HOMEBREW Digest #3480 Thu 16 November 2000

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  HBD Servers On The MOVE! (Some Guy)
  Jethro Gump on Politics ("Rob Moline")
  The Shout Effect ("T & S Klepfer")
  In Defense of Dry Yeast ("AYOTTE, ROGER C")
  RE: bottle in front of me ("Peter J. Calinski")
  Frankenstein's monster (fridgeguy)
  Re: The secret to hop flavor? (Demonick)
  Re: Tip for Pressure Cookers (Jeff Renner)
  ServoMyces (Rscholz)
  Converted keg vs SS brew pot ("Bryant, Jerry")
  Need a ring burner. (Joseph Gibbens)
  Non-Alcoholic Beer and Wine ("Michael O. Hanson")
  hop flavor in APAs (Frank Tutzauer)
  rye recipe ("Czerpak, Pete")
  Fwd: Bottling a Belgium Trippel ("Leland Heaton")
  A Grateful Brewer ("Gary J. W. Spykman")
  Some bad bottles of brew (Tom Daniels)
  Tinting Glass Bottles (B2oper8tr)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 09:29:31 -0500 (EST) From: Some Guy <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: HBD Servers On The MOVE! Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... The HBD servers will (at least to current plans) be moving to their new location today, Thursday, 11/16/00 at some time after 10:00am EST. Expect an outage at this time, lasting for an indefinite time as DNS servers catchup with the change in IP address, etc. We will do everything in our power to minimize the amount the servers are down and/or unavailable with this move; however, there is a lot of network between you and me, and we have no control over how long it takes for the redirect to propagate to your local machines. Please have patience! Any questions or concerns should be directed to babcockp at mediaone.net during this move. Once the move is complete and email is once again functioning peoperly on the HBD servers, the cable modem will be shut down and babcockp at mediaone.net will no longer exist. At that time, you should be able to revert to using janitor@hbd.org for any questions, comments, etc... This should be the last message you receive in this regard until the servers are moved! See you afterward! - -- - 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: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 00:10:20 -0600 From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at isunet.net> Subject: Jethro Gump on Politics Jethro Gump on Politics >From: darrell.leavitt at plattsburgh.edu >Subject: Disappointed ..... with dry yeast ><SNIP> >I don't want to start any arguments, nor riticize any particular product, >but I am disappointed by the performance of dry yeast. ><SNIP> >Well....what am I getting at? With all the hoopala here lately about >dry yeasts...I decided to experiment and give them a try again. ><SNIP> >So, if you are relatively new to brewing, my recommendation is : >use liquid yeast. Make starters (if you have the stamina) and / or save the >yeast for re-use. > >Please don't beat up on me if you use dry yeast and make real good beer.... >perhaps our tastes are different...or I am doing something wrong...but I >don't think (even if that is the case) that that is the main factor. Darrell, Even those of use who embrace 'non-partisan' yeast sources can't decipher your information... Which mean we can't help you ...if you are "doing something wrong"...'cos you aren't telling us what you are using!...Or how...or whatever! But feel free to email me, or send me your phone numbers, so I can call for a chat....I often find I can get and send more info in a call than with my limited use of keyboards.... (I am pretty good at ellipses, though) ;-) ServoMyces.... My time is limited on this one...as I am about to head to Wichita for a Brew Conference sponsored by the Derby Club.... Suffice to say..there will be more to say ...such as... Apparently there is no upper limit on zinc...and numerous studies are in line, ongoing, and not yet completed... I am hoping to get a copy of the Brauwelt article myself... But, the brewers I have sent samples to report various levels of activity....some of which are quite remarkable... The Presidential Election... OK, I admit it! It was MY CAMPAIGN that screwed up the Presidential Election! STREWTH, MATE! The Gump Campaign http://www.jethrogump.com/gumpforprez/ assumes all responsibility for ALL the hass that ensues in US politics. Done! I said it! Get OFF my back! Apparently the problem arose initially, when Mavis Brewster, a Palm Beach County voter, sought to "Vote For Gump." She punched the 'chad' out for 'G", then punched the 'chad' out for 'U", which ended up being a Buchanan vote...then just said, "Screw it, Gump's not on the Ballot!" and left her vote open for discussion by three thousand lawyers! What's worse, her whole Bingo Club also sought to vote Gump....and there you have it! Next thing you know...Jesse Jackson! Apologetically, Jethro Gump http://www.jethrogump.com/gumpforprez/ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 07:09:37 -0600 From: "T & S Klepfer" <lee-thomas at indian-creek.net> Subject: The Shout Effect On the subject of wierd yeast growth on the sides of bottles of conditioning beer, I must comment. Several people have suggested some sort of "Rennerian Effect", in which yeast are strangely drawn to our esteemed craftbrewer friend, Jeff Renner. An admirable theory, no doubt, but one which doesn't hold up to cold, hard scientific scrutiny. I have an alternate theory. Meteorologists and climatologists have documented a consistent and persistent column of hot air rising from North Queensland, Australia, the cause of which is unknown. For lack of a better name, they have named this phenomenon "The Shout" (like El Nino, La Nina, Typhoon Wingding, etc. - meteorologists like to name things). Research is continuing to see if there will be an effect on world weather pattern. My theory is that this phenomenon is causing a biological disturbance of some sort, ie. all yeast are fleeing madly from "The Shout", ending up on the sides of bottles farthest from N Queensland. In large parts of the US, this means in the general direction of Jeff Renner, leading some to the idea of the Rennerian effect. My fear is that the mass movement of all living beings away from "The Shout" (and maybe even Tectonic Plates, who knows?) to the Northern Hemisphere, will unbalance the Earth, possibly causing it to suddenly and violently rotate on its Equatorial axis. In a worst case scenario, this could possibly fling our Australian friends out into deep space. Some of them are rather light-headed, making them easier to fling. Beware "The Shout"! Thomas Klepfer Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 08:21:00 -0500 From: "AYOTTE, ROGER C" <RCAYOT at SOLUTIA.COM> Subject: In Defense of Dry Yeast I posted some information on a 10g batch of beer I had made using Munton's Gold dry yeast. I had questions about the long lag time, and a "tart" taste that I thought may have been from infection. Well time has been very kind to me and my beer! I fermented in a 10g ball lock keg, allowed to fermentation to go to near completion and then allowed pressure to build. I placed the keg in the refrigerator to crash the yeast. Well I drew off about 4-5g for a Halloween party where the beer was well received and in my opinion very good, but not my best effort, and I was worried that the difference was the yeast. The left over beer was not handled very well, left in a car for a day at work etc. and then brought home and chilled and I am still drinking the remains of that keg. Well this beer is standing up quite well, I drink a glass every day when I get home from work. What I would like to say though is that yesterday I drew a glass of beer off of the original keg that I had fermented in and left in the fridge with about 5 gallons remaining in it. This beer is EXCELLENT! I am amazed at how different the beers are. The original beer is cleaner and has a very nice subtle fruitiness, fresher aroma and much more pleasant all around. Now I don't know if the difference is the treatment of the beer drawn off for the party, or the long contact time with yeast in the refrigerator, but I will never doubt that great beer can be made from dry yeast again! Roger Ayotte Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 09:19:22 -0500 From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com> Subject: RE: bottle in front of me In response to my "Krupnik" reply, >Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 10:10:51 EST >From: Headduck at aol.com >Subject: bottle in front of me > >In a message dated 11/13/00 11:18:38 PM Central Standard Time, >homebrew-request@hbd.org writes: > ><< CeolNaFidhil at aol.com asks about Krupnik. I have a bottle in front of me. > >>> > >Sure beats a frontal lobotomy... Sorry couldn't help myself. > >JY Ah, a familiar line sometimes attributed to W. C. Fields. His sometime co-star, Mae West had another line I am associated with. "Good men are hard to find but hard men are good to find." Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 11:07:17 -0500 From: fridgeguy at voyager.net Subject: Frankenstein's monster Greetings folks, In HBD #3476, Graham Sanders tells of a friend who would like to resurrect a dead chest freezer by reusing its existing compressor and adding/fabricating new evaporator and condenser coils to the inside and outside. There are multiple reasons I must advise not to try this. First are the legal and environmental consequences. Here in the states it is illegal to purchase refrigerant without a license. The EPA has placed a bounty on the head of anyone who vents refrigerant to the atmosphere. It also his enacted strict refrigerant handling and system processing procedures. Misuse of R12 (mostly by non-refrigeration related industry) has caused concern over its possible role in the depletion of the earth's ozone layer. I refuse to get into a debate over whether or not it actually can or has - it doesn't matter. The fact remains that we have lost the best refrigerant for use in low-medium temperature refrigeration systems. Ironically, R12 replacements have resulted in a 5-15% efficiency reduction in most applications. Since R12 was used in almost all domestic fridges, freezers and autos, the loss of efficiency in terms of electrical usage and the resulting greenhouse gases produced by utilities is astounding. Better system design and insulation has helped the situation and today's fridges are much more efficient than those built 20 years ago, but the loss of R12 was a major one. As a licensed refrigeration contractor, I represent my industry and the laws imposed upon it. I feel it is my duty to advise folks not to open or add refrigerant to a refrigeration system. I realize I speak only of laws here in the US, but I suspect there are laws similar to ours in effect in most major countries. A much more practical and perhaps tangible reason not to attempt to add new evaporator and condenser coils is the fact that most domestic refrigeration systems use a capillary tube as their restrictive element. The cap tube will always pass a fixed amount of refrigerant for a given pressure differential. This design approach results in what is known as a "critical charge" system. This type of system must carefully balance evaporator size, cap tube length and diameter, and refrigerant charge. Even when the system is properly engineered, the refrigerant must be carefully added by weight (an ounce matters!). Too much refrigerant and liquid will return to the compressor and destroy it. Too little and the compressor will overheat, again causing it to fail. If the evaporator is not properly matched to the load, it may never be possible to get the correct amount of refrigerant to avoid either extreme. Be aware too that a refrigeration compressor in a system open to the atmosphere for more than a day or two (maybe less) may not be salvageable since the oil in the system is hygroscopic and will quickly take on enough moisture to ruin the compressor. The situation will be worse when the system has run with a leak and has drawn water into it (the evaporator pressure on most freezers is below atmospheric). A better approach to resurrecting the freezer might be to use a dorm or apartment fridge as the cooling unit and attach it to the freezer cabinet. Hope this helps! - ---------------------------------------- Forrest Duddles - Fridgeguy in Kalamazoo fridgeguy at voyager.net - -- Is your email secure? http://www.pop3now.com (c) 1998-2000 secureFront Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 08:36:50 -0800 From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com> Subject: Re: The secret to hop flavor? From: "Peed, John" <jpeed at elotouch.com> > ... > I want hop flavor, dammit! ... > So when is the best time to add hops for flavor? ... > I've tried dry hopping and hop teas too ... > ... I'm certainly not telling you something you do not know. There are 3 commonly accepted "types" of hop flavor contribution, bitterness, flavor, and aroma. These are contributed by the hops in proportion to the time they are boiled in the wort. The longer you boil (in general) the more bitterness you extract and the more aroma you drive off. That's why many pale ales utilize 3 hop additions, bittering, flavor, and aroma, boiled for (approximately) 60, 30, and 15 minutes. To increase aroma you can put off the last addition. I commonly use a 5 minute boil time and a steep while chilling for my aroma hops. In my Tettbanger recipe, a simple pale ale with a boat load of home grown tettnanger, I use 2 ounces boiled for 5 minutes and allowed to steep while chilling. The moral is that if you can't seem to get enough of the hop character you seek, use more hops! I've used hop teas made by just boiling hops in water, and they work fairly well, since you can boil them covered and thereby preserve some of the aroma from being driven of in the boil. Again, don't be timid with the amount of hops used. No matter how much hop aroma you get into the wort, some of it will be scrubbed out by the fermentation. You can replace this loss, by using a hop tea added to the green beer at the time of bottling and/or kegging. I've even heard of people stuffing a hop cone into each bottle, then filling and sealing. If anyone reading this has tried it, please post your results. You can also dry hop in a keg. My experience with dry hopping has NOT been particularly successful. In my last batch, this past weekend, a Fuller's ESB clone attempt, I used a hopback for the first time. Someone posted a URL for building a hopback from a mason jar, and I used that as a guide. Whoever that was - Thank you. It worked VERY well. DO NOT forget the copper scrubby to protect the outflow from the hopback. I found that an ounce of hops in a 1 quart jar is too much. Try 1/2-3/4 ounce. In my system the hot wort from the kettle is picked up by a gooseneck stainless pickup tube, routed through the hopback, then onto the counter-flow chiller and into the fermenter. The aroma from the East Kent Goldings was apparent. Cooling the wort in the CFC "locks in" the aroma extracted in the hopback. My only concern is that some of this aroma is scrubbed out by the fermentation. Obviously, the hopback results are not in yet. I'll offer a followup in a few weeks. Cheers! Domenick Venezia Venezia & Company, LLC Maker of PrimeTab (206) 782-1152 phone (206) 782-6766 fax orders demonick at zgi dot com http://www.primetab.com FREE PrimeTab SAMPLES! Enough for three 5 gallon batches. Fax, phone, or email: name, shipping address (no P.O.B.) and phone number. (I won't call. It's for UPS in case of delivery problems). Sorry, lower 48 only. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 11:08:06 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu> Subject: Re: Tip for Pressure Cookers >Just give it some silicone spray, or lube. Or water! I have a 30 year old pressure cooker with the original rubber gasket. it's hard to close and leaks steam if I put it in dry, but works like a champ wet. 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: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 12:01:51 EST From: Rscholz at aol.com Subject: ServoMyces All, Wandering the White Labs Web site the other day, I came across an item that stated that they will soon be distributing &#8220;ServoMyces&#8221; in homebrewer and commercial quantities. Check out the site http://www.yeastbank.com/np/newproducts3rd2000.htm Check out the bottom of the page. Hope this helps. Richard L Scholz Brooklyn, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 12:23:34 -0500 From: "Bryant, Jerry" <BryantJ at nabisco.com> Subject: Converted keg vs SS brew pot I am in the market for a new large brew pot and was hoping to get some feedback from the group on its thoughts of a 15 gallon SS brew pot or going with a converted keg. I currently am using a outdoor cooker, but would like to move to a three tier system in the future. Any thoughts are appreciated. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 11:28:23 -0600 From: Joseph Gibbens <jgibbens at umr.edu> Subject: Need a ring burner. I'm looking for a single ring burner in the 100,000 btu range for a brewing kettle. The kettle is bottom draining in the center, so I will need a burner large enough to pass a shielded drain pipe down its center. hopefully this ascii drawing will make it clear. K K K-------K K K K K K K KKKKKKKKK B D B-----p D ppppppp D p p p p p p ppppppp I'm still looking for a good source for the burner. Can anyone recommend a burner supplier? Thanks. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 12:30:16 -0600 From: "Michael O. Hanson" <mhanson at winternet.com> Subject: Non-Alcoholic Beer and Wine Has anybody on these lists made non-alcoholic beer or wine? If so, how did you go about doing it? Are there any kids available for making non-alcoholic beer and wine? Private e-mail is fine. Thanks in Advance, Mike Hanson Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 13:42:04 -0500 (EST) From: Frank Tutzauer <comfrank at acsu.buffalo.edu> Subject: hop flavor in APAs John Peed asks about achieving hop flavor: >OK folks, what really is the secret to a good pale ale? Obviously, >the sweetness has to be balanced by the hoppiness, but I'm having >trouble getting the really good hop flavor. > ... >I want hop flavor, dammit! So when is the best time to add hops for >flavor? Ten minutes before the end of the boil? 5? At end? In the >mash??? Let me tell you what works great for me in my American Pale Ales: Use *lots* of hops at various times towards the end of the boil. I dry hopped for years and liked it fine. If you overdo a Cascade dry hop you can get that grassy flavor that you noticed, but dry hopping is great for many beers, APAs included. And yet, I DO NOT DRY HOP MY SIERRA NEVADA STYLE PALE ALES! Many, many years ago, an HBD poster who took an SN tour mentioned how surpised he was at the quantity of late addition hops used in SNPA. At the time, I believe SN also used a hop back (and now I believe that they don't), but what I picked up from the post was to try massive amounts of late hops. I use pellets exclusively, and bitter with Perle, but I'll use around three to three and a half ounces of Cascades throughout the last part of the boil. An ounce goes in at one minute to go, and a half ounce to an ounce goes in at 5 minutes. I'll also add hops at, say, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and 30 minutes to go. Because alpha acids vary from batch to batch, the early Cascade additions will be timed and sized to hit my IBU levels, but the rest is for flavor. I'm at work and so don't have specific times/amounts available (maybe I'll post them tomorrow), but it varies from batch to batch anyway, depending on my mood and what kind of open bags I've got lying around. The key is to use a lot and to add them *throughout* the last twenty minutes of the boil. The result is a very deep, rich Cascade flavor/aroma. I do not dry hop; I do not use a hop back. The only problem is that the beer is so good I can't keep enough on hand to satisfy SWMBO (also known as SWMBBF). --frank Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 15:00:23 -0500 From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com> Subject: rye recipe I thought I might offer out my rye amber ale recipe for the collective. It placed second in the Exp./Specialty category at the CMI Octobresbest competition in mid_oct 2000 with a 39.5 and placed third in the same category at the Western Mass. Homebrew Comp also in mid-oct 2000 with a 32. Comments were "to primarily up the rye content" for more rye flavor. also WMHC judge said "this beer tastes as classic as a rye beer as I've ever had" Its currently at about 15%. Color is golden/amber and aroma is light-floral with slight rye. taste is fairly dry but with balanced malt presence "Fall Rye Ale" brewed August 20, 2000 Here it goes: 65.4weight% Muntons 2row pale 15.4% "german" munich (could be durst or weyermanns - don't have it written) 15.4% flaked rye 3.8% english 60L crystal OG = 1.061 FG = 1.016 primary 1 wk at 65F, secondary 1 wk at 65F Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley twice scaled up from inflated smack pack For me the grains end up totalling about 13 lbs giving me efficiency of about 63%. I batch sparge and short cut the second runnings which gives this efificiency. mash temp = 156degF, mash ratio = 1.38 qt/lb, sparge ratio = 0.62 qts/lb 2 tsp. gypsums added to boil. normal Albany, NY water is fairly soft Hops: 2 oz willamette (5%AA) for 60 minutes 0.5 oz willamette at 15 min 1.5 oz willamette at 1 min to yield ~40IBU total via Tinseth 60 minute total boil from initial volume of 5.2 gallons to about 4-4.5gallons, make up to 5 gallon upon transfer to primary after cooling also added pinch irish moss at 15 minutes remaining, cooled with immersion chiller, and kegged at about 12 psi for about 5 weeks before counterpressure bottled for competition cold break and hop matter filtered using strainer upon transfer to primary from boiling kettle Hope this might inspire you to try out brewing a nice autumn rye ale. Enjoy, Pete czerpak albany, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 12:49:14 PST From: "Leland Heaton" <rlheaton at hotmail.com> Subject: Fwd: Bottling a Belgium Trippel My respects to collective, I brewed my first Belgium Trippel about 5 weeks ago. It spent 2 weeks in the primary, and 2 1/2 in the secondary. Since I am still in my rookie year of brewing (although I am going to hit my 6 month anniversary, and I am getting ready to bottle, I have some questions about my little Belgium. I know that some breweries use a different yeast strain to bottle condition and carbonation. I would assume that this does not affect the flavor profile very much, but I am looking for some reassurance. I am asking this because I did not save any yeast from when I pictched my Trappist Ale, and I happen to have some dry Nottingham yeast lying around. Also, not to restart the dreaded debate on the poor quality of liquid yeast, but I have never had a White Labs Liquid Yeast take more than 22 hours to start without a starter, and with a starter was about 8 hours. But then again sometimes I get my yeast from San Diego directly, I do not know the difference in shipping. But one time I got the yeast from morebeer.com (no affiliations just a very satisfied customer), in suspension and very warm. And was informed that the yeast would still be viable. Which turned out to be my 8-hour lag. Leland PS. What is the official spelling of Trippel. I have seen it spelled about one-hundred and fifty different ways. _________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 18:33:29 -0400 From: "Gary J. W. Spykman" <spykman at monad.net> Subject: A Grateful Brewer Hi everybody, I've been receiving the Homebrew Digest for a year now and decided it's time to say a big THANKS to all of you. I started brewing at the same time that I started receiving the Digest. I did two extract batches and decided that wasn't the way for me. I love baking and don't bake from packaged mixes because I love the satisfaction I get from controlling the ingredients, the process, and the outcome. Well, brewing from extract felt like baking a cake from a mix. Sure it tasted OK, but it just didn't feel very satisfying to me, and I thought that I could do better. Well thanks mainly to all the great info from you folks I learned how to do all-grain brewing. Sure, I read a few books and searched out some other internet sources, but this group deserves most of the credit for my brewing education. I spent some time designing and building my system and did my first all-grian batch, an ESB, last February. Since then I've done seven more batches, all ales: two more ESBs, a Guinness clone, an Oatmeal Stout, a Witbier, a Belgian Strong Ale, and an English Pale Ale. All have turned out wonderfully. Without this group there is no way that I could have progressed as far as I have in so short a time. From the wise to the wise-assed it's all been helpful. Even the sometimes heated debates have been beneficial. Seeing my "teachers" disagree has shown me once again that there isn't always a single correct answer. I may be the "Master Brewer" in my own brewery, but on this forum I am an apprentice, keeping my eyes and ears open, learning all the time. Thanks one and all, Gary Spykman, Keene, New Hampshire (Hey, I was born and and raised in Grand Rapids Michigan, that's not too far from the center of the homebrewing universe. Maybe I was destined to become a brewer.) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 21:14:59 -0500 From: Tom Daniels <daniels at cerias.purdue.edu> Subject: Some bad bottles of brew Made an batch of Red Zeppelin from the Homebrewer's Bible book and it's been bottled for a few weeks. I generally bottle half a batch in 22oz bottles and the other half in 12 oz bottles. Every early sign said this was gonna be Brewpub quality or better. Even the wife said so. Well, the 12 oz bottles were good (most of which have been drank), but some of the 22oz'ers are really bad. Odor and taste of phenols, I think. The off taste is somewhere between really smoky and medicine. So, I'm guessing bad bottle sanitization??? The off taste seems to be kind of hit and miss between bottles. The only weird thing that I did was clean with bleach (as normal), but instead of running them through the dishwasher, I rinsed with Iodophor solution. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. - -- Tom Daniels I guess we're all gonna be what we're gonna be, So what do you with good old boys like me? -----Don Williams - -- Tom Daniels I guess we're all gonna be what we're gonna be, So what do you with good old boys like me? -----Don Williams Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 23:13:26 EST From: B2oper8tr at aol.com Subject: Tinting Glass Bottles >As anybody tried tinting glass bottles to a dark brown color. I have >hundreds of clear glass bottles that I would like to keep using for >home-brew, however I am wanting to improve on the quality of the beer I >produce and would like to darken the glass. Anybody done this? Is it >expensive? Is it difficult? Where would I purchase supplies? I >thought about spray painting the bottles on the outside, however I wish >to be able to check the bottles for infections, etc., before pouring them.) Dear Doug and List: I am a long time list-lurker, ALSO I am a Glassblower, and Homebrewer. I Know of No way to safely tint glass bottles which will contain food. Most colored glass is Colored at the time it is melted, trapping the metal oxides (used for color) within the glass. Therefore, rendering it safe for food use. Any tint you apply to the inside of the bottle will affect the beer, making poison of it. I have very little experience with dyes for glass, However, I do know that any permanent color will have to be fired on, (kilned) to the maturing temp of the dye or stain, usually around 1100 degrees f. Even then, with regular handling it will wear off. I hope this helps. Howard Fulmer Fulmer Glass Arts (and Brewery) Wyoming, PA Return to table of contents
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