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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
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Contents:
Making Polish Brews? ("Abby, Ellen and Alan")
Portland Maine? ("Abby, Ellen and Alan")
CC fermenters - continued (BrwyFoam)
("Mark Tumarkin")
Re: Compressed air fittings (David Lamotte)
RE: Belgian Beer site ("Steve")
flexxy gas lines ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
There are no dumb questions...there are... (William Macher)
misc. Chimay & ball valves ("elvira toews")
1.024 sg and I already kegged it! Help! ("Don Price")
Fittings in keg side... (William Macher)
RE: Keg to Brewpot Conversion...Help for dummy? ("The Holders")
O2 Regulator for BernzOMatic??? ("Pete Calinski")
RE: Bock Fest in Cincy ("Mr. Shane A. Saylor")
QD's and CO2 (The Man From Plaid)
FW: keg conversion, part I ("Dave Howell")
FW: Keg Conversion, part II ("Dave Howell")
Fixing slight phenolic taste? ("Hardter")
Re: Sorghum (james r layton)
Mountain View (CA) Brew Challenge 2001 (Peter Torgrimson)
Plastic Carboys ("Joseph M. Labeck Jr.")
Classic American Cream Ale results (Jim Wilson)
Belgian beer site search tips (Brian Myers)
Plastic fermentors ("Tracy P. Hamilton")
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
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* http://www.sgu.net/ukg/dmc/ for more information
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* Maltose Falcons Mayfaire Entry Deadline is 3/20/01!
* http://www.maltosefalcons.com/ for more information
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Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 07:13:16 -0400
From: "Abby, Ellen and Alan" <elal at pei.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Making Polish Brews?
In 1991 I taught English in the Polish coastal City of Kolobrzeg and
enjoyed the local brews quite a bit...quite a bit. There was a
characteristic caramelly tangy aspect to most Polish beer that was
unlike the Czech beers more common here and which is not as pronounced
in the export Okocim or Zywiec you can get in Ontario. I expect the
Lublin hops is key but is there anything else to be done? As I kept a
label from that time in my note book, I recall that it was my favorite
brew - "Browar Gdanski Piwo Jasne Pelne." Is there a source of Lublin
plugs?
By the way there was great batch variation due to ingredient scarcity I
expect. Our district had to drink its way through a shipment of the
familiar white label Zywiec which apparently had been hopped with
cloves. Like drinking one of those little Indonesian ciggies.
Alan in PEI
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 07:20:18 -0400
From: "Abby, Ellen and Alan" <elal at pei.sympatico.ca>
Subject: Portland Maine?
Does anyone have any suggestions on buying beer in Portland Maine. I
am heading to the balmy south next weekend to visit friends and plan
visits to Seadog (IPA=yum), Shipyard (Fuggles IPA) and Gritty McDuff's
(anything on tap), but where can I find the best selection of bottled
ales to bring back to Canada. Bar Harbour Blueberry Ale is
particularly desired by a pal here but all others are of interest. Any
other brew pub suggestions?
By the way, we are allowed under Federal law to bring back 48 bottles
through Canada customs and - can you believe this - under PEI law to
possess that many in this province. Any more than that is treated as
"smuggling" according to a TV campaign put on by the province a few
years ago. You gotta love the jurisdiction where there was prohibition
until 1948!
Alan in PEI
[Where we eat irish moss pie.]
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 06:57:12 EST
From: BrwyFoam at aol.com
Subject: CC fermenters - continued
There appears to be some confusion concerning the properties of CC
fermenters, very likely because there are so many different versions
available.
The Beer,Beer, and More Beer units that Steve C. and I have been discussing
are jacketed. In fact, precise temperature control is one of their strong
points. They do this not by glycol cooling jackets as is done in commercial
versions, but rather by a very unique and highly original system of heat
removal. This plus the highly favorable aspect ratio (sufficiently small
height to diameter ratios) gives a uniform temperature throughout the unit. I
ferment lagers at 48 F with the unit in an ambient environment (around here
that is ~68 to 70 F). I have three temperature probes, one at the top, one in
the midddle, and one in the cone. The top and bottom probes are ones I
designed, and the middle one came with the unit. The differences between all
three reading have consistently been below 1F, and indeed deviations from 48F
have been below 1F.
I have found the effect of the favorable geometry and precise temperature
control to be significant. For example, my version of a CAP is mashed to
have a starting extract of 15P (1.061) and a terminal extract of 3P (1.012).
This is achieved in the BBMB unit in 11 -12 days with exactly the correct
terminal gravity. At the other extreme were test brews using a cornelius keg
with bubbler for gas release (IMHO the worst conceivable choice for a
fermenter). They took at least twice as long and finished with terminal
extracts in the 4-5 P (1.016-1.020) range. All these test brews were done
with a W-34/70 yeast strain that I have been using for over 15 years. Cell
counts and viabilities were measured for each brew, and in each case the
latter were above 95% and the counts were in the 20-22 million cells/ml
range. Yeast samples which did not meet these standards (and this happens
more than I would like to admit!) were discarded.
I have been discussing this issue with Steve C. via private e-mail, and he is
reporting similar results. I personally feel that this effect is the single
most reproduciable advantage that comes with a unit configured along the
lines of the BBMB unit.
Cheers,
George Fix
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 07:26:38 -0500
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com>
Subject:
Bill writes about forgetting to bookmark a good site on Belgian beer -
"After an hour of searching for that site this morning I don't have any more
hair to pull out. So I am taking this last ditch measure of asking for
directions...you know, it's a guy thing."
What would Red Green would think of asking for help so easily?
don't know if this is the site you were looking at (it does have a How it
Sounds button) but it's a good one -
http://belgianstyle.com/mmguide/index.html
another good site is Peter Crombecq's page - http://www.dma.be/p/bier/beer.htm
most browsers have a history tool that stores the sites you've looked at -
don't know which one you're using, but you can try the index in Help to get
specifics for your system. since you were there very recently it should be
easy to find the site.
Mark Tumarkin
Gainesville, Fl
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 23:41:44 +1100
From: David Lamotte <lamotted at ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: Compressed air fittings
Bjoern Thegeby asked about using compressed air fittings for CO2 lines.
I use a short length of gas line with a male fitting on my regulator, and
have a female fitting hanging out the back of the fridge. I also have
another female fitting on a length of line that has a gas disconnect on the
other.
This lets me disconnect the tank from the fridge (the female fitting is
self closing so no gas escapes) and connect the other line for various
duties such as pushing sanitiser from keg to get etc.
I use the brass ones, and have had no problems with any 'rubber' aromas
from the seals.
Go for it ....
David Lamotte
Newcastle NSW Australia
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 07:43:09 -0500
From: "Steve" <stjones1 at chartertn.net>
Subject: RE: Belgian Beer site
Bill found a great Belgian Beer site, but since he was drinking coffee
he forgot to bookmark it.
I think he might be referring to http://belgianstyle.com.
Steve Jones
State of Franklin Homebrewers
Johnson City, TN
http://users.chartertn.net/franklinbrew
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 08:05:15 -0500
From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com>
Subject: flexxy gas lines
Ron La Borde asks >>Ooooweee, my gas water heater uses a copper
feed line, my clothes dryer uses a copper (or is it brass) corrugated feed
line, my stove uses the same. This is the first time ever to hear this
warning. Anyone have more information on this.<<
Yeah, the flexible connectors that are_not_vinyl coated or not stainless
are
_not_code. But it is because the corrosion comes from the *outside. Real
familiar with this because the old building I had my store in had a few
apartments upstairs and one got a gas leak due to an uncoated flexxy.
The whole building was red tagged and all the units had to be inspected
and all lines "sniffed", uncoated flexxies had to all be replaced before
they
turned the gas on. Replace the flexxies with stainless steel for a cost of
around $18 and sleep easy tonight.
NPL
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 08:29:24 -0500
From: William Macher <macher at telerama.lm.com>
Subject: There are no dumb questions...there are...
Hi again!
Well, perhaps if I had not been drinking that coffee again yesterday
morning I would have used my head for more than a hair rack, and checked
the history function that is built into Netscape!
Thanks to everyone who pointed me at the site:
http://belgianstyle.com.
And also to those who pointed me to the History function in Netscape. Yes,
the information was there all along.
If you have an interest in Belgian beer and have not been to this site yet,
I think it is worth a visit.
I am going to jump over there now and look around a bit more. Then again,
perhaps I should wait until this evening to observe again, this time with
the proper beverage in hand!
Thanks for the help!
Bill Macher Pittsburgh, PA USA
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 08:21:25 -0600
From: "elvira toews" <etoews1 at home.com>
Subject: misc. Chimay & ball valves
Chimay yeast: If you get a good culture, try using it in a mild or bitter.
The flavour is much closer to a British draft beer than the pure cultures.
Ball valves: They're not so easy to find at retail, but an industrial valve
supplier will have 3-piece ball valves. You remove one of the bolts and
loosen the other three and the ball and gaskets fall out for cleaning. I
wouldn't waste money on full cavity fillers (optional style gasket that
reduces but does not eliminate the pocket of potential contamination).
You might be better off just clamping on a hose and using a hose clamp as a
valve.
Sean Richens
srichens at sprint.ca
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2001 21:23:37 -0500
From: "Don Price" <dprice1 at tampabay.rr.com>
Subject: 1.024 sg and I already kegged it! Help!
Pardon the long post...I attempted an extract/specialty grains "scotch ale"
recipe on 01/23, racked it to a corny keg on 02/02 for aging at room temp
(72-80 F), went on 9 day vacation 02/03, chilled the keg on 02/27, force
carbonated it on 03/01, and sampled it on 03/02. And it tastes
like...well...malty sweet crap with hard to define funk-like
aftertaste....but somewhat beer-like none the less. An after the fact test
gives me a sg of 1.024. The recipe states a goal of "...maltiness and about
8% abv...". It also gives a rather generic 1.010 - 1.015 sg prior to
bottling. Me thinks me fermentation is stuck...big time.
Possible problems - yeast (Wyeast 1728 Scottish ale) got a slow start (not
much action in 24 hour starter and temp <72 F) and I tossed in some Danstar
(forgot which one) dry yeast on day 2 (I think) when it looked like nothing
much was happening. Yes, I was in a hurry because I wanted to go on
vacation and I wanted some serious brew waiting when I got back, so I
pitched yeast that probably wasn't ready. No I don't take good notes (I
have a pornographic memory...) and I usually skip the hydrometer thing
because it seems like a waste of beer (HA!) and time. Oh, the lessons
learned...I learn more from failure than success.
Any suggestions on what, if anything, can be done to save (improve?) this
batch? Any chance more aging will help? Chilled or room temp? It isn't
horrid but it is clearly the worst "drinkable" batch that I have had in
20-25 attempts since I got started last year. Is it possible to pitch a
different yeast to bring it to completion after it has already been
carbonated? Do I need to decarbonate it first? Any suggestions on a yeast
type?
Recipe specifics (as I remember them):
6.6 lb amber malt (John Bull)
1 lb dark DME (Munton's)
10 oz demerra sugar
grains - 1 lb dark crystal 50L; 0.5 lb cara pils; 3 oz chocolate
hops - 2 oz EKG (boil)
irish moss & gypsum
Wyeast 1728
Bring gains to near boil then toss them out. Malt, sugar, gypsum, and hops
to boil for 1 hour. Cool and pitch yeast.
I probably added another 1/2 lb of DME (dark, light, whatever was around) in
the yeast starter and another 1/2 lb in the boil and ended up with 5.25 to
5.5 gallons in the fermenter.
Thanks!
Don
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 09:35:40 -0500
From: William Macher <macher at telerama.lm.com>
Subject: Fittings in keg side...
Jeff,
All my kegs have home made bulkhead fitting in them. I have a rims system
and it has been in service for more than a year. Absolutely no problems
with leaks or anything.
I suggest you use 3/8 inch valves and fittings rather than half-inch. The
reason is that it is easier to make the hole 3/8, at least in stainless
steel kegs. Perhaps with aluminum this is a non issue. The second reason is
that you may need to buy a pipe tap, to make sure the fittings go onto a
pipe nipple far enough to compress tightly against the keg walls. Again,
with aluminum this may be a non issue since the aluminum is going to be
thicker than stainless keg walls.
All you need to do is to drill a hole in the keg wall slightly larger in
diameter than a brass nipple. then get two couplings, one for the inside of
the keg and one for the outside. The nipple goes through the wall of the
keg, and the couplings screw onto the nipple from each side and compress
the keg wall between them as they tighten. This gives you a female thread
on each side to connect whatever you want to.
The trick to making a water-tight seal is to take some teflon tape, and
twist it between your fingers to make a string out of it. Take this string
and after you start threading the couplings on the nipple, wrap several
turns of this teflon string around the nipple, between the coupling and the
keg wall, on each side. Then tighten the nipples. This will squeeze the
teflon and make a water-tight seal.
In the case of a steel keg, with its thinner walls, a pipe tap is needed.
The nipples will likely not go into the couplings enough to get a good
squeeze on the keg walls. Take a pipe tap and run it into the brass nipples
a bit, to make it possible for the nipple to go in further. Pipe threads
are tapered, that is way this is necessary. You should have no problem once
this is done. A 3/8 pipe tap is much cheaper than a half inch one. That is
why I decided to go with 3/8 inch valves and couplings, even though the
rest of my system uses half inch copper tubing.
These type of home-make bulkhead fittings work well and, as far as my
experience goes, have proven to me that welding is not a necessity for our
home-brewing needs. I have never lost a drop of liquid due to a leak at any
of my keg penetration points.
Hope this helps...
Bill Macher Pittsburgh, PA USA
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 07:50:35 -0800
From: "The Holders" <zymie at charter.net>
Subject: RE: Keg to Brewpot Conversion...Help for dummy?
Jeff,
Be wary of valves sold in home improvement stores unless they can verify
what the seat material is made of. Seats not made of Teflon can be an
infection source.
What could be easier than something designed for what you're doing? I would
recommend the Weld-B-Gone(TM) valve kit along with a Bazooka Screen(TM).
Both of them can be found at http://www.zymico.com .
I am affiliated, but I'm sure a satisfied customer or two can chime in if
necessary.
Wayne Holder AKA Zymie
Long Beach CA
http://www.zymico.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 14:08:49 -0500
From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net>
Subject: O2 Regulator for BernzOMatic???
Do you really need a regulator? Can't you get by with the fitting for the
left hand threads and a valve of some sort?
Pete Calinski
East Amherst NY
Near Buffalo NY
0^45'49.1" North, 5^7'9.5" East of Jeff Renner.
***********************************************************************
WebPages moved to http://members.nbci.com/firstrenman/Pete.htm
Brew related:
Label spreadsheet for 60 labels per page.
Heatstick, how I brew in plastic
My homemade grain mill
Easy Wort Chiller
Income tax:
Year 2000 Spreadsheets for Federal:
Form 1040
Schedules A,B,D
Form 2210
+ Worksheets
New York State:
IT201
NYS 2105-9
***********************************************************************
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 17:17:22 -0500
From: "Mr. Shane A. Saylor" <shane.saylor at verizon.net>
Subject: RE: Bock Fest in Cincy
Do we have some kind of Calendar of events to refer to? I suspect the AOB
does.
If so, do you think we could see this calendar posted to the list at the
beginning
of each month? Or perhaps we could receive this calendar of events as a
special
delivery or special edition of the Digest? Thoughts?
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 17:55:35 -0500 (EST)
From: The Man From Plaid <pbabcock at hbd.org>
Subject: QD's and CO2
Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...
Bjoern Thegeby asked about using compressed air fittings for CO2 lines.
I have QD's all over my brewery. Each CO2 regulator is equipped with one
dedicated cornie fitting and one QD to facilitate the easy operation of
"toys" such as filler and the like.
Have had no problems nor leaks.
- --
-
See ya!
Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org
Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org
HBD Web Site http://hbd.org
The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock
"The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged
from my yeast lab Saturday
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 16:37:43 -0700
From: "Dave Howell" <djhowell at qwest.net>
Subject: FW: keg conversion, part I
In HOMEBREW Digest #3571, Jeff said:
"Now, the big question is, how. I spent over an hour staring
at my options at Home Despot, and since no one offered to help (quelle
suprise)....I am lost."
Jeff:
There are some really great keg conversion pages out there. Do a search on
keg conversion faq, or look here:
http://www.winstead.net/teddy/kegconversionfaq.htm, and here:
http://home1.gte.net/rschovil/beer/conversion.html.
Anyway, you want to make a 10" or 12" circle cut in the top. You can buy a
typical, e.g. Farberware, spaghetti pot top in 10" or 12" diameter from a
kitchen store in the mall.
For various reasons, I think a plasma cutter is not an option for you.
The best way to do this is with a Dremel, using either reinforced cut-off
disks or the el cheapo (cheaper by the dozen) cut off wheels that break if
you look at them funny.
Alternatively is a electric or air-powered die grinder with a cut-off wheel
or an air-powered cutoff tool (same as a die grinder but spins slower, and
has a smaller collet diameter).
Next worse alternative is a 4" grinder (electric or air). You can get one
of these for the same price as a Dremel, but they're less useful around the
house (I used to use them for grinding welds, for example).
Finally, you hear stories of people using a skil-saw (10" rotary saw) with a
fiberblade (metal, not ceramic) and removing the depth guide. Also, people
make some sort of circular approximation with jigsaws or sawz-alls.
Depending on whether your aluminium keg has chines (the raised ring around
the top with handles pressed out), you may be able to get one of these last
alternatives to work for you.
Please note that grinder wheels and fiber-blades (the 10" variety) are not
really meant for aluminum, and will clog up. If they are spinning fast
enough and become unbalanced enough, they can fly apart. They usually have
a warning about use on non-ferrous metals.
The Dremel works just fine with aluminum, and I suspect the cutoff wheel for
a diegrinder will do just fine, too (pores too small to clog, I guess).
Wear hearing and eye protection. Dust flies everywhere, and can cause you
eye problems. If you like headaches, you can do without the ear protection.
If you have one of those little white breath masks for sanding, wear it, and
you won't be pulling bloody crud out of your nose in the next shower you
take.
OK, the other problem was the connection between the pickup tube, the keg
sidewall penetration, and the ball valve. You've more than half-solved the
problem, you have visualized the solution. Now, all you need are the parts
to make it happen.
This isn't going to be super cheap on your wallet, because you (I guess)
don't have a big tool collection in your shop (you specified no soldering, I
assume no welding).
Tools you need: drill, a 1/4" bit, a 5/8 or 3/4" bit (depending on the
fittings you buy) with a 3/8" shaft (to fit your drill), open-end wrenches
(different manufactuer's fittings use different size wrenches for the same
size fitting), hacksaw or cutoff wheel, and a 3/8" or 1/2" tubing bender
(depending on the size tubing you will use). A tapered deburring stone for
a drill or Dremel, with a 1/4" point would be nice, but not needed. Some
people also get a stainless fender washer here for an inside bulkhead
fitting, my advice is to try life without one first.
Supplies you need: o-ring (size dependent on the fitting, again), 3/8 or
1/2" OD copper tubing (sold in 10, 20, 50' lengths of refrigerant tubing), a
1/2" ball valve (full port) with FIPS (female pipe) threads - NOT solder or
sweat, and a 3/8 or 1/2 to 1/2 MIPS (male pipe thread) compression fitting
(not 90 deg). Teflon tape helps in future disassembly.
While at the hardware store, amble over to the tools department, and
casually use a vernier caliper (if you don't know how, then just set the
prongs of the caliper to the width of what you're measuring, then measure
that distance between the prongs against a ruler) to measure the diameter of
the compression fitting THREADS on the compression side, not the 1/2" MIPS
side. This will tell you what size drill bit to buy (next 1/16 or 1/8 size
up from thread diameter, or just the thread diameter, because you can
"screw" it through the hole). Get at least one (you might be using two)
O-ring of this diameter if you can, or slightly larger.
Things you haven't said are whether or not you have a false bottom, or plan
to make a manifold (I think you allude to one in your post). If you want to
make a manifold, you'll want a propane torch and some lead-free plumbing
solder and flux. More on this later.
If you're planning on using a false bottom, EasyMasher (TM) [down, Jack,
down!], or other screen, you probably want to cut off a 2' length of your
tube (with the hacksaw or cutoff wheel) and deburr the tube inside and out
at the cut. Then you'll want to straighten the tube with the tubing bender,
then bend a 90" bend somewhere around 4" (to give you 'eyeball' room) from
the other end.
Now, if you kinda guesstimate how high up the sidewall you want your ball
valve to stick out, you can (from the outside of the keg) place the tube
against the wall to see what it all might look like. If you're happy, then
mark the sidewall at the height you want your ball valve to be. Drill the
hole (in aluminum, you might only need to drill one 1/4" pilot hole before
you drill the big hole around it).
Place your pickup tube (the copper tube) in the keg, and poke the long end
through the hole. You should get a very good idea of how much to cut off
the short (down) end. Take it out, and trim it down. Use the deburring
stone if you've got one. At this stage, I take four small (1/16") kerfs
(wedges) out of the pickup end of the tube, and flare it out with a pair of
needlenose pliers. From a fluid dynamics point of view this isn't strictly
necessary, but it makes me feel good.
Now, without fastening anything down, slip the other end of the tube into
the compression fitting (without the little brass compression sleeve).
You'll slide the tube into the HOLE with the compression fitting (loosely,
but fully on) the tube. This will give you an idea how much to cut off the
other end. Be conservative, because you can always make another adjusting
cut. If you get to be more than a 1/4" too short, you will have to start
over with another peice of tubing, because your compression fitting will not
seal correctly. ("I've cut this damn tube off a dozen times, and it's still
too damn short!")
Continued in Part II
Dave Howell
Brewing and golfing in Mesa, Arizona. If you are in Phoenix the weekend of
the 24th of March, come check out the Great Arizona Beer Festival, and
sample some of Arizona's best!
"The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of many things: Of shoes,
of ships, of sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and why the sea is
boiling hot and whether pigs have wings."
--- Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll)
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2001 16:38:01 -0700
From: "Dave Howell" <djhowell at qwest.net>
Subject: FW: Keg Conversion, part II
part II:
When it comes time to fasten, you will slip an O-ring over the threads on
the compression side, until it bottoms against the shoulder of the fitting.
Now, with the tube and fitting apart, you place the fitting in the hole, so
that the O-ring is flush against the OUTSIDE of the keg. Place the
compression nut on the tube, then the brass sleeve, then the tube and sleeve
and nut assembly loosely in the fitting (while the fitting is in the keg).
Tighten finger tight. If you have not bottomed the compression nut against
the sidewall of the keg such that the O-ring on the outside is held snugly
(and the fitting is held snugly), then you will need either another washer
on the inside (to build up the thickness of the wall so the compression nut
DOES hold everything snugly), or if the play is very slight, another O-ring,
this one on the INSIDE of the keg, between the compression nut and the keg
wall. I didn't need the washer or the second o-ring on my STAINLESS keg,
and I suspect your aluminum keg has thicker walls.
With one open-end wrench on the outside of the keg, on the compression
fitting, and the other inside, on the compression nut, while keeping the
fitting from rotating, tighten the nut. Just give it a half-turn or so
total, don't overtighten, or you will deform the keg wall rather than make
things tighter.
Now, wrap 1 turn of teflon tape (if you bought it) against the thread of the
fitting. Start the ball valve on the fitting. With one open end wrench
holding the fitting (and the tube in the keg) motionless, tighten the ball
valve with another open-end wrench. As it begins to get tighter, plan to
stop with it oriented with the lever on top. Even though you realize you
can turn it further (tighten more), resist the temptation. You'll only do
that if things leak.
You may want to buy a kynar or nylon 1/2" to 3/8 or 1/2" hose barb fitting
for the outlet, so you can use a hose to go to your CF chiller or
fermentation vessel.
You have to have a hose whose lower end is a few inches below the keg in
order for the keg to drain fully with your new fitting. This is a basic
fact of siphoning, fluid dynamics, and atmospheric pressure. If you just
open the valve with no hose, or a hose whose other end is more-or-less on a
level or above the (inside-the-keg) other end of the pickup tube, when the
wort drains to the level of the top bend of the pickup tube, flow will stop.
If the other end of the hose is well below the pickup tube inlet, then the
flow will continue till the keg is empty.
If you have your heart set on a manifold-style pickup tube, soldering tubes
together is likely in your future. More compression fittings will cost you
$$: each one is about $4. However, to make a simple ring style, you'll
only need one compression 'tee' fitting. Use a glass sphagetti sauce jar (I
used a peice of 3" PVC pipe) as a form for bending your ring. Clamp the
and bend the ends about 2" back from the tee to get them to enter the tee
correctly). This made about a 5" ring. I was unhappy with it, so I
scrapped the tee fitting, and cut a peice of tube out for a splice joint,
and soldered the ring together into a 4" (and much flatter) ring. Your
mileage may vary.
After you have the ring, you have a choice on how to keep hops and trub out.
You can use small holes, or small cuts in the walls of the tube, and depend
on the walls of the tube to keep particles out (bad idea, things clog, but
again, your mileage may vary). You can use larger holes and a screen
(people swear by stainless hose braiding, the "armor" for things like
automotive or dishwasher hose). If you go this route, avoid window
screening, as it's either aluminum or steel wire, and both will corrode (in
the hot acid bath that is your boiling wort) and rot away. Steel will add
iron to your beer, with an off flavor. Stainless mesh or screen can be
tightened to your tube with stainless hose clamps to keep it from slipping
or unraveling.
The pickup tube installation is very similar to the process I outlined for
the false-bottom or EasyMasher (TM) [Jack, Jack, Jack...] above.
Man, this has been a lot of typing. Hope some of it helps, and good luck!
Dave Howell
Remember the Alamo! Remember the Maine!! Remember the Irish Moss! uh,
wait...
Remember the Great Arizona Beer Festival, March 24th and 25th, check out
www.brewarizona.org
"The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of many things: Of shoes,
of ships, of sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, and why the sea is
boiling hot and whether pigs have wings."
--- Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll)
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Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 18:51:30 -0500
From: "Hardter" <hardter at rcn.com>
Subject: Fixing slight phenolic taste?
Hello everyone,
I just racked one of my brews to a secondary after a 14 day primary
fermentation. It has a slight phenolic taste, a taste that I have
experienced before, but not as strong this time. Early in my brewing days I
did have to toss a batch due to this. I believe that at that time it was due
to inadequate rinsing of a chlorine cleaner.
I'm still relatively new to AG and also still in the experimentation stage
when it comes to narrowing down yeast and hops flavors. During these cold
months I have been making lagers but dividing the batches in half. I then
use a lager yeast for one and an ale yeast for the other so I can get a
better feel for how significant the difference might be. I figure none of
them can be undrinkable.
Well for my last batch, I was making an Oktoberfest. The half with the ale
yeast took off quickly and appeared to ferment as expected. Again, as I said
above, there appears to be some problems. There is the phenolic taste,
cloudy appearance, and it fermented down to only 1.022. (I expected 1.012)
The other half of the batch fermenting at 50 degrees smells fine and
slightly sulphury, with an OK appearance. Now, for some advice please. I
definitely won't toss it for a long while, but I want to attempt to minimize
the slight phenolic taste. I'm thinking of dry hopping this half of the
batch. Obviously, I don't care much about sticking to the style guidelines
at this point. I'm looking to make this batch more drinkable.
The recipe included predominately Pilsner grain with Munich, Crystal,
Aromatic, and Dextrine. Hops were Tettnanger at 70 min., Fuggles at 30
minutes, and Saaz at 10 minutes. OG was 1.052 and 29 IBU's. I did have a
stuck mash which resulted in a delayed and cooler sparge.
What would people recommend for dry-hopping to minimize the phenolic taste?
Would you advise dry-hopping soon or wait awhile and see what happens to the
taste in the next few weeks? It will be a long while before bottling as I
have 2 other carboys ahead of this batch. Thanks!
Steve
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Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 09:33:37 -0600
From: james r layton <blutick at juno.com>
Subject: Re: Sorghum
>does anyone know where you can get sorgum or even better, sorgum malt
here
>in the US?
The primary use of sorghum grain in the US is in animal feed, especially
for chickens and hogs. You might try your local feed store for a 50 lb
bag but, since sorghum is usually ground and mixed with other grains and
roughage, that may be a long shot. Make sure that you don't buy grain
intended for use as seed unless you are absolutely sure it hasn't been
treated with fungicide.
If the feed stores don't work out, try to locate a feed mill where they
manufacture animal feeds. They might even let you scoop up a bit for
free.
Oh, it might help if you knew that grain sorghum is also called maize or
milo, depending on where you are.
Jim Layton
Howe, TX
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Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 08:52:42 -0800
From: Peter Torgrimson <petertorgrimson at prodigy.net>
Subject: Mountain View (CA) Brew Challenge 2001
Calling All Homebrewers!
Brew your best for the Mountain View Brew Challenge 2001
5:30 PM Monday, May 7, 2001
Tied House Cafe & Brewery
954 Villa St., Mountain View, CA
The Challenge: Using the specified ingredients, brew your best ale and
bring it to the Brew Challenge. Compare brews and brewing notes with
fellow homebrewers in a relaxed atmosphere of camaraderie.
Sponsors:
Tied House Cafe & Brewery
Fermentation Frenzy Homebrew Supplies
Worts of Wisdom Homebrewers
Check out the complete details on our web page at www.wortsofwisdom.org.
This is a fun event to encourage homebrewers to brew using a restricted
set of ingredients and to compare the results with other homebrewers.
It is not a serious competition.
Peter Torgrimson
Worts of Wisdom Homebrewers
Mountain View, CA
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Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 17:40:02 +0000
From: "Joseph M. Labeck Jr." <joseph_labeck_jr at email.com>
Subject: Plastic Carboys
> There has been considerable discussion over the years on using plastic
> carboys. It seems that sanitation is the problem. There was an
> interesting column in the Nov/Dec Zymurgy from a long-time brewer in
> Calif who used medical/food grade plastic bags as a liner to ferment in
> the plastic carboys. It seems so brilliant it makes you wonder why all
> homebrewers aren't doing it.
>
I've been using a plastic water bottle for almost ten years with no ill
effects. I brew extract/specialty grain beers in 4-gal batches. After
each brew session I soak the bottle in bleach solution. I am far from an
expert, but with the usual anal-retentive care we are all prone to,
there should be no problem.
Joe Labeck
Watertown, CT
550 mi. ESE Rennerian
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Date: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 09:51:55 -0800
From: Jim Wilson <jim.wilson at home.net>
Subject: Classic American Cream Ale results
With help from the community, I brewed a CACA in January. I used a
mini-mash/extract recipe. It turned out fine, pale gold in color and
pleasingly bitter. I was hoping to recreate a taste I remember from my
childhood and failed on this try at least, but the beer is very drinkable.
I've posted the complete recipe to Promash's database, but here are enough
details for someone to give CACA a try.
filtered Redondo Beach, CA water
2# flaked maize
1# 2 row pale malt
mini-mash in oven for 1 hour at 150-155 degrees with 1 gallon water
6# Alexander's pale malt extract
sparge 2 gallons wort from mini-mash, make up to 7 gallons pre boil
strong rolling boil for 60 minutes
1 ounce Liberty pellets FWH
2 ounces Cluster pellets 60 minutes
1 ounce Liberty pellets 5 minutes
chill and recover 5.5 gallons, OG 1.046
pitch with 400ml slurry cultured from a bottle of SNPA
ferment at 60 degrees for 3 weeks
FG 1.009
bottle condition with 3/4 cup corn sugar
Yummy!
o \o
__o /\ /
`\ <> `\ `> `\ >
(*)/ (*) (*)/ (*) (*)/ (*)
I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle.
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Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 08:15:21 +1300
From: Brian Myers <BrianM at AdvantageGroup.co.nz>
Subject: Belgian beer site search tips
Bill Macher asks about a web page that he can't
re-locate.
>Something about this site that may toggle someone's memory
>is that it has a pronunciation guide for various Belgian
>beer names, where a native speaker will pronounce the
>term as it is said in the US as well as it is said in
>Belgium.
Try this:
go to google.com and search for:
pronounce belgian beer
There are several interesting "hits", and I'll
bet the one you're looking for is near the top.
cheers,
Brian
Auckland NZ
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Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 14:26:27 -0600
From: "Tracy P. Hamilton" <chem013 at uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu>
Subject: Plastic fermentors
Tom said"Plastic Secondary Fermentor
Been there,done that.I thought it was a good idea since my office
throws out 5 gallon water bottles. Brewed a scotch ale and placed
it in aplastic secondary. Bottled it and waited to bottle condition. When I
opened my firstbottle, seriousoxidation. Then I realized
that air can get into plastic."
I just want to point out that not all plastics are the same. Some are
relatively impervious to air. I saw the numbers once, but you
know how that goes. From Tom's experience, the water carboys
su**, oops! -- are inadequate.
The new Miller plastic bottles are an example where oxygen
can't get in and make a bad taste worse. :)
Tracy P. Hamilton
Birmingham Brewmasters
Tracy P. Hamilton
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