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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Zero-crossing Triac control chips (Al Klein)
  Dip stick for the Boil kettle ("Mike Brennan")
  re: finishing a dip stick or any wood device in your brew ("margie ludwig")
  Hop Tea ("Talbot Rickard")
  Screw top test tubes (Brad McMahon)
  Harvesting barley ("Groenigen,  J.W. van ")
  harvesting barley (Ray Kruse)
  Boston Homebrew Competition results online ("John B. Doherty")
  Kettle Cleaner ("Don Scholl")
  "Phil's Folly" ("Phil Yates")
  Jethro Gump Report ("Phil Yates")
  RE: recent bazooka screen experience ("Rogers, Mike")
  Gott Cooler - False Bottom Experience ("Rogers, Mike")
  365 Bottles of Beer ("Jim Bermingham")
  Re: Teaching homebrew classes (Art Beall)
  Dip stick (Althelion)
  Suckback in Secondary ("R. Schaffer-Neitz")
  Klein calendar (Jeremy Bergsman)
  Beer from Dirt ("Caryl Hornberger")
  Salvaging Flat Beer ("Hedglin, Nils A")
  RE: bazooka screen (Brian Lundeen)
  Ken Schwartz's Web Site / Acidulation (Tony Barnsley)
  Old instructions for draught and bottled Guinness (Jeff Renner)
  Kettle Cleaner ("Hall, Kevin")
  heating plastic (Aaron Robert Lyon)
  Wooden Dip Stick--How to finish ("Pete Calinski")
  10 gal soda keg modification help ("TED MAJOR")


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Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 19:53:57 -0500
From: Al Klein <rukbat at optonline.net>
Subject: Zero-crossing Triac control chips

Dave Howell said:

>The reason for the zero-crossing part is for high-frequency, aircraft,
>precision, and military applications, and not so much for residential 60Hz
>power applications; but to keep the FCC happy many residential applications
>(e.g. newer ovens) use them as well.  You see, the AC current is always
>swinging between +170 and -170 or so volts.  If you turn a heater on when
>the power is way up (or down) the swing, near the top (or bottom), then you
>have a big inrush of current, which can act in funny ways in the power
>circuit, causing multi-frequency electomagnetic noise (radio static).

>If you wait until the voltage is swinging through zero volts to turn it on,
>there is no large inrush of current, and no funny reflections, and no radio
>frequency (RF) noise.

It's also a matter of multi-kilowatt triacs being a bit expensive.
Zero-crossing switching allows you to use a triac that can hold off
400 volts at a few microamps or carry a few dozen amps at 1 volt.  If
you switch at full power you need a MUCH larger (read: expensive)
triac (and associated heat sink).
- ---
[Apparent Rennerian 567.7, 95.9] 
Al - rukbat at optonline dot net


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Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 19:50:21 -0600
From: "Mike Brennan" <brewdude at tampabay.rr.com>
Subject: Dip stick for the Boil kettle

You might find a piece of copper tube to be a better dipstick than plastic
or wood.  You can notch it with a couple of swipes with a hacksaw every inch
or so.  I even curled the end of my handle to make a grip.



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 20:09:42 -0800
From: "margie ludwig" <mwludwig at tqci.net>
Subject: re: finishing a dip stick or any wood device in your brew

Lou King asks:
>Anyway, I bought a piece of pine for the purpose.  I am thinking that
it
>would be a good idea to finish it somehow, to keep the nasties from
>soaking in and to make easier to sanitize.

>One idea is to use polyurethane, but I don't know if that will break
>down at high temperatures.  The other idea is taken from my Mon-Amie
>Paddle (NAYYY), which BB&MB says is finished with "food grade oil".

>Will polyurethane break down at boiling temperatures?

>Alternately, where do I find "food grade oil" suitable for this
purpose?

I wouldn't use the normal polyurethane.
I have a hardwood mixer in my mash system that I finished with Belen's
Salad Bowl finish. Has held up very well after many hours of mashing. I
think I bought the stuff from Trendlines, but I'm sure any of the other
woodworker's supply companies sell it. 

Dave Ludwig
Flat Iron Brewery
Southern MD





- ---
[This E-mail was scanned for viruses at tqci.net]



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Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 21:53:07 -0500
From: "Talbot Rickard" <trickard at psouth.net>
Subject: Hop Tea

Can someone recommend a prefered method to produce a Hop tea. I would like
to try this versus Dry hopping in an AMoerican Pale ale I have recently
brewed.  Any insight and pitfalls would be appreciated.

I hope to achieve a Clean Hop aroma and flavor, not a "Soggy Hop" feel

Regards, Talbot

Trickard at psouth.net



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 17:51:50 +1030
From: Brad McMahon <brad at sa.apana.org.au>
Subject: Screw top test tubes

Further to the discussion on where to get
screw top test tubes - if you have a friend
or relative that works in a hospital or
doctor's surgery ask them about their
blood sample test tubes that they use
to send to pathology.

The ones I have are screw top and flat
bottomed. Perfect for storing yeast samples.

Cheers,

Brad McMahon
Aldgate, South Australia: [10104,268.1] Rennerian
   



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:51:34 +0100
From: "Groenigen, J.W. van " <J.W.vanGroenigen at Alterra.wag-ur.nl>
Subject: Harvesting barley

Todd Snyder writes:

>Anyone actually interested in converting dirt to beer is eventually going
to
>want a harvestor for reaping in (literally) all that homegrown barley.

Well, I won't deny that that is the royal way of doing it, but it might be a
bit much for people who are just fooling around in their back yard. After
all, you only need a couple of square meters of barley for a batch of beer,
so people might start small. At my work, which involves field trials with
rice, we often just hand harvest the grain with a sickel (which goes very
fast and is very cheap). After that, you have two options. Either you use a
thresher (which is still very expensive, but at least cheaper than an
harvester), or you go to a friendly farmer and ask whether he can run his
combine for a few minutes (just in the parking lot) while you throw it in
there. The farmer will have to be pretty friendly though, and local, since
he might be worried about you bringing diseases onto his farm in this way.

Or is there an easier way of hand threshing? Anyway, I wouldn't bother with
harvesting by machine if you have less than 100 square meters of barley.

Jan Willem.


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 07:13:15 -0500
From: Ray Kruse <rkruse at johngalt.biz>
Subject: harvesting barley

> From: "Todd M. Snyder"
> Subject: Beer From Dirt Project
>
> Anyone actually interested in converting dirt to beer is eventually going to
> want a harvestor for reaping in (literally) all that homegrown barley.
> Getting the grain out of the field and into the sack may be a significant
> obstacle for someone interested in doing this, but no longer!  I happen to
> know of an old (50's era?) but fully functional harvestor just waiting to be
> put back into action, and it can be had for very little $.
> Most of this posting is done tongue-in-cheek, but on the (very) off-chance
> that someone is actually going to try to do this, you are going to need a
> harvestor.
>
For those who can't afford a harvester, one could consider using a
sickle or scythe, just as the 'old timers' used before the Industrial
Revolution.  A bit slower, but just as effective, and certainly less
expensive.

Ray Kruse
Glen Burnie, PRMd
rkruse at johngalt.biz
- --
"It must be obvious that liberty necessarily means freedom to choose
foolishly as well as wisely; freedom to choose evil as well as good;
freedom to suffer the rewards of good judgment,
and freedom to suffer the penalties of bad judgment.
If this is not true, the word  ~FREEDOM~ has no meaning."




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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 04:47:13 -0800 (PST)
From: "John B. Doherty" <dohertybrewing at yahoo.com>
Subject: Boston Homebrew Competition results online

The Boston Wort Processors Homebrew Club is pleased to announce the results of
the 8th Annual Boston Homebrew Competition, held last Saturday, February 9th at
the Watch City Brewing Company in Waltham MA.

A record total of 474 entries from 17 states spanning all 26 categories were
judged by 49 judges with the assistance of 24 stewards.

Congratulations to Jeff Lopata of Winchester, MA for his Best of Show winning
Southern English Brown Ale.  This was not only Jeff's first Best of Show, it
was his first category win in a homebrew competition!

Runner-Up Best of Show was a Russian Imperial Stout from Geoff McNally from
Tiverton, RI of the South Shore Brew Club.

Second Runner-Up Best of Show went to Eric Kuijpers for his Witbier.

The Brewmaster's Choice Award, selected from the BOS table by Watch City's Head
Brewer Aaron Mateychuk, went to a Vanilla Cream Ale brewed by Jim Dexter from
Acton, MA of the Boston Wort Porcessors.

A complete list of category winners (1st place beers in categories 1-20 also
qualify for MCAB5 in 2003) can be found at
http://www.wort.org/BHC/winners02.html

Tremendous thanks to all who entered, judged and otherwise supported the Boston
Homebrew Competition.  We look forward to your continued support!  Watch for
BHC9 coming in February 2003!

Cheers,

 -John Doherty
BHC8 Head Organizer
Boston Wort Processors



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 07:35:54 -0500
From: "Don Scholl" <dws at engineeringdimensions.com>
Subject: Kettle Cleaner

Tom Byrnes asks:

>What would be good to clean the brown stains off the inside 
>bottom of  a stainless steel pot. Dishwashing liquid doesn't
> do the job.

Tom, I use Bar Keepers Friend!


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 13:39:38 +1100
From: "Phil Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: "Phil's Folly"

I had promised to report on the effects of my True Love Ale at a recent
mate's wedding. I must admit I didn't appreciate the private email from a
well known HBDer suggesting I was little better than Jim Jones who brought
about the Jonestown massacre. But I'm bigger than suggestions like that.

I could tell you how the wedding started off as a very prim and proper (and
utterly boring) affair. Somewhere (by my estimation) around the time my keg
was about one quarter down, things started to happen!

One would have thought they were at a rodeo rather than a wedding as grown
men charged about the place trying to throw off wives who clung in piggy
back style to their backs whipping them with flowers. What a shambles! Still
later in the night the rodeo carried on but the riders and horses swapped
roles. All of this might have been overlooked but that the minister grabbed
the microphone and carried out the commentary!

What an awsome night!

Was it the Old Kent, or the James Squire or maybe the bottle of vodka in the
True Love Ale which caused all this?

It couldn't have been any of them, because at the last minute I felt a wave
of guilt and never took the True Love Ale along at all. This wild lot were
running on my very own brew and did they ever think it was a fantastic drop.

Meanwhile, back at home amidst the bank of fridges which sit humming in my
garage, sits a lonely and largely untouched keg of True Love Ale. I've
renamed it "Phil's Folly" and the only person who ever draws from it is me
(trying to use the bloody stuff up!!).

When I first started brewing years ago, probably like many brewers I dreamed
of making beer good enough to match commercial versions.

Now I have a keg full of commercial beer and no one wants to go near it.

Why don't you tip it down the sink? suggested my sarcastic brewing mate.

And so I did.

Cheers
Phil



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 14:11:35 +1100
From: "Phil Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au>
Subject: Jethro Gump Report

Rob writes:
>Had to respond to this one, as the best bike I ever >owned, a 'Best
>Motorcycle in the World,' BMW R90S, '76 was >purchased from the Tom Byrnes
>dealership in Sydney..

Rob
It ain't ole Tom wondering how to clean stainless steal. Tom passed on quite
some years ago. But his son Ed now runs the shop and I'm currently on my
third BMW which I have bought from him. When the Norton is playing hard to
start, the Baron can be seen riding the Beemer with his infamous keg of
homebrew strapped to the back.

Now Rob, you will be very pleased to learn I have just switched to using dry
yeasts and will talk more about these and BMW's later.

Cheers
Baron



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:22:09 -0500
From: "Rogers, Mike" <mike.rogers at eds.com>
Subject: RE: recent bazooka screen experience 

Re: Bazooka screen clogging...

Due to limitations of leaf hop availability at my local suppliers, I used
all pellets with my bazooka for the first time in a 10.5 gallon IPA last
Sunday.  The bazooka did clog and restrict flow by 80%, but what wouldn't
with 8oz of pellets.  I'm very satisfied with the bazooka, and consider it a
sound product based on price/quality.  I was not familiar with
"whirlpooling" the wort when draining the boiler, so maybe that would have
helped.  I just siphoned instead...  I've used the bazooka for 5 other
batches (all leaf and mixed), all which drained very clean...  

Mike Rogers
Cass River Homebrewers - Mid Michigan
www.hbd.org/cassriverhomebrewers
mailto:mike01_rogers at yahoo.com




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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:30:53 -0500
From: "Rogers, Mike" <mike.rogers at eds.com>
Subject: Gott Cooler - False Bottom Experience

John had asked about false bottom for Rubbermaid cooler
++++++
I have a 10 gal Gott cooler with a Phils false bottom and pad.  I've used
this setup 6 times with up to 25 lbs of grain - all ale recipes (Porter,
IPA, Barley Wine, Pale).  My results have been stellar.  Clear as can be
after only drawing a pint.  I've never had a slow down in drainage, let
alone a stuck mash.  I've read many a posts with issues around the cheaper
plastic false bottoms such as Phils, but so far everything works great!

Mike Rogers
Cass River Homebrewers - Mid Michigan
www.hbd.org/cassriverhomebrewers
mailto:mike01_rogers at yahoo.com




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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:33:14 -0600 (Central Standard Time)
From: "Jim Bermingham" <bermingham at antennaproducts.com>
Subject: 365 Bottles of Beer

Pat, 
Put the calendar down and walk away.  You are having entirely too much fun
with Bob Klein's beer descriptions.  I received one of Bob's calendar's as a
gift a few years ago and thought it was a Hoot!  This guy can sure say a lot
about a subject he knows nothing about.  However I did get one thing from
the calendar, and that was a list of beers that I hadn't tasted.  I have
since had that opportunity on trips across the U.S. and Europe to try some
of the beers on the pages of my calendar.  Although none quite measured up
to Bob's descriptions of them they were good and I may not have bought them
if I had not seen them on the calendar.  God, now it sounds as though I'm
defending the guy!
What the world really needs is a calendar on beer published by either Dave
Barry or Homer Simpson   "Mmmmm BEER!!!
Jim Bermingham
Millsap,TX


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 06:35:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Art Beall <arthurbeall at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Teaching homebrew classes

Steve,

Saw your request for advise about teaching classes. I've helped teach class at
the Grape and Granary a number of times, and this experience was very
rewarding. The G&G has been doing classes for many years, and the format
they've designed seems to work well. Here are some points to consider :

1) Mix up the class with passing around plenty of samples of hops, malt, beer,
etc. This adds sight, touch, smell, and taste to the experience and makes it
more real to the student. 

2) Actually make a batch during the class, and let students help and or come up
and take a look during the procedures. Print the recipe in the class notes, and
use it as the main example for topics thruout the class. This provides
continuity and purpose.

3) When teaching a topic, provide examples, especially when using formulas such
as HBU,IBU,SG. If a technique is discussed, perform the technique while
discussing it, like racking, starting a siphon, using a hydrometer.

4) Invite the students to come back and taste the beer made in class. This has
generated much interest for 1st time homebrewers.

5) The notes should include reference material so they can use it when they
make there batch at home. Step wise instructions, lists of hops, yeast, malt,
references for more study. Book recommendations, and perhaps even some recipes
they could start off with.

6) Its easy to get off topic with question on complicated issues, which might
be great for some students, but confuse and turn-off others. Try to channel
questions into the next section or topic when possible. Encourage people to
stay after class to get more in-depth questions answered. 

7) Include samples of various beer styles during the class that emphasize the
hops and malt that are also passed around during the same time.

8) Occasionally ask the odd question of students to try to get them to think
about the topic.

Good luck!

Art Beall


"What I'm wondering is if anyone with experience teaching a homebrewing class
has any advice, or pitfalls to avoid."



=====
Art Beall
arthurbeall at yahoo.com



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:13:25 EST
From: Althelion at aol.com
Subject: Dip stick

Why even use a dip stick? Take preliminary measurements of liquid volumes of 
your vessel with water and measure the various icrements from the top of the 
vessel to the liquid line. That way, using a ruler, yardstick, meter rod, 
etc., you'll be able to see exact measurements without having to submerge 
anything into your wort.

Alan Pearlstein
Commerce Township, MI
(Uncertain of the Rennerian numbers although I always thought the center of 
the planet was in East Lansing not Ann Arbor.)


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:19:01 -0500
From: "R. Schaffer-Neitz" <rschaff at ptd.net>
Subject: Suckback in Secondary

Greetings and hail to the collective:

Here's the problem:

I have a high gravity ale in the secondary (bucket) and am getting suckback
through my airlock.

Here's the background.  I'll go a little heavy on the detail, since it's
always some seemingly insignificant part that is the source of the problem:

Tried to brew "Trumpet Major Old Ale" from BYO, April, 2001.  This was to be
my New Years Ale for this coming year.  Maybe it still will be.  I'm open to
opinions on the matter (i.e., whether it will mature well over the next 10
months).

Anyway, due to an unfortunate combination of events, I used too much water.
Ok, ok, if you must know...  I was using my propane cooker (MORE POWER!!!!),
as well as my Sankey keg boiling pot (I know it's overkill for 5 gal
batches, but where else are you going to get a large enough, high quality
cooking vessel for about $60?) for the 1st time.  I'd also been reading the
recent thread on boiloff, and seemed to recall reading that 6.5 gal would
yield 5 gal after vigorous boiling (though now I question my memory on that
point).  So... I used 6.5 gal water for this beer, not thinking about the
volume added by the 8lb LME and 7.5lb DME.  I realized belatedly that the
participants in that thread were probably all AG brewers who already had all
the extract in the wort when they started boiling.  Added to this was the
water contributed by my leaky home made immersion chiller (also in use for
the first time).  I'm praying the garden hose was clean. :>)

The upshot of all of this is that instead of an OG of 1.130, I got 1.078.  I
pitched my 2 qt., high gravity starter of WLP007 (Dry English Ale). After 10
days in the primary, SG was 1.026 and I racked to the secondary
(miraculously, it tasted ok).  After a couple days, I noticed the water in
the airlock was low.  I put in more.  A day or 2 later I noticed it was low
again.  Like the idiot I am, I put in more.  Now, it's happened a 3rd time
and I finally recognize it for what it is... suckback.

>From this experience I've drawn several conclusions.  In other words, I know
I've done all this stuff wrong already, please don't rub my face in it :)
1) I tried to do too many new things at once.
2) I didn't think ideas through before I tried them.
3) My sanitary technique is virtually nonexistent
4) I should have only used tried & true procedures & equipment on a beer
that big and special
5) I should still be brewing with a canned kit, table sugar and bread yeast

What I don't know is why my secondary is sucking back water out of the
airlock.  Any ideas?

If I'm lucky, this was a great learning experience which I will not repeat
and which will make a humorous story for my homebrewing grandchildren.  If
not, I'm just too stupid to be permitted and will most likely wind up
accidentally drowning myself by falling headfirst into a 5 gallon bucket of
wort

Thanks For Laughing at Me While Sitting at Your Respective Computers, Rather
than Directly in My Face,

Bob Schaffer-Neitz
Northumberland, PA
375, 102.6 (apparent)



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:35:42 -0500
From: Jeremy Bergsman <jeremy at bergsman.org>
Subject: Klein calendar

I thought it would be beneficial to evaluate his writing on beers we all
know.  Here are 2 from last year's calendar (I keep it as a note pad):
Guinness:
Mildly roasted, tinged with a wee bit o' chocolate malts [sic], and
sublimely creamy-smooth, draft Guinness is a glorious sight.  When allowed
to stand for 2 or 3 minutes after streaming from the tap, the milky-brown
body changes before your eyes into a deep, rich brown, capped with a creamy
tan head.  There is a trace of fruitiness in the aroma and a dry, subtly
hoppy character at each swallow.  An international favorite that's Irish
bliss in a glass.
Redhook ESB:
Redhook's version of the extra special bitter so popular at English pubs has
a vigorous, well-developed bitterness and balancing sweet caramel-malt
character.  A tasty blending of the two emerges as the copper-colored body
warms to room temperature.  The carefully placed citrus presence nicely
complements the enveloping hop-accented aroma throughout.  Finishing
somewhat dry, this delicious EXB is deservedly popular.

These examples were chosen blind to content, as the first 2 nationally
distributed examples I found.
- -- 
Jeremy Bergsman
jeremy at bergsman.org
http://bergsman.org/jeremy


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:45:44 -0500
From: "Caryl Hornberger" <chornberger10 at home.com>
Subject: Beer from Dirt

Hello All,

    I've been thinking a lot recently about growing my own wheat and barley
to make my own beer from dirt (I'll probably lapse and buy commercial yeast
so I don't end up wasting a lot of time and effort), but I was wondering
just how much land (acreage, hectarage, whatever) I would need to get enough
grain to actually brew a few batches of beer.  I usually use 16lbs of grain
per batch (I seem to only like to drink wheat bock style beers). Anyone with
experience know just about how many lbs of grain per area one can expect?

Thanks,
Caryl Hornberger
Fort Wayne, IN



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 07:59:32 -0800
From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com>
Subject: Salvaging Flat Beer

Hi,
  I've consistantly had a problem with my bottled beer not carbonating.  It
could be because I leave it in secondary too long & there's not enough
yeast, or because I don't keep my house warm enough for the yeast to work.
What ever the case, I now have 4 cases of good tasting, but flat beer.  My
wife came up with an idea to remedy this that I want to run past you all.  I
have the 2 liter PET bottle Carbonator cap & a small CO2 canister.  Her idea
was to open the flat beer, pour it into a small water bottle with the same
sized cap & use the Carbonator to carbonate it.  This would only be done
immediately before drinking it.  Would this work, or would oxidation set in
too fast?  I figured I'd have the bottle in the frig so more CO2 could be
disolved into solution, but it might also take some shaking too.
Thanks,
Nils Hedglin
Sacramento, CA


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 10:01:43 -0600
From: Brian Lundeen <blundeen at rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: RE: bazooka screen

Bill Freeman writes:

> Brian, why don't you do us all a favor and take Z up on his 
> generous offer of a bazooka for trial purposes.  It would 
> save a lot of waffling and wasted bandwidth. Is the reason 
> you refuse that you don't WANT to be convinced that the thing 
> works or is it a matter of just not wanting to have to admit 
> that fact to the board in general?
> 

Bill, why don't YOU do us all a favour and read posts carefully before
sending out such missives.

Being a forum devoted to the discussion of homebrewing, I don't consider a
discussion of the installation and proper usage of the Bazooka screen to be
a waste of bandwidth.

How do you deduce that I don't want to be convinced that the thing works? I
did not refuse the freebie because I don't want to try the screen, simply
because other (and I must say, more rational) posters have already convinced
me that it can work as Wayne says, and that I am actually willing to (and
this was all in the previous post) BUY THE DAMN THING!

All I want to do is discuss the operational details that Wayne wants me to
follow before I commit to purchasing. And I would be more than happy to come
back into this or any other brewing forum and tell people how well it works
(assuming it does). 

Damn, Bill, it's a good thing you aren't in charge of marketing for Zymico.

Brian
Not in a Rennerian mood


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 16:34:20 -0000
From: Tony Barnsley <tony.barnsley at blackpool.gov.uk>
Subject: Ken Schwartz's Web Site / Acidulation

Hi Oh Great brewing collective

I've been trying without success to find Ken Schwartz's web site (I know I
should have bookmarked the URL) could one of you kind souls please help me
out?

Now onto the real meat of my question. 

Following on from a heavy discussion of water treatment (primarily reduction
of residual alkalinity using acid) a couple of queries have arisen regarding
a spreadsheet I have for calculating the amount of acid to add to a given
volume of water.

Given pH, total hardness (As Calcium), the alkalinity (as Bicarbonate which
is the way the water companies measure alkalinity over here :< ), Calcium
and Magnesium. the spreadsheet calculates the amount of 80% phosphate 80%
Lactic and 98% Sulphuric Acids to reduce the alkalinity to n in x litres of
water.

I'm fairly happy that the formula for the amount of acid I use is correct.
one problem is the constant that is used to convert Alkalinity as
bicarbonate to alkalinity as Calcium Carbonate (Or whatever it should be). I
use alkalinity as bicarbonate divided by 2.034 which I obtained from Greg
Noonan's Book (IIRC) and was confirmed in an unpublished manuscript by
another well known UK author. Now our Craft Brewers Association newsletter
says that it should be Alkalinity as Bicarbonate divided by 1.22, and
Murphy's (suppliers of Chemicals to the commercial brewing trade in the UK)
say that its the Total Hardness (As Ca) multiplied by 0.4!!

As an Example One of our members reported that his Total Hardness (as Ca)
was 128mg/ml, Alkalinity (as Bicarb!) 299 mg/ml, So according to me the
alkalinity as CaCO3 is 299/2.034 = 147, CBA is 299/1.22 = 245, and Murphy's
as 128*0.4 = 320. Which makes a considerable difference to the amount of
acid to add.

Which one is 'correct'? or is the answer (as usually applies in brewing) it
depends. Pick one you like and stick with it ;-'>

- --
Wassail!
The Scurrilous Aleman (ICQ 46254361)
Schwarzbad Lager Brauerei, Blackpool, Lancs, UK
Rennerian Coordinates (I'm Not Lost! I'm A Man, I don't ask for directions)

UK HOMEBREW - A Forum on Home Brewing in the UK
              Managed by home brewers for home brewers

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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 11:35:13 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net>
Subject: Old instructions for draught and bottled Guinness

Brewers

This is long but I hope you will find it worth reading.

I thought you all might like to see these old instructions for 
handling Guinness that I found on two old metal signs in a pub on the 
Kerry Peninsula in Ireland three years ago.  While it was a very 
touristy pub with lots of tour busses, the signs were definitely 
authentic.  I suspect they were made to be posted on the wall in a 
pub or bottlers cellar.  I would guess they date to the 1920's or 
30's. (I have snapshots of the two signs which I can scan and send if 
anyone would like them.)

With nitro dispense of Guinness standard since the 60s (I think), and 
the new "ice cold" Guinness, it may easily be forgotten that it, like 
all pre-WWII beers in Britain and Ireland, was once a "real ale." 
However, it would seem from the venting instructions that it may have 
been served more lively than typical English ales - hence the full 
head.

There are no instructions for either the cellarman or the bottler as 
to priming.  Perhaps the casks were sent out already freshly primed, 
or perhaps this was common knowledge that didn't need repeating.

Jackson writes in World Guide to beer (p. 156) of Guinness Porter, 
"Porter survived until the 1970s in the North of Ireland, but had 
long been overtaken in popularity by stout, a different blend, with a 
slightly higher density."  On p. 157 is a wonderful photo of a pub's 
back bar with five tapped casks of porter, each with insulated covers 
proclaiming "Guinness Porter - Guinness is Good for You."


The older looking sign (rusty scratches and more yellowed paint):

- -----------------------------------------
GUINNESS
EXTRA STOUT
AND PORTER
Instructions for Handling on
DRAUGHT

Weekly or more frequent supplied are recommended.

ON ARRIVAL
(1) Put cask under cover immediately  (2) Place cask on stillion on bulge.
(3) Sample each cask, before using, for caskiness  Beer suspected of 
caskiness should not be put into trade.

TEMPERATURE
Keep cool in Summer: 60F or below.  Keep warm in Winter: up to 55F

STOCKS AND TREATMENT
(1) Use supplies in the order in which they are obtained.
(2) Both Extra Stout and Porter should be tapped directly they are in 
condition: This according to the temperature, should in summer be 
after 3 or 4 days, and in winter slightly longer.
(3) Guinness should not be served in flat condition.
(4) Casks when tapped should be consumed within a week.
(5) If the consumption is slow, small casks should be used.

VENTING
Casks should not be vented unless the beer ceases to flow freely.
To vent the cask a hole should be bored in the bung if possible.

The vent hold should be kept tightly closed except while the beer is 
being drawn from the cask.

EMPTIES
Casks should be closed and returned directly they are empty, corks 
and spiles being put into tap holes and vent holes respectively.

COMPLAINTS
Any extra stout or Porter complained of should not be offered for 
sale.  A sample, together with the number of the cask, should be sent 
at once to the Brewery or the Store concerned, and the Cask held 
pending instructions.

ARTHUR GUINNESS, SON & CO., LTD
(INCORPORATED IN ENGLAND)

- -----------------------------------

The newer looking sign, or at least in better condition, but still 
clearly old, is interesting in that it is instructions for retail 
bottlers of Guinness.  Independent bottlers of beers were common back 
then.  Many breweries didn't bottle their own beer at all.  Jackson 
has a label (p.157) from Guinness Porter bottled by GH Lett in 
Enniscorthy.

- -----------------------------------

GUINNESS
Memorandum for Retail Bottlers of
EXTRA STOUT

TREATMENT OF STOUT IN CASK

Put Cask under cover.

Sample every cask on arrival for "caskiness" and do not bottle if 
stout is "casky."

Keep cool in summer - temperature of stout to be 60F or below.

Keep warm in winter - temperature of stout to be up to 55F

When possible bottle within 24 hours of receipt.


TREATMENT OF BOTTLES

Keep cool in summer - temperature, say, 60F .

Keep warm in winter - temperature, say, 55F.

Put into Trade as soon as sufficient condition develops; usually at 5 
to 10 days, according to temperature of storage.

Use different lots in the order in which they are bottled: do not 
hold more than one week's supply in bottle.

It is most important to use high quality corks.


TREATMENT OF EMPTY CASKS

The casks should be closed and returned directly they are empty, 
corks and spiles being put into tap holes and vent holes respectively.

ARTHUR GUINNESS, SON & CO., LTD
(INCORPORATED IN ENGLAND)


- ------------------------------

Cheers

Jeff
- -- 
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at mediaone.net
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 12:29:49 -0500
From: "Hall, Kevin" <Kevin_Hall at bausch.com>
Subject: Kettle Cleaner

Long Time Lurker, First Time Poster, got a few words regarding kettle
cleaning.
 
I too had noticed a brownish to grayish discoloration on the bottom of my 10
gallon Polarware pot; this happened to be in the general shape of the flam
from the turbo charged jet propelled Cajun cooker. I usually just rinsed out
with hot and cold tap water and occasionally scrubbed (gently with a
Scotchbrite) with a bit of Triton X-100 surfactant. This did not touch it,
but then again I was going just for a general hops/break/soil clean, not
removing this stuff.
 
I noticed some time ago that when making tomato based sauces in stainless
steel that the pot always returned to a bright lustre after cooking. So
after a recent brew session I went at my 10 gallon baby with a bit of white
vinegar (enough to cover the bottom plus a bit) and the trusty Scotchbrite.
Voila!, clean pot in about 2.35 minutes (it's a big pot). Minimal elbow
grease needed. Rinsing generously with hot water and allowing the pot to air
dry inverted in by basement brewery has left a wonderfully bright and clean
vessel. Vinegar is solution of acetic acid at approximately 5%, which is
easily diluted with water; I usually rinse until the tell-tale odor is not
present. For the paranoid, washing with a general purpose surfactant and
water should remove any residual vinegar.
 
A bonus is that the air drying (over an extended time, week to 10 days) will
also restore the passive layer to the interior of the pot.
 
Please be gentle with your flames.
 
Thanks,
Kevin Hall
Lilac Ridge Brewing Co.
Rochester NY
Apparently [no idea] Rennarian
 


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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 13:31:22 -0500 (EST)
From: Aaron Robert Lyon <lyona at umich.edu>
Subject: heating plastic

Brewers,

I was discussing how I mash (in a Rubbermaid cooler) with a coworker and
she expressed concern about what sort of compounds could be leeched into
the final beer from the plastic of the mash tun.  Apparently, even those
plastics that claim to be "safe" for heating can still contribute harmful
elements.  The harmful element may have been some sort of estrogen, but
was definitely something that could cause/contribute to the formation of
cancerous cells.

Does anyone have any information about this or similar concerns?  Material
engineers?  M.D.s?

Thanks.

 -A

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Lyon  -  homebrewer / research assist / Olympic rocket-sled champion
*[4.13, 118] Apparent Rennerian*

"Give me a woman who truly loves beer, and I will conquer the world."
	-Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941)
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 16:01:00 -0500
From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net>
Subject: Wooden Dip Stick--How to finish

I don't dip but, forget the wood.  Get a piece of CPVC pipe.  A 10 foot
length of 1/2 inch dia. costs less than $3.00 US. CPVC is "rated" to 170F
but that has to do with burst under pressure.  I have used just PVC pipe in
boiling wort and, after an hour, it gets a little soft.  CPVC won't even
soften to any extent.  Mark it like Pat did the dowel.  If you don't like
having to clean the inside, get a cap.  That might be $0.09..

Pete Calinski
East Amherst NY
Near Buffalo NY


***********************************************************
*My goal:
*      Go through life and never drink the same beer twice.
*     (As long as it doesn't mean I have to skip a beer.)
***********************************************************



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Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 18:16:21 -0500
From: "TED MAJOR" <tidmarsh at charter.net>
Subject: 10 gal soda keg modification help

I have a 10-gal soda keg that I bought a few years ago to 
use as a fermenter, when I began to develop my fear of 
breaking a carboy.

I used it a few times, but I reverted to a plastic bucket 
after I tired of the hassles of (a) filling with 10 gal. 
of iodophor to sanitize or (b) filling with 5 gal. of 
iodophor and turning it over to sanitize.

I used it again this weekend for the 6.5 gallons of mild I 
brewed (including a bit extra for a real ale experiment 
with the mini-kegs I asked about a few weeks ago). I tried 
using 2.5 gal of Star-san and shaking to create foam to 
contact all the interior surfaces, but then I had the 
hassle of getting all the foam out. It doesn't just drain 
out like you think it might.

Recent posts here describing the sanitizing of a Sankey 
keg with soda keg fittings by boiling gave me the obvious 
idea of boiling my fermenter to sanitize.

There's only one problem: there's a thick rubber ring 
attached to the inside of the skirt that keeps the keg 
from rolling around like a Weeble(tm).

Has anyone removed such a ring, and if so, how?

My other concern is with sanitizing the fittings. Does 
boiling (possibly under pressure) for ~20 min heat the gas 
in/liquid out ehough to sanitize? Putting a connector onto 
the gas would allow steam flow through the poppet to 
sanitize, but I think the safety hazard of boiling with a 
connector on the liquid out carries obvious safety 
hazards.

Regards,
Tidmarsh Major
Birmingham, Alabama


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---