HOMEBREW Digest #3431 Sat 16 September 2000

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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				URL: http://www.oeonline.com


Contents:
  German Bitter and Mild? (Philip Ritson)
  Weissheimer analysis ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  re:DMS diatribe ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  What to brew in Turkey with odds and ends (Breweler)
  Oak for Beer (Drew Beechum)
  CAP? (TOLLEY Matthew)
  farewell and up yours! (Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative)
  Old Homebrew datapoint ("Grant Stott")
  Uk Homebrew list service (Tony Barnsley)
  Silicon Valley Brewpubs? ("Mark Tumarkin")
  Sook ahoy. ("Dave Edwards")
  RE: One Final Word... (Some Guy)
  Re: Beeston's Maris Otter & English Malts... (Joel Plutchak)
  museum exhibit (Booth)
  The demise of HBD ("Tony Clifton")
  Nov-Dec Zymurgy ("Ray Daniels")
  re: "Mom, Tony's saying bad things", double milling and covered boils ("Brian Lundeen")
  milling grain (kevin m mueller)
  RE:  Demise of the HBD ("Schultz, Steven W SBCCOM")
  Refractometer ("Dennis Lewis")
  Brewery automation (Mike Kowalczyk)
  Ozzie Beer News (David Lamotte)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 11:38:17 +0930 From: Philip Ritson <philip.ritson at adelaide.edu.au> Subject: German Bitter and Mild? On a recent trip to the UK I consumed British Bitter and Mild with a vengeance. Pints of Bass, Fullers, Banks, Theakstons, Samuel Smith, Marstons, Tetley, Cains, and even Greenhalls became my constant companions. As an aspiring all-grainer, brewing my own British ale is now a high priority. The key to these beers seemed to be the British ability to get a lot of flavor into a low gravity Beer. Clearly British malts play a big part in the profile of British Beer; but, here in Australia Marris Otter is not exactly the easiest thing to find and when you find it its expensive. So, how can I squeeze the maximum flavor from Australian malts (most of which are intended to feed a bland lager based industry)? Yeah I know, Munich malt will help and I can make my own Munich at home in the oven; but I'm wondering if a decoction mash might be a better alternative. OK its time consuming; OK its really hard; OK I'll get stuck sparges; OK its so untraditional that "decoction" is probably a swear word in Tadcaster, Masham, Burton on Trent etc. etc. and yes I know, "don't mention the war": But will it work? Has anyone decocted lager malts to make a British Bitter or Mild? If so, what was the schedule and how did it turn out? Philip Ritson Disclaimer: This email message is intended only for the addressee(s) and contains information which may be confidential and/or copyright. If you are not the intended recipient please do not read, save, forward, disclose, or copy the contents of this email. If this email has been sent to you in error, please delete this email and any copies or links to this email completely and immediately from your system. No representation is made that this email is free of viruses. Virus scanning is recommended and is the responsibility of the recipient. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 22:22:38 -0400 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: Weissheimer analysis Paul Shick asks for more specific info on lot analysis. I have what would appear to be a lot analysis but it doesn't specifically give a lot#, it has a "note no." 71215 that happens to be the same as the "analysis no." 71215. moisture,% 4 extract (dry matter) % 81.8 extract diff. (dry) % 1.5 color of wort, EBC 2.7 boiled wort color, EBC 4.6 hartong index 45C 35.4 protein (dry matter) % 11 souluble nitrogen mg/100g 662 kolbach index 37.6 viscosity 8,6% mPas 1.58 friability % 88 fully vitreous grains, % 0.5 Hopes this helps you out. N.P. Lansing Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 22:53:46 -0400 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: re:DMS diatribe Doug asked: >>. Is Rolling Rock considered a CAP? << I never really said that... NL>> 2 nearby regionals that brew post-prohibition recipes use a 2 hour hot whirlpool to bring out the DMS character. If you can find Rolling Rock on tap...try 1 and see if the DMS in Kirby's 1900 approach that level. << I was using RR as a benchmark for DMS. If you could take the DMS levels of a RR, add the bitterness of a P. Urquel add the maltiness of a DAB, with a corn character that didn't jump in your face but melded with the grain character; that is as best as I can translate a good CAP into words. >> Or maybe I just don't like CAPs.<< Geez, if I had a batch I'd send you one so you'd see. Maybe later in the year, remind me in a few months. NPL Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 23:32:11 EDT From: Breweler at aol.com Subject: What to brew in Turkey with odds and ends Todd Weaver asked what to brew using odds and ends he had after moving to Turkey... With the ingredients you have on hand, Todd, you could brew a very nice pale ale, a scrumptious porter, an excellent brown ale, or you could be a wildman and make a batch of "Everything But the Kitchen Sink--Odds and Ends Ale" by using All your leftover ingredients. I'll bet it would be a very tasty, strong, dark ale that would defy standard style descriptors. Good luck with whichever you brew, and let us know how it turned out. Mark Videan Breweler at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 21:19:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Drew Beechum <Drew.Beechum at disney.com> Subject: Oak for Beer You know.. the shop i go to the Home Beer Wine Cheesmaking Shop sells both "oak chips" and "oak beans". The chips are literaly just oak shavings available in French and American (Oregon) Oak. The Beans are actual barrel staves cubed into smaller parts. These are what I use and recommend (they're slightly more expensive, but much smoother.) Earlier this year I did a Bourbon Barrell Smoked Porter that worked really nicely and I just tapped an Oaked American IPA. Both have earned good reviews. Check out http://www.homebeerwinecheese.com/ for more information. (John, doesn't have a catalog, but he answers questions and ships same day via 1-800-#) - -- Drew - Satisfied Customer (and very occasional shop assistant) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:08:46 +1000 From: TOLLEY Matthew <matthew.tolley at atsic.gov.au> Subject: CAP? I give up. Would somebody please tell this poor dumb Aussie: what the hell is a CAP? I thought I'd try to find out myself on the net, but predictably enough, looking for 'cap' and 'beer' gives me an endless supply of pages about devices used to stop beer falling out of bottles. Common American Pale? Crap Australian Pils (we call it 'Tooheys' here)? Californian Avocado and Prawn? Thanks :) Well, my first brew has been in the bottle a couple of weeks now. It's not what I'd call good beer - drinkable, but not something I'd choose to drink. I blame not pitching a vigorous enough yeast starter to completely ferment an all-malt wort, and fermenting too cold (a bit above 15oC most of the time, but those Canberra cold snaps overnight probably didn't help). Don't get me wrong - it's got good clarity, no chill haze, no off flavours that I can notice, so I'm more confident in my sanitation and technique. It's just very dark, and a bit 'heavy' in the mouth - might have something to do with bottling a 1.068 OG wort after it seemed to have irrevocably stalled at 1.020 :). Not to worry - back to the brewing board. I'll set a six aside and see how it turns out - you never know. Might take advantage of the cool weather to do something 'lawnmower-ish' for summer. Can you still call SWMBO 'SWMBO' if she takes your fermenter and starts brewing herself? :) My other half knocked up what looks like being a very tasty ginger ale on the weekend with a Coopers lager kit, half a kilo of honey and plenty of fresh ginger. She pitched a mega starter, and it took off like a rocket. She took a reading last night - almost done, with a beautiful straw colour and a great ginger aroma. I hate her :) Cheers ...Matt... Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:44:50 +1100 (EST) From: Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative <Scott.Morgan at aus.sun.com> Subject: farewell and up yours! well glad to see that you have unsubcribed from the HBD. Good ridence to you. Interesting to see that "I can't bear to read another stupid fictional account of the alternative lifestyles in Australia." good to see that you are perceptive and empathetic to other cultures, their humours and take on life. Are we setting an agenda for American Cultural Imperialism on the HBD?? If so up yours. Its the Internet buddy, and open network, that whole global community thing.....???????? I did not see any Aussies coming online and lampooning the homebrewers=drunks debate as well as the diversion into politics and religion but a few weeks ago on the HBD.we aussies facilitate the page down key much better i assume. Or, is it a case that the OEM'd keyboards re-sold in the USA are missing that facility. Are we then to say that Graham Saunders efforts re yeast culturing and malt roasting are in vain? This represents a whole lot of effort and i dont see this coming from you. Rather a stance of detraction has been taken compared to turning around and actively contributing to "improve" the HBD and raise it to "your" standards. To unsubscribe is a weak option. See you on (if you dare); http://www.morgansbrewing.com.au/discussion/index.phtml Scotty p.s. all persoanl attacks and response i will more than happily delete! Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:30:37 +1000 From: "Grant Stott" <gstott at primus.com.au> Subject: Old Homebrew datapoint For those who may be interested, I cracked open my last bottle of Imperial Pale Ale (recipe from Graham Wheeler, Home Brewing the CAMRA guide). This was my 3rd batch of all grain, brewed nearly 2 years ago. The bottle was subjected to ambient temp. changes for 18mths then stored in the fridge for the last 6 mths. Hop & malt character has diminished considerably and the palate is a little thin, the aroma still shows up the flaked maize, & the character from the maize & flaked wheat is still evident. (when young it reminded me of breakfast cereal but after a couple of months the flavours blended to produce a great beer). Anyway I just wanted to point out that a mid gravity (O.G approx. 1.050) poorly stored bottle of homebrew can age gracefully. We are not doomed to suffer overpowering sherry or cardboard flavours. Also thanks to Dan and Alan for answering my recent inquiries. p.s. Edward a pH test kit for aquariums from the local pet shop is a good cheap alternative to ph test strips. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 12:23:30 +0100 From: Tony Barnsley <tony.barnsley at blackpool.gov.uk> Subject: Uk Homebrew list service Hi all, Apologies for the (yet again) sort of off topic post I Posted recently about the temporary demise of the UK Homebrew list hosted by BreWorld. Well It is now back up and running. However in the mean time a group of the long term contributors (pre BreWorld), have got together (virtually) and set up an alternative list, Many (most) of the BreWorld list subscribers have already moved to the new one. Why did we take this extreme action? Well this is the second time this year that ALL the subscribers have vanished, there does not appear to be a backup of the subscriber list (I may, or may not, be wrong). Again it happened while the list owner (janitor) was on holiday sampling the beers of Belgium. Nobody at BreWorld was able to sort the mess out. We decided to take direct action and set up UK Homebrew - A Forum on Home Brewing in the UK, managed by home brewers for home brewers and this is hosted on a public listgroup server at SmartGroups.com. This is going to be owned & managed by several of the more regular contributors to the group. Hopefully any problems will be sorted with alacrity, or may be not, after all I am one of the 'janitors'. to borrow a phrase. Enough of my ramblings. The important bits To Subscribe send a blank email (everything else is ignored) to uk.homebrew-subscribe at smartgroups.com To get the Digest version mail to uk-homebrew-setdigest at smartgroups.com AND THE REALLY IMPORTANT BIT WHICH IS WHY I AM SHOUTING To unsubscribe send a blank email to uk.homebrew-unsubscribe at smartgroups.com In all cases, (I Think) you will get a mail back to confirm that you want to join / leave / digest etc. Just hit reply and everything is sorted. If not and you need to get hold of a real person (Allegedly) send a mail to uk-homebrew-owner at smartgroups.com and eventually one of us will respond We are grateful to Thomas Lange and BreWorld for all the time and effort that they put into hosting the list over the past year or so, but the consensus among 'The Inner Circle' (as we have been referred to) was that perhaps it was time to move on. - -- Wassail! The Scurrilous Aleman Schwarzbad Lager Brauerei, Blackpool, Lancs, UK Reply To Aleman At brewmaster Dot demon Dot co Dot uk ICQ 46254361 UK HOMEBREW - A Forum on Home Brewing in the UK, managed by home brewers, for home brewers Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 07:41:04 -0400 From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Silicon Valley Brewpubs? A member of my homebrew club is going to the Santa Clara, Silicon Valley area for a conference shortly. Any suggestions for local brewpubs to visit? Thanks to all who responded to my last request for brewpub suggestions for club members taking a trip from Fl to Vermont. Got some excellent responses. If you're interested in seeing a report of their trip with brewpub reviews, check out their story in our latest club newsletter http://hbd.org/hogtown/news/2000aug/vermont.html Mark Tumarkin Gainesville, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 22:31:03 +0930 From: "Dave Edwards" <eddiedb at senet.com.au> Subject: Sook ahoy. Some fella who has graduated from being an assistant baiter, though this to be a worthy comment of the digest: | I am so very disappointed in the direction the (once beloved) HomeBrew Digest | has taken over these past several months. As a long time subscriber, it | saddens me to see it so. What was once a highly enjoyable forum of ideas, | experiments and information related to homebrew and brewing has now become so | heavily overshadowed with random nonsense, personal diatribes and noise that | I no longer look forward to it's receipt. I can't bear to read another | stupid fictional account of the alternative lifestyles in Australia. The | current incarnation of "Dr. Pivo" is also somewhat lacking over the origional | (or hadn't the rest of you realized the difference?) in terms of his depth of | brewing knowledge and contributions. | | I have therefore unsubscribed myself. | | I will check back in a while in hopes that the perpetrators will have tired | of their nonsense and moved on to some other hobby, and that the discussion | will have returned to it's previous high quality. Good Luck Digest | bretheren... you'll need it. | | Adieu, | Fred Wills | Londonderry, NH Why don't you just go and sit in the corner and have a big cry, go on, let it all out. You are a sook, the biggest I have yet found. Just because we are different in our culture and lifestyles, does not give you reason to bag us. One day you will wake up to yourself and realise that perhaps you are not the most cultured and refined person to exist in this world, and are in fact a bit of a pretentious wanker. A bit of a laugh keeps one sane. If your 100% serious all of the time, you are leading a sad existance. Cheers, Dave. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 08:57:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Some Guy <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: RE: One Final Word... Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... > I find it quite absurd that so many people seem worried about dirty > pictures being sent around should the HBD allow images. By your own > arguments we should now be inundated by dirty jokes in text form, > but I have not seen a-one. A testament to the vigilence of the Janitors! They do appear occasionally, and we reject them at the queue (and you thought Karl and I were just another couple of pretty faces...). Most notable, in direct correlation with this subject, I remember rejecting a post poking fun at a person's regionality in terms of, er, "sexual preferences" containing an url to a picture depicting a most unnatural situation with a sheep. Thank goodness I checked the URL, but, moreover, thank goodness I don't have to on a regular basis, or the "moderation" would be forced to a most "low" level as I barely have time with life, career and family to check the text queue.... - -- - See ya! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org 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: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 08:52:12 -0500 (CDT) From: Joel Plutchak <plutchak at ncsa.uiuc.edu> Subject: Re: Beeston's Maris Otter & English Malts... In HBD #3430 Stephen Ross of Paddock Wood says: >I think that the Maris Otter that was causing the problems was from >Munton's not Beeston's. The extreme clouding problem I reported was, as I stated, from using Beeston Maris Otter. I *know* this. It was not Munton's. >Wholesalers can buy in massive quantities. If a wholesaler sells >older malt and a brewshop buys it and sells it even staler, it isn't >the maltsters fault. In my case, the grain was purchased directly from the sole(?) US importer of Beeston's malts. Kinda cuts out a lot of middlemen who would let the malt sit around for years. As I said, the Maris Otter was the only Beeston malt that had the haze feature. The Pipkin, Halcyon, pilsner, and Scottish malts, as well as various specialty malts, have all worked well for us. Maris Otter from various suppliers has given people hazy beer-- it's been mentioned indepedently by people locally to me, here in HBD, and in the USENET rec.crafts.brewing newsgroup. The "feature" exists. - -- Joel Plutchak <plutchak at uiuc.edu> Drinking hazy bitter in East-central Illinois Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 10:08:45 -0400 From: Booth <kbooth at waverly.k12.mi.us> Subject: museum exhibit Subject: TipWorld's Beer [WINE AND BEER EXHIBIT - 09/15/2000] Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 06:16:06 -0700 From: TipWorld <tipworld at boing.topica.com> To: tipworld-beer-fsp at topica.com T I P W O R L D http://www.tipworld.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B E E R September 15th, 2000 =============================================================== TODAY'S TIP: WINE AND BEER EXHIBIT By Susan Reigler "Drink and Be Merry: Wine and Beer in Ancient Times" is a special exhibit on display at the Jewish Museum in New York City now through November 5. Beer is practically as old as civilization, since the grains grown in the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were the ones fermented for ancient beer making. Among the artifacts in the exhibit are early grain sieves and ornate drinking vessels. Some 5,000 years of beer and wine history are recounted in the show, from 4,000 B.C. to the seventh century, when the rise of Islam put the brakes on alcohol consumption. For more information, you can visit the Web site at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org Susan Reigler is a proud graduate of Oldenberg Beer Camp (where she was introduced to the glories of weiss beer) and Oxford University (where, in addition to earning a Master's degree in zoology, she discovered the virtuosity of British Brewers' Art). As restaurant critic since 1992 for The Louisville Courier-Journal, she has written extensively on food, wine, beer, and spirits. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 14:05:22 GMT From: "Tony Clifton" <cybercrusader at hotmail.com> Subject: The demise of HBD Fred Wills bids us all farewell and laments: <<I am so very disappointed in the direction the (once beloved) HomeBrew Digest has taken over these past several months. As a long time subscriber, it saddens me to see it so. What was once a highly enjoyable forum of ideas, experiments and information related to homebrew and brewing has now become so heavily overshadowed with random nonsense, personal diatribes and noise that I no longer look forward to it's receipt.>> Then he drops THE BOMB on us: <<I have therefore unsubscribed myself.>> Fred, you know what they say about leaving the party early? MORE BEER FOR US! In all seriouslessness though, I never met a bigger bunch of stiffs in my life! We are BREWERS AND BEER DRINKERS for crying out loud! HAVE SOME FUN! Why is it that all the BREWERS and BEER DRINKERS I meet in real life are such FUN guys? Something terrible must happen to you guys when you sit at a computer and get all tight-arsed. Or, maybe Pivo is right and it IS the Iodophore. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know there's a time and a place for everything, but what's wrong with studying and having fun at the same time? Don't you have a SCROLL BAR on your computer like I do? Nobody says you HAVE to read the whole damn Digest! As for you Fred, I don't believe for one moment that you will be leaving us. You'll just lurk and continue to read the WHOLE digest just like you've been doing for all these years. But if it makes you feel happy, I'll say this: PLEASE DON'T GO FRED. PLEASE? That's it, I'm done. Tony Clifton P.S - I know I've haven't contributed much at all in the way of beer info to this forum yet, but I promise I will when I start brewing agin. YOU'LL SEE! _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 09:23:37 -0500 From: "Ray Daniels" <raydan at ameritech.net> Subject: Nov-Dec Zymurgy Hello all: A couple of notes about Zymurgy. First my sincere apologies to Jeff Renner for our failure to include his byline on the opening spread of his excellent article about Classic American Pilsener in the Sept-Oct issue. As a writer myself, I know how maddening it is not to receive recognition for your work. I've had the design department print out some color proofs of the spread that DO include the byline and I'll be sending those along to Jeff shortly. My thanks to him for being so understanding of our error on this occasion. Second, two notes about the Nov-Dec issue. First, we are going to cover that staple of homebrewing, malt extract. While I know that many on this digest no longer use malt extract to any great extent in their brewing, the vast majority of the brewing public does. Thus we felt it was important to include some coverage that would be relevant to readers who still see extract as the primary base for every brew. Of course I still think some of the stories will be of interest to HBDers - one is a taste test of no-boil kits by a panel of accomplished beer judges. Another takes a look at NHC gold medal winners that were made mostly from extract in recent years to see what might be learned about brewing great beers with extract. We also have an important piece on the possible dangers of using fruit in beer - a topic which has nothing to do with extract. For those in need of Kolbach indexes and flocculation coefficients, we will introduce a new section in the Nov-Dec issue entitled "For Geeks Only." This four- to six-page section will feature technical articles, homebrew experiments and other content that should scratch the itch for high-tech homebrewing info for all of us. This first issue includes data from an experiment on judge palate calibration and an investigation of mash temperature consistency in a RIMS system. While I'm at it, I'll mention that I am actively looking for content for this new "Geeks Only" section. If you have an idea or something that is in the works, give me a yell at ray at aob.org. That's about it for now. Thanks for the bandwidth. Ray Daniels Editor-in-Chief Zymurgy & The New Brewer Phone: 773-665-1300 Fax: 773-665-0699 E-mail: ray at aob.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 09:53:36 -0500 From: "Brian Lundeen" <blundeen at rrc.mb.ca> Subject: re: "Mom, Tony's saying bad things", double milling and covered boils Tony Clifton displays his homophobic side with this response to the good Doctor: > Doc man, I think > you-WEENIEWANKER!WEENIEWANKER!WEENIEWANKER!-may be on to > something really, really big- ANYCOCKLEDOO!ANYCOCKLEDOO!ANYCOCKLEDOO! At the risk of being considered a weenie-wanker, (and let's face it, Tony, we're ALL weenie-wankers, just that many of us choose to be faithful to one), I think this is crossing the line between funny and offensive. I haven't quite decided if this is a persona you adopt for the group, or if it exemplifies your true personality. If the latter, well, I'm reminded of a line from a movie where one character says to another, "You must get punched a lot". In one of those interesting coincidences, this appears from Alan McKay in the same issue: > I find it quite absurd that so many people seem worried about dirty > pictures being sent around should the HBD allow images. By your own > arguments we should now be inundated by dirty jokes in text form, > but I have not seen a-one. Well, technically Tony's posting wasn't a joke, just some potty-mouthed rantings. However, some time when it's a little quieter in here, I will share a beer joke with the group. I got told it by a fellow judge as we were about to start tasting entries at a competition, and I swear, I was laughing so hard I had trouble swirling without choking. (Ooops, I'll bet TC will turn that into something smutty). Anyways, back to some real beer stuff, Dave Burley writes: > I believe I am first HBDer to introduce this concept of > double milling some > years ago, but, if not, I am a strong proponent. This method > allows you to > emulate a four roll mill used in many professsional > breweries. This reminds me of Jack's claim that the non-parallel adjustability of his MaltMill will produce a comparable crush to a 6 roller mill. It seems to me that a key part of these mills is the screens which prevent the husks from being put through the finer grind(s). With double milling, everything goes through. Does this not degrade the lautering function of the husks? > But if I were you, I would start with the same amount ( to > keep everything > the same or as close as possible) and insulate the top of the > kettle with > some dry towels > ( about an inch thick) as I do sometimes. This will > increase the rate of > evaporation from the kettle as the lid represent a major heat loss by > returning condensed steam to the kettle. You could also apply > more heat in > your case to increase the boil rate and get the same water > loss with time. Now this seems in direct contradiction to the Fix advice to keep the evaporative loss to 12% (IIRC). There was also a suggestion that by using a lid, the wort would benefit from being able to be kept at a rolling boil with less heat applied. Your approach seems to ignore the aspects of heat application and evaporation reduction, in favour of a simple "steam blanket" hypothesis which is supposed to minimize hot wort interactions with oxygen. In the interest of trying to sort out these seemingly conflicting ideas, can someone describe the mechanics of a professional brew kettle? How is the heat applied and where, the amount of heat introduced into the wort, how the steam is vented off, things to prevent condensate from returning to the wort, that sort of stuff. You've got to think that these things are designed to produce a better product than the simple pot on a burner that most of us use. Cheers, Brian's Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 11:12:52 -0400 (EDT) From: kevin m mueller <kmmuellr at engin.umd.umich.edu> Subject: milling grain Definately giving myself something to worry about that I probably shouldn't, but I'm curious, so here it is... Is it possible to mill the grain to fast? If I'm using my drill to run the rollers, I can REALLY get that thing humming. Is that doing anything to the grain that is detrimental? I do run the grain through twice (course and fine). Thanks again! Kevin Redford, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 11:21:57 -0400 From: "Schultz, Steven W SBCCOM" <steven.schultz at SBCCOM.APGEA.ARMY.MIL> Subject: RE: Demise of the HBD I must respectfully differ with Fred Wills a/k/a "MaltHound" who has unsubscribed himself, disappointed in the direction that the HBD has taken over the past several months. I too have read the HBD for several years, but from where I sit, the digest is somewhat self-regulating, and in time it will take another direction. Not to worry. In the meantime, I LIKE reading about these "alternative lifestyles" in Australia (and elsewhere). I even learned a few new words and phrases, e.g., "SWMBO" and "wanker." RDWHAHB.... Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 16:06:11 -0400 From: "Dennis Lewis" <dblewis at lewisdevelopment.com> Subject: Refractometer I am the lucky recipient of a refractometer. (Gotta love birthdays -- guilt-free acquisition of expensive brewing toys.) So in playing with it, I tested a sugar solution it figured out how to read it, etc. Then I tested a sample of fully fermented beer and was surprised at the reading. My stout read around 5 degP and the helles was 6 degP. (or around 1020 and 1024 SG respectively.) With the hydrometer, they read 1010 (2.5 P) and 1012 (3 P). (OG's were 1041 and 1050, for those who are interested in calculating RE, AE and AA) What I am guessing is that the refractometer is displaying real extract for the fully fermented beer, as opposed to apparent extract (due to the lower SG of alcohol). I haven't done a volumetric analysis to confirm that the reading is correct (i.e. boil the sample to eliminate the alcohol, then top up with distilled water to original volume) because I hate to waste good beer. Does anyone know if the refractometer reading of a fermented beverage is showing the true real extract (or residual sugar)? I really wanted the refractometer for measuring sweet wort on the way to the kettle and at various points during the boil, and for this, it is ideal. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 13:06:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Kowalczyk <mike at Pluto.teamon.com> Subject: Brewery automation I've been using a 3 tier system that I built out of kegs for the last 1.5 years. I'm looking to free up a couple of hours at the start of brewing. This way I can come home, start up the brewery, change out of my work clothes, play with the kids, and have dinner. By the time they go to sleep, I'm ready to boil, clean carboys, clean the rest of the brewery, pitch. Its not meant to save time, just frees me up more. I already grind my grains and set up the brewery the night before, so if I were to automate the heat to strike, mash, and heat sparge water. There would be very few touch points for the first few hours. I don't know much about the components to this type of automation, so if anyone can help me on the following points, I would appreciate it. 1. How can I turn on a switch to the mashmixer. Pretty simple question, I think. Is it called a relay? I think so. From the people who have already automated your brewery what relay(s) do you use and where did you get them? 2. I do not want a RIMS. I want to keep the existing propane setup. I looked in Grainger for a gas valve solenoid and think I've found one that I can use. Has anyone used a gas valve solenoid? If so which one and how did you wire it? Do you need another relay to flip the solenoid switch? I was thinking of using a small pilot light, so I don't have to worry about igniting and turning on the gas. If anyone has any better suggestions on this part of the automation, I'd love to hear about it. I plan on scrounging and finding an old IBM AT or such and one of those cards that plug into it for controlling switches and stuff. I think it's called an A/D controller. I'm pretty good at programming, so I thought I'd write a basic program that reads the different inputs and turns on switches or gas. For safety I plan on reading the temperature of the HLT or mash and if it doesn't rise in 30 seconds or so shut the gas down and sound an alarm. My inputs and outputs would be: Input: HLT temperature Input: Mash Temperature Output: Mashmixer relay(?) Output: HLT Gas Solenoid Relay(?) Output: Mash Tun Gas Solenoid Relay(?) Algorithm Heat Mash Tun to Strike temp ----> 20 min Beep to alert brewer waits for brewer to press enter Brewer pours grains in and mixes ---> 2 minutes Brewer presses enter to start automation system rests for strike rest -----> 15 min 30 seconds before time is up turn on mashmixer Turn on mash tun gas solenoid relay Heat until sac rest temp ----> approx. 15 min wait for sacc rest time maintaining temp -----> 60 min Turn on HLT gas solenoid relay 50 min before end. 30 seconds before time is up turn on mashmixer Turn on mash tun gas solenoid relay Heat until mash out temp is reached ----> approx. 20 min alert brewer that it is time to sparge. done. any thoughts? - Mike from New Lenox, Il. ___________________________________________________ http://www.TeamOn.com Your company's online office. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 11:28:20 +1000 From: David Lamotte <lamotted at ozemail.com.au> Subject: Ozzie Beer News G'Day all, For anyone interested in the ozzie/New Zealand micro brewery scene, the Real Beer Page has opened an outpost down under. It has a web page at http://www.realbeer.co.nz Lots of good info and articles on Malt Shovel, St Peters etc. There is also a regular eNews letter called SPARGING, which is available online at www.sparging.co.nz I am of course a major shareholder in this multi-million dollar operation so I would insist that you all subscribe .... or I just though that you may be interested. Cheers David Lamotte Reading about beers that we cant get in Newcastle N.S.W. Australia Where if I stand on tippy toes I can almost see the olympics. Return to table of contents
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