---

	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:
  Klaatu Burrado Nikto/mash-in pH/HSA in Bud. ("Stephen Alexander")
  re:mash out ("Stephen Alexander")
  Just Brewed A Kit Beer, And Loved It! ("Phil & Jill Yates")
  Fw: American v Aus Commercial Beer ("Graham Sanders")
  HSA -- An Issue or Not ("John or Barb Sullivan")
  Fw: HSA, Biere de Garde, Filters, Wit yeast ("Graham Sanders")
  Re: Fruit Flavors (KMacneal)
  Ayinger Yeast, Ready For Dispatch. ("Phil & Jill Yates")
  Mulberries ("Philip J Wilcox")
  To honor! and re: HSA in Bud. (Some Guy)
  HSA & Bud ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  pChemists, kettle oxidation and specialty malts, mash pH and (Dave Burley)
  Filtering (Richard Foote)
  Moving on.... (Aaron Perry)
  Czech Rep. Local Brews (Bob Hall)
  HSA ("Alan Meeker")
  Fridge woes (RiedelD)
  RE: Vittles Vault (Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products)
  Re: yeast identities sought (Scott Murman)
  Stupid Brewer Tricks # 10476:  'A Watched Pot Never Boils' (Jim Adwell)
  Homebrewed Rolling Rock (Rick and Jackie Gontarek)
  Corn malting ("Keith Menefy")


* Don't miss the 2000 AHA NHC in Livonia, MI 
* 6/22 through 6/24 http://hbd.org/miy2k

* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!


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 FROM THE E-MAIL
  ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
  the digest as we canoot reach you. We will not correct your address
  for the automation - that's your job.

The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright 
  HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK 
  before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content 
  cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to 
req at hbd.org.

JANITORS on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)



----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 04:34:24 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Klaatu Burrado Nikto/mash-in pH/HSA in Bud.

Phil Yates posts something vaguely related to beer and brewing for a change
 ...
>Come on Steve, this is  getting a little bit silly.

OK lets see.  Pivo posts repeated insulting and inaccurate stuff about me,
 mischaracterizes my posts and  tops it off with a wager that is supposed to
"cure" my type.  I respond by upping the stakes and making a more serious
offer of wager -  only then it's silly ? I can't agree.

> Steve has not yet responded on my proposal ...
Phil, I wrote "I'll be on biz travel rest of the week,"
in #3347 for a reason.

>A brief note will do Steve.
It's 'no'  Phil.  Perhaps you missed the bit where the brewer was to be
unbiased and impartial.


====

Sincere thanks to Jim Liddil for providing the data re the
mash-in pH in distilled and tap water.  The pH figures match
conventional expectation (or at least mine), unlike the pH=4.78
number previously posted.

Also thanks to Mike Maceyka for offering to perform a similar experiment.
It would be interesting to see the mash-in pH for a wider variety of malts,
but if not I appreciate the offer anyway Mike.

====

Phil Wilcox and Peter Garofalo note the Bud air columns.
I have seen reference to these in Fix' writing as nitrogen
purged but I'll take Peter's word on the matter that air is used.

I haven't had a Bud in years, but one aspect of the memory
is the clear and obvious cardboard flavor it develops over a
few hours from opening.  It's probably the archtypal cardboard
flavor source and you have probably just pinned the origin.
I was reminded of this intense aroma while rescuing sankes
a few years back - ouch.

I would imagine most Bud doesn't last long enough to develop the
flavor.

 -Steve







Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 05:23:21 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re:mash out

Nathaniel says ...

>If someone makes a blanket statement of, " this is
>something we homebrewers can ignore" they aren't granting the
>brewer the intelligence to decide on their own what they should or
>should not ignore.

If someone would post that we "can ignore" sanitation, how does
that restrict your  freedom to agree or ignore the advice ?
How is it an insult to intelligence that someone holds a differing
viewpoint ?

This seems to be an argument that people should not express their
differing opinions because it somehow harms the listener.  I disagree.
Minds are not so fragile, and in any case they improve with exercise.

The way to insult a person's intelligence and restrict their decisions is to
paternalistically decide what arguments they should or should not hear.

 -S






Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 20:07:12 +1000
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Just Brewed A Kit Beer, And Loved It!

Now why would a masher ever dream of making a kit beer again?
Well, we had a bit of a party here on Burradoo Estate this weekend. It
wasn't meant to be, but it ended up that way. It started with Wes Smith
wandering over as he had not yet seen my brewing garage. Jill thought she
might ask a few of her friends over as well. Pretty soon, a fair percentage
of the Billiard Room ladies were all here, husbands and boyfriends tagging
along as well. Wes made his exit before it all got started and I was left to
try and keep it under control. I didn't have a lot of success. Of course,
they all loved the rice lager (not even the gypsum would deter them - in
fact some preferred it that way) and I spent most of the night running
backwards and forwards between the garage and the Billiard Room keeping the
beer supply up. I haven't yet built the "yet to be" bar in the Billiard
Room.
Mild mannered Steve, charged with more than a few rice lagers, thought he
would demonstrate to long legged Linda how he could bounce his balls on the
billiard table. Sure did, and smash went one of the shades in the very
expensive over hanging light.
Somewhere else in the night, a tug of war started over Phoebe's Alpaca teddy
bear (the one I bought her before she was even born) and as a consequence,
teddy's head was ripped clean off his torso. The music got louder, the
adults got drunker and the kids ran around the house like screaming
banshees.

What's this all got to do with kit beers?
Simply this.
I'm not wasting my precious hand crafted beer on this crowd again. They can
all go to the Burradoo Hilton next time.

Today for the first time in a long time I brewed a kit beer. Well a very
modified one. I added some Tettnang hops for character and I used a 1.8kg
can to make a 12 litre batch. I just used my own thoughts to create roughly
what I was after. Gravity came out at 1054. I pitched my special Ayinger
yeast in to do the job.

Actually, it was a lot of fun and required so little time. I even did it in
the kitchen rather than the garage, so the family never missed me at all. I
figure on knocking up a few of these between my monthly mash brews (great
way to keep your yeast culture on the go).

Next time this drunken lot of bums flock my way for a nights entertainment,
they'll be drinking more kit beer than mash. And I bet they won't know the
bloody difference! Certainly not after half a dozen beers or so. I'll simply
switch the keg and no one will be the wiser.

Like Fred Kingston, I'm turning into a real grumpy old bastard. Next you
know, I'll have a reputation for being ruder than Jack Schmidling!
Where is Jack anyway? Haven't heard from the old Digger for a long time.

Cheers
Phil





Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:01:50 +1000
From: "Graham Sanders" <craftbrewer at cisnet.COM.AU>
Subject: Fw: American v Aus Commercial Beer



G'day or is that Howdy

Before all us Aussies poo-poo our commercial beers, here's some sad news.

Had an interesting thing happen at the home brew shop.

An American, about 30 comes in.  I got talking with him about beer, and of
course the conversation got round to how poor commercial beers are.

Now the guy floored me when he said "at least your Aussies beers have some
flavour.  They're much better than the rubbish back home".

With all this talk about Fosters having no character, could it be said "Bad
flavour is better than no flavour at all."

Shout, or is that cheers

Graham Sanders



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 06:22:29 -0500
From: "John or Barb Sullivan" <sullvan at anet-stl.com>
Subject: HSA -- An Issue or Not

Many have been posting with the idea that we should not worry about HSA
since the beer should be drunk in a short time period anyway. Well excuse
me, but do any of you comedians out there ever make a barleywine?  How
about a tripel?  How about Old Ale?  A little bit of sherry is nice in
these, but a little goes a long way.  Should you lager your doppelbocks for
extended periods?  Should it be drunk while still green?  How about a
lambic or a strong Scotch Ale?  Should you drink your wee heavy right out
of the fermenter?

Would anyone agree that HSA should be a concern DEPENDING UPON HOW LONG YOU
PLAN TO STORE THE BEER?  And since different beers are stored in some cases
for extended periods of time, then HSA may be important.  Perhaps it might
be good advice for some who are quick to declare certain processes as
non-issues to think a little bit before making such general statements.

"Let's Kill Some More Messengers and Burn Some More Books"

John Sullivan 
>From Humorless St. Louis -- The Comedic Wasteland 





Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:19:32 +1000
From: "Graham Sanders" <craftbrewer at cisnet.COM.AU>
Subject: Fw: HSA, Biere de Garde, Filters, Wit yeast


G'day All

I must admit I'm loving this talk of HSA and the opinions that fly.  Its
quite funny that this weekend I made my BdG and deliberately HSAated it.
What I did was I dropped it hot from a height from the boiler to a bucket,
then cooled it after that in a cold room set at -10c.  I'm hoping that when
its all finished maturing (over six months) I will get some of those
flavours
of a BdG that many have said are due to HSA.  Time will tell.

I also caramalised the first 2.5 litres, the first of the run off.  i
reduced it down to .5 litres.  I got a wonderful flavour and deep red
colour.  Highly recommend it to fellow brewers for something different.  The
wood shavings have that wonderful mouldy smell as well (not too strong, just
right), which I will put in one keg, while I keep the other keg as a
control.  Will keep the HBD informed of my progress.


A question was asked about filters.  I have a home made one that i use on
occassions when I dont have a clear beer and cant wait for it to clear, or
have a chill haze.  Its design is simple.  The idea came to me talking to a
pool guy.  A pool filter is basically just sand with DME the filter
material.  So what I did was make a tiny pool filter out of some SS pipe,
fill with sand and DME, flush with water to settle it, and then use it when
I transfer from keg to keg.  Works a treat, and the best bit, it costs
nothing.  I get the ingredients form my neighbour.

Well I received my Wit yeast from Brad.  he assurred me it was pure and
clean, and She is a ripper yeast.  Got from plate to 4 litres of pitchable
starter in 24 hours.  Now thats a good yeast.  However a lesson for all of
us (Phil are you listening), even though Brad took great care with it and
washing it, it was infected with a fungus.  About 1 fungus colony per 100
yeast colonies.  I had a devil of time isolating the yeast, but got there.
No matter how pure you think your yeast is, replace, or replate it often.

Phil yeast will definitely get the plate treatment when it arrives.  Who
knows, he might be seeded his rampant yeast with some of those goldtops.
Anything to promote the "Hilton" I hear.

Shout

Graham Sanders




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 07:42:17 EDT
From: KMacneal at aol.com
Subject: Re: Fruit Flavors

In a message dated 6/12/2000 12:18:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Jimmy Hughes 
writes:

<< Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 08:26:52 -0400
 From: "Jimmy Hughes" <inspector at bmd.clis.com>
 Subject: Fruit Flavors
 
 I will have access to fresh blueberries and would like to try flavoring a
 batch.
 Any suggestions? >>

For a 5 gallon batch when you're ready to rack to secondary, crush 5 to 10 
lbs of berries, place into a 6+ gallon carboy, and rack your beer onto it.  
Leave it for a couple of weeks and bottle when fermentation is complete.  An 
American or Belgian wheat beer makes a nice base beer for a fruit beer.

Keith MacNeal
Worcester, MA


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:49:12 +1000
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Ayinger Yeast, Ready For Dispatch.

I should have mentioned, the Ayinger yeast that I used for my rediscovered
"joy of kit brewing" was from the crop I saved after it's first time out in
my last lager. I have eight little vials ready for dispatch. For those of
you waiting on this, I will be gone for another three days on yet another
round Australia aerial sortie. Will get them in the mail for you when I get
back. The Ayinger has proved to be a strong fermenter and I hope the samples
will get to you in good condition. A special thanks to The Artist, formerly
known as he was, alias Mickey, for making this possible.

I like the spirit of home brewers. There is definitely a kinship within this
group, even though we might have the odd bit of biffo.

Cheers
Phil



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 09:12:31 -0400
From: "Philip J Wilcox" <pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com>
Subject: Mulberries

Steve,

I had a Mulberry weed er, tree in my childhood home... Made jam and pie one year
when we had a great summer babysitter... As for brewing, you definitely don't
want to cook them first. This will set the pectin and yield a hazy beverage. I
usually put fruit into the secondary. Too much CO2 production blowing off the
pretty aromas in the primary.

I would make a mead rather than a beer, but who knows, maybe a mulberry wheat is
just your thing. Mulberry Mead is called Morat, though I have not had one, I
imagine they could be quite nice. My SOP for fruit mead's (Melomels) is to do a
split fermentation. Where I pasteurize the berries at 140F for 30 min and then
let them drip just like a jam bag. I then add 1/2 of my honey while dripping and
maintain 140F. Let it drip as long as you see fruitful (pun intended). I then
cool my must and pitch two packets of wine yeast at it. When fermentation is
nearly done (2-3 weeks later) I'll add the other half of the honey, and the
other 1/2 of the fruit right into the wide necked carboy. Stir well with a
sanitized spoon handel. And let ferment for another 2-3 months on the fruit.
Eventually rack it off the fruit and let is set a couple more weeks before
bottling. How you finish your mead is entirely up to you. If you like it dry;
your done, just bottle it. If you like your mead's sweet, you could either keep
throwing honey at it till it stops fermenting or you could Sulfite and Sorbate
the must to kill off the yeast and keep any new yeast from growing further. Then
add honey and sweeten to taste. Yum. This is what I did a few weeks ago when my
parents freezer blew a fuse and defrosted the 10 lbs of blueberries I had
stashed at their place. Bumblefrog Blueberry Melomel. My Favorite.

Phil Wilcox




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 08:29:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Some Guy <pbabcock at hbd.org>
Subject: To honor! and re: HSA in Bud.


Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...

 
 I wish we could get off of this defense of honor bullshit. Not everything
 is a personal attack, just differing opinions. Yeah, some are stated
 strongly but I usually find a humorous bent rather than meanness. Recall
 the schoolground lesson that the teasing is fueled by the reaction it
 achieves...

Steve Alexander writes...

> Phil Wilcox and Peter Garofalo note the Bud air columns.
> I have seen reference to these in Fix' writing as nitrogen
> purged but I'll take Peter's word on the matter that air is used.
> 
> I haven't had a Bud in years, but one aspect of the memory
> is the clear and obvious cardboard flavor it develops over a
> few hours from opening.  It's probably the archtypal cardboard
> flavor source and you have probably just pinned the origin.
> I was reminded of this intense aroma while rescuing sankes
> a few years back - ouch.
 
 I was on the tour as well, but with another group and a much more
 experienced guide. The air columns are just that - air, according to the
 guide. Phil wasn't in my group with my guide. (I'd swear Pete was on my
 tour, though, and our guide had claimed several years with the pilot
 brewery.) that'd make at least two, possibly three tour guides providing
 the same information. Don't know why they'd want to lie about it.
 
 So there's three words you can take; not just Pete's. And, frankly, I've
 had Bud recently - still have many friends that serve only Bud, and Bud
 still has marginally more flavor than a glass of water. Never noticed the
 cardboard flavors developing as it stands in my "cup" (oddly, outside of
 a few bars and restaurants, I've never been served Bud in a glass...). I
 will attest to having picked it up from old, supposedly empty kegs back
 in my "party store" days. But most kegs used by Joe Public are tapped
 using air pumps and will quickly achieve that fine aroma on their own
 after standing for a while...

- -- 
 -
See ya!

Pat Babcock in SE Michigan         pbabcock at hbd.com
Home Brew Digest Janitor           janitor@hbd.org
HBD Web Site                       http://hbd.org
The Home Brew Page                 http://hbd.org/pbabcock

"The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged
                                  from my yeast lab Saturday




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 09:46:49 -0400
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com>
Subject: HSA & Bud

In HBD #3349 Peter Garofalo commented on air & HSA at the A/B plant:

>I, too, toured the A-B pilot brewery, and
>confirm Phil Wilcox's desctiption of "stripping" the volatiles from the hot
>wort with air. {snip}  We were told that indeed it was air, and it removed
>unpleasant volatiles.

I'm no Seibel grad; nor am I a commercial brewer; hell, I don't even sweep
the floor in a brew pub; but I just don't believe air is a good thing at
this stage.  I guess she didn't go into much detail about the temperatures
at which this occurs, huh?  I still think this should be done on cool wort,
but then maybe some volatiles aren't as volatile when cooled.  <hrmmmmm>
They're the pros....

>I gotta believe that it doesn't seriously impact beer stability. Love 'em
or
>hate'em, you've gotta respect A-B's quality control.

>From what I've heard about the goings-on in these big breweries I don't
doubt stringent QC at all.  If anything, they are consistent to the n-th
degree.  They've studied the average American beer drinker's tastes and have
latched on to it, producing a beer that is exactly the same from batch to
batch.  They are the epitome of a quality-driven company.  But, regardless
of what A/B does, or does not do to their beer, I can tell you that American
Swill Brews are one of the reasons I started brewing my own!


Carpe cerevisiae!

Glen Pannicke
http://www.pannicke.net
"He was a wise man who invented beer" - Plato





Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 10:28:37 -0400
From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com>
Subject: pChemists, kettle oxidation and specialty malts, mash pH and

Brewsters:

Glenn Pannicke says something like  "remember all of us biologists would
have been chemists if pChem didn't suck so bad"  Glenn! I have a Ph.D, in
Physical Chemistry and some of my correspondents wish I knew more biology. 
{8^).

Although we agree that not <all> of the oxygen can be purged form the
surface by steam, a <jet >of steam is obviously at a higher pressure ( if
only a little)  than an atmosphere and why I suggest the surface be
partially covered to get that jet.  This pressure differential will limit
the ingress of oxygen substantially - essentially to zero - in contrast to
an open kettle and guarantee that we don't get drafts which constantly
allow fresh oxygen containing air to come into direct contact with surface.

There are several things Glenn points out and that is the lower volume of
reduction and greater boiling activity he observed during the partially
closed boil.

When you compare colors of wort in the two side by side kettles be sure to
dilute both to the same OG and likewise the beer for this experiment. 

 If anything, the increased kettle rolling activity of the partially closed
kettle will improve the hops extraction, depending on the relative activity
of the open kettle.

Be sure to do a triangle taste test.  I suggest a Pilsner recipe, but if I
recall correctly I first observed this kettle oxidation effect with a pale
ale, so it may not be so important as I suspect.
- ---------------------------------------
After writing the above comment, I continued to read the HBD and I found it
interesting that Jeff Rener says he has never observed kettle HSA with a
CAP but has with a Dunkel.  Hmmmm. I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that
the lighter beers would show up any taste degradation better. I don't know,
as I have always used a partially covered kettle since I discovered this
phenomenon some decades ago.

I don't recall ever comparing the darker beers with the lighter beers in
this experiment.  Any further thoughts? Experiments?

Is it possible that the darker specialty malts are the culprits? How about
crystal? I withdraw, at least temporarily,  the opinion I expressed about
the mash composition of the great HSA experiment being planned. 

Sounds like another experiment in the making. All those HBDers with access
to photospectrometers or even eyes, especially down a testube,  could make 
a contribution, at least to the effect of kettle oxidation on color ( and
not necessarily taste) by doing minimboils of various mashes containing
specialty malts,  lid on and lid off. Compare the colors at the same OG.

On thinking about this, we do know that specialty malts are much better if
used within a week of their manufacture ( at least based on others'
comments and my home manufacturing experiments) , so like roasted coffee,
maybe we should be keeping them in air tight or vacuum packages or in the
refrigerator?  Any comments? Any experiments to test this? Anyone with
information  on what happens to these malts or even coffee at RT in the
presence of air? 
- ------------------------------------
Phil Yates and Doc Pivo both commented on the effect of pH on the
attenuation limit believing that the lower pH produced a "thinner' beer due
to the higher attenuation limit ( i.e. higher % attenuation)  of the more
acid mash, I guess. Phil also expressed his surprise that the pH affected
the attenuation limit.

All of the enzymes ( including the proteolytic, etc) are affected by the pH
and thus the outcome of the mash. As the mouthfeel has little if anything
to do with dextrin content ( discussed endlessly in past HBDs and in
professional brewing literature) it may be the pH is affecting other
enzymes ( which affect soluble protein levels) to produce this difference
in mouthfeel. pH is not the determining "acid taste" factor, titrable
acidity is. Despite the Doc's comment, lactic acid does not taste like
sauerkraut, even though it is one of the acids in sauerkraut, as it is in
yoghurt..

Kunze ( p.195) as one example of the discussion of this phenomenon says:

"By mashing within a pH range of 5.5-5.6 ( I assume measured at RT - DRB)
which can be regarded as the optimum pH range for both amylases ( I assume
at a mash temperature of 150F+ and normal mash densities - DRB) , the
extract content can be increased in comparison to that obtained at a higher
pH value ( "natural" mash pH is 5.6 - 5.9 - DRB) . More fermentable sugar
is produced and the attenuation limit is higher." 

So by going to a lower pH in the mash,  fewer % dextrins and more % alcohol
and perhaps more important to a commercial brewery, better % malt
extraction results.  You have to ask yourself if this lower mash pH in many
commercial beers is there to produce a better taste or more money when you
set out to emulate them by lowering the mash pH, whether it be with lactic
acid or phosphoric acid or calcium ions in the brewing liquor.. 

Keep on Brewin'

Dave Burley
 


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 11:20:40 -0400
From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com>
Subject: Filtering


I must say that I agree with Dave Burley on filtering.  I had the "filter
bug" mainly because I was fretting about the clariy of my kegged brew when
transporting some distance to club events.  I put together a beer filtering
apparatus ala The Filter Company using the canister and filter types they
use.  I even went to the trouble of installing ss hose barbs on the inlet
and outlet.  What a deluxe setup I thought.  

I had the beer to be filtered properly carbonated, chilled and reasonably
clear.  I sanitized the whole filter assembly with properly diluted
iodophore.  I allowed the whole assembly to air dry.  I then ran some beer
through the filter to "acclimate" it and remove any taint from iodophore or
whatever.  I discarded this small amount of beer.  I was then ready to rock
and roll.  I began back pressure (approx. 2 psi. gradient from transfer to
receiving keg) filtration into the receiving keg.  After accululating a
portion of the filtered beer in the receiving keg, I decided it was time to
test the result.  Clarity was slighly improved.  Probably needed a finer
filter.  The main point however was the "taint" as Dave calls it.  I guess
it can be described as dulling the taste.  I will no longer even consider
letting a filter (at least this type) get anywhere near my beer.  I'll take
taste over a slight tweekage of appearance any day.  

BTW, I have found that one way that I was able to improve the clarity of my
beers is in paying more attention to starch conversion in the mash.  Part
of my problem,  in my case, actually seemed to be from starch haze from
inadeqaute conversions.  I used to do high temperature sacharrifciation
rests of as short as 45 min. durations.  In my experience, this seems to be
borderline.  Ninty minute rests are now my common practice.  I wonder how
many haze problems are due to this versus chill haze.  Alan Davies may want
to see if this applies to his problem and desire to try filtering.

Hope this helps.

Rick Foote
Naturally clarifying in Murrayville, GA




Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 12:15:31 -0400
From: Aaron Perry <vspbcb at earthlink.net>
Subject: Moving on....

Hi gals n' guys,
I will be moving from the South Shore of Massachusetts to the NE corner of
Connecticut.  Dose any one have a local brewstore and/or club to recommend?
I won't be far from Sturbridge or Worcester MA. or NorthWestwern RI. Thanks for
any help.....My new place has lots of brewing space!!!


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 12:41:17 -0700
From: Bob Hall <nap_aca_bh at nwoca.org>
Subject: Czech Rep. Local Brews

I've enjoyed the discussions and travelogues over the past year,
especially in regard to the Czech Republic and Germany. My wife spent
the 96-97 year teaching at the Gymnazium, Svetla nad Sazavou, CR, about
90 min. SE of Prague by train. One of the fondest memories of my visits
is perching on an outcrop overlooking the Sazava River valley, looking
down onto the town and the rolling fields beyond, and enjoying a
backpack full of Bernard. Wondered if anyone on the list has tried it or
another local brew called Rebel.

The post from Dalibor from Croatia had me wondering if there are members
of the list from the Czech Republic. But then again, if I lived there
why would I homebrew?

Bob Hall, Technology Director
Napoleon Area City Schools
Napoleon, Ohio



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 13:07:35 -0400
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>
Subject: HSA

Jim asks:

>Were you then previously boiling your wort in a vacuum, or deoxygenated
>air?  Is there some difference in the oxygen content of indoor and outdoor
>air where you live?  :)

No, the difference, as I mentioned, is that there seems to be some gremlin
who's job is to monitor my brewing activity and stir up very windy weather
anytime I'm ready to boil. So, I've gone from indoor boiling in nice still
air with "steam blankets" and all that jazz, to outdoor boiling where the
surface of the boiling wort is getting a LOT of exposure to fresh changes of
air.

>I'd stop obsessing
>about this HSA stuff and concentrate on other things to improve the taste
>of your beer, and stop trying to see how long you can store it before it
>goes bad.

But I've already optimized the other parameters, this is something new that
I'm concerned about since I've taken to the outdoors. Also, I'm not sure the
storage argument holds up. When I'm on pace I'm brewing 5-10 gallons of beer
a week. Even with my appetite for beer and plenty of freeloading friends
it's hard to keep pace with production!! And what about beers like
barleywines and strong Belgian's that require long storage for
maturation?...

 -Alan



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 15:11:25 -0400
From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Subject: Fridge woes

Arrggghhh!  Not even 3 months after I got my fridge into a perfect set-up
with temperature control, tap in the door etc, it has stopped working!

More specifically, over a two-day period I watched the temperature rise
to ambient room temp and stay there.  The compressor seems to run
(I can hear the usual fridge noise), but it's not cooling anything.  There
does seem to be a switch going on and off every once in a while, but
nothing seems to change (fridge continues to run, anyway).

So, specifically, what are my best options?  
1.  Call in my local equivalent to Forrest the Fridge Guy?
2.  Are there some things I can do myself with guidance from the HDB?
3.  Tearfully dismantle all my electronics and hardware and retire the
fridge?

Any help would be appreciated.... 
Dave Riedel
Victoria, Canada.


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 16:10:23 -0400
From: Mark_Ohrstrom/Humphrey_Products%HUMPHREY_PRODUCTS at humphreypc.com
Subject: RE: Vittles Vault

AJ reports that he (AJ, not the puppy) "... saw the "Vittle Vault"
in Pet Smart  ... It's a more or less rectangular "bottle" with a
large screw-on plug-like top. ... A bit pricey at $39 but they
look as if they'll really do he job. Seem to be stackable too."

For those without access to a Pet Smart, these sound like the "World's Best
Food or Chemical Container" offered by US Plastics (Stock Number 75046,
www.usplastic.com).  It is 14x14x20 inches, and has what appears to be a
"Gamma Seal" lid.  Their price is $34.26, less 5% for 2, and 10% off for
four.

I use the Gamma Seal lids on 5 gal buckets for the same purpose, with ~25lb
of grain in each.  I prefer the mobility of the buckets, and they stack
too.

Mark (awaiting that US Plastics "honorarium" check) in Kalamazoo





Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 14:29:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Scott Murman <smurman at best.com>
Subject: Re: yeast identities sought

Randy Ricchi wrote:
>
> 1010 american wheat yeast - A dry fermenting, true top cropping yeast which
> produces a dry, slightly tart, crisp beer, in American hefeweisen style.
> Flocculation low, apparent attenuation 74-78%. (58-74o F). Could this be
> the strain Widmer uses?

This is the Zum Uerige alt yeast, by way of Widmer.  I'll add it to my
page now that I have a number for it.
 
> 1099 Whitbread ale yeast ( Not 1098 British ale yeast from whitbread) -A
> mildly malty and slightly fruity fermentation profile; not as tart and dry
> as 1098 and much more flocculant. Clears well without filtration.
> Flocculation high; apparent attenuation 68-72%. (64-75o F)

> 1318 London Ale yeast III - From traditional London brewery with great malt
> and hop profile. True top cropping strain, fruity, very light, soft
> balanced palate, finishes slightly sweet. Flocculation - high; apparent
> attenuation 71-75%. (64-74o F).

My notes have 1318 as Young's.
www.best.com/~smurman/zymurgy/yeast.html however I think some of these
British strains are not correctly identified, which may be by Wyeast
states 1099 is Whitbread not 1098.  Terry Foster feels that Wyeast
1028 is not the Worthington Whiteshield strain, and I'm not one to
argue with him when it comes to pale ale strains.  For now, I'm
leaving things as they stand though.

 -SM-


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 20:29:36 -0400
From: Jim Adwell <jimala at apical.com>
Subject: Stupid Brewer Tricks # 10476:  'A Watched Pot Never Boils'

I've never done *this* before...

I brewed an oat beer today, and as usual, 10 minutes or so before the end
of the boil I connected the hoses to the intake and output of my immersion
chiller prior to putting it in the boil for a 10 minute sanitizing.  

I have a valve on the cold water intake of the chiller so I can regulate
the flow of cold water thru the chiller. Today, right before I was to put
the chiller in the boiling pot, I decided, for some unknown reason, to
rinse off a piece of brewing eqiupment, a plastic container or something,
and instead of using the garden hose behind the house, I got the brilliant
idea of turning on the previously mentioned valve and using the water from
the 25' garden hose on the output side of the chiller to rinse the plastic
thing and thus save a trip around the house.  So I did that, and then
placed the immersion chiller in the boiling pot as usual.

When one puts a relatively cool immersion chiller in a pot of boiling wort,
the wort naturally cools off a bit and stops boiling, so one simply turns
up the gas until the boil is reestablished and continues on from there.  I
have done this every brewing session for as long as I can remember, and I
did so today.

I have a port in my boiling pot for a thermometer, which I use to know when
the chiller has done it's work and the wort is at the proper temperature
for transfer to the fermenter.  Today for some other unknown reason I put a
dial thermometer in the port halfway thru the boil ( it read 220F 3 inches
from the bottom of the boiler, hmmm ).  Anyway, there I am, hand on the gas
valve waiting expectantly for the boil to start up again, but it's taking a
long, long time, and worse yet, I notice that the indicator on the dial
thermometer in the boiler port is *going down*!  My instant response to
this was to turn up the gas all the way, so that that flames were shooting
up the side of the boiler.  At this point I had the dim idea in my head
that something was not quite right.

I must have been tired or something because it was a good 10 minutes, and
the thermometer was reading about 170F, before I realized that the physics
of the universe had not changed but that I had left the water valve on the
chiller wide open, and 45F water was shooting thru the chiller at a rapid
rate.  I felt really stupid for a few seconds, and then had to laugh at the
thought of me sitting there until the propane tank was empty, watching the
pot that never boiled.

Anyone else ever do this?

Cheers, Jim

Jim's Brewery Pages:
http://home.ptd.net/~jimala/brewery/


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:39:59 -0500
From: Rick and Jackie Gontarek <rgontare at bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Homebrewed Rolling Rock

Hello All,

With all of this talk about Foster's, CAP, and Genesee Cream Ale
(AKA "Genney Screamers 'cause that's the sound you make on the toilet
the day after having too many), I thought now would be an appropriate
time to share my recipe for my favorite American Megabrew, Rolling Rock.
With all of my fine hand-crafted ales and lagers on tap at home, I usually
never crave a good old American Megabrew. But occasionally I may find
myself in a local bar that doesn't have Bass or Sam Adams, and that's
when I'll reach for a Rock. Brings back memories of grad school in
Baltimore, whacking hard crabs down at the Cross Street Market and
cooling the heat of Old Bay crab spice with a bucket of Rocks. Sometimes
a beer like this is just the thing.

"Rolling Rick"

5 lbs. Weyermann Pils malt
1.5 lbs. white rice
1 lb. flaked maize
1/2 lb. carapils malt
1 oz Hallertauer hop pellets (boiling)
1/2 ounce Tettnanger hop pellets (flavor)
1/2 ounce Tettnanger hops (aroma)
White Labs American Lager yeast

Adjust PhilMill to crush rice into small pieces. Combine
1.5 lbs. of crushed rice with 1 gallon of water and boil for 20 min.
Add crushed malt, corn, and 1.5 gallons of 70degC water and
stabilize at 65degC for 90 min. Sparge, etc. and bring to a boil.
Add boiling hops and go for 30 min. Add flavor hops and boil for another
30 min. Add aroma hops at KO.
After sparge 1.042 in 6.4 gallons, after boil and trub removal,
OG = 1.045. Ferment at 48degC for two weeks, lager at 4degC for three weeks.
Keg, and enjoy.

I heard that Rolling Rock uses both corn and rice, so think of this as a CAP
with a little less character due to the rice. But the color and flavor
profile were spot on, and everyone loved it.


I agree with others who say that despite our attempts to brew award-winning
beers, sometimes a good old fashioned, clean, thirst-quenching beer can
be a real treat. Don't be such a snob!

Cheers,

Rick Gontarek
Owner/Brewmaster
The Major Groove Picobrewery
Trappe, PA
RGontare at bellatlantic.net
 



Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 15:24:06 +1200
From: "Keith Menefy" <kmenefy at ihug.co.nz>
Subject: Corn malting

Have just started reading 'The Homebrewer's Garden' by Joe and Dennis
Fisher. In it they mention malting corn (maize).

Has anyone tried this. The idea had never even occurred to me but it seems a
good way to get rid of the oily embryo. Should be consumed in the
germination process? They say to let the sprout grow 2 inches. Seems a bit
excessive to me.
Would malting change/improve the flavour of maize?

Cheers
Keith Menefy
New Zealand



Return to table of contents

---