---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
        http://www.northernbrewer.com  1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  re. Cask conditioning in Corny ("Sean Richens")
  Bad Water? (John Leggett)
  MCAB III (alastair)
  Scottish beers (andrew.ryan-smith)
  Question: Nitro and Head Retentioin ("Darrell G. Leavitt")
  Yes, plastic again! (Julio Canseco)
  Late Honey additions ("Randy Pressley")
  beer party (Alan McKay)
  Calculus (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Keg Conversions/Reusing Yeast Beds (R.A.)" <rbarrett at ford.com>
  RIMS (Charles Preston)
  RE: Venturi Dedecarbonation, Bulkhead fittings (LaBorde, Ronald)
  re:  pre-packaged salts ("Kensler, Paul")
  Re: SG to Alcohol (Demonick)
  Re: not the plastic debate again! ("Fred Kingston")
  re: Not the plastic debate again! (The Artist Formerly Known As Kap'n Salty)
  Plastic liners - Zymurgy article ("Donald D. Lake")
  Bulkhead, Venturis ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  Re:Kettle False Bottom (Epic8383)
  Water Salts/Alcohol (AJ)
  dark grain use (Jeff Renner)
  Kettle valve (Road Frog)
  Fridge Defrost Problems (Brian Pickerill)
  Brewing Salts/Match Profile ("Eric R. Theiner")
  Temp control of frost-free fridge ("Brian D. Kern")
  Re:Advice Heeded/All-Grain Easier Now (Bob Wilcox)
  micro malting (Clifton Moore)
  Reusing Yeast bed ("Scott")


* 
* 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.

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



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


Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 21:44:01 -0600
From: "Sean Richens" <srichens at sprint.ca>
Subject: re. Cask conditioning in Corny

I assume Jim (Hop_Head) is looking to make something low-carbonated,
although California Common and Alts are both traditionally casked.

I made my best-ever English style beer this way.  It was a mild ale (OG
1032) made with Chimay yeast and fermented nice and warm.

I borrowed the gas tube from another keg and popped it into the beer
fitting, so that gravity would be with me when I tipped the keg for the last
drop.  I primed with 1/4 cup glucose and kept 5 psi on it to keep it sealed.
My kegs are pretty beat up so I usually need 10, but I managed.  Leaving the
keg on its side also helped, since liquid can't get through such small holes
as gas.

I vented the keg regularly to keep the pressure around 5 psi.  The keg was
stored at about 55 F so the pressure was about right.  While the keg was
relatively full I had to top off the gas from a cylinder after dispensing a
pint or two.  Given the rate at which I finished it off I could have gone
authentic and just vented through cotton wool or something.

It really convinced me that the secret to getting that genuine "real ale"
flavour is low gravity, low carbonation, and drink it fairly warm.

Sean Richens
srichens.spamsucks at sprint.ca



Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 22:59:23 -0500
From: John Leggett <leggettjr at home.com>
Subject: Bad Water?

I recently moved to a new house and brewed my 1st two batches of 5
gallon extract/grain recipies with tap water, just as I did at my old
house.  Well now a bass clone and light lager have been in the bottle 30
days and taste like %$!&.  I tried to see if the hops are too strong,
etc.  It came to me when I tasted my tap water and related the taste to
my beers.  It's horrible and has a chemical taste (not chorline).  I
tried the water in the upstairs bathroom and its much better.  Can a
faucet impart such a horrible taste ?  Should I cut my looses and dump
these 10 gallons ?  I have a mead fermenting with the same water and I
don't know what that will taste like.  I've got over 100 dollars worth
of tasteless product !!! Any suggestions, I'm pissed off and worried.
thanks - private e-mail ok.


Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 21:18:49 -0800 (PST)
From: alastair <alastair at odin.he.net>
Subject: MCAB III

Quick question: When is MCAB III? The web site says "Early 2001" and "Feb 2001"
which are 2 and 3 months away. For those entering beers that are at their best
in 2 or 3 months are getting nervous... any more clues would help with busy
brew schedules... ;^)

Thanks!
Alastair


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 10:25:11 +0000
From: andrew.ryan-smith at powerconv.alstom.com
Subject: Scottish beers



A chap from teh US side of the pond came over to Scotland a bit ago and sampled
some beers, with less than inspiring results.  I bounced this of our small
uk-homebrew group for a giggle, and one of the replies follows:

" . . . > Here is what I tasted: in no particular order. Tennant's Lager,
Bellhaven's
> Best Ale, Tomantoul's Loch Nessie, Caffrey's Ale, Guiness, Theakson's Old
> Peculiar, Murfey's Stout, Boddington's Ale, Courage Director's Bitter,
London
> Pride Best Bitter, and Bellhaven St.Andrews.

I've definitely tasted one of the four? Scottish beers listed above,
TennEnts Lager and would have to say that it's quite poor.
I may have had a Belhaven, possibly the Best Ale one, and if I remember
correctly it had a very strong malty taste and in no way was it bland, in
fact it was rather too strong for me !
It's a pity he didn't manage to get his hands on some Caley 80 or the
Deuchars IPA which would have blown his 'pants' off.
I suppose he's back in the USA supping on a nice pint of Miller Light :-)
As for not liking the Haggis, what can I say, obviously there's something
wrong with the guys palette ?
[name withheld]
bagged two Haggi last night. . . "

Generally speaking, from other responses as well, the better Scottish beers
weren't sampled.  As in the US, you have to look for them - they don't come
looking for you.  We are developing into a country of drinkers of insipid beer
and nitro-cr*p, and those beers are advertised with big budgets, and are
designed for mass appeal, developed for the lowest common denominator of taste
buds.  If you want the good stuff, dig it out!

Rhyno




Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 06:04:16 -0500
From: "Darrell G. Leavitt" <leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu>
Subject: Question: Nitro and Head Retentioin

Yesterday I tried a stout at a local brewpub, and it took 
FOREVER for the brew to settle down...ie the head was HUGE.  I 
think that I sat for 10 minutes...thirsty...waiting...
My question: IF you knew that you were going to push the beer 
with nitro...might you brew it in such a way that the head was 
less abundant..ie more low temp rests to get rid of proteins, 
etc...? 

I do understand that some folks like all of the "cascading" of 
bubbles...but to wait 10 minutes is very hard!

 ..Darrell

- --------------------------
Darrell G. Leavitt, PhD
SUNY/ Empire State College
- --------------------------


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 08:19:13 -0500
From: Julio Canseco <jcanseco at arches.uga.edu>
Subject: Yes, plastic again!

Every few years it is to be expected that a new generation of home/craft
brewers will attempt to join this noble hobby. Normally, they'll have
questions that may seem redundant to those with a few more years of
brewing (read:beers) under their belly. Sooooo do expect and by all
means provide answers to issues like plastic vs glass, open vs closed
fermentation, single or secondary, suck/siphon, S.S. vs Al, plaid vs
solid, what is clinitest? (Oh! noooooo), pellets vs flowers, art vs
science, US, AU, UK, CA, and who the hell is Nokkomaree?

Craft brewing, welcome one and all!  Salud!

        julio in athens, georgia ... recovering from the ga/fla game in
Jacksonville.



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 08:31:01 -0500
From: "Randy Pressley" <RANDYP at ci.winston-salem.nc.us>
Subject: Late Honey additions

I'm making an X-Mas brew, actually I just brewed
it last night.  Anyway I was thinking about adding
a lb of honey mixed with about a pint/quart of water
when I transfer to the secondary.  Kind of like 
dry honeying(instead of hopping).  I'm thinking that
any bacteria that comes packaged with the honey
will not be able to survive at 7% alchohol.  This way
I will get more honey aroma.  Anyone ever done 
this?

Randy Pressley
Winston-Salem, NC
President Worthawgs Brew Club



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 08:34:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com>
Subject: beer party


Perhaps the idea of a beer party isn't that far-fetched.

Up here in Canada we coincidentally have a federal election coming very soon,
too (Nov 27), and in addition to the 5 mainstream parties there is a new
Pot Party which hopes to bring attention to the issue of legalisation of
that substance.

http://www.partimarijuana.org/index.html

This is no joke.  It's a very real party with candidates in a number
of ridings.

So perhaps the time really is right for a Beer Party in the US!

cheers,
 -Alan


- --
                 "Brewers make wort.  Yeast Makes Beer."
                       - Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide
http://www.bodensatz.com/
What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 08:47:41 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Calculus

"Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>a  trivial knowledge of
>differential calculus is useful

Ha!  My struggles with calculus 30 some years ago convinced me that 
there is no such thing as a trivial knowledge of the subject.

Jeff
- -- 
 -=-=-=-=-
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, c/o nerenner at umich.edu
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 09:06:47 -0500
From: "Barrett, Bob (R.A.)" <rbarrett at ford.com>
Subject: Re: Keg Conversions/Reusing Yeast Beds

Re: Keg Conversions, Grant Scott asks:
<snip>
Can anyone tell me if there is any real reason to add a tube & false bottom
to a converted keg used solely as the kettle. I can understand the reasons
if you are using it as a mash tun, but I'm thinking that adding a ball valve
is all I need for a kettle.

Grant, My brew pot is a converted 1/2 barrel with no false bottom or tube
and
just a 1/2 SS ball valve on the side at the bottom of the keg.  Seems to
work 
just fine.  I like to use whole hops so I use hop bags.  This keeps the hops

from clogging up the ball valve.  When I get to the end of the 5 gallons, I
just 
tip the kettle a little to get the last of the wort.

Re: Reusing Yeast Beds, Chad Mundt asks:

<snip>
I plan on brewing again within the next two weeks and I would like to reuse 
the yeast that is presently brewing my ESB.  What would be the easiest/best 
way to collect as much of the yeast bed as I could and save it for two
weeks?

Chad, I use a large fresh zip loc plastic bag.  They come sanitized from the

manufacturer as long as you keep the bag zipped until you need it.  After
you
have racked the green beer from the primary, leave a little bit behind to
swirl
around the bottom of the fermenter to loosen the slurry.  Have someone 
quickly open the zip loc bag when you're ready and dump the slurry into the 
bag.  I squeeze out most of the air and zip the bag a quickly as possible.
Label the bag with what you have collected and the date.  Keep it in the 
fridge for 2-3 weeks and reuse.  I have pitched this slurry directly into a 
primary, but usually prefer to make a starter first.  That way I know the
yeast 
is good before I brew.

We make the beer we drink!!!
Bob Barrett
Brucestreet Brewing Company
Ann Arbor, MI





Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 05:11:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Charles Preston <cp1811 at yahoo.com>
Subject: RIMS

    After reading the many post about connecting a
bulkhead fitting to a Gott cooler, and I salute the
many suggestions, I am trepidatious (?ala Jeff) about
asking advice for building a 10 gallon RIM system.
    I was wondering if anyone has produce a video tape
of the complete construction details, and the
functions of each step? I'm a little confused about
the entire system, and wouldn't dare ask what, where
and why a pump is used as this type of info must be
multiplatiously  more detailed than the above
mentioned bulkhead fitting.
     If anyone has such a tape, or is willing to
produce one, would you be willing to loan it to me? I
know that's asking a lot, but I'm getting shy on time,
and constantatiously short on brews. Charlie Preston
in Mansfiel, Ohio


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 09:37:03 -0600 
From: rlabor at lsuhsc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald)
Subject: RE: Venturi Dedecarbonation, Bulkhead fittings

Philip J Wilcox has some good ideas about using a venturi to de-carbonate.

This got me thinking, hmm I wonder if anyone has tried this on an actively
fermentating beer.  Sure would reduce the CO2 poisoning of the yeast.

I would like to add to his method the idea of using a small submersible
water pump in a bucket, this way, only a gallon or so of water is used, and
you can venturi all day if you want.  The water simply circulates.

On the bulkhead fittings, one real nice one shown to me by Rick Lassabe,
(Thanks Rick) from a hardware called a "shower ell", is all brass, has 1/2
NPT threads both male and female, and two large brass threaded nut/washers.
He tells me there exists two levels of quality. One is cheap, the other
style is much nicer, so look for the good one.

Ron La Borde

Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor at lsuhsc.edu
http://hbd.org/rlaborde



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 10:50:03 -0500 
From: "Kensler, Paul" <Paul.Kensler at Cyberstar.com>
Subject: re:  pre-packaged salts

Tom Meier said:
>What I would like to see, is a tiny bag of mixed salts that I could 
>dump into my deionized strike water that would give me the exact water
>profile of say, Munich.

Interesting idea.  I just moved to Maryland and apparently the water here is
too alkaline; it does a heck of a job buffering the mash pH - unfortunately.
My last mash pH was 5.9 even after 1 tsp lactic acid and .25 tsp phosphoric
acid.  By that time, I had spent over 60 minutes measuring, adding,
stirring, swearing, measuring, adding, stirring... and I gave up.
So the solution I've come up with is to use RO water and water salts.  The
water part is fairly easy for me - we have those water machines in the
grocery stores here that take local tap water and run it through a sediment
filter, carbon filter, RO filter and finally UV filter - all for .39 /
gallon.  The water tastes great and it is practically the same as distilled
water.  Yeah I have to schlep 10 gallons of water into the house, but I need
the exercise!
But most of the salts you have to measure in grams and I don't own a gram
scale so it is a real hassle.  I would be willing to pay for pre-packaged
salts.  Say, a sachet of salts that would treat 5 gallons of RO water and
give you a particular water profile.  I wonder if one or more of the larger
national mail order homebrew stores might be able to pick up on this?...


Paul Kensler
Gaithersburg, MD


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 07:55:10 -0800
From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com>
Subject: Re: SG to Alcohol


Jeff Lutes <jlutes at osprey.net> wants clarity and consensus on % alcohol
formulas.  How long have you been reading the HBD, Jeff?  Ever seen clarity
or consensus?  :-)  If everyone would just come to their senses and agree
with me the problem would be solved.  :-)  But seriously, there is little
question that my equations are the correct ones.  :-)  The source of the
following is George Fix from HBD 1319, 08 January 1994.

The discussion was taking place in the context of calorie contribution
in beer from alcohol and extract.  I have collected a series of HBD
posts on the topic into a 13Kb text file.  Email me if you want to receive
it.

- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 07:41:12 -0800
From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com>

   A  = alcohol content of finished beer by % weight.
   RE = real extract of finished beer in degrees Plato.
   OE = original extract - measured degress Plato of wort
   AE = apparent extract - measured degrees Plato of finished beer.

   Convert all SG measurements to degress Plato thusly:
   P = (1000 * (SG - 1.0)) / 4.0 = 250 * (SG - 1.0)

   Then  RE = 0.1808*OE + 0.8192*AE
   and   A  = (OE - RE) / (2.0665 - 0.010665*OE)

Domenick Venezia
Seattle, WA




Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 11:18:10 -0500
From: "Fred Kingston" <Fred at KingstonCo.com>
Subject: Re: not the plastic debate again!


Happy Fun Ball writes...

> >Cant believe the anti-plastic brewing debate has reared its ugly
> head again.
>
> >Personally I cannot believe people brew in glass...hot wort,
> slippery glass and a very >small hole to clean with.
>
> Personally, I don't see why anyone would consider brewing in either
> plastic, glass OR steel. I ferment only in genuine animal bladders. A
> properly treated bladder is easy to sanitize, unbreakable, and folds
> away for easy storage. The only real drawback is that you may need
> more than one for a standard five-gallon batch. Zoos are a good source
> for larger varieties -- ask the zoo keeper to notify you when a one of
> the larger inhabitants dies. Typically, they'll let you come out and
> extract the bladder for free, so your cost is practically zero.
>
> It is pretty much impossible to make decent beer, unless that beer is
> fermented in a genuine animal bladder. You may _think_ that your
> plastic/steel/glass/hollowed-out-vegetable fermented beer is pretty
> good, but that is only because you and your friends are unwashed
> Philistines who wouldn't know a decent beer if you drowned in it.
>
> I'd urge all of you to try it, and see (and taste) the animal bladder
> difference for yourselves.
>
> Cheers -- tAfkaks
> **************************************
> Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
>

Personally... Cat bladders are the best... we have many here, after their
tails separate from the rotational velocity... they're pretty much useless
for anything else... Just make sure you use a good clean water rinse after
the fruit fly soak...



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 17:04:41 GMT
From: mikey at swampgas.com (The Artist Formerly Known As Kap'n Salty)
Subject: re: Not the plastic debate again!

>Cant believe the anti-plastic brewing debate has reared 
>its ugly head again.

>Personally I cannot believe people brew in glass...hot 
>wort, slippery glass and a very small hole to clean with.

Personally, I don't see why anyone would consider brewing in either
plastic, glass OR steel. I ferment only in genuine animal bladders. A
properly treated bladder is easy to sanitize, unbreakable, and folds
away for easy storage. The only real drawback is that you may need
more than one for a standard five-gallon batch. Zoos are a good source
for larger varieties -- ask the zoo keeper to notify you when a one of
the larger inhabitants dies. Typically, they'll let you come out and
extract the bladder for free, so your cost is practically zero.

It is pretty much impossible to make decent beer, unless that beer is
fermented in a genuine animal bladder. You may _think_ that your
plastic/steel/glass/hollowed-out-vegetable fermented beer is pretty
good, but that is only because you and your friends are unwashed
Philistines who wouldn't know a decent beer if you drowned in it.

I'd urge all of you to try it, and see (and taste) the animal bladder
difference for yourselves.

Cheers -- tAfkaks
**************************************
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 12:52:12 -0500
From: "Donald D. Lake" <dlake at gdi.net>
Subject: Plastic liners - Zymurgy article

There was something in the most recent Zymurgy (page 59) that grabbed my
attention.  An article by Jay Ankeney mentions a method that he uses
that solves the problem of sanitizing plastic carboys.

He says that for eight years he has lined his plastic springwater
bottles with low-density, FDA approved, polyethylene bags that are
available from medical supply firms.  He uses a 18"x36 bag with 2 mil
thickness and suggests he there is no need for additional sanitation
since they are extruded hot and packaged with minimal contact with air.

After fermentation is over and the wort is racked, you can remove the
bag carefully and cut off the excess plastic, tie a knot in the neck,
and store it for a week to use for your next batch.

This technique fascinates me in that it solves a couple of nagging
homebrew problems/chores:
1.    Unsafe handling of glass containers with heavy liquid
2.    Cleaning & sanitizing fermentors
3.    Reusing yeast with minimal handling

Does anyone out there have any experience with this?  On the outset,
this seems to be a very practical solution.

Don Lake
- --



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 13:48:58 -0500
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com>
Subject: Bulkhead, Venturis

There's been a lot of writing about bulkhead fittings lately.  Being one
who'se spent hours at Home Depot staring blankly at the wall of mismatched
compression, flare and PT fittings let me share what has worked for me.  To
save bandwidth, tune your browser to
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/3414.html#3414-22 for a description of what I
currently use.  

I also used a similar technique to add ball valves to my stainless
stockpots.  However, in this case you use a threaded adapter bushing to
breach the bulkhead and flared brass washers (I have no clue what they're
really used for) to seal the walls.  The adapter bushing is threaded on the
inner AND outer diameter and also has a nut on one end so you've got
something to grab on to.  Of course the nut side goes on the inside of the
kettle with a brass washer on either side of the kettle wall.  I also placed
these flared brass washers so that the outer diameter is touching the kettle
walls - not the inner diameter.  This way, when I crank down my ball valve
on the outside of the kettle, the washers start to flatten out and make a
good seal just by the physical contact.  Of course teflon tape on the
threads always helps.  If tightened down hard enough these won't leak, but a
little silver solder at the contact points doesn't hurt either.  Solder
doesn't make a real stainless - brass joint, for that you need to braze or
weld, but it will plug a gap or two and prevent any leaks that do occur.

As for the venturi tubes, I tried one out for a few batches made from some
leftover copper tubing (easy to drill).  I placed the holes along the entire
length of the tube.  It worked out well and I got good aeration vs. just
splashing/shaking.  This knocked a good 6 - 8 hours average off of my lag
time.  Lessons learned: Since it was copper, I had to wrap it in aluminum
foil and put it in the oven to sterilize it.  PITA - just another thing to
worry about.  Use the plastic racking cane and a hot nail or dremel to cut
the holes.  You can soak it in bleach - much easier.  Also, you only need a
few holes to draw the air and they only need be the size of a pin.  Place
them at the top of the tube and not down the entire length.


Carpe cerevisiae!

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


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 15:40:36 EST
From: Epic8383 at aol.com
Subject: Re:Kettle False Bottom

   I have a small diameter (8") false bottom in my keg kettle. I use whole 
hops or plugs and it does a nice job filtering out the trub. Pellets tend to 
clog up the drain tube, so I don't use them except for dry-hopping.
         Gus


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 16:47:50 -0400
From: AJ <ajdel at mindspring.com>
Subject: Water Salts/Alcohol

Tom Meier thought it might be neat to be able to buy a little vial of
salts to add to x gallons of DI water to render it Burton or Munich or
London or whatever you want. I thought that would be a neat idea too. I
had already worked out the requisite salt additions and figured that
they could be easily packaged in 50 mL centrifuge tubes with the
carbonates separated out into a smaller inner tube packed into the outer
tube with an instruction sheet. You'd go into your homebrew shop and
there would be a rack of these tubes labeled by city.

So I took this up with my local home brew supply guy who had (note,
alas, the past tense) one of the best outlets in the country and
proposed this idea with the notion that we'd test it in his shop. He
very quickly brought me back down to earth. To put it  succintly, even
if we bought the salts from the FCC (that's the Food Chemicals Codex,
not the guys that regulate television) the facility in which these would
be repackaged would be deemed a food preparation facility and subject to
all the licensing, inspections, forms... which multiple levels of
government would impose to protect the consumer from us and us from
making any profit. Perhaps he over stated the case but it was certainly
sufficient to scare me off.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jeff Lutes expresses some pain over the number of formulae he received
for calculating alcohol from gravities. There are many ways to skin this
cat. Most are based on Balling's determination that 2 grams of sugar
produce a little less than a gram of alcohol, a little over a gram of
CO2 (I don't have the actual numbers handy) and 0.11 grams of yeast
mass. From this assumption he calculated ABW values as a function of OG
and the difference between the OG and AE (apparent extract i.e. the
final gravity). He determined factors that could be multiplied by (OG -
FG) to give estimates of the ABW. These are to be found in DeClerk. The
following algorithm, taken from a post of last year, gives ABW and ABV
using Balling's method:

1. Convert the specific gravity of the unfermented wort to degrees Plato

using   P = 0.01589 + 0.25687*y  - 0.00019224*y^2
where y = 1000(specific gravity - 1). y^2 means y squared i.e y*y

2. Convert the specific gravity of the fermented beer to degrees Plato
using the same formula.

3. Subtract the two Plato values

4. Calculate Ballings factor from
    f = .39661 + 0.0017091*Po + (1.0788E-5)*Po^2
where Po is the Plato value for the wort

5. Multiply the difference in Plato values by the factor from Step 4.
This is the percent alcohol by weight (ABW)

6. Multiply by 1.26247 (reciprocal of the density of alcohol) and then
by the density of the beer to obtain percent alcohol by volume.

If you do this for nominal OG values i.e. in the 10 - 12 range
converting the Balling factor to the proper value for OG - AE expressed
in SG units and in "points" you'll see where most of the formulas in
Jeff's summary come from. They are approximations to the Balling factors
each of which assumes a particular value of OG. As the Balling factor
does not change dramatically with OG (0.4187 at 12P; 0.4309 at 18P)
these formulas are approximately correct over a range of OG's.





Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 16:11:21 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: dark grain use

Brewers

In Thursday's HBD, I wrote

>Another recommendation is to use Briess's Ashburne malt, also called
>Extra Special Malt

In looking more closely at the Briess site, I realize that these are 
two different malts.  The Ashburne slightly darker than pale ale malt 
useful as a base malt, and was at one time, I think, called ESB malt. 
The Extra Special Malt is a 130L specialty malt that they say has a 
raisiny character.  Sounds like DWC Special B.

I've received some private email asking about my use of pulverized 
chocolate malt in my low gravity milds and bitters.  It's hard to say 
exactly why I've decided to do this except that I wanted maximum 
effect, especially from the acidity to balance my alkaline water.  I 
don't think this necessarily favors color extraction over flavor, or 
vice versa, as some have guessed was my intent.

I got the idea when I was formulating a low gravity "Lite" American 
lager for my son and daughter-in-law's wedding reception this summer. 
The Briess Malting Co.  website http://www.briess.com/ has some good 
advice on this kind of beer in their newsletters.  Along with the use 
of Carapils(R), which I had already decided to do, they advise "To 
increase eye appeal of low gravity brews, low calorie brews, and low 
alcohol brews, use 0.4 - 1 oz/bbl (9 - 28 g/hL) of the flour. 
Introduce the flour into the kettle 5 - 10 minutes before knock-out 
to minimize the flavor contributions."

Of course, in my bitters and milds, I use this flour in the mash, not 
in the kettle.

Here is another tip from Briess on the subject of using dark malts in 
the kettle, which might be useful for reproducing the darker color 
British brewers get from caramel, as I discussed in answering Chad 
Mundt's question about ESB (reproduced without permission; do check 
out their newsletters, they have lots of good ideas):

*******

Tips from the techs

Cold water extraction eliminates tannins

Within minutes after adding a highly roasted specialty malt to the 
boil, color and flavor is leached. Unfortunately, if the boil is too 
rigorous or long there's also the risk of leaching tannins from the 
husks of the kernels into your beer-causing an astringent or husky 
flavor which is undesirable in many styles. Cold water extraction can 
eliminate that problem, according to Briess' Technical Services 
Director Mary Anne Gruber. "By 'cold' I mean room temperature," Mary 
Anne explained, "and plan ahead. Start steeping the specialty grain 
the day before you brew and let it steep overnight-for 12-18 hours." 
Steep with sanitized water-enough to cover the grain plus several 
inches. After the steep is complete, the extract can be added either 
at the end of the boil or directly into the fermenter. If added at 
the end of the boil, the extract and grain can all be added so that 
the spent grain will be collected with the rest of the trub.

If adding the extract to the fermenter, decant the extract then, if 
necessary, add some sanitized water to the spent grain and decant 
again so as not to lose any of the extract that you've steeped.  Mary 
Anne recommends using a coarse grind if you choose cold water 
extraction. Since there is no enzyme activity, "you're not going to 
achieve much more with a fine grind," she advised. And it's going to 
be more difficult to remove the spent grain. "Cold water extraction 
takes more time," Mary Anne continued.  "But it achieves more flavor 
from a highly roasted malt."  Highly roasted specialty malts 
domestically produced by Briess Malting Co. include: Caramel Malts, 
Victory(R), Special Roast, Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Extra Special, 
and Black Malt. We also make Roasted Barley and Black Barley.

******

Jeff
- -- 
 -=-=-=-=-
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, c/o nerenner at umich.edu
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 13:37:01 -0800 (PST)
From: Road Frog <road_frog_run at yahoo.com>
Subject: Kettle valve

What size valve do you have on your kettle?  Is it to
small, to big, or just right?

Glyn Crossno
Estill Springs,  TN

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
>From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer.
http://experts.yahoo.com/


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 17:13:39 -0500
From: Brian Pickerill <00bkpickeril at bsuvc.bsu.edu>
Subject: Fridge Defrost Problems

'Fridge Guy, etc...

My lagering fridge is not defrosting correctly, so the evap coils get
frosted over, then it no longer cools below about 60F.  Would be
perfect for ales, but I have another fridge for that.  I know a lot of
brewers would rather the fridge not defrost at all, but I lose a LOT
of cooling capability.  I want this fridge to cool to near freezing,
which it used to do (will still do after a MANUAL defrost).  Plus,
I figure that a 5 gallon batch of homebrew has enough thermal mass
not to change temp much at all during the defrost cycle anyhow.  (I
don't store yeast in the freezer compartment.)

It's a GE, freezer on top, made about 1993.  It has a defrost thermostadt
that is clipped to the evap coils in the back of the freezer compartment.
Is this the likely culprit?  Is there a defrost thermostadt AND a defrost
timer?  If so, could it be the timer?  (I THINK that is located below, near
the condenser coils--not sure and I have no schematics.)

I know the defrost heater is working somewhat at least, because once when
I had the cover off the evap coils and plugged the unit in, the defrost
heater wire came on.  It glowed orange (I saw the light coming off of it,
you can't actually see the wire.)  Do these ever get weak so that they
don't completely defrost the eval coils?  It only stayed on a minute or
two, which is not long enough I think, but then this observation may well
not be representative.  I am not sure it is coming on at all at this point.

Thanks very much (in advance) to the fridge guy or anyone else who may
have helpful advice.

- --Brian Pickerill, Muncie Malt Mashers, Muncie Indiana




Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 17:25:03 -0500
From: "Eric R. Theiner" <logic at skantech.com>
Subject: Brewing Salts/Match Profile

Tom Meier posts the idea of someone providing the salts to produce a
specific water profile when added to DI water.  Not a bad idea, and a
simple one.  I think that most well-stocked homebrew shops (particularly
the ones that do their own packaging) ought to be able to provide just
such an item.  You listening, Mike W.?

Balancing the salts isn't that tough of a task when you're starting with
DI water.

The referenced post brought up a thought that I haven't had for a
while-- one that was discouraged by another homebrew vendor, but with
Tom's enthusiasm may be resurrected.

Would there be any interest in a service that would take a sample of
your brewing water, break it down, and then provide you with methods to
produce classic brewing waters (if possible with your water)?  You would
send me a gallon sample, I'd run it through an apparatus to pick out
specifics regarding dissolved solids, then work out how you could
produce the classic waters (Pilsen, Burton-on-Trent, etc.).

The con:  It would have to be expensive to cover the cost of
reagents/indicators (like 30 - 50 or something like that)
The pro:  You'd only have to do it once (maybe even do a discount for
folks that have moved or think their water has changed)

Answer me privately with your thoughts so that we don't clog the HBD
with needlessly commercial posts like this one.

Rick Theiner
LOGIC, Inc.
www.ecologiccleansers.com



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 14:27:17 -0800 (PST)
From: "Brian D. Kern" <bdk at srl.caltech.edu>
Subject: Temp control of frost-free fridge

I have been reviewing Fridgeguy's abundant advice about controlling
fridge temperatures.  There was a blurb that I noticed a while back ...

>  Frost-free fridges should be continuously connected to power and
> all evaporator fans and defrost components allowed to function
> normally to prevent evaporator icing problems. 

I do have a frost-free fermenting fridge (no, I can't say that
fast), and I was considering putting together one of Ken
Schwartz's fridge controllers.  However, in keeping with the advice about
keeping frost-free fridges happy, I'm guessing that I should try to
simply bypass the existing thermostat wiring and reroute it with
my own, leaving the fridge plugged in at all times (that will keep the
fridge-light gnome happy, too).  Is this the right solution?

On the other hand, let's say it's summer and I'm keeping my fridge
at ale fermenting temperatures, ~ 65 F or so.  Is evaporator
icing still going to be a problem?  Under what kinds of temperatures 
would I expect icing to be a problem?  (It is a rather ordinary
fridge/freezer, ~ 18 cubic feet or so, "separate" freezer / fridge 
temp controls.  Best of all, free.)

I'm sure I'm not alone in my gratitude to Fridgeguy for the time he
must spend posting answers to everybody's inane questions.  He should
encourage some fridge-expert friends to join the HBD, then take some
time off from being our sole fridge-lifeline.


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 06:10:52 -0800
From: Bob Wilcox <bobw at sirius.com>
Subject: Re:Advice Heeded/All-Grain Easier Now





Jeff wrote

>But regards the grain bill, my personal preference would be to darken
>this a bit with a little chocolate malt.  Not much, as you don't want
>any drying effect, but an ounce or a little more would do, especially
>if you pulverized it in a blender (you'd probably have to blend more
>than an ounce to get it to work).  That way you'd get maximum color
>and not too much flavor.  It would add a bit of nutty flavor too that
>would be appropriate, I think.

This may be a place were you could try  a " cold water steep" that
George Fix spoke about at NCHF (No. Calif. Homebrewers Fest). There is
info at Briess Home Page check the News Letters. May be in the last
issue. Here is the link.
http://www.briess.com/index.htm

Don't forget BABO (Bay Area Brew Off) is coming some time in Feb. 2001.
So start brewing now for the first comp. of the New Year. Info will be
posted  when the date and styles are set.

- --
Bob Wilcox
Alameda & Long Barn Ca.
bobw at sirius.com
Draught Board Home Brew Club
http://www.dnai.com/~thor/dboard/index.htm





Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 16:02:24 -0900
From: Clifton Moore <cmoore at gci.net>
Subject: micro malting

There is a rumor afloat that micro malting is being practiced in New Zealand.
Anybody able to feed the rumor mill with traceable information?
Thanks



Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 19:49:03 -0800
From: "Scott" <Windsurf at bossig.com>
Subject: Reusing Yeast bed

Early last spring, I purchased a small tube of the WL American Hefe yeast,
and it has since faithfully produced over 8 seperate 12 gallon all-grain
batches.  My latest brew has no noticable off flavors, and INMHO is in the
same league as its Widmer counterpart.

This is how I handle my yeast management:  I all-grain, so it is no great
difficulty to add another kg or so of grain to the bill.  I then remove 4-6
one qt. jars of wort after the boil, boil can them for 30 minutes (easily
done during brewday cleanup).  Use this canned wort for your next yeast
starter.  Much much cheaper than DME, and the yeast loves it.

After racking, you see the yeast cake on the bottom of the carboy.   Get any
kind of glass jar, with a lid, and sanitize however you like.  Then invert
the carboy, and dump a good portion of the yeast contents into your glass
jar.  If you have any spare wort, add it to the jar, to near full.
Otherwise, I like to use a dilute DME solution(others prefer boiled water).
You may want to leave the lid on loosely, to avoid pressure buildup.  Place
in the fridge until you're ready for your next starter, then dump the entire
contents into your starter container(s) with some canned wort you have saved
from the last batch(some brewers like to seperate the liquid from the cake
at this point).   The yeast does fine in the fridge for a month, although I
usually don't leave it in quite that long.  Hey, I need it go to work!

Others may cringe.  However, I have used this technicque for nearly a year
on hefe's (a very yeasty beer), and am currently testing this method for my
PU clone, Bohemian Rhapsody.


     I have a question for all the yeast ranchers of HBD.    I plan on
brewing again within the next two weeks and I would like to reuse the yeast
that is presently brewing my ESB.  What would be the easiest/best way to
collect as much of the yeast bed as I could and save it for two weeks?
Someday when I am allowed more space and gadgets for my brewing I plan on
getting into culturing yeast, but now I need a way to preserve yeast for a
couple of weeks.  If successful at repitching the yeast I expect to use
this procedure in the future.

Chad Mundt




Return to table of contents

---