HOMEBREW Digest #3737 Mon 17 September 2001


[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]


	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:
  shower wand bottle filler ("Liam")
  Old liquid wheat malt extract. (Luke Enriquez)
  Wyeast 3068...no phenols/esters? ("Dr. John")
  CAP and cream ale recipes (part 1) (Jeff Renner)
  CAP and cream ale recipes (part 2) (Jeff Renner)
  fruit beer / what to do to help (David Harsh)
  Swiped from another forum (Pat Babcock)
  Decoction Mashing Pale Malt (brewer)
  ** PLEASE READ ** Re: NYC Disaster ("John Biggins")
  A Suggestion ("Peter Garofalo")
  A farewell gathering at Egan Brewing Company ("Bob \"Now go have a beer\" Paolino")

* * Show your HBD pride! Wear an HBD Badge! * http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping * * Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address for the automation - that's your job. The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit. More information is available by sending the word "info" to req at hbd.org. JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 14:06:36 +1000 From: "Liam" <lthomps2 at bigpond.net.au> Subject: shower wand bottle filler G'day, I just got through bottling up a batch of Guinness-oid with my latest trivial gadget & I was so happy with it I though I'd post. It's a Gardena shower wand with the head cut off at about bottle length. I was looking for something at the hardware store to enable me to control the bottle filling flow with one hand and happened across this. It has a trigger arrangement & can be stripped right down to parts for cleaning.. The shaft is Al, so is easy to cut. The result was fast filling with very little foaming & spillage, plus it looks pretty neat. A big contrast to my last attempt using a bit of hose and the fermenter tap to control things. Beer & foam everywhere. p.s. are you supposed to crack roasted barley? I didn't because I guessed it was like black malt, but the end product doesn't look quite as dark as Guinness. Slointe Liam Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 00:52:25 +1000 From: Luke Enriquez <wenrique at bigpond.net.au> Subject: Old liquid wheat malt extract. Hi People, Recently got back into brewing after 12 month break. Found some liquid wheat malt extract and decided to make a wheat beer. Used Wyeast 3056 with a very big active starter. Noticed when I opened the cans the malt extract was darkish (it had been on my shelf for 12 months). Didn't think much of it. Just tasted the beer today after 5 days of active fermentation. Well, at 1.020 it needs a bit more fermentation. The problem : Fermentation has stopped. Have I made a really big mistake and just made a beer with oxidised sugars that wont ferment? What does oxidization do to sugars in malt extract. I spoke to my supplier and he said that oxidation will cause the malt to go dark and have a more caramel flavour. I've read about 3056 gravity problems which is why I used a very large starter. Fermentation was at 18 deg cel. I've now transfered the beer to a secondary. I diverted some of this beer into a seperated demijon and put some rasberries in it. My theory is that if the beer is going to have a high gravity, then the extra acidity from the berries might help balance the beer. Oh, the beer with the berries has no broken into another active fermentation whilst the beer without is still quiet. All comments appreciated. Regards, Luke Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 11:20:38 -0500 From: "Dr. John" <drjohn17 at home.com> Subject: Wyeast 3068...no phenols/esters? I just brewed a Hefeweizen with Wyeast 3068 -- Weihenstephan Weizen. I've had success with this yeast before. In fact, one of the first (and best) beers I ever brewed was a fantastic Hefe -- nice clove/banana flavor and aroma. Recently, however, I can't get this yeast to produce those same flavors and aromas. Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe I'm fermenting a little cool? I think this last batch was fermented at 63F. When I racked it to the kegs, the fermentor had a nice aroma, but the resulting beer tastes like an "American" wheet beer -- cloudy and yeasty. Any thoughts would be appreciated... John Thompson Baton Rouge, LA Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 12:25:30 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net> Subject: CAP and cream ale recipes (part 1) RJM , AKA Redbeard (why not let us know your real name?) <redbeard47.ny at netzero.net> has asked for the CAP and CACA recipes. I hope that your loss of them due to the WTC tragedy had no personal involvement. Since I've made some minor revisions and corrections and there is low traffic, I'll post this again. Good for Glen for brewing a CAP this weekend! This is a slightly revised recipe from my Sept/Oct, 2000 Zymurgy article that I posted to HBD in June. I corrected the amount of water for the cereal mash and changed it to reflect several other changes. I did not mash in at 104F (40C) for my brews this year, but rather at the first saccharification rest of 146F (63C). It really seems to work just about as well. I add the cereal mash after a 30 minute rest to boost to the 158F (70C) rest (with heat or boiling water if necessary). This also reflects my slightly higher FWHing. These mash rest times are very arbitrary. Longer won't hurt to accommodate the schedule. If you can't get 6-row, 2-row works just as well, and some brewers prefer it. Likewise, if you prefer simplicity, substitute flaked corn (maize) or rice for the cornmeal or rice and skip the cereal mash and even the step mash for a single mash. Mashing at no higher than 149 F (65 C) will give a crisp beer, higher mash temperatures will give a less attenuated beer. Cluster hops are probably what the vast majority of breweries used 100 years ago, and were still the predominate hops until the last few decades. They still are used widely. If you prefer for taste or availability reasons, you can use all noble hops or US equivalent (Crystal is wonderful), or use any neutral hops for bittering. Do not use the distinct modern American hops such as Cascade, Columbus or Centennial. This are not appropriate, IMHO. Jeff -=-=-=-=-=-=- Classic American Pilsner 5 finished beer gallons at 1.051 7.25 lbs. six-row malt 2 lbs. coarse corn meal* *Or grits, polenta or coarsely ground rice, or combination of rice and corn First Wort Hops: 4-5 HBU Saaz or other noble hops Bittering hops: (60 minutes) 5.3 HBU whole Cluster (4.8 HBU for pellets) Flavor hops: (15 minutes) 1.5 HBU whole noble hops or Styrian Goldings (1.2 HBU for pellets) ten minutes before strike. Yeast: Any clean lager yeast Water: low alkalinity, low sulfate water See part 2 TRADITIONAL AMERICAN "DOUBLE MASH" for additional details. Schedule for American Double Mash for cornmeal or rice (grits and polenta must be boiled longer): Time 00: In a kitchen pot, mash in corn or rice and 10 ounces of malt with ~3 quarts of water (~4 for rice) to hit 153F (67C), rest in preheated oven 20 minutes. Time 15: Mash in main mash 146F (63C) Time 20: Bring cereal mash to boil, stirring Time 30: Cereal mash boiling, stir frequently Time 65: Add cereal mash to main mash yield, adjust temperature as needed to 158F Time 95: Ramp to 170F (76C) mashout, then sparge and lauter As soon as kettle bottom is covered add first wort hops and maintain wort temperature at approximately 170F (76C) during lautering. Collect enough wort to yield 5.25 gallons finished wort. Boil uncovered at least 60 minutes, longer to reduce DMS if necessary. Chill to 48F (9C), aerate or oxygenate well, pitch yeast from large starter. Ferment at 48F (9C) until fermentation nearly stops, about 10 to 14 days, rack to secondary and reduce temperature 4F (2C) per day to 32F (0C). Lager six to seven weeks. FIRST WORT HOPPING A lost and recently rediscovered German hopping technique from a hundred years ago, first wort hopping (FWH), works very well in CAPs. While I have found no direct evidence of this technique being used in the United States, American brewers of this time were largely German born or educated, or at least strongly German influenced, and it seems likely that it was used here. George Fix first reported the German research, which was published in Brauwelt in 1995, to the homebrewing community on HBD in 1996. In this procedure, normal late addition or aroma hops are instead added to the first wort as soon as the kettle bottom is covered, and kept at runoff temperature (about 176F) during the entire time of runoff. These hops are then left in the kettle for the entire boil along with normal bittering hops. Hop oil constituents are bound in a complex manner with other wort constituents resulting in "a fine, unobtrusive hop aroma; a more harmonic beer; a more uniform bitterness" than control pilsners with conventional aroma hop additions, according to the professional taste panels, which preferred the FWH beer overwhelmingly. I feel it gives enhanced hop flavor as well. As expected, since these additional hops stayed in the boil along with the bittering hops, this resulted in greater measured bitterness. However, it was not perceived by the taste panels as more bitter but rather as a fine, mild bitterness without any harshness that might be present in an overhopped beer. For this reason, bittering hops should not be reduced. - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at mediaone.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 12:26:13 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net> Subject: CAP and cream ale recipes (part 2) TRADITIONAL AMERICAN "DOUBLE MASH" American brewers more than a hundred years ago realized that domestic barley had an excess of protein and that corn and rice, with their low protein levels, could be used to advantage. However, corn and rice starches don't gelatinize at mash temperatures, and so aren't available to the malt enzymes for conversion into sugars. Boiling the cereal gelatinizes the starch, but then you have cooked rice or cornmeal mush, and those are hard to handle in a brewery, and when they cool, they become really stiff and hard to move or incorporate into the mash. The secret turned out to be malt. By adding a small amount of malt to the cereal and mashing a short time before cooking, the cereals become quite thin and stay that way. The practice one hundred years ago was to use 30% malt by weight, which I still do, despite current practice of using only 10%. In a kitchen pot with lid, mash about five ounces of malt for every pound of corn meal, grits, polenta, or coarsely ground rice. Use about a quart and a half of treated mash water per pound of corn, two quarts for rice. Rest at about 153 F (67C) for 20 minutes in a preheated oven or wrap well in a blanket, then bring to a boil on the stove or your brewery burner. Rice and corn meal should be cooked covered about 30 minutes; grits or polenta 45 minutes to an hour. Stir as you bring them up to a boil and occasionally during the boil, adding more water if necessary. It's best not to overcook rice, but corn can be cooked longer for more flavor and color reactions to take place in the cooker if you want these. Meanwhile, you have started the main, or malt mash, and timed it so that just as the cereal mash is done, it is time to boost the temperature of the main mash. It's best to plan this ahead on paper. -=-=-=-=-=- NO BREW FRIDGE? BREW A CACA! That's HBDer Paul Shick's "unfortunate acronym" for what he calls Classic American Cream Ale. Nineteenth century ale brewers, seeing their sales drop as the public's taste changed to pale, clear, effervescent lagers, but lacking refrigeration and aging facilities, developed a beer brewed like a pilsner, but fermented as an ale. These were called "present use" or cream ales, and they have evolved into today's cream ales just as pilsners evolved, but the few remaining cream ales today bear only a fleeting resemblance to their ancestors. The same advantages those ale brewers exploited can be yours today. A CACA is a fine, enjoyable beer, and you'll be partaking of history. Ferment the beer with ale yeast at cellar temperatures and age it as cool as you can manage. This is an ale that can be served at 45 F (7C), where chill haze can be a problem, so if that bothers you, consider using Polyclar (R) at the end of fermentation. This brew has another advantage if you find liquid yeast and starters daunting - there are now some fine dry ale yeasts available. (Quality dry true lager yeasts are on the near horizon.) Shick reports good success with Danstar Nottingham, but I find it a little too attenuative for my tastes. I've found Windsor nice - it finishes richer. Wyeast 1056 American Ale or White Labs WPL001 California Ale is a natural choice in liquid yeasts as they are reputedly the old Ballantine Ale yeast; White Labs WPL008 East Coast Ale would give less attenuation for a softer, creamier ale. I've liked the results with Wyeast 1098 British, and Yeast Culture Kit Co.'s Canadian (Molson) ale yeast gives a remarkable and distinctive Canadian character. The very clean fermenting White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast would be another excellent choice, producing not so much of a cream ale as a pseudo-lager. - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at mediaone.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 13:01:02 -0400 From: David Harsh <dharsh at fuse.net> Subject: fruit beer / what to do to help CMEBREW at aol.com (what's your name, btw?) asks about a fruit beer: > a gal of blackberry wine base to be added to a five gal batch. My $.02 is that this will end up being quite alcoholic and dry. The fruit character might be nice, but you'll end up with a thin and out of balance beer. Some dextrin malt can provide the body to avoid that problem. I could answer the question better if I knew how much wine a gallon of wine base makes. If its a concentrate, then you may be making some fruit/malt sherry - break out the champagne yeast! - --------- As far as what we can do to help- The key is avoiding recriminations and extremism is all areas. We don't assume all Christians are nutballs just because somebody firebombs an abortion clinic. Our local bloodbank has actually requested that if you haven't donated blood yet, you might give your local blood bank a break by waiting 3 or 4 weeks. At present, so many people have donated that the supply may be tight when the current donations are used and everyone who donated in the last week is still ineligible. Dave Harsh Bloatarian Brewing League Cincinnati, OH Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 22:33:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: Swiped from another forum This came from Brews & Views, but I liked it so much, I thought I'd swipe it and repost here... An open letter to a terrorist: Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed America. You used helpless American bodies, to take out other American bodies, but like a poor marksman, you STILL missed America. Why? Because of something you guys will never understand. America isn't about a building or two, not about financial centers, not about military centers, America isn't about a place, America isn't even about a bunch of bodies. America is about an IDEA. An idea, that you can go someplace where you can earn as much as you can figure out how to, live for the most part, like you envisioned living, and pursue Happiness. (No guarantees that you'll reach it, but you can sure try!) Go ahead and whine your terrorist whine, and chant your terrorist litany: "If you can not see my point, then feel my pain." This concept is alien to Americans. We live in a country where we don't have to see your point. But you're free to have one. We don't have to listen to your speech. But you're free to say one. Don't know where you got the strange idea that everyone has to agree with you. We don't agree with each other in this country, almost as a matter of pride. We're a collection of guys that don't agree, called States. We united our individual states to protect ourselves from tyranny in the world. Another idea, we made up on the spot. You CAN make it up as you go, when it's your country. If you're free enough. Yeah, we're fat, sloppy, easy-going goofs most of the time. That's an unfortunate image to project to the world, but it comes of feeling free and easy about the world you live in. It's unfortunate too, because people start to forget that when you attack Americans, they tend to fight like a cornered badger. The first we knew of the War of 1812, was when England burned Washington D.C. to the ground. Didn't turn out like England thought it was going to, and it's not going to turn out like you think, either. Sorry, but you're not the first bully on our shores, just the most recent. No Marquis of Queensbury rules for Americans, either. We were the FIRST and so far, only country in the world to use nuclear weapons in anger. Horrific idea, nowadays? News for you bucko, it was back then too, but we used it anyway. Only had two of them in the whole world and we used 'em both. Grandpa Jones worked on the Manhattan Project. Told me once, that right up until they threw the switch, the physicists were still arguing over whether the Uranium alone would fission, or whether it would start a fissioning chain reaction that would eat everything. But they threw the switch anyway, because we had a War to win. Does that tell you something about American Resolve? So who just declared War on us? It would be nice to point to some real estate, like the good old days. Unfortunately, we're probably at war with random camps, in far-flung places. Who think they're safe. Just like the Barbary Pirates did. Better start sleeping with one eye open. There's a spirit that tends to take over people who come to this country, looking for opportunity, looking for liberty, looking for freedom. Even if they misuse it. The Marielistas that Castro emptied out of his prisons, were overjoyed to find out how much freedom there was. First thing they did when they hit our shores, was run out and buy guns. The ones that didn't end up dead, ended up in prisons. It was a big PITA then especially in south Florida), but you're only the newest PITA, not the first. You guys seem to be incapable of understanding that we don't live in America, America lives in US! American Spirit is what it's called. And killing a few thousand of us, or a few million of us, won't change it. Most of the time, it's a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of Spirit. Until we're crossed in a cowardly manner, then it becomes an entirely different kind of Spirit. Wait until you see what we do with that Spirit, this time. Sleep tight, if you can. We're coming. - -- - God bless America! Pat Babcock in SE Michigan pbabcock at hbd.org Home Brew Digest Janitor janitor@hbd.org HBD Web Site http://hbd.org The Home Brew Page http://hbd.org/pbabcock "The monster's back, isn't it?" - Kim Babcock after I emerged from my yeast lab Saturday Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 06:07:20 -0400 (EDT) From: brewer at cotse.com Subject: Decoction Mashing Pale Malt Even though pale malt is generally fully modified, are there any taste/flavor benefits to be gained from decoction mashing? Are there any drawbacks to decoction mashing highly modified pale malt? I actually tried this, decoction mashing a batch immediately after infusion mashing the same receipe. They came out about the same but I'm not yet good enough to get reliably the same results in this sort of test. Actually, the single decoction process isn't all that much more difficult and would be worth it if it yields superior results. Thanks for anything, Jake Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 18:32:21 From: "John Biggins" <bignz721 at hotmail.com> Subject: ** PLEASE READ ** Re: NYC Disaster Up until 3 months ago, I have been a lifetime resident of New York and have recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin from Manhattan. A dear friend of mine has lost a loved-one in the attack. He was a firefighter whose entire company was lost in the Trade Center collapse. He leaves a behind a wife and 3 young daughters. He is one of the many who ran toward the devastation out of selfless duty. There has been a lot of discussion about what we can do to help. I, alone, by going to 3 different brewpubs and passing around an empty pitcher was able to raise over $1000 alone! All donations are drops in the bucket...disposable income. If you can spend $3-4 on a beer, you can give at least a couple bucks for the effort. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to initiate a similar method in collaboration with you local bars. Putting a box at the entrance or end of the bar is not enough. If you directly walk around and ask each person, you'd be surprised at out much you can get. All those drops in the bucket created 4 pitchers-full of $$$ totalling over $1000. In this vain, I have another suggestion. Beer Auctions. When I departed NYC, I brought along w/ me a selection of unique beer. One of these is the now defunct Commonwealth Brewery's Cherry Lambic. This is the 2000 GABF Gold Medal winner, so there is no better, and because Commonwealth no longer exists, there is no more of this left.. I am auctioning off two 750 mL bottle of this. All I ask is that the winning bids be sent to me, payable to "The New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund" (tax-deductible -- see http://daily.iaff.org/fund.htm for details), and a bottle is yours. This, of course, is dependent on how UPS and such ship beer now after shipping regulations have changed. Thank you. My email is jbbiggins at pharmacy.wisc.edu - ----- John B. Biggins Cornell University Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences Student -- Dept. of Pharmacology Laboratory for Biosynthetic Chemistry School of Pharmacy; Pharmaceutical Sciences Division University of Wisconsin-Madison Lab: (608)232-3869 http://www.ski.edu/thorson http://www.pharmacy.wisc.edu "Science like Nature, must also be tamed With a view towards its preservation. Given the same state of integrity It will surly serve us well." -- Neil Peart; Natural Science (III) -- Permanent Waves Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 21:27:31 -0400 From: "Peter Garofalo" <pgarofa1 at twcny.rr.com> Subject: A Suggestion In light of the recent insanity, several folks have asked what we as a community of homebrewers can do. As usual, Pat Babcock replied simply and effectively with some excellent suggestions, as did a few others. The question was asked , however, what we can do as a group that might separate us from others (or so I read it). I have a suggestion. Donate blood. Then, sign up to do it seven weeks later. Keep it up, and you'll be performing an ongoing good deed. How does this relate to homebrewers? Well, think of it as giving up a pint of your finest. We all deal in that ancient unit of measure (sorry, folks, liters just don't cut it here...). It's not so hard to make it a continuing commitment, as many folks do. I believe that fewer than 5 % of those eligible actually donate blood, and few of those are regulars. In my area (and perhaps in others), the Red Cross recognizes regular donors as members of the "sixers club" -- those who have donated six times during the past year. My three sixers club pins are more significant to me than any ribbon or trophy I've won in homebrew competitions. Cheers, Peter Garofalo 4-gallon donor Syracuse, NY Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 22:34:09 From: "Bob \"Now go have a beer\" Paolino" <nowgohaveabeer at brewingnews.com> Subject: A farewell gathering at Egan Brewing Company The sad news in the Wisconsin brewing community is that Egan Brewing Company (DePere, Wisconsin, just outside of Green Bay) will be closing at the end of this month. I've enjoyed Richard "BeerIsMyLife" Stueven's great beers (and Greg Nash's fine beers before that) on numerous occasions and have enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere in the pub on the other side of the glass from the brewhouse from time to time. I plan to go there for a final visit next Saturday (22 September) and at least a couple of us from the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild will be there. I've contacted the Green Bay Rackers (the local club, to which Richard and his predecessor Greg Nash have been quite homebrewer-friendly) to see if any of them would be interested in an "inter-club" get together as part of a "thank-you" to Richard and Paris. But it occurred to me, "why just Green Bay and Madison beer geeks?" I post this as an invitation to anyone in Wisconsin, da U.P., Illinois, Minnesota, or anyone else who considers him/herself within easy travel distance of Green Bay to spend a Saturday at Egan with like-minded beerfolk. Even if you've never been to the brewery before--perhaps ESPECIALLY if you've never been before because this'll be just about your last chance--consider a trip to Green Bay on Saturday to enjoy some great beers, to thank Richard, to hang out with other homebrewers/beergeeks. The fun starts early-to-mid afternoon or whenever you get there. I know that this is close to last-minute notice, but if you don't have other plans for Saturday you might want to consider it. For those who may be interested, there is also a beer dinner that evening. Details: http://eganbrewing.com http://beerismylife.com Now go have a beer, eh? Now go have a beer, Bob Paolino Columnist, Great Lakes Brewing News Member, North American Guild of Beer Writers Winner (Silver), 2000 Quill and Tankard Awards, Travel Feature Great Lakes Brewing News advertising information: 800.474.7291 Return to table of contents
[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]
HTML-ized on 09/17/01, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL
webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96
/n