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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:
star san ("Stephen R Cavan")
Star San solution ("Eric and Susan Armstrong")
UPS Shipping ("Mark Tumarkin")
Anchor Steam clones ("Brian Morgan")
Style Guidelines for Stale Ale (Ant Hayes)
re: Star San ("Kensler, Paul")
UPS shipping woes ("Houseman, David L")
re: Beer Beer and More Beer ("Kensler, Paul")
aeration question (leavitdg)
'Budvar' Yeast ("H. Dowda")
Re: Beer, Beer, & More Beer (Kurt Kiewel)
Dishwasher (alastair)
Consumer reports / bottle color (David Harsh)
RE: Beer, Beer and More Beer (Jeff Hertz)
Bottling & Kegging combo question ("Donald D. Lake")
A report on my Strawberry Wheat ("Jeff Beinhaur")
Augustiner clone recipe? (John Martin)
Do I need a combine to harvest my hops? ("Eric Ahrendt")
Consequences of a Low-Temp Mash ("Jeff Tonole")
re: Temperature and mash thickness effects on fermentability/measures ("Stephen Alexander")
Food Network--July 30th ("Paul Gatza")
Call For Entries - Small Brewers Festival of California (Peter Torgrimson)
The Batch from Hell (Jim Adwell)
Ordering From BeerX3 (Rick Lassabe)
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Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 23:15:25 -0600
From: "Stephen R Cavan" <scavan at sprint.ca>
Subject: star san
Ed asked: "Does anyone know how long a working solution of Star San will
last? I have 5
gallons of working solution that was made up a week ago stored in a sealed
opaque container."
I mix my solution with RO or distilled water and it seems to last months.
It is pH sensitive, and my water is rather high at 8.9 which is why I use RO
water.
Steve
Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 01:30:00 -0500
From: "Eric and Susan Armstrong" <erica at isunet.net>
Subject: Star San solution
This was taken from the Five Star Chemical web site.
I have found that Star San solutions will become cloudy as the solution
becomes colder. Usually around 65-70F.
Hope this helps.
Eric
Ames, IA
Charlie Speaks!
When does Star San lose its effectiveness?
A sanitizing solution of Star San will remain effective for three or four
days in an open container and up to three or four weeks in a sealed
container. It is effective as long as the pH is 3 or lower. The pH can be
checked with a paper pH test strip. If the pH raises above 3, add food grade
phosphoric acid or more Star San to lower it. If the pH will not drop to 3,
the Star San solution is no longer effective. Star San begins to become
opaque as it loses its effectiveness.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 07:11:06 -0400
From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: UPS Shipping
Rick Foote describes his past adventures with the "UPS Nazi", and others have
recently suggested shipping out your beer through your local homebrew shop to
avoid possible problems.
This will work, but I thought I'd expand on the thought for those that don't
have easy access to a local homebrew shop (or who's local HB shop isn't quite
that accommodating). You can ship your beer through ANY business account that
has regular UPS pickup, generally without problem. The UPS drivers are very
busy and don't cause these type of problems for their regular business
customers. They just scan in the packages, put them on the truck, and they're
off to the next stop. Of course, still take all the packing precautions that
have been mentioned - simply to make sure your beer arrives safely.
So if you know anyone with a business that does regular shipping you should be
ok. Just offer them the occasional homebrew to keep them happy. I don't
generally label the packages, but if you want to, try this one:
Please Handle Carefully - Yeast Samples in Glass Bottles
Mark Tumarkin
Gainesville, FL
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 07:23:45 -0400
From: "Brian Morgan" <brian.k.morgan at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Anchor Steam clones
I am looking for good all grain Anchor Steam clone recipes - suggestions,
please?
David Craft wrote:
>>I just tapped my Anchor clone and it missed on the
>>finishing bitterness, but has nice flavors across the toungue. The
reviewers
>>of CR would like it. I used a Bavarian Lager yeast at 60 degrees.......It
is
>>Anchor without as much bite in the end.
David, is your Anchor clone an all grain recipe? Would you mind sharing it?
I'd love to conjure up a batch of Steam for the summer.
>>Brew on,
Thank you!
Brian Morgan
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:41:19 +0200
From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes at FifthQuadrant.co.za>
Subject: Style Guidelines for Stale Ale
I have been digging in my books and on the internet for some sort of
description as to how Stale Ale was made. The only references that I
have found are in the story of the origins of Porter and in some old
poetry and cook books. The BJCP and AHA seem to have missed this style.
The descriptions seem to vary but the beer is generally described as
oxidised and sour. Is Stale Ale perhaps England's answer to the Lambic
and Oud Bruin styles?
Does anyone know of any reference material?
Ant Hayes
Gauteng; South Africa
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:01:52 -0400
From: "Kensler, Paul" <PKensler at cyberstar.com>
Subject: re: Star San
According to the Five Star website (www.fivestarchemicals.com):
"When solution begins to cloud, sweeten with Star San or Phosphoric Acid.
Solution must remain at a pH at 3 or below to maintain proper sanitizing
level."
Back to me: As long as the solution is clear and at pH 3 or less, its
active. Since Star San is no-rinse at 200 ppm (1 oz. per 5 gallons) I
always "sweeten" it with phosphoric acid rather than more Star San. I've
had success making a batch of Star San and using it for a couple months
before it turns cloudy and can't be "sweetened". I just keep a 5 gallon
bucket of it around at all times - its really convenient for when I just
need to sanitize a carboy or a couple keg fittings. I'll occasionally make
up a gallon or two to make up for spillage, and replace the whole batch
after 3 months or so - like I said, whenever it turns cloudy for good.
Hope this helps,
Paul Kensler
Gaithersburg, MD
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:03:42 -0400
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: UPS shipping woes
It would also help if competitions find a location, that will accept UPS
packages, which does not have "Homebrew," "Beer," or "Brewery" or similar
key words in the name or address. I've found that sometimes such words sets
off the alarms of some of the UPS clerks. Shipping from my local HB store
however was painless and no questions were ever asked; go figure.
Dave
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:06:33 -0400
From: "Kensler, Paul" <PKensler at cyberstar.com>
Subject: re: Beer Beer and More Beer
I've had nothing but good experiences when ordering from BB&MB. Their
website is nice, but their paper catalog has even more gadgets, parts,
equipment and supplies. I generally order more than $40 at a time to get
the "free shipping" deal. They've been pretty responsive when I've emailed
them with questions.
The only complaint I have is that they are in California and I'm in Maryland
- the laws of UPS physics dictate that my order will always take 10-14 days
to get here!!
No affiliation, JASC, YYY,
Paul Kensler
Gaithersburg, MD
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 08:20:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu
Subject: aeration question
I have just purchased a diffuser, with aquarium pump for the initial
oxygen demands of the yeasties. For a medium gravity ale (1.4-1.5 sg)
how long would one aerate before pitching the yeast?
..Darrell
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 06:31:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: "H. Dowda" <hdowda at yahoo.com>
Subject: 'Budvar' Yeast
St. Pat's may not be the only source for a 'Budjovce'
strain of yeast. White labs, I understand, is
offering this yeast as a special this summer/fall. Is
it the same as the St. Pat's?
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:04:16 -0500
From: Kurt Kiewel <kiewel at mail.chem.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: Beer, Beer, & More Beer
I've ordered many times through BBMB and was always completely satisfied.
I highly recommend them. Once UPS smashed up a box so bad that a part
fell out. I called them and they put a new one in the mail ASAP without
batting an eye.
-Kurt
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 07:24:20 -0700 (PDT)
From: alastair <alastair at odin.he.net>
Subject: Dishwasher
This message is for dishwasher users...
I just tried to wash a batch of bottles in my dishwasher as a labor
saving alternative to an hour with the B-Brite and bottle brush.
The bottles came out looking very 'clean', but there were some
issues: I used some regular dishwasher detergent and it seemed to
leave an invisable residue in the bottle afterwards. I poured a
small amount of water in the bottom and tasted it against a referene
sample. The bottle water had a slight 'soapy' taste that was the
same as the dishwasher detergent... I guess the moral of that story
is "don't use detergent".
I've read about others washing bottles in the dishwasher, so I was
wondering what is the current 'state of the art' in terms of this
procedure... or is it not recomended?
My observations were that bottles are not really suited to dish-
washers. The narrow neck prevents much water from getting into the
bottle. This seems to prevent a good rinse to get out any left over
detergent. As far as the outside of the bottles go.. they sparkle!
I assume the fact that the bottles get heated to +150F is good
enough to kill off any baddies, but I would still brush them before
to get out any residue from the last brew.
What does the collective have to say?
Thanks!
Alastair
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:02:37 -0400
From: David Harsh <dharsh at fuse.net>
Subject: Consumer reports / bottle color
A Craft brewer aka David Craft <David-Craft at craftinsurance.com>
(probably never heard that one before..) asked about the Consumer
Reports article.
My opinion on it was that it seemed to ignore styles and the differences
that make a flavor appropriate. Not that their descriptions were
innaccurate, just seemed to take a "beer as a black box" sort of
approach. Sure anchor steam is bitter, but isn't that the style?
- ----------
Milone, Gilbert <gilbert.milone at uconn.edu> asked about bottle color
>
> ...10 cases of clear glass bottles Can I use these bottles...
> I will be storing the brew in the cases, and in the basement.
> So it shouldn't skunk if it's stored in the case?????????
Right. It takes light (ultraviolet in particular) to skunk beer. Just
remember that the taste threshold for the skunked beer is around 4 parts
per trillion (if my memory serves correctly) and the reaction is
essentially instantaneous. If you want an idea of how fast, just pour
your favorite hoppy ale into a glass and stand in the sun while you
drink it.
So stay away from the light and your beer will be fine.
Dave Harsh Bloatarian Brewing League
Cincinnati, OH
P.S. See you at Beer and Sweat on August 18th for the world's largest
keg-only homebrew competition. Details at http://www.hbd.org/bloat.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 08:30:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Hertz <duckinchicago at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Beer, Beer and More Beer
>>>Asking about experiences with B3--
I've placed probably half a dozen orders with B3 and
have nothing but good things to say about them. The
free shipping on large orders ($50 or $75-can't
remember) is great, since all my orders have been
fairly sizable. I bought a complete cornie system and
had some problems with a defective regulator (not
their fault, mostly mine) and they shipped it back the
next day at no cost. They also don't sit on orders
the way some internet retailers do.
Anyone have any other opinions either way? I have
to say also, that the quality of the website has a lot
to do with whether I order from a shop or not.
Several of the better known Homebrew e-tailers have
pathetically bad websites, so much that it makes it
difficult to find and order what you want. I know
most of these shops are running on small budgets, but
you have to keep your customer in mind when setting up
a e-commerce site. I would say B3 is much better than
the average brew site, but obviously they have a ways
to go to match the simplicity and quality of a site by
a big name e-tailer (Amazon, etc.) Programmers and
servers cost big money though, so I guess its a trade
off for good prices and helpful folks at the shop.
My two cents....
Jeff
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:40:18 -0400
From: "Donald D. Lake" <dlake at gdi.net>
Subject: Bottling & Kegging combo question
I'm still new at this kegging thing, so I'm still learning. My question
is about kegging say about 4 gallons in a 5 gallon C-Keg and bottling 1
gallon for competiton.
What's the best way to do it? I've been siphoning off a gallon into a
bottling bucket, adding corn sugar or DME and then bottling as usual.
Are there better methods?
Don Lake
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:19:26 -0400
From: "Jeff Beinhaur" <beinhaur at email.msn.com>
Subject: A report on my Strawberry Wheat
First off thanks to everyones suggestions. When we can avoid all of the
confrontations that always seem to take place here in HBD land it's amazing
the wealth of knowledge that exists.
The Strawberry Wheat has been kegged now for just over a week. When it was
first kegged the strawberry aroma was very intense and the taste had that
little bit of tartness that you can get from the berries. Now after a week
the aroma is more gentle but definately strawberry. The taste has lost some
of the tartness and the sweetness from the fruit is coming out nicely.
Definately a chick beer or as someone called it LPR (Liquid Panty Remover).
Well I'm still hoping the LPR works. SWMBO is starting to like it more each
day so there's hope.
As for the recipe I will be more than happy to forward the details to anyone
who might be interested. The one thing I discovered is that my one
hydrometer is off and so the OG was actually 1.048 rather than the 1.044 I
reported. It finished out at about 1.007. As for the berries, I added them
to the secondary. I cleaned 5 pounds of them, sliced them and then froze
them as someone suggested in order to break down some of the cells of the
fruit. Upon thawing, I crushed them and a camden tablet into the plastic
fermentation bucket I used for the secondary. This sat for 24 hours before
adding the beer (5 gallons). After an 8 day secondary I then kegged.
This was my first attempt at a fruit/chick/LPR beer. I'm quite happy with
the result and again as for the LPR part I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Thanks again for all of your input.....
Jeff Beinhaur, Camp Hill, PA
Home of the Yellow Breeches Brewery
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:21:28 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Martin <John.A.Martin at Sun.COM>
Subject: Augustiner clone recipe?
Does anyone have a good all grain or partial recipe for
Augustiner Light?
Thanks.
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:26:12 -0400
From: "Eric Ahrendt" <rock67 at peoplepc.com>
Subject: Do I need a combine to harvest my hops?
The latest AB "This Bud's for you" radio jingle goes something like this:
"Grandma at the wheel of a green combine
Harvesting hops day and night
Until the job is done.
This Bud's for you."
Hmmmm. They're picking the wheat around here right now. Maybe I can ask
farmer Steve to take a spin through the hop yard.
Seriously, I don't seem to have the problem with insects that other people
have (except cutworms - bastards.) Someone here had mentioned that if there
are lot of weeds around that the bugs prefer these. Maybe this is the case.
I live in the middle of a swamp surrounded by every weed imaginable. For the
first year the Cascades are going nuts. The Saaz are having a little
trouble, but I think they'll be fine.
Tomorrow I brew an Oktoberfest. Isn't refrigeration great!
Eric Ahrendt
Oak and Iron Brewery
Fremont, OH
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:41:44 -0400
From: "Jeff Tonole" <jefftonole at toast.net>
Subject: Consequences of a Low-Temp Mash
I'm trying to do some troubleshooting -- my last few batches have had
a lower-than-expected OG (say, I was expecting 1.052 and got 1.040), and
my terminal gravities have been unusually low as well. This change
coincided with a new hydrometer (acquired after the untimely death --
and unsolved homicide -- of my previous one), so I initially thought that
an inaccurate hydrometer was the culprit. But the hydrometer was
cleared of all wrongdoing after a few tests with various sugar/water mixes.
I next turned my attention to my thermometers, and it turns out the dial
thermometer I use during the mash is off 12-15F on the high side. So,
when I thought I was mashing at 154F, it was actually 140F.
This is definitely a problem (and an easy one to correct), but I wanted to
check in with the HBD collective to make sure it's the root cause of my
unexpectedly low gravities. Given the low mashing temp, I would expect
a more fermentable wort and lower finishing gravity, but does a low mash
temp also result in a lower starting gravity? If so, what's the reason
behind
that? Less starch conversion?
Thanks in advance for droppin' the knowledge on Mash Basics 101...
jeff tonole
SlothBrew
Adrift in the universe but currently living in Ithaca, NY
PS As for micros in the fridge, I usually stick to homebrew, but I just
moved two weeks ago and drank most of my existing stock before the
move. So, I'll give a shout out to Saranac (makers of a fine English-style
pale ale), Ithaca Beer (got a growler of their seasonal IPA), and Victory
(got a growler of their tasty HopDevil from a local pub).
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:55:16 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: Temperature and mash thickness effects on fermentability/measures
Jeff Renner posts re fermentability and the influence of temps and thickness
on same. The data that Jeff references via Andrew Stavrolakis and an
"individual at Lallemand Ltd" actually come from an American research by
R.H.Hall, as reported by G.Harris in his book "Barley and Malt" Academic
Press, 1962. The table appears in M&BS pp 289. I've posted the table to
HBD at least three times since 1996, but the earliest posting (and perhaps
the best typeset one) appeared in HBD#1138, May 1993 from Rob Thomas. Set
your mail reader to a fixed width font to read easily.
<<
From: ROB THOMAS <THOMASR at EZRZ1.vmsmail.ethz.ch>
Subject: mash vs. extract table
Hello All,
Here's table of mash thickness vs. temp vs. extract, taken from
Malting and Brewing Science, vol 1, D.E.Briggs, J.S.Hough, R.Stevens,
T.W.Young, Chaman and Hall, 1981.
Hope it's of some use. Rob Thomas.
Influence of mash temperature and concentration on the composition of sweet
wort
{Data of HALL quoted by HARRIS (1962) [221}
Mashing temperature 60!C (140!F) 65 6!C (150!F)
Mash thickness (%) (2) 67 39 29 67 39 29
Wort analyses(1)
Hexose 12.3 10.1 9.5 11.9 9.5 8.1
Sucrose 2.8 3.4 3.4 4.1 4.2 3.8
Maltose 43.9 48.3 49.5 38.8 43.9 42.8
Trisaccharide 14.3 14.3 13.8 12.6 13.6 15.0
Dextrin 17.5 15.5 14.6 24.2 21.2 22.3
Fermentability (%) 73.3 76.1 76.2 67.4 71.2 69.7
Extract ( %) 55-63 76.2 75.6 73 4 75.3 74.2
Soluble N (% of wort 6.2-6.6 5.34 5.50 5.58 5.22 5.03
solids)
pH 5.46 5.40 5.50 5.31 5.33 5.38
(1) carbohydrates expressed as % of wort solids.
(2) Parts of grist/100 parts of water.
Mashing temperature 68 3!C (155!F)
Mash thickness (%) (2) 67 39 29
Wort analyses(1)
Hexose 11.0 10.2 8.0
Sucrose 3.7 5.0 4.0
Maltose 36.9 37.0 39.0
Trisaccharide 12.8 12.7 14.3
Dextrin 27.6 26.2 26.9
Fermentability (%) 64.4 65.0 65.3
Extract ( %) 73.3 74.6 74.0
Soluble N (% of wor 4.90 4.77 4.85
solids)
pH 5.31 5.35 5.30
>>
The mash thicknesses corresponds with
(67, 39, 29) (.72qt/#, 1.23qt/# , 1.65qt/#)
The experiment performed in the US in the late 1950s probably used
malt that would be considered undermodified by today's commercial
malt standards, and higher in beta-amylase than a high kilned (pale ale)
malt.
Also the impact of thickness on fermentability at a given temp is small,
only
varying by 3.8% in the most extreme case. The difference wrt temperature is
mostly between dextrin and maltose demonstrating improved utilization of
beta amylase at lower temps. Other JIB studies show that extract efficiency
increases with increasing water(thinness) up to at least 2.5qt/lb, and that
amylase activity is limited by the low concentration of free water molecules
in mashes, particularly under about 1.1qt/lb.
For the units challenged, 0.72 qt/lb is about 1.5 L/kg.
Actually I'm a little surprised that a system of measure based on arbitrary
base units and powers of ten has great appear to anyone who is past counting
on his/her fingers and toes.
Jeff Renner earlier asked ....
>Now we "Mer'cans are notably metrically challenged, but isn't a ml a
>1/1000 of the basic unit of volume, the liter (or litre), not 1/100th?
Oh Jeff - now you've stumbled onto their dirty little secret. There are
two metric systems, MKS & CGS with different base units. You should have
known this was the case as the French would never agree to use the
same system as everyone else. When you get into electrical units you'll
also find A Gaussian CGS (and MKS?) system that needlessly introduces
additional base units. So much for standards.
I could care less about the choice of measurement systems and always
in favor of one that is convenient for the current context. As a brewer I
think
a system based on a barleycorn(1/3rd inch) might be a preferable choice to
one based on 10^-7 (or 10^-9) times the Napoleonic era guesstimate about
the distance from pole to equator.
Now if we just had a unit of temperature based on the temps for lagering and
the
'hissing/mirror' temperature of water we could invent an HBD measurement
system.
- --
Re Jeff's other more scatological question .... I think you shouldn't be so
worried about the calories in a fart, Jeff as the environmental impact. US
EPA
describes methane as a leading of global warming (and certain forms of local
warming) second only to CO2.
http://www.epa.gov/ghginfo/
http://www.epa.gov/rlep/sustain.htm
http://www.junkscience.com/feb99/termites.htm
Of course the Kyoto treaty would have banned beer in the developed
world. (the real reason Clinton & GeorgeW have failed to sign it).
Alternative emissions control solutions have been proposed:
http://www.vgernet.net/cakunce/cork.html
however the storage and containment issues with this solution are
comparable to nuclear waste.
I still think a practical apparatus using fuel cell technology to convert
this
methane to electrical power and hence to drive small portable air
conditioners, heaters, cell phones, web browsing devices, MP3 players,
wort chillers etc has potential. Darpa has already funded applications
work related to the small personnel carried fuel cells
http://knowledgefoundation.com/sfcbook.html and may
fund more re fuel source technology. The extension to
'personal gaseous emission'(PGE) as the secondary fuel source
means that a fielded army could operate on anything from Budweiser
& broccoli to Orval & onion rings or Spaten & sauerkraut.. We
envision teaming up with a megabrewers to sell this initiative and a high
flatulence beer-like product to DARPA. Eventually "drop and give me 20"
may have a whole new meaning in basic military training.
I have a *special* PGE collector design in mind for Pivo to honor his
vast contributions in this area. Should he care to sell the
resulting energy, Sweden may become the electrical energy OPEC
of Europe.
-S
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 12:58:40 -0600
From: "Paul Gatza" <Paulg at aob.org>
Subject: Food Network--July 30th
Hi everyone. The premier Food Network airing of "Beer Unwrapped" will be
Monday, July 30 at 10:30 p.m. eastern, 9:30 central, 8:30 mountain, and 7:30
west coast.
Paul Gatza
Director-American Homebrewers Association
Director-Institute for Brewing Studies
Association of Brewers
736 Pearl St. (303) 447-0816 ext. 122
Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 447-2825 fax
mailto:paulg at aob.org
Join the AHA and IBS at www.beertown.org
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 15:49:05 -0700
From: Peter Torgrimson <petertorgrimson at prodigy.net>
Subject: Call For Entries - Small Brewers Festival of California
Homebrewers, Have you ever dreamed of brewing your beer in a commercial
brewery? Well, here is your chance. Enter your beer in the 2001 Small
Brewers Festival of California Amateur Brewers Competition. The
Best-Of-Show winning brewer will brew his/her winning beer next year at
the Tied House Brewery in Mountain View and serve it at the 2002 Small
Brewers Festival of California.
What do you have to do? Get your beer to the Tied House Cafe & Brewery,
954 Villa St., Mountain View, CA or at alternate drop-off points.
Entries will be accepted through July 21. DO IT NOW!! A flyer
describing the competition details is posted on the Worts Of Wisdom
Homebrewers website at http://www.wortsofwisdom.org.
This competition is BJCP-registered and is part of the 13th annual Small
Brewers Festival of California, in Mountain View, California. See
http://www.smallbrewersfest.com for more information about the festival.
The Small Brewers Festival of California is on August 11-12. The
Best-Of-Show judging will occur on Saturday afternoon, August 11, at the
festival. Complete judging results will be available immediately
following the Best-Of-Show judging.
Please distribute this information to other homebrewers.
Peter Torgrimson
Worts Of Wisdom Homebrewers
Mountain View, CA
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Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:37:37 -0400
From: Jim Adwell <jim at jimala.com>
Subject: The Batch from Hell
After some ten years of brewing, I decided to make my first real
Weizenbier, with real weizen yeast, using Wyeast 3068, Weihenstphan Weizen
yeast. This is not S. cerevisiae, but rather S. delbrueckii, AKA
Torulaspora delbrueckii. I had read somewhere that this is a very active
yeast, producing an enormous krausen. I decided to keep the fermentation
temperature low, not exceeding 68F, to produce a balance between cloveness
and ester production. I was not expecting any problems. Little did I
know. Here's a day by day account of brewing the Batch from Hell. The
following is true; it actually happened.
Day 1:
UPS leaves the box containing the Wyeast 3068 in my garage. I find
it, open it, and smack the pack. It starts to swell within 2 hours; by 6
hours it is an inch thick. I decide to pitch it in a starter wort the next
day.
Day 2:
The smack pack is bulging at the seams; I've never seen one this
swollen before. I pitch it in 1 quart of 1.040 wort from a batch I
previously canned. I expect a quick start. I leave it at room
temperature, about 70F. Eight long hours later, I see nothing but a little
foam on top, and no bubbling from the airlock. The yeast appears to be
dead, or seriously wounded. I pick up the starter container, a 1/2 gallon
glass milk bottle, and shake it gently. Enormous , and I mean ENORMOUS,
quantities of gas, presumably CO2, erupt thru the airlock, blowing off the
little red cap, which lands some 4 feet away in the kitchen sink. I
ponder the meaning of this while lying in bed that night.
Day 3:
Brew day has arrived. I get up at 6 AM, and pitch the yeast I find at
the bottle of the milk bottle into another quart of the 1.040 wort, well
aerated like the previous one. I will be timing my brew day so that I can
racked the cooled wort into the primary fermenter about noon, so the yeast
will have some ten hours to do whatever it is that they are going to do
with my starter wort before I retire for the night.
My batch will be 3 1/2 gallons; I want a lot of head space in my
primary, since 3068 is known to produce a large head. The grain bill is
45% Briess 6-row Vienna malt, 45% home-malted wheat malt, and 10%
home-malted rye malt, with 1/2 lb of oat hulls for roughage.
This will be the first time I have used wheat malt that I malted
myself. I have made and used rye malt, oat malt, buckwheat malt, and
barley malt with excellent results. I am not anticipating any problems
from my home-malted wheat. It is Canadian soft white wheat.
I will do a 30 minute rest at 105-115F, infuse to 150F for 25 minutes,
raise to 160F for 15 minutes, and mash out at 165-170F for 5 minutes before
lautering. My deep-well water seems well suited for a weizenbier, so I
will not add anything to it. The mash goes well, and I recirculate about 1
gallon of wort and begin to drain the sweet wort into the boiler, expecting
a slow lauter. I have milled the grain more coarsely than I usually do to
speed things up. I am expecting an SG of 1.045.
Slow lauter?!? The wort is shooting thru the drain hose at an
amazing speed; I get my 4 1/2 gallons of wort in 10 minutes! Wow, I
think. Wow. The wort is very pale and somewhat cloudy. I begin boiling,
and continue for 75 minutes, when I run out of propane. Oops, I was going
to boil for 90 minutes. There is a nice hot break in the wort. I peek
into the fermentor, a plastic bucket with a drain valve and an opening in
the lid thru which I will insert a temperature probe. There is a layer of
foam on the starter. The yeast must be alive and working. I put the
immersion chiller in the hot wort, cool it down to 68F, and open the drain
valve on the boiler. The wort is shooting into the fermentor rather faster
than normal, I am thinking.
When the last of the wort is in the fermenter, I look into the now
empty boiler, and it's really empty, just a pile of hops and some leftover
wort. There is NO TRUB in the boiler, none at all. This has never
happened before, not anything like this, nothing even close. The hops are
as clean as if they had been boiled in water. The SG of the boiled wort is
1.041, a bit low. I put the fermentor in the fermentation chamber, set the
switch to 'cool' and set the temperature control. I check it from time to
time during the day; the temperature inside and outside the fermenter is
67F, where it remains until I go to bed. I reflect upon the meaning of NO
TRUB as I fall asleep.
Day 4:
I check the fermenter in the morning; the temperature remains at 67F,
inside and outside. I look inside the fermenter, and there is some foam
activity, and it smells wonderfully estery. Good, I think, maybe this
batch will be okay. By evening the beer is foaming high in the fermenter,
and spilling out a little down the sides. The temperature is still, you
guessed it, 67F, and there is no temperature differential between the
inside of the fermenter and the outside. This is not normal; I have
measured this before,and there is always a 3-8 degree differential between
inside and outside when the krausen was high in the fermenter. Not only
that, but the beer, or whatever the wort is becoming, has begun to smell
very strange and unpleasant, almost like vomit. I have noticed a similar
smell once before in an ale when I put 2 ounces of baker's chocolate and a
pint of strong black coffee in the primary. That beer turned out very
nicely; the bad smell disappeared in the secondary. I am hoping that this
batch will be okay, too. I lower the thermostat in the chamber to 60F.
I fall asleep wondering what will happen with the Batch from Hell, as
I now call it, tomorrow. Sounds like a bad horror movie from the 50's -
the Yeast from the East meets the Malt from Montreal, or......zzzzzzzzz.
Day 5:
With some trepidation I look in the fermentation chamber; the
fermenter temperatures are now at 63F and there is some sickly opaque
orange poop-like substance that has oozed out of the fermenter and down the
outside. Orange? Huh? The smell is better, though, much better. Maybe
the yeast had a bit of trouble digesting the trub proteins and had a bout
of flatulence. Maybe I'm anthropomorphising the BfH more than I should.
The krausen has subsided somewhat, and no longer threatens to escape the
fermenter and hunt down and devour small mammals.
At noon I decide to rack to a glass fermenter to see what the heck is
going on. The SG is 1.010, right about where I wanted it, and the missing
trub is in the bottom of the now empty primary. I taste a sample; yummy!,
with just the right amount of cloveness and subdued esters. I decide to
leave the beer in the secondary for another day at 65F, and then bottle it.
Day 6 and beyond:
I bottle the batch, and try a bottle after 4 days; low carbonation
still, but a wonderful clovy refreshing taste. And it is almost clear,
too. The Batch from Hell has turned into the Batch from Heaven. I think
I'll make another batch of this very soon.
There's no moral here, I just thought I'd share my experience.
in Central New York
Jim's Brewery Pages:
http://brewery.jimala.com
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Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 21:47:38 -0700
From: Rick Lassabe <bayrat at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Ordering From BeerX3
Mark, Here's one vote for satisfied experiences! No I do not own stock
in Beer Beer & More Beer!
Rick Lassabe
Bayrat's "Bayou Degradable Brewery"
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