![[Prev HBD]](/img/previous.gif)
![[Index]](/img/index_button.gif)
![[Next HBD]](/img/next.gif)
![[Back]](/img/Back.gif)
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:
CO2 and headspace; Drilling enamel (Rogers Michael B)
re: Dry Yeast ("Mark Tumarkin")
German weizen in the secondary (JDPils)
Drinking Brew Aussie Style ("Phil & Jill Yates")
Failed Pumpkin Farmer ("Phil & Jill Yates")
Headspace levels and carbonation (Jacob Jacobsen)
Uncle Jeff misses me (craftbrewer)
Dry Yeast (Dan Listermann)
head spase volume & carbonation (Edward Doernberg)
re: headspace and carbonation levels/No Ultra ! ("Stephen Alexander")
Sad News ("Peter Garofalo")
re: RIMS element + Ashcroft & homebrewers ("C.D. Pritchard")
HBD Moving to new server (The HBD Webmaster)
re: wheres Graham... (Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative)
Splitting Brew Days ("Dr. Pivo")
Georgia beer legislation efforts ("Hull, Ted")
Where Graham Was ("Dr. Pivo")
Re: brass to copper--the answer!! (Bret Morrow)
Re: peristalic pump priming (Bret Morrow)
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
*
* Bluebonnet Brew-Off Entry Deadline is 2/9/01!
* http://welcome.to/bluebonnet for more information
*
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: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 04:11:16 -0500
From: Rogers Michael B <avatar at hemc.net>
Subject: CO2 and headspace; Drilling enamel
I haven't done beer or mead but a handful of times so I'm probably
blowing out my a$$, but I think I have made (at least some) sense of the
headspace phenomenon.
When we ferment, we force the yeast into an anaerobic stage. This would
mean that the yeast prefers an aerobic process. Why? Because it requires
less energy. This would mean that the aerobic process requires less
"fermentables" for the yeast to reproduce, throw keggers, etc... therefore
there would be a higher cell count in a conditioned bottle with more
available oxygen. This higher cell count would, of course, have more
by-products such as CO2.
If it was fully dependant on the pressure being exerted then I would not
have had glass grenades a few weeks ago ;-) I didn't realize just how loud
those things can be.
Anyways, that's my two cents.
As for the enamel drilling, why not find an old enamelware pot that's
not worth saving (like from a flea market or yard sale if you don't have
one) and try the techniques out on it first. Sounds like you were gonna go
straight for your brewpot....
OK, I'll shut up now
Ben Rogers
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 07:18:05 -0500
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: re: Dry Yeast
RogerAyotte asked about dry yeasts other than Munton's Gold -
I usually use liquid yeast with starters, but occasionally use dry yeast with
good success. The only one I've used (other than in meads) is Nottingham. I've
found it to be pretty clean in character, though it does throw some fruity
esters - not as clean as 1056. It is a good attenuator, also will take pretty
high gravity with success. I originally read about Rob Moline using it in his
Barleywine - come to think of it, Jethro hasn't posted much recently. I've
also used it in mead a couple of times. I like it as a quick easy, decide to
brew today (with no planning, thus no starter) solution.
Mark Tumarkin
Gainesville, Fl
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 10:34:30 EST
From: JDPils at aol.com
Subject: German weizen in the secondary
Mark,
I did this along time ago and really liked the results. The esters are
subdued a bit as I recall, but it made for a nice light clean crisp tasting
weizen. Perhaps similar to an Austrian style.
Cheers,
Jim Dunlap
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 07:23:17 +1100
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Drinking Brew Aussie Style
Jeff Renner ponders on the whereabouts of young Graham from NQ. He even
suggests I might be knocking back a few NQ lagers with him in the croc and
mossie infested swamps which Graham affectionately calls home. Definitely
not so!!
Graham has got himself involved in an Aussie version of HBD and I am only
guessing but perhaps he finds they can actually understand him in there.
Maybe they even take him seriously?
For my part, well I have discovered a new technique of drinking home brew.
I'm still waiting for Doc Pivo to return so we can begin trials on the
Yates/Pivo pilsner (and kill a few million brain cells at the same time). I
haven't kegged it yet and it is still lagering in the fermenters. But
curiosity got the better of me the other night. I sanitized a Coke PET
bottle and dipped it into the fermenter to fill it three quarters. On went a
carbonating cap, in went the gas and presto I was drinking chilled
Yates/Pivo pilsner. Not bad at all, if I may say so. But I prefer to wait
for the Doc to get back here before I say too much more about it.
Now I'm thinking why bother kegging at all when you can drink it straight
from the fermenter? Next party I have when the lads drop over (or maybe even
the ladies of the billiard room) I'll just be handing out sanitized PET
bottles and carbonating caps. Saying "Brew's in the fridge, take ya bottle
an elp yerselves". Just like back in the days when I ran a soup kitchen. Oh
we are a classy lot in Oz.
If I carry on like this, I may even get an invite to join Graham's HBD!
Cheers
Phil
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 07:43:28 +1100
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Failed Pumpkin Farmer
Eric Fouch, who once insulted Jack Schmidling (sorry about the spelling
Jack) and hasn't been able to extract any advice from him since, turns to us
for help and asks the question :
> I planted a
>pumpkin plant between the mounds last year, it sprang up, >put out
pumpkins,
>turned white, shriveled and died.
>Any ideas?
Eric, give up on your ambitions of becoming a pumpkin farmer. I know your
friends all say horrible things about your shocking homebrew, but at least
it is there to drink. There simply is no future in trying to sell white
shrivelled dead pumpkins. They couldn't even be eaten with Jack's cheese.
Phil
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 20:59:18 -0500
From: Jacob Jacobsen <brewer at cotse.com>
Subject: Headspace levels and carbonation
Regarding Louis Bonham's post, I am always careful to fill to "normal", loosely
cap the primed bottle and wait until I can detect "floating" of the cap before
permanently capping the bottle. This typically doesn't take very long,
usually before the 24th subsequent bottle is filled. It seems to be successful
for me and is an easy way to avoid oxidation. I think that forced carbonation
would be even easier (capping on foam). Am I missing something?
Jake
- ----------------
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh,
I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go
nearly as well with pizza. -- Dave Barry
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 13:04:55 +1100
From: craftbrewer at telstra.easymail.com.au
Subject: Uncle Jeff misses me
/
G'day all
/
Here am I, happy in the retreats of North Queensland, free from
the likes of survivor, anoying Swedish psudo-scientists still
learning to 'speriment, (where i actually go out there and do it), and
free to place 'Moral American for Beginers' back in the dunny to
stop those falling in. No longer pressured from any scientist telling
me 'it cant be done' (oh by the way has anyone else yet made a
Tropical Flower Wit with 50% Wheat flour in the grist
(stuck mash was the cry) and my own immature green orange
skins (you'll get ham flavours for sure), then dear ol' Jeff comes
a calling.
/
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Where's Graham?
/
Graham posted two successive "technical" posts and
disappeared. Was
the strain too much for him? Speak to us, Graham, or at least
keyboard to us.<<<<<
/
But ok just for you unkie Jeff i will keyboard. Yes i haven't
e-mailed. God you lot are un-inspiring at the moment. Being in
one of the two centres of the brewing universe, do i have to
come down from the mount every time there is a lull in activity.
I thought the 'shout effect' would have ben enough to convince
all of you that my presence is all encompasing, but obviously its
a case of 'ye of little faith'. Appollo told me the other day thats
what brought about his downfold, and Rah here seems to back
that point.
/
But yes the strains of my lofty position has caused me a lull in
participation. Now I am a modest fellow and never like to brag
about things (i'm sure you know this of me by now)
but you have hit the nail on the head. i have just spread myself
far too thin lately. I just can't seem to be everywhere at once that
people expect me to be.
/
And thats a thought, I may have to cut out some of my activities.
Now running the affairs of North Queensland, that stays, kicking
yanks out of utopia, well I enjoy that, but maybe I could drop the
ol HBD, now there's a thought. cant say sh=t, or bast=rd. Even
us devined ones need to be fed, if you like worshipped. but i rant .
/
but say this sh=t and i'll 'ave ya!
>>>> we haven't heard from Phil after his
holiday, either. Maybe they've run off together? Somewhere
out in
the bush in a big pink bus with all those cartons of North
Queenland
entry duty beer?<<<<
/
I have a 88mm ex german WWII antitank gun on the border. I
can tell you, if Yates and Pivo do arrive on that bus well I'll blow
there =sses away, AND they wont have a smile.
/
Which reminds me a certain fellow whos got certain problems
with his hands. If his palms are like that imagine what its done to
the workmanship. It wont be pretty.
/
Shout
Graham Sanders
/
Now this is just pure commercialism but what the heck
/
visit the home of Australian Craftbrewing
http://oz.craftbrewer.org
-
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 21:28:47 -0500
From: Dan Listermann <72723.1707 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Dry Yeast
"AYOTTE, ROGER C" <RCAYOT at solutia.com > comments that he has reconsidered
dry yeast in light of using Munton's Gold Yeast. It was my favorite dry
yeast. Note the past tense. Munton's Gold is no longer on the market. It
drove me into a fit of depression. . .
Munton's now has "Muntons Premium Gold." I split a batch of my standard
Boddington's Mild clone three ways. One with Muntons Regular ( yuck!), one
with a saved Gold and the last with the "Premium." The Regular tasted a
bit phenolic as is its habit, the Gold was fruity and the Premium still
good but less fruity. The Premium was good, but I will be searching for
something more like the Gold.
Dan Listermann dan at listermann.com
Check out out e-tail site at www.listermann.com. Contribute to the anti
telemarketing forum!
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 22:59:53 +0800
From: Edward Doernberg <shevedd at q-net.net.au>
Subject: head spase volume & carbonation
Date: fri, 26 Jan 2001 07:10:56 -0600
From: "Louis K. Bonham" <lkbonham at hypercon.com>
Subject: Head space levels and carbonation
<snip>
>Sample psi ml air
>High fill 1 16.5 1.7
>High fill 2 17.0 0.8
>Normal fill 1 32.0 7.0
>Normal fill 2 26.0 4.7
>Low fill 1 28.2 >25
>Low fill 2 25.0 >25
<snip>
i have a hypothesis on this.
if all the priming are converted into CO2 and alcohol then the smaller
the head space the grater the pressure because there is more co2 (more
beer more priming) and less space.
from the results it is evident that this is not the case so something is
stooping all the sugars from being used.
if the limiting factor was the effect of pressure on the yeast then no
mater the head space the pressure that stops the yeast would be the same
and therefor the carbonation would be the same. watt's more bottles
would not explode because of over priming because bottles are more
resistant to the presser than the yeast or they would always explode.
the only other limiting factor i can see is the availability of
nutrients and the only one that decreases with head space is O2.
i suspect that if you went to the trouble of testing the about of O2 in
the head space you would find there was much less in the high fill
bottles than the low fill bottles.
of course this is just a theory and it could be wrong.
i personally don't think beer would be improved by testing this
hypothesis. it is enough to know that you want about 1" head space.
as to kegs if you maintain the pressure constantly at a given pressure
fort long enough regardless of the head space the carbonation should be
the same.
if you charge the keg and disconnect it then the keg with the smaller
head space will have less co2 and when it reaches equilibrium the the
pressure will be smaller. but the carbonation will be the same as 1/2
filled keg at the same head pressure.
of course i haven't tested this as i don't yet have any kegs.
Edward
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 02:27:59 -0500
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: headspace and carbonation levels/No Ultra !
I was just reading Alan Meeker's excellent post (a guy we hear too little
from) and had few thoughts.
/Simple mechanical head pressure is apparently capable of stopping yeast
growth and even halting fermentation. The Bohi process is used to preserve
wine must (e.g. some California wineries use Chilean wine must) by applying
8 atm, ~120psi, of head pressure). I find this fact to be very odd, since
the pressure on yeast cells fermenting in Burton water salts should be
comparable due to salt gradients.
/ The CO2 level also inhibits yeast performance as Alan mentioned.
/The time that it takes to establish equilibrium via diffusion between
dissolved CO2 and free headspace CO2 may be extremely long. I once
calculated O2 diffusion thru an airlock and the rate was ignorable. OK
increased surface area and greater differential partial pressures play a
role, but I don't think that diffusion is very quick.
/The formation of bubbles in the beer bypasses the slower diffusion process,
but only works to move gas from solution to a free state, not the other way.
As the head pressure increases the volume of the fixed bubbles decrease
proportionately and the buoyancy of the bubble is almost directly
proportional to their volume. In other words at 2atm vs 1 of mechanical
head pressure the bubbles must have about twice as much CO2 to achieve the
same volume and buoyancy. So the rate of bubble formation is dependent on
the HEAD not partial pressure. The diffusion is dependent on the partial
pressure.
/ If the mechanical head pressure equals the dissolved gas 'volume' pressure
then bubbles just don't increase in size or form. You can prove this to
yourself easily. Take a carbonated beer bottle and shake it up. You'll
form some bubbled from the headspace gas which will migrate upward, *BUT*
you never see any new nucleation sites forming bubbles because the dissolved
gas volume matches the head pressure. If you open the bottle, relieving
the head pressure and shake the bottle - well you all know you get major
nucleation.
- --
I'd like to perform a profound calculation based on the items above and
demonstrate that the low-fill bottles head pressure becomes very high, but
"I got nothin" ! Whether it's CO2 partial pressure or head pressure the two
just shouldn't be so very different using any of the arguments. Let's say a
normal fill bottle ferments has 6% headspace and ferments up to 2.2volumes
of CO2 in 4 weeks. The CO2 partial-pressure runs just a little behind that
of the beer assuming bubbles can be formed. If we put the same primed beer
in a 1% headspace bottle, then the beer CO2 level must rise through the same
range of CO2 concentration, and the head partial pressure too. The final
result as equilibrium is only 5% higher CO2 vols than the normal case - so
WHY is the overfilled bottle vastly slower carbonating than the normal.
Shouldn't both hit 2.2volumes of CO2 at about the same time in both cases
and then the overfilled bottle should finish out the last 5% at some slow
rate ?
Looked at another way, in the normal-fill vs overfill case you are replacing
5% of headspace (air/gas ..) with uncarbonated beer a small amount ~5% of
extra sugar. Either the CO2 moves into the headspace by diffusion &
bubbling, or it moves into the extra 5% beer by circulation & brownian
motion. The latter should be a little easier so why is there much
difference in result ? . Shouldn't both consume the first part (all vs
95%) of sugar in about the same amount of time and get to normal carbonation
levels at about the same time ? Yes - but the yeast don't agree.
Another feature of bottle conditioning is this - why does a conventionally
fermenter rip through 8P of sugar in 2 days and yet it takes 3-4 weeks for a
bottle to build up normal carbonation by fermenting an extra 0.6P of sugar ?
I think that if you remove the cap from a conditioned bottle after a week
you get sweet unfermented sugars in the beer and not excessive head
pressure.
So is the bottle conditioning fermentation process in a capped bottle
always VERY slow due to dissolved CO2 and head pressure ? Maybe the low
headspace case is just a notch slower than the turtle paced normal fill
fermentation. If true, then this is a very good argument in favor of
actively removing CO2 from your (primary/secondary) fermenter to improve
yeast performance.
It's all very weird.and in need of an explanation.
====
So Ultra hops is DOA and getting dropped ? This is my worst nightmare - I
love Ultra. Ultra is the only US grown hop I felt proud to use in lagers,
esp pils. I was just singing the praises of Ultra to Phil&Jill offline and
then wham ! Is this a rumor or a fact ? Who do I complain to ? Is there
a substitute worth trying other than (2 part h.mittelfruh, 3 parts saaz and
a pinch of something nice)?
-Steve
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 08:48:38 -0800
From: "Peter Garofalo" <pgarofa1 at twcny.rr.com>
Subject: Sad News
I learned about a week ago of the passing of F. X. Matt II, one of the icons
of the rennaissance of craft brewing, at least here in the East. His
obituary, kindly provided by Mark Gardner, follows:
>F X Matt II passed away on January 15, 2001, at the age of 67. He was >the
head of the FX Matt Brewing Company in Utica, New York. Most of >you are
familiar with Utica Club, the brewery's original name and the name >of their
flagship product for decades. Most of you are even more familiar >with
>SARANAC, their flagship product today. And therein lies the brewing part
>of FX's legend. Ten years ago he bet his company, a 100 year-old family
>business, his future and his family's future on craft brewing. He asked his
>brother Nick and his son Fred to leave successful corporate positions and
>come home to help him reinvent the brewery and its products; he came >back
from a trip to Europe determined to brew beer as good as those he'd >had
there--world class beers. He did it. He won the bet. Together, the >family
created and marketed one of the most consistently excellent lines of >craft
beer in America.
>FX was respected and warmly regarded by those who knew him, from >business
and community leaders who could always rely on him to his >employees, some
150 of them--many of them second and third generation >employees. He
remained involved in the business on a daily basis, and >understood every
aspect of it.
>A Princeton University graduate, he loved art, poetry, literature, and
great
>beer. The brewery remains one of Utica's true business success stories,
>and one of craft brewing's success stories, but his is also a story of
caring,
>family, integrity, and pride.
We have lost one of the good guys of brewing, not to mention a real
character. I know I'll raise my next pint in his honor.
Peter Garofalo
Syracuse, NY
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 10:07:40
From: "C.D. Pritchard" <cdp at chattanooga.net>
Subject: re: RIMS element + Ashcroft & homebrewers
>Many hot water heating elements (in the US anyway) have a male threaded
>attachment point. This threading appears to match that of 1 inch (FIP)
>standard used in copper fitting, but lacking the taper. For this reason
>the heating element won't nicely screw into a 1" copper FIP fitting.
>Should I buy a 1" IP tap or die to resize one or the other - or is there a
>simpler solution that I am missing ?
What's the best IMHO is making cutting a thicker gasket from red-rubber
gasketing material. That way you don't need to thread the element so deep
into the fitting. Resist the temptation to compress the gasket alot- RIMS
pumps don't put out that much pressure.
I've tried enlarging the threads of a copper fitting a bit with a "tap"
made from a piece of 1" pipe by cutting way portions of the threads with a
Dremel so it functioned somewhat like a regular tap. It's *very* laborious
and if you apply too much clamping force to the copper fitting during
tapping as I did, you'll ruin the fitting. Maybe a local plumbing
contractor has a 1" tap and can do it for you.
For easy fit-up, I cut the female end from a 1" brass hose coupling I got
at a local industrail supply house. Hose threads are straight and an exact
match for the element threads. The liberated end of the coupling was butt
soldered to a 1.5" pipe cap with a hole for the element to pass through.
For the wort exit, a hole was drilled through the side of the cap and
underlying pipe and a 1/2" Cu pipe was soldered into the hole.
BTW, I've not noticed corrosion of the heating element bases on the RIMS
heater or in the old boiler, but the burner-out older one I recently
removed from the plastic pail HLT had rusted an appreciable amount. It was
secured to a hole in the plastic pail with a copper nut which was cut from
the female end of a 1" copper adapter. I now use 1" SS half couplings as
nuts in the boiler and HLT.
Back to RIMS heating element mounting... A SS half coupling ground down a
bit in OD fits nicely *inside* 1.5" copper pipe. The half couplings from
http://PlumbingSupply.Com/index.html work well- other's I've bought are
much bigger in OD and would be more tedious to grind down. There's still
the tapered pipe threads to deal with, but, as noted above, a thicker
washer is a good fix. I've not soldered up a RIMS heater chamber this
way, but it looks real promising and, at ~$3 for the half coupling, really
cheap. Finally, for those that don't care for so much gadgeteering, the
SS chamber from MovingBrew looks like a real winner and, for SS, reasonably
priced to boot.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Finally, a shameless plug for my page on how Ashcroft as Attorney General
might affect us homebrewers (and more...):
http://chattanooga.net/~cdp/stopashcroft.htm
c.d. pritchard cdp at chattanooga.net
http://hbd.org/cdp/ http://chattanooga.net/~cdp/
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 14:36:06 -0500 (EST)
From: The HBD Webmaster <webmastr at hbd.org>
Subject: HBD Moving to new server
Greetings! This message is intended primarily for those clubs, individuals
and organizations hosted by the HBD server. If you are a webmaster on the
HBD server, but did NOT receive a message similar to this, please contact
webmaster at hbd.org with your information as indicated below. Any club,
individual or organization not properly registered with the webmaster will
have access to their pages blocked!
<Begin Enclosed Message>
Very soon, we will be moving all of the HBD to a new (faster, larger)
server. Under this new server, we will be restructuring the allocation of
drive space which, in all likelihood, will require us to manually recreate
your account on the server. Just prior to the transition we will alert
you. Shortly afterward, we will forward you your new passwords. Please
ensure that the contact name for your webmaster is correct in this mailing
- if you receive this, but are no longer the webmaster please:
1) forward this to your webmaster
2) send the name of the webmaster,
the email address of the webmaster
and the name of your organization
(or your username on the server) to
webmaster at hbd.org
Thank you!
HBD Webmaster
<End Enclosed Message>
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 09:56:59 +1100 (EST)
From: Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative <Scott.Morgan at aus.sun.com>
Subject: re: wheres Graham...
- ------------- Begin Forwarded Message -------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 09:22:25 +1100 (EST)
From: Scott Morgan - Sun On-Line Telesales Representative <scmorgan at war>
Subject: re: wheres Graham...
To: post@hbd.org
This sounds a bit like the 'Where's Wally' books famous in OZ.
Perhaps these books can always be changed for the US market....
I have it on good authority that Graham and Phil are indeed alive.
Both have not gone walk-a-bout or gone to see a man about a dog. I have
received several mails from Graham over the weekend...seems that
controversy just cannot help but follow.
On the day that Americans are set to be in front of the telly, stuck to
a game with nothing to do with foot, with heavily padded pretty
boys who cannot damage their looks, Graham has been in a support role as
chaperone to the Brisbane Bronco's Cheer Leaders. Featuring with Graham is
Phil, pilot of choice to fly this merry band of hotel wrecking,
front tooth knocking-out, nose bending front-row forward rugby league
player types around rural Australia in their own pre-season trial games.
Just imagine a combination of the circus coming to town, with Graham as
the pide-piper (aka the cheer leaders) with girls who for a refreshing
change are not built like Mac trucks whom can hog-tie a cow in under 6
seconds.
Whilst this is all fun and games, Graham is in fact using this a shroud to
his own personal objectives; a treatise to the affects of travel on beer.
Pitted against XXXX is Grahams wit, declared by our own Steve Lacey as
"incredible". The conditions are extreme and the results will be riveting.
Or perhaps is the www.oz.craftbrewer.org in him!
Scotty
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 00:03:18 +0100
From: "Dr. Pivo" <docpivo at hotmail.com>
Subject: Splitting Brew Days
Bob Shotola, who actually proports to live in a place called
"Yamhill", which I can only guess lies snuggled up to
"Cabbagevalley' at the foot of "Applemountain", would like
to divide his brew day, and asks....
"I picture doing the mash and sparge on one morning, then putting the lid on
the brewpot and storing it in the cooler until later in the week, when I
could then start with the boil. The ease of extracts, the beauty of grains."
This is all a plausible idea, and I regularly start my brew in the evening,
and either mash overnight, or sparge and save overnight, but would add one
word of caution.
When I have for some reason delayed longer with the mash (and I think the
"break point" here is about 18 hours when you let it cool naturally), you'll
find you are actually making a "sauermash".
I'm guessing that the lactobacillus that are enjoying a stay on your grains
are not totally elliminated at these lower temperatures, and some manage to
survive, and eventually do their business, creating "salad dressing" rather
than beer. A good way to find out if this has happened to your stuff would
be to measure the pH (it will start sinking)...... another good way would be
to taste it.
If you are planning to wait several days between sparge and boil, I would
suggest bringing your wort to at least 70C before putting a lid on and
letting it sit there.
I can't honestly say that I've ever let a sparged wort sit that long, but I
have measured the temp coming out of the sparge, and you get quite a bit at
mash temperatures, so I'm guessing you would still be "at risk" for having
surviving contaminants.
But then again, I can't tell my "shin from Shotola"..... or however the
expression goes.
Dr. Pivo
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 15:08:40 -0800
From: "Hull, Ted" <THull at Brwncald.com>
Subject: Georgia beer legislation efforts
Just wanted to shoot the collective a quick note to let you know that we're
making our second attempt here in Georgia to lift the ban on beers above 6%
alcohol. We've done a much better job with the media this time, thanks in
no small part to the efforts of a great legislator who volunteered to
sponsor the bill.
Due to some details I won't go into, our bill unfortunately includes
doubling the tax on beers in the new 6 to 14% alcohol category. Georgia's
beer taxes are already near the top in the country at $0.48/gallon. And
we're hoping to convince legislators that the tiny additional revenue,
somewhere around $80k annually, won't be worth the effort to collect. Keep
your fingers crossed.
If you know anyone in Georgia, please fill them in and ask them to call
their state Representative and state Senator. You can follow the saga during
the legislative session at:
http://www.beerinfo.com/worldclassbeer
And, if you feel motivated to chip in monetarily, we wouldn't turn it down.
Happy brewing!
Ted Hull
Georgians for World Class Beer
Atlanta, Georgia
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 00:25:11 +0100
From: "Dr. Pivo" <docpivo at hotmail.com>
Subject: Where Graham Was
Jeff Renner wonders about the North Queensland silence after Graham's
posting of some technical information.
The Rennerian Zero surmises that the strain was all too much.
This is in fact true.
After his session at the keyboard, Graham had to steady his nerves, and
began swilling his Rambutan/Pineapple Lambec-Stout, until he collapsed face
down in a puddle of it on the table.
It turns out that the red colour in the little rambutan hairs are actually
"Red Azo number 2", a known carcinogen, the acidity of the pineapple juice
mixed with the melanoidins of the roasted barley and the humulonic acid of
the "Target" hops, all combined with the promoter capabilities of the
brittanomyces spp., causing a very volatile mixture indeed. It caused poor
Graham's nose to actually melt off his face, and a wet spot formed in his
pants, spilling across the vinyl of his kitchen chair, to collect as a
yellow puddles between his thongs.
When I arrived, the SHMBO (She Who Must Bear Ordeals)was mopping up the
"wet" with a disgusted look on her face. I quickly grabbed two sets of
barbecue tongs, and using rubber bands, clipped them to his ears. I tied
some clothes line around the other ends of the tongs and tossed the line to
SHMBO (She Who Mightily Braves Ockerism). She tossed it over a low lying
branch of a custard apple tree, put her weight on the other end, and we
finally managed to raise Graham's head..... Out of shear force of habit, I
removed his appendix.
Fotrunately, there was enough tissue in that appendix that I could do a tidy
little reconstructive surgery on his nose. The bit that was left over, we
mailed to Evander Hollyfield to splice onto his ear.
Dr. Pivo
Should anyone doubt the authenticity of the above, I will sue them.
Should anyone question the biochemical mechanisms I have described that
caused the catastrophe, I will begin citing references until there is an
explosion of yawns whose gape would do honour to the San Andreas Fault.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 23:40:37 -0500
From: Bret Morrow <bret.morrow at prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: brass to copper--the answer!!
Greetings all,
Thanks for all the advice--esp. John Palmer, who identified the problem
as oxidation of the parts of the joint. The problem, apparently, was
that the series of valves were assembled in 3 "subunits." I cleaned all
the parts, of course, but I then assembled the subunits heating on side
of the brass valve to solder it to the copper and, inadvertently,
oxidizing the other side so that when I went to assemble the subunits
several hours later, one of these joints failed. I didn't clean
anything before I assembled the subunits--why bother, I cleaned it a few
hours ago. I took the joint apart and saw the brass didn't take the
solder in some places. I have cleaned it and "tinned it" (Thanks for
the advice, JP) and the soldered joint looks good now.
Thanks again,
Bret Morrow,
Hamden, CT
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 23:52:15 -0500
From: Bret Morrow <bret.morrow at prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: peristalic pump priming
Greetings,
Steve Lane picked up 2 peristaltic pumps for $5 (cool--where is this
junk yard?) and asked about priming. Peristaltic pumps do not need any
priming--the pump pulls air just as well as liquid so they are
self-priming.
I have 1 concern about the 1/4" tubing it takes. If that is ID, you are
in good shape. If that is OD, then it will not pump very much liquid
very fast. You can use peristaltic pumps in parallel, but this requires
a bit of plumbing. I use mine to recirculate the mash liquid first,
then to move the hot sparge water into the mash. Thanks to others, I am
just finishing a series of valves that will allow me to switch easily
between recirculating and sparging. Later, I use it to move the hot
boiled wort through the counterflow chiller to the fermenter.
Basically, I use it to avoid lifting or moving containers with very hot
liquids to avoid a nice scalding.
Hope this helps,
Bret Morrow,
Hamden, CT
Return to table of contents
| HTML-ized on 01/29/01, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96 |
|