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: Fermenter 'geometry' ve fermentation performance.- a 'spurmental' result ("Stephen Alexander") Greenhouse potential of beer (Petr Otahal) Shipping beer to comps, etc. (David Sherfey) Beer, Beer and More Beer ("Wilson Family") Yet another reason to brew ("Mark Tumarkin") Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question ("RJ") Re: Consequences of a Low-Temp Mash ("RJ") tap set up (CMEBREW) Bottling & Kegging combo plus The Batch from Hell ("Pannicke, Glen A.") re: bottling and kegging ("Kensler, Paul") State of bottles in the Dishwasher (Road Frog) low-temp mash (Marc Sedam) Mash Temp/Thickness Vs. Fermentability ("Peter Fantasia") party pig accessory ("Ken Miller.") Re: Dishwasher (John DeCarlo) Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question (Dan.Stedman) Re: Dishwasher ("Houseman, David L") fermentabilty (Chris Hatton) Hydormter Accuracy Problems (Richard Foote) Guinness ("Milone, Gilbert") October European Beer Trip ("Fred Waltman") Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question (Christopher Jon Poel) RE: Dishwashers ("Hedglin, Nils A") Malt storage question ("Tom Jabas") Building "Keggerator" need advice (Christopher Chow)
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 01:58:31 -0400 From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Fermenter 'geometry' ve fermentation performance.- a 'spurmental' result I've been up to another 'spurment' (Swed- feeble experiment). I created a 12.5gal batch of highly fermentable wort and pitched a starter (made from a Wyeast 2565 tube and a ~2L extract starter). The whole batch (minus some saved starter wort) was chilled, pitched and aerated together in a sanke. The resulting aerated pitched wort was stirred and divided by (repetitive sample) as follows - about 4.5 gal each went into a 5gal carboy and a ball lock cornelius keg. Another 2.25 gallons of wort went into another 'half filled' corny of identical manufacture.. All fermenters were 'topped off with CO2 Fermentation took place in an ambient 64F basement room w/ fermenters thermally insulated from floor contact.. Data is presented in the order <filled carboy, filled corny, half-filled corny>. The measures H:W (height to diameter) ratios of the nearly cylindrical wort volumes were [CB, CKfull, CKhalffull] = <1.20, 2.35, 1.23>. The initial (post pitching) SG was 1.0425 (1.044 before pitching) and the wort pH was 5.189. At 62 hours after pitching I took pH measures as a means of assessing fermentation progress. The readings were <4.070, 4.068, 4.009>. At 115 hours after pitching all fermentations were slowing - nearly stopped. pH and SG reading were taken at 210 hours when the fermentation was clearly over and clearing underway (just under 9 days). pH readings were < 4.057, 4.028, 3.998 >. SG readings were <1.00975, 1.0095+, 1.0095-->. The apparent attenuation was <77.8%, 78.4-%, 78.4+%> compared to pre-pitched wort. Clinitest readings on all beers were indistinguishable 0 to 1/4% reducing matter measured as glucose. Glucose assays made with a glucose oxidase (glucose specific) reactive strips read less than 0.02P of glucose (negative reading) in all samples. Single sample tasting of this just fermented beer revealed no significant differences. Triangle tests will follow after several weeks of cold storage. Perhaps a diacetyl assay too. Conclusions: /Negative evidence - H:W did not correlate with extended fermentation times or higher FG readings. /No evidence of excessive diacetyl or other defects in any of the cases. / Neither surface:volume ratios, nor height nor 1/H correlate with the minor differences in fermentation results. Hey - it's only a couple data points, but it matches my other experience. fwiw, -Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 16:24:46 +1000 From: Petr Otahal <potahal at utas.edu.au> Subject: Greenhouse potential of beer Jeff asks: >How many kcals in a fart? Do an energy balance for the caloric >differences between a beer fart and a sauerkraut fart. Show your >calculations on the back of a beer label. Show the Krebs cycle of a >gut bacterium. > Steve worries: >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. > I read somewhere that methane was a more effective greenhouse gas (ie traps more heat in) than CO2. So, I say that from this point, it is madatory that all beer farts be set alight, in the interest of a lesser impact on the environment. Cheers Petr Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 06:28:37 -0400 From: David Sherfey <sherf at warwick.net> Subject: Shipping beer to comps, etc. I think we are all driven by guilt and fear caused by cautious competition instructions and homebrewers basic honesty..... Stop it! The UPS Nazi does not deserve our honesty. 1) Pack well as suggested in earlier posts. Aside from special bottle packaging, two - three layers of large-bubble wrap (five or more of small-bubble wrap if that is all you have available) completely around each bottle, top to bottom, and taped securely is what I use. 2) Avoid using any words with beer on the address label. Use first letters only if necessary - it is the address that gets it there not the name. Be obscure. Use the first letters of the competition title - the people on the receiving end will know what it is because they are receiving other similar packages from individuals. 3) Don't write anything on the package about what is inside. I only raises suspicion. When we send gifts to people we don't do this... 4) If they ask, lie. Say you are returning something for repair, or something else away from the subject....It is none of their nosy business what is inside the package. 5) Pack well. Wet packages always raise suspicion. Regarding Paul's complaint of excessive time from West coast to East, I would suggest trying Priority Mail. All of the stuff I get from three different companies in CA gets to my rural NY location in three days - consistently. Hope this helps! David Sherfey Warwick, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 18:45:36 +0900 From: "Wilson Family" <ksland at ata.attmil.ne.jp> Subject: Beer, Beer and More Beer I will vote to the positive with B3. I order extensively from their website. Being in the military and residing in Japan, generally it is very difficult to find businesses that will ship to an FPO address. I have never had a problem with B3, and in fact, after discussing the matter on the phone with the owner(a very personable gentleman) he goes out of his way to send priority mail so that I can get it within ten days. My only complaint is the quality of their grain bags. They don't seem to hold up during the boil as others I have used. Off to have a home brew. All my best. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 07:21:43 -0400 From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Yet another reason to brew I'm not a scientist (certainly not a librarian) but I got the following email from a member of my club who does medical research, thought some of you might find it interesting. I certainly won't be using any less hops in my beer! Mark Tumarkin Gainesville, FL Mark, Here is the abstract of a research paper I ran across accidently when doing a "serious professional" literature search today at UF. I included it here in case you might need yet another reason to brew . . . ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Title: In vitro inhibition of human P450 enzymes by prenylated flavonoids from hops, Humulus lupulus Author(s): M. C. Henderson; C. L. Miranda; J. F. Stevens; M. L. Deinzer; D. R. Buhler Source:XENOBIOTICA, 30 (3): 235-251 MAR 2000{HYPERLINK "/vl=5306263/cl=20/nw=1/rpsv/catchword/tandf/00498254/contp1.htm"}. Abstract: Several unique flavonoid compounds have recently been isolated from hops, Humulus lupulus, and their presence has been detected in beer. Their chemical structures are similar to other plant-derived compounds, many present in the human diet, that have been shown to have cancer chemopreventive properties due, in part, to inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes that activate carcinogens. These results suggest that the hop flavonoids are potent and selective inhibitors of human cytochrome P450 and warrant further in vivo investigations. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - Bruce Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 07:39:45 -0400 From: "RJ" <wortsbrewing at cyberportal.net> Subject: Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question "Donald D. Lake" <dlake at gdi.net> wrote: "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?" Well Don, you could go out and purchase a counter-pressure bottle filler for about $50... HopTech sell an excellent version which "unlike" many others on the market is very easy to use... Another alternative, is to make a poor man's CPBF ... Take a pc of plastic racking cane and cut it off about 5" longer than the tallest bottle you're going to fill. Add the appropriate size white rubber stopper to this part of it, then take a short pc of vinyl hose that'll fit tight over the hard plastic tube while the other end is snug over the end of a cobra faucet. Fill each bottle, with a 6-10 sec blast of CO2, (CO2 is heavier than air so that it fills the bottom of the bottle, where you feed tube will be). Have your bottle caps sanitized and ready... Seal the bottle with the rubber stopper, snuggly, and push the beer into the bottle, full stream, off the cobra faucet, as the beer slows, burp the stopper... when full place the cap on-top wait a few seconds then cap (the extra few seconds allows any oxidizing air to be purged by the rising CO2)... Ciao Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 07:52:34 -0400 From: "RJ" <wortsbrewing at cyberportal.net> Subject: Re: Consequences of a Low-Temp Mash "Jeff Tonole" <jefftonole at toast.net> wrote: Subject: Consequences of a Low-Temp Mash "...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." "...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?" Well Jeff, it sounds like you hit the beta sacc range that would put more fermentables into your wort... assuming that you then mashed out at 165F (151F actually with your thermometer problem) you probably only hit the alpha sacc temperature for 10 minutes or so... which would significantly reduce the dextrin extraction and ultimately lower the OG. I take it that you weren't using the iodine test method for starch reduction... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 08:01:14 EDT From: CMEBREW at aol.com Subject: tap set up I presently use a 12-14 (?) cu ft chest freezer for serving up to 6 cornies by using an internal, 6 fitting gas manifold, connected to an external 20 lb CO2 tank and regulator. The only problem is, I have each keg hooked up with a picnic tap, and opening and closing the lid to the freezer causes a lot of condensation on the walls and bottom. I'm looking for a solution other than, "don't open the lid so much" that looks good and sells for less than $5000. What sort of economical set up do some of you brewers use? If I go to a tower system mounted on the lid how well does that work? How about costs for one that will dispense at least 2 beers? Sources---anyone have one for sale? Can a system be mounted on the side or front wall of the freezer? Charlie, still in Mansfield, Ohio Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 08:44:07 -0400 From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com> Subject: Bottling & Kegging combo plus The Batch from Hell Don asked: >I'm still new at this kegging thing, so I'm still learning. My question >is about kegging say about 4 gallons in a 5 gallon C-Keg and bottling 1 >gallon for competiton. >What's the best way to do it? Don, I usually make an 8 gallon batch. I'll split that between a 5 gallon corny and whatever I have lying around: 3 gallon corny, 5L mini kegs, 2L growlers or bottles. You can see that there's differences in the priming between the containers. I fill the keg first and the remainder is racked to a bottling bucket where it is primed at a rate appropriate for the kegs. Then I fill the containers and before capping the bottles, I add a Primetabs or two to raise the priming rate appropriate for bottles. One tablet for 12 oz bottles and 2 tablets for pints & 1/2 liters. Seems to work well for me. Jim Adwell wrote of the Batch from Hell: >The yeast appears to be >dead, or seriously wounded. I pick up the starter container, a 1/2 gallon >glass milk bottle, and shake it gently. Enormous , and I mean ENORMOUS, >quantities of gas, presumably CO2, erupt thru the airlock, blowing off the >little red cap, which lands some 4 feet away in the kitchen sink. They lie in wait - the little at %$*ers! On their own, they are harmless, but if you let them form colonies or gather in large groups... I just brewed a batch recently using the same yeast. I also pitched to a starter with more than sufficient headspace only to find that during the course of a few hours it blew through the airlock. Not much spillage, but enough to let me know of the attempted escape. I enjoyed the story very much. Carpe cerevisiae! Glen A. Pannicke glen at pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net 75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." - Blaise Pascal Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 08:55:40 -0400 From: "Kensler, Paul" <PKensler at cyberstar.com> Subject: re: bottling and kegging Don, Try getting a hold of those 3-gallon cornie kegs. I'm using them more and more frequently, and I've fallen in love with them - a standard 5g. batch yields a full 3g. keg, and almost a case of bottles - plenty for competitions and to give to family and friends, but without having to deal with a full two cases of empties (cleaning, sanitizing, filling...). They also make it easy to split a batch - most 5g. brewers can pretty easily make 6g. with their current setup - split the ferment with 2 different yeasts, or make a batch of wheat and add fruit to 3g. and leave the other 3 straight, etc. Chip Stewart of HBD fame used to have an "in" on a good source of 3g. cornie kegs... I believe he was selling them on eBay and maybe in the HBD fleamarket. Or try a search of the HBD archives back a couple months. Some homebrew shops stock them too, but they are generally more expensive than the 5g. kegs (fewer of them available = higher cost). Regards, Paul Kensler Gaithersburg, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 06:42:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Road Frog <road_frog_run at yahoo.com> Subject: State of bottles in the Dishwasher I soak/scrub bottles when I first get them, or when some "friend" forgets to rinse them good. But I just rinse/shake 3 times when I empty a bottle. Then before I bottle I throw in the dishwasher with bleach filling the soap cup. On-On, Glyn in TN Anyone interested in a homebrew gathering in/near Manchester TN? Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:12:18 -0400 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: low-temp mash Jeff speaks of an out-of-whack thermometer... Oooh. I feel your pain. I got a lab calibration thermometer for just this reason. The low temps will absolutely effect your efficiency. Beta amylase rests (the low end of the temps) will eventually convert the mash, but it takes a while. Chances are you started mashout before the conversion was complete. Long rests at the low end of the mash temps will also generally result in a more fermentable wort, hence your FG's around 1.007 don't sound too far off to me. Now that you're calibrated the world should be a better place for ya. Cheers! M - -- Marc Sedam Chapel Hill, NC Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:19:05 -0400 From: "Peter Fantasia" <fantasiapeter at hotmail.com> Subject: Mash Temp/Thickness Vs. Fermentability I took the liberty of changing the units for metrically challenged brewers like myself. I couldn't read Steve's post. Hope my math is correct. I'm sure someone will let me know if it isn't. I think this is a good chart to have handy. Thanks Jeff, Pete Mash Temp/Thickness Vs. Fermentability Temp. in degrees farenheit % of wort solids 140f 150f 154f Monosaccharides 10.1 9.5 10.2 Disaccharides 51.7 48.1 42.0 Trisaccharides 14.3 13.6 12.7 Maltodextrins 0.1 4.1 9.7 %Extract 76.2 75.3 74.6 %Fermentables 76.1 71.2 65.1 Effect of mash thickness on Saccharification at 150f % of wort solids Mash thickness 39 oz/qt. 23 oz/qt 17 oz/qt Monosaccharides 11.9 9.5 8.1 Disaccharides 42.9 48.1 46.6 Trisaccharides 12.6 13.6 15.0 Maltodextrins 11.9 9.5 8.1 %Extracts 73.4 75.3 74.2 %Fermentables 67.4 71.2 69.7 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 11:27:27 -0400 From: "Ken Miller." <kgmiller2 at yahoo.com> Subject: party pig accessory I recall seeing an ad somewhere for a replacement for the valve assembly on the party pig which uses 1 or 2 CO2 cartrages instead of using the pouches. Does anyone else remember this and where can I getting pricing and ordering information. Thanks, Ken Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 11:36:54 -0400 From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo at mitre.org> Subject: Re: Dishwasher alastair <alastair at odin.he.net> asks about using the dishwasher. I did experiments many years ago and found that the dishwasher did not really clean the insides of the bottles, at least not reliably. A good habit to get into is to rinse bottles immediately after pouring the beer into the glass. However, if your dishwasher has a "heated dry" option, I have found I can fit enough bottles to bottle a 5 gallon batch into the dishwasher, and sanitize the whole batch at once using heat. Plus, I can bottle on the open door of the dishwasher, spill on the door, and not get a drop on the kitchen floor. Plus the bottles are all right there waiting for use. Now some dishwasher doors will drip beer onto the floor upon closing (which happened at a friend's house), so check before making any promises to others in the household. - -- John DeCarlo, The MITRE Corporation, My Views Are My Own email: jdecarlo at mitre.org voice: 703-883-7116 fax: 703-883-3383 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 10:58:22 -0500 From: Dan.Stedman at PILLSBURY.COM Subject: Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question Donald D. Lake asks about how to bottle up just a gallon or two for competition. My answer: PrimeTabs. They work great & you can just add them to as many bottles as you wish to fill for competition. This is what I usually do when I make more then what I can fit in two kegs or when I just want a few bottles around. Check it: http://howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-5.html While I am here - another nice thing about having a kegging system is that you can get a couple of carbonator caps (the things that screw on PET soda bottles so you can carbonate stuff right in the bottle) and carbonate your beer for sampling immediately. I love to fill a PET bottle 3/4 of the way up while transferring from primary to secondary. Then I can chill and carbonate it (by applying 15 lbs of pressure to it and shaking it for a minute) to see how it is coming along... Dan in Minnetonka Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 12:07:42 -0400 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: Re: Dishwasher Alastair asks about using the dishwasher. Yes, use the dishwasher but DON'T use any of the dishwasher detergent. Only use hot water. Put the dishwasher on "light" wash if that cycle is available; you don't need a long wash time. But DO put it on "heated" drying cycle. I rinse all my bottles after use and before they go into the dishwasher (upside down of course). The heated cycle seems to kill everything. I've also used the oven, putting in rinsed bottles that I've covered the mouths with a square of aluminum foil, and let them bake at 350oF for a couple hours then cool down overnight. Both seem to work equally well. Dave Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 12:18:57 -0400 From: Chris Hatton <Chatton at aca.com> Subject: fermentabilty I have a contest for y'all. Who can describe to me in 100 words or less the relationship between mash temperature and mash thickness as it relates to wort fermentability and starting gravity of beer. (i.e. when x, goes up, y goes down), and please don't get too sciency on me (I luv Rob's chart on July 11, but I need help interpreting. Pretend you are writing an article for USA Today (i.e. 5th grade reading level). This would help me and other beginning to mid level grainers without a science background! Good luck, winner gets a secret prize... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 14:03:58 -0400 From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com> Subject: Hydormter Accuracy Problems HBD'ers, Jeff Beinhaur writes: >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. Jeff Tonole writes: >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. What are the odds of two HBD posts on hydrometer inaccuracies in the same day's post? Well, this got me to thinking about a problem I once had struggled to solve. Everything was going great. I was hitting target OG's like nobody's bidness. Then one day, the bottom fell out. My efficiencies went kaflooey (technical term). I was expecting an OG of "x" and got one like 10 points lower than "x". Oh well, a fluke. On my next batch, the same thing happened only worse. Instead of an expected OG of "x", I was getting like one-half of x. By this time I'm thinking like no frickin way! I had my brewing partner take a taste of the just-chilled wort. "Tastes sweet to me dude." I'm not sure at what point this occurred, but I washed the hydrometer and placed it upside down (i.e., heavy, weighted, fat end up) in a draining rack next to my brew sink. "Hey, what's that amber liquid inside the hydrometer?" Apparently for untold batches an imperceptible hairline crack had developed in the weighted end of my hydrometer. It had been taking on wort, as it were. Moral: Don't get so caught up in complicated, mind-numbing, high tech, highfalutin, scientific, calculating, engineering, modeling solutions to problems that you overlook the simplest of answers. Disclaimer: I'm not implying that this could have caused the above problems but... have you inverted your hydrometer lately? Hope this helps. Rick Foote Whistle Pig Brewing Murrayville, GA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 14:02:02 -0400 From: "Milone, Gilbert" <gilbert.milone at uconn.edu> Subject: Guinness Hi All, First thanks for all the bottling responses, Do any of you have experience with a keg of Guinness? I'm going to get a half barrell of it next weekend. I would like to know if I can use a the standard air type tap that the package store will supply, or should I get something special? Thanks, Gil Milone private replies ok - Gilbert.milone at uconn.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 12:55:01 -0700 From: "Fred Waltman" <fwaltman at mediaone.net> Subject: October European Beer Trip A group of us are making our annual pilgrimage "across the pond" to drink beer. In case any of you are going to the same events, or are just going to be traveling in the area on business and would like to get together and drink beer with fellow homebrewers, here are the key dates: Tues Oct 16 Duesseldorf for Sticke bier at zum Uerige Fri,Sat Oct 26,27 Amsterdam for the Bokbierfest Sun Oct 28 Poperinge for the Karakterbier fest Fri Nov 2 Antwerp, at the Kulminator Sat,Sun Nov 3,4 Antwerp for the 24 Hours of Belgian Special Beer In between the dates we will be drinking beer in Koeln, Bamberg, Munich and various places in Belgium. If you are really hard core you can hang around a bit longer: Sat Nov 10 Brussel for the open brew day at Cantillion Thur Nov 14 Duesseldorf for Latzenbier at Schumacher. More details and pictures of previous trips can be found at www.StickeWarriors.com or email me for details. If you are going to be in the area, we'd love drink some beer with you! Fred Waltman Culver City Home Brewing Supply (Los Angeles area) fred at brewsupply.com www.brewsupply.com *or* www.StickeWarriors.com PS: Since Jeff Renner changed email addresses do all of our cyber-Rennerian co-ordinates change? Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 05:44:20 +0900 From: Christopher Jon Poel <cjpoel at zb3.so-net.ne.jp> Subject: Re: Bottling & Kegging combo question At 12:25 AM -0400 7/11/01, "Donald D. Lake" <dlake at gdi.net> wrote: >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? What I've been doing lately is to rack all the beer to the corny with the normal 1/3 cup priming sugar. Then I hook up my bottling hose and filler to the out fitting, hook up the CO2 set on very low, and then bottle from there. Each bottle gets one or two PrimeTabs (great product!) to bump up the carbonation. It's easy to get a half a case of bottles this way -- and no need to worry about sanitizing extra bottling buckets! Chris - -- Mmmmm . . . beer! International Beer Scrutinizers Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 14:34:20 -0700 From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> Subject: RE: Dishwashers From: alastair <alastair at odin.he.net> >I assume the fact that the bottles get heated to +150F is good enough to kill off any baddies >Thanks! >Alastair I too have wondered about the use of a dishwasher's heated dry cycle as a sterlizing method. My bottle washing includes: 1) Making sure to only use bottles that have no visible residue 2) Soaking them in an idophor solution 3) Use a bottle brush with the wire handle cut off so it can be put into a drill to scrub out any remaining dirt 4) Rinsing them with water to remove the idophor residue (we have a whole-house water filter so I don't worry about additional baterial contamination) 5) Drying them in a rack with a bunch of holes that the necks go through so there's nothing touching the inside of the bottles 6) Storing them upside down in the boxes This is all done 1-2 days before bottling. On the day of bottling, I load the bottles into the dishwasher & run them through just the heated dry cycle for a last minute sterilization. Do you think this final dry cycle actually does anything? Thanks, Nils Hedglin Sacramento, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 13:16:18 -0500 From: "Tom Jabas" <tomjabas at sihope.com> Subject: Malt storage question Hi all, I've recently started buying grains in bulk to save some money. I know I need to store them in a cool, dry place, but I live in Minnesota and the weather doesn't always cooperate. My question is how humid is too humid, and how warm is too warm. At what point is the malt in danger of losing its freshness...60, 70, 80 degrees...50, 60, 70% humidity? I haven't been able to find any specific information. Everything I've read is pretty generic...cool and dry. Also, what's the best way to store it? In the sack it came in? Should I dump it in a five gallon pail and seal it up? Some other method... Thanks in advance for any info and/or suggestions, Tom Jabas Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 22:56:06 -0400 From: Christopher Chow <theassman6 at yahoo.com> Subject: Building "Keggerator" need advice Subject: Building "Keggerator" need advice Hello fellow homebrewers, Im about to move into a new apartment and one of my "house warming" presents to myself is going to be a kegging system and a keg only fridge... =) heres the question(s) I plan on buying a chest frezer and adding a themostat. As for the keg system I guess I want 2 kegs at least. What should I be looking for when shopping for this refridgerator? Should I go with a new and fancy one from best buy or wal-mart? Or are there better ones out there fod cheap? I found a 5cuft chest frezer for ~ $200 with a flip up lid. Also, what is the minimum size of box that will fit 2 kegs? Also, what is your favored mounting technique for the taps? What can be done with a top opening box? note , im trying to be as frugel with this as possible im on a college guy budget! although i can be very creative.. thanks guys Christopher Chow Return to table of contents
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