HOMEBREW Digest #4085 Tue 05 November 2002


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  yeast question ("greg man")
  Newbie Introduction (Teresa Knezek)
  Burton Ale Yeast - good for higher temps ("John Maylone")
  Hansen Style Keg Post (HQ BIC)" <dmiller at hq.dcma.mil>
  Re: Min / Max time for starters (Martin_Brungard)
  Re: Newbie Questions (Fred L Johnson)
   ("Nichols, Josh")
  Re: Newbie questions (Matt Comstock)
  Beer in Anchorage? (KevinBailey)
  Re: Newbie questions ("Mike Sharp")
  RE: Newbie questions ("Mark BitzMart") ("Hedglin, Nils A")
  High Final Gravity ("Hedglin, Nils A")
  Newbie Questions ("Beer Guy")
  Mark's Newbie questions (LJ Vitt)
  RE: Questions on suggestions for improving beer. ("Doug Hurst")
  RE: Rock Bottom Mug Club Cards, at your service! ("Erin Fay")
  Re: Newbie questionis ("Kent Fletcher")
  Stupid Carboy Tricks ("Mark E. Hogenmiller")
  unpredictable brew schedule (Jeff & Ellen)
  Preservatives in Spices (Mr john mcdonald)
  Good Beer in LA (tarzana)? (Steven S)
  Re: Too much wort aeration and too much yeast not good? (Dion Hollenbeck)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 01:48:16 -0500 From: "greg man" <dropthebeer at hotmail.com> Subject: yeast question Some one mentioned something about rousing the yeast after a week or so even possibly in the second fermenter? Provided of course that there is only co2 in the fermenter and not oxegen. They claimed the added benefits were to get the yeast back in suspension to clear up the left over haze (if there is any) and also to further the attenuation? My questions are, has anyone else tried this technique? Does it work? The reason I ask is that this sounds similar to some old english brewers who used to go out an "walk the keg" rolling it around on the ground to rouse the yeast. I've read a little about it but was wondering if we could debate the possible pro's an con's to using this trick? I would think that you would want to make sure that there was no oxygen present unless that was your intention as some have stated about a few professional breweries. Any way opinions? comments? guesses? But most of all I'm hoping to hear from any who have done it an studied the results, thanks...............Gregory A. Getman Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 22:11:16 -0900 From: Teresa Knezek <teresa at mivox.com> Subject: Newbie Introduction Hi! I've been lurking on the list for about a week, and just thought I would introduce myself... My name is Teresa and I live up in Fairbanks, Alaska. Homebrewing seemed like a great winter hobby, and after spending a week in England drinking cellar-temperature, non-CO2'ed "real ale", the thought of being stuck with cold, fizzy American beer was just more than I could bear. So I ran out and bought a homebrewing starter kit the week after I got back. I just bottled my first batch of homebrew... I "doctored" a Brewers' Best Irish Stout kit (added some fresh-brewed espresso, and used molasses for priming sugar...), and now I have to sit and wait and wait and wait to see how it turned out. (Do you ever get used to the waiting part, or is it torture after every batch?) I was going to name it something to do with Thanksgiving, since I figure that's about when it will be really ready to drink... but then we had a 7.9 magnitude earthquake about 80 miles from my house today, so if the batch turns out worth naming, I'm going to call it "Seismic Stout." :-) Just curious though... after lurking a bit, I get the impression I'm one of -- if not the only -- female on this list... lol. Are "girl brewers" really such a rare breed, or have the others just not found occasion to speak up this last week? - -- :: Teresa :: http://rant.mivox.com/ "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." -- Harry S. Truman Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 01:10:02 -0800 From: "John Maylone" <mrkoala at netptc.net> Subject: Burton Ale Yeast - good for higher temps I thought I'd post an endorsement for White Labs' pitchable Burton Ale Yeast, WLP023. I live near the central California Valley and it gets oppressively hot here in the summer. This summer I brewed several 5 gallon batches from extracts while playing around with my own recipes. I am impressed by the performance of the Burton Ale yeast. My batches were fermenting at around 78 degrees in the peak of the heat and this yeast produced nothing that I would consider to be an off flavor..........on the contrary, I came up with a "keeper" recipe under these conditions. In the same environment I also tried some Williams 1335 British Ale II yeast and it did very poorly in the same temperature range. Regards, John Maylone Tollhouse, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 08:53:44 -0500 From: "Miller, Donald (HQ BIC)" <dmiller at hq.dcma.mil> Subject: Hansen Style Keg Post Last year I purchased a handful of 3-gallon kegs from a source in Texas. While the kegs were in pretty good shape, my kegging "smarts" are not. I decided to tear the kegs down and give them a very thorough cleaning. That is the point at which my kegging knowledge was lacking. I didn't realize that the parts were not easily interchangeable. The end result was a mixed batched of poplets with plugs with different kegs. After getting advice from an local expert, I now know that I have three kegs that use "Cornelius" style poplets with posts and three kegs that use "Hansen" style poplets and posts. The crux of my problem is that I need to buy some Hansen poplets for my posts but I'm having trouble locating a source. Does anyone have an idea of a retailer? E-mail replies are always welcome. Thanks in advance. Don Miller Manassas, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 09:27:46 -0500 From: Martin_Brungard at URSCorp.com Subject: Re: Min / Max time for starters I am a strong believer in using a good starter. The argument of not having the time to create a starter doesn't really pass muster with me. I may not know when I'm going to brew again, but I do have an indication of what beer style or yeast I'll be using with the next batch. That enables me to get my starter going well in advance. I have been stepping up the commercial liquid yeast packs using two successive 700 ml wort additions for a 5 gal ale batch. The second wort addition is added after the first has completed its activity. Of course I've been oxygenating for each step up. A good ale starter usually takes me about 4 days to mature. I usually put the starter in the refrigerator to settle out, allowing me to decant the poor-quality starter beer off. The minimum time required for an adequate starter will probably be highlighted by several people on the list. All kinds of factors are involved. The maximum time that you can hold a starter doesn't really have to be a factor though. Since I keep my starter in the refrigerator after its through its active phase, it will keep relatively fresh for several weeks. But, if I couldn't use the starter within a couple of weeks, I would decant the starter beer off the yeast cake and add another dose of fresh wort. But this time, I keep the starter in the refrigerator to reduce the ferment activity. The idea here is to nourish the yeast and keep them healthy, not grow more cells. With this approach, I'm betting that you could get a month or more of viable storage. The most important point here is that you probably know what yeast you're going to use for the next beer. Why not go ahead and get the starter going well before you need it. A few weeks or a month is not too long in advance to get your starter going. Martin Brungard Tallahassee, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 07:43:17 -0500 From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com> Subject: Re: Newbie Questions Regarding Mark Baich recent newbie questions, I offer the following: > 1. I sanitized the bottle caps by boiling them. Can I re-boil boiled > but unused caps next time? I just don't know how viable the seals > are and don't want to bother if they degrade with an additional > 5 min boil. You can reboil your caps to resanitize them. If you use the caps with the oxygen scavenger seals, don't boil these, as this destroys or at least decreases their ability to scavenge oxygen, although it wouldn't harm their ability to seal the bottle. I sanitize my caps with Iodophor just before they are used. Don't store caps in iodophor, because it degrades rubber. Some (many, most?) folks, including commercial brewers, don't sanitize caps at all, especially if the caps are coming straight out of the original packaging and haven't been collecting dust. > 2. My starter kit included a twin lever hand capper. When I capped > the bottles, I noticed that some of them had a circular indentation > in the inner ring probably because I exerted extra pressure when > pressing down. It looked like it provided a better seal so I made > sure that all of them had this inner ring by reapplying the capper. > Is this inner ring desired? The indentation is normal and will be variable in depth depending upon the bottle's opening. If you are using a mixture of bottles, you will see some variability. With highly carbonated brews, such as hefeweizen, the "inny" often becomes an "outy". If the bottle develops an "outy" on a beer that is not supposed to be highly carbonated, BEWARE! It may be the result of bottling too soon or of an infections and may be on the verge of exploding. > 3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing > until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this > problem? When I bottle, I use a wand with a spring valve at the end of the wand. The tubing and wand have been in iodophor, so I always "purge" the tubing at full throttle with the first ounce or so of the first beer into a sanitized bottle and discard. This gets most/all of the air out of the tubing and any residual iodophor. You may still get some air if it was hung up in the tubing or other paraphernalia (valves, connectors) between the container and the bottle, but this really isn't something to worry about. If you are concerned about these few bottles (or any bottles that didn't bottle "smoothly"), just put a rubber band around these as a reminder to drink these first. > 4. I plan to create labels for the bottles and read that > self-adhesive style printer labels would be difficult to remove. > Will plain inkjet paper secured with glue sticks be adequate? > And is sealing the label with hair spray the way to go to prevent > the ink from running? There are a gazillion ways to label your bottles, and you may get tons of opinions. I gave up putting labels on bottles long ago unless they were for gifts. I label the storage crate with a single label to identify the batch. For individual bottles being removed from the crate, I print small cardstock labels (4 per 4" x 6" card), punch a hole near one edge of the label, and attach the label as a flag to the bottle neck. I only label those bottles that are leaving the crate and going into the fridge. Eight labels last me an entire 5 gallon batch: one label for each of two crates applied with a glue stick and 6 labels for the bottles, reusing the labels until the batch is consumed. > 5. The wife and kids gave me dirty looks when they came back from > shopping and smelled the wort. With Thanksgiving right around the > corner, turkey fryers are going to be on sale, and I plan to > purchase one so they will be "thankful" when I start my concoction > outside. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a > device? If the pot you buy came with the burner, the pot will likely be stable on the burner--VERY IMPORTANT. If you intend to use a different pot on the burner, you will want to be very sure that it sits securely on the burner. Some burners have a raised rim which may or may not accommodate your pot. What stabilizes one pot may destabilize another. I prefer the low-to-the-ground burners over the ones I've seen that come with the turkey fryers. Think of lifting a full pot of wort, especially if you're brewing in a very deep pot like a converted keg--very heavy even with only 7 gallons of wort and very tall. - -- Fred L. Johnson Apex, North Carolina, USA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 08:51:26 -0600 From: "Nichols, Josh" <Josh.Nichols at us.gambro.com> Subject: I normally brew/boil wort in a stainless pot. Is there any problem with using an aluminum pot. I have found one that has a spigot built into the side. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 07:14:04 -0800 (PST) From: Matt Comstock <mccomstock at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Newbie questions Mark asked about several new brewer topics: Caps - I don't boil them for any length of time as I'm worried about the seal. Just like in food canning, the way I sanitize them is to heat the caps in a pot of water until the water JUST starts to boil, then I cover the pot and remove it from the heat. I've reheated caps that I've treated this way with no ill effects/poor seals. Don't know about the capper indentation. I've seen the indentation you mention but I don't worry too much - as long as the cap stays on. Never had a problem with loose caps. Air in the tubing- I run beer through the tubing (about half a bottle's worth) until the air pocket is gone. If I start with a hose full of water before I attach it to the spigot, that helps. If a pocket of "air" develops during bottling, it may actually be CO2 escaping the beer. No worries there. O2 is a problem, CO2 is not. Turkey Cooker - The best thing I ever did (well, brewing-wise) was to move to the propane burner / turkey fryer. While moving outside also moved the wonderful! smells outside, the best thing about it is not that you're outside. You can really speed up your brew day with a good burner. I can boil 7 gallons of water in 10-20 minutes. Try that on an electric stove. We use the burner for our canning escapades too, for the same reason. SPEED. But with the burner, you are a few short steps to going all-grain! Extract brewing is fine and you can make beer that tasts just as good as all-grain beer (although many may argue that). But all-grain is rewarding. You control your beer to a greater extent. Kind of like carpentry: you can buy ready-cut kits to make a bookshelf and put together a really nice well made bookshelf. But when you start from the lumber, you have more freedom in design, and for me, the process is more satisfying. Key attributes? Big burner. Propane tank. Big kettle. If it sounds like a jet engine when you fire it up, it'll do the trick! Labels - I've used inkjet paper/glue stick successfully. I hate trying to remove labels later. The glue stick glue comes off with water. That's a problem if you put bottles in a cooler and want the labels to stay on. But inkjet ink bleeds anyway, so any labels made that way are shot when immersed in water. I've never tried the hair spray trick. My wife uses gel. Gook luck and have fun and don't sweat the small stuff (too much). Matt in Cincinnati Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 09:48:45 -0600 From: KevinBailey at Contractor.BC.com Subject: Beer in Anchorage? I'll be spending a couple of days in Anchorage next week and was wondering if there are any can't miss brewpubs to experience while I'm there. TIA Kevin Bailey DeRidder, LA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 08:41:14 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Newbie questions Mark asks some basic questions: >1. I sanitized the bottle caps by boiling them. Can I re-boil boiled >but unused caps next time? I just don't know how viable the seals >are and don't want to bother if they degrade with an additional >5 min boil. Don't boil your caps. If you're really concerned about sanitation (as in the case where the caps were stored someplace unsanitary), you can use a sanitizer like Star San, or Idophor. I don't sanitize my caps at all. I've heard that if you're using oxygen scavenging caps (they have a metal polymerized getter in the plastic) then don't even get them wet...not too sure about that advice, though, as I can't imagine how liquid activates something that's embedded into the plastic, away from the liquid. All the getters I know of are activated with heat or chemically with hydrogen, or else they respire. > >2. My starter kit included a twin lever hand capper. When I capped >the bottles, I noticed that some of them had a circular indentation >in the inner ring probably because I exerted extra pressure when >pressing down. It looked like it provided a better seal so I made >sure that all of them had this inner ring by reapplying the capper. >Is this inner ring desired? > I doubt it it's desired, but it's also not really a worry either. My old prohibition capper does the same thing, but I believe it originally had a small magnet in there to hold the cap in place. Once the cap is sealed, it should be fine. >3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing >until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this >problem? Not sure what the problem is, but a pinch valve close to the end of the tubing will help you maintain your siphon between bottles. If you use a bottling bucket, with a spigot in the bottom, it's hard do see how you'd have problems. > >4. I plan to create labels for the bottles and read that >self-adhesive style printer labels would be difficult to remove. >Will plain inkjet paper secured with glue sticks be adequate? >And is sealing the label with hair spray the way to go to prevent >the ink from running? > Hair spray _helps_, but does not eliminate the running. Artist fixative spray also works, maybe better than hairspray. But I don't bother with either. Actually, lately I've been only labeling a few, and I use a laser printer to print them, and color by hand. This is a great job for kids, too! Glue sticks are ok, but I prefer using a little milk as the adhesive. Use a small paintbrush, and brush a tiny amount on the back of the label. Apply it to the bottle. You shouldn't be using so much milk that it wets through the paper, or causes the ink to run. The labels wash off cleanly, but stay firmly attached. >5. The wife and kids gave me dirty looks when they came back from >shopping and smelled the wort. With Thanksgiving right around the >corner, turkey fryers are going to be on sale, and I plan to >purchase one so they will be "thankful" when I start my concoction >outside. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a >device? Don't get the "jet" style. These are identified by the apparent lack of a burner. There is a pipe inside sticking up, and an orifice blasts propane into it. They are loud, and not very efficient, producing lots of carbon monoxide, soot and who knows what else. You also have very poor flame control. It's important to get the water boiling, but at least as important, if not more, to be able to turn the flame down to control the boiling rate once it is boiling. So, the kind you want will have a "ring" burner, looking either like a sort of cone shaped thing with a second piece fitted into it, with row of notches that let the gas/flames out, or it will be a single piece of cast iron with numerous holes around the top. The latter is preferable, but either will work. Finally, make sure the fryer has at _least_ a 30 quart pot. 32 is better. You want to be able to easily boil 6.5 gallons in order to be able to end up with 5.25 to 5.5 in the fermenter. I brew in my garage, using a pretty efficient propane two burner stove, and I love the smell of wort filling the air. But even so, it ends up in the house, too, and my wife rolls her eyes. But she doesn't complain too much, because she likes the result. If you brew indoors (like in a shed or garage) with propane, be cautious about carbon monoxide, leaky propane, oxygen consumption, etc. The turkey fryers use a lot of oxgen, and they can produce a tremendous amount of CO, because of their poor efficiency. Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 08:43:29 -0800 From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> Subject: RE: Newbie questions ("Mark BitzMart") Hi Mark & welcome to the fun & exicing world of brewing. >3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing >until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this >problem? I usually allow any overly aerated wort to drain into a bowl, then only bottle the wort once the tube is full. Also, if you're getting a bubble at the join between the plastic racking cane & the plastic tube, pinch the tube just below the cane for a second. I don't understand why it works, but pinching it will force the bubble down the tube & the joint section will fill with wort. >4. I plan to create labels for the bottles and read that >self-adhesive style printer labels would be difficult to remove. >Will plain inkjet paper secured with glue sticks be adequate? >And is sealing the label with hair spray the way to go to prevent >the ink from running? I've used glue sticks with good results. Easy to apply, easy to remove the labels afterwards. Haven't tried sealing the ink. But if the label is getting wet to cause the ink to run, it moisture might cause the label to peel off anyway. >5. The wife and kids gave me dirty looks when they came back from >shopping and smelled the wort. With Thanksgiving right around the >corner, turkey fryers are going to be on sale, and I plan to >purchase one so they will be "thankful" when I start my concoction >outside. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a >device? A sturdy stand is a must. You may be having up to 75 lbs on the burner, so look for one with legs made out of wide metal bands instead of rods or extendable metal piping. I'd think the extendable piping is probably worse than the rods since the whole weight of the kettle will be resting solely on the screws used to extend the legs. I spent a lot of time trying to find the highest BTU burner, but now realize that the one I got may be overkill. It certainly does heat up the water fast, but once it's boiling, I have to turn it WAY down so it doesn't boil off too much. For me (being 6'3"), finding the tallest burner was also important. The next burner upgrade I may do is to add an electric ignition as outlined in a Brew Your Own article a few months ago. Hope that helps & let us know how it turns out. Nils Hedglin Sacramento, CA [1978.7, 275.3] Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 08:53:44 -0800 From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> Subject: High Final Gravity Hi, I brewed a batch last weekend & racked it to secondary yesterday. I was able to keep the fermentation within the recommended range (66-68 deg), but it was done in 2 days. It started out with an OG of 1.046, but when I racked it yesterday, it had a gravity of 1.020. It's a Northern English Brown Ale & supposed have an FG of 1.010- 1.013. I'm assuming that it's not going to ferment much more since it was completely still for 5 days. Any idea of why the fermentation went so fast, but seems not to have fully attenuated? I used a 1 gal starter of White Labs English Ale yeast (WLP002). Thanks Nils Hedglin Sacramento, CA [1978.7, 275.3] Apparent Rennerian (anxiously awaiting my BJCP results) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 12:30:40 -0500 From: "Beer Guy" <beerguy at 1gallon.com> Subject: Newbie Questions Mark from Buffalo Grove has questions. I could reach right out and give you big sloppy kiss. After subscribing to the list for over a year and getting a lot of great feedback to *my* newbie questions, even to the point of having list members come over to my house and help me fashion equipment, I can finally give a little back. 1. Can I re-boil boiled but unused caps next time? Sure. The main thing to watch out for is that you died them out after boiling them and storing them. Otherwise you can get some rust developing, which only makes you worry, in violation of the First Rule of Homebrewing. 2. I exerted extra pressure when pressing down. It looked like it provided a better seal so I made sure that all of them had this inner ring by reapplying the capper. Is this inner ring desired? You haven't snapped any necks off yet, have you? When the edges are down, the bottle is capped. All you're doing with the extra pressure is pushing the magnet against the cap. But you also might push down too hard and bust off the neck of the bottle, so be careful if you like that 'look'. I'd also suggest not doing it, since it makes the top of the cap uneven, so I have a hard time putting the initials of the style on with a Sharpie, an easy and cheap way to keep your batches separate. 3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this problem? No, still happens to me. I imagine you could run the start of your batch into a bottle until the air is purged, then toss out the aerated beer and start filling from then on. As a novice homebrewer, you probably will not (asbestos suit being put on) notice the difference in the one bottle that had bubbles going into it (actually two, since it always seems to happen to me on the last bottle, too. Maybe the solution is to fill the first until the tubing is purged, then set that aside until it's the last bottle filled, so all the air is in one bottle (Christmas present for your brother-in-law who always seems to want to taste *your* homebrew, but never brings any beer himself?) 5. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a device? (Turkey Fryer) Mark, These are basically brewkettles co-opted into a life as a friar by poultry farmers and their marketing minions. They work great, except that you can boil much faster with them, so you have less time to read, "The complete Joy of Homebrewing" while you're waiting for your wort to boil on that hot plate in the garage. I'd suggest buying the largest size available, preferably over 5 gal capacity, so you can continue to use this if you make the transition to all-grain. And don't loan it to that brother-in-law, who without a doubt will fry a turkey in it. You've started a great hobby, Mark. And isn't it amazing how tasty the beer is that YOU made? This is something that many of us forget, that sense of wonder when you first find out that you can make WONDERFUL beer, in your garage, basement or kitchen. Welcome to brewing. Henry in Portage MI http://www.1Gallon.com http://www.DormBrew.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 10:27:28 -0800 (PST) From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4 at yahoo.com> Subject: Mark's Newbie questions In HBD#4084, Mark askes some questions: >First time brewer here with a few questions from my notes after >bottling my first batch. I have read the first 40 pages of >Papazian's book, looked at howtobrew.com (and a few other sites) >and googled this list, but could not find answers to the following: >1. I sanitized the bottle caps by boiling them. Can I re-boil boiled >but unused caps next time? I just don't know how viable the seals >are and don't want to bother if they degrade with an additional >5 min boil. I consistantly hear recommendations not to boil your caps. The claim I remember is the liner can come out. I never tried boiling myself. I sanitize with the same sanitizer I use on fermenters, bottles, racking tubes - Iodophor. Use whatever you are using as your sanitizer. Soem people don't sanitize caps. They are trusting them to be OK. >2. My starter kit included a twin lever hand capper. When I capped >the bottles, I noticed that some of them had a circular indentation >in the inner ring probably because I exerted extra pressure when >pressing down. It looked like it provided a better seal so I made >sure that all of them had this inner ring by reapplying the capper. >Is this inner ring desired? It depends on the capper. Some do this and others don't. There is not a problem with having the dimples. >3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing >until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this >problem? I would start the syphen over if you have a lot of air in the racking tube. One way to get the air out (I think it is easier to demonstrate than to describe in e-mail). When you are starting the syphen, make sure the liquid keeps going up hill. Air will stay above the liquid. As you suck the air out of the tube, lower the flexible tube into an S shape. Keep sucking air and lowering the tube. Sanitation issue: I start syphens by inserting a short 6 inch tube into the hose, that I can suck on, and remove after the hose is full of liquid. >4. I plan to create labels for the bottles and read that >self-adhesive style printer labels would be difficult to remove. >Will plain inkjet paper secured with glue sticks be adequate? >And is sealing the label with hair spray the way to go to prevent >the ink from running? >From what I read, glue sticks are fine. I quit labeling bottles, because it creates more work. Get them delabeled and leave them that way -- Yes, I do make exceptions. When I label, I use milk. >5. The wife and kids gave me dirty looks when they came back from >shopping and smelled the wort. With Thanksgiving right around the >corner, turkey fryers are going to be on sale, and I plan to >purchase one so they will be "thankful" when I start my concoction >outside. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a >device? If you ever want to have a kettle made out of a keg, it is helpful if the burner can support it. Suggestion: Have a seperate kettle for deep frying. Someone else asked about issues of cleaning after frying to make beer with the same kettle - Don't. ===== Leo Vitt Rochester MN Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 12:43:39 -0600 From: "Doug Hurst" <DougH at theshowdept.com> Subject: RE: Questions on suggestions for improving beer. Adrian Levi asked some questions in HBD #4083. No one has responded so I thought I'd try to address his concerns. "On boiling the wort: After dissolving 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 temperature. Or dissolve contents of tin into full volume of water, Boil, Cool, etc?" Either way works. You can boil a concentrated wort and add top-off or make-up water to get to the final volume. You can also boil the full volume. Most authorities suggest doing a full volume boil because it allows for less darkening of the beer due to the Mailard reaction. "On aerating: Aeration during fermentation with an aquarium air pump, presumably without "Air rock" attached. The air rock would be hard to sanitize by my way of thinking. Aerate for about 10 mins after fermentation has started to slow?" Yikes. If you can't sanitize the air rock, you'd never be able to use it, because it's always used in cooled, unfermented wort. I don't use one, but I think the standard way to sanitize them is by boiling in water for a few minutes. More importantly is the fact that you should NOT be aerating at the end of fermentation. This will oxidized your beer and create off flavors. Aeration should only be done after cooling the wort and before (or, I suppose, right after) pitching the yeast. Hope this helps, Doug Hurst Chicago, IL [215, 264.5] Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 13:21:02 -0700 From: "Erin Fay" <erin at aob.org> Subject: RE: Rock Bottom Mug Club Cards, at your service! Thanks for your comments and posts regarding your AHA Rock Bottom Mug Club cards. I've recently talked with the Rock Bottom Folks and here is the skinny: The first time your card is used, it must be activated through their system by filling out a short form, where the card is then magnetized through the system and the tracking can begin for your mug club points and the subsequent prizes. If your server isn't sure what to do with your card when you present it - you *may* just want to mention that it should be activated like any other Mug Club card. Then you're ready to eat, drink and save money! This was a very generous contribution from the Rock Bottom Restaurants and we are glad you all are giving them your support! Please keep using your discount so the Rock Bottom staff gets used to seeing them and you keep saving! Also remember to tip on the pre-discounted amount. Thank you for all of your feedback. You may contact Mark Snyder if you have questions at 888-822-6273 x 137, or email Marks at aob.org. Cheers! Erin Fay Membership Coordinator, Association of Brewers American Homebrewers Association Institute for Brewing Studies PO Box 1679 Boulder, CO 80306 (303) 447-0816 x 135 phone (303) 447-2825 fax erin at aob.org http://www.beertown.org Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 13:52:09 -0800 From: "Kent Fletcher" <kfletcher at socal.rr.com> Subject: Re: Newbie questionis Mark had a few questions (snip) "1. I sanitized the bottle caps by boiling them. Can I re-boil boiled but unused caps next time? I just don't know how viable the seals are and don't want to bother if they degrade with an additional 5 min boil." I have given up on boiling or otherwise sanitizing crown caps. It's the only part of the process that I'm not super careful about. I stopped after seeing some of my boiled caps rust on the edges, leaving rust on the mouth of the bottle. I have it on good authority that commercial brewers do not sanitze their caps, either. "2. My starter kit included a twin lever hand capper. When I capped the bottles, I noticed that some of them had a circular indentation in the inner ring probably because I exerted extra pressure when pressing down. It looked like it provided a better seal so I made sure that all of them had this inner ring by reapplying the capper. Is this inner ring desired?" You'll get that indent with a butterfly capper. The bench cappers I've used won't leave one. With a butterfly, if you don't get that ring you can't be sure that you've got a good crimp. "3. When I started to bottle I had trouble with air in the tubing until the second or third bottle. Any advice on how to avoid this problem?" I assume you're using tubing on a spigot (bottling bucket). Lift the end of the tubing above the level of the beer in the bucket BEFORE you open the spigot. The beer will fill the tubing, purging the air. Operate the spring valve on the bottiling wand and lower the end until beer just starts to run out, then let the valve close. "4. I plan to create labels for the bottles and read that self-adhesive style printer labels would be difficult to remove. Will plain inkjet paper secured with glue sticks be adequate? And is sealing the label with hair spray the way to go to prevent the ink from running?" Glue stick is fine most of the time, but labels may come off if the bottles are immersed. Hair spray may work, worth a try, but spray the labels BEFORE putting them on the bottles. "5. The wife and kids gave me dirty looks when they came back from shopping and smelled the wort. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, turkey fryers are going to be on sale, and I plan to purchase one so they will be "thankful" when I start my concoction outside. What are the ideal attributes when purchasing such a device?" Get one with a cast burner. Some of the cookers use a "jet" burner - high BTU's but a very concentrated flame, which can lead to scorching wort. If you can find a kit with a SS pot at a good price, so much the better. Kent Fletcher Brewing in So Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 16:16:41 -0800 (PST) From: "Mark E. Hogenmiller" <hogenmiller at yahoo.com> Subject: Stupid Carboy Tricks This one is compliments of the Naval Safety Center Summary of Mishaps Message 31 October 2002: "Now for the real Halloween highlight, and this one needs no elaboration for sheer jaw-dropping, flinch-inducing terror. The task at hand was to remove a 1-inch stopper from a 5-gallon carboy, which in regular English is a glass jug or bottle. The stopper had gotten shoved down into the jug. The solution: compressed air, of course. Insert the hose and start pumping in some good old PSI's. The stopper lodges in the neck. Does it pop out? Yes, but unfortunately, it is accompanied by about a million pieces of glass from the exploding carboy. Multiple lacerations to every exposed square inch of leg, foot, arm, hand and face, three hours of surgery, a day in the hospital, and 22 more days before getting back to work." Mark Hogenmiller BURP Burke,VA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 20:03:41 -0500 From: Jeff & Ellen <JeffNGladish at ij.net> Subject: unpredictable brew schedule Mike in Monterey wrote, "I usually don't know that I will have time to brew until the night before or morning of brew day" and asked about yeast starters. Last Monday night I made a yeast starter for the weekend. It was completely finished and inactive after three days (Thursday night). On Friday night I stepped it up by pouring off the beer on top of the yeast and then adding some more boiled and cooled wort. It was perfect by Saturday afternoon. Lots of active yeast. My "Teach a Friend" brew had a good kreusen four hours after knock out. I think that if you made a starter and lost the opportunity to brew for a week this would still be a good option. A starter that is only a week or two old should be strong and healthy within 12 hours of re-starting. Of course, make sure your sanitation is good. Jeff Gladish, Tampa, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 17:08:44 -0800 (PST) From: Mr john mcdonald <freddytoliver at yahoo.com> Subject: Preservatives in Spices John Misrahi wrote, "Anyways, I boiled it for 20 minutes with some brown sugar and 2 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Chilled it, and pitched dry Danstar Windsor. Next day, no sign of life." - ---------- I once read that brown spices like nutmeg and cinnamon contain compounds that are fatal to yeast - use too much in your bread or baking and it won't rise. 4 TSP sounds like quite enough to do something like that. Freddy Toliver Streator, IL Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 21:43:24 -0500 (EST) From: Steven S <steven at 403forbidden.net> Subject: Good Beer in LA (tarzana)? A good friend of mine is stuck in LA for sometime and is missing the good beer selection we have in Atl GA. While I cant grasp the concept that our beer selection is that great (sweetwater and dogwood do produce some good beers) I am trying to find any beer stores in the Tarzana area with a great selection or maybe some small out of the way brewpubs that might be off the beaten path. Eateries with a good beer selection is also welcome. Steven St.Laurent 403forbidden.net [580.2,181.4] Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: 04 Nov 2002 19:27:30 -0800 From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen at woodsprite.com> Subject: Re: Too much wort aeration and too much yeast not good? >> G C writes: GC> When using pure oxygen, isn't it possible to over-aerate? GC> I mention this because in the October BYO, Ashton Lewis, master GC> brewer of Springfield Brewing Company and former brewing science GC> instructor at UC Davis, says this: GC> "Ideal oxygen levels are between eight to ten parts per GC> million. However, when you use pure oxygen you can get oxygen GC> levels exceeding 20 ppm. This means that you can overdo it if you GC> don't have the tools to measure oxygen flow and oxygen GC> content. I oxygenate using a carbonation stone inside of a corny keg (my fermenter) and push it up to 20 psi over an hour. I, too, wondered about overdoing it, and posed this question several years ago on the HBD. George Fix answered it this way (I am paraphrasing). Yes, it is possible, but not at normal atmospheric pressures. He went on to say that he had measured the DO level with a DO meter, and when under pressure, it was possible to get beyond the 20 ppm levels. However, he noted that when the pressure is released, the levels fall way below 20 ppm in a very short time. dion - -- Dion Hollenbeck Email: hollen at woodsprite.com Home Page: http://www.woodsprite.com Brewing Page: http://hbd.org/hollen '85 4runner '86 4x4 PU Return to table of contents
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