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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:
  Happy New Year; Server Shutdown... (The Janitors)
  leaching tannins (Kurt Goodwin)
  Hygrometry (Dave Burley)
  Wyeast Munich (AJ)
  Re: Stuck fermentation (KMacneal)
  Oxygen Thread Correction (Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products)
  Re: Valey Mill Motors ("David Elm")
  Yorg's Pump Problems ("Bruce Garner")
  Reusing C02 tank ("Bruce Garner")
  Yeast Culturing ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  Last brew & new beer (erniebaker)


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 12:05:27 -0500
From: The Janitors <janitor@hbd.org>
Subject: Happy New Year; Server Shutdown...

Greetings! And Happy New Year!

Sending the first Digest of 2000 out early as we'll soon be shut down.
Just didn't think you'd want to start the new millenium off WITHOUT your
daily dose of Digest :-)

Happy New Year! Remember: the server is shut down until 1/2/00!

Cheers!

The Home Brew Digest Janitorial Staff


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 01:51:28 -0500
From: kurt at greennet.net (Kurt Goodwin)
Subject: leaching tannins

Paul Niebergall wrote

"Dilute wort always tastes like sweet watery tea.  If you dont believe
it, try mixing a couple of teaspoons of dried malt extract with a cup of
warm water and taste it.  This flavor in no way proves or disproves
the presence of tannins (tannoids, tannerites, or what ever you
want tocall them).  Still a momily, in my book." 

I've tasted the runoff when it gets below 1.010 (down to 1.002 on one
disasterous day, in fact), and I'd have to say that it DOES taste like
weak tea - and NOT like a small amount of malt extract disolved in
water.  The former has a certain not-great taste (astringency) that
resembles leaving tea leaves in a cup too long and is noticably
different than the weak sweetness the latter provides.  Don't know if
it's tannins, tannoids, or proteinaceaous polysaturated bucky balls, it
don't taste good and it ain't going in my beer.

Mom cooks better than a lot of scientists.  They can argue over what to
name the things she keeps out, but I'm betting on her knowing what to do
to maximize flavor!

Ciao for now

Kurt Goodwin


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 07:50:26 -0500
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: Hygrometry

Brewsters:

JackS asks about hygrometry and if
his calibration salt solution is temperature
dependent.  At lower temperatures his
hygrometers' relative humidity reads higher
than at a higher temperature.

Relative humidity is a temperature
dependent measure. If the salt solution is
holding the vapor pressure constant, then
lowering the temperature should change
the relative humidity in this direction.
Check the wet bulb/dry bulb tables
and correct your readings from the
standard temperature.

If not, I can offer these suggestions:
:
Three possible situations 1) The vapor
pressure of water above a salt solution
is temperature dependent - which I
suspect it is. It may not be much, however
for a concentrated salt solution.

However, intuitively, I assume the vapor
pressure above a salt solution would go
down with temperature, as does water,
so I doubt that is the problem.  

2) The humidity of the air in the test chamber
( I am assuming a small chamber) is being
affected by another source, like maybe a
puddle of water or your cheese.
Try it with the chamber empty.

3) The hygrometers are temperature
dependent, since the inexpensive ones
often depend on the the air humidity affecting
the physical characteristics of an object
like the length of a string or human hair.
Also, intuitively, I would assume the hair
would hold more water at a lower
temperature and indicate a higher relative
humidity. If so, this is a likely  source
of error. How does yours work?  Why not
call the National Bureau of Standards in
Washington, D.C.? Or the manufacturer
of  the hygrometer.  
- -----------------------------------
Keep on Brewin'


Dave Burley


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 13:42:29 +0000
From: AJ <ajdel at mindspring.com>
Subject: Wyeast Munich

For Darrell: The Wyeast Munich lager strain has a reputation for
occasionally doing squirrely things. A week or so ago I reported that a
festbier I had in lager had developed a hot, phenolic (i.e. spicy)
character and that the polyphenols level had actually increased over
time. It was, as you might have already guessed, made with this strain.
I suspected contamination but a couple more weeks of lagering and the
spicy quality was gone - the beer is now very, very smooth and neutral
though the polyphenols are still around 400 mg/L. Give yours some time
and see what happens.

- --
A. J. deLange
Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore.




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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 10:13:39 EST
From: KMacneal at aol.com
Subject: Re: Stuck fermentation

I dont' think you're stuck.  Your mash temperature is high which will give 
you a dextrinous wort which will result in a high final gravity.

RDWHAH,

Keith MacNeal
Worcester, MA

In a message dated 12/29/1999 12:14:49 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
DawgDoctor at aol.com writes:

<< 104 F 140 F 158 F x 30 min each mash schedule
 
 Initial runnings 1.062 pH=5.2
 Final runnings 1.032 pH=5.3
 Kettle (collected 7 gallons) 1.042 pH 5.15
 Final wort (5.5 - 5.75 gallons) 1.052 
 
 I racked this into the secondary last night after 8 days and the gravity 
read 
 1018.  By reading previous digests, I am way under pitching my yeast.  I 
 pitched about 400ml of Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast. Apparently, I have 
always 
 way under ptiched and have made some excellent brews with extract prior to 
 all grain brewing. (This is my 11th all grain brew.)  I got active 
 fermentation somewhere between 12 and 24 hrs.  Did not get that big thick 
 foamy head like I did with my belgian white.  Is this a stuck fermentation?  
 >>


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 11:05:27 -0500
From: Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products at humphreypc.com
Subject: Oxygen Thread Correction

Buddy LeSage corrected my post on Oxygen regulator threads.  They have
right-hand threads.   It's the fuel side that's got the odd twist.  Should
have climbed out of my Y2K bunker long enough to look at the ox/acetylene
torch in the garage!

Happy New Year to all!


Mark (Y2K Defiant) in Kalamazoo




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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 09:07:18 -0700
From: "David Elm" <delm at cadvision.com>
Subject: Re: Valey Mill Motors

I suggest you use a GE gear moter (170RPM) direct connected via a rubber
coupling to the shaft.  I got the gear motor from SURPLUS CENTER
 at 800-488-3407.
The part number is 5-1098 and it was $25US+shipping.  I can e-mail pictures
if
requested (delm at cadvision.com)



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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 10:32:01 -0600
From: "Bruce Garner" <bpgarner at mailbag.com>
Subject: Yorg's Pump Problems

Yorg,

I have the high temperature mag coupled pump from Moving Brews. I like it
but have problems as you do with grain going through the system. The grain
clogs the ball valves I use to regulate flow. I intend to use a footie nylon
stocking in a canning jar analogous to a fuel filter in a automobile. I will
put this at the outlet from the mash tun. You might try this and not need a
new pump.

I find that footie nylons can be cleaned and boiled and used all through the
brew process. I attach one across the top of my open fermentor like a
hammock or banana to catch hop bits and some trub down stream of my
counterflow chiller. The wort oozes along the surface and drips off getting
more oxygen in the process.

Hope this helps. By the way Yorg, are you in or near Sydney? I will be
coming for the Olympics.

Bruce




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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 10:39:19 -0600
From: "Bruce Garner" <bpgarner at mailbag.com>
Subject: Reusing C02 tank

Steve,

My tank is a reused extinguisher tank. It works fine. You may need a hydro
test. I believe that extinguishers and tanks for beer and soda are filled
from the same C02 source. The fittings are different.

Bruce




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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 12:17:30 -0500
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com>
Subject: Yeast Culturing

On Thu, 30 Dec 1999, Jacob Bogie said:

> My apartment is cool...around 64 degrees F year round so my starters
> usually
> take 2-3 days to krausen, but the yeast slants? Can they incubate and
> reproduce in this temp? 
> I'm not too worried about it...I turned up the heat to 74 in my bathroom
> and
> put the slants and starters up high on the tallest shelf I have. I would
> assume that ambient temp. is around 72-75 degrees. 
> 
I do all of my culture incubations at 77F (25C).  64F should be OK since
this is higher than normal lager fermentation temps and just about right for
ales.  Growth may be a bit slower, but should not be adversely affected.
Keeping starters around their fermentation teperature is advisable though...

If you like you can make a little incubator pretty cheaply and I made mine
out of spare stuff I had lying about my house.  I used a large styrofoam box
that was originally used to ship frozen meat as the incubator housing.  It
was a two piece construction with a solid bottom & walls in one piece and
the top for the other.  I like keeping it simple but any insulated box with
a large enough internal space will work.  I then used some old terrarium
stuff for the heater and thermostat.  A reptile heating pad works very well,
uses very little current and transfers heat uniformly over a large surface
area.  It costs a few bucks, but I had it lying around.  I placed a few
sheets of aluminum foil between the pad and the styrofoam just so that I
don't have a heating element against the styrofoam.  A fish tank heater
submersed in a water-filled glass jar will work well too but do not use the
internal thermostat found in most of them since it only measures the
temperature of the water and not the ambient air inside the box.  The
simplest and cheapest way to go is to use a low wattage light bulb shielded
by a metal can (soup can) for heat.  The light bulb and aquarium heater
methods however, do not provide uniform heating.  I used a bellows-type
thermostat and microswitch to control a relay which powers the heating
element.  A mounting bracket can easily be constructed out of miscellaneous
sheet metal pieces found in you local hardware store.  Since I didn't want
to use epoxy to hold EVERYTHING in place I used long bolts with wide washers
to hang the thermostat and switch from the lid. The long bolts go through
the thick styrofoam walls and the wide washers help to keep the bolt heads
from sinking into the styrofoam.  It takes a bit of fiddling, but the
thermostat and switch keeps the incubator at 77 +/- 2 degrees.  I was
surprised.  When I have time, I'll make a digital control like the one I'm
building for my fridge and maybe stick a plastic window on it.  This may be
cheaper in the long run than heating an entire room a few more degrees.

> One other thing...When I "culture" or inoculate a plate to clean the
> strain...what is the best characteristics to look for in the new yeast
> colonies? Are there tell tale signs of a bad colony? I have a lot of
> bottle
> conditioned yeast to clear out.
> 
Single, big, uniformly round, white or creamy colored colonies may be
assumed to have grown from a single yeast cell.  Pick at least the best
three to make separate slants - just in case you do not choose wisely on one
try.  Also give Jim Liddl's page a try.  He's got some good info and links.
http://www.liddil.com/


> Glen Pannicke
> Merck & Co.
> Computer Validation Quality Assurance  
> email:  glen_pannicke at merck.com 


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Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 10:44:20 -0800 (PST)
From: erniebaker at webtv.net
Subject: Last brew & new beer

To finish out the year, I brewed 5 gal of German Ale yesterday and today
it is very busy making bubbles.
To celebrate, I purchased a couple 6 packs of "SN" Celebration Ale
(6.8%), so I'm ready & a happy New Year to all...

Ernie Baker
29 Palms, CA
God gave us Beer because He Loves us and wants us to be Happy!






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