HOMEBREW Digest #4220 Mon 14 April 2003


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  RE: slow fermentation ("Dan Gross")
  beer in storage (Randy Ricchi)
  Challenger whole hops (Randy Ricchi)
  quick disconnects ("Patrick Hughes")
  re: 'spurment with Coffee Stout ("Mark Tumarkin")
  RE: Challenger Hops ("Steve Jones")
  Re: Challenger hops ("Angie and Reif Hammond")
  SWMBO (johncampbell)
  From: Mark Beck <beckmk at whitman.edu>, 4HF and apology ("Doug A Moller")
  4 gallons not 5 / Where I brew / SWMBO (David Harsh)
  mending fences, congrats Sean ("Dave Burley")
  What's in the cellar? ("Eyre")
  Re: Wort chilling ("Michael O'Donnell")
  THANKS to HBD brewers carbonation advice, Heather Ale, (Michele Maatta)
  On what do you brew? (Was Where do you brew) ("Bowman Street Bewery")
  re. fruit saisons ("John Misrahi")
  Fruit Wheat Beer (Aaron Legge)
  First Brew: Turky Fryer? (Ryan Neily)
  Challenger whole hops (or plugs) ("Kevin Morgan")
  RIMS Chamber ("Lou King")
  Re: Experimentation APA ("Mike Maag")
  Inkjet & Laser Toner Cartridges ~ Save upto 89% (Zoey)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 05:01:09 -0400 From: "Dan Gross" <degross at starpower.net> Subject: RE: slow fermentation Mark asks about fermentation that seems to be slower than normal. Mark, First let me say that I don't really know the answer to your questions, but I will venture a couple of guesses. It is possible that with all grain mashes you are producing many more complex sugars than one has in an extract brew. My very limited understanding of the chemistry of the mash allows me to make some wild guesses... I would think that the complex sugars you have in the mash may take some time for the yeast to consume. I am sure there is a lot more to it than that, and hopefully others will be able to shed some light on it for you. I have brewed all grain for about 7 years and most of my normal gravity beers take a week or less in the primary if I pitch enough fresh yeast. While living in Gettysburg the local brewer would give me a pint jar of fresh yeast slurry from his fermentors and those beers would usually be done with the primary in 3 or 4 days. My most recent Belgian tripel took about a month in the primary due to the high gravity. Dan Gross Olney, Md Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 06:55:41 -0400 From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> Subject: beer in storage In Saturday's HBD, Bob Barrett gives us a list of his cellared beer. Bob, can you give me directions to your house, and let me know where you hide your key? Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 07:09:23 -0400 From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> Subject: Challenger whole hops Just Hops probably has them. The website says "1999" price list because they don't really keep the site up-to-date, so call them to make sure. I've ordered from them before, good company. Big selection. One thing; this site is pop-up city :^( http://www.angelfire.com/biz/justhops/ Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 07:43:32 -0500 From: "Patrick Hughes" <pjhinc at eriecoast.com> Subject: quick disconnects A question about quick disconnects was posted several days ago. US Plastics has the best price and selection, polysulfone and polypropelene, by far. They offer great service and lots of useful plastic items. 1/2" I.D. braided food grade poly tubing .21 p/ft compared to over .60 p/ft at Home Depot. Thanks to Steve Alexander for referring this site. These site is definately worth checking out. Patrick Hughes Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 07:41:05 -0400 From: "Mark Tumarkin" <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: re: 'spurment with Coffee Stout Darrell, Thought I'd send on the following that a friend emailed to me just yesterday. Let's hear it for Coffee Stout, indeed! It may do more than just keep you awake & happy. Mark Tumarkin Hogtown Brewers Gainesville, FL ps - The current thread about winter brewing is mind-'chilling'. Y'all have been confirming my belief that much of the country north of here is uninhabitable for a good part of the year. North FL is as far North as this boy wants to live. If I want to see snow, I'll come for a short visit .... but not on one of those outside brew days. Maybe we can sit inside by a fire & drink some Winter Warmer or Imp Stout? I brew outside; in the winter it's comfortable, in the summer ....well, I just try to stay in the shade. EXPERIMENTAL 'COFFEE COCKTAIL' TESTED AS WAY TO LIMIT STROKE DAMAGE April 10, 2003 American Heart Association DALLAS An experimental drug delivering the potency of two cups of strong coffee and a mixed drink has been shown to limit stroke-induced brain damage in animals. Now, this agent has been demonstrated to be safe in a small pilot study of ischemic stroke patients reported in today's rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. This safety study is a crucial prelude to testing the effectiveness of the combination in patients. In previous studies in rats, the size of brain damage was reduced up to 80 percent when a combination of caffeine and ethanol, called caffeinol, was administered within three hours after an artery supplying blood to the brain was blocked (ischemic stroke). Those studies demonstrated that the combination of caffeine and ethanol may reduce the amount of damage after stroke. Neither caffeine or alcohol offered protection alone, but the combination was protective, says senior author James C. Grotta, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the stroke program, University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas. In this study, Grotta and colleagues sought to determine the safety and tolerability of caffeinol in humans. Researchers administered the combination to 23 stroke patients (16 women, average age 71). The patients represented a diverse racial mix: nine white, nine black, four Hispanic and one Asian. Our goal was to see if we could safely achieve the same blood levels of caffeinol that we achieved in our animal studies, he says. We discovered that we could use even lower doses than we used in the animal studies and achieve the blood levels that were neuroprotective in animals. Moreover caffeinol, which is given by infusion, can be safely administered to patients who are also receiving clot-busting treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Eight patients received both caffeinol and tPA. One patient with a very severe stroke who received caffeinol and tPA suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding within the brain), but Grotta says an independent safety officer concluded it was not related to caffeinol. The first set of four patients were given low-dose caffeinol (caffeine 6 milligrams per kilogram plus ethanol 0.2 grams per kilogram). That dose did not achieve the target blood level, so the dose was increased (8 mg/kg caffeine and 0.4 g/kg ethanol) in the next group of 19 patients. That achieved target blood levels, he says. However, Grotta cautioned that the ethanol level may need further adjustment because a patient with a history of heart disease developed reversible heart failure at that dose level. It is unclear how caffeinol works to protect the brain, but it is being studied. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial is needed to determine the neuroprotective effect of this combination. In addition, Grotta plans a study that will combine caffeinol with thermo-cooling of stroke patients. Other studies have suggested that cooling the brain can limit stroke damage, and Grotta says that combining cooling and caffeinol may extend that protection. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 08:12:46 -0400 From: "Steve Jones" <stjones1 at chartertn.net> Subject: RE: Challenger Hops Jeff, Stout Billy's (http://www.stoutbillys.com/) has Challenger plugs listed on their site. However, I'm not sure if they are actually available. They also have Mittelfruh plugs listed, but a few months ago I asked if they had any, and they said that they have been unable to get any for several months now. Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 08:12:37 -0400 From: "Angie and Reif Hammond" <arhammond at attbi.com> Subject: Re: Challenger hops Jeff, A good source for leaf hops is http://www.myhomebrew.com They have UK Challenger both leaf and pellet. They also have another web site that focuses on just hops with a wider selection. The price list is dated 1999, but I have bought from them more recently. This is where I get my Spalt leaf for making Alt http://www.angelfire.com/biz/justhops/index.html NAJASC Reif Hammond Durham, NH Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 07:22:19 -0500 From: johncampbell at comcast.net Subject: SWMBO Check out Rod Peterson's history of SWMBO here http://www.woodbutcher.net/swmbo.htm He has the most complete answer I have found to date. Feel free to email me off list if you have other references that are interesting. I collect this kind of trivia. Cyserman Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 07:23:14 -0500 From: "Doug A Moller" <damoller at intergate.com> Subject: From: Mark Beck <beckmk at whitman.edu>, 4HF and apology Mark, You may need to aerate your wort. When you brewed with extracts did you do a partial boil then add water? When you add water after the boil you are aerating your wort, but since you are doing full wort boils you will need to aerate your wort to get the best fermentation results. Be sure to aerate when you pitch your yeast! From: "-S" <-s at adelphia.net> Subject: re: CO/the boil What are you referring to with 4HF? And I apologize for my remarks on chloramines removal. If you use a carbon filter it has to be a special one built for chloramines removal! Doug one who drinks to little Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 08:28:07 -0400 From: David Harsh <dharsh at fuse.net> Subject: 4 gallons not 5 / Where I brew / SWMBO > Steve Hanlon wrote: > "my wort has been fermenting since the 4th in 4 gallons, not the full > 5. > seems i got distracted when my 2 yr old son came home. in my rush to > get > it out of the way, i forgot to add the final gallon. In my early brewing days I was making an "amber ale" from a 4 gallon recipe - but I followed all the standard procedure of extract brewing for a 5 gallon batch. The end result was a "red ale" that was extraordinarily popular among those who weren't big fans of my other brews. The beer was fine. Just unimpressive. So don't worry. Taste it when its done fermenting - you may like it as is and you may decide it needs the final gallon. - ----------- For several years I brewed on my deck - never rained out but chilly occasionally. The good part was that the head space underneath is about 10 feet owing to my house being on a hill and having a walk out basement. Chilling after the boil was about a five minute affair with that much pressure to drive the hot wort through the chiller. I've recently obtained an apartment stove that my keg fits on top of nicely and have a kitchen hood installed over it - works fine. Spousal issues were minor as I installed this where my boiler used to be in "my" workroom. No CO (and I have a digital meter), but there's no sink in that room of my basement or water supply, so I'm in the process of adding it. Its always something.... - ----------- My wife tolerates my brewing, but does require a belgian ale - either a dubbel or belgian strong dark ale - to be available at all times. I've made several good strong dark ales and they are always commandeered as private stock. I plan on entering a beer and find the keg empty. The good part to this is that there are several commercial beers she finds acceptable. The bad part is they are Unibroue's Tres Pistoles and Avery's The Reverend.... Maudite will do in a pinch as will most trappistes. As least she hasn't developed the same enthusiasm for Rochefort or Westvleteren! I understand Unibroue is going to start 20 liter keg distribution in our area soon. I'll be there! Dave Harsh Bloatarian Brewing League Cincinnati, OH Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 09:32:11 -0400 From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net> Subject: mending fences, congrats Sean Brewsters: What I want to know is how Jim Bermingham knew I waited until it got to 105F here ( which it almost never, if ever, does) before I started mending my fences. Actually that's winter work and all done. Spraying my grapevines, now that's a different matter. - --------------------- Sean Smith, my son's friend since childhood and producer of beer for my son's recent wedding last October, just won a first place for his Dark Steam in the American Lager category of the Bay Area Mashers contest in Berkeley CA. This was one of the beers served at the wedding. Congrats. Sean Keep on Brewin' Dave Burley Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 09:51:28 -0400 From: "Eyre" <meyre at sbcglobal.net> Subject: What's in the cellar? Hi all.. this post is in response to the question of "what's in the cellar" in terms of beer for the summer.. Being as it's just barely in the 40's here in CT for what seems like the first time all winter, I reply that it's too cold in the basement for anything. My beer has it's own bedroom on the second floor of the house! What lucky beer.. ;) In the summer, they'll all get moved into the basment, however, as the upstairs get's way too hot. But, to survive that hot summer, the beers that will refresh me include an Oatmeal stout, a basic Brown ale, (all in bottles..). A SNPA clone being bottled this weekend will also join those. Outside the beer realm, 4 gal. of fermented S&S cider will join them in the fight to battle thirst, as will (maybe.. I'm still pondering this one..) a 2 gal. experiment with Milk Wine. As I said.. that last is a big maybe right now.. but I couldn't resist trying the recipe. I plan to brew right through the summer, however.. so the list will grow, and as they are consumed, will also shorten. But then, that's the best part.. :) Mike Please note my new email address: meyre at sbcglobal.net Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 11:17:05 -0700 From: "Michael O'Donnell" <mooseo at stanford.edu> Subject: Re: Wort chilling At 12:36 AM 4/12/2003 -0400, you wrote: > > For those of you that brew outside in below freezing weather, how do > > you chill your wort? This past winter I tried brewing out in the cold, > > then my garden hose froze solid while I was trying to chill the wort A bit ironic that you have trouble cooling your wort because it is too cold! Where I live, we have serious water shortages, so I have always been reluctant to free-run potable water through my chiller. Instead, I use a bucket with about 10 gallons of ice and use a sump pump to recirculate it through my chiller. If the snowbanks are towering over your faucet, you could use a couple of gallons of warm water to start so that the hoses don't freeze... then add shovels full of snow to the bucket to bring the temp down. Since you always have a hot-water stream coming out of the kettle, you should be able to keep the temp of the circulating water at whatever temp you need to avoid freezing, but still get your wort temp down lickity-split. mike Monterey, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 15:16:13 -0400 From: Michele Maatta <mrmaatta at mtu.edu> Subject: THANKS to HBD brewers carbonation advice, Heather Ale, I just wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH for all the QUICK responses to my dilemma of priming with malto-dextrin! I opted for the "syringe & re-cap method. In order to ensure enough head space and NOT have to decant any precious "Nectar of the Gods" to waste I cut the suggested 2 cups of water to priming sugar to one, did the math on the number of bottles, and got a syringe from my local drug store for free and uncapped and injected each bottle with 5 ml of this solution. I had two different kinds that differed in amount of priming sugar, so I did this twice All total I fixed 99 bottles of beer!!! (sounds like an old kid's song i used to sing!!) I will give a report on the quality, just in case some other fellow brewer falls upon these hard times!!! But Thanks everyone for the input. Jodie Davis asks about Heather Ale~~ Jodie, I have not tried this yet, but have wanted to. Please let me know how this goes when you DO brew this. I have been toying with the idea, as my experience in brewing grows. Jason Poll says ~~ Outdoor chilling in the Northwoods, and Airborne Amber Ale is another story~~ Since Jason is my brew buddy, I couldn't let this one go!!! ;-) He makes a VERY GOOD POINT about the brew buddy! It is a great idea to find a brew buddy because you have a check an balance on things. One brewer can remind you that it is priming sugar in your bucket BEFORE it gets dumped down the drain!!! A couple extra hands always is a bonus in brewing when one has to muscle around a brew kettle of 10 gallons of wort. We did opt for the snowbank method with 2 of us packing snow regularly about the keg in an ambient temperature of about 15F. It did take about 40-45 minutes. However, when I did it myself on a 5 gallon batch, it was not as efficient. I would suggest the homemade wort chiller! Much safer easier to handle, and chills in 10 minutes flat IF that. However, the brew buddy system is a GREAT way to learn and enjoy brewing together!! As far as the Airborne Amber Ale, reading Jason's reference to it made me laugh out loud!!! It is one of those 'brew' stories we all have..like the brewer that mentioned the #2 Pencil Ale. It is what makes brewing a JOY! Each batch has a reference "Name" .......and a story to go along. I will actually miss the day when I/we brew a batch without a funny story and name to give it....(e.g. Bucket Bomb Hefeweisen, Airborne Amber Ale, Busta Nut Brown!) This is the greatest hobby I have EVER taken up. Thanks HBD Brewers and Keep ON BREWIN'! Cheers! Michele Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 14:08:57 -0500 From: "Bowman Street Bewery" <homebrewer at tds.net> Subject: On what do you brew? (Was Where do you brew) Well as long as there has been some discussions as to where we all brew, and what we have in storage, why not throw "on what do you brew" into the mix. For the longest time I used the kits you can get in stores. then I went all grain about a year ago. I was hooked. Inside the past year, I have bought an assortment of kettles, pots, pans, kettles, hoses, pumps, copper pipes and bottles. My affliction took a turn for the worse when I actually built a brewery in my basement. and although I don't have pictures of the place in its entirety, I do have pictures of my new RIM system cozily housed in the corner of the room. I've posted some pictures at this location (website under development): http://personalpages.tds.net/~homebrewer/ Please note, that the RIM part is electrical, the kettle is a steam driven jacketed kettle, and the mash temperature is holding nicely at 156 degrees, and the counter flow chiller is version 1.3b. As far as what is in storage.. Fermenting Octoberfest India Pale Ale Kegged and enjoying Maibock Scotch Ale In storage with secret treasure map to reveal location 2001 Barley Wine 2002 Barley Wine -Matt Schultz Bowman Street (home)Brewery Madison, WI Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 15:17:04 -0400 From: "John Misrahi" <lmoukhin at sprint.ca> Subject: re. fruit saisons The other day, Sven Pfitt listed the batches of homebrew he is currently enjoying..among others were a Raspberry Currant Saison, and a Raspberry Strawberry Saison. That really sounds delicious....And in a couple of months I should have plenty of berries. Sven, I love Saisons, (have brewed a couple recently) and I like fruit beers as well. Would you be so kind as to share your recipes and procedures with us? thanks, John Misrahi Montreal, Canada [892, 63] Apparent Rennerian (km) "Actually John it uses a very complex algorithm to determine your average time between "Generate" clicks, and from that can it figures out how drunk you are, and what styles of beer you prefer. Obviously, you prefer obscure Belgians!" - Drew Avis Seen on a tee shirt - "The internet is full. Go away!" Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 17:17:06 -0300 From: Aaron Legge <alegge at accesswave.ca> Subject: Fruit Wheat Beer I am planning on brewing my first wheat beer as a blueberry wheat ale. I have found some recipes that I am going to use as a basis for creating mine own, however I have run into a problem, when do I add the fruit? I have found recipes that call for adding the fruit just after the boil, allowing it to steep and then leave it in the primary other recipes have called for putting the fruit in the secondary and racking the beer on top of it, I have also seen recipes calling for a fruit extract being used to prime the beer with extract prior to bottling or kegging. Has anyone had any experience with brewing fruit wheat beers? What seems to be the best time to put the fruit in? I am hoping to have a taste of the blueberry but nothing overpowering Cheers, Aaron Legge: Nova Scotia, Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 17:37:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Ryan Neily <ryan at neily.net> Subject: First Brew: Turky Fryer? I am getting everything ready for my first bre next weekend. My local walmart has Turkey Fryer kits on sale for a mere $15.00. It comes with a descent burner (60,000 BTU) as well as a large Aluminum pot/cover and thermometer. Will this pot be ok for my brewing? I have heard some people say that Aluminum is not good for brewing beer. Would the turky fryer bee a good investment for me to start out my brewing? Or should I invest in something else for outside brewing. Inside is not possible because I have a glass/smoothtop stove, and my wife would have a fit if it got messy... - -- Ryan Neily ryan at neily.net Random Quote: "Aerodynamics are for people that cant build good engines... - Enzo Ferrari" Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 22:17:09 -0400 From: "Kevin Morgan" <kevin.morgan2 at verizon.net> Subject: Challenger whole hops (or plugs) Jeff: Challenger whole hops are available from http://www.crosby-baker.com/ tho they don't sell retail. You should be able to get them thru your LHBS Kevin, brewing in south jersey Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 09:33:33 -0400 From: "Lou King" <lking at pobox.com> Subject: RIMS Chamber "Marcoux, Eric P" <EPMarcoux at pbsj.com> was looking for sources for a RIMS chamber. I was in the same boat you are in a year or so ago. I was unable to find a vendor for a chamber, but I found it was more fun to make it myself anyway. Check out http://www.lousbrews.com and hit the RIMS button to see the copper chamber I made, and possibly some other hints on RIMS construction. You'll have to scout around for the 1.5" copper pipe, because you just can't get that at Lowes or Home Depot, at least not in my locale. Lou King Ijamsville, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 20:28:48 -0400 From: "Mike Maag" <maagm at rica.net> Subject: Re: Experimentation APA Phil says: "I'm a new brewer and wanting to experiment with different ingredients to get an sensory understanding of them. I am working in styles starting with American Pale Ales. Anyone have any advice on which variables to mess around with first--yeast, hops, crystal? Any other advice is welcome related to APA's." The main sensory aspect of APA is hops. I would recommend a single hop APA as a starting point. Cascade is a good choice, since it is both a good bittering and flavor and aroma hop. Next, repeat the single hop APA with another of the American Hops, cascade, centennial, chinook, or columbus. Columbus or centennial would be good choices, as chinook is considered as too rough for flavor or aroma. Next, try using centennial as the bittering hop, and cascade as the flavor hop. Try dry hopping in the secondary or corny. Regarding malt, you probably already are using crystal malt. Add a pound of Munich malt (if not all grain, just do a mini mash with a lb of pale malt and 1/2 gal water at 150 for 1 hr). Chew some of the Munich before brewing with it, then check the nice "toasted bread" flavor it gives the ale. For yeast, Chico (Wyeast 1056) is a classic (Sierra Nevada), but a little neutral. Try a fruitier American yeast, check the descriptions on the web sites. Wyeast 1272 American Ale II is a good choice. Mike Maag, in the Shennandoah Valley, VA. Return to table of contents
Date: 2003-04-13 22:56:09 From: Zoey <zoey at excuria.com> Subject: Inkjet & Laser Toner Cartridges ~ Save upto 89% Save up to 89% on Inkjet & Laser Toner Cartridges Quality Products w/ 100% Satisfaction Guarantee Easy, Fast, Affordable Shipping Worldwide Plenty of Payment Options to Meet YOUR Needs! Visit us on the web at http://excuria.com/inkstore/ For instruction on how to be permanently remove from this distribution system go to http://excuria.com/remove/ Return to table of contents
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