HOMEBREW Digest #3823 Thu 27 December 2001


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Contents:
  Bitter almond flavor ("Schrempp, Michael")
  Unidentified Wheat Grain ("Houseman, David L")
  RE:  Stella Artois (Brian Levetzow)
  Home Freezers and Rust (G Wessel)
  Got my brew kit!!!! ("Tray Bourgoyne")
  Counterflow chiller Sanitizing (Stephen Johnson)
  CO2 sources (GordonRick)
  malt (Clifton Moore)
  Extract choices ("R. Schaffer-Neitz")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 05:45:39 -0800 From: "Schrempp, Michael" <michael.schrempp at intel.com> Subject: Bitter almond flavor Just put a Pilsner in bottles. At racking and bottling, it shows a slight almond flavor. Not too bitter, just almond. Is this an off flavor, or a desired flavor? The grain bill was 2 row weyermans, flaked barley, and crystal. I did a triple decoction (9 hours from lighting the stove to fermenter). Mike Schrempp Gig Harbor, WA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 11:36:34 -0600 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: Unidentified Wheat Grain What Dan Ippolito has is most likely unmalted wheat. This could be use to make Wits or Lambics, both of which use unmalted wheat for a large proporation of the grain bill. Smaller quantities could be use as an adjunct in a number of ales. It might be hard Winter wheat or a softer wheat, so it might be ideal or not. But it's worth a shot. Sounds like a find. Dave Houseman SE PA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 13:25:57 -0500 From: Brian Levetzow <levetzowbt at home.com> Subject: RE: Stella Artois Roger writes: >A friend asked if I could make a Stella Artois and I've never had the >beer. Anyone have any suggestions on a recipe? >From http://www.stella-artois.co.uk/home.php?id=11 Stella Artois is renowned as a quality beer brewed for an average of 6-11 days longer than most other beers using the finest quality hops and barley including Bohemian Saas hops. It is these Saas Hops that give Stella its distinctive full flavour. At Stella Artois we believe in quality at the heart of everything we do right down to the delivery of the perfect pint in your local pub. We have even introduced The Stella Mobile School of Excellence to maintain our reputation for great beer. The perfect pint of Stella should be served at 6-8 degrees centigrade to ensure the full flavour of the beer. With that in mind, here's a recipe I found online. The recipe text doesn't quite match the ingredients listed. I think the "Wyeast Munich Lager Yeast" listing is actually Saaz hops... http://www.byob.com/byob/stellart.htm Enjoy! - -- +++++++++++++++ Brian Levetzow ~ Laurel, MD [425.7, 118.5] Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 17:58:32 -0600 From: george at ruraltel.net (G Wessel) Subject: Home Freezers and Rust I'm new to home brewing and do not completely understand what is being done with the freezers. But as I understand it you are placing your fermenter in the freezer to keep it cool while it ferments. The fermenter releases CO2 and H2O into the freezer, creating the rust and corrosion. Why not drill a hole through the side of the freezer and vent the CO2 and H2O into the outside air instead of inside the freezer? Like I said, I do not understand exactly what you are doing with the freezers. I would appreciate it if someone would explain if I have it all wrong. Thanks George Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 22:35:50 -0600 From: "Tray Bourgoyne" <tray at netdoor.com> Subject: Got my brew kit!!!! WooHoo!! Santa was kind to me and gave me a beer homebrewing kit! Thanks to suggestions by everyone I got a intermediate kit. Now I need suggestions on what I should brew for my first batch. I would like to start with something that is mild, and not to complicated. Suggestions? Recommendations? Premonitions? Thanks, Tray Bourgoyne Raymond, MS. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 12:37:06 -0600 From: Stephen Johnson <Stephen.Johnson at vanderbilt.edu> Subject: Counterflow chiller Sanitizing Thanks to Dean Fikar in Fort Worth for the suggestions on leaving out the Star San final rinse cycle of my counterflow chiller in my brewing. The one problem/complication I have in terms of sanitizing my pump the way he does by pumping 200+ F wort through his system is that my 12 volt pump is not rated to handle temps that hot. I believe the limit is 180 F. I don't risk damaging my pump and usually wait to run wort through the pump when it gets down to the 160 to 140 F range with the use of a standard immersion chiller. When I do this step, I collect and save the hot water run-off through the immersion chiller for use in clean-up later on. I could still sanitize the counterflow chiller by immersing it in my hot liquor tank, which usually is brought to a boil before cooling off before sparging. But I would still be running the Star San through the pump anyway. No one else has had any comments, although one of our brew club members who has been through one of the pro brewers courses reminded me that after a period of time of exposure to air (I'm not sure how long...several days I think), Star San will lose it's acidity and its ability to sanitize and consequently its reactivity to the copper (if any reactivity exists in the first place). So, he basically said not to worry. Steve Johnson Nashville, TN Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 13:41:22 EST From: GordonRick at aol.com Subject: CO2 sources I didn't find anything in the archives, but I'm sure the subject has come up about "safe" sources for CO2. I have been using welding supply shops and Fire & Safety shops (refillers of fire extinguishers etc) for refilling my 5 lb. CO2 cylinders for several years. As I understand, the gas is the same as "food grade" but just not guaranteed to be x% pure. I have never had any problems and they do tend to be rather anal about the inspection dates and condition of the cylinders. Any wisdom from the collective? Prost- Rick (583.5, 181.4 Rn) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 10:39:17 -0900 From: Clifton Moore <clifton.moore at att.net> Subject: malt Dr. David McCoy, I have just enjoyed your photographic tour of the malting and distillation works at Bowmore Distillery. http://www.scotchdoc.com/scotchexp/slideshow/ I have one question, and wish to offer a clarification should your book yet be in a form that allows for tuning. My interest is in the brewing of ale from barley grown here in interior Alaska. I am thus intimately familiar with the malting and brewing steps. The question: In brewing, the sweet wort is subjected to a lengthy boil prior to fermentation. Is this stage in fact un-necessary in the whiskey production stages? The clarification: While some few sugars are produced during the germination phase of malt production, the primary function of germination is the production of enzymes that will be used later in the mash to reduce starches to sugars. The mash is held at 150 deg. F to allow this process to take place. The subsequent washing of the grist is in fact simple extraction of sugar as you stated in the photo texts. This is a common confusion, probably resulting from the wonderful sweet taste of cured malt. The reason for my question about the boil relates to some theories I have developed relating to the possible origins of distilled spirits. I have read that brewers throughout history have struggled unsuccessfully with efforts to, "produce good ale from bad malt". Being an active hobby malter, I am confident that pre-industrial malt quality would have been inconsistent at best. The view I have developed involves the production of distillates as a compensation for the economic losses otherwise resulting from production of lesser quality malts and ales. Serendipity ruled, and the resultant product eventually evolved into the highly desirable scotch whiskey of today. I can take this model a step further, in that local climatic conditions would have made consistent production of high quality malt very difficult. Malting was historically a cool season activity due to the need to keep the germinating seed cool. Old style (passive convection) kilning is also greatly influenced by ambient weather conditions. Both of these problems faced by all malters would have been far more problematic in the isles than in more stable climates within continental Europe. Might this have lead to a greater motivation to produce distilled spirits in Scotland? Thank you for offering up such an entertaining web page. Clifton Moore ASF/RGPS Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks AK 99775 (907) 474 7417 cmoore at gi.alaska.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 15:58:24 -0500 From: "R. Schaffer-Neitz" <rschaff at ptd.net> Subject: Extract choices Greetings and Hail to the Beerg: Having not yet been assimilated into the collective, I still need to ask questions, rather than knowing immediately what we would think about any given subject (my apologies to anyone who didn't get the references to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Please continue reading. I want your opinions, too. I'm done now, I promise.). Now to the questions. I'm preparing my brew for New Year, 2003 and I want it to be a special brew. I'm planning to make "Trumpet Major Old Ale" from BYO, April '01 and age it a year (if I can keep from "sampling" it every week to see how it's coming along). My assumption is that this is supposed to be a Thomas Hardy clone. My questions are these: 1) The recipe calls for 8 lbs of Mountmellick light extract. I've located some in various places, but not at any of my regular retail/e-tail outlets. How important do you all think the Mountmellick extract is? Is it worth putting myself on yet another mailing list for? If not, does anyone have any likely candidates for substitutes? 2) The recipe also calls for 7.5 lbs light DME. Would the extra fermentibility of a Laaglander extract be beneficial to this beer or would I simply be robbing it of residual sugars and mouthfeel for a little extra alcohol? Any other suggestions for DME? 3) Since I'll be mashing some specialty grains (.5 lb crystal, .5 lb Breiss special roast, 1 lb carapils) along with my extract, should I pay any attention to the water chemistry or will it not be noticible with all that extract? Feel free to respond privately or publically if you'd like to offer me any of your expertise. Thanks! Bob Schaffer-Neitz Northumberland, PA 375, 102.6 apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
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