HOMEBREW Digest #3805 Wed 05 December 2001


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Brew more! was: bottling for competitions ("Layne T. Rossi")
  wort aeration with non sterile air (JohanNico)" <JohanNico.Aikema at akzonobel.com>
  Drilling Chest Freezers (Jay\) Reeves" <jay666 at bellsouth.net>
  Re: Wort aeration (Jeff Renner)
  Brewing in closed garage (Jeff Renner)
  Wheat Yeast ("Mcgregor, Arthur, Mr, OSD-ATL")
  scales (Marc Sedam)
  Pump recirculation using a grant ("Spinelli, Mike")
  RE: Priming with corn sugar or malt extract (Steve Funk)
  Ice for cooling wort ("Henry Van Gemert")
  Publishers and Booksellers, please . . . ("Ray Daniels")
  Rye Alt (leavitdg)
  2nd round scores (Jeff & Ellen)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 21:18:20 -0800 From: "Layne T. Rossi" <wetpetz at oberon.ark.com> Subject: Brew more! was: bottling for competitions Hey David, I think you've answered your own question but... Bottle conditioned beers do last longer and taste fresh longer than draft beers. Especially if the kegged product was older and/or the serving lines weren't really clean during the filling procedure. Here is my routine. I make 23L (6 US Gallon) batches! Keg 19L (5 US Gallon) and make a dozen or so bottles for special needs or fill a couple 2L pop bottles and use a carbonator cap. Here's another tip. I've found the priming tablets really helpful at kegging/bottling time. I really don't mind bottling a 24 of beers from my 46L batches when I have a couple kegs to fill but It really gets dragged out when I have to bottle the whole batch. Layne Rossi Campbell River, BC Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 09:04:22 +0100 From: "Aikema, J.N. (JohanNico)" <JohanNico.Aikema at akzonobel.com> Subject: wort aeration with non sterile air Hi, There's a lot of talking about wort aeration. Does somebody knows how many bacteria, molds and yeastcells are present in say 1 cubic meter (1.307950619 cu.yd)? In a livingroom, a kitchen or a garage? How many microorganism are getting into my wort, when I aerate without my 0.2 micron filter? Some people are sure that bubbling air through a peroxide solution doesn't kill the beasties (I agree). But when the air is going through a quarts tube next to a UV light bulb (245 nm wavelength), what contact time do I need? Greetings from Holland (Europe), Hans Aikema http://www.hopbier.myweb.nl/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 06:00:51 -0600 From: "James \(Jay\) Reeves" <jay666 at bellsouth.net> Subject: Drilling Chest Freezers There's been talk about drilling the side walls in chest freezers. I strongly recommend that you DO NOT do that. Even though you may be able to locate fairly closely where the coils run, is it really worth risking the possibility of hitting one of the coils and losing all use of the freezer? I don't believe an internal coil can be repaired. A safer solution, albeit less attractive, is to remove the lid along with the hinges, build a wooden collar out of 2x6's, attach it to the rim of the freezer using RTV silicon and some fashioned metal plates to attach the collar to the freezers hinge-mounting holes, then attach the lid to the collar with it's hinges. That method does not alter the freezer in any permanent way. The wooden collar can then be drilled for what-ever reason. I use such a setup and use the collar to run a CO2 line inside, have 2 large holes that connect a jockey-box via an insulated PVC duct for air temp exchanging, and also have two CO2 manifolds mounted to it. And I can return the freezer to its original state if need be. -Jay Reeves Huntsville, AL Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 08:26:50 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net> Subject: Re: Wort aeration Brewers There has been some discussion recently about aeration of wort, to which I'll throw in my two cents. Aeration of pitched wort really helps get your yeast off to a healthy start. I use a simple method in my bottom fired RIMS that involves unfiltered air, and have never had an infection. I don't know if I live a charmed life or what. I brew in the garage winter and summer. In the summer, I close the garage doors when I chill the wort to keep insects, dustborn microbes, etc to a minimum. That's all. My method: I boil with a false bottom that acts as a hopback, and chill with an immersion chiller and recirculate with a pump during (and after) chilling. Once the wort is down to about 68F (20C), I pitch the yeast, making sure it is well suspended in liquid - not at all lumpy. I pitch this right in the boiler with the hops on the false bottom. No, the yeast doesn't seem to get filtered out by the hops the way the hot and cold break mostly are. Then comes the important part - I "crack" the hose connection at the outlet to allow the pump to pull in a stream of air bubbles. These get beaten to a very small size by the pump impeller, providing maximum surface area and maximum dissolving of the O2. I continue this for as much as an hour (and stop the chilling when my target temperature is reached (48F (9C) for lagers and 65-68F (19-20C) for ales. A.J. DeLange posted here some years ago the result of his experiments investigating how quickly yeast at proper pitching rates took saturation of O2 down to zero - I think it was under ten minutes. So I figure I'm getting continuous oxygenation of the yeast for an hour. I have been able to get short lag times using this method and pitching a tube of Whitelabs yeast into an eight gallon batch - no starter. Obviously, if you have problems with infections this method isn't for you - use a filter. But it works for me. Jeff - -- 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: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 08:34:21 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net> Subject: Brewing in closed garage Brewers I have a digital readout carbon monoxide detector that I use in my garage when I'm brewing. I use propane ring burners (not the jet burners) that are presumably properly adjusted for air:fuel mixture - I don't get much soot or yellow flames. Of course, these aren't precision equipment. Anyway, in my 2-1/2 car garage with a ceiling and loft, which keeps the gases down low, the monoxide level rises quickly with the doors closed. I never had a problem that I noticed, but when I got the detector, I discovered I was flirting with danger. I can't remember the levels exactly, but they climbed to over 200 ppm in a matter of not very many minutes. (It was nice and cozy, though). Now in cold weather I use the detector to tell me how much I should open the doors. I figure since 50 ppm is the OSHA maximum for eight hour exposure, I should keep it under that. Jeff - -- 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: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 09:10:24 -0500 From: "Mcgregor, Arthur, Mr, OSD-ATL" <Arthur.Mcgregor at osd.mil> Subject: Wheat Yeast Greetings All: Every time I brew a wheat beer (extract based) the wheat flavor from the yeast only lasts a few batches, then fades away. I wash the yeast as described in the yeast.faq (Part 3: Yeast Washing for the Homebrewer). I have had the problem with both the Wyeast # 3056 (Bavarian Wheat Yeast) and Wyeast # 3068 (Wheinstephen Wheat Yeast). Is this a common problem? Is there a way to solve it, such as adding yeast nutrients or energizers? TIA Hoppy Brewing Art McGregor arthur.mcgregor at osd.mil Lorton, Virginia (Northern Virginia) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2001 09:27:53 -0500 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: scales I got a small postal scale from Beer, Beer, and More Beer (NAYYY). It is only $35 and is supposed to measure from 0-4lbs in 0.1oz increments. I've found it will easily weight up to 7.5 lbs accurately, and More Beer says it can unofficially weigh up to 10lbs. Big benefit is that it's cordless and guaranteed for 100,000 on/off cycles. I, too, make 10 gallon batches and have found this scale to be perfectly able to weigh hops, mineral salts, and all grains for my brewing. One of the best additions to my brewery. - -- Marc Sedam Chapel Hill, NC Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 11:18:55 -0500 From: "Spinelli, Mike" <paa3983 at dscp.dla.mil> Subject: Pump recirculation using a grant HBDers, Have a Q regarding recirculation of wort. I've been using a March pump for my 1 barrel syatem for a few years to pump sparge water and cooled wort into my fermenter with good results. I'd like to start using the pump to recirc the wort prior to sparging. Q1: Is there a problem with hooking the mash tun outflow hose directly to the pump? I thought I read there could be a problem with grain bed compaction if the pump outflow was too fast. Q2: To avoid the above, I'm planning on putting a grant between the mash outflow hose and pump inflow. I plan on collecting about a gallon of wort in the grant and then priming and starting the pump. Only problem I see is keeping a constant level in the grant thruought the sparge. Any thoughts? Mike Spinelli Cherry Hill NJ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2001 11:14:47 -0800 From: Steve Funk <steve at hheco.com> Subject: RE: Priming with corn sugar or malt extract Kristen Chester asked about priming methods in the November 28 hbd. Personally, I use neither DME nor corn sugar and prefer to use the gyle method. I typically can some of the wort in mason jars for starters and priming. I brew ten gallon batches in which I can three or four quarts. Then after fermentation I fill one corny keg and bottle the rest. I put about four gallons of beer into a bottling bucket and add one quart of gyle then bottle it up. I'm sure I'll get flamed here about specific gravities and carbonation levels for various types of beer and so on but this has worked for me. You can also search the hbd archives and the internet for gyle carbonation and find various formulas and procedures. Cheers, - -- Steve Funk Columbia River Gorge Brewing Stevenson, WA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 14:31:14 -0500 From: "Henry Van Gemert" <hvangeme at edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu> Subject: Ice for cooling wort I'm extract brewing and in order to bring my 2 gal boil down to pitching temp, I've been emptying my icemaker and dumping it directly into the wort. I have read that this is a bad idea, because of the introduction of critters, but I've been doing this for about 10 batches now with no problems. If I'm using chlorinated municipal water in my icemaker, and emptying it about every other week, am I fairly safe in continuing to do this? Any body with longer experience than me doing this out there? Henry Portage, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 16:00:25 -0600 From: "Ray Daniels" <raydan at ameritech.net> Subject: Publishers and Booksellers, please . . . Hi all. Time for my question of the week. (Or has it gotten to be the "question of the day," now?) In any case, thanks to all for the bandwidth---I try to use it sparingly! In any case, I'm looking for homebrewers who work in bookselling or book publishing who could help me assess the market potential of beer and brewing books. Don't worry, I'll still poll HBD about various projects so everyone gets to join in the fun, but I'm looking for folks with specific industry experience who might be able to bring a professional perspective to the process. Please reply privately to ray at aob.org. Thanks, Ray Daniels Editor, Zymurgy & The New Brewer Director, Brewers Publications ray at aob.org Call Customer Service at 888-822-6273 to subscribe or order individual magazines. For more information, see www.beertown.org Don't Miss: Real Ale Festival - Feb 27 - March 2, 2002 - Chicago, IL www.realalefestival.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2001 17:43:52 -0500 (EST) From: leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu Subject: Rye Alt I just tasted a Rye Alt that I brewed on 11/02/01, and since it tastes interesting to me I thought that I'd share it. The rye with the Dusseldorf yeast makes for ....well...a bite that reminds me a bit of a Hefe.. 10 lb Canada Maltings 6 row 2 lb Fawcett's Rye Malt 1b Wheat malt ->acid rest at 100F for 20 minutes ->boosted (by recirculating by hand) to 148F, rested for 45 min ->again boosted (same way) to 158F, rested there for 30 min ->mashout at 170F I collected 7 gallons of wort, 120 minute boil. Hops were: .5 oz Columbus (15%) at start of last 60 min .75 oz EK Goldings (6.6%) at 30 min .25 oz same at 15 first runnings were 1.090 original gravity was 1.060 secondary gravity was 1.018 final gravity was 1.016 %ABV was about 5.7% The yeast was a cake that had just been emptied of its lovely contents ( a Dusseldorf Ale) and I put the new wort right on top of this yeast. I kept the yeast at around 68F... I did notice that the yeast this second time had sort of a "greasy" / sticky looking head. Anyway, this, to me, tasted rather good...probably on the high end of the amount of Rye that one should use...otherwise it will, I think , get real thick...but the glucanase rest, along with the 6 row should help to deal with that...I guess..... Happy (almost) Holidays! ..Darrell Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 20:09:23 -0500 From: Jeff & Ellen <JeffNGladish at ij.net> Subject: 2nd round scores David Croft wrote of two brewers who did well in the first round of a big competition and but subsequently the keg-transferred beer didn't do well in the final round. It's very possible and probably likely that the keg-transferred beer had an infection which was inoculated during bottle filling. The bottle conditioned beer, after all, was the same beer from the same batch of bottles and priming sugar. The beer that scored lower in the second round was the one that was packaged differently for the second round. I doubt that oxidation had much to do with it. Oxidized flavors take a while to develop in the bottle, unless the bottle is heated a lot along the way - quite possible if there was shipping involved. I do know that I cleaned my "picnic" (cobra) taps last weekend after reading an HBD post, and found that it may explain a lot about my own second round scores. There was some ugly stuff in those taps and, given a few weeks, I'm sure it could grow some strange off flavors. What bothers me about David's comments is, "I realize the score should have dropped some because of better judging and stiffer competition." This is not entirely true. Stiffer competition should not mean lower scores. Better judging should also not mean lower scores. The scores should remain the same, but the beer may not necessarily win against stiffer competition. A forty point beer is still a forty point beer no matter who judges it or against what competition it is judged. If another beer scores forty-one points, so be it. That does not relegate the lesser beer to 20 something points. It's still a forty point beer. Just not as good as the 41 pointer. All second round beers are better beers. That's how they got there. Judging in second rounds should not become more strict, only more focused. Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.5, 175.5 Rennerian, unless he's not home) Return to table of contents
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