HOMEBREW Digest #3948 Thu 23 May 2002


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  John's Panty Wad (mohrstrom)
  Scottish 60 recipe advice (engwar1)
  Re: CAPS (Tony Barnsley)
  RE:  more complaints ("Houseman, David L")
  Re: expressions ("Walter H. Lewis III")
  Rubbermaid bulkhead fitting ("Dan Listermann")
  How long does milled malt last? (Kelly Grigg)
  What is Seibel? (Kelly Grigg)
  National Homebrew Competition score sheets? ("Daniel Stedman")
  More Common Expressions ("Larry Bristol")
  First Wort Hopping ("Kirk Annand")
  Dehumidifier H2O ("Mark P.")
  re: homebrewer to microbrewer (Rama Roberts)
  big rye usage ("Czerpak, Pete")
  Excessive phenolics ("Doug Moyer")
  Stop the whining and page down... (Troy Hager)
  The HBD story... (Pat Babcock)
  Sugar Fermentabilities ("Kirk Annand")
  Siebel Reply - Modern Wort Boiling ("Kirk Annand")
  re: first wort hopping ("Keith Lemcke")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 07:28:03 -0400 From: mohrstrom at humphrey-products.com Subject: John's Panty Wad John Bowman, hiding somewhere in Cyberspace opines: >>> I find it very interesting that when our homebrew community is given the "honor" of asking questions to Seibel, that we are suddenly innundated [sic] with posts from pro-brewers <<< John - try to pay attention, OK? Rob is combining posts from AoB, along with those from HBD. I'm sure that a brewer of your caliber can't gain from those replies, so please feel free to use the PgDn key (and, maybe, the Spell Check function), and spare us from your whining. Mark in Kalamazoo Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 05:17:40 -0700 (PDT) From: engwar1 <engwar1 at yahoo.com> Subject: Scottish 60 recipe advice I'm attempting to calculate the malt bill for a Scottish 60, a style I've never brewed before, using the Designing Great Beers Book. My OG should be around 1030-1034 according to styles guidlines and I'm brewing 10 gallons. The grain bill just seems light to me. Wanted some opinions. Here's what I have... Pale Malt 80% 10.75 lbs Roast Barley 2% .33 lbs Munich Malt 5% .66 lbs Smoked Malt 5% .66 lbs Dextrine Malt 8% 1 lbs About 13 lbs for a 10 gallon batch just seems on the light side. Is it because this is a low gravity beer or are my calculations in error? Opinions? Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 13:18:11 +0100 From: Tony Barnsley <tony.barnsley at blackpool.gov.uk> Subject: Re: CAPS Jeff Explained to Kirk That CAP > It stands for "Classic American Pilsner," also called > pre-prohibition American lager, Then Said > I had a very popular keg of it in Cleveland last month He also was kind enough to send some back to me via some English friends who were visiting him, (Jeff you are a gentleman). It had been bottled straight from the keg, suffered the indignities of flying across the pond, and then mishandled by the UK postal service. When it arrived with me I was suffering from a cold so it languished in my fridge whispering alluringly to me whenever I opened the door. This Sunday I managed to get 40L of Adnams Southwold bitter, IMNSHO the finest example of an English Bitter Ale in the world, into a fermenter. I was feeling thirsty and decided that the time had come. Jeff's Fathers Moustache was brought reverently out of the fridge and with all due ceremony the bottle was opened and poured into a glass. It was crystal clear, and a wonderful pale yellow colour, much paler than my poor imitation. Could I detect some blackcurrant in the aroma? Hmm interesting, and the taste . . . . . . I could launch into Kleinisms here but won't. Suffice it to say It was Crisp and Dry, with a wonderful bitterness, as the beer warmed the malt profile became more evident. Given Jeff's mashing schedule I was expecting a much heavier, sweeter beer, which was my result. Needless to say I know which beer I prefer and what to aim for now. Thank you Jeff - -- Wassail! The Scurrilous Aleman (ICQ 46254361) Schwarzbad Lager Brauerei, Blackpool, Lancs, UK Rennerian Coordinates (I am Not Worthy! I am Not Worthy!) This message has been scanned by F-Secure Anti-Virus for Microsoft Exchange as part of the Council's e-mail and internet policy. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 08:24:16 -0400 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: RE: more complaints John Bowman posts: "I find it very interesting that when our homebrew community is given the "honor" of asking questions to Seibel, that we are suddenly innundated with posts from pro-brewers, asking questions which have little or nothing to do about homebrewing issues. I find this backs-up my previous post where I stated that I don't see what these people have in common with us. I'm certainly not brewing 120bbl at a time, as one of these posts refered to. I would even wonder if this Seibel "opportunity" isn't a veiled attempt by the pro-brewing community use homebrewers as a front for free advice. Where are these pro-brewers when Seibel week isn't happening?" Surly John's post was with tongue firmly planted in his cheek. But in case not everyone recognizes this posibility, you should know that HBD isn't the only brewing forum. There is a moderated discussion forum for IBS members and Rob Moline posted the offer to ask questions for them as well, but requested that rather than have questions and answers posted to several fora, that all the questions and answers be posted on HBD for all to see. So no conspiracy. The pro-brewers are always there, in another dimension of cyber-space... Thanks to Rob for setting up this opportunity for all of us and to our guests who provided their time to answer our questions. Dave Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 08:35:56 -0400 From: "Walter H. Lewis III" <wlewis at alliedlogistics.com> Subject: Re: expressions I've heard the pints and quarts corolation for years, but my experience comes from the study of statistics in college. There I learned that P represented the probability of success and Q represented the probability of failure. Therefore mind your P's and Q's wound be a warning to carefully consider your outcome before beginning a venture. Walt Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 09:19:08 -0400 From: "Dan Listermann" <dan at listermann.com> Subject: Rubbermaid bulkhead fitting <Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 05:02:38 -0700 (PDT) >From: John Schnupp <johnschnupp at yahoo.com> >Subject: re: Zymurgy Magazine Rubbermaid Bulkhead Plans >I finally got sick of dealing with and found that it is possible to squeeze >another stock grommet in the hole from the outside of the cooler. A piece of >1/2" copper then fits nice and tight. You could also use any standard bulkhead >fitting (that fits thru the grommet) because there is a good rubber seal on >each side. A simple minikeg bung makes a great bulkhead fitting for coolers and a 1/2" copper pipe. Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 08:33:12 -0500 From: Kelly Grigg <kgrigg at diamonddata.com> Subject: How long does milled malt last? Hi all!! Well, I've got my second all grain batch going, and I'm really getting into this. I just got a friend of mine, who introduced me to extract brewing, finished with his first batch of all grain. Now, we're wanting to go in together, and buy malt by the bag. Trouble is, neither of us has a mill at this time....and we don't want to wait to get one to start buying in bulk. I think I found a place from here that sells wholesale...and will to us since his products are no in this area. They will mill the malt for an extra $2 a bag. I'm planning on getting some large rubber maid plastic tubs with snap on covers, to store my grain in. MY question is...how long will pre-crushed malt last before it has to be used or starts deteriorating in some manner? Also, so I can compare price, can any of ya'll out there who buy grain in bulk give me some weblinks/phone numbers of places you use? TIA, Kelly - -- - ------------------ "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." - ------------------ - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3ia mQENAjyfn4YAAAEH+waMyqOmkhFrbfJqfg4A68a9HuqtQ+Z4djHRRRb59udOrPi4 JvQiwiDILQ11f3Akz+C7x5/0uHc5Bgdgd7CDBYLCEis+404vHH2fXRFgdqyO8bin pVE2qh511umyZ8Rka5NQdNIspBKy7rpZ+zd8qKM2OAHsRkzhfAaRfMn20ZzqEpa3 zvN62QLHYSjOdhqq1sJo5pS9Vff0/fglcTSyUEWctsrLRqp+IBxn0deA4zKHR7eA uSpSyyyV0KwsE4fIJQQG5ji59trSSPOFkS+j6ITrcpiDT7rJfK8z+sYQUovC5/2u WrwCHAEIQa1QZEkGTJ5gE75qt5T8HxQEh634t+EABRG0C0tlbGx5IEdyaWdniQEU AgUQPJ+fhh8UBIet+LfhAQGqAAf1Gn9P49yPKjhClsOHoW1JWi9gNTfNwx+ROL3R 61pfMlPrb4Q5UN7lYkR7mip0R9CYk5Se8POOxTVAc2KGzQB/xmuYcDPmxuNK4BQ/ vN7PSkrVmoU5kC8KKMOmx0msJWYqo4k6AONtCYP8jHEqgcaBnqE89arVL4/2cAPf rfyzsdJBFZK4ww5bh2iMVSzrgs1H48I4l8TKX6vlg98n7fr8W/T3tgC22M+9O4u+ lR0yozce862Lx+b8+tw3w6OvxBQfhQXTbLHSQWE9ueSAofQQsichSsGxpCB/0c7s Hw9CzQAQvyS7PLvPBOz63Qyea5h93YJuAzDijk9smvlvxVI0 =8qS0 - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 08:43:47 -0500 From: Kelly Grigg <kgrigg at diamonddata.com> Subject: What is Seibel? I've seen this in a bunch of the subjects of recent posts, but, I can't from reading tell what Seibel is... Can someone enlighten me? :-) K - -- - ------------------ "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." - ------------------ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 10:02:00 -0500 From: "Daniel Stedman" <playflatball at hotmail.com> Subject: National Homebrew Competition score sheets? Hi - has anyone received their scoresheets back from the first round of the NHC yet? Just curious - I haven't received anything. Dan in Minnetonka Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 11:10:00 -0500 From: "Larry Bristol" <Larry at DoubleLuck.com> Subject: More Common Expressions While it is nice to be (semi-)quoted, it is nicer still when one is quoted correctly. Of course, the majority of people easily recognize the difference between what one says and what another alleges they said. So while not particularly beer related, I think this one is appropriate on this occasion: "Shipshape and Bristol fashion" - everything is neat and tidy. This saying comes from one of the aspects of the harbor in Bristol, England. The difference in the water level between high and low tides in the Bristol harbor is one of the largest in the world, about 30 feet. In the old days, before a floating harbor was built, if not properly constructed and laden, at low tide ships in the harbor would either break their backs or their cargoes would shift. Because of this, Bristol ships were always first class in these respects. I suppose it does not come as too much of a surprise that my roots are there, which only helps to prove that everything associated with the name "Bristol" is first class. Even when it is used in slang. For example, saying someone has "big Bristols" is a classy (?!?) way of describing the female anatomy. Which brings to mind... "To drink a toast" - Soggy burnt bread? In olden times, it was customary to put pieces of toast into tankards of beer in order to improve the flavor (apparently this is a cure for oxidation effects). It seems that while a celebrated beauty of the time was bathing, one of her admirers took a glass of the bath water and drank to her health to the assembled company. Another admirer, probably already a bit "toasted", announced as he jumped into the bath, "Although I like not the liquor, I would have the toast!" I will drink to that, and to all Bristols everywhere! Larry Bristol Bellville, TX AR=[1093.6,223.2] http://www.doubleluck.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 13:20:23 -0700 From: "Kirk Annand" <kirk.annand at ns.sympatico.ca> Subject: First Wort Hopping John: That is the first time I have ever been called 'a God of Brewing'! I like it!! I might have it put on my business cards. One of the things that I find interesting (and a bit confusing) is the different terminologies that are used to describe brewing methods. In this case I responded to the example that was given me. I have heard of the term 'first wort hopping' used in the same sense as 'single addition hopping' but that is not what was meant in this case - if I read the example right. Let me know what your definition of FWH is. In discussions with brewers we learn new terms and methods and hopefully it makes brewing more interesting and the beer better. It is true that the more I learn about brewing the less I feel that I know. It's a great hobby and a great career because of the constant learning. Regards, Kirk Annand, S.I.T. Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 22:23:31 -0600 From: "John Adsit" <jadsit at attbi.com> Subject: Seibel and First Wort Hopping Seibel tells us: > The FWH schedule that you mention looks like a variation of this 'classic' > hop addition schedule. I see no harm or advantage from it. And the illusion is shattered. These Gods of Brewing don't have the slightest clue what First Wort Hopping is. What a disappointment. You have to hold everything else they say suspect after an answer like that. John Adsit Boulder, CO jadsit at attbi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 14:06:01 -0400 From: "Mark P." <markp at waveworks.net> Subject: Dehumidifier H2O Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 20:40:19 -0500 From: "Partner" <Partner at Netdirect.net> Subject: Dehumidifier H2O I went down to my laundry room and began to wash some clothes and this thought struck me, like a '56 Mack Truck broadsiding a telephone booth. If I use Water from my Dehumidifier, after a boil to sterilize, I'm basically using demineralized H2O. Pure..... Water. Soft as a baby's...... Just an Idea. but I now have a source for pure water... boiling in my hot liquor tank would take care of any Cootie's. Byron 206.9, 212.1 Apparent That makes it South of Chicago, and North of Memphis, In the Heart of the Blues!!! ______________ I got some advice about this from a telescope forum. Someone had the great idea of using dehumidifier water to clean a telescope mirror. Bad Idea. Since air is constantly blowing through the coils the H2O will be contaminated with dust. This guy tried to wash film in it and was amazed by the amount of dust in the H2O. Mark P. "The early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese." fax 703.527.1308 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 11:46:09 -0700 (PDT) From: Rama Roberts <rama at eng.sun.com> Subject: re: homebrewer to microbrewer Roger- I'm catching up on old HBD's and saw your post about advice on stepping up to a micro from homebrewing. I found something through a search engine a while ago and haven't been able to find it again for you- it was such a good read, I'll do my best to describe it in hopes someone will recognize it and send a link: It was about a homebrewer who had a friend in the restaurant business that wanted to offer his brew to his customers. People liked it so much, this brewer (and a buddy or two) had to repeatedly step up their production from monthly batches to weekly 10gal batches or something crazy. A lot of the write up was about finding large kettles and other equipment on the cheap, and about learning how to brew such large batches. Also some info on how he just didn't want to be in the brewhouse as much as he was because he had a full-time job he liked (a teacher I think); and (if I remember right) a side note defending their cost analysis that extracts volumes they dealt with. I'm fairly sure it wasn't a post to the HBD, but was a write up in a homebrew club's newsletter from a few years ago. hope this leads to something- Rama Roberts San Francisco bay area Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 14:59:18 -0400 From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com> Subject: big rye usage Just wanted to post about fairly high malted rye usage..... On Saturday morning while watching the snow fall here in mid-May in upstate NY, I brewed a Rye Pale ale dubbed "Crystal Centennial Rye". This was modelled after Hop Rod Rye from Bear Republic in NoCal but lower key with lower OG and lower hopping to be enjoyable for more pints at a mid-summer wedding. Name is derived by use of Centennial hops for bittering and Crystal hops for aroma, flavor, and even - mash hopped. I used 24% malted rye by weight also with about 4% malted wheat in addition to the usual suspects in a 1.056 pale ale recipe. No problems with my batch sparge. First runnings were drained at about 152degF while the batch sparge water was added at about 178degF in one load. I have to admit, massive coldbreak though that took days to settle in the fermentor. In fact, its still settling and compacting in my hydrometer tube in the refrigerator (must be wall effects since the tube is ~1 inc diameter). Typically, my 15% rye ale recipes came out orange-amber colored. With all the rye, this one is closer to red-amber atleast by how the samples looked after settling. Pete Czerpak Albany, NY PS. And thanks to the Siebel Week Team for answering questions and offering their expertise. The questions from the pro-brewers were refreshing as well. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 18:30:44 -0400 From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com> Subject: Excessive phenolics Brewers, I've got a batch of wit in the keg. Infection? Wild yeast? I dunno, but it has an excessive phenolic character. Almost a mouthful of swimming pool water kinda chlorophenolic. Is there anything I can do to make my tastebuds happy again? This is enough to dump the batch if I can't fix it. All suggestions more than welcome! Brew on! Doug Moyer Salem, VA Star City Brewers Guild: http://hbd.org/starcity "There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness.'" ~ Dave Barry Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 16:24:02 -0700 From: Troy Hager <thager at hcsd.k12.ca.us> Subject: Stop the whining and page down... Fellow HBDers, It floors me to see complaints and whinings about the gracious people from Seibel who have given probably hours of their own time to respond to the multitude of questions from this community. And what is more is that Rob has gone out of his way to set this up once again out of his kindness to give HBers one more resource - to hear and ask questions of current experts in the field. Shame on him and them for going out of their way for us! Allusions about Seibel personnel being all-knowing brew GODS are just plain stupidity. Brewjohn4 wonders and rants on about conspiracies of the pro-brewing community trying to infiltrate our homebrew community and use the HBD to proffer "free advice"???? Does anyone understand that one??? One thing that makes the HBD such a wonderful place is the diversity of knowledge, character, location, background, information, respect, manners, etc. that is all part of the HBD experience. I love this and want to keep it that way. I am personally for hearing *all* sides of the story no matter how eloquent, vicious, rudely worded, or "professional" it is and making my own decisions about the topic. This goes for the extended quibblings of Steve A., Dr. Pivo and others as well as from these Seibel folks... It is what makes it interesting. I say let it all come out and then you take what its worth for you at your own place and level of brewing... Obviously, by the amount of questions posted and the relatively few complainers, most have enjoyed questioning and hearing from the folks at Seibel - I am included in this group. I guess there is always someone to rain on the parade. My thanks goes out to all those from Seibel who continue to answer questions and to Rob for setting up this novel exchange of questions and ideas. This is why I read the HBD. Troy Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 20:40:26 -0400 (EDT) From: Pat Babcock <pbabcock at hbd.org> Subject: The HBD story... Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager... Well! Not to be revisionist or anything, but I have just been "filled in" on some perceived gaps in the HBD history! If you have copied the HBD history onto your website, please check the page at HBD.ORG and ensure you are presenting the corrected version. I have it on good authority that the history as cited on the page now better reflects the actual evolution of the HBD. You might say that I have it right from the horse's mouth... - -- - 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 [18, 92.1] Rennerian "I don't want a pickle. I just wanna ride on my motorsickle" - Arlo Guthrie Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 22:34:43 -0700 From: "Kirk Annand" <kirk.annand at ns.sympatico.ca> Subject: Sugar Fermentabilities Mike: Many of these are much more commonly used by homebrewer's than commercial brewers, partly because of cost in some cases but also because of strong flavor notes. Most of them are covered quite well by Charlie Papazian in 'The Complete Joy of Homebrewing' and 'The Home Brewer's Companion'. A more detailed description of these adjuncts is given in 'Malting and Brewing Science - Volume 1, Malt and Sweet Wort' by Briggs, Hough, Stevens and Young. If you refer to these books you will get the information that you requested. The 'Malting and Brewing Science' Volumes 1 and 2 are about twenty years old but still some of the best books ever written in English on the subject of brewing. They are 'exhaustive and technical' and fairly expensive but they will be in a brewer's library forever. On a personal note, I am a brewing book freak. As my wife will attest I have every book on the subject of beer and brewing that I can get my hands on. It is important to get as many viewpoints on any brewing subject as possible in order to have a balanced viewpoint. It is also interesting to see the difference between the brewing cultures of different countries. The last adjunct that you have on your list is 'treacle' which is what the British call molasses. The water contents of the various items that you list will also vary somewhat depending on the grade of adjunct that you are interested in. Suppliers should be able to provide you with technical information on the particular adjunct that you want to include in your recipe. The Internet is also a rich source of detailed information since these are used mostly in foodstuffs, not mainly beer. Kirk Annand, S.I.T. Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 09:43:26 -0400 From: "Mike Dixon" <mpdixon at ipass.net> Subject: Siebel Week: Sugar Fermentabilities Sometime back I tried to do some research on fermentabilities of different sugar sources and did not have much luck. The sources I found were not very specific on certain sugars and left out others altogether. Some "sugars" would of course vary by water content so I added in some average water contents, but the average fermentability percentage of each sugar is what I am after. Also if you can tell me what the extract potential (p/p/g) is for each sugar, and density of each sugar. Several of these I know, but I am very interested to see what you have to say. Here is the list I am interested in knowing the fermentability percentage, extract potential, and density of: Cane Sugar Corn Sugar Light Brown Sugar Dark Brown Sugar Invert Sugar (20% water) Honey (17% water) Molasses (25% water) Maple Syrup (33% water) Treacle (20% water) Thank you very much for this opportunity. Cheers, Mike Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 23:32:34 -0700 From: "Kirk Annand" <kirk.annand at ns.sympatico.ca> Subject: Siebel Reply - Modern Wort Boiling Troy (and Charles): I think that 'Brauwelt International' is one of the best brewing magazines in the world. I would like to read the German language 'Brauwelt' but since I don't speak or read German I am out in the cold. The articles that you quote extensively from were both technically interesting. They raised points of about wort quality versus energy saving. The two major German brewhouse manufacturers (Steinecker / Krones and Huppmann) have been continually 'improving' the performance of their brewhouse equipment with regards to energy saving, gentle wort handling, reduction of DMS and reduction of overall evaporation rate. You asked how this kind of information applies to homebrewing and the answer is: NOT MUCH! In order to get this degree of control these boiling operations are computer controlled. They measure and control total energy that goes into the boiling of a batch, as well as many other parameters to control the boil. It is process integration and control at its finest. Energy reduction is really the main aim of these systems while still producing excellent wort quality. They also are geared towards the German beer industry which still makes all-malt beers. German brewers are very concerned about DMS reduction. Many other brewers around the world are also concerned but they have less of a problem because they use a percentage of adjuncts which do not contribute to DMS. The manufacturers will say that all issues are equally important in designing one of these new boiling systems. One comment that I would make is that the articles in Brauwelt are sometimes submitted by the manufacturer so there may be little discussion of some of the problem areas. There has never been a perfect piece of equipment! Most homebrew equipment and techniques hark back to an earlier time in brewing and so guidance must be sought from what previous generations of brewers used to believe about brewing. Old brewers always said that it was important to have a 'good rolling boil'. A 'rolling boil' is obvious once you see it and it is a controllable boil. This type of boil often translated to a total evaporation rate of around 10% -12% in a boil time of 60 - 90 minutes. This boiled off undesirable volatiles, isomerized hop acids, created a good floc for trub settling and used a controlled amount of energy. In a homebrew situation I think that total evaporation of 10 - 15% is great. Too fierce a boil starts to caramelize wort sugars and can be detrimental to protein coagulation. In many cases the difference between boiling for 60 versus 90 minutes may be very subtle or negligible but it is something to experiment with for different beers. Kirk Annand, S.I.T. Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 23:26:13 -0700 From: Charles Hager <hagerc at vcss.k12.ca.us> Subject: Seibel Week I hope I can squeeze this one in at the end of this wonderful week! I have a question about differences in wort boiling issues at the commercial level vs. homebrew level. In the Feb. 2002 edition of Brauwelt, there was two interesting articles regarding boiling wort. Both articles state the purpose of boiling wort: -concentration by evaporation -reduction of coagulable protein substances -deactivation of enzymes -boiling off undesirable aroma components -formation of aroma and flavor substances The first article, entitled "Wort boiling - current state-of-the-art" discusses issues that commercial breweries have when boiling wort and the various methods. It summarizes the history of boiling technology from early kettles with inadequate heating and wort movement (homogeneity) into 20th century changes in design and heating capabilities with the introduction of high-performance kettles with 2 hour + boil times and 12-16% evaporation. In the last 30 years breweries have had to rethink their boiling techniques because of energy conservation and environmental issues leading to decreased boil times and evaporation rates. Current averages stated are 60 minutes at 6-8% evaporation rate. Boiling time and temperature are two variables that breweries strive to balance. Issues dealing with this balance are stated as: -High Temp: coagulable nitrogen too low, DMS level ok, excessive coloration of wort -Low Temp: coag. nit. ok, DMS levels too high -Long Time: coag. nit. too low, DMS levels ok -Short Time: coag. nit. ok, DMS too high Interesting statements: "Heating times are frequently too long and lead to a not inconsiderable loss of coag. N, apart from causing high thermal stress which can be expressed by the thiobarbituric acid index (TBI)." "The objective of development work was to implement the following criteria as fully as possible: -gentle boiling (coag. N, foam) -little free DMS in pitched wort -low thermal stress (TBI) -further reduction in total evaporation" The second article, entitled "New wort boiling system using flash evaporation" has this interesting statement: "Thanks to modern automatic control equipment, the term "beer boiler" is slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past. One should ask oneself if it is still appropriate to subject the wort to nucleate boiling or whether it should be possible to boil it without actually bringing it to a nucleate boiling stage? This question can definitely be answered 'yes'. Looking again at the criteria for wort boiling stated at the beginning, it becomes clear that boiling of wort is necessary only for evaporating excess water and for expelling undesirable aroma substances. All other parameters are a function simply of temperature and circulation or wort." Homebrewers do not have to deal with: -trying to lower energy costs/energy usage -wort homogeneity -trying to lower evaporation rates With this in mind, which of these issues can be applied to homebrew wort boiling? >From my experience as a homebrewer having read many basic and advanced homebrewing books as well as participating on the HBD for many years - is seems to me that most all-grain homebrewers boil for 90 minutes with evaporation rates of over 15% - usually 20-30% in some cases with big propane burners. This long and violent boiling seems to be in conflict with some of the information in these articles and indeed may have detrimental effects. "Gentle" boiling was mentioned a few times in the articles and is said to have a positive effects on coagulation of proteins. Long boiling times are stated to have detrimental effects on protein coagulation. Low "thermal stress" and evaporation rates of 6-10% are mentioned as goals of the commercial breweries. How does this information apply to homebrew boiling? Which of these issues produce better beer, not just cuts down on energy costs and time? What is the difference between a 60-minute boil and a 90-minute boil assuming a 10% or greater evaporation rate? Thanks for your time and thoughts on this subject Troy Hager thager at hcsd.k12.ca.us Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 21:10:38 -0700 From: "Keith Lemcke" <klemcke at siebelinstitute.com> Subject: re: first wort hopping I have been looking for research information on first-wort hopping for a few years now, and as you have probably found, there is not much available. I have checked the online abstracts of the American Society of Brewing Chemists and found nothing dealing with a technical assessment of the technique. I have found no substantial information in any of the brewing textbooks I have seen, with the exception of Fix. First-wort hopping seems to be more common among homebrewers than craft or commercial brewers. I first started doing FWH (I am a homebrewer) when I read about it in the Fix book "Analysis of Brewing Techniques" several years ago. The book (pg.45/1997ed.) makes reference to the results of Preis & Mitter supporting Jean de Clerck's theory that early additions are superior to late, the theory being that hop oil constituents are more effectively "bound with wort constituents". Unfortunately, I have been unable to find copies of the Preis & Mitter analysis from Brauwelt. Actually, the most complete analysis I have seen on the practice is on the web at http://www.brewery.org/library/1stwort.html , and was based on work by Fix and others at the HBD, and contains a summary of the Brauwelt analysis. The initial tests were done using Tettnanger and Saaz, which could both be considered bittering and aromatic hops. The results seem to favor only a first-wort addition, without an "end of boil" addition. Unfortunately, the article lacks specific sensory panel evaluations as to beer characteristics, making it difficult to quantify the advantages of such differences in techniques. You will see as well that the article mentions the bittering contributions of the FWH additions, but does not quantify the level of contributions within the summary text. You would need to adjust your hopping rate to compensate for the increased bittering extraction, with factors including the time it takes between hop FW hop addition and the beginning of the boil, as well as the possibility that the bittering substances may more effectively remain in solution in the wort, as suggested by the Fix research. I have noticed that ProMash, the software for brewing and recipe formulation, features a setting where FWH contributions are calculated. Their product can be found at http://www.promash.com/ . You may want to contact Promash for more information on how they based their calculations. While the original experiments were performed using Tettnang and Saaz, the article goes on to include a table at the base showing a variety of recipes created by other homebrewers as well as sensory commentary from the brewers. I will continue to try to track down the article in Brauwelt, and will let you know if I find anything. I don't think you are likely to see any further commercial research done on FWH, as it may not be construed by the professional brewing community as a key factor in achieving substantive gains in the brewhouse. Too bad Brewing Techniques is not still around! Keith Lemcke <<<Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 01:31:27 -0400 From: "Eric R. Lande" <landeservices at juno.com> Subject: Seibel Week Thanks for this opportunity and maybe I can get a straight answer on this: My question is about First Wort Hopping. This sounds like a good idea, but questions keep popping up that make me hesitant to try it. I've read that when doing FWH that you should add 1/3 of your hop bill to the kettle as you are laudering. Is this the bittering, flavoring or aroma hops or some combination? If it is the aroma hops, do I need to add more at the end of the boil to account for the loss of the volatile oils during the boil? If it is all three, should the total hopping rate be reduced to account for the increased bitterness extracted from the greater amount of hops boiled for the full boil? Any other info that could put my mind at ease about FWH would be appreciated. Also, is FWH a superior concept or is it just something different that is on a par with the more common hopping schedule? Thanks in advance. Eric Lande Doylestown, PA>>> Return to table of contents
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