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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Re: how high are your nipples? (Kent Fletcher)
  Water filter lifetime (EdgeAle)
  Brew Shops in Gainsville FL? (Denis Bekaert)
  re: New Data Point (John Bowerman)
  Point / Counterpoint on the AHA (John Bowerman)
  agave (Darrell_Leavitt/SUNY)
  rice hulls and mash hopping, Brussells hotels ("Czerpak, Pete")
  Traquair House Ale (Julio Canseco)
  Re: Brewing with Soft Wheat (Jeff Renner)
  Acetobacter $# at &%- Or - crying in my (lack of)  beer ("Hache, Marc")
  Re: High FG in Strong Lager (Jeff Renner)
  Rookie question (Marc Tiar)
  Save a Few Bucks on Your AHA Membership (mohrstrom)
  RE: Yes, it's about Sean and the AHA (sorry) (Brian Lundeen)
  high FG lager (Marc Sedam)
  how much CO2 is produced (Alan McKay)
  HBD mailing list vs. forums (Jake Isaacs)
  PNW Trip Tips (mwb)
  Liquor to Grist Ratio? (MOREY Dan)
  counter pressure bottle filler ("Mauricio Wagner")
  Geo. Fix Maibock attenuation (Jeff & Ellen)


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Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 21:52:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: how high are your nipples?

Alan McKay asked:
>I have a 45 litre / 11 US gallon SS pot that I want
>to get a coupling (OK, not a nipple but the subject
>line was better that way ;-)) welded into.  But I'm
>not sure how high off the bottom of the pot to put
it.
>Is there a rule of thumb? This is for fitting a
ball->valve on the outside, and I also want to fit
some >kind of manifold to the inside.

Alan, I'm assuming this is for a mash/lauter tun.
The correct height will be dependent on the height of
your false bottom/manifold. I would obtain or make the
flase bottom/manifold first and dry-fit it by placing
it in the pot with the outlet tubing/piping attached,
and mark the location on the inside wall of the pot. 
Measure down and then transfer the location to the
outside wall for drilling. You want to have the
coupling on a vertical surface, not at the radius from
side to bottom. This will allow the false
bottom/mainifold to be as low as possible, maximizing
the amount of recoverable wort.

Kent Fletcher
brewing in So Cal




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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 01:08:40 EDT
From: EdgeAle at cs.com
Subject: Water filter lifetime

HBD,

If I have a water filter that says ...

Filter capacity: 600 gals
Filter Life: 6 months

Should I really replace it after 6 months even though I havn't run anything 
close to 600 gals through it? Does the filter somehow degrade with time 
requiring the replacement or is the company just trying to get my money?

Thanks,
Dana Edgell
- ------------------------------------------
Edge Ale Brewery, Oceanside CA
http://ourworld.cs.com/EdgeAle


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Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 22:35:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Denis Bekaert <Denis-B at rocketmail.com>
Subject: Brew Shops in Gainsville FL?

I'm going to set my son up to begin brewing next week
when we go for a visit next week in Gainsville,
Florida. While I have ordered an extended brewing set
up for him, I want to introduce him to some local brew
shop folks that will be there for him when we have
gone back home to Tennessee....so, the question is,
are there any brew shops in Gainsville?  I remember
than Mark Tumarken(sp?) posts from Gainsville, so
perhaps he'd be the one to answer.

Once my son is brewing, I'll raid his beer when I
visit rather than the other way around!  Sneaky, huh?

Denis in Beechgrove, Tennessee where moonshine is our
history but homebrewing is our passion



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 00:41:40 -0700
From: John Bowerman <bowerman at cvc.net>
Subject: re: New Data Point

Having once run out of beer in North Pole (Alaska), I can unequivocally
say that the sound heard by all sounded very close to "Shhhtttt!"  Does
that count?




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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 00:59:21 -0700
From: John Bowerman <bowerman at cvc.net>
Subject: Point / Counterpoint on the AHA

Paul Kensler wrote in HBD #3992

> With all the witty banter flying around regarding the
> "quit the AHA" thread, I'm dying for someone to come
> back with "Jane, you ignorant slut".

Thankyou, Paul.




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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 06:27:52 -0400
From: Darrell_Leavitt/SUNY%SUNY at esc.edu
Subject: agave

Paul,

  I made a Blue Agave Mead a year or so ago that was a real hit...just 10
lb clover honey and 3lb agave , using champagne yeast...  It came out at
about 8%...

 ..Darrell



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 08:04:13 -0400
From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com>
Subject: rice hulls and mash hopping, Brussells hotels

Back in HBD#3986, Paul Shick from Ohio mentions some flow problems with
heating and recirculation with his first two mash hopped beers.  Are you a
RIMser Paul?

Unfortunately I have not used rice in any of my mashes including those with
25%+ malted rye contents.  I have however done about 6 or 8 mash hopped
brews though.  All my mash hopped brewed are batched sparged in a 10 gallon
Gott cooler using a single temp infusion.  I usually add my mash hops
(usually about 1 oz to 12 to 14 lbs of grain, although I did mash hop a
bitter with maybe 1 oz in 8 lbs of grain) after I mash in by sprinkling them
on the surface of the mash and then stirring them in.  When I open the Gott
to later begin runoff afterconversion the mash smells really nicely of hops.
I have not experienced any slower runoffs than normal (10 to 15 minutes) and
the runoff seems to clear much quicker than normal.  I do like the mash hop
flavor added to some brews although I am not entirely certain whether I like
the flavor generated by the 4 Cs of American hops (cascade, cent, chin,
colum).

How did your use of rice hulls improve your runoff rates with regards to
recirc and heating?  Let us know as it helps to "spread the mashhop gospel"
per Marc Sedam.  Also, do you add your mash hops similarly to how I do it?

Another question, I'll be in Belgium in mid August to do the usual HBD
Belgium lambic tours.  Can anybody recommend some reasonable costing hotel
recommendations for someone not on business expense?

Thanks,
Pete Czerpak
albany, NY



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 08:31:22 -0700
From: Julio Canseco <jcanseco at arches.uga.edu>
Subject: Traquair House Ale

Greetings! Just got back from a trip to Scotland,.... so many pubs, so
little time..beautiful country...
Among the highlights of our trip was a visit to Traquair House and its
brewery.
Now my quest is to try and emulate their House Ale.

I have saved bits of past postings regarding this Ale. As far as I know,
It is a Scotch Ale, 7.2% abv (strong ale?), EKG hops, H. Baird malt and
black malt. Also caramelization is obtained by boiling the first gallon
of a five gal batch, down to a quart and adding this caramelized wort
back at the end of the regular boil. Will probably use Wyeast Scottish
Ale. Ray Daniels also talks about Traquair House Ale in his book:
Designing Great Beers, Chapter on Scotish Ales.

I have Charley Burns' recipe for Deer Valley Scotch Ale (similar) but
this one is for 10.5% alcohol, a bit too high.

Any guidance, help, notes, recipes will be greately appreciated. Also, I
have tried to subscribe to the UK hb digest but the request keeps
bouncing back. Is it still alive? Anyone has the correct
request-address? I used the one from the internet.

TIA

        julio in athens, georgia






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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 09:39:45 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Brewing with Soft Wheat

"John Misrahi" <lmoukhin at sprint.ca> writes:

>The other day i found something in the bulk food store that set off my
>'brewing radar'. It was labelled 'soft wheat' and just appears to be some
>kind of unmalted wheat kernels (nibblets?). I tasted a few, they seem fine,
>and yes, softer than malted wheat. (I've brewed before with malted and
>flaked wheat, but never this stuff).

Those are just raw wheat kernels, also called wheat berries.  They 
are great for making Belgian wit beer.

Wheat is categorized by several criteria.  You have mentioned one - 
hard or soft.  As a rule, hard wheats have stronger, more elastic 
proteins (gluten), which makes them good for bread because the dough 
will hold CO2 bubbles and allow it to rise well..  Soft wheat 
proteins are weaker and less elastic, making them poor for bread but 
good for pastries, cookies, biscuits, pie crusts, etc. where you want 
tenderness.

Because hard wheats are generally fertilized with more nitrogen than 
soft wheats, they are normally higher in protein than soft wheat 
(typically 11-14% vs. 9-11%).  Lower levels of weaker protein means 
that soft wheat is generally better for brewing.  It's easier to 
mill, too.

Wheat is also classified by when it is sown.  Spring wheat is sowed 
in the spring and harvested in late summer.  Winter wheat is sown in 
autumn and harvested mid-summer (just about now in Michigan).  Hard 
winter wheat is what has made Kansas and neighboring states famous 
for their wheat.

Spring wheat is grown mostly in the northern plains states and the 
prairie provinces.  Spring wheat is, so far as I know, all hard 
wheat, and its protein is even stronger than hard winter wheat.  The 
best bread flours are milled from spring wheat, but winter wheat can 
do fine as well.

The third classification of wheat is by its bran color - red or 
white.  Red wheat is the most common in North American and probably 
the wild ancestral color.  Because bran pigments are genetically tied 
to tannins and phenolics in the bran, white wheat is milder flavored 
 - often described as sweeter or less bitter.  If you are making white 
(refined) flour, this doesn't matter, but for whole wheat flour, it 
does.  Shredded wheat cereal is an example of a soft, white winter 
wheat product.

In the last few years, hard, white winter wheats with good bread 
baking qualities have been grown in the US for whole wheat flour. 
King Arthur makes an excellent white whole wheat flour.  I eat whole 
wheat bread from it all the time and it is much milder, as well as 
lighter in color, than bread from red wheat.  Much of the rest of the 
world prefers white wheat since they eat it as whole meal.  Many 
years ago the US sent red wheat to a famine struck region (I think it 
was India), where it was considered an insult.  Red wheat was for 
animals.

Most North American soft white winter wheat is grown in NY and 
Michigan and neighboring states, SE Ontario and BC.  I grew it for 
several years with a farmer friend back in the 80s and malted it in 
small batches.  I believe wheat is made from soft wheat, and you can 
get wheat malt that is specified as white wheat malt.

>So the question is, how should i go
>about brewing with it? I have had lots of advice and have these suggestions
>
>1) Cook it for 30 min (un milled), add to mash
>2) mill, cook for 30 min, add to mash
>3) don't cook. Just mill, then add to mash
>
>Which is the right one?

You thought I'd never get to this, I'll bet.  I've just illustrated 
why my kids say I can never give the simple answer.  Can't stop being 
a teacher even though it's been 25 years since I've been in the 
classroom.  #1 won't work too well because the enzymes won't be able 
to get to the starches inside the wheat kernel, and any sugars 
produces would tend to stay in there.

#2 will work fine, but is unnecessary.  #3 is simplest and works fine 
because the wheat starch will gelatinize at mash temperatures.  Just 
mill it coarsely.  I use a Corona mill, but may try my newly acquired 
MaltMill.

I will be making my famous ginger wit beer 
http://hbd.org/brewery/cm3/recs/09_85.html on Monday for our 
daughter's wedding next month (I've already made a CAP, a Vienna mild 
lager and a porter).  I will use 45% coarsely milled soft white 
winter Michigan wheat, 5% rolled oats, and 50% six-row malt.

Have fun brewing with it.

Jeff

PS -  Oh, forgot to mention, there will be a quiz later.
- -- 
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:21:05 -0400
From: "Hache, Marc" <HacheM at PIOS.COM>
Subject: Acetobacter $# at &%- Or - crying in my (lack of)  beer


My last 3, yes 3 batches, have been ruined by acetobacter to varying
degrees.

I am struggling to figure out where the heck the infection is coming from.
My cleaning and sanitation routines have not changed.

It seems to start in the primary fermenter (plastic) as on the first two
batches I could smell it. As I looked back on the brew process for these two
batches I thought I knew where the infection might have happened. This third
one though, everything went as planned. When tasting the wort after primary
fermentation there was an ever so slight vinegar taste. I had hoped that I
mistasted but alas no.

The wort is left in the primary no longer than 1 1/2 weeks.

Here's what I do:

Equipment is cleaned immediately after brewing using hot water and dish
soap, scrub with a nylon scrubby until clean. Just before brewing the next
batch  I rerinse with hot water prior to sterilization.

I sterilize using Iodophor (25ppm), mixing up a few litres and swishing for
1-2 minutes per: http://www.bayareamashers.org/iodophor.htm (does anyone
else do this?). Anything that can't be immersed is sprayed.

Keg is cleaned using TSP and rinsed with hot water, I clean the tubes with a
 .22 caliber rifle barrel cleaner to ensure no gunk. 

I can think of three possibilities:

1) The swishing process is not effective enough and I need to immerse
2) The iodophor concentrate has lost it's effectiveness. It is 4 or 5 years
old but is still a very dark color and has been kept away from sunlight and
tightly capped. Is there any way to tell?
3) I have hidden gunk somewhere in the system

I did do one thing different on this third batch,  after adding the yeast
(liquid wyeast, I think #1056) I poured between two sterilized containers to
aerate. Can't remember the exact temperature of the wort but it was less
than 27C (80F)

Any suggestion, thoughts, comments, commiseration ?

A very thirsty Marc in Winnipeg.




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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:17:39 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: High FG in Strong Lager

Steve Jones <stjones at eastman.com> writes from Johnson City, TN

>I brewed the Fix Maibock at BigBrew, with an OG of 1.071.
>
>My mash schedule was a protein rest for 15 minutes at 130F, a 45 minute rest
>at 140F, then a 15 minute rest at 158F before mashing out, which was all
>within his recommended mash schedule.

>Now after 10 weeks, the gravity is only down to 1.026. I suspect that the
>140F rest was too low, and that the beta amylase wasn't active enough at
>that temp.

I think that you are right.  I don't have a solution for fixing it 
other than to drink it, but I used to brew lagers at this schedule 
and also ended up with similarly high FGs.  Then when MCAB2 had a 
tour of the Anheuser-Busch pilot brewery and I had a chance to pick 
the brain of the A/B brewer, I switched the 140 rest to 145-146 (with 
or without a previous rest), which I think was the A/B rest, and have 
consistently gotten far better attenuation.  I rest 30-45 minutes at 
145-146 and 158-160 each.

George originally recommended 40C/60C/70C or 50C/60C/70C rests based 
on old German record, I believe, but I think that part of this is the 
simple mnemonic simplicity of the numbers.  My experience has led me 
away from this.

Wish George was around to discuss this.  Wonder if he got high 
attenuation with his schedule.

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


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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 07:47:41 -0700
From: Marc Tiar <marc at tiar.reno.nv.us>
Subject: Rookie question

But I'm not really a rookie.  Just need to check in with everyone on this 
one since my lager skills are rusty and unused so might need some tuning up.

I brewed an extract Mai Bock of my own design on Saturday - 8lbs DME, .5 lb 
10L crystal, some hops, etc.  Nothing too fancy.  Pitched a smack pack of 
Wyeast Munich Lager yeast after chilling with a copper chiller, and put it 
in the fridge (in a cornie keg) at about 48 degrees F.  I aerated my usual 
way - the activity of pouring from kettle to cornie, plus vigorous topping 
off.  Very frothy.  It still sits with no visible signs of fermentation.

The yeast was manufactured back in April, and I was hesitant to buy it, but 
really needed it and didn't have time for a starter, etc....the usual 
excuses.  I smacked it about 28 hours before pitching and it was inflated 
as fully as I've ever seen them get, so I didn't really have any fear at 
the time.  Now I'm a little worried that there's nothing going on in there.

Any thoughts?  Repitch?  Too cold too soon?  Everything is OK?  I don't 
remember a lager taking this long to show fermentation activity, but I've 
never had a fridge before and just relied on winter temps to take care of 
this.

Thanks to all.
Marc



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 11:51:57 -0400
From: mohrstrom at humphrey-products.com
Subject: Save a Few Bucks on Your AHA Membership

"Beer Phantom" -

Scare up your friendly (well, some of them are...) neighborhood AHA
Liaison, and they will help you save five bucks on your membership (and the
price of a stamp!)

If you care to disclose your location (Skull Cave Brewery?), I can help you
find a Liaison near you.


Mark in Kalamazoo



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 11:00:02 -0500
From: Brian Lundeen <BLundeen at rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: RE: Yes, it's about Sean and the AHA (sorry)

Paul Kensler writes:

> With all the witty banter flying around regarding the
> "quit the AHA" thread, I'm dying for someone to come
> back with "Jane, you ignorant slut". 
> 

Paul, you ignorant, misguided slut! Sean had already called Mark blind,
stupid, ignorant, fat, retarded, and in private, a coward and a jackoff.
Near as I can figure, this probably exhausted Sean's vocabulary. Now you've
gone and given him another word to use. What were you thinking? ;-)

Here are my thoughts on this issue, Sean. As Bill Wible points out, it is
debatable whether the AHA should have suggested you approach businesses on
their behalf. However, to extend that to the level of abuse you hurled at
the AHA, and to malign the many members who see the benefits of this
organization as rhetoric-swallowing simpletons was entirely uncalled for. I
did not find anything the least bit constructive or credible in your rants.
You call the AHA organization bloated, without offering any sort of proof of
this claim other than your own "experience" with associations. You claim 7
months of brewing experience has caused you to outgrow Zymurgy (and I must
credit Jim Bermingham for one of the funniest posts in a long time on that
topic). See the difference there, Sean? Jim's post was funny, yours was just
laughable. And in all your ranting, you offered no suggestions as to the
kind of services that the "average homebrewer" (for whom you seem to have
appointed yourself official spokesperson) would benefit from. 

A couple of years ago I started a homebrew club up here. A rather ungrateful
lot, I might add, I mean I started the darn thing, and have served on the
executive for two years, and the buggers STILL charge me dues! But I
digress. As a result of that, I made the acquaintance of Gary Glass, who has
proven to be a very helpful correspondent in that time. This year, in my
capacity as President of the Amateur Winemakers of Canada, I asked Gary for
some brew prizes for our upcoming national competition. No problem, Gary
arranged to have some nice AHA clothing and books sent out to me, which we
will use to reward out national brew champ and best beer entry brewer. And
you know what? I'm not even a member of the AHA, and our competition isn't
even an AHA sanctioned event. As far as I can tell, these are just good
people doing good things for brewers. Many respected voices in this forum
support them, and it's time I did likewise. I am going to join the AHA (in
spite of the fact that they can't spell Canadian ;-)) and encourage my
fellow howling savages (as Jack Schmidling christened us in another forum)
to do likewise. Thank you, Sean, for motivating me to do the right thing.

Yes, I'm sure your Really Big Brain(tm) will shred the logic of my posting;
and you can call me blind, stupid and ignorant (just don't call me late for
happy hour). At least I'll feel like I'm being part of the solution, whereas
you, sir, are most certainly part of the problem.

IMHO. 

Cheers
Brian Lundeen
Joining the AHA at [314,829] aka Winnipeg


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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 12:11:20 -0400
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: high FG lager

Steve Jones has an issue with high FG in the Fix maibock.

Adding amylase enzyme to your lager is a good idea to drop
the FG.  It would be even easier to grind up a Beano tablet
and add it to the fermenter.  But I would also warm the
fermenter to room temperature before adding the enzyme,
since it may not work at lagering temps.  Consider it a
diacetyl rest.

You may also just not want to drop it any more.  The problem
with adding enzymes to the fermenter is that you'll likely
go from too sweet to too dry.  It wouldn't shock me to have
your maibock drop to an FG of 1.012 or something--too high
for the style IMHO.  Maybe you could add the enzyme to half
of the batch and blend them back in the keg?

- --

Marc Sedam
Chapel Hill, NC



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:57:11 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net>
Subject: how much CO2 is produced

Jens the Alt/Koelsch/Pils Braumeister 
at www.braulotse.de tells me :

als Richtwert kannst du bei ca. 12 % Stammwuerze und 
einem "normalen" Endvergaerungsgrad ( um die 80% Vs )
von ca. 3,5 kg CO2 pro Hektoliter ausgehen.

My loose translation :
As a rule of thumb if you start with an (OG) of 12%
(I'll let someone do the actual conversion to OG
but 12 degrees is about 1.045 - 1.050 IIRC) and a
normal fermentation with about 80% attenuation,
you get about 3.5 kg CO2 per hectoliter.

You can tour Jens' brewery on my site at :
http://www.bodensatz.com/staticpages/index.php
?page=20020430221423680
(join the above 2 lines into 1)

and you can see his CO2 reclamation unit, 
among other things

cheers,
 -Alan


- -- 
http://www.bodensatz.com/
The Beer Site


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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 15:20:05 -0400
From: Jake Isaacs <rjisaa0 at uky.edu>
Subject: HBD mailing list vs. forums

Just wondering what reasons you folks have for using this mailing list 
vs. the forums (hbd.org/forums).  I check both regularly, but get a lot 
more use out of the forums (especially since trolling has been virtually 
eliminated).  The forums get you more viewpoints much faster.  Plus you 
can just stop reading a thread when it's no longer interesting to you 
(personally I can't stand wading through this AHA defense vs. pointless 
bitching thread just to get other useful info).  I'm certainly not 
suggesting anyone stop using this mailing list, just thought some might 
not be aware of the other resource.



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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:30:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: mwb at brewer.net
Subject: PNW Trip Tips

Returned last Saturday from a trip home to visit family
and friends in Oregon, and thought I'd pass along a few
tidbits of what was out there for the brewing masses. 
We were gone for two weeks so I had plenty of time to
hit a few "stops" along the way:

Portland Brewing Company (http://www.portlandbrew.com):
    We hit the NW 31st location twice - it was a
favorite in the past when I lived out there.  Not the
typical burger & fries pub grub - try the Dungeness
Crab dip for a fun treat.  Drank the Woodstock IPA,
Oregon Honey Beer, and their summer Weizenbier.  The
IPA is not the typical PNW C-hopped IPA, and is oak
aged.  Quite nice.  I also have to recommend their
Weizenbier - full of good clove / banana flavors but
not heavy on the palate.

BridgePort Brewing (http://www.bridgeportbrew.com): 
Went to the old brewhouse location on 13th, where you
can get great pizzas and the fine BridgePort ales. 
Their IPA is a great beer - and they serve it on draft
and handpull.  The cask version is excellent.  On a
nice evening you can sit outside on the old loading
dock.

Mt. Hood Brewing (http://www.mthoodbrewing.com):  Good
pizzas and decent beers.  Kinda pricey compared to most
of the Portland pubs, but if you're going skiing on Mt.
Hood this pub is just off US 26 and is a good stop.

McMenamins (http://www.mcmenamins.com):  Many
locations, and many different beers.  We went to the
Greenway Pub by our old apartment.  Hammerhead Pale Ale
 has been a favorite of mine for a long time and still
is.

Rogue Brewing (http://www.rogue.com):  Good pubgrub and
the amazing beers from John Maier.  Brutal Bitter is
outstanding on tap as is Old Crustacean.  A real
surprise to me was the Kell's Irish Lager.  A great
session beer for those who are not into the highly
hopped beers they serve.  You can also play blackjack /
video poker (legal too - the games are regulated by the
Oregon Lotto commission) in the Card room at the
location on Bay Blvd.  The best part though is the
Rogue "Bed & Beer".  For $80-$120 you can rent a fully
furnished 1 or 2 bedroom apt right above the pub, get
two free logo pints and 2 22 oz bottles of Rogue beers.
 The apts are quite nice - the only downer is the view
is not great.  Also don't forget the brewery itself
just across the Yaquina Bay bridge where they have a
tasting room and another restaurant.

M. George
Glen Carbon, IL


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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 15:47:14 -0500
From: MOREY Dan <dan.morey at cnh.com>
Subject: Liquor to Grist Ratio?

Just interested in the latest thoughts on water to grist ratio.  Usually I
use 1.33 quarts per pound of grain.  This is the ratio that David Miller
recommended in his first book.  Recently I recall reading that many
commercial brewers use between 1.5 to 2 quarts per pound of grain.

Recently I have began to change my ratio based upon the style of beer.  For
Lambics and Wits, I have been using about 1.75 qt/lb and for stouts closer
to 1 qt/lb.  But for most beers I am around the 1.33 qt/lb ratio.  For the
most part, I haven't noticed any significant differences with thinner
mashes.  I definitely believe there are advantages to a thinner mash for
Lambics because of the unique mash schedules.  Thicker mashes have seem to
be less efficient (less extract) and they drop in temperature faster due to
less thermal mass.

Hopefully others will be interested in this discussion.

Cheers,
Dan Morey






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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 18:27:10 -0300
From: "Mauricio Wagner" <mwagner at alean.com.ar>
Subject: counter pressure bottle filler

Hi folks!!
I'm writting from Argentina and trying to build a counter pressure bottle
filler.
I would like to receive some help from experienced users in order to choose
the best design. On the net I found a couple of schematics and I would like
to know wich one to use (Pitchard's or... ?) or to receive info about web
sites were I can find more schematics.

Privates messages are welcomed, pictures, photo, drawings, etc....

Best Regards,

Mauricio Wagner
Buenos Aires - Argentina





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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 21:38:20 -0400
From: Jeff & Ellen <JeffNGladish at ij.net>
Subject: Geo. Fix Maibock attenuation

Steve Jones wrote that his Maibock stopped at 1.026 after ten weeks and 
wondered if the 140 mash rest was too low.

I brewed the same beer on Big Brew Day (May 4), used a slightly higher rest 
at 144 for 45 minutes (as well as rests at 105, 136, and 158).  Three 
decoctions on a very hot Florida day almost did me in, but the beer turned 
out great.  Fermented with 2124 Bohemian Lager yeast at 48F for 3 weeks, 
then 38F for a week, then kegged at 1.017 (from an OG of 1.071).

It has been my experience that the amount of yeast has more to do with the 
attenuation than any other factor.  I made sure I built up a large culture 
for this batch.

In the past when I've had trouble with attenuation I've had good results 
with adding enzymes to the fermenter.  You may want to raise the temp back 
up to the upper 40s or even higher to reawaken the yeast.

Jeff Gladish, Tampa, Fl.



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