---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
        http://www.northernbrewer.com  1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  Is this a new style? ("elvira toews")
  Wyeast Cider Yeast (and other) experience ("Rod McBride")
  Batch Sparging (Home Brewer)
  Local Shop or Mail Order? (RBoland)
  Son of a Pitch (BShotola)
  yeast slurries ("Stephen Taylor")
  SS Tubing ("Houseman, David L")
  re: stainless steel tubing (Don Price)
  Nottingham, yeast pitching rates (Home Brewer)
  Headless beer fixing (Alexandre Carminati)
  RE: Secondary fermentation, molasses stout report, used keg warning ("CozyE")
  Fermentation Chiller Kits Offered! (Ken Schwartz)
  Re: Super V Chiller...No IFs about it! (William & Kazuko Macher)
  RE:igloo vs. gott tuns ("John Stegenga")
  decotion-remix / hitting temps / www.beers.cz (Hubert Hanghofer)
  idophor from feed store (EdgeAle)
  tastycrazy & dry hopping. (Andrew Schlotfeldt)
  GFCI's ("Fridgeguy")
  free whole hops (CMEBREW)
  Mashing Laaglander Light DME ("Steven Parfitt")
  encoding problems (Hubert Hanghofer)
  Teat Wash ("Tom & Dee McConnell")
  And So We Had A Party ("Phil & Jill Yates")
  local vs. mail/Hermione (Vachom)


* 
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
*
* Drunk Monk Challenge Entry Deadline is 3/17/01!
* http://www.sgu.net/ukg/dmc/ for more information
*
* Maltose Falcons Mayfaire Entry Deadline is 3/20/01!
* http://www.maltosefalcons.com/ for more information
*

Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word
  "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL
  ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
  the digest as we canoot reach you. We will not correct your address
  for the automation - that's your job.

The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright 
  HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK 
  before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content 
  cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to 
req at hbd.org.

JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)



----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 18:45:01 -0600
From: "elvira toews" <etoews1 at home.com>
Subject: Is this a new style?

OK, this may involve a touch of Renner envy given how his name is indelibly
associated with CAP and the brewing tradition of his country, but I set
myself the goal of formulating a beer from scratch with the goal of avoiding
any existing style.  I will call it "Winnipeg Lager" (r) (tm) (c) (etc.) and
if I can get others imitating it I will loudly claim it as my own.  The
grains are crushed, and I'm brewing this weekend.

The constraints are:  no water treatment (not counting the sparge water),
North American hops, and I have to like it (that should be the easy part).
Our local water resembles 2 parts Munich to 1 part distilled.

The blurb goes:  "a moderate gravity lager, with lots of Cascade hop
character, and a combination of German and English style maltiness".
Numerically, I'm aiming at 10 SRM, 31 IBU.  My target gravity is 1038, but
the "commercial" version would be the usual 5% ABV.

My question is:  is this only a minor variation on an existing style, or can
I claim it as my own?

Sean Richens
srichens at sprint.ca
===================================
Recipe (all-grain, short sparge for 75% efficiency)
5 Canadian gallons (6 USG, 23 L)

7 lb Canadian 2-row
8 oz. Aromatic
4 oz. Biscuit
8 oz. Crystal 60L
1 oz. black

Infusion mash 153F

All hops Cascade pellets (4.8% alpha)
1 oz. FWH
1.5 oz. 45 minutes
0.5 oz. 15 minutes
1 oz. aroma

Ferment with Wyeast Bavarian Lager
Accelerated secondary (for a lager)
Bottle prime to 2.4 volumes with DME





Return to table of contents


Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 21:58:13 -0600
From: "Rod McBride" <alehusband at planetkc.com>
Subject: Wyeast Cider Yeast (and other) experience

I've just pitched the last of this year's cider and mead production.  My
house strain is off the market (YeastTek Pitch 5 Sweet Mead-anyone know an
equivalent strain?) and I've been experimenting this year.

I generally make a five gallon batch of cider, and once it's finished out, I
use the lees as my slurry for a mead.  A day before I rack the cider, I mix
a 1:1 (1 gallon water and 12 lbs honey) combination of water and honey, hit
it with 100ppm S02 (via 4 Campden tablets); after 24 hours I'm ready to top
up with the remaining water (3 gallons), rack the cider to the secondary,
dump the mead must straight onto the lees of the cider, oxygenate, agitate,
add yeast energizer, oxygenate some more.  I get active fermentation within
two to four hours.

I include all this because if you're going to make an unfortified (by added
sugar) cider, and if you make your meads light and dry, you need a special
yeast.  The aforementioned Sweet Mead strain was awesome because it never
stalled, was cold tolerant (I ferment in the 50-55 F range for primary),
and always finished just off of dry, no matter the original gravity.  1.047
apple juice fermented out to 1.001 or 1.002, dry but allowing the apple to
show.  A 1.075-1.085 mead must would ferment to 1.001 or 1.002, dry but
allowing the honey character to show.  Both were sparkling in the keg three
or four months later, so none of this nonsense of waiting for Congress to
turn honest before the mead was mature.

This year I tried the following strains:
Wyeast Sweet Mead
Wyeast Rhudisheimer
Wyeast Cider
Wyeast Chablis

On all but the Chablis I made a straight cider first, adding only grape
tannin, yeast nutrient, and pectic enzyme.  The "Cider" yeast was by far the
most dissappointing.  It ripped the juice down to 0.996 leaving no character
you could describe as apple.  The tannin and what acid was in the juice was
about the only thing to taste at all at racking.  I'll be hitting this one
with potassium sorbate and sweetening with a splash of raw juice when I keg
it.

The "Cider" yeast was then given to 12 lbs of raw orange blossom honey
(which ain't cheap here in Kansas).  It took a 1.082 must down to 0.996, and
any orange blossom character is just gone.

Basically, the "Cider" yeast behaved like a Champagne yeast, killing
everything in its path including flavor and aroma.

The Rhudisheimer made decent cider, though what it really did well with was
the gooseberry melomel that followed.  The Sweet Mead was good for cider
(the best of the three straight ciders), but last I checked the mead was
hanging at about 1.030, which is alarming given the size of culture I
started with.

The Chablis I'm not being as scientific with (and to be true to science, I
shouldn't have fruited the mead off the Rhudisheimer batch-gooseberries are
not exactly a neutral ingredient).  The Chablis I made a two gallon starter
(batch cider), and pitched while still active, a gallon into a mead must and
a gallon into a New England cider which got 8 lbs of browns sugar and extra
tannin in addition to the straight juice.  We'll see.

Anyway, I'll have to take up the experiment again next year, looking for the
ultimate yeast to do cider and mead.  It's getting too warm in my basement
to make these things and not have them ferment like a house on fire and
generate tons of higher alcohols.

Time to make beer.

Rod McBride
"Peat, by the way, is found only in Celtic countries because God realized
the Celts were the only people on earth who drank so much that they would
try to burn mud."-P.J. O'Rourke



Return to table of contents


Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 23:16:49 -0500
From: Home Brewer <howe at execulink.com>
Subject: Batch Sparging

Pete Czerpak asks about batch sparging, and whether water hotter than 170F 
can be used to sparge if it means hitting the "target" of 170F.

I tend to brew "small" beers (Brown Ales, Bitters), and my practice has 
been to add boiling water to the mash tun before draining first runnings. 
This raises the temperature of the mash to about 170F, so that when the 
sparging water is added at or just above 170F, there is very little drop in 
temperature. I have overshot on occasion, and find that there are no 
detrimental effects to 180F.

I've also been experimenting with rest times for the sparge - I've found 
that 20 minutes is more than enough, and I'm undecided about 10 minutes, 
but I'm inclined at this point to extend to 15 minutes.

You've also noted that you have a low extraction rate, and claim that this 
somehow provides better flavour. I'd be interested in your theory behind 
this, at it seems on the surface that lower extraction = coarser crush = 
more tannins (as less inner surface area is exposed). I tend to use a finer 
crush (about 80% efficiency) and a thicker mash (about 1.25 qt/lb) and find 
my beers to be on the thin side if I use a coarser crush or more mash 
water, but I  also brew ales exclusively so I'm looking for malt flavour 
and a decent head....

But back to the point...for batch sparging, the final temperature of the 
sparge is not all that important *as long as it is not too hot* (or too 
cool). I feel that most of the character of the resultant beer is achieved 
in the mash, and that the sparge provides additional sugar extraction, but 
less than say 10 - 15% of the final "maltiness" and body of the finished 
product - but as alluded to above, if this 10 - 15% is unconverted you can 
taste it in the final product. As a final note, I'm not a chemist, but I 
trust my palate - and the ultimate question is: what is it in your beer(s) 
that makes you think you may need a higher sparge temp?

Tim Howe
London, Ont



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 01:19:59 EST
From: RBoland at aol.com
Subject: Local Shop or Mail Order?

Bill asks where we shop and why.  

I shop at my local homebrew stores for several reasons.  Just like the local 
hardware store, these are small businesses with a commitment to and stake in 
the community, and I support my neighborhood stores.  The freshness of their 
supplies is determined by the amount they can economically order and the rate 
at which it is sold; more sales make for fresher products.  They are people 
to get to know, trust, and learn from.  These businesses are always willing 
to support my homebrew club activities with competition prizes, materials, 
etc.  They are the incubators for newcomers to the hobby at a time when 
national participation is down, and that means new members and new ideas in 
my club.  They are down the street and open the day before I brew, or even 
during a brew, when I forgot that special ingredient.  If we don't support 
our local stores with our business, the local homebrewing scene will suffer, 
and that's bad for all of us.  

Think Globally, but Buy Locally.

Bob Boland
St. Louis

     


Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 03:11:24 EST
From: BShotola at aol.com
Subject: Son of a Pitch

Well friends, it had to happen sooner or later. 

Just poured out five gallons of rubbery bilge formerly masquerading as wort. 
Having three unlabeled jars of slurry in the fridge, two recent and one old, 
I stupidly hit upon the old one as my pitch, and suffered for it. I do have 
five gallons of tasty stout as backup, but it's not my daily tipple and is on 
tap mostly to please others. I am a lager man myself, complete with foam 
mustache and resonant belch. Using unlabeled yeast jars is like playing Let's 
Make A Deal. Unfortunately, I chose door number three and got the goat. Kinda 
did smell like a stinky buck. 

Marc Sedams writes: "So even the infrequent brewers (those who are well below 
the 100
gal/year limit) out there should keep your yeast sludge for the next batch.  
As long as it's kept cold and your sanitization techniques are solid, you'll 
get better ferments and save a little dough to boot."

Marc, three days ago I would have been in complete agreement with you. Two 
days ago I would have called it teatwash. Now I'm on the fencepost.  

I had alcohol-swabbed and flamed the openings of both the yeast jar and 
carboy upon transfer. I had sterilized the jar in the pressure cooker. My 
sanitation practices were good. However, this particular slurry WAS sludge- 
it had lots of hot and cold break in it, and had autolyzed, etc., from, I 
believe, having been six months in the cooler at various temperatures.  I had 
gotten confident with a string of good clean brews from repitches and 
neglected to keep tabs on me yeast. I now believe yeast stored in trub has an 
expiration date and from now on will be a labeling fool. I am also going to 
search the archives and read about decanting, washing, etc. 

Like many of you, I am thrifty enough to want to reuse my yeast and fool 
enough to spend hundreds in pursuit of it. 

For instance, it was great to get a chest freezer for lagers last summer. Got 
it for fifty bucks and it holds ten cornies and regulator. For another fifty 
I put on a controller and I love to go in the garage and just look at it. All 
this for a down payment on a CC. (couldn't resist giving the ol' mare a kick) 
But I don't have a good system down yet. I have been trying to use the chest 
freezer for too many purposes: fermenting, yeast storage, and lagering cave.  

A buddy just gifted me with a little apartment fridge which is going to make 
things a tad more better. Popped another fifty bucks for another controller. 
Thanks Williams- Yadda Con Dios.  I will use it to ramp down temps with each 
successive yeast step up, from test tube to gallon jug. I will be pitching 
strong and at the proper temps. Just have to figure out how to shorten the 
airlock as to fit the gallon jug inside the unit. 

So this narrows me down to lagering and fermenting in the same cooler. Not 
ideal, and I want ideal, dammit.  I have an extra  air conditioner laying 
around. Should I build a mini walk-in for my ferments?? Should I buy yet 
another controller? Anybody out there at this stage of the game? By the time 
I get all these devices and their controllers plugged in, electricity will be 
so expensive I will have to resort to digging a cave. For this, I will have 
to have a nice Spaten on hand. 


Bob Shotola
Yamhill, Oregon 





Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 21:35:35 +1100
From: "Stephen Taylor" <stephentaylor at one.net.au>
Subject: yeast slurries

Hi All,
           My question is to Mark Sedam who says that he keeps yeast
slurries up to 4 mths, now beg my pardon but i am still learning , but Marc
by slurrie do you mean that you pour off the liquid & keep the semi liquid
thicker solids on the bottom & store these in your fridge in & i quote, a
sanitized ball jar, what is that i ask, yeast sludge you also call it so i
guess that it is kept in a small container, (a ball jar) currently i am
setting up to do yeast ranchng but slowly goes it, so this does look like a
excellent alternative to run concurently with ranching, White Labs here cost
15 bucks now and it takes me just as long to earn that $15 as most of you
guys on this site i suppose so it is pretty
important to me as you can imagine.
                                                         Steve Taylor,
Newcastle, Australia.




Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 06:38:09 -0600
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: SS Tubing

Lenghts of SS tubing in various diameters and lengths can be found at local
automotive parts stores in the form of brake line tubing.

Dave Houseman
- ------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 7:11:43 -0500
From: randya at qx.net
Subject: Stainless Steel Tubing

I was wanting to make a jockey box for my kegging setup. Does anyone know a 
good place to get stainless steel tubing. I could go the route of copper,
but I 
would like to use stainless if I can find it for a reasonable price.





Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 08:12:54 -0500
From: Don Price <dprice1 at tampabay.rr.com>
Subject: re: stainless steel tubing

Try www.mcmaster.com.  They have just about anything you need for
building anything you can dream up.  Also the catalog makes a great sofa
leg.

Don



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 09:52:03 -0500
From: Home Brewer <howe at execulink.com>
Subject: Nottingham, yeast pitching rates

Bob Sheck says:

As a standard, I pitch at least FOUR, and then after re-hydrating
with cooled wort from the boil: I can then make sure it's viable and
has a clean scent to it, and my beer is usually bubbling away within
2 hours after pitch.

- -----

You are one of many who has observed that one package of dry yeast is 
insufficient for fermenting 23L of wort, although you do hold the record 
(so far) for extravagance by using four! And I say extravagance simply 
because if I wasn't such a cheap bugger I would have thought of using more 
myself (and I talk about making a starter for dry yeast - sheesh! - 
sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees!)

I do, however, still maintain that the pitching of a single package should 
show some signs of life well before 30 hours. Under-pitching leads to 
slower starts and longer ferments, but as one who has lots of experience in 
this area ;o) I can tell you that a single package pitching is usually 
bubbling away nicely within 24 hours, and usually within 12 - 18 hrs.

Cheers,

Tim Howe
London, Ont

I'm sure I'm not alone in assuming that one package was enough -  



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 10:09:31 -0500 (EST)
From: Alexandre Carminati <carminat at email.com>
Subject: Headless beer fixing

I have about 4 gallons of Extract Brown Ale, delicious, well carbonated and
absolutely headless. Any sugestions on how to fix it ?

Cheers !

Alexandre Carminati


- -----------------------------------------------
FREE! The World's Best Email Address  at email.com
Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com




Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 11:03:38 -0500
From: "CozyE" <cozye at bellsouth.net>
Subject: RE: Secondary fermentation, molasses stout report, used keg warning

Doug Hurst comments on secondary fermentation:

>I'm not sure about this, but doesn't racking to a secondary help to
rouse some of the more flocculent yeast strains?  Wouldn't this help lead
to better final attenuation?  <

This has been my experience as well. I have noticed that racking does help
rouse the yeast and drop a couple points off the final gravity. I also like
using a secondary to help clear the beer out a little more before I keg.

A few weeks ago I had a post regarding others experience in using molasses
in a stout. I have kegged this molasses stout (which I had used 1.5lbs of
molasses) and it taste fabulous. I don't think you can really pick out a
"molasses" flavor, but it is a very drinkable and smooth stout none the
less. I think the molasses probably just added a bit to the final ABV in
much the same way that using other sugars would have. I'll have to drink
some more of it to see if I can detect any subtle notes of molasses : ) It
does not have a harsh alcohol taste to it at all (approx 7% abv).

used keg warning:
I couple of months ago I kegged one of my favorite lighter beer recipes, my
APA. The first keg was one of my original kegs that I have been using for a
long time. The second, was a keg that I had recently purchased used with a
group of fellow brewers from a source on ebay. The kegs came dirty, and I
had used all of them but this last one. I replaced a few gaskets (not all of
them) and used my usual iodophor rinse, shake, dispense, routine to clean
the keg out.

The first keg was great as usual and brilliantly clear after the chill haze
dropped out in a week or so. The second keg has been in the cooler for well
over a month, and has a nasty haze to it. Initial taste says to me that it
is infected. Let the warning be to make sure you fully disassemble used
kegs, clean and sanitize very well before you put them into production. That
was a 5 gallon hard lesson for me to learn!

Eric Murray
Louisville, KY



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 09:22:29 -0700
From: Ken Schwartz <kenbob at elp.rr.com>
Subject: Fermentation Chiller Kits Offered!

Back in August I posted a request to the HBD for your input concerning
providing Son of Fermentation Chiller kits.  The response was
overwhelmingly positive.  I'm pleased to announce that the Fermentation
Chiller Kit will be available by mid-April for $99.95 which includes
shipping (within the US continental 48 states) and all applicable taxes.
The Chiller has been redesigned to eliminate the need for the molding
strips and weatherstripping by virtue of the precision-cut foam and
inlaid-fit ("rabbet-cut") panel design, which also makes for easy and
accurate assembly.  The kit includes:

Precision-cut panels made of 1.5 lb/cu-ft Type II high-density extruded
polystyrene (EPS) foam
High-strength self-sealing polyurethane adhesive
12 volt DC fan
12 volt DC power adapter
Custom electronic thermostat (range 45F - 75F = 7C to 24C) with easy
wiring
Illustrated instructions

Watch for our ad in the May/June issue of Zymurgy, or check my web page
(see below) for more details and developments in the coming weeks.

- --
*****

Ken Schwartz
El Paso, TX
Brewing Web Page: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer
E-mail: kenbob at elp.rr.com




Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 11:38:59 -0500
From: William & Kazuko Macher <macher at telerama.lm.com>
Subject: Re: Super V Chiller...No IFs about it!

Hi everyone,

Just no shuttin' me up on this subject :-)

"Michael G. Zentner" <zentner at laf.cioe.com>  brings up a couple
points related to my homebrewed Super V chiller...

>There's nothing wrong
>with using 1/16 inch clearance if you're getting the cooling
>you want, but if that clearance is around a 1/2" tube, I
>think what you have is imbalanced, whereas if that clearance
>was around a 1/4" tube, you have better balance between cold
>and hot volumes in contact.

The price we pay for using what is available off the shelf! But, this
relationship is not as bad as it first looks. That is because you can
have much greater flow rate in the 1/16 inch space than you probably
want to carry within the half-inch inner tube. And if you calculate
the proportional volumes of the two sections, you find that it is just
about a wash when you have three times the flow in the smaller
[cooling-water] section.

Bottom line is that with the much higher water pressure on the
cooling water side, there is a surplus of cooling water available even
though there is only a 1/16-space to push it through. Actually, the
although it is not intuitively apparent, the cross sectional area of the
1/16 inch space between the two pieces of copper tubing is actually
about 69% of the area of the 1/2 inch copper tube [0.196 sq. in. VS 0.135].

In my practical experience this means that things are pretty well in
balance since the higher driving force of the cooling water pressure
will permit higher volumes of cooling water to flow in that narrow
1/16 inch space. After thinking about this I now pretty much believe
that 1/2 copper tubing as the wort carrier is more optimum than a
smaller size would be.

By the way, I did see 52 F as my exit wort temperature a couple
days ago when opening my cooling water valve all the way as a
test when chilling a batch. Not sure what the actual cooling water
temperature was at that time, but it is winter here so it was at its
coldest I think.

>To the comment about laminar flow, I would guess with pretty
>good certainty the the cooling liquid in my chiller is
>laminar "by visual inspection of the outlet".

I am not sure about the Super V [ Gee...almost sounds like it is a
real product, or somethin'] but...because the 1/2-inch copper
tubing will sag a bit over a 10 foot lenght, I suspect that although
the average spacing between the tubes is 1/16-inch, in reality
the inner tube is probably close to resting on the outer tube about
midpoint, and that therefore there is a changing spacing along the
length of each leg of the Super V, which likely encourages turbulent
flow to occur. A positive if this is the case.

>I'll probably take a hazing for the theoretical (which I did
>do earlier in life) handwaving, or that ice cubes are not
>fluids, but so be it.

Well, the glass in your window panes is considered to be a fluid
flowing at very slow rates by some, so who should throw stones...

>In any case, this discussion has
>inspired me to consider designing and building a shell and
>tube that the common person can do without fancy tools.  AND
>I think if the Super V works...

It DOES work, and very well. But probably no better than the
coiled up type. But that was not the goal anyway. The main thing
I wanted to share with everyone is the alternative to the coiled-up
physical shape that we are so used to building. And the neat side
benefit that this chiller, which at first thought seems crazy, is the
fact that because it is so long and skinny, it can be hidden up in
the floor joists or elsewhere, and for that reason becomes a very
practical device. And pretty cheap to build too.

>...the designer ought to hook it up this weekend, kick back, have a homebrew,

And enjoy and enjoy my *promotion* from home builder to DESIGNER! Yea!

>and not worry
>too much about maximal efficiency (and be happy that his SO
>hasn't killed him for having a 10' heat exchanger around the
>place :-)).

Actually, mine is 20-feet long [overkill naturally, used the
build-once-and-be-done approach] but as I mentioned before,
you cannot even find the thing without specifically looking for it,
because it is mounted on the side of a floor joist in my basement
brewery. A 10-foot physical length, with nominal 20-foot cooling
length would be even easier to hide.

Now if I could just convince SWMBO that the Laundromat is so
much better than doing laundry at home and get that damn
washer and dryer out of my brewery....

Bill

Bill Macher     Pittsburgh, PA          USA








Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:51:01 -0500
From: "John Stegenga" <john at stegenga.net>
Subject: RE:igloo vs. gott tuns

I know I'm way behind on my reading, but $39 for a 10gal round cooler just
don't make sense.
I've been using my 48qt rectangle Coleman coolers (mash and liquor tank) for
almost 2 years now with no ill effects - and I paid about $28 for the both!
Fitted them with a hard copper drilled manifold, and I can brew 15 gal of
1.045 beer (I get roughly 80% efficiency) with it, thanks to my 20GAL
aluminum brew pot.

John C. Stegenga, Jr., Woodstock, GA.

Visit my website: http://www.stegenga.net
Need to search the web? http://www.stegenga.net/searchpage.htm
Want your own STEGENGA.NET website? Ask Me How!



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 20:29:35 +0100
From: Hubert Hanghofer <hhanghof at netbeer.co.at>
Subject: decotion-remix / hitting temps / www.beers.cz

Hi all,

Steve wrote in HBD#3583 regarding my post in HBD#3580:
>?...I'm a little surprised that you can remix thin decoction into the hot 
>?thick with wild abandon...

Maybe I need to do more English conversation to learn howto better express 
myself - but actually I ment it the other way:

1.) Initially conduct whole mash in the kettle.
2.) Transfer thin mash to lautertun.
3.) Decoct remainig thick kettle-mash.
*AND FINALLY:*
4.) Add / remix this thick decoction into the thin lautertun-mash (hot into 
cold) ...with wild wild abandon ;-)

Mixing cold into hot would definitely destroy more enzymes but even so - this 
method exists, too! It was part of the classical / original Pilsener triple 
decoction process:
1.) The decoction (any one or all three) is dimensioned bigger than would be 
needed to hit target temp.
2.) A remainder of the decoction is then kept in the kettle.
3.) The next decoction (which may again be bigger than needed) is then added 
to (and remixed with) this hot kettle-remainder.

This does 2 things:
1.) Decrease overall enzyme content / activity because of the higher 
decoction rate.
2.) Decrease enzyme content / activity in the decocted part because of the 
"cold into hot" remix (read temp boost).

This way not only attenuation, but also protein degradation can be limited by 
the brewer. Consider if a remainder of the first decoction (35-50C) is kept 
in the kettle, then protein degradation of the second decoction (50-65C) is 
limited, because the remix (...I really like that term...) with the hot 
kettle-remainder boosts temps.

I don't know if the residual-mash-method is still alive, Narziss reports on 
it in one of his German books but gives no particular details. I've no 
experience with it either but now that I think of it ...would be an 
interesting challenge, maybe for one of my next Bohemian compositions...

**************************

>?- I guess if I trusted my re-mix 
>?temps a little more I'd go for it.


I "grew up" with decoction but I can understand the worries about it very 
well. Once you know the basic calculations and can answer the following 2 
questions for your setup...

1.) What's the temp of the main mash just before I return the decoction?
[OK - this one can get a bit involved for non-heatable mashtuns, because you 
need to know how long it will take to bring the decoction to a boil (read 
heat input) and how much the temp of the main mash drops during the time 
until you're ready to remix.]

2.) What's the approximate termal mass of my mash- / lautertun?

 ...you CANNOT FAIL!

*************************

While I'm on Czech methods...
there's a great new resource that looks promising:

http://www.beers.cz

It's still in Czech language only but translations into English are 
announced. There are infos about the Czech brewing industry as well as hops 
sections. The "Beer and Brewery" section lists all breweries with addresses, 
contact info and yearly production. So if you're planning a trip or want to 
buy a Czech brewery before they're sold out - this is the place to go.



Cheers &
Allzeit gut Sud! 

Hubert Hanghofer
Salzburg, Austria

"Bier brauen nach eigenem Geschmack"
Infos unter www.netbeer.co.at


Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 14:34:16 EST
From: EdgeAle at cs.com
Subject: idophor from feed store


Tom Galley in a recent HBD said...

>>Are you sure that the product you are using has no other
ingredients?  I looked into this several years ago and everything I looked
at had other stuff in it (Lanolin, detergents, even aloe vera).  If straight
iodophor, I'm back at the feed store!<<

Get thee hence! only look on the shelf next to the teat wash where  they have 
the iodine disinfectant for the milking equipment (not the teats). It has no 
lanolin etc. I still have some of the gallon I bought at Farm & Fleet in 
Madison WI. It is
Dineotex cleaner-disinfectant.  
Active Ingredient: Iodinen 1.75%
Inert Ingredients: 98.25% 

Of course, Wisconsin is dairy country and this stuff may be harder to find in 
other areas.

Dana Edgell

Edge Ale Brewery, Oceanside CA
http://ourworld.cs.com/EdgeAle


Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 12:09:05 -0700
From: Andrew Schlotfeldt <sa50 at uswest.net>
Subject: tastycrazy & dry hopping.

Hey All,

   I am a lurker, slowly increasing my info through time brewing and
regular reading of the hbd and others.

   Regarding ben A.'s question on dry hopping:

    One thing I found that worked was to siphon the beer between the
hops and the trub, until the siphon end hits hops.  Another good way to
approach this, which you will probably get more beer out of, is to put
your dry hops in a clean gauze bag that has been boiled for about 5-10
min, and then dangle it into the fermenter by the drawstring.  The cork
should still be able to fit in the mouth of the fermenter with just a
little bit of the drawstring coming out of the mouth.

    Ideas for wild-assed brews:  A brew-buddy of mine and I made
Habanero- Chocolate-Peppermint ale.  It was incredible,
chocolatey-hot-spicy to start, with a refreshing cool mint finish.  I
recommend giving it a shot, using a small quantity of habanero peppers
(1 1/2 to 2 small ones, boiled for about 5 minutes in a small gauze bag,
then put into secondary ) and a little bit more peppermint than the
normal amt, boiled into a tea and also added to secondary, and add about
6-8 oz of chocolate to the boil (don't forget to adjust your bitterness
down a little, the chocolate will add some burnt-bitterness flavor).

     Another fun idea I vaguely remember is a Ginger Honey Ginseng ale.
We did an IPA, but an American Pale would also be a good base.  I don't
recall if we added the ginger and ginseng to the secondary, or in the
boil.   It had a certain snap to it, and we didn't ever get sleepy while
drinking it, great for drinking during those long decoctions that
stretch into the wee hours.  My memory is proving itself grandly today,
as I don't remember quantities of almost all of the specialty additions
in either of these brews.

Since I have lost all data on this.  Does anyone have recommendations on
quantities to add (& when) for Ginger, Ginseng, or Sage?

Does anyone have any good recommendations for an inexpensive way to
lager beer in a small apartment, during the summer?  I love our ales,
but really want to start making some lagers.

Prost!
Ixnae of Blokhed Homebrewery



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 15:17:51 -0500
From: "Fridgeguy" <fridgeguy at voyager.net>
Subject: GFCI's

Greetings folks,

 In HBD #3583, A.J. deLange stated that a couple posters have recently given
erroneous information about GFCI receptacles.

 I'll stand behind the accuracy of the GFCI information I posted in HBD
#3581. I invite those who are interested to check the following URL's, and
especially the description of GFCI receptacles in patents 3,813,579 and
4,034,266 on the delphion patent server site.

http://www.codecheck.com/gfci_principal.htm
http://www-training.llnl.gov/wbt/hc/Electrical/GFCIworks.html
http://www.electrical-contractor.net/ESF/GFCI_Fact_Sheet.htm
http://www.delphion.com/

 After seeing all of the flap on this list over the past couple of days
about GFCI's, I have to wonder about the intentions of some of the posters.
This is a forum about homebrewing, not GFCI theory and application. I tried
to post information *relevant* to troubleshooting a fridge used for
fermenting homebrew, and that's all. I didn't consider the inner workings,
design details, code requirements, etc. to be *relevant* to the subject.


Hope this helps!
- ----------------------------------------
Forrest Duddles - Fridgeguy in Kalamazoo
fridgeguy at voyager.net



Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 18:53:20 EST
From: CMEBREW at aol.com
Subject: free whole hops

I have about 3 lbs of Hallertauer Tradition (10 AA) cones that I received 
from Germany about a month ago.  I wish to give the entire amount to one 
person. You pay the shipping. Charlie Preston in Mansfield, Ohio

***DO NOT RESPOND TO POST at HBD.ORG!!! RESPOND TO CMEBREW at aol.com!!!

Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 22:49:28 -0500
From: "Steven Parfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Mashing Laaglander Light DME

Well, I racked the IPA on the 14th, and I took a gravity reading tonight. 
Drum Roll..... the results are the SpGr is down to 1.013!!! That's 7 gravity 
points difference from the original batch in which the Laaglander Light DME 
was not mashed.

Original Hypothesis - Laagalnder Light DME contains unconverted starches 
that result in high final gravity. These starches could be converted by 
diastatic enzimes. This high final gravity was seen with a batch of IPA 
which had a terminal gravity of 1.020 after two months.

Test 1 - minimash of 1/4 cup laaglander light DME with a tablespoon of 2 row 
Malt. Results - Initial starch test showed positive. After mashing, the 
starch test showed negative. This test was run twice with the same results.

Test 2 - The same recipe was followed for the orighinal IPA which had a high 
terminal gravity, with the exception that the Laagalnder Light DME was 
mashed with a pound of 2Row Malt. This resulted in a slight ly higher 
initial gravity, even though I reduiced the honey slightly to try to 
compensate for it. The same yeast was used and pitched at the same rate. In 
fact, the was yeast had been saved from the first batch (Wyeast 1028, 1 cup 
starter). This attenuation of the first batch was 67.7%. The second batch 
was up to 79.7% after eleven days.

My conclusion from these experiments is that Laaglander Light DME, which is 
noted for having a high percentage of non-fermentable starchees, can have 
those starches converted to fermentable sugars by mashing.

There may be other DME and liquid extracts which have the same 
characteristics. This would have to be determined by further 
experimentation.

Steven, Ironhead Nano-Brewery, to be. Johnson City, TN
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=241124&a=1791925
5:47:38.9 S, 1:17:37.5 E Rennerian

"Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes.... I prefer 
to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the cost of my own." Otto von 
Bismarck





Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 07:36:39 +0100
From: Hubert Hanghofer <hhanghof at netbeer.co.at>
Subject: encoding problems

Sorry,

my previous post may contain misplaced question marks or some other kind of 
placeholders. This is caused by a conflict with different character-sets and 
was not my intention.

Hubert Hanghofer


Return to table of contents


Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 23:49:06 -0700
From: "Tom & Dee McConnell" <tdmc at bigfoot.com>
Subject: Teat Wash

on Thu, 15 Mar 2001, Joseph Marsh said that he 
used TeatWash.  Double check your labels - it 
might contain lanolin.  Not the best thing in 
the world for head retention.

Could use the beer to wash you hands though....

Tom & Dee McConnell (tdmc at bigfoot.com)
Albuquerque NM 87111


Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 22:04:38 +1100
From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: And So We Had A Party

Well we had to, given that my little girl Phoebe has just turned five. The
Southern Highlands of NSW is full of folk from all walks of life and most of
them seem to have their children at Phoebe's school.

So along they came, Doctors, Lawyers, Film Stars, Politicians,Musicians, TV
Personalities and a whole host of just normal people like myself. Well I'm
not sure if I can be called normal, but they all came anyway. Steve
Alexander (being the egalitarian that he is) probably would have been bored
fartless with this crowd but I hope he understands I had little choice in
the selection. They were just the parents of Phoebe's class mates.

We had plenty of wine, champagne and expensive commercial beer which we
hoped would keep them happy.

But as has happened in the past, they all wanted my homebrew. Demanded it in
fact! Now when I told them the supply was getting a bit low they were not at
all impressed. In fact I found them in the garage helping themselves as one
of them had worked out how to use the beer gun.

Now you might ask, "who needs arseholes like this at your daughter's
birthday party?" and I am inclined to agree.

But isn't it interesting. Even the Toffs have developed an insatiable desire
for homebrew, as though it was the "top shelf" stuff of the beer world. I
had to laugh, though I wasn't happy to see my kegs left nearly empty.

I've saved my sample bottles, enough for me to enjoy with my real beer
appreciating mates. The likes of Wes Smith, Dave Lamotte and even that Noise
from the North, Graham Sanders.

When the last of the fancy cars headed out, I was happy to shut the gates of
Burradoo Estate and I couldn't help thinking. If they all love the beer so
much, why don't they have a go at making it themselves? Maybe I'm going to
have to teach them how.

Cheers
Phil







So we stocked up with wine, champagne and cases of expensive commercial
beer.




Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 09:59:04 -0600
From: Vachom <MVachow at newman.k12.la.us>
Subject: local vs. mail/Hermione

Bill asks about the differences between local and mail order shops.  Of
course, it all depends.  If you're lucky enough to live close to a big
retail operation like St. Pat's in Austin or Northern Brewer in MN, then
there's no reason ever to have to order something that would arrive by post.
I'm lucky in that my very small local supply shop is operated by an
excellent brewer whose shop is focused largely on all grain brewing.  The
shop carries pretty much everything I need to brew all grain beers.  I'd
hate to imagine having to buy bulk grain by mail.  You could probably beat
the shipping costs on a 50 lb. bag of malt even if you had to drive 2 or 3
hours each way to get to a retail operation.  

Okay, Jeff.  You got me on the Hermione reference.  The Hermione of The
Winter's Tale plays some nice tricks with time by being suspended in statue
form for 15 or so years.  But I couldn't find the "extra hours in a day"
reference in either her lines or in Paulina's.  My favorite character in
that play is the bear--which sounds like beer, and the bear lives in
Bohemia, and we all know what's good to drink in Bohemia:  and thus I've
connected the second part of this post to the digest topic.

Mike
New Orleans








Return to table of contents

---

HTML-ized on 03/19/01, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96