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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
wort kits (Alan McKay)
hydrometer vs bubbles (Alan McKay)
Travels in France & Britain ("Eric R. Theiner")
Re: Hops in the keg ("Houseman, David L")
Wort Kits (Brad McMahon)
Phenolic character ("Peter Fantasia")
Copper RIMS chambers (Chris Beadle)
RE: Safale source and weizen temp (Brian Lundeen)
Re: Check my math (Todd Etzel)
Brew pubs in Dallas ("Charlie Walker")
Root Beer Recipes (Richard Foote)
starter question (Alan McKay)
Another Ferm Chiller Question (Alan McKay)
Re: Phenolic character (Jay Pfaffman)
re:Wort Kits (Jim Adwell)
Re. wort kits ("Sean Richens")
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Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 02:54:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com>
Subject: wort kits
Well Phil, it's good to see that you aussies are finally catching up with
us canucks. We've had these kits now for several years from
www.thebrewhouse.com. I've been brewing them now for 3 or 4 years when
I'm too lazy to do allgrain, and I have to say they are nothing short of
spectacular. In fact, I've got two of them bubbling away under my
kitchen table right now (Pilsener and Pale Ale).
They are 15 litre and you add 8 litres of water. Dump, mix, and you are
done in about 3 or 4 minutes! The only kits which truly are no-boil since
they were never concentrated in the first place (they are brewed high-gravity
and then diluted with water).
I believe that www.paddockwood.com in Saskatchewan also sells a similar
kit locally to his customers. I also knew a guy once out on the west coast
in BC who bought himself a 2 bbl system and paid for it in the first year
just by selling wort to homebrewers basically out of his back door, for
another twist on the same theme. If I had the money I'd try the same
thing here in Ottawa.
cheers,
-Alan
- --
"Brewers make wort. Yeast Makes Beer."
- Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide
http://www.bodensatz.com/
What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 02:55:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com>
Subject: hydrometer vs bubbles
Tal,
The "bubbles" method is unreliable. Fermentation can appear to be done
when in fact it is only stuck, and this could very well lead to bottle
grenades. The only way to be 100% sure that the beer is ready to bottle
is with your hydrometer. Mind you in 7 or so years of brewing I have
never had a stuck fermentation, but I have known people who have had
them, and have helped them get the fermentation going again.
cheers,
-Alan
- --
"Brewers make wort. Yeast Makes Beer."
- Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide
http://www.bodensatz.com/
What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:11:29 -0400
From: "Eric R. Theiner" <logic at skantech.com>
Subject: Travels in France & Britain
This is not exactly beer related, but being as there are many beer
vagabonds here, I figured it was as good a place as any to ask about
this. Besides, the point of this is to get me over to where there are fine
ales.
I'm thinking that I may take advantage of the US Air fare sale to Paris or
London despite the fact that we're in tough financial straits. The reason
is that when we went to Germany and Austria this summer, everything was
really cheap (outside of the "touristy" spots, anyway). Is the dollar as
strong in Britain as it is in Germany? I guess I'm not up on my
geopolitics-- did Britain have their exchange rates locked with the rest of
the EU?
Next, if we fly into Paris, is it easy to take the bulk of our vacation in
Britain, and how easy will it be to get around with a 2 year old on the
trains? (I understand that driving in London is a nightmare for
Yankees.) Sharon is terrified of even the concept of the Chunnel, so how
long's the ferry ride? And how easy it to fit in enough pub time with a
toddler?
I appreciate ya'lls tolerance for this semi-beer related post. Please let
me know.
Rick Theiner
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 08:51:16 -0500
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Re: Hops in the keg
Denis Bekaert <Denis-B at rocketmail.com> wrote:
"... I want to add some Saaz hops (about 2 ounces
in the leaf style) to the keg and am considering a
couple of techniques that I'd appreciate some comments
on:"
I do a lot of dry hopping, but I've found dry-hopping lagers, especially
with Saaz, does not give you the fine aromas that other hops do in ales.
Maybe it's my dry-hopping, but Saaz end up with grassy, papery notes that
are very similar to oxidation byproducts. At first I thought that was what
it was but after carefully insuring that it was not oxidation, I concluded
that lagering of lagers in general and with Saaz specifically is not nearly
as good as building and using a hopback. FWHing and a hopback makes for a
wonderful flavor and aroma combination.
David Houseman
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 23:28:37 +0930 (CST)
From: Brad McMahon <brad at rommel.apana.org.au>
Subject: Wort Kits
> From: "Phil Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
>
> A great idea from Matt Donnelan here in Oz are wort kits.
He is not the first to think of this.
North American bretheren, are the Brew King Wort Works
range still available? I first ran across them in 1997.
I did a search and came up with some homebrew shops selling
them, but I couldn't tell how current these sites were.
They were/are 9 litre kits that looked to be quite good.
Any others doing it?
I think Coopers Brewery did a short run some where back in the
late 1970's - early 1980's, until they realised no-one
wanted to carry twenty litres back to the car. They then
concentrated it to the hopped syrups.
- --
Brad McMahon APANA(SA)
brad at rommel.apana.org.au
Adelaide, Sth. Australia
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:28:53 -0400
From: "Peter Fantasia" <fantasiapeter at hotmail.com>
Subject: Phenolic character
Mike asked about increasing phenolics in weisbeer.I've experimented with the
wyeast weihenstephan wheat and the 3056 strain and I've had better results
at warmer temperatures.
There is also some discussion as to how to increase
the precursors of the clovelike compounds by using a 44 C rest. For more
info try this link.
http://www.netbeer.co.at/beer/english/index.htm
Loving Wheat
Pete
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:38:20 -0400
From: Chris Beadle <CBeadle at FischerUS.com>
Subject: Copper RIMS chambers
In Homebrew Digest # 3710, Mike Pensinger posted:
"...Well I discovered that 2 inch copper pipe is very hard to get but 1 inch
is readily
available. I cam bild my RIMS chamber out of 1i inch pipe and fittings with
an element in each end pretty easily.
Please let me know what you think."
I went through the copper RIMS chamber exercise and AFTER purchasing all the
stuff, I determined that it was cheaper to buy the stainless steel version
from Moving Brews (NAYYY).
The plumbing supply didn't have all the exact stuff I needed, so I had to
improvise with a couple extra reducing couplers, which were quite expensive.
YMMV.
Hope this help!
Chris in Michigan
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:58:58 -0500
From: Brian Lundeen <blundeen at rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: RE: Safale source and weizen temp
Roger Ayotte asks:
The DCL web page however says that they sell
> the yeast in
> 500g sachets as well (both S-189 and S-23) I was wondering if
> anyone knew a source for 500g sachets for homebrewing?
Paddock Wood (http://www.paddockwood.com/catalog_yeast.html) sells the S-189
in the 500 g size, as well as a number of smaller packagings. As usual,
NAJASCYYY.
Mike Lemons writes:
> I have been using Wyeast 3068 for years and have never been satisfied
> with its phenol production. I would like to make a
> Franziskaner clone.
> Something with a lot of "cloves." I usually make wheat beer when the
> air temperature is in the middle seventies.
> The recommendation from Wyeast concerning 3068, "Best results are
> achieved when fermentations are held around 68 F" strikes me
> as totally
> insane. I've never gotten much phenols at that temperature. If you
> don't want phenols, then why would you use 3068?
Let's keep in mind that Wyeast's idea of "best results" may be different
from yours. You mention that you have not gotten cloves at 68F, although you
also state that your usual fermentation temp is in the mid-70's (if that's
your usual ambient) and probably higher due to the heat generated by the
fermentation. It has been reported that the clove character comes out when
fermented at the lower end of the range, around 64F. So you may need an
ambient of around 60F to get that. It has also been suggested that a rest in
the 106-114F range will increase the clove character of your beer. I will
leave it to the chemists to explain the mechanism of how that works. So
there's a couple of suggestions for getting that character you're after.
Hope they work out for you.
Cheers
Brian
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:11:21 -0700
From: Todd Etzel <tetzel at ligo.caltech.edu>
Subject: Re: Check my math
The calculations mentioned for the 2 heaters in series will only work if
you're using a dc electrical system. When using ac, you must use the
impedence of the heater rather than its dc resistance and take into account
the total inductance of the circuit. The ac circuit version of ohm's law
is E = IZ = P / (I * cos(x)), where E is the rms voltage, I is rms current,
Z is impedence of the component being examined, P is power, and x is the
phase between voltage and current.
Without doing any calculations, I'd say that you would get more heat output
and it would draw substantially more current than you're expecting. I
recommend plugging in one of these heaters and doing some measurements
before incorporating it into your brewing system.
Todd Etzel
Todd Etzel
LIGO Project, CalTech
Control and Data Systems Group
626-395-2075
tetzel at ligo.caltech.edu
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 11:54:34 -0500
From: "Charlie Walker" <charlybill at prodigy.net>
Subject: Brew pubs in Dallas
Big Buck is definitely the closest, I think they even have a shuttle to
Bass Pro. I was there earlier this year and they had some excellent beers, I
was pleasantly surprised. I was back there again about a month ago and
wasn't as good as the first visit. Be sure and ask about any special brews,
they seem better than the regulars.
I was very sad at the closing of Routh Street, my favorite at the time.
Currently Two Rows is my favorite, the best beers. If they have any of their
whisky stout it is a must try! They were talking about brewing a belgian,
not sure if Mike has yet. Unfortunately, Two Rows is across Dallas from the
airport, but the best brewpub.
Coppertank in Deep Ellum is pretty good but they don't open till about
4pm.
I was at Big Horn in Arlington a couple years ago and they had some good
beer, the ones I visited in Dallas weren't as good.
As far a beer bars there is the Gingerman and Flying Saucer for multi
tap selection.
Hope this helps,
Charlie
NTHB
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 14:46:02 -0400
From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com>
Subject: Root Beer Recipes
Mark wrote looking to convert over a tap to root beer and recipes for same.
For all things root beer, go here:
http://www.rootbeerworld.com
I have done some experimenting with different recipe formulations based on
what I've read on ingredients listings on commercial examples, classic root
beer ingredients, and what I thought might be good to try.
My latest attempt now on tap:
Recipe for 4 gallons of Whistle Pig Root Beer
4 gallons water
7 g. brewers licorice
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
7 1/2 c. cane sugar
2/3 bottle Rainbow Flavors Root Beer Extract
1 T. Gnome Creme Soda Extract
1/2 t. Rainbow Flavors Spruce Essence
Heat to boiling 4 gallons of water- turn off heat.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat 7 g. brewers licorice and 1/2 teasp. ground
cinnamon. Heat just enough to dissolve licorice, and steep cinnamon. Pour
the saucepan mixture into a sanitized corny. Top up with boiled water to
the 4 gallon mark (I just eyeball it). Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
Add remaining ingredients and mix. Allow to cool then place in your brew
fridge. Chill, force carbonate. I keep my regulator up to 30 psi until
it's carbonated. Once carbonated, I serve at normal pressure, which for my
system is 12 psi.
It's said that cane sugar gives a better texture (smoothness) and better
head retention than corn sugar/syrup. I added the spruce essence because I
have like 10 bottles of the stuff. It gives it a certain spice that fades
with age.
Gnome extract is highly touted. I think the company went out of business,
and it was unavailable for a time. It is supposedly available again.
Rainbow flavors extracts are easily obtainable. Their root beer extract
strikes me as having a stronger wintergreen component than the Gnome.
My 8 year old daughter helped make this last batch. It's cool to have a
tap that the kids can have to devote to their "own beer". Heck, I like it
too!
Hope this helps.
Rick Foote
Whistle Pig Brewing
Murrayville, GA
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:29:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com>
Subject: starter question
Folks,
I seem to recall the general concensus on starters being that rather than
use a low gravity starter wort, it is actually better to use a starter
wort closer in gravity to the wort into which you will be pitching.
I did a search on the HBD archives on "starter AND gravity" but it comes
up with several hundred hits.
Does anyone have any references for this?
Where does it originate and so forth?
thanks,
-Alan
- --
"Brewers make wort. Yeast Makes Beer."
- Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide
http://www.bodensatz.com/
What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:30:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com>
Subject: Another Ferm Chiller Question
Beerlings!
The blue "foundation" extruded foam that we get at Home Depot has a
lip all around it which kind of throws off measurements a bit.
On the plans at http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.html
this lip does not seem to be indicated, while if you check the commercial
site at http://www.gadgetstore.bigstep.com/
the photos distinctly show the lip.
I am thinking that lip orientation is going to be crucial in building
this thing, so am wondering if someone can help me out. On the plans
page (1st URL), what is the orientation of the lip?
I'm picking up the stuff this weekend ...
thanks,
-Alan
- --
"Brewers make wort. Yeast Makes Beer."
- Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide
http://www.bodensatz.com/
What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:32 -0500
From: Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman at relaxpc.com>
Subject: Re: Phenolic character
On Thu, 16 Aug 2001 21:01:39 -0700, Mike Lemons <ndcent at hotmail.com> said:
> I have been using Wyeast 3068 for years and have never been satisfied
> with its phenol production. I would like to make a Franziskaner clone.
> Something with a lot of "cloves." I usually make wheat beer when the
> air temperature is in the middle seventies.
I had a Weiss Beer at Crescent City Brewery in New Orleans last week
and it had an incredible amount of clove. I couldn't believe that it
was just yeast that contributed the flavor, but I talked to one of the
brewers and he assured me that there were no cloves added to the
wort. I belived that they were using White Labs WLP380- Hefeweizen IV
Ale Yeast.
The brewer also said that this was the sixth generation (or batch)
that they'd used the yeast and that each successive generation is more
clovey and less banana-y. I plan on giving that yeast a try in the
future, but it sounds like I won't get the amount of clove that they
did.
- --
Jay Pfaffman pfaffman at relaxpc.com
+1-615-343-1720 (office) +1-615-460-9299 (home)
http://relax.ltc.vanderbilt.edu/~pfaffman/
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 18:48:30 -0400
From: Jim Adwell <jim at jimala.com>
Subject: re:Wort Kits
Phil Yates writes:
>A great idea from Matt Donnelan here in Oz are wort kits.
>I believe Matt makes a full mash around 1200 litres which he packages into
>15 litre containers. All you have to do is add three to five litres of water
>(hop tea optional). Throw in your favourit yeast and away she goes. I'm
>trialling three at the moment which I have kegged and are just about ready
>to drink. Samples are very promosing.
>
>What a great idea for the busy masher who has been away fighting all sorts
>of wars (very thirsty business this fighting) and is struggling to keep his
>kegs full.
And what a great idea for the enterprising all grain brewer to make some
cash out of his/her hobby, without the bother and expense of an alcohol
tax license. Just think, you could buy grain and hops in large quantities,
saving lots of money, and provide a quality wort to other brewers for less
than they can make it themselves. And if the beer turns out badly, it's
their fault, not yours ( "Ya got hold of some bad yeast, guy. Tough luck,
and watch that fermentation temp. And clean out yer carboy next time." ).
The best thing of all that you can now justify the expense of that 5 barrel
brewery and all the accesories you've always wanted to SWMBO. :)
Cheers, Jim
Jim & Paula Adwell
jimala at ptd.net
jimala at jimala.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:03:30 -0500
From: "Sean Richens" <srichens at sprint.ca>
Subject: Re. wort kits
I've use the Wort Works kits (produced in Vancouver and regularly advertised
in BYO) and was completely satisfied with the results. I discarded the
yeast pack (only 5 g - why?) and used a liquid culture.
No affiliation, besides the same first name as the producer. I believe he
just performs a short sparge and high-gravity boil, and you dilute the 15 L
to 23 L before pitching and dry hop it.
As long as the attention to quality is there, and you don't have any creepy
crawlies in your dilution water or equipment, wort kits can be great. Don't
boil them.
Sean Richens
srichens.spamsucks at sprint.ca
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