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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
XXXX recipe (TOLLEY Matthew)
Hops & strong beer (Tom Smit)
Canned extract color (Jacob Jacobsen)
Sorghum Malt (Ant Hayes)
Re: headspace and carbonation ("Joel King")
Amber and Brown malts (North Country Malt Supply) (leavitdg)
RE: Organic Malt Extract, Hops (Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger)
SWAG about Bottle Carbonation ("J. Doug Brown")
Re: Alcohol Content ("S. SNYDER")
RE Lallemand Kroner Yeast ("Houseman, David L")
exhaust hoods ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
strong beer ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
re: re high final gravity...more (Joseph C.)" <jweishaa at ford.com>
Homebrew and airplanes (spostek)
Re: Goofy question & fillers ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
budvar 2000 and an O'fest question (david.persenaire)
Re: low final gravities, Phillers (Brian Lundeen) (Project One)
Hefe Weizen temperature ("Steven Parfitt")
Re: Seeking advice on exhaust hoods ("Charles R. Stewart")
Cheap 10gal coolers ("Brian D. Kern")
sorghum malt (Marc Sedam)
pump baby pump...baby, baby, pump, pump (Marc Sedam)
yeast geek info/biofilms ("Alan Meeker")
Re: Leaking Phillers ("Axle Maker")
Alder wood ("Hill, Steve")
Corn grits (Tom Smit)
Early Boil ("C.H. Waters")
source for 8 oz bottles (Rick Gontarek)
Southern hops ("Marc Hawley")
philler ("Marc Hawley")
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 17:13:02 +1100
From: TOLLEY Matthew <matthew.tolley at atsic.gov.au>
Subject: XXXX recipe
>From: Stephen Neilsen <sneilsen at bigpond.net.au>
>XXXX.
>First question would have to be...why?!!!!!
Maybe he likes XXXX. I know when I lived in Townsville and it was 40oC /
98% humidity out and were just sitting around eating Samboy salt and vinegar
chips, we weren't craving a Trappist ale to wash them down with. Maybe his
mates like XXXX. Maybe its his first brew and he's looking for something
familiar to start with, with clean, simple tastes that'll let him spot any
flaws in his sanitation routine pronto? Bloody beer snobs (returns to
Corona with lime and microwaved nachos).
Try this, Brewmasterwill:
Get yourself a can of Beermaker's XXX Bitter. Dissolve 600g dextrose and
400g maltodextrin in a couple of litres of water in a saucepan and bring it
to a gentle simmer. Toss in 15g of Pride of Ringwood hop pellets and simmer
for 10-15 minutes. Chuck it all in your fermenter with your canned extract
and stir to dissolve. Top it up with cold water, check the temperature, and
pitch your yeast. (Recipe from http://www.countrybrewer.com.au.)
Cheers, ay?
...Matt...
(Canberra, ACT, Australia - same time next year, Jeff :>)
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 18:40:05 +0100
From: Tom Smit <lunica at ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Hops & strong beer
Hi all,
Ken Schwartz typed
> I also put [the hop plants] on the east wall of the house where they
> only got a little direct sun, in the cooler morning (a mountain to the
> east also provides shade for a couple extra hours in the morning). The
> house next door reflected plenty of light in the afternoon. So I'd
> guess they got four hours of direct sun a day. I had them on an
> automatic drip system getting about a quart of water twice a day (this
> is important), and I put gravel over the soil surface to help hold in
> moisture.
Plants in pots, especially those near the walls of a house need much
more water than those planted in the ground. I know about desert sun,
coming from Oz and all, but am wondering what fertiliser you used. Pea
straw, barley straw, lucerne (alfafa) chaff are better mulch than
gravel. In your bigger containers, without chemical fertilisers, the
hops should do better. If you remember my earlier post re garden not
watered for 2 weeks in 30-40C heat, two volunteer eggplant (aubergine)
plants set a heap of lovely fruit. Manure & mulch should do it.
Newbie asked
> a friend of mine has just
> challenged me to brew him a beer that has a 12% (by volume) alcohol content.
>
> I am still using can kits from my local homebrew store
Hey mate, one of my last kit brews was a bloody big stout with a ton of
flavor. An easy way to do this is to use two cans of kit rather than
just one. What I did (making things up on the spur of the moment) was a
can of Coopers Stout, then a kilo or half kilo (too hot here to drag out
old brew log books) of dried malt then a kilo of darkish liquid malt
extract. This got me a 10%+ alcohol stout. Talking to my local HB shop,
Grumpys, I repeated this but as a minimash with a lot of roast barley
and black malt and 'with extra hops to balance the extra malt' and got a
very bitter huge 11-13% stout that I still have 12 bottles of that I
will really enjoy this winter (if it ever fucking gets here, 35C, 40C,
min 26C at night for over a month and now high humidity causing my
arthritis to flare up like a solar flare) because it took that long for
the hops/burnt grains to lose the sharp bitter edge and change into a
huge complexity/
Add malt however you want (liquid ME MUCH better than DME) but add a
few more hops and you will awe the shit out of your friend. Use this
exercise to move up to partial-mash brewing and impress the
shit out of yourself!
Cheers
Tom
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 03:13:25 -0500
From: Jacob Jacobsen <brewer at cotse.com>
Subject: Canned extract color
It seems that no matter what sort of beer the kit is supposed to make, the
canned liquid extract contained in a beer kit always yields a similar dark beer
color. Is this caused by the vacuum processing of the wort? This isn't the
case with DME.
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: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 11:38:58 +0200
From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes at FifthQuadrant.co.za>
Subject: Sorghum Malt
Thanks to the people who responded yesterday.
I use red sorghum malt. I suspect that African varieties may be slightly
different to American. White sorghum is obtainable, but red is the one used
for brewing. I have not found the tannin levels to be problematic.
The variety I have used to date has low diastic power. I have not seen an
analysis sheet, but have relied on the advice of the maltster. They will be
supplying me with malt with higher diastic power soon.
Sorghum malt adds an unusual flavour, which is difficult to describe, but
easy to recognise. It tastes more like wheat malt than like barley malt.
It is possible to use unmalted sorghum, but that first needs to be
gelatinised in a pre cooker at 75C or thereabouts.
Ant Hayes
Gauteng; South Africa
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 11:27:18 -0000
From: "Joel King" <joel_d_king at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: headspace and carbonation
Chris Buck writes:
>>Could aerobic fermentation of ethanol give enough
extra CO2 to account for exploding bottles?<<
Or even the additional benefits of the extra oxygen leading to additional
fermentation of residual sugars? You could try two different bottling
methods, leaving the same headspace in both bottles, but in one bottle flush
the air space with a blast of CO2 prior to bottling, and see what happens...
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 07:36:27 -0500 (EST)
From: leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu
Subject: Amber and Brown malts (North Country Malt Supply)
Richard;
I have tried both of these malts and feel that they are appropriate,
in small quantities, for porters/ stouts. Jeff Renner may have more
to say about this, but on his suggestion ( a couple of years ago?) I
got the brown malt trying to make an old-style porter.. from a recipe
of almost entirely brown malt...just to
find that the brown does not have enaough diastatic power/ enzymes
to convert itself. I found that both malts render a very strong
roasted/ toasted flavor and color, and that 1 lb in a 5 gallon
batch may be the upper limit.
Another nice malt that they have, and one that cannot be found anywhere
else in the US is their Malted Oats. I jsut made a stout with them
and can't wait to see how it comes out.
Claude and Brian Bechard are the owner, son, and are very helpful.
Happy Brewing!
..Darrell
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 07:44:31 -0500
From: Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger <katerob at erols.com>
Subject: RE: Organic Malt Extract, Hops
Check out Seven Bridges Cooperative Microbrewery in Santa Cruz, CA.
They bill themselves as the only organic homebrew supply company:
http://www.breworganic.com
The malt extract they use is Briess Brewer's Gold, "made from US grown
certified organic barley," and the hops they carry are all imported, but
the catalog says they are exploring options for US grown organic hops in
the coming year. The description does not specify whether they are
certified organic or not, but varieties are of the noble German, New
Zealand Pacific Gem and NZ Hallertaur, Australian Pride of Ringwood, and
British Target. Pellet and whole available (though not for all
varieties).
Affiliation: I'm a satisfied customer, and my office mate is a member of
the cooperative. If you have questions, just call Amelia at Seven
Bridges 1-800-768-4409; she's quite helpful.
- --Rob Hanson
The Closet Brewery
Washington, DC
- -------
Back and side go bare, go bare,
Both foot and hand go cold;
But, belly, God send thee good ale enough,
Whether it be new or old.
--Bishop Still (John), Gammer Gurton's Needle, Act ii
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 07:52:35 -0500
From: "J. Doug Brown" <dougbrown at citynet.net>
Subject: SWAG about Bottle Carbonation
Greetings,
The topic of differing bottle carbonation levels is still around so I
thought I'd add my SWAG. When I bottle my beer, I let it carbonate at
basement temperatures 55-65F. However when I serve my bottled beer, it
has normally been refrigerated. Here goes my theory. Regardless of the
headspace, I assume the pressure to reach the same maximum level in a
bottle before the yeast quit due to CO2 saturization. When the bottle
is chilled in the fridge the CO2 from the smaller headspace is quickly
absorbed becuase the beer is colder. The beer bottle with the larger
headspace is going to have more CO2 to dissolve in the beer. More CO2
to dissolve in less beer would tend to reach equlibrim at a higher
pressure. This would correlate with more headspace more pressure
theory, however it would not explain exploding bottles, or any other
observed behavior dealing with pressures higher than initial carbonation
pressures.
Twilight Zone Material:
A possible explanation of larger headspace/bottle explosion
phenonomon. If the headspace is large, the yeast could possibly begin
aerobic respiration and reproduce, thus increasing cell density, before
generating CO2 in the carbonation process. There could be something
about the yeast cell in solution that helps allow higher CO2 levels stay
in solution (such as the substance placed in Acetylene tanks to allow
greater pressures with less risk of explosion). If this was the case
when the yeast cells flocculate after carbonation, the pressure would
rise inside the bottle possibly beyond the bottles critical pressure
point.
My 34 cents worth
Doug Brown
- --
J. Doug Brown - Fairmont, WV
Software Engineer at ProLogic, Inc.
mailto:dougbrown at citynet.net mailto:dbrown at prologic-inc.com
http://members.citynet.net/kbrown/Doug http://www.prologic-inc.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 09:03:13 -0500
From: "S. SNYDER" <SSNYDER at LBGHQ.com>
Subject: Re: Alcohol Content
Newbie:
For an ABV of 12% you're most likely looking at a barely wine. There are
many recipes online at Cat's Meow and Gambrinus Mug for barleywines, or talk
to your local homebrew store, but they don't taste like beer with a high
alcohol content. They are very malty and I don't care for them personally.
Does your friend know what he is talking about or does he just want to get
drunk faster? If it is the former then go ahead and give a barleywine a
shot (you need a yeast that can tolerate high alcohol (high gravity)), if it
is the former, then don't waste your time. He won't like the barleywine.
Just tell him to add vodka to his Budweiser.
Brew on and brew well,
Scott Snyder
Trumbull, CT
ssnyder at lbghq.com
Rotten Rotti Brewing Company
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 08:07:35 -0600
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: RE Lallemand Kroner Yeast
Speaking of Lallemand yeast, whatever happened to their supposed plans to
introduce dry lager yeasts? Did that fizzle or were they quietly introduced
in some markets?
Dave
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 08:52:01 -0600
From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com>
Subject: exhaust hoods
Strom asks about exhaust hoods. We use a standard Broan (NAJASCYYY) kitchen
exhaust hood, 250 CFM, for two 10 gallon kettles. I believe a simple 210
would work fine for a single kettle, and would be cheaper. Exhausted
through the wall with standard venting.
regards,
Stephen
Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK
orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 08:52:09 -0600
From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com>
Subject: strong beer
Newbie asks about making a high alcohol ale. 12%. Welcome to the hobby!
The nicest way would be to make a Barleywine or Imperial Stout. A Strong
Belgian Ale is also nice, but be sure to see if your friend likes this
style. Be warned that any beer of this strength will need a longer aging
time, at least 6 months, over a year would be better.
Do not simply add more sugar. Ideally, you do not want to exceed 15% of
your fermentables with sugar. So go all malt, and add hops to balance. You
can use some sugar to lighten the body and increase the alcohol. Typical
sugars used are Candi Sugar or Caramel Sugar. You could use a small amount
of corn sugar.
You can find extract based recipes for these styles on-line at Gambrinus'
Mug at the brewery.org, and beertools.com among others. There are many good
books available as well, Brew Classic European Beers At Home by Wheeler &
Protz is one of my personal favorites.
If you decide which style you would like to brew, I'm sure that you will get
many fine recipes here if you just ask. Here's one for a Russian Imperial
Stout that uses Brewer's Caramel Syrup (a caramelized liquid invert
sucrose).
Batch Size (LTR): 20.00 Wort Size (LTR): 20.00
Total Extract (kg): 5.40
Anticipated OG: 1.090 Plato: 21.36
Anticipated SRM: 50.0
Anticipated IBU: 78.8
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Gravity
SRM
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
74.1 4.00 kg. Amber Dry Malt Extract 44.00
25
4.6 0.25 kg. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 34.00
475
4.6 0.25 kg. Roasted Barley Great Britain 29.00
575
7.4 0.40 kg. Caramel Pils Malt Belgium 34.00
2
9.3 0.50 kg. Caramel sugar Canada 33.00
75
Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil
Time
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
40.00 g. Target UK Pellet 8.30 45.5 60 min.
30.00 g. Challenger UK Pellet 8.10 33.3 60 min.
Yeast
- -----
Wyeast 1084, 1275 or 1728
Steep the grains in a grain bag in 2 quarts water at 140F or 30 minutes.
Rinse the grains with warm water into the pot, discard grains, and keep the
grain tea. Add malt extract and hops and 8 quarts water and boil for 60
minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and cool pot in cold water bath. Add
cooled wort (below 170F) to cold sterile water in fermentor. Aerate and
pitch yeast.
hope this helps!
Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK
orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 09:48:41 -0500
From: "Weishaar, Joe (Joseph C.)" <jweishaa at ford.com>
Subject: re: re high final gravity...more
I have been a lurker for maybe 3 years-until today. A recent post stirred
my interest as it mirrors a recent experience with a porter that I now have
fermenting. Stephen Alexander responded to Darrell Leavitt:
Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 04:46:40 -0500
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: re high final gravity...
darrell leavitt writes ...
>the final gravity really confuses me,
[...]
>Here is the data:
...
My reading is that you mashed 12.75# of grist & 18qt of water 60' at 155F(68C),
30' at 158F(70C).
You had 11# of pale malt (PA & wheat malt), 1.75# of roast (chocolate &
barley & amber).
A 62C (143.6 F) mash will give ~80% attenuation and a 72C (161.6 F) mash
will give ~40%
attenuation (see Kunze on Jump mash). I would expect your 68C (154.4 F)
mash to yield
something like 55-60% attenuation of the wort, tho' it depends on other
factors.
Now here's what I did last week:
I brewed a porter based on "St. Chuck's Porter" popularized by frequent
poster to "The Brewery's Brews & Views" discussion forum, Bill Pierce.
Thank you Bill. My grain bill was (total grist of 10.63 lb):
7.25 lb Munton Marris Otter
0.88 lb. Munton chocolate malt
0.75 lb crystal 60L
0.75 lb. Flaked barley
0.5 lb victory
0.5 lb special B
Mashed in with 1.2 qts/lb mash liquor, aiming for 152F (single step
infusion). I hit my target temp and verified the pH (~5.0 to 5.3) in short
order and placed my mash kettle in a 170F-preheated oven. Normally I turn
off the oven at this point-this day I forgot and it stayed on until my
45-minute check point. The temp. had climbed as high as 155 F in some
regions of the kettle. I added some ice cubes to reach 150 F and returned
to the oven for the remaining 45 min. of the rest.
>From this point, everything went as planned. Performed a 15 minute mash out
at 168F and began recirculation and collection as usual. The boil and
run-off to the fermenter went as planned. OG was 1.053 for 5.5 gallons. I
gave the wort a 2-minute shot of O2 using SS stone, and pitched my yeast
starter. I built-up a starter using a pitchable tube of White Labs
Edinburgh Ale into a 0.75 gal starter volume several days before. It
fermented out predictably and I decanted the spent liquid before pitching
the slurry. The wort at pitching and throughout the fermentation was 65F.
After 3 hours, I had positive pressure in the primary and it showed all the
right signs of a healthy fermentation.
A little over 2 days later, the yeast had already started to fall! I was
puzzled by this, so thinking that my yeast was pooping out, I checked the
SG. It was 1.024 even though the fermentation appeared to over. Now, I'm
searching for what went wrong. The SG has dropped to 1.022 today, but at
one bubble per minute through the airlock, any lower seems unlikely. Based
on the response of Stephen Alexander above, this does not seem out of the
ordinary based on the grain bill and higher mash temperatures. Is this the
answer I'm searching for? Comments please.
Searching in Plymouth, MI
Joe Weishaar
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 10:16:44 US/Eastern
From: spostek at voicenet.com
Subject: Homebrew and airplanes
Anyone have any good/bad experiences taking a
bottle or two of homebrew on an airplane? I am
guessing there are no laws against it, but are
there any issues with the caps not holding? In
a properly pressurized cabin I'd imagine it is no
different than keeping them in your basement. I
realize they may get shaken up a bit but I have
someone I am visiting and I'd really like to take
a few bottles out to.
Thanks. Public or private responses welcome.
Steve
spostek at voicenet.com
- ---------------------------------------------
This message was sent using Voicenet WebMail.
http://www.voicenet.com/webmail/
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 10:02:45 -0500
From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com>
Subject: Re: Goofy question & fillers
Mr. Peed thought he had a goofy question regarding mixed yeast strains:
>Does anyone know what happens when you pitch two different kinds of yeast?
>Anyone ever wanted to mute or modify the effects of a certain yeast by
>pitching it with another one?
John, I'll tell you it's not a goofy question at all. It my wind up making
a goofy beer if you mix any old yeasts - try a Belgian strain mixed with
Ringwood ale yeast. I don't think that particular mixture of diacetyl,
phenols and esters would be pleasing to the palate. But I may be entirely
wrong. Your best bet is to experiment. But if you pick a good combination,
you will get a flavor complexity which cannot be equally achieved by
changing the grain bill or hop schedule.
Pick yeasts whose flavor contribution profiles complement each other.
You'll then have to decide whether to add them together or at different
stages. Maybe you'll want to use equal amounts or possibly different
amounts. It's all dependent upon the particular yeasts you are using. Two
strains of equal cell count can be added to the same wort and one will
dominate the other at the end of fermentation in both cell count and flavor.
It has now become tradition for me to make a batch of barley wine every year
at Xmas which is not to be opened until Halloween of the following year and
must last me through the winter. {Yeah, right.} The 1999 batch of
English-style barleywine was made from an equal mixture of WhiteLabs British
Ale (WLP005) and Burton Ale (WLP023) yeasts. While it didn't place when
entered into a competition (also had to compete with Belgians) it held it's
own and scored very well with a judge who I am told is tough on the style.
Recently I made an American-style barleywine at 1.110 OG and lots o' hops.
I wanted the fermentation to be vigorous so I added my 2 liter starter of
Whitelabs California V Ale and then dumped an additional quart of THICK
slurry from a previous batch on top (Wyeast British Ale Yeast 1098). At
racking to the secondary it was 1.022. I'll take this to be the FG as it
works out to an 80% apparent attenuation - beyond the the 70 - 75% range
cited for both strains. At racking I tasted the beer. It had some
characteristics of both profiles listed by the manufacturers while others
were not evident. I was very pleased and this beer shows much promise. But
only time will tell.
Barleywines, to me at least, seem to be a style which can benefit most from
mixed strain fermentations. I also bottle condition my Belgians with either
a German or American lager yeast strain. Why? Dunno. Guess I'm strange.
Alex asked if all Listerman Bottle Phillers leaked.
> If the filler leaked any faster I wouldn't have to worry
> about pushing down on the filler
> to fill bottles, is this how they all are or did I get a bad one ?
I switched from my el-cheapo plastic & spring filler to the Listerman filler
because my plastic one did the same thing as yours. My Listerman one works
beautifully, though it doesn't get as much use as it used to. I've only had
one problem with mine in that the fill tube became detatched from the body.
Probably due to something stupid I did. Dan offered to replace the filler
for me, but I opted to fix it myself anyway. A little solder plus his
detailed instructions and I was back in business. The plastic one would
have been thrown away. This filler looks like it's good for life and has
probably even paid for itself by now - compared to plastic. NAJASC.
Carpe cerevisiae!
Glen A. Pannicke
glen at pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net
75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD
"Designs which work well on paper rarely do so in actual practice"
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 08:52:23 -0600
From: david.persenaire at abnamro.com
Subject: budvar 2000 and an O'fest question
H. Dowda writes about his observations of budvar 2000 yeast. I just
finished fermenting a czech pils with the same yeast and noticed very
little foaming in both the fermenter and in my starters. I didn't pay
close enough attention to the odors but gave a good taste when transferring
to secondary. I had to empty two hydrometer vials since I transferred two
carboys. The hydrometer samplings were good to the last drop. A very nice
balanced beer even before lagering. No noticeable sulphur profile that can
happen in lager yeasts. So far, flavor-wise I'm very pleased.
As we are approaching the month of March (Marzen) I am beginning to work on
my first Oktoberfest. I have yet to taste an American made o'fest that
duplicates the melanoidan profile the german versions have. All the
American versions have a malt profile that has some roasted or even burnt
character that I don't detect in the german ones. I'm guessing it comes
from additions of crystal malt, munich malt, etc. My buddy tells me it's
because germans decoct and they use all vienna malt. George Fix's book
talks about using pilsner malt with some vienna because modern vienna isn't
what it used to be. I noticed our sponsor at northernbrewer.com carries an
undermodified vienna. I'm thinking about making a triple decocted o'fest
with 100% vienna malt. Anybody else out there try this? I'd love to hear
some results and suggestions.
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 09:00:16 -0800
From: Project One <project1 at pond.net>
Subject: Re: low final gravities, Phillers (Brian Lundeen)
Brian,
Have you checked the calibration of your thermometer? I had a run of
really over attenuated beers, probably 5-6 in a row. I finally got around
to sticking my thermometer in some boiling water, only to see it read
218-219 degrees F! So, when I thought I was mashing at 152, it was really
145-146. I adjusted it and have been getting much better attenuation now.
------->Denny Conn
a long way from Jeff Renner in Eugene OR
At 12:25 AM 2/7/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Well, I suppose this is as good a lead in as any to my problem which is the
>opposite. I habitually (apart from a stout that quit on me about 1.020) end
>up with lower terminal gravities than I want. This has reached a new low
>with my last batch, a 1.053 pale ale, finishing up at 1.006. That's 88%
>apparent attenuation, assuming my hydrometer is accurate (which it may very
>well not be, since I have never checked it against a known solution). Some
>particulars on the latest batch, including some things I did that I suspect
>may have contributed to the low TG:
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Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 12:30:47 -0500
From: "Steven Parfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Hefe Weizen temperature
The general consensis from people who responded to my previous query about
temperature for ester production in a hefe-weizen was to ferment at the high
byproduct of mash temperature, thus I would not have any control as an
extract brewer.
Batch was fermenting well by Monday morning. About 1/sec at the air lock.
I pitched at 80F on Sunday, and let the batch cool to 70F. Tuesday when I
got home from work it was up to 74 F, so I set the fermenter outside to cool
it back below 70F. I brought it inside at a temp of 66F, and it is back up
to 70F today.
Strange/undesiarble smell eminating from the airlock on Monday morning.
Smelled like SO2. This smell persisted and still smells of SO2 as of this
morning.
Steven
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 13:01:45 -0500
From: "Charles R. Stewart" <Charles at TheStewarts.com>
Subject: Re: Seeking advice on exhaust hoods
I actually rigged up a system so I can smoke cigars in the basement shop
without the aroma (aka stink) making it upstairs. When a neighbor was
having their central air system replaced, I got the fan from the old one and
mounted it onto a board, which went into a window. I hooked a cord to it
and fired it up. The thing works so well, I can even use my comptessor and
spray gun in the shop! I'm even considering brewing down there now (of
course with a proper carbon monoxide detector).
On Tue, 6 Feb 2001, Strom C. Thacker, was seeking advice on exhaust hoods
and wrote:
> SWMBO doesn't like the smell of boiling wort (it seeps up through the
> basement ceiling into the kitchen above), so I'd like to either buy
> or build a simple exhaust hood that I could vent outside via a dryer
> vent or the like.
Chip Stewart
Charles at TheStewarts.com
http://Charles.TheStewarts.com
Pursuant to United States Code, Title 47, Chapter 5, Subchapter II, section
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 10:14:05 -0800 (PST)
From: "Brian D. Kern" <bdk at srl.caltech.edu>
Subject: Cheap 10gal coolers
I just spotted new 10-gal Igloo beverage coolers (i.e. cylindrical) for
$30. Check out www.loadup.com/static/7101.html -- this seems
to be an army surplus store, or something of the sort. They claim
that the condition is manufactured new, and the SKU matches the
Igloo model # (check www.igloocoolers.com). Igloo charges $60 for
these.
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Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 13:22:13 -0500
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: sorghum malt
Hmmm. I haven't used sorghum malt, but did use a quart of
sorghum syrup in an imperial stout I brewed a few years back.
Here in the south, any Southern States store worth its mustard
will stock locally made sorghum syrup...or so I'm told. I assume
sorghum syrup is the equivalent of malt extract.
I think it added a nice depth of character to the beer not
achievable through malted grains. The beer stacked up favorably
versus Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout in a drunken blind taste
test. YMMV.
As for extraction, I estimated that it gives pt/lb/gal in the
same amount as honey.
I would think a cup in a small stout would taste rather nice.
Cheers!
Marc
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Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 13:27:57 -0500
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: pump baby pump...baby, baby, pump, pump
Thanks to everyone who responded to the pump questions.
Most warned about compacting the grain bed, which I understand.
I've tested my particular model and think I can restrict the flow
down to a quart/minute which should be slow enough. All warned
of scorching the bottom of the pot. And some suggested I only
use the pump to recirculate during the mash out stage to set the
filter bed, then move over to the boiler.
Phil Wilcox suggested to increase the liquor/girst ratio to 2:1
(from my current 1.25:1). That makes some sense as well. I
think I'll try to keep the recirc rate pretty slow and keep the
burner barely on and see what's what. I need to make some wort
starters and a blending beer (all pale malt, mash hopped, no
bittering additions) and think this will be the perfect chance to
test out the system.
Thanks all.
Marc
Chapel Hill, NC (Rennerian, schmennarian...we're #1)
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 14:45:50 -0500
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu>
Subject: yeast geek info/biofilms
For all the hardcore yeast geeks out there the cover article in Science
deals with getting cerevisiae to form biofilms. Turns out (perhaps not too
surprisingly) that a couple of the flo genes are involved. Here's the link:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/291/5505/806b
-Alan Meeker
Baltimore, MD
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 17:22:14 -0500
From: "Axle Maker" <axlemaker at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Leaking Phillers
Thanx to all that responded to my question...
The over all verdict was they all do that, a few suggested sending it back,
but I wont do that cause it was my idea to try the thing, I will just most
likely go back to my plastic spring loaded filler.
Happy Brewing ! Axle.
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 19:08:29 -0500
From: "Hill, Steve" <SHill at advanta.com>
Subject: Alder wood
hello all!
I am looking to purchase some alder wood for smoking grains for a smoked
beer. I am from Pennsylvania so hitting my local forest won't be a good
start. I am looking for someone in Alaska that might be able to ship me
some wood. Not a lot, just enough for one or two sessions with me Brinkman
smoker.
Anyone serious willing to help please email me. Thanks
shill at advanta.com
Steve
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Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 22:02:27 +0100
From: Tom Smit <lunica at ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Corn grits
Hi all,
I am planning to make a CACA later this year. The only ingredient
giving me problems is corn grits. I have found one site
http://southernfood.about.com/food/southernfood/library/weekly/aa022397.html
that describes making grits. Anyone have a better description of the process?
I could just use polenta or flaked maize but I have some really nice
corn growing in my garden that would give a terrific taste to the CACA.
TIA
Tom Smit
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Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 18:19:34 -0600
From: "C.H. Waters" <cwaters at home.com>
Subject: Early Boil
To Bob Barret: I tried to send this to your e-mail address but it bounced,
so I'll post to the collective.
Two issues regarding an early start to the boil:
1) Your heaviest (gravity) runoff comes first, so starting a boil then
definitely does darken your wort more and result in some melanoidin
production - not necessarily undesirable, depending on style. I wouldn't do
it for a Kolsch or even a CAP, but I like it in my IPA's, and especially in
a porter. Be careful to avoid too much carmelization with this early
high-gravity wort by alot of stirring and slower heating , if you have a
high BTU burner.
2) It probably messes up whatever magic takes place in First Wort Hopping.
Maybe, if you're using pellets, there's enough time for the essential oils
to become stabilized, but as I use flower hops, they're hardly even wet,
still floating high on the surface, if I start the boil too soon. YMMY. I
Hope this helps.
Chester Waters - Omaha
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Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 21:02:20 -0500
From: Rick Gontarek <rgontare at bellatlantic.net>
Subject: source for 8 oz bottles
Hello all,
I am planning to make a mead for my brother's wedding, and I wanted to know
if anyone knows a supplier who sells 8 oz bottles (that will take a crown
cap). I really would like to find those cool cobalt blue bottles, since the
mead will be used as a wedding favor. If anyone can recommend a source, I'd
appreciate it.
Cheers,
Rick Gontarek
Owner/Brewer
The Major Groove Picobrewery
Trappe, PA
RGontare at bellatlantic.net
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 20:34:45 -0600
From: "Marc Hawley" <Marc_Hawley at email.msn.com>
Subject: Southern hops
I grow hops here in extreme southern Indiana. I am South of a line from St.
Louis to Louisville. I started with several varieties but noe I grow only
Cascades. I get about 2 oz. dry weight per plant. They grow up to 20 feet
tall, but they do seem to suffer in the summer heat.
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Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 20:36:07 -0600
From: "Marc Hawley" <Marc_Hawley at email.msn.com>
Subject: philler
I have been using a Phil's philler for years. Eight years or so. I like it
fine. It works.
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