---

	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Ringwood yeast (ensmingr)
  Maturex ("Steve Alexander")
  Questions on suggestions for improving beer. ("Adrian Levi")
  Re: "...that dreadful Ringwood yeast." ("Sven Pfitt")
  Wort Spraying ("Romanowsky, Paul")
  Re: Permanently Marking Stainless/Glass &Fluid Gauges (GibbonsRR)
  Good ESB Recipe Anyone? ("Jim Dunlap")
  Re: "...that dreadful Ringwood yeast." ("Houseman, David L")
  Diacetyle removal.... ("Houseman, David L")
  Dubbel Fermentation (Sean McDonald)
  CASCADE DRY HOPPING ("Charles W. Beaver")
  Redhook (Scott Perfect)
  Split Rock 2002 HB Competition ("Houseman, David L")
  Re: General Flavor- Influencers in the brewing process (Larry Bristol)
  Ranking Improvements, ringwood ("Philip J Wilcox")
  Good ESB Recipe Anyone? ("trickard")
  Re: storing corny kegs (Dion Hollenbeck)
  Beer improvement \ diacetyl \ Redhook (Kevin Crouch)
  Cocoa Beans ("chris eidson")
  Measuring liquid volume in brewing vessels (David Towson)
  Oxygenation (David Towson)


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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 03:33:16 -0500
From: ensmingr at twcny.rr.com
Subject: Ringwood yeast

I agree with Jeff Renner that not all the Ringwood/Pugsley beers
have offensive levels of diacetyl (see:
http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/4082.html#4082-16 ).

Middle Ages Brewing (Syracuse, NY) makes a Ringwood/Pugsley beer
they call "Tripel Crown" that has so much diacetyl a single wiff
gives me a headache. In fact, all Middle Ages beers (except those
that are cask-conditioned) have excessive diacetyl. OTOH, the
Ringwood/Pugsley beers of Cooperstown Brewing Co. (Cooperstown,
NY), while unremarkable IMHO, do not have offensive levels of
diacetyl. Gritty McDuff's (Portland, ME) is another
Ringwood/Pugsley brewery and I quite enjoy their beers, which
have low levels of diacetyl. In fact, I never would have guessed
that McDuff's uses the same yeast as Middle Ages.

Cheerio!
Peter A. Ensminger
Syracuse, NY
Homebrewing: http://hbd.org/ensmingr




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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 05:49:09 -0500
From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Maturex

AJ asks ....

>The enzyme is sold as "Maturex L" and is now FDA approved for use
>in the US. Who will be the first homebrewer to try this out?

Answer: Andy Walsh, Jan 1998 !

Andy Walsh asked the same question in 1997 in HBD#2555.
Andy then obtained and used some in Jan 1998 HBD#2611
with a description.  (also see #2616 followup)

No flies on the 'jesters  AJ - we're 4.7 years too late !

Andy noted that Maturex was made by NovoNordisk and may only prevent, not
remove, diacetyl.   AJ adds that the FDA now thinks it's safe enough.  But
where to get some ?

 -S



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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 22:19:32 +1000
From: "Adrian Levi" <hoarder at optushome.com.au>
Subject: Questions on suggestions for improving beer.

Firstly Hi, I am a relativley inexperienced brewer in Queensland Australia.
Once previously subscribed to the HBD and inexperienced in that I previously
have simply followed the instructions on the kit beer tin.

Please clarify these following points:-

On boiling the wort:
After disolving the contents of the tin in water you boil the whole lot,
then add the make up water, cool (by immersion) and add yeast when it
returns to an acceptable temprature.
Or disolve contents of tin into full volume of water, Boil, Cool, etc?

On aerating:
Aeration during fermentation with an aquarium air pump, presumably without
"Air rock" attached. The air rock would be hard to sanitise by my way of
thinking. Aerate for about 10 mins after fermentation has started to slow?

Adrian



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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 08:32:51 -0500
From: "Sven Pfitt" <the_gimp98 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: "...that dreadful Ringwood yeast."

While I like Ringwood it is not one of my favorites, but I'm partial to
Belgain beer.

The only brew I have made with WY1187 (Ringwood) was a clone of Hobgoblin 
Strong Ale from Wychwood Brewery (http://www.wychwood.co.uk/)in England.

I was very plesantly surprised with the finished beer. It was well
appreciated at a BBQ as well.

I plan on brewing it again.

When brewing with 1187/Ringwood, it is necessary to monitor your
fermentation temp closely. I kept mine around 64-66F during all of primary. 
I'm going to try for 62-64F this next batch.

rev Steven, -75 XLCH- Ironhead Nano-Brewery  http://thegimp.8k.com
Johnson City, TN [422.7, 169.2] Rennerian

"Fools you are... who say you like to learn from your mistakes.... I prefer 
to learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the cost of my own." Otto von 
Bismarck




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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 08:57:23 -0500 
From: "Romanowsky, Paul" <paul.romanowsky at siemens.com>
Subject: Wort Spraying

Robin mentioned that wort spraying is part of the Yorkshire Square
fermentation system and the Black Sheep Brewery uses this system.  That is
correct.  Also, Theakston's Brewery, makers of "Old Peculiar", use this
system too.  I was fortunate to tour both breweries a few years ago and they
were still using these methods in addition to modern methods.  We were
actually taken down right next to a Yorkshire square in Theakston's brewery.
Directly above the square there is no oxygen.  One member in the tour was
invited to take a deep breath directly above the square and promptly passed
out for a few seconds.  We had to catch him as he fell backwards.  I asked
if insects falling in were a concern and they said no since they will not
fly near the squares since they can sense that there is no oxygen present.
By the way, after the tour the few pints of Old Peculiar I had there were
the best I ever tasted, before or since.  Both Theakstion's and Black Sheep
Breweries are right near each other.  So, if you are ever in the UK and up
Yorkshire way don't miss a stop to tour both of these breweries.  You get
close to the action, the tour guides are great and the aromas going on there
are superb.  I hope to someday return.

Paul Romanowsky
CAD Administrator


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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 09:50:48 EST
From: GibbonsRR at aol.com
Subject: Re: Permanently Marking Stainless/Glass &Fluid Gauges

> From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com>
> Subject: FW: Permanently Marking Stainless/Glass &Fluid Gauges
> 
Work can be technical enough.  For brewing I like to keep it simple.  I 
filled my brew pot in 1 gallon increments using a 1 gallon jug.  Then using a 

nail punch, (flat head not pointed) I tapped in a dimple from the outside in. 

I also made sure the dimples lined up underneath the handle so I know where 
to look or feel.  It's easy, sanitary and always there.

For the glass carboys, similar drill.  I filled and marked in 1 gallon 
increments using a Sharpie.  I then emptied the carboy and scratched a line 
into the glass at each gallon mark using a carbide hacksaw blade.  The white 
scratches are easy to see and feel.

Good luck and Good brewing.
Rick in Scituate, MA


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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 07:06:25 -0800
From: "Jim Dunlap" <jdpils at attbi.com>
Subject: Good ESB Recipe Anyone?

Bill,

I have made a so called Redhook cline for many years.  While I cannot say it
is a dead ringer it is close.  i personally do not like the diacetyl levels
in Redhook ESB.  It is a love/hate type of brew.  However I do like ESB's
and it happens to be my wife's favorite style.  My recipe is as follows:

Malt - Target SG = 1.054
90% - 2 Row Pale or Pale Ale - I have used anything from Great Western to
DW-C Pale Ale.
10% Crystal 60 or Hugh Baird light crystal

Hops - IBU's = 35

Additions at 75 minutes, 15, and 1 to end of boil.

I use 50% tettanger and 50% homegrown fuggles or willamette from the store
for each addition.  For an 11gallon batch, as defined by the volume filling
a  secondary fermenter, I use about 1  ounces of each hop at the one and 15
minute additions.

Yeast - My favorite is Wyeast 1968 or White Labs English Ale and second
White Labs WLP029.  These produce some diacetyl, but not to the extent of
Redhook.  They actually crash their beer to keep diacetyl in.  Even though I
live 4 miles from Redhook I have never used their yeast.  By the way cask
ESB is outstanding.  Much less diacetyl.

Water - Here in Seattle the water has 20 ppm Ca and I add 0.5 grams of CaSO4
per gallon of sparge water.

I am not picky about ferment temp, but the lower the temp the cleaner the
beer.

Cheers,

Jim Dunlap
Woodinville WA




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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 10:10:14 -0500 
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Re: "...that dreadful Ringwood yeast."

I've had some wonderful beers made with Ringwood yeast...and many that I've
hated.  For the beers that I hated, there are two primary flavors which just
don't work well together: diacetyl and a woodiness/mustiness that I
perceived.  So why are some of these beers good and others bad (JMHO)?  I
believe it's as much the fermentation process as the yeast itself.  Most of
the beers that I found objectionable were brewed on Peter Austin systems
where Ringwood is the house yeast.  The open fermenters and recirculation of
the wort may cause this yeast to throw more and consume less diacetyl.  I
know one West Coast brewery that uses Ringwood and it uses a closed
fermentation system with totally different results.   Perhaps it's not the
yeast alone but how it's used as well that causes some of us to hate these
results?

Dave Houseman


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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 10:18:37 -0500 
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Diacetyle removal....

A.J. writes: 
"Speaking of diacetyl there is an article in the latest MBAA quarterly 
that talks about the enzyme alpha acetolactate decarboxylase which, as 
the name implies, decarboxylates (non oxidatively) acetolactate to 
acetoin thus bypassing the oxidative decarboxylation to diacetyl and 
subsequent reduction to acetoin (by yeast). The idea is to eliminate the 
diacetyl rest and krausening steps in maturing beer thus saving time and 
money. The enzyme is sold as "Maturex L" and is now FDA approved for use 
in the US. Who will be the first homebrewer to try this out?"

This was first (as far as I can tell) mentioned on HBD by Andy Walsh in
November 1997 when he writes: 
"Has anyone used Maturex L from Novo Nordisk Ltd to eliminate diacetyl? Is
this available to homebrewers anywhere? If so, what were the results like?
Or is this cheating? Andy. PS. This is an enzyme treatment (acetolactate
decarboxylase) that directly transforms acetolactate to acetoin, eliminating
diacetyl from the process. It is said to reduce beer maturation time by the
manufacturers."

So Andy did you ever obtain this enzyme and try it?  Does Nova Nordisk
provide this in homebrewer quantities?

Dave Houseman



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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 09:24:41 -0600
From: Sean McDonald <seanmc at irga.com>
Subject: Dubbel Fermentation

I have a dubbel that I've brewed and currently have it in primary
fermentation. It's a 5 gal. batch with a 5 lbs. two-row grain bill, 4
lbs. Munton's amber extract and 1 lbs of Dark Belgian Candy. I pitched a
Wyeast Trappist strain. The fermentation was fairly slow to start, which
I chalked up to a low temp. (approx. 64-68), but has been going fairly
steady for nearly 3 weeks. It didn't really reach a furious fermentation
(high krausen), but continues to bubble at once every 10-15 sec. My
questions is: is this common for a dubbel? How much longer should I let
it ferment? Should I raise lower the temp? What would the results be if
i ended the fermentation prematurely, or if I let it ferment too long?
Also, since it's in primary for so much longer than i expected, should I
go with a lengthy secondary or short secondary? Thanks in advance Sean
McDonald



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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 10:30:06 -0600
From: "Charles W. Beaver" <cbeav at netnitco.net>
Subject: CASCADE DRY HOPPING

I have dry hopped cascade for years and never been really satisfied with the
results. I tried making a hop tea by boiling .5 quart of water and adding 1
ounce of cascade pellets. This tea is allowed to steep for 5 minutes in a
closed pot. The hops are strained out and the tea added to the beer at
kegging. Without a doubt this gives me the best hop aroma and flavor of any
technique I've tried.



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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 10:16:28 -0800
From: Scott Perfect <perfect at marzen.llnl.gov>
Subject: Redhook

Bill wants to brew Redhook ESB

>From the Redhook website:

OG = 1.056
color = 12.4
29 IBU  Willamette and domestic tettnang
               a late hopping addition is used

Pale malt and 60 L crystal

I think 10% crystal is about right

The trick is using the right yeast, you want a fair amount of diacetyl.

>From my experience, Wyeast 1968 ESB will give you a dead ringer.


Speaking of diacetyl,  I got a good chuckle out of Steve Alexander's
reference to "that dreadful Ringwood yeast."

Just like the little kid pointing out that the emperor is naked...


Scott Perfect
San Ramon, CA



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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 13:21:16 -0500 
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject:  Split Rock 2002 HB Competition

This is will be the last reminder that there will be homebrew competition on
November 23rd, 9am-12ish, at the Split Rock Resort in the Poconos of
Pennsylvania in conjunction with their annual Micro Brew Festival.  Contrary
to the web information, judging will only be on Saturday.  Entry fees, $5,
will go to the Multiple Sclerosis charity.  This is a sanctioned competition
and will use the standard BJCP/AHA style guidelines judging all beer, mead
and cider styles.  Entries should be shipped to The Resort at Split Rock,
One Lake Drive, Lake Harmony, PA 18624, Attention Stacey Gould, for receipt
by November 20th.  Somehow I had this date wrong previously.  Two brown or
green bottles with no markings are required.  Any standard entry forms
identifying the brewer and the appropriate entry category/subcategory are
acceptable.  Any standard homebrew competition entry and bottle
identification forms are acceptable.   

Judges and Stewards will be needed and they should contact Stacey Gould
[spevents at ptd.net] or me to secure a position.  Judges and Stewards can hand
carry their entries if they pre-register with payment.  Checks should be
made out to The Resort At Split Rock.  Judges will receive an entry to the
beer festival or entry to the beer dinner for their efforts and need to
indicate which they wish when they commit to participate.  The BOS winner
will receive a complementary weekend for two at next year's Split Rock Beer
Fest as well.  But just entering makes you a winner for helping a good
cause.  More information will be available at the Split Rock web site
(http://www.splitrockresort.com/gba_homebrew.html).

David Houseman
Competition Organizer
housemanfam at earthlink.net


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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 14:03:12 -0600
From: Larry Bristol <larry at doubleluck.com>
Subject: Re: General Flavor- Influencers in the brewing process

On Tue, 29 Oct 2002 10:46:55 -0800, Victor.E.Franklin at bankofamerica.com 
wrote:

> I have deemed myself a lazy brewer. Not because I don't put in the 
> effort, but because my goal is to brew a great beer - with the minimum 
> effort required. I don't want to create an extra step in the process or 
> measure/ change something if it isn't going to enhance the quality of 
> the end product:
> ...<snip>...
> I want to  concentrate my beer-improvement efforts in the correct areas.

Based on the very good answers I have already seen to your request, you 
should already have concluded that there is no "correct " answer to your 
question.  EVERY action (or inaction) in the process WILL impact the 
finished product.

That does not mean to say that there is no answer to your question at all.  
The answer depends on the current level of your brewing skills, the true 
meaning of your stated goal ("to brew a great beer"), and how far you are 
willing to go to achieve that goal ("effort required").  "Great beer" has 
a different meaning from one person to the next.  It is YOUR definition 
of "great beer" and "minimum effort" that matter the most --- not mine, 
and not that of other brewers.

My interpretation of your question may be a little different than that of 
others.  I am going back to the basics.  Brewing follows the old 80-20 
rule, which I will word like this --- 80% of your goal can be achieved by 
controlling 20% of the variables.  These are the basics that must be 
achieved before it is worthwhile to look further:

#1) Sanitation:  If you do not maintain an adequate level of sanitation, 
you do not need to worry about your ingredients, your brewing process, or 
your equipment.

#2) Quality of ingredients:  You cannot make a "great beer" (regardless as 
to how you define this) if you do not use great ingredients.

#3) Sanitation:  Great ingredients will be dumped down the drain if you do 
not maintain an adequate level of sanitation.

#4) Recipe:   You cannot make a "great beer" if you do not combine those 
great ingredients in the proper proportions, in the proper balance, using 
proper procedures.

#5) Sanitation:  This really cannot be over-emphasized, although one can 
become paranoid about it.  All it takes is one infected batch, and you 
will never overlook this factor again.  OTOH, "great beer" was made for 
hundreds of years before anyone knew what sanitation even meant.

#6) Patience:  Take your time formulating that perfect recipe, and then 
acquire those quality ingredients to match.  Do not make up a recipe just 
to match what you have on hand, and be mindful when making substitutions 
because an ingredient you need is not available at your LHBS.  Do not 
rush the brewing; do not rush the fermentation; do not rush the 
conditioning.  The most important single ingredient in "great beer" is 
time (but like all other ingredients, TOO much of it can be detrimental).

#7) Sanitation:  Did I mention sanitation as being important?


I suspect that most brewers quickly get to the point where these basics 
are so routine that they do not even think about them any more.  Once 
these basic variables are securely under your control, you are within 80% 
of your goal.  It then makes sense to look at other factors.

Most of these factors have already been mentioned by others.  They are 
such items as full volume boil, hot break removal, rapid cooling, 
oxygenating the wort, adequate pitching rate, controlling the 
fermentation temperature, trub removal, preventing oxygenation after 
fermentation, proper conditioning levels, and so on.  Taking charge of 
these variables can get you 80% closer to your goal, achieving 96% (the 
original 80% plus 80% of the remaining 20%).

If you want to get even closer to your definition of "a great beer", then 
you have to address more obscure and/or technical factors.  Study the 
technical journals, perform experiments, and take charge of even more of 
the factors that influence the flavor and character of your beer.

Or is a 96% success rate "good enough".  Only you can decide when you have 
reached your goal.

Larry Bristol
Bellville, TX
http://www.doubleluck.com



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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 16:30:45 -0500
From: "Philip J Wilcox" <pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com>
Subject: Ranking Improvements, ringwood

I look at brewing like this, if you invest all your time and effort in
getting perfect yeast. you can screw up alot of other things and still have
great beer. Just look at the plethora of mediocre brewpubs we have in the
USA...

That being said. If your a beginner and your striving to be a better brewer
then you need to get one thing straight. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!!! Let the
anal-retentive side out of its box and write everything down. Write down
what you want to do, before hand. and write down what you did, as your
doing it. Sure, you can learn by making the same mistakes over and over and
figuring it out on your own. but there is nothing like reading something
new and being able to look back at what you did to see if that might have
been a factor.

1. Document everything. Recipes, Proceedures, then brew and record what you
do as you go, time's, temps, f)*# at &kups...
2. Massive quantities of healthy yeasts (this includes yeast starters,
proper airation/oxygenation, and proper nutritional suppliments) Note: I
did not say liquid over dry yeast. Dry yeast is easier to get perfect, it's
just your # of choices that suffers.
3. Sanitization, Sanitization, Sanitization you can't really get enough of
it. (biggest error of veteran brewers--we get lazy)
4. Wort chiller, if you don't have one, you need one--unless you live on
one of the Poles
5. Full size brew kettle 8g for a 5 g batch, 15g+ for a 10 g batch. your
boil should be really rolling, if the swells are not +/- 1" your not
boiling hard enough
6. Fermentation temperature control
7. Fresh ingredients, fresh hops, fresh malt, fresh extract--it all
matters!!!
ps. similar list to My good buddy Mark Tumarkin, but i prioritized
mine...after all, brewing is a Priority ;<)
- --------------

Ringwood
Is a great yeast IF you treat it well. Most brewies don't--and their beer
suffers. Basically, all their beers taste the same. If you abuse this yeast
it really asserts its character into the flavor of the beer. If you treat
it right, you can't tell what strain of yeast your using. To me ringwood is
as simple as that. If I can mildly pick it up in a pale ale or mild, OK, i
don't mind it. If i taste it in a stout--yuck!

phil wilcox
Poison Frog Home Brewery
Warden - Prison City Brewers
Home of the Largest National Mead Day party in the USA!!!




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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 17:12:53 -0500
From: "trickard" <trickard at psouth.net>
Subject: Good ESB Recipe Anyone?

I believe the 1st "Clone Brew " book  has Redhook ESB in it.

 ..Talbot ,  Seacoast home brewers club



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Date: 01 Nov 2002 17:04:37 -0800
From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen at woodsprite.com>
Subject: Re: storing corny kegs

>> Pat Babcock writes:

PB> A further warning regarding iodophor stored long-term in kegs: I
PB> store Iodophor in two of my kegs long term. In both cases, the
PB> plastic nut which holds the safety relief valve in place on the
PB> lid disintegrated. It is my supposition that the iodine attacked
PB> and embrittled the plastic, but who knows. In any case, the
PB> two-in-a-row coincidence, if that's what it turns out to have
PB> been, convinced me...

Not coincidence, as I had this happen to me as well.  Fortunately most
of my kegs (pin lock) do not have plastic relief valves, but kind of
like a pop top, although with a tab that stays attached to the keg.
These are a kind of non-reversible "pressure relief valve".  Exceed
the tearout rating of that little sucker and all the pressure is gonna
escape at once.

regards,
dion
- -- 
Dion Hollenbeck  Email:  hollen at woodsprite.com
Home Page:       http://www.woodsprite.com
Brewing Page:    http://hbd.org/hollen


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Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 17:36:47 -0800 (PST)
From: Kevin Crouch <kcrouching at yahoo.com>
Subject: Beer improvement \ diacetyl \ Redhook

I think most of the responses to the difficult
question about what is the easiest thing our fellow
HBD'er can do to make the greatest improvement in his
beer have been right on the money. 

The comment I liked best, however, was from Mark
Tumarkin who Suggests a strict regimen of inquiry
 -quaffing a lot of beer and paying attention to
details.
you must be able to define beer flavor profiles that
You enjoy, and to understand the factors that
contribute to these profiles. Beer appreciation, IMHO,
is by far the most important factor in brewing better
beers. You can build yourself the slickest brewery an
amateur has ever seen and have impeccable sanitation,
enthusiastic, well-coached, well-fed yeast, and make
beer after beer that you don't like. And if you don't
know what you don't like, or what you do, 
brewing enjoyable beers will be a matter of luck.  
Unfortunately,  what we're talking about here takes
many years and many batches, and is NEVER complete. 
Nevertheless,  it should be a top priority.

I've never used the Ringwood yeast, but I have to get
a kick out of discussion around diacetyl (or VDKs
which includes 2,3-pentanedione as Steve A has tried
so hard to educate us on).  It is  my perception that
the fear of VDKs seems to stem from two main sources.
First and formeost, it is an upredictable compound in
filtered, pasteurized, or otherwise poorly handled
beer, which is obviously the dominant form of
packaging and distribution. No brewer wants to sell a
raunchy beer, and since, unlike cask conditioned ales,
the brewer has no control what happens to the beer
once it leaves the brewery, it is very risky to send
beer out the door high in VDKs. 

Even if VDKs were stable in the finished product, I
would imagine that people are perceptive to VDKs at
drastically varying thresholds, and that appreciation
of them will vary at all these thresholds. Thus, for
breweries with profit motive as #1 consideration, it
makes the best business sense to eliminate it, thus
reaching the maximum amount of consumers possible. We
are not mere consumers; however, we are brewers who
control our own drinking destiny. In that sense, VDKs
are not defects any more than any other flavor can be
considered a defect if its presence is inappropriate
for the style. 

I appear to be mildly perceptive to VDKs, but love
what they do for a beer.  The key for me seems to be
that it should balance well with other flavors, and
not dominate.  It appears to accentuate malt, creating
a nice toffee character, and blend with hops,
seemingly contributing a more citrusy character. 
"Getting in touch" with VDKs has added a whole new
dimension to my own brews. 

This info might help Bill Sample who asks about
Redhook. A mild diacetyl character mixed with some
fruity esters is how I would characterize Redhook's
unique profile. Others might disagree, but the most
significant factors here might be yeast and
fermentation.  Hops and malt could be simply viewed as
providing the correct color, bitterness levels.

Kevin Crouch
Vancouver, Washington, USA



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Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2002 03:26:22 +0000
From: "chris eidson" <eidsonc at hotmail.com>
Subject: Cocoa Beans

Abe--

While I have not used coca beans, I have used milled cocoa in beer with much 
success.  If I did have access to cocoa beans, my first inclination would be 
to mill them with the rest of the grist, mash, sprage and boil just like 
normal.  I would treat it just like any other strong-flavored specialty 
grain (e.g., roasted barley). If making a stout, I would add .5 - 1 pounds.  
I use that because my one experience using chocolate was in a stout.  I 
added 2.3 oz of strongly flavored bakers cocoa (Penzy's) directly to the 
boil.  The finished was excellent IMO, with a distinct chocolate aroma and 
flavor.  Good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out.  BTW, I believe 
that Brew Your Own had an article on brewing with chocolate somewhat 
recently (last year maybe).  Hope this helps.

Chris Eidson
Birmingham, AL







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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 22:48:11 -0500
From: David Towson <dtowson at comcast.net>
Subject: Measuring liquid volume in brewing vessels

There have been a lot of good suggestions for solving this problem, but 
what the heck, I'll stick in my 2 cents.  I use a very simple device made 
from a piece of bare copper electric wire.  Functionally, it is the 
equivalent of a ruler or dipstick, but it costs nothing (assuming usual 
access to odds and ends), and it can stay in place throughout the brewing 
process.  Also, it can be calibrated in increments as small as you choose, 
depending on how much effort you want to put into making it.

      To make this measuring device, start with a wire about twice as long 
as the vessel is deep.  Bend one end of the wire into a hook so it can hang 
inside the vessel from the lip, and curve the excess wire to the side just 
before it hits the bottom of the vessel.  This is a just temporary bend to 
keep the wire from running into the bottom, and you will remove it 
later.  Now fill the vessel to capacity with a known amount of water (10 
gallons, for example).  Grab the wire with needle-nose pliers at the point 
where it just enters the water, and bend it to the right at a 90-degree 
angle.  The bent portion will now be parallel to the surface of the water, 
and just touching it.  This is the full-capacity marker bend.  About a 
half-inch farther on from this marker, bend the wire again so it is once 
more hanging down toward the bottom of the vessel.  Now remove one 
increment of water (say one gallon), and make another 90-degree bend where 
the wire just enters the water, only this time, bend the wire to the 
left.  Continue this process, each time removing one increment of water and 
making a new marker bend with the directions of the bends alternating right 
and left until you have marked off as many levels as you choose.  As you 
go, relocate the temporary bend as needed to make marker bends at the 
appropriate places, and to keep any excess wire from getting in the 
way.  When you have made as many marker bends as you need, leave a little 
tail hanging down, and cut off any excess wire.  You will end up with a 
shape that goes down, right, down, left, down, right, down, left, and so 
on.  This thing can be hung inside your boil pot and left there throughout 
the boil, making it very easy to monitor the starting volume, ending volume 
and boil-off rate.  When you're done, just shine it up with a scrubby, and 
put it away until the next time.  If you do different size batches, as I 
occasionally do, make two gauges.  I do mostly 10-gallon batches, so the 
one I usually use has bends to mark 13, 12, 11 and 10 gallons.  But I also 
made another gauge for five gallon batches that has bends at 7, 6 and 5 
gallons.  These gauges are durable, effective and cheap.

Dave in Bel Air, MD



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Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2002 23:10:39 -0500
From: David Towson <dtowson at comcast.net>
Subject: Oxygenation

In HBD 4081, Dave Clark asks whether it matters when wort is oxygenated, 
before or after pitching.  This is not my area of expertise, but I find it 
really hard to believe it could matter.  After all, we're only talking 
about a difference of a minute or so in timing.  And the amount of yeast 
added can't affect the specific gravity enough to significantly alter the 
absorption rate.

      But I would like to suggest that you use the Oxygen for your starters 
as well as your main wort.  It helps grow a good crop of healthy starter 
yeast, which gets the main fermentation off to a good start.  I've been 
very pleased with the results since I started doing this.

Dave in Bel Air, MD



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