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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
Diacetyl and Czeck Pils (RBoland)
Needed web address ("Grant")
Dublin On St. Patrick's Day (mkboyer)
Diacetyl in PU ("AYOTTE, ROGER C")
Re: Mashout (Doug Hurst)
oxygen analyser ("Sean Richens")
carbs vs alcohol ("Alan Meeker")
Smoked malt ("Ray Daniels")
Re: Mashout (Kevin White)
Sooty Burners ("D. Schultz")
Rookie Questions (Jeffrey Rasmussen)
PU (Phil Wilcox)
upping the output of cooker ("Joseph Marsh")
Re: Mash out ("Bret Morrow")
Berliner Weisse (Mike.Szwaya)
Dry Hopping.... ("Brew Dude")
Post request... (PioneerVillageCC)
micros in Grand Rapids (david.persenaire)
re: Mashout redux ("Stephen Alexander")
Re: HBD to go... Palm Pilot Version (Jim McNealy)
Dominion Ale. ("Colin Marshall")
re: dry hopping technique ("Doug Marion")
Lag Times ("Phil & Jill Yates")
RE:HBD to go... Palm Pilot Version ("Don and Sarah Cole")
Canadian Amateur Brewers Association "Brew Your Own Beer" Road Tour 2001 ("Rob Jones")
The Flavor (aka Fuller's ESB) (Bill Frazier)
shallow grain bed consequences? and propane jet (Petr Otahal)
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
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* http://welcome.to/bluebonnet for more information
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* http://www.sgu.net/ukg/dmc/ for more information
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 00:35:24 EST
From: RBoland at aol.com
Subject: Diacetyl and Czeck Pils
A.J. suggests that diacetyl is a common characteristic of Czech pils. It may
be, but the problem may not be in the brew house. I've had Budvar and
Pilsner Urquel at the breweries and have not perceived diacetyl. On the
other hand, every Budvar and most Urquel I've had in Europe or the US has
been laced with it. I wonder if it is more a post-fermentation sanitation
issue than brewing technique?
Bob Boland in STL
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 09:24:11 +1100
From: "Grant" <gstott at primus.com.au>
Subject: Needed web address
G'day all,
I finally got a ball valve & fittings for my converted keg today :-)
The plumbing fittings supplier was an ex-homebrewer, but there is hope for
him yet. I took along a copy of a web page showing a Weldless Ball Valve to
explain what I wanted.
My problem is that he wanted the web address, so can someone please point me
to the U.S. home brew suppliers web page address that has pages on Weldless
Ball Valve & Weldless Mash Conversion? Private e-mail is fine.
Thanks.
Grant & Yvonne Stott
Geelong Vic. Australia
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 05:16:25 -0600
From: mkboyer at ev1.net
Subject: Dublin On St. Patrick's Day
Nathan,
I too have some friends that will be in Dublin on St. Patricks's day,
and I asked a friend of mine from Ireland the same question - where's
the good beer? Here's what he said:
"...the Temple Bar area is the swinging place. I would imagine
it would be full of very noisy drunks. The best bet would be to get In
Dublin magazine. It's probably also on the web. You might also try Hot
Press. They are definitely on the web and look for the traditional
spots.
Mulligan's of Poolbeg Street (near the river) has a great pint. Try
those
papers though, that's the best bet."
Of course, if you're a Guinness fan, it's hard to beat St. Jame's Gate.
Kevin Boyer
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 07:56:00 -0500
From: "AYOTTE, ROGER C" <RCAYOT at solutia.com>
Subject: Diacetyl in PU
I have not had a lot of Pilsner Urquell but those that I have had
have been very disappointing because they were "stalled" to a
degree that detracted from the beer. I am also very sensitive to
Diacetyl, I can taste it and find it objectionable, at levels
others find hard to detect. Therefore, I am at a loss as to why
others say Diacetyl is part of the flavor profile, I certainly
can't detect it, and wouldn't want it in my beer!
I used to read about Diacetyl in a favorable light, longed to have
it appear in my beers' flavor profile, but once I educated my
palate, and became very aware of it, I have tried every way I could
to eliminate it from my beer! I have had a few beers that had
significant levels of diacetyl, but I have been successful in
removing it by refermentation with an active yeast at relatively
warm (for lagers) temperatures.
It is great to hear that PU is upgrading its fermentation
capabilities and is probably working to eliminate diacetyl form its
flavor profile! (although I know some will pine this change, I
won't)
Roger Ayotte
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:35:50 -0600
From: Doug Hurst <DougH at theshowdept.com>
Subject: Re: Mashout
Kevin White writes:
"("high temperature" being high enough to denature the amylase emzymes,
185F)."
Then later:
"I doubt that any significant starch conversion can occur at
temperatures at or above 176F."
I am confused as to which temperature it is. If Alpha Amylase is denatured
at >176F then why would I need to go to 185F? Also isn't there some concern
of tannin extraction at temperatures as high as this?
For that matter (though not really related to mashing out) why doesn't
decoction mashing release tannins? Since that procedure involves boiling a
portion of the mash.
Doug Hurst
Chicago, IL
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:48:20 -0600
From: "Sean Richens" <Sean.Richens at apoferm.mb.ca>
Subject: oxygen analyser
Here's something for the complete gear-head:
http://www.pharmaceuticalonline.com/read/nl20010209/393650
Be the first in your brew club to have one! Now you don't have to sacrifice
a bottle to get the oxygen level in your headspace.
Sean Richens
srichens at sprint.ca
A day's drive NW of Jeff Renner
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 09:36:28 -0500
From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu>
Subject: carbs vs alcohol
Spencer writes:
>I've always found it curious that, at least in the context of these
>fad diets, that alcohol is not considered a carbohydrate. Chemically,
>that's exactly what it IS!
Well not exactly. Compare methanol to glucose for instance. Glucose is
C6H12O6 (make the numerals subscripts) Which basically reduces down to C and
H2O (carbon plus water) thus the name ("carbo-hydrate") and the generic
formula for carbohydrates:
C(n)H(2n)O(n). Methanol on the other hand is CH3OH which obviously does not
reduce down to C + H2O. Ethanol is C2H5OH, propanol C3H7OH, etc... leading
to a generic formula of C(n)H(2n+1)OH.
Also, the metabolism of alcohols is quite different though they do carry a
lot of caloric "weight." The fad diets you are probably referring to are
those that are obsessed with limiting insulin production, thus the focus on
cutting out carbs.
-Alan Meeker
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:58:42 -0600
From: "Ray Daniels" <raydan at ameritech.net>
Subject: Smoked malt
Jens Maudal asks about smoking malt. There are several techniques that can
produce good smoked malt -- and Geoff Larson and I describe those in the
latest addition to the Classic Beer Style Series, "Smoked Beer." (Yes, it's
finally available this month -- although the publisher has yet to put
anything about it on the net. Contact me if you are interested in getting a
copy.)
Like Jens, I like the classic Bamberg rauch malts. These are made with
well-seasoned beechwood. The Bamberg producers literally stack the wood
under cover for 12 to 24 months to let it dry and season before use. Thus
the wood is DRY. During research for the book, we visited four Bamberg
producers of smoked malt. Two, Schlenkerla and Spezial, are primarily
brewers but they make their own smoked malt. The other two, Weyermann and
Steinbach, are primarily maltsters. Since all four make malt, their grains
are WET when first exposed to the smoke. Further more, because the grains
are dried entirely by the heat from the wood fire, they are exposed to the
smoke for many hours.
These malts are delightful, but I have not succeeded in reproducing them on
a homebrew scale. First, even though I have made some malt, it has been at
a very small scale and so I haven't yet tried using smoke as the sole drying
agent. Second, you really need good temperature control to achieve the
desired effect. This should be possible with a proper BBQ-type smoker, but
I don't have one . . . yet!
In Alaska, Geoff uses a technique involving damp wood and dampened malt.
With many GABF gold medals to his credit, this technique obviously produces
great results as well. (We describe both of these techniques and a third
"quickie" method in the book.)
Those who like to brew rather than smoke will be glad to know that
Weyermann's smoked malt is available in the US. Crosby and Baker is the US
distributor, so if you can't find the malt in your local homebrew store, ask
them to order it or call C&B for another source. (Would it be too much if I
mentioned that THE BOOK has a collection of our favorite smoked beer
recipes? Maybe so . . . )
While Schlenkerla uses as much as 95 percent smoked malt in its grist, the
smoke intensity is highly dependent on smoking conditions. (And there were
some things that they wouldn't tell me -- even over beers!) My experience
with the Weyermann malts is that 20 percent of the grist as smoked malt is a
good starting point -- just remember that the smoked malt loses it's potency
over time, so adjustments may be needed depending on how old the malt is.
(At Spezial, they use 40 to 60 percent smoked malt in the grist depending on
how long it has been since the malt was smoked. This time is measured in
months.)
As for woods, most any hardwood is worth trying. Certainly anything used in
smoking other foods is fair game.
Ray Daniels
E-mail: raydan at ameritech.net
To order a book, call 888-822-6273 or e-mail me for details.
Don't Miss: Real Ale Festival, Chicago - March 1-3 -
www.realalefestival.com
Craft Brewers Conference, Portland, OR - April 4-7
National Homebrewers Conference, Los Angeles - June
21-23
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 10:32:02 -0500
From: Kevin White <kwhite at bcpl.net>
Subject: Re: Mashout
Doug Hurst replied to my previous post:
>
> > "("high temperature" being high enough to denature the amylase emzymes,
> > 185F)."
>
> Then later:
>
> > "I doubt that any significant starch conversion can occur at
> > temperatures at or above 176F."
>
> I am confused as to which temperature it is. If Alpha Amylase is denatured
> at >176F then why would I need to go to 185F? Also isn't there some concern
> of tannin extraction at temperatures as high as this?
Alpha amylase may or may not be completely denatured at 176F. Different
references provide different temperatures for enzyme deactivation, so to
ensure complete deactivation, one should use a slightly higher temperature,
i.e., 185F. (Also, the statement using 176F was a response to a different
comment, so the contextual meaning has been missed.)
Let's keep this in perspective: high-volume brewers experience considerably
longer time lags between mashing and kettle boil than do typical
homebrewers. Combined with their need for product consistency, it is
important for high-volume brewers that the wort characteristics are
prevented from changing once they are established. For the typical
homebrewer, the amount by which the wort characteristics may change between
mashing and boiling is generally small, so whether or not a
high-temperature mashout is performed, and if so, whether the mashout
temperature is 175F, 180F, or 185F, has less effect on the ultimate
outcome, which is good beer, so why worry? About the only time you might
need a high-temp mashout is when you are trying to produce *very specific*
alcohol and body characteristics in your beer.
>
> For that matter (though not really related to mashing out) why doesn't
> decoction mashing release tannins? Since that procedure involves boiling a
> portion of the mash.
>
Decoction mashing does extract tannins, but since the decoction is
typically a small fraction of the total mash, the overall effect is less
than would be experienced if tannins were extracted from all the mash.
Kevin White
Columbia, MD
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:12:54 -0800
From: "D. Schultz" <d2schultz at qwest.net>
Subject: Sooty Burners
Whew, lots of good posts on sooty burners. I've been the spider web route as
it sounds many others have been as well.
The one item I did experience but didn't see in any post was obstructions
from the manufacturing of the burner. When I received my 3 tirer stand I had
sooty burners. After exhaustive work to fix it, after all they were new, I
disassembled one to find a significant amount of slag from the casting was
blocking the path of the gas. About an hour's work with a drill bit and rat
tail file later, the problem was fixed.
Burp,
-Dan
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:36:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Jeffrey Rasmussen <jeffrey_rasmussen at yahoo.com>
Subject: Rookie Questions
Hey all,
I decided to celebrate my 21st birthday by trying my hand at making my
own pale ale. After reading John Palmer's guide at howtobrew.com and
hooking up some starter equipment, I got the batch into the fermenter
(or as my dad jokingly calls it, the "paint bucket") last weekend. Now
I've got some questions for you veterans...
1. Cooling the wort took much longer than I expected. I live in Ithaca,
NY so I figured that the best thing to do would be to put my pot out in
a pile of snow on my porch, but I soon realized that not much was
happening. If I want to stir the wort to help it cool faster what
sanitary precautions do I need to take?
2. The next surprise was that the total volume that ended up in my
"paint bucket" was only about 4 gallons. The recipe that I used started
with 5 gallons of water and some will obviously be lost to evaporation,
but is it natural to lose this much? Is it customary to start with more
than 5 gallons to compensate?
3. After getting everything into the fermenter I popped the airlock on
(filled with sanitizer solution as suggested by Palmer). When I went to
check on it an hour later, I realized that I had not formed a seal when
I inserted the airlock so I took it out and adjusted. In the process of
taking it out of the lid a couple of tablespoons of the sanitizer
solution (c-brite) got sucked into my wort. Should I be worried?
4. Looking ahead to bottling day (!), I'm going to have to get some
empty bottles. I plan to get these from a local bar or restaurant and
sanitize them in my oven. What is the best way to remove the labels?
5. At howtobrew.com, Palmer suggests using a dishwasher to sanitize
equipment. He mentions that care must be taken to not get any "Jet Dry"
solution onto the equipment as this can ruin head retention. This
approach seems like it would be an easy way to sanitize, but looking at
my dishwasher I'm not sure how I would get the "Jet Dry" solution out.
It's in a little recessed tub and I could probably insert a paper towel
to absorb most of it and then run it once with regular dishes to get
the rest out. Will this work? Is there a better way?
6. Last but not least, I need what every rookie needs: reassurance. Is
it normal for my airlock to be bubbling only a few times a minute (I'm
on day 2 of fermentation)?
Thanks!
Jeff Rasmussen
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 12:06:09 -0500
From: Phil Wilcox <pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com>
Subject: PU
Paul, et all
Though PU is increasing production in the Modern brew house, I saw an
awful lot of wood fermentors full of beer when I was there in April of
last year. We got a private tour with a brewer and a translator. My
impression from the brewer was that the were trying to get the modern
brew house (For export) to give identical flavor and profile as the
traditional 1917 equipment which is distributed locally. Not the other
way around as the BT article seems to have indicated (don't have it in
front of me and can't access it on-line).
We got to sample the unfiltered in the lagering tunnels and the Pivo at
the restaurant where we had an early lunch. The night before we stayed
in Pilsn at the Hotel Continental. We got in late (had dinner at
Schlenkerla in Bamburg), but we proceeded to have many rounds of PU at
the hotel bar while observing the local "wildlife." The sign by the door
said the beer was hand carried from the brewery. It wouldn't surprise
me, you don't have to be Tiger Woods to put a 3-wood shot through the
front gates of the brewery.
The level in which i would smell diacytel would send Jeff Renner running
outside the meeting. I am practically blind to it, until I get to the
movie theater... But there at that hotel bar, I experienced something
that I never had before (Besides the Hookers flirting with us). There is
a facet in this beer that lets it slide down your throat so smooth that
you can scarcely tell your drinking beer. I've never got that "feel"
from any other beer. Not Budvar, Staropamen, Eger or any of the other
beers we had in Prague. Though others at the table that night could
smell the diacetyl, i could not. But I do attribute some the
"Smoothness" of the beer to be from its diacetyl content. I could feel
it in the mouth feel of the beer. To quote a SNL actress imitating
Barbara Strisand "smooth as butter!"
Phil Wilcox
Hoping to see you all at the Real Ale Festival in 2 weeks!!!!!
Ps. To Chip Stewart--you can get a 0-60 psi propane regulator at Quality
Farm and Fleet or similar stores. Thats overkill, but it will get you
there. For less money and more time order a new variable 1-18psi
regualtor from King Cooker. They now accept Credit Cards, but it still
takes 3+ weeks to get your order. DONT drill out the orface's that will
ruin the efficiency of flame, and you'll soon be posting about Soot,
like everyone else lately... The answer, as Tim Allen says, is "More
Power!!!"
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 12:00:26 -0500
From: "Joseph Marsh" <josephmarsh62 at hotmail.com>
Subject: upping the output of cooker
Chip Steward asks about upping the output of a propane burner by drilling
out the orifice. The answer is NO. Basically you are stuck with what you
bought. In theory you could use a larger orifice if you upped the vapor
pressure of your propane. Say by heating the tank. This makes a niffty bomb
but do you really want all those BTU's at once? :-)
Joe
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 18:28:55
From: "Bret Morrow" <bretmorrow at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Mash out
Greetings,
I have 1 point to add to the fray regarding the role of a mash out in
eliminating amylase activity. Longer mashes do not seem to change the final
product. I use a 90 min or a 4+ hrs mash depending on the needs of the day
and notice no difference in the beers that I can attribute to length of
mash. I believe that the amylase enzyme activity is a moot point at the end
of a 90 min mash, unless you liberate starch from the grain bed when you
sparge. For me, I cannot detect starch in the mash by 20 to 30 min into the
mash. While this does not tell me much about the timecourse of beta amylase
and its breaking down of the substarch carbohydrates, there seems to be
plenty of time, 1 hr+ more, for it to work. If you use a 45 min mash--well,
that maybe a different story.
Cheers,
Bret Morrow,
Hamden, CT
Oh by-the-by everyone else has an inspirational quote as a tag line, so I
thought I would try my hand at it.
"Quantity has a quality all its own" -J. Stalin
Of course he said it in Russian
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 11:50:15 -0800
From: Mike.Szwaya at co.clark.wa.us
Subject: Berliner Weisse
I'd like to give a Berliner Weisse a try this spring and would like to know
if anyone has any points or hints I should consider during the yeast
management and brewing process.
I already have a little yeast bank so I can work my way up from a slant if
need be. I gather some sort of decoction process could, and would, be used
during the mash. I've read over the Wheat Beer book by Eric Warner(?) so I
have a little idea of the process. I just wanted to know what sort of
experiences and practical recommendations other people have from brewing a
sour Weisse
Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Szwaya, PE
Clark County Public Works
Stormwater & Watershed Resources/NPDES
515 W. Mill Plain Blvd.
Vancouver, WA 98666
Office: (360) 397-6118 x4536
Fax: (360) 397-6144
Email: Mike.Szwaya at co.clark.wa.us
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 20:05:02 -0000
From: "Brew Dude" <brewdude_ at hotmail.com>
Subject: Dry Hopping....
Tom asks about Dry Hopping...
I have been using whole leaf hops in my secondary for quite some time now
with no bad effects. I stuff the carboy (5 gal) with an oz. or two and then
rack the primary right on top. The hops will float on top. I then wait a day
for the CO2 to build up and then swirl the brew a bit to get the hops
moving. I keep a dry hopped brew in the secondary for two weeks, so the hops
can do there thing. By that time most hops have settled to the bottom. To
really clear up the brew, I set it in the fridge at 45 degrees for a day and
all hops settle to the bottm. While racking the beer from the secondary to
the bottling carboy with priming sugar, I draw from the middle and work my
way into the hops. I gotta get it all! Because the beer is still cold, any
thing you suck into the bottle carboy will quickly settle. As far as ammount
to use is always challanging. I don't think one could ever use enough!
Just my 2 cents,
Brewdude
Society of Northern Ohio Brewers
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 15:14:03 EST
From: PioneerVillageCC at aol.com
Subject: Post request...
I am a reenactor for Pioneer Village in Ohio. Does anyone have or know of
beer recipes from the time period of 1790 to 1803? My husband and I are
doing the demonstration of making short beer for our harvest festival.
Since I am from Ireland, any beers from that area would work also. Any
help would be appreciated.
Thanks kindly,
Lynn Jany
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 14:06:46 -0600
From: david.persenaire at abnamro.com
Subject: micros in Grand Rapids
I'm heading up to visit my brother in Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend
if I can get through the snow belt unscathed. I've been to Grand Rapids
brewing company before and the Big Buck. Anybody out there recommend other
brewpubs that might be better that I have missed?
Dave Persenaire
Tinley Park, Illinois
(no idea where that is in rennerian co-ordinates)
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 05:44:29 -0500
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: Mashout redux
Kevin White writes ...
>>Mashout releases an extra 3-5% extract (more with less well modified malt)
>>much of which ends up as unfermentable dextrins. This extraction, is the
>>big difference.
>>
>I do not recall ever seeing this in the literature. Is it documented fact
>or brewing legend?
The percentage figures are a brewing legend based on about a dozen carefully
measured no-mashout beers I made (and more that I didn't measure so
carefully).
2 to 10% is about the range. I will stand by the 3-5% figure as 'typical'
based on various well modified malts and a 60C-70C mash schedule. As for
the fate of the late release starch, search the lit for author Bent Stig
Envoldsen, of Tuborg breweries research staff. Great detailed time study of
carbo spectrum at 10 minute intervals throughout the mash (& mashout
period). One of his reports on this research appeared in 'European Brewing
Congress', collected papers circa 1977.
>>Nah - You can get complete conversion of malt with mash-IN temps of
>>80C(=176F) and almost so at 85C(=185F) !! These temps aren't enough to
>>shut-down alpha-amylase before conversion completes, and that's the point
of
>>a mashout.
>>
>
>Do you have sources that support this data?
"The Effects of Mashing Temperature and Mash Thickness on Carbohydrate
Composition", Robt Muller, J.Inst.Brewing (JIB), v97, pp85-92 .
Basically mashes were performed at 70C, 75C, 80C, and 85C and various mash
thickness', but dynamic tests during the mash of enzyme activity and test of
the resulting wort carb, starch and fermentability are made. Residual
starch was unusually high only for the 85C mash above 1.5 qt/lb thickness
and the 80C case for extremely thin (3.5qt/lb) mash thickness. In other
words a conventional thickness HB mash should convert (not leave excess
starch) successfully even at a mash-in of 85, tho' that's about the limit.
This paper also measures enzyme activity during these high temp mashes.
>You may be referring to the _initial temperature_ of mashing water.
I meant what I said. I'm referring to the Brewing Research Centre at
Nuthill, Surrey's mash apparatus and methods as described in JIB 81, pp225
and of course they refer to carefully controlled mash temp, not strike water
temps.
>Briggs et. al. (Malting and
>Brewing Science, Vol 1, pgs 264-265 [Chapman and Hall, London]) list 167F
>to 170F as the amylase inactivation temperature. Kunze (Technology Brewing
>and Malting, pg 193 [VLB Berlin]) lists alpha amylase inactivation
>temperature as 176F and beta amylase at 158F.
Let me give you a few points to ponder regarding statements about enzyme
activity in brewing books.. The approach presented in *MOST* of the
brewing literature and much of the pre-1980 industrial enzymology texts is
at odds with the theory which has been around for most of a century. Anyone
who writes such-n-such enzyme denatures at some particular temp really means
"the enzymes denature fast enough that I can ignore it under MY conditions
and for MY purposes.
There are no 'magic' temps or times for enzymes and a source that quotes a
'magic' temperature is at best providing a rule of thumb, and at worst is
repeating a momily. The temps above are good engineering type figures within
a context, but to quote them without context is meaningless. Temps impact
the rate at which the enzymes act and the rate at which they denature and
the interaction of these two rates leads to unexpected results. There is no
magic temp at which all alpha-amylase molecules suddenly denature - there is
simply less and less acting faster. Never zero.
The other idea which is popular but has long been abandoned in the
literature of practical enzymology is that of "optimal" temperatures for an
enzymes activity (yet you'll find this both in M&BS and in Kunze). They can
only be "optimal", if a time period is specified, but that's another
discussion.
Kunze gives no specific source but accurately states "(alpha-amylase) ... is
inactivated rapidly even at 70C (158C)". The actual rate is very dependent
on other factors, like mash thickness, substrate concentration and
concentration of calcium ions, but despite this in reasonable mash
conditions the half-life has been measures at 42.5 minutes at 65C and closer
to 25 minutes at 70C. To Kunze this reduction of half-life is "rapidly" I
guess.
M&BS on pp 264-265 is describing a triple decoction - pp 264 suggests the
decoctions are very thin (as much as 2.7qt/lb) and the thinness along with
the boils reduces the enzyme complement considerably and increases the rate
of denaturation at 170F dramatically. Generally more water means less
stable amylases. Still such statements cannot be taken literally, because
literally they are wrong.
Kevin - I think you'd find 'Enzyme Technology' by Chaplin & Bucke, Cambridge
University Press, 1990 gives a thorough, readable and modern approach to
practical 'enzyme engineering', covering both industrial design and practice
issues and enough background theory to be useful (some parts directly
applicable to brewing). At a similar level as M&BS in my opinion -
technical, almost faultless yet the emphasis remains on the practical.
-S
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 16:06:12 -0500
From: Jim McNealy <Jim.McNealy at sas.com>
Subject: Re: HBD to go... Palm Pilot Version
Bob Sutton posted an article about downloading the digest to a Palm.
This is a great suggestion. I tried this with iSiloWeb and it worked
fine. You may want to check the link depth that AvantGo is using. One
of the problems I had with AvantGo was that it defaulted to 3 or 4.
This can really balloon the final file. If you just want the current
HBD set the link depth to 1. iSiloWeb gave me a file ~107k for the Feb
13th digest.
Thanks for the suggestion! I get the email version of the digest, which
I hardly ever make time to read. Updating it on my Palm daily would be
much better.
-Jim
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Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 08:37:32 +1100
From: "Colin Marshall" <byoah at argay.com.au>
Subject: Dominion Ale.
Does anybody have a recipe to imitate Dominion Brewery Millenium Specialty
Ale, a barley wine type beer using some honey? I'm sorry, I can't provide
any other details of this American brewery.
Thank you,
Colin Marshall.
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 16:29:30 -0700
From: "Doug Marion" <mariondoug at hotmail.com>
Subject: re: dry hopping technique
A few posters lately have talked about their concerns with hops
floating during secondary and question the aroma utilization as a result. A
few with good ideas as well. Here's my solution.
If you have some spare change floating around, just throw a few quarters in
boiling water to sanitize and then toss them in a hop bag with the hops to
sink them. Eight to ten quarters should do. I tie very fine fishing
monofiliment to the hop bag and run it out the top of the corny keg and tie
to the handle. The rubber o-ring still seals just fine around the
monofiliment and the hop bag is suspended down in your brew without sitting
on the bottom. Seems to work great. Just remember to retrieve your hard
earned cash before chucking the spent hops.
Cheers,
Doug Marion
Meridian,Idaho
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Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:56:42 +1100
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Lag Times
Now I'm not talking about the usual lag times which brewers get so concerned
about. I'm talking about the amusing lag time which occurs in the HBD
regarding discussion on a matter. Just a few weeks ago I brought to
everyone's attention arguably the biggest homebrewing event to occur this
century. The great gathering of homebrewers (infamous and otherwise) here at
Burradoo Estate to sample the Yates/Pivo Czech pilsner!
And what were we looking for?
Diacetyl of course.
The only response I got was from a Texan who asked why the hell would we
want diacetyl in our pils?
Now of course, you are all talking about it and even A.J. chimes in with
support. I've always had great admiration for A.J. since he confessed to me
he once rode a BMW.
And my obvious respect for Eric Fouch comes purely from his past ownership
of a Hodaka Wombat.
But I'm drifting.
Getting back to the big taste testing weekend.
Did we find any diacetyl?
Sadly no.
The Doc blamed Wes Smith who provided the malt (and yeast as it turned out).
I blamed the Doc for pouring too much water into the kettle.
Wes blamed both of us for not knowing what we were doing.
And a dreadful fracas broke out.
Dave Lamotte arrived just in time to prevent blood being spilt all over the
grounds of Burradoo Estate.
He brought some samples of his own brew.
And we all picked on him instead.
Nothing like a fun weekend with dedicated brewers!
I will report later on the beer itself (it's still too young anyway - and I
told them it would be).
But I better get out of here before Steve Alexander comes shrieking down and
strikes me asunder for lack of content.
Cheers
Baron Of Bloody Battle Fields
Burradoo
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 20:09:01 -0600
From: "Don and Sarah Cole" <dcole at mc.net>
Subject: RE:HBD to go... Palm Pilot Version
Bob Sutton said:
>Someone else suggested using AvantGo... an excellent suggestion... but for
>some reason AvantGo reports the file (http://hbd.org/hbd/CurrentHBD.html)
as
>too large to download (YMMV) - even with a download cap at 500k. I'm still
>trying to find a solution. If anyone has a AvantGo link that works - please
>post it.
I tried to ask AvantGo support why this occured since the page without
graphics is usually about 50K and They answered "But the main page is much
larger" When I tried to qustion them as to why they would look at more than
the specific html page I was pointing to I got no response. I did discover
that if you re-initialize the AvantGo login that you can get the HBD
download to your Palm device, but that's a huge PITA.
Don Cole
Somewhere in Northern Illinois with Harmilda the Cow
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 22:07:41 -0500
From: "Rob Jones" <robjones at pathcom.com>
Subject: Canadian Amateur Brewers Association "Brew Your Own Beer" Road Tour 2001
Over the past few years, CABA has particularly emphasized introducing new
people to the craft of homebrewing. As a follow-up to our highly successful
seminar in Toronto and more recent promotion of homebrewing at beer
festivals we are hitting the road again ... this time to Hamilton.
CABA will be running a learn to brew seminar on Saturday February 24th from
2 to 5 pm at the Winking Judge in Hamilton. The seminar will cover the
basics of how to brew from extract with grain, proper sanitation techniques
with short discussions on the basics of beer styles and history, all while
enjoy one of Ontario's finest
draft selections available.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Coopers Malt, upon the completion of the
seminar each participant will be given ingredients to make their first
batch.
If you would like more information or to rsvp please contact Bill at the
Winking Judge at 905-524-5626 or email Rob at robjones at axxent.ca.
Cost of participating is $20 and includes CABA membership for 2001, seminar
notes, and the ingredients to make your first brew. The Winking Judge is
located at 25 Augusta Street in the heart of Hamilton.
Cheers,
Rob Jones
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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 22:14:52 -0600
From: Bill Frazier <billfrazier at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: The Flavor (aka Fuller's ESB)
Mark Vernon writes "I am trying to come up with a recipe for Fullers
ESB...I have looked at the recopies on The Brewery and was not that
impressed...anyone remember which (ie. Wyeast strain) one that is?"
Mark-Your quest for a FESB clone is a worthy one. Here where I live, in
the Kansas City area, FESB can be had in bottles and from the keg. The keg
version is my favorite beer, if served at a proper temperature. I describe
it as a beer with strong, mellow bitterness and a distinctive caramel
flavor. I notice a big difference between the bottle and keg versions.
Your comment that you were not impressed by suggested recipes in
interesting. I believe the recipe is fairly simple, just as you
describe. The answer to this beer has to be the yeast or how it is made.
There was a Zymurgy article about FESB in 1999. In that article Roger
Protz says that "a proprietary, top-fermenting yeast strain that imparts a
characteristic honey-flower flavor" is responsible for the caramel-like
flavor that makes this beer unique. Many have said that Wyeast 1968 is the
yeast. I don't believe it. I've brewed over a dozen beers with this yeast
and have not come up with the caramel-like flavor.
Some time back a person that visited Fuller's brewery near London posted
that a bucket of caramel syrup is poured into the beer, at some stage in
it's manufacture. Some fellows that post on the UK-HBD say that caramel
syrup, in England, is not what you might think. They indicate that it's
used for color and not flavor.
However, a year or so back Nate Whal and John Penn, both posters/readers of
the HBD sent me information on how to make a caramel flavor in beer. In
Nate's method he separates up to one gallon of first runnings and boils
this down to about a pint over high heat. In John's method he starts with
LME and does the same thing. I've made beers with both methods. In my
efforts the concentrated wort definitely had a caramel-like flavor. It's
not exactly the flavor of caramelized sugar but more like the flavor of
Traquair Ale. However, once I added these caramelized syrups back to the
wort (before boil in both trys) the flavor got lost and there was no
intense caramel flavor in the finished beer. The beers were good, just not
like FESB.
In a couple of separate brews I've added caramelized sugar (as syrup) in
amounts up to a pound for 5 gallons. Like above the caramel flavor gets
lost in the boil and fermentation.
Recently I was discussing this matter with fellows on the UK-HBD. Graham
has been able to get a caramel flavor in beer by adding caramelized sugar
syrup to finished beer in the keg. He used about 1.5 teaspoons for a pint
of beer. This works out to about 10 ounces of syrup for 5 gallons of
beer. Graham says that the beer is sweet for a few days but definitely has
caramel flavor. As the beer ages in the keg the sweetness disappears and
caramel flavor lingers. I haven't had a chance to try this method yet but
will do so in the coming months.
So, my suggestion for a FESB clone would be to use an all malt grain bill
such as;
For 5 gallons US at OG 1055
Pale malt 51%
Vienna malt 43%
Cara Vienna 2.7%
Caramel 80L 2.7%
Chocolate Malt 0.625% (ie. one ounce)
(this grain bill will give you the color you want)
I use soft water so the bitterness will not be sharp.
Single temperature infusion at 155F for 90 minutes
Select amount of grain to give OG 1055 in your system. About 9 lbs for me.
While I know it's not proper I've been using Saaz hops lately because they
give such a nice mellow bitterness. I've also used a 50/50 ratio of EKG
and Fuggles with nice results and probably closer to the real
thing. Bitter up to 45 IBU without fear. The malt can handle it. I boil
for 75 minutes and put roughly 1/4 of the hops in at FWH, 60 min, 45 min
and 30 min. I don't detect any hop aroma in keg FESB.
Ferment with W1968 or your favorite British ale yeast. Again, I know it's
heresy, but I've been using Wyeast 2206 lager yeast recently. This yeast
really gives a smooth beer and I don't detect any harshness in FESB.
The only thing left is to try putting caramel syrup in the keg with
finished beer. Should result in a pretty good clone. Let us know how it
turns out if you try it. Your sig quote says it all "There are no secrets
to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from
failure.
- -- General Colin Powell
Regards,
Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas
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Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 15:44:16 +1100
From: Petr Otahal <potahal at utas.edu.au>
Subject: shallow grain bed consequences? and propane jet
Hello,
Nathan Matta talks about having a grain bed too shallow.
Ive gone through the archives and the consensus is that having your grain
bed too shallow will result in poor wort clarity, but no one seemed to say
what consequences this had.
So, what consequences does this (poor wort clarity) have?
Does it result in a cloudy beer ?
I have a three tier, three keg brewing setup, and since I starter all grain
brewing I have been doing 50L batches, my grain bed has been around 15-18cm
(6-7 in), but I would like to do some smaller batches, so my grain bed
could go less than 10 cm (4 in).
Nahan reckons that you get less efficiency with a shallower grain bed, but
Ive been getting fairly consistently in the mid to high 80s with my setup,
I do sparge slowly though, taking about 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.
On another topic, the propane burner I have is fairly piss weak, and seeing
as I cant get a decent (greater than 35BTU) burner here (that is small
enough to fit into my system), I was thinking of constructing one along the
lines of your cajun cooker style.
What I really need to know are the dimensions of the propane jet on one of
these suckers, particularly the orifice. Could someone please help?
Cheers
Pete
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