target-we cannot match the "super Markets" in price (although we get the questions that the "check-out chicks' can't answer.)but we can match the bastards on accessories.Look at the market share you can compete in:- forget the rest. > (2) Smart-arssed grain brewers that can buy their grain from "micros":-In U.S.A. they may be a worry. In Australia- forget them! they want everything on the cheap, they only pick your brains, they buy everything wholesale & they only upset genuine customers. The amount of business generated by these " holier than thou" scientific brewers is not worth having.Concentrate on your genuine customers.Sure I've had "smart" brewers go away thinking that I did't know the particular adjuct(let alone stock it) that they wanted:- however I also didn't tell them which breakfast cerial would do the job.As far as I am concerned, I stock grains (fresh because I use them myself) but I don't take shit.I have liquid yeasts ( I use them myself) but I don't argue about price - you think you can do better- be my guest.I don't have many "mashers" for customers- surprising though, the ones I do have seem to think it is generaly cheaper to have a chat with me and do a deal. > If you think that the Brew Shop owner sh > >I just deleted a number of paragraphs because ,on reading them, I realised that , although they added to the debate, they did nothing towards settling the issue. I think it is a case of "you do your thing - we do our thing" > > > AND I STILL THINK MY BEER IS BETTER THAN THE COMMERCIAL STUFF. > Regards Roy T.W.O.C. Home Brew Supplies ( and you can make what you like from the name) > Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 09:30:04 EST From: MaltyDog at aol.com Subject: Oud Bruins: More than one style. It HBD #2980 Gary Nazelrod wrote: >Some years ago I had a bottle of Dutch Oud Bruin. I have never seen this >style in the US. It is a low alcohol beer ~2.4%v, it is fairly sweet. I >do not remember if hops are noticeable or not. It is dark. Does anyone >have any insight as how to make one of these? What ingredients? How to >achieve the sweetness? Now, after I make a Dutch Oud Bruin (assuming I get >some answers), what category do I enter it in a contest? Then, in HBD #2982, Ted McIrvine wrote: >Somewhere else in today's digest, someone asked about Oud Bruin. This >is Flanders Brown ale, OG 48-56 with some pleasant acidity. The >best-known commercial example is Liefmann's Goudenband. The acidity is >similar to a wit, and a little less wild than the most untamed lambics. Doesn't sound much like the same beer, does it? That's because the Belgian and the Dutch Oud Bruins are actually 2 entirely different styles. There is no sourness in the Dutch beer, and it is indeed low in alcohol. I am unaware of any that are available in the US, and if you entered a well-made version of the Dutch style into a homebrew competition, under the Flanders Brown category, it would not score very well at all. To read more about these styles, check out Tim Webb's excellent book about the Beers of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, put out by CAMRA, which is now available in the US. Bill Coleman MaltyDog at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 09:34:39 -0500 (EST) From: John Varady <rust1d at usa.net> Subject: BoB/BHC George writes: >The Best of Show winner at the Best of Brooklyn entered about 10 >beers, and won no fewer than 6 ribbons (including a sweep of the >pale ale category and 1st and 2nd for IPA, and BOS for a brown >ale). He entered all of the same beers at the Boston contest, >which was the same day, and only won 3rd place for his Altbier. >He would say to that it is more worthwhile to enter the Best of >Brooklyn... Conversely, I entered 4 beers in the Boston Comp and won 3 ribbons. These same four beers were entered in the Brooklyn contest and didn't place at all (still waiting on scores sheets from Brooklyn so I can't comment on how well I scored). This includes a Bohemian Pils that qualified me for MCAB 2000 with a score of 38 at the BHC. For some reason the judges in Brooklyn felt that no beer entered in their contest was good enough to be awarded either 1st or 2nd in the European Light Lager category. That really puzzles me, not awarding a ribbon in an *amature* contest. It's not like a home brewer is gonna use the award for marketing. What criteria was used in Brooklyn to determine if a beer was good enough to receive an award? Does a beer have to score above a certain rating to be awarded a blue ribbon? Is this common practice at home brew comps (I haven't heard of it before)? I understand why this would be so at the GABF, where a ribbon is worth its weight in gold from a marketing standpoint, but in an amature contest I fail to see the logic. - -- John Varady The HomeBrew Recipe Calculating Program Boneyard Brewing Custom Neon Beer Signs For Home Brewers Glenside, PA Get More Information At: rust1d at usa.net http://www.netaxs.com/~vectorsys/varady Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 08:39:28 -0600 From: Greg Remake <gremake at gsbalum.uchicago.edu> Subject: Split session brewing responses Hello all, Thanks to all those who responded to my post regarding split session brewing, which I tried for the first time recently. Some people requested that I share the replies I received. To summarize, I mashed and sparged one evening, then boiled the next morning, and posted a question regarding the proper storage technique for the collected wort (I left mine sitting on the stove). A number of people felt that there was a danger of contamination with storing unboiled wort overnight. Several brewers indicated that when doing a split session, they boil the wort for a short period to sterilize it prior to storage. One posted reply suggested simmering the kettle throughout the night (with small kids in the house, I can't try that). Another post noted that spent grain in a mash tun got "reeky" if not cleaned until the following day. Notably, no one presented any evidence that overnight storage of unboiled wort actually did cause problems. Other brewers indicated that they take no precautionary measures beyond covering the kettle between sessions. One brewer claims to have used the split session procedure for most of over 160 problem-free batches, storing his covered kettle on the basement floor. Another brewer pointed out that it took two full days to deliberately sour a batch, so he had little concern with storing fresh wort for 8 to 10 hours before boiling. I really like the split session approach and will definitely continue using it, because for a family man like me, two shorter sessions are much easier to schedule than one long one. Also, I think the long steep benefited my first wort hopping results, as I tasted a delicious hops flavor and smoothness in the wort that I hadn't noticed before with these same hops (homegrown). Bringing the wort to an intermediate boil requires a lot of extra time and energy that doesn't seem justified, and more efficient use of time is a primary objective of the split session approach. Given the successful results others have with just letting the covered wort sit at room temperature, I think I'll continue using that practice. Of course, YMMV. Cheers, Greg Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 09:39:16 -0500 From: RobertJ <pbsys at pbsbeer.com> Subject: Pump Connections Alan McKay wrote: >I finally broke down and bought a pump - the high temperature (250F) 6144MM The fellow from .......... says that on the inlet size I >shouldn't >run a smaller pipe up to the pump, than what's on the inlet of the pump >itself. This >is repeated in the reading material included with the pump. > >This presents a very serious problem for my brewery, as I'm all 3/8" copper, >which >is only about 1/4" ID - quite significantly less than the 1/2" on the pump >inlet. If you just want to pump liquid from one container to another as quickly as possible, that statement is correct However, we have used and sold many similar pumps both individually and with our systems over the last 9 years with anywhere from 3/8 to 3/4" drains. Experience indicates, in a brew system, there are more factors involved in the proper operation of the pump, than simply inlet and outlet size; Screen, Crush, back pressure, overall system design etc. Bob Precision Brewing Systems URL http://www.pbsbeer.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 09:06:34 -0600 From: rlabor at lsumc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald) Subject: RE: On motorized mills? >>>> What's the inherent problem with using a high torque/low speed electric drill to power the mill? I've milled a hundred brewings with my electric drill without a problem. <<<< Problem?? - No problem, it's just that if you have as much fun milling as most of us, then you will eventually wear out your drill :>) Ron Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor at lsumc.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 07:28:23 -0800 From: Domenick Venezia <demonick at zgi.com> Subject: Carboy cleaning I held off on posting this since it is so simple and easy I assumed that someone else would post it. Rinse the carboy well. Pour in 1-2 cups of household bleach. Fill carboy with cold water and cap or seal - plastic wrap and a rubber band works. Let it sit. After a day or so all the gunk will be dissolved. Cheers! Domenick Venezia Venezia & Company, LLC Maker of PrimeTab (206) 782-1152 phone (206) 782-6766 fax orders demonick at zgi dot com Pursuant to US Code, Title 47, Chapter 5, Subchapter II, '227, any and all nonsolicited commercial E-mail sent to this address is subject to a download and archival fee of US$ 500. E-mailing denotes acceptance of these terms. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 08:49:57 -0700 From: jpugh at hjnews.com (Jeremy B. Pugh) Subject: cleaning carboys In response to the cleaning carboy thread: I have heard a lot of other cleaners mentioed, (sudsy amonia etc) but I have used with complete success on even the stubornest, crusty krausen residue, household bleach, generic, un-scented, economic, deconatminating, amazing, revitalizing BLEACH (feel free to sing along). I rinse most of the gunk out with plain old water and then use two ounces o'bleach measured via shot glass to a full five gallon carboy. Then, I let it set for several hours or overnight. The bleach eats up the gunkies. I am able to use one of those elbow brushes to wipe away the persistent ones. Then I rinse thourougly. Lately I've been storing my carboy's with bleach water in them (albeit with a greater dilution 2 tsp: 5 gal). Put that in yer pipe and smoke it Jeremy B. Pugh Logan, Utah Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 10:47 -0800 From: "George De Piro" <George_De_Piro at berlex.com> Subject: Minor correction to my judge variability post Hi all, In my recent post about judge variability I wrote that the Best of Brooklyn best of show winner also won third place for Altbier at the Boston contest. This is untrue. He won third place for a Scottish ale. Thanks to Jeff McNally, the actual 3rd place winner of Altbier at Boston for pointing this out to me. Have fun! George de Piro (in need of a mental tune-up in Nyack, NY) Malted Barley Appreciation Society <http://members.aol.com/MaltyDog/maltind.html> Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:12:47 -0400 From: "Eric R. Theiner" <logic at skantech.com> Subject: Sanitizer Stability Tim Morgan writes: I have also wondered about the "life" of the idophor solution. This is a problem with just about any sanitizing solution that you use. The most common ones for brewers are halogen containing (chlorine or iodine) or peroxygen based-- both of which will degrade over time. I generally consider a week in a sealed container to be the top end for any solution that I have stored-- but that's due only to gut feeling (and I have used all of those mentioned above). One product that I just don't know about (and I hate to do this, but can't bear for someone to claim that I'm losing my objectivity about brewing) is a product put out by my no. 1 competitor, Star-San. As it is an acid-based cleaner, I don't see how it could degrade over time. (God, that hurt!!) Rick Theiner LOGIC, Inc. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 08:11:46 -0800 (PST) From: Robert Arguello <robertac at calweb.com> Subject: RE: seeking pump experience Alan McKay asked about plumbing his new mag pump: ************* I finally broke down and bought a pump - the high temperature (250F) 6144MM from Moving Brews. The fellow from Moving Brews says that on the inlet size I shouldn't run a smaller pipe up to the pump, than what's on the inlet of the pump itself. This is repeated in the reading material included with the pump. This presents a very serious problem for my brewery, as I'm all 3/8" copper, which is only about 1/4" ID - quite significantly less than the 1/2" on the pump inlet. ************* What you were told by the salesperson is correct Mike... Don't plumb the inlet side of the pump with pipe that is smaller than the inlet. The reason is that mag pumps are lubricated by the liquid being pumped and any restriction on the inlet side will reduce the pump heads' ability to remain "full" of liquid. Running the pump even partially dry can result in cavitation and failure, (seizure), of the impeller. I know this to be a fact as I did exactly that to my first mag pump. All plumbing in my system, (inlet side), now matches my pumps inlet diameter of 1/2". Also, my current pump has the advantage of special carbon bushings that allow the pump to run dry for up to 8 hours without damage. The pump is a "Lil' Giant and handles up to 200F continuous and I have no problem running near boiling wort thru it for short periods. I don't have the model number handy, but it costs $125.00 through Graingers. ******************************************************************** Robert Arguello <robertac at calweb.com> Corny kegs - Mahogany 6-pack carriers - ProMash Brewing Software http://www.calweb.com/~robertac ******************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 08:56:20 -0800 From: "Pat Galvin" <Pat_Galvin at ermwest.com> Subject: RE: seeking pump experience [Alan McKay writes: I finally broke down and bought a pump - the high temperature (250F) 6144MM from Moving Brews. The fellow from Moving Brews says that on the inlet size I shouldn't run a smaller pipe up to the pump, than what's on the inlet of the pump itself. This is repeated in the reading material included with the pump. This presents a very serious problem for my brewery, as I'm all 3/8" copper, which is only about 1/4" ID - quite significantly less than the 1/2" on the pump inlet. I had been hoping to hook my pump up like this : - Kettle -> CF Chiller -> Pump -> Carboys But with this requirement mentioned above, I'd have to build a whole new chiller. The fellow at Moving Brews recommended I go : - Kettle -> Pump -> Chiller -> Carboys and then replumb between the Kettle and Pump with a thicker copper. This would certainly be a lot easier than building a new chiller. But I thought I'd ask what you folks are doing. Are you all just ignoring the recommendation and running smaller pipe up to the inlet anyway? If so, how long have you been doing this? Which pump are you using? Have there been any problems resulting?] I use a 1/25 hp pump from Moving Brews. Nearly all these mag drive pumps require what's referred to as a "flooded suction". This means that there needs to be a positive head (pressure) on the inlet for the pump to operate as designed. If you don't have this positive pressure on the inlet, the pump will cavitate, greatly reducing pump life and actually spinning your beer into a froth as well. With my March pump, you can hear the vibration when the pump is cavitating. You can choke back these pumps (place a restriction, i.e., a throttling valve or other device) on the outlet and control flow in this fashion. I understand you want to gravity flow through your CF wort chiller and then to the pump inlet. First, I would ensure that the system will gravity flow through the CF without a pump in line. Measure the flow rate and verify this is satisfactory. If it is not, increase the head on the CF chiller by raising the elevation of the kettle and/or upsize your transfer tube/pipe. If flow is satisfactory, then install your pump and throttle the pump discharge to less than the flow you measured at the CF chiller outlet. This would provide for the positive head required at the pump inlet. If flow from the kettle through the CF chiller to the pump inlet is not satisfactory, then you likely need to buy a different style pump that will actually provide some suction to facilitate this flow. Pat Galvin Concord, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 12:03:57 EST From: GuyG4 at aol.com Subject: How to be a good customer? Another waylong message on this topic. Lately this forum has been concerned with the decline in the "homebrew market". Many of our local retailers, whether good or bad, are in trouble. As with any market contraction, it is likely some homebrew shops will go out of business over the next year or so. So, shopowners and others in the know, how do I be a good customer? First, I am not an employee of a homebrew shop, and I have no idea what kind of financial condition my local shop is in, though the owner is a bright and considered guy and I think must be making a living. He's not driving a BMW, and neither am I. IMHO anyone who planned on getting rich in the homebrew supply market is probably broke by now. Heres what kind of customer I am. I have been brewing over 6years now. I buy all my grain from my local supplier, Jim's Homebrew, because they have great service and high quality products at a fair price, period. I buy in batch lots, and the shop does my crushing. The grain is always great, no bugs, none of the horrors one reads here in this forum, ever. The crush they give is dandy, matching the written charachteristics of a perfect crush, and though my yields don't approach the high yields cited often here, they are reproducable batch after batch and the crush is not responsible. I don't buy rolled oats there; I use Quaker. I malted my own grain a time or two, and they talked me through it, encouraging all the way. I got the grain from a family member who's a farmer..so I cut out all middlemen. It cost me more than I would have paid, cash. I buy my hops there if I don't grow 'em myself from rhizomes I bought there. I buy my yeast there, too, taking an older pack of liquid yeast so they can save the fresh stuff for folks who don't build a starter. The shop turned me on to the danstar dry yeasts, for which I am eternally grateful. I don't, and won't, yeast ranch, it's just not for me. They carry a lot of beers you can't just buy anywhere, so sometimes I'll sneak down and buy a few, take 'em home and drink 'em. Belgians, regional or other unique beers, barleywines, etc. I've learned a lot about beer there. I don't subscribe to BT or BYO, I buy by the issue at the store if I see articles I want. I make my own equipment by scrounging stuff or using other things (canners, for example) as brewing equipment. I bought my kegging stuff there, scrounged some other kegs, and get my CO2 from a local industrial gas supplier. I do this because one of the reasons I homebrew is that I have this pathologic need to make my own stuff....all my brewing equipment, my sailboat, flies and flyrods, duck decoys, I train my own dog, smoke my own fish and pheasant and venison jerky, etc...you get the point. I don't belong to a club, because I don't have time, belong to too many clubs/conservation organizations, etc already, so I'm not joining. There isn't one in this town anymore, anyway. All in all, I suppose I spend about 300 bucks at this brew shop, 20 bucks 12 times per year for a batch of beer, and another 60 or so in incidentals. Could I scrounge around, mail order, internet order, and save on this? Yeah, but what over a year, 10 bucks?...instead of great, friendly, knowlegable service and fresh stuff? Folks, at this rate, he ain't staying open on me. And he's getting all my brew money. And this shop earned that, as I've now told all my friends. So, those of you who run brew shops, or have, please tell us all, what beyond keeping making good beer will keep a good shop open? How do we close the bad ones before they drive the good guys out? Given this inevitable crash in the brewing market, wasn't this washout preordained? (remember, I flyfish,too. Anybody see "A River Runs Through It"...) How is a 30 second commercial going to target the do-it-yourselfer/hobbyist who is also interested in making and drinking beer? And how are those shops who need it the most gonna cover the airtime? So, let's hear it owners and suppliers, what do you expect in a customer? Guy Gregory guyg4 at aol.com Lightning Creek Home Brewery Spokane, WA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 12:47:35 -0800 From: Ted McIrvine <McIrvine at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Judging Variability: Problems with BJCP Exams It is pretty easy to second-guess judging or make generalizations about the judging of competitions. I'm going to decline to do that even though I've had beers that had wildly different evaluations from certified judges. But I think that George's first point suggests that there are serious problems with the BJCP. Several of my friends at Homebrewers Of Staten Island (whose beer judging abilities I value highly) have encouraged me to take the BJCP exam, which always seems to be held when I'm working on Sunday morning. Their opinions about beer and recipes have been very helpful to me. So the grumbles that follow have nothing to do with judging of my beer or the exam that I haven't taken. First off, it is ridiculous that a BJCP exam can use beer brewed by the exam evaluator. Several friends have been roasted on the exam for spotting defects in beer brewed by the evaluator. Secondly, I think many Certified judges haven't tasted stellar examples of particular styles. I still vividly recall a very loud and officious certified beer judge from western New York who sat in The Broad Ripple Brewpub pontificating, yet he couldn't tell the difference between the IPA and the ESB (both of which are absolutely classic there.) Thirdly, the more I read here and the more I brew and taste, the more I am convinced that some of the AHA style guidelines are from Mars if not Uranus. For example, an all-Munich malt grain bill would probably make a great Bavarian-style Alt-bier, (think of Ayinger Alt-Barische Dunkel) but I'm sure many judges would trash such a beer for being out of style. And nobody has disputed my contention in a previous digest that a 60 OG gravity "Belgian" Dubbel or Pale Ale falls into the middle of the AHA range while being illegal to brew in Belgium. Finally I think that although beer judging may appeal to some brewers who want to deepen their knowledge of style and who judge with sincerity, it also attracts an uncouth group of know-it-alls who want to tell everyone else how to brew. Ted > From: "George De Piro" <George_De_Piro at berlex.com> > Subject: RE: Judging variability > > 1. The vast majority of BJCP judges are not professionally > trained in beer evaluation skills; they are *hobbyists.* You have > to keep that in mind when entering competitions and assessing the > value of their feedback. Some judges are great, others are less > than great, and even a professionally-trained beer evaluator will > exhibit variability from day to day. We are human beings, not gas > chromatographs. - -- McIrvine at Ix.Netcom.Com College of Staten Island/CUNY http://www.csi.cuny.edu/academia/programs/mus.html http://www.csi.cuny.edu/arts/calendar.html Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 13:23:00 -0500 From: Eric.Fouch at steelcase.com Subject: Fred Garvin Leaks HBD- We seem to have a leak in our Information Managment Departement: News flash from the Midwest: I just saw a preview in Fred Garvin's kraft korner for the Fred Garvin Productions Manufacturing Company Adjustable Roller Malt Mill which sports the following features: -accomodates any gap spacing -variable speed drive to suit your own cranking speed -continuous duty for those all night sessions -self lubricating assembly -easy clean up -KY dispenser option Thanks to Mr. Druey, The Bent Dick YoctoBrewery is on damage control. Work on our adjustable malt mill is on hold. We are waiting for our engineering staff to complete their reverse engineering on some Intention Sensors. You know- the sensors on the doors on the Starship Enterprise? The ones that know whether Spock is throwing somebody up against the door, or throwing them out the door. The door either opens, or stays closed accordingly. Our engineers are staying up around the clock, watching old Star Trek reruns, while Fred fetches them coffee. Once this hurdle is cleared, we will be offering a mill that will automaticaly adjust it's roller gaps to provide a crush that will match whatever % efficiency you are expecting. It will also adjust the speed of the rollers depending on how much of the rollers surface you think should be involved in crushing the grain. Kyle, report to Fred's office after the Object Removal Seminar this weekend. Next week, Fred's Craft Corner will cover making a CPVC manifold to fit a 10 gallon Gott. Eric Fouch Bent Dick YoctoBrewery Kentwood, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 12:18:57 -0500 From: John Varady <rust1d at usa.net> Subject: Pump & Chiller Simon Writes: >With the pump you will be able to get more turbulent flow and=20 >the rate of heat transfer will go up. Obviously you will need to=20 >run your chiller water faster too. The problem you may experience is=20 >that now your beer is spending less time in the chiller and even=20 >though heat is leaving the beer faster the dramatically reduced time=20 >you will get with the pump will result in the beer coming out warmer.=20 >There are three ways around this problem. 1) run the coolant water=20 >even faster 2) run the pump slower 3) get a longer chiller.=20 4) Pump the wort back into the kettle. Keep pumping until the wort is at the temp desired and then stop the water and transfer to carboys. This is my standard chilling procedure. Use some leaf hops to set up a filter bed and you get crystal clear wort by recirculating. I set the return flow so that it forms a whirlpool. This way I run the pump full speed and the water slow. This keeps a lot of wort in contact with a little water and the exit temp of the water is very close to the input temp of the wort (rather then the wort exiting at the same temp as the input water). Friday night I chilled 11 gallons of Tripel (westvleteren yeast!) to 55F in 30 mins using 45 gallons of water. Later, John John Varady The HomeBrew Recipe Calculating Program Boneyard Brewing Custom Neon Beer Signs For Home Brewers Glenside, PA Get More Information At: rust1d at usa.net http://www.netaxs.com/~vectorsys/varady Return to table of contents
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