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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
Gas Filtration ("Fred L. Johnson")
re:fermentability ("Dr. Pivo")
DWC ("Vinbrew Supply")
CO2 and Rubber ("Dan Listermann")
RE: Stuck Fermentation ("Steven Parfitt")
yeast freezing ("Peter Fantasia")
Poor yeast storage ("David Craft")
Re: fermenting with raw honey (Dan McFeeley)
Re: Using a Dishwasher to Clean Bottles ("Houseman, David L")
Filling tires with CO2 (Tom Daniels)
Re: stuck ferment (Smith Asylum)
Weird yeast behavior (Spencer W Thomas)
cloudy Star San, amber iodophor (Frank Tutzauer)
Bottling and Kegging ("Charles R. Stewart")
quick sanitation test ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
DWC malts ("Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies")
Shipping (Danny Breidenbach)
DWC no more, low mash temp, SA geometry exp. ("Czerpak, Pete")
Steam recipe (Greg Remake)
Points in berries ("David Craft")
Re: stuck ferment ("Todd M. Snyder")
plastic buckets with o-ring lids (Jeff & Ellen)
Possible replacement speciality malts (Kim Thomson)
Re: stuck ferment (Smith Asylum)
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 07:31:59 -0400
From: "Fred L. Johnson" <FLJohnson at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Gas Filtration
Many of us aerate wort with aquarium pumps, myself included. However, I
suspect that most of us do not use any type of filtration of the air to
prevent bacterial contamination because filters for this purpose are not
easily found or obtained.
I have been doing a lot of yeast propagation by constantly aerating the
spinner culture of yeast and have been given by a lab friend a few 45 micron
disposable syringe filters typically used for liquid sterilization. As far
as I can tell, the ones I have appear to work for gas filtration (as long as
you don't wet them); but I've noticed that the filter membrane can break,
and it is very hard to tell if and when it occurs. Therefore, it would be
best to dispose of the filter after every use or at least after a few uses.
So... I'm looking for a source of an appropriate affordable filter for
aerating my worts. Perhaps some of you out there do filter your forced air
or work in labs where this is routine. Having worked in a lab myself for
years, I know the very high cost of anything coming from scientific supply
retailers.
- --
Fred L. Johnson
Apex, North Carolina
USA
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 13:47:24 +0200
From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se>
Subject: re:fermentability
Chris Hatton asks (while taking his hatt off):
"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."
Here's one I always found popular with beginners..... I even threw in
pH. Basically you've got 2 enzymes, and they both like different
stuff. One makes fermentable stuff that turns into alcohol (low FG),
and the other makes non fermentables (high FG).
I used to find the lads would look at the following cheat sheet long
after they were on their own, and mostly ignored any other charts I made
up.... so it must have been of some value. Pat's machine chews it up and
makes everything get in the wrong order, so I'll list it by headings
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------
<---- going this way makes stuff that turn into alcohol.
"stiff" mash (little water, lotta' grain)
lower pH
lower temperature
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
going this way makes stuff that turns into "dextrins" (non
fermentable)----->
"loose" mash (lotta' water, little grain)
higher pH
higher temp.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
A "sort of" "middle value" for these things.
"sloppy porridge" consistency
pH 5.5-5.6?
66-67C(about 150 "frankfurters")
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
as to:
"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!"
I thought I would pretend I was writing for the National Enquirer
instead.......
"All of the above combinations cure cancer, except the ones that cause
it, and I just bit my cat's head off, and a stripey tail started growing
out of my (*)."
Dr. Pivo
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 08:24:39 -0400
From: "Vinbrew Supply" <devans at greenapple.com>
Subject: DWC
> INTERBREW TO CLOSE DEWOLF-COSYNS MALTINGS
Could be because Franco Belge has supposedly been the main malt Belgian
Brewerys have been using. DWC is a nice malt, and I will be sorry to see it
go. I have since picked up the Franco Belge line and have been very
impressed with what I have seen so far. For who is interested I can email
what is contained in Franco Belge line. For those who are really interested
I can send out one pound samples. However those that wish the 1 pound
samples, they would have to pay the shipping costs.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 08:50:35 -0400
From: "Dan Listermann" <dan at listermann.com>
Subject: CO2 and Rubber
Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman at relaxpc.com>writes:I can now also fill tires with
C02. That has yet to come in handy.
I don't know how CO2 effects the rubber used in the tire industry, but I do
know that CO2 can be hard on some rubbers. It can cause the rubber to
disentragate.
Dan Listermann
Check out our new E-tail site at http://www.listermann.com
Take a look at the anti-telemarketer forum. It is my new hobby!
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 08:48:34 -0400
From: "Steven Parfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Stuck Fermentation
Smith Asylum ponders a Stuck Fermentation
...snip...
>My situation is: A stuck (ver-r-ry slow) fermentation. I started out >with
>a 1.085 SG and it dropped to 1.065 after two weeks. I racked to >a
>secondary and the SG dropped to 1.036 after three weeks. It only >moved 2
>points in the last week so I added 1/2 tsp White Labs yeast >nutrient and
>the SG dropped 6 points in 4 days. Unfortunately it
>stayed there for a week. Three days later the SG had not changed so I
>racked it a third time and added another 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient >with no
>results. Here is the recipe, a knockoff of Samual Smith's
>Winter Welcome Ale:
....SNIP....
>White Labs Claifornia Ale yeast WLP051
Before attempting to answer your questions, I did a little math... ProMash
shows that you must have made around a 3.4gallon batch to get that high of
an OG. With DME, I would expect a normal 1.048 beer to come down to around
1.010 as a final gravity( maybe even lower due to the Honey). I would expect
to get a final gravity of around 10*(85/48)=17.7, or about 1.018. My
estimate is that you are currently around 1.030, so you should still have
some fermentable sugar left.
....SNIP....
>My questions are:
>Should I add another starter?
I think this is the best idea. I'm not sure about the CACA yeast, but i
suspect it is not a high alcolol tolerant yeast, and you are going to be
pushing it. YOu are already at (85-30)/85=64.7% attenuation. If you didn't
areate well to begin with, you could have a stuck fermentation.
I would get a good alcoloh tolerant yeast ( I'm not into big brews yet, so
hopefully someone can make a good suggestion). The highest I did was an IPA
at 1.064 and I used Wy1028. It fermented quite dry.
My suggestion is to make a really good starter with a known alcohol tolerant
yeast. Step it up several times. When you get to the third step, let is
settle several days, pour off most of the liquid, and add a pint of 1.064
wort. Areate the snot out of it, and keep agitating it for 48 hours. Then
pitch it when it is really cooking. This will give you a large amount of
really healthy yeast ready for a feeding frenzy.
>Should I bottle?
.....
Not yet..
>Should I add yeast along with the priming sugar when I bottle?
.......
Yes, but wait till you get the SpGr down...
>Should I Bean-o it?
.....
I think bean-o is used to convert unfermentables to fermentables. Not the
issue you are facing.
>What is the highest safe level of SG to bottle with
.....
With this beer including the honey, I wouldn't bottle till I got it down to
at least 1.020
>and is there >anything else I can do to bring it down to that level (short
>of adding >grain alcohol)?
.....
Grain will not help. It will up your alcohol, but will not do anything about
the sugars that are left.
>I'd hate to lose the body that all those sugars create, but at the >same
>time I'm in fear of bottling grenades as I will be out of town >during
>botle condition. From reading the archives I am going to allow >it to warm
>to 70 deg).
Good luck.
Steven
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 12:57:22 -0000
From: "Peter Fantasia" <fantasiapeter at hotmail.com>
Subject: yeast freezing
Dennis,
You can freeze yeast by boiling 1 cup water with 3/8 cup cane sugar for 15
min.Cool. Add equal parts yeast slurry and this solution to sanitized
freezer bag. In a non frost-free freezer will last at least one year. I have
been using these "yeasy sicles" for five years. They work great. Make a
sanitized starter and add a chunk of yeast sicle. That's all there is to it!
Happy Brewing
Pete
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 08:50:14 -0400
From: "David Craft" <David-Craft at craftinsurance.com>
Subject: Poor yeast storage
Greetings,
I have a friend of a friend who brewed his first batch. He ordered a White
Labs Lager yeast and when it came stored it at room temperature for 2 weeks.
He then pitched it, realizing his error. I was asked if this was a fatal
error. I told him it would certainly be detrimental, but not necessarily
fatal. Any thoughts out there.........?
David B. Craft
Greensboro, NC
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 07:46:56 -0500
From: Dan McFeeley <mcfeeley at keynet.net>
Subject: Re: fermenting with raw honey
On Thu, 12 Jul 2001, Rob Dewhirst wrote:
>I have a honey ale recipe I am particularly proud of. My recipe calls for
>honey in the boil. After a recent homebrew club seminar on mead, I am
>wondering if it isn't possible to add raw honey to the secondary instead,
>so long as it's been sulphited separate from the fermenting beer. . . .
>Optionally, is there a way to get rid of wild yeasts in honey other than
>heat or sulphite?
It's really not necessary to use a lot of heat to kill off the wild yeasts
in honey. According to a 1939 study by Townsend, the optimum temperature
and time needed to kill off yeasts are as follows:
Time in minutes Degrees F
470 125
170 min 130
60 135
22 140
7.5 145
2.8* 150
1.0* 155
* This is a table from a 1978 edition of _The Hive and the Honey Bee_
The last two items were extropolated from Townsend's data.
The citation, for those interested, is: Townsend, G. F. 1939. "Time
and Temperature in Relation to the Destruction of Sugar-Tolerant Yeasts
in Honey." J. Econ. Entomology. 32:650-654
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><>
Dan McFeeley
mcfeeley at keynet.net
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 09:56:17 -0400
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Re: Using a Dishwasher to Clean Bottles
Patrick Humphrey says "It seems that many people have been using their
dishwasher to clean and
sanitize bottles. I have tried this in the past as well but have since gone
to a kegging system. I never was convinced that the water was able to get
up
into the bottle completely, either."
Those of us who use dishwashers are NOT using them to clean the bottles;
that we do prior to placing in the dishwasher. They must be clean first.
The heated drying cycle in the dishwasher is sanitizing (not sterilizing)
the bottles. Don't use detergent or rinse agents in the dishwasher. I too
keg most of the time but often still bottle, especially CPBFing; it's a
convenient way to sanitize a couple cases at a time.
Dave Houseman
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 09:04:12 -0500
From: Tom Daniels <daniels at cerias.purdue.edu>
Subject: Filling tires with CO2
Jay Pfaffman Said:
>I can now also fill tires with C02. That has yet to come in handy.
>People without CO2 system who'd still like the joy of force
>carbonating beer when they're too impatient to wait for bottle
>conditioning can buy CO2-cartrige-based bike pumps (which is what my
>mini-keg tap uses) for about $10.
I have in a pinch used my CO2 tank for filling a tire since I have attached
an air type attachment to my tank. Works ok...but wastes CO2.
I searched for quite a while for Chrome valve stems to insert in 2 liter
bottle lids and found the only place in my area that had them was PepBoys.
(Lafayette, IN)
I bought 4 of them and in an hour had 4 home made carbonation caps.
- --
Tom Daniels
The floggings will continue until morale improves.
-- unknown
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 07:34:02 -0700
From: Smith Asylum <smithly at neta.com>
Subject: Re: stuck ferment
My sincere apologies, I made a typo when I listed the
recipe. 4.5 lb of British Pale should read: 7.5 lbs. The
OG really was 1.085 corrected for temperature at the full
five gallons minus evaporation from the boil. I coned the
hope and Irish moss very thoroughly too. Thanks for posting
the numbers for OG beerbob, very helpful. If I calculate
correctly using both 45 and 40 units for DME and honey I
come up with an OG: max = 1.081 and min = 1.073. So, I
goofed but recovered my error. Now what? I will have only
another 10 days and then I won't be able to do anything with
it for two weeks. Unless I want my son to ... naw! Tried
that before. Didn't work. So I'm warming it up to 70.
Should I pitch a large starter? It's in a 6.5 carboy so I
have plenty of room.
Where can I go to find the calculations for predicting FG?
Thanks,
Lee
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:18:44 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Weird yeast behavior
Almost a couple of weeks ago I brewed a Wit. 4lbs pils malt, 4 lbs
bulgur (because I didn't want to bother milling raw wheat) from the
local food coop. Mashed about 152 for 1:15 to 1:30. 3/4 oz Hallertau
hops, 1 oz coriander, 1 oz orange peel (I forget which kind, it came
from "Brewers Garden" originally, but had lost its label).
Pitched the Wyeast "Wit" yeast (3944, I'm pretty sure), along with the
dregs from a bottle of Gulpener Koerenwolf (the most recent selection
from the Real Beer Club). Fermentation started quickly and then
slowed. I shook it up, and it picked back up, and then slowed. Last
night, I gave it a big "swirl", hoping to drop the yeast cap so that I
could rack tonight.
Well... This morning, there was yeast on the floor. I have 5 gallons
in a 7 gallon bucket, so there was some pretty wild activity going on
in there last night! The beer tastes pretty good, it's cloudy (as
expected), and has dropped from 1.040 to 1.018, so I don't think it's
finished (not to mention that in just a few minutes sitting in a
glass, the hydrometer sample dropped a thin yeast film onto the bottom
of the glass).
It's been fermenting at about 75F for most of the time (I took it to
the basement for a day so the cleaning crew wouldn't muck it up).
Seems like must be a flocculent yeast that requires frequent rousing
to work well?
Has anyone else seen this behavior from the Wyeast Wit strain? (I
would be surprised if the other yeast was contributing much -- the
Wyeast starter was already going strong when I swirled and pitched the
yeast from the bottle.)
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer at umich.edu)
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:51:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Frank Tutzauer <comfrank at acsu.buffalo.edu>
Subject: cloudy Star San, amber iodophor
Since the topic of Star San has come up lately, I thought I'd relay a
recent experience. Ok, everyone knows the rule of thumb that Star San's
good when clear and iodophor is good when amber. Well, I bought some test
strips from my brewshop -- low-range pH papers and also some strips for
testing iodine concentration. On hand, I had some cloudy Star San and some
amber iodophor. Well, the test strips showed the Star San to be off the
scale at something less than 2.8, and the iodine test strips had the
iodophor at less than 12.5 ppm. So in both instances the test papers
showed results opposite the rules of thumb. The test papers are probably
crummy, but who knows.
FWIW, I use cloudy Star San all the time (as long as the pH is below 3).
It clouds almost instantly for me, and if I had to use distilled or RO
water that would be a serious enough drawback for me that I would switch
exclusively to iodophor. (The thing I don't like about iodophor is I'm
always staining things -- my hands, my counters, my dogs.) I will say,
though, that the one time I used distilled water the Star San solution
stayed clear for damn near ever.
--frank
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 13:13:31 -0400
From: "Charles R. Stewart" <Charles at TheStewarts.com>
Subject: Bottling and Kegging
Thanks, Paul. I've become a big fan of the 3 gal. kegs as well. My
kegerator holds two 5 gal. kegs and two 3 gal. kegs on the compressor shelf,
so I tend to use the 3 gal. kegs for sipping brews. And they fit in a
milk-crate with my 5# CO2 tank for parties.
My original source for the 3 gal. ball-lock and pin-lock kegs has dried up,
but I have found a source for 3 gal. kegs with standard 1/4 in. fittings
(the fittings that screw onto your quick disconnects). You can either use a
check valve behind the 1/4 in. fitting, or install ball lock fittings. I
will be getting some of the screw-on ball lock fittings for the kegs as
well. I'll try to get the info on my web site brewing section as soon as I
can (see below). And as before, I'll donate $2.00 for every keg sold to the
HBD server fund for anyone who identifies themselves as a HBD member.
>On Wed, 11 Jul 2001, Paul Kensler said re: bottling and kegging:
>
> 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).
Chip Stewart
Charles at TheStewarts.com
http://Charles.TheStewarts.com
Pursuant to United States Code, Title 47, Chapter 5, Subchapter II, Section
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Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:40:46 -0600
From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com>
Subject: quick sanitation test
Danny Breidenbach <dbreiden at math.purdue.edu> asks about quick sanitation
tests and wort stability tests.
The problem with using a wort stability test to test your bottles is you
would be doing a combined test of the bottle and the wort. The BioTrace
Pro-tect swab may provide some more specific data. It is a single use swab
that offers a 10 minute protein test. The swab is about 7 inches long, so it
may be a little tricky to test the inside bottom of a bottle, but I imagine
something ingenious like tape and a chopstick would provide a handy
extension. Wait! That's our patented Tape-A-Stick(TM) swab extension! Call
now... operators are standing by....
The BioTrace swab tests surface purity; ideal for testing equipment, hoses,
heat exchangers and fermentors for residual proteins which harbor
contaminant bacteria or wild yeast. Each swab is completely self-contained
and can test up to a 10 cm x 10 cm surface.
It's easy to use: remove swab, swipe the test area, and replace swab in
tube. A simple color change indicates purity. Great for brewers who have
questions about their cleaning and sanitizing programs! We found it useful
when we had questions about valves and lines in our wort production
facility, and were unpleasantly surprised by the results. A few swabs gave
us the data needed to identify and correct a potential problem at a fraction
of getting a commercial testing company to test our facility. It retails
for about $5.99 US.
There's a pic and description at:
www.paddockwood.com/catalog_equipment_test.html#swab
affiliated as can be, I remain,
Stephen Ross -- "Vitae sine cerevisiis sugant."
Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 11:51:51 -0600
From: "Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies" <orders at paddockwood.com>
Subject: DWC malts
I have heard no news on the imminent closure of DWC malting, but we have
slowly been reducing our DWC malt in favour of Weyermann malts for some time
now.
The Weyermann malts seem to be cleaner, more consistent, and more precise in
their colour spec's than their DWC counterparts, and with the possible
exception of Special-B, the DWC malts were easily replaced. With
Weyermann's new additions, even the Special-B can be approximated.
The most common requests we get for DWC malts are for Carapils, which is
easily replaced by Weyermann Carafoam (33 PPG, 2-4 SRM), and by Carahell (33
PPG, 8-12 SRM), and for Special-B which the new seems to be very similar to
the new Weyermann CaraAroma (33 PPG, 110-150 SRM). Initial reports seem to
suggest that the CaraAroma may not be as 'raisiny' as the Special-B, but
this malt is so new to our listings we haven't had enough experience with it
to be absolutely certain. Has anyone else brewed with CaraAroma?
The others like Pils, Caramunich, Roasted Barley, Chocolate etc are straight
replacements.
cheers,
Stephen Ross -- "Vitae sine cerevisiis sugant."
Paddock Wood Brewing Supplies, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
orders at paddockwood.com www.paddockwood.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 13:22:22 -0500
From: Danny Breidenbach <dbreiden at math.purdue.edu>
Subject: Shipping
This isn't about shipping beer, but with the recent talk on that
subject, I can't resist sharing my story. Besides, it might give some
folks some ideas.
During a recent trip to China, I bought a couple of porcelain tea sets
as gifts. I didn't want to lug these around for the rest of my trip, so
I decided to mail them home to myself. Luckily, I had an interpreter
with me, so off we went to the post office.
Turns out that for shipping out of China, you take in the goods to mail
and a postal employee inspects and then packs the items for you. The
woman doing the packing of my tea sets looked very disapproving of my
desire to ship something so fragile, then told me (through my
interpreter) that before she would let me mail it, she would have to
pack it using "some special stuff." This is where it got interesting.
First she opened the boxes and used large amounts of cotton to pad the
contents. She used thick pads of cotton stuff. Would be really great
for shining shoes, chrome, belt buckles, silverware, etc. Then it got
REALLY interesting. She put each box in a plastic bag and thoroughly
wrapped the bagged box with packing tape. Then she constructed a large
carton to put these bundles in, and she whipped out her big gun.
She had a machine that dispensed what I've seen marketed as "Great
Stuff," the expanding foam sealant stuff. She squirted a whole bunch of
this in the bottom of the carton, let it expand a bit, nestled the two
boxes into the still expanding mess ("It's alive!!"), and then added
more stuff. Finishing off the box was the interesting part. She
squirted a bunch in, closed the box, waited, peeked inside, added some
more, and then practically sat on the box. Soon the foam was pushing
against the lid of the box (and sides and bottom of course), whereupon
she quickly stapled the top closed. The foam was even trying to ooze
out of the cracks at the sides and corners of the lid and bottom, so she
sealed those up with packing tape. As the coup de grace, she used four
bands of that plastic strapping stuff to make absolutely sure the box
wouldn't fly open. When I lifted the box, I could feel heat through the
walls ... I guess the energy of that expanding foam had to go somewhere
since the box wouldn't let it expand.
All this for a mere 210 yuan (about $25). My wife jokingly asked if the
package was insured ... I figured that the packing was my insurance.
This could have made it home as checked baggage it was packed so well.
So who needs bubble wrap when shipping beer bottles ... get yourself an
industrial supply of this foam stuff, and you're set!
- --Danny Boy
West Lafayette, IN
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 14:51:49 -0400
From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com>
Subject: DWC no more, low mash temp, SA geometry exp.
I brewed my latest batch of browne ale after about 4 weeks of brewing
inactivity (which is alot for me compared to last summer). I only used
dehusked carafa I as the only dark grain in it. I really enjoyed the use of
carafa II, I, and III in my last oatmeal stout made with malted oats. In
that I used a wt ratio of 2:1:1 on the dehusked carafa mentioned above plus
about 0.25 lb roasted barley.
Anyways, to answer some posted questions........
By Jeff Tomole on 7/11 - I think that low mash temp can cause you to reach
poor conversion and thus a decreased OG. especially if you mash for the
normal 45 to 60 minutes and don't test for conversion. I mash generally for
75 to 90 minutes but don't test for conversion either. Only had one problem
batch in the last 2 years that I can attribute to under conversion due to
missing mash temp. I did just recently also find that my thermomemetr was
high by about 6 to 8 degrees - and I have been wondering for so long why I
couldn't get my FGs to get much below 1.014-1.018 when pitching on a old
yeast cake.... I'm had the last few (with the new thermometer) consistantly
hitting 1.008ish which is consistant with the new mash observed temp.
To Steve A on 7/12 - Thanks for posting your geometry vs. fermentation data.
maybe a few other data points from other folks and we'll be all set - unless
further data confuses the issue.
To Jim Wallace on 7/13 - I also saw the news last week about DWC maltings to
close. I currently use weyerman or durst for my belgian and german ales. I
would consider using the French grains as well since I hear they are similar
to DWC. What do those belgians do thats so different from everyone else -
is it climate where the grain is cropped?
have fun brewing. I'm off to the Portland International Beer Fest next week
and then through to the OBF the following wkend as well with plenty of
bicycling and beer drinking inbetween.
Pete czerpak
albany, NY
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 14:01:06 -0500
From: Greg Remake <gremake at gsbpop.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Steam recipe
Hello all,
I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative found on Scott Morgan's craftbrewer link
about Steam beer, and I share the author's (Mr. Sanders?) enthusiasm. In
fact, it was a California Common recipe that was my first-ever homebrew
attempt, and I try to brew at least one every year. My last attempt was
tremendous, the best of the season. As is Anchor Steam, I kraeusened this
batch with an active primer using some yeast collected from the primary and
a bit over two quarts of wort saved from the kettle. I had wort primed
earlier versions with similar success, but the kraeusened examples were
exquisite. I sugar primed several samples I bottled when racking from the
primary, and the difference was quite noticeable in a triangle test, with a
more malty flavor and much better foam stand. It's not an Anchor Steam
clone, being a little stronger and hoppier, but it's the one I'm hoarding
all for myself.
To account for the kraeusen and my large primary this recipe is sized for
seven gallons, so scale accordingly.
2-row pale ale 10.0 lbs. 77%
Munich 2.0 lbs. 15%
Med. crystal (40L) 1.0 lbs. 8%
1st rest 145F 30 min.
2nd rest 158F 30 min.
Mash out 170F 10 min.
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. Mash
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. FWH
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. 60 min.
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. 30 min.
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. 15 min.
Northern Brewer (whole) 0.50 oz. 0 min.
OG 1.053
FG 1.015
IBU 44
BU/GU 0.83
SRM 9.4
CO2 vol. 2.5
Yield 7.0 gal.
Primary 1 week 60F
Secondary 2 weeks 60F
Notes: Collected 0.55 gal. cooled wort for kraeusening, stored
refrigerated, boiled and cooled before adding 0.5 cup yeast slurry from
primary. Fermented one day and added at bottling.
Cheers!
Greg
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 15:26:42 -0400
From: "David Craft" <David-Craft at craftinsurance.com>
Subject: Points in berries
Greetings,
I am loading a Mead recipe in ProMash. I added raspberries and it defaulted
to about 32 points per pound/gallon, about what DME is.
Is this close? any other experience with fruit in Meads?
Regards,
David B. Craft
Greensboro, NC
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 16:14:06 -0400
From: "Todd M. Snyder" <tmsnyder at buffalo.edu>
Subject: Re: stuck ferment
Hi Lee,
Even with 7.5 lb of DME, SUDS still calculates the OG to be 1.073. You'd
have to have boiled it down to about 4.25 gallons in order to be at 1.085. I
think it's very possible your hydrometer sleeve has slipped inside the
glass.
Did you check your hydrometer against tap water? It should read very, very
close to 1.000.
If it did slip, I'll bet your tap water reads 1.012. Corrected for this, it
would mean your FG is 1.016, not 1.028, which would be fine to bottle.
Todd
Buffalo, NY
- -----Original Message-----
From: Smith Asylum <smithly at neta.com>
To: tmsnyder at buffalo.edu <tmsnyder at buffalo.edu>; homebrew at hbd.org
<homebrew at hbd.org>
Date: Friday, July 13, 2001 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: stuck ferment
>My sincere apologies, I made a typo when I listed the
>recipe. 4.5 lb of British Pale should read: 7.5 lbs. The
>OG really was 1.085 corrected for temperature at the full
>five gallons minus evaporation from the boil. I coned the
>hope and Irish moss very thoroughly too. Thanks for posting
>the numbers for OG beerbob, very helpful. If I calculate
>correctly using both 45 and 40 units for DME and honey I
>come up with an OG: max = 1.081 and min = 1.073. So, I
>goofed but recovered my error. Now what? I will have only
>another 10 days and then I won't be able to do anything with
>it for two weeks. Unless I want my son to ... naw! Tried
>that before. Didn't work. So I'm warming it up to 70.
>Should I pitch a large starter? It's in a 6.5 carboy so I
>have plenty of room.
>Where can I go to find the calculations for predicting FG?
>Thanks,
>Lee
>
>
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 21:41:24 -0400
From: Jeff & Ellen <JeffNGladish at ij.net>
Subject: plastic buckets with o-ring lids
Glen Pannicke wrote:
"To protect the grain from insects and seal out the outside air, I plan on
purchasing storage buckets with a screw-top and an o-ring seal on the lid.
I'm not sure where I've seen them, but there out there."
I've found these at swimming pool chemical supply stores, usually with
chlorine tabs inside. Ask a friend with a swimming pool to save you an
empty bucket. (You can also get 88% calcium chloride while you're at the
pool supply store to acidify your mash.)
Here in Florida, humidity capitol of the US, I usually buy my base grains
in 55 pound bags and use it up within two months. The heat and humidity do
not seem to affect it, but bugs become a minor annoyance toward the end.
'Hope this helps.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 22:45:49 -0500
From: Kim Thomson <alabrew at mindspring.com>
Subject: Possible replacement speciality malts
Weyermann has released three new malts that may be able to fill the void
if DWC stops production:
CaraRed - Similar to CaraVienne
CaraAmber - Similar to Biscuit
CaraAroma - Similar to Special B
Haven't tried any yet, anyone out there in HBD land have any experience
with them?
- --
Kim and Sun Ae Thomson
ALABREW Homebrewing Supplies
8916 A Parkway East
Birmingham, AL 35206
(205) 833-1716
http://www.mindspring.com/~alabrew
mailto:alabrew at mindspring.com
Beer and Wine Making Ingredients and Supplies
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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2001 20:49:54 -0700
From: Smith Asylum <smithly at neta.com>
Subject: Re: stuck ferment
Todd,
I checked the hydrometer. Dead on 1.000. I've certainly learned a lot about
brewing in the past couple days thanks to all you guys chiming in. It seems to
be an arguable point, how many points a pound of DME or Malto-Dextrin or Honey
provides to a wort. I calculated from both camps the possible min and max and
it came out to 1.073 - 1.081. If I run the min and max attenuation numbers
(according to PharaohJB) for the range of OG's to project FG, I get should get
an FG in the range of 1.018-1.024. His practice is to multiply the OG by
(1-percentage of attenuation) to get an estimated FG. If that's the case, I'm
six points high. If my hydrometer reading was correct (1.085) I'm 10 points
high. I think I'm going to get some fresh yeast, make a 2 liter starter, pitch
the slurry and allow it to ferment out at 75 deg. Lots of folks think it will
be okay to bottle and they are probably right. I'm just too AR for this!
Aughh! I know, I know, RDWHAHB. Well, I have to bottle some first. 8^)
Thanks to all who responded, it was amazing!
Lee Smith
Chandler AZ
"Todd M. Snyder" wrote:
> Hi Lee,
>
> Even with 7.5 lb of DME, SUDS still calculates the OG to be 1.073. You'd
> have to have boiled it down to about 4.25 gallons in order to be at 1.085. I
> think it's very possible your hydrometer sleeve has slipped inside the
> glass.
>
> Did you check your hydrometer against tap water? It should read very, very
> close to 1.000.
>
> If it did slip, I'll bet your tap water reads 1.012. Corrected for this, it
> would mean your FG is 1.016, not 1.028, which would be fine to bottle.
>
> Todd
> Buffalo, NY
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