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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  re: specific gravities (Dane Mosher)
  Re: Specific gravities and hop utilization (Fred Johnson)
  Beer at restaurants (S & J)
  asking for beer at a resto (Alan McKay)
  Brewers yeast, dogs (Michael Hartsock)
  Re: Asking for craftbrew (Bev Blackwood II)
  5th Annual Palmetto State Brewers Open - Dec 6 ("H. Dowda")
  Beer in Chicago? (rickdude02)
  specific gravities (Demonick)
  RE: Beer snobbery (Brian Lundeen)
  Insurance and CO2 Cylinders? (Bob Pelletier)
  enjoying beer/ ordering in restaurants (Marc Sedam)
  asking wait staff the list in resturants (Terrence.Benton)
  Taste sophistication and restaurant beer lists... (Inland-Gaylord)" <BSmith51@ICCNET.COM>
  Decoction Gone Bad ("Dave Larsen")
  Using Enzymes to Lower FG (Jonathan Royce)
  Re:  beer at restaurants ("Houseman, David L")
  A carrot a day ("Dave Burley")
  Flax ("Chad Stevens")
  Sparge Particles (Augie Altenbaumer)


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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 01:57:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dane Mosher <dane_mosher at yahoo.com>
Subject: re: specific gravities

Isaac Gibson had a few questions:

>If I want to calculate the percent utilization of hop
alpha acids in order to calculate the IBU then I need
the 'specific gravity of the boil' as stated in
Charlie Papazian's most excellent book.  When do I
take this reading, is it right before I add the
boiling hops?  And then do I need to take it again
before I add the finishing hops?

First off, you should know that calculating IBU's is
not currently possible on the homebrew level without
expensive lab equipment, contrary to what many authors
suggest.  There is no magic formula.  (Same goes for
color, but that's another story.)  However, it is
useful to be able to predict relative bitterness from
one batch to another, which is what I use those
formulas for.  So once you realize that the "IBU"
number you calculate is not really IBU's but is a
relative bitterness rating, then it is less important
when you take the sample than it is that you be
consistent.  What I mean is that you need to pick a
time to measure the wort and stick with that for every
batch.  I personally use my O.G. reading for the
calculation.

FYI, the megabreweries do have IBU formulas that work,
but they first have to cheat by analyzing a finished
beer in the lab using a spectrophotometer to determine
its IBU's.  That allows them to determine what
percentage of the total alpha acids that they added to
the boil actually ended up in the finished beer in
isomerized form.  This "hop utilization" percentage
will then only apply to this one recipe, and each
other style they make will have a different
percentage.  And the only reason this works for them
is because they are so damn consistent from batch to
batch as far as boiling time, boil vigor, evaporation
rate, mash schedule, etc.  Hop utilization is far more
complicated than many brewers realize.

>Also, how do I know exactly when to transfer my beer
from the primary to the secondary?  Do I need a
gravity reading?  

The only reason to transfer from primary to secondary
in my opinion is to get the beer off of dying yeast. 
You should wait at least until fermentation is done,
which can be determined by lack of airlock activity or
by getting the same gravity reading two days in a row.
 I like to wait as long as I can to transfer so that I
leave as much yeast behind as possible.  Just don't
let it sit in the primary more than 2 weeks or you
risk yeast autolysis flavors.

>How do I know when to bottle?  Is it when the beer
has reached the gravity that I want to stop it at to
achieve a particular style?  Or is it when the gravity
stops dropping?  

Definitely when you have reached terminal gravity and
also when the clarity is acceptable to you.  Bottling
before you have reached terminal gravity will result
in overcarbonation and possible exploding bottles.  If
a particular style calls for residual sweetness,
usually that has to be taken care of with
non-fermentable sweeteners such as lactose.  See the
recent Splenda thread for more info.  Maybe adding
Xylitol is also an option?

Bottling before you have acceptable clarity can
sometimes result in excessively thick layers of
sediment at the bottom of the bottles.


>Much obliged and happy to be part of the brewing
population.

Welcome to the fold!

Dane Mosher
Fort Worth, TX



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 07:49:02 -0400
From: Fred Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com>
Subject: Re: Specific gravities and hop utilization

Isaac asks the appropriate question of what is the specific gravity one 
should use in the calculation of the rate of hop utilization during the 
boil. The answer lies in the gravity used by the inventor of the 
formula, assuming one's boil is performed the way the inventor boiled. 
If the inventor used the gravity at the start of the boil, then the 
formulas are all based on that gravity. If the inventor used the 
gravity, achieved at the end of the boil, then the post-boil gravity 
applies. The problem is, that I have never seen which gravities were 
used by the inventors of these forumlae, although I suspect they are 
published somewhere.

Also consider how the utilization would differ for hop additions 
performed at different times during the boil! How many of us adjust our 
additions according to the gravity at the time of the addition? I don't 
even do that, and I'm as picky about these kinds of things as anyone.

Any of the formulae which are based upon a single gravity would 
theoretically be inferior to a formula in which the changing gravity 
during the boil is taken into consideration. Perhaps that is part of 
the reason the various hop utilization formulae differ significantly in 
their predictions. Of course, there are MANY other factors which will 
determine hop utilization, so the perfect formula will not be achieved 
by correcting for only the changing gravity during the boil.

So Isaac and I are both left with his original question. I gave up 
trying to find the answer (or to invent my own formula) and have 
decided to pick the average specific gravity during the boil, which is 
simply the pre-boil gravity plus the post-boil gravity, the sum of 
which is divided by two.

(I have read authors who use the final gravity in their calculations, 
although I have never seen the author justify why he picked the final 
gravity of the boil rather than the initial gravity of the boil; and 
I've never seen any reference to the original paper justifying which 
gravity was picked, so I'm inclined to assume that the author 
arbitrarily picked the final gravity.) If anyone knows the real 
answer(s), please post with references.

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 08:36:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: sjr101 at webtv.net (S & J)
Subject: Beer at restaurants

   I usually ask the waiter/waitress "do you have any dark beer?"  or "
do you have any weird beers?" At least this gets you past the normal
swill list.
                 Cheers, Scott



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Date: Mon,  6 Oct 2003 09:02:39 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net>
Subject: asking for beer at a resto

Jeff is having trouble beating around the bush with wait staff.

I have never found anyone to think me a snob when I simply come out and
ask if they have any microbrews on tap.  It's the same as asking what
imports they have.

- -- 
http://www.bodensatz.com/
TCP/IP: telecommunication protocol for imbibing pilsners
        (Man-page of Unix-to-Unix beer protocol on Debian/GNU Linux)


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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 06:23:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Hartsock <xd_haze at yahoo.com>
Subject: Brewers yeast, dogs

Rob wants his dog to eat yeast:

Rob,

My dog has chronic stomach problems so I once tried to
get him to eat active yeast, in general its hard to
get a dog to eat something really bitter (i've found).
 But my dog will lap up the dregs out of a home brew
bottle, so sometimes I just dump it in his bowl.  But
don't be mean, give him more than just the last
swallow, he needs at least a few ounces.  Sadly (i'm
quite embarrassed) he's more of a budlight kind of guy
(sometimes i even have to cut it with water, but he
loves it).  He did like the CACA i made, but turns his
nose up at stout.

Now before anyone flames me for giving my dog beer, I
have it on good authority (good friend and drinking
buddy is a vet and showed me an article in a vet med
newsletter on the subject) that a little beer won't
hurt him, especially at his 65# build.

mike


=====
"May those who love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
may he turn their ankles
So we'll know them
by their limping."



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 08:41:14 -0500
From: Bev Blackwood II <bdb2 at bdb2.com>
Subject: Re: Asking for craftbrew

> For years I've been trying to find the most politically correct way to 
> ask
> for craft-brewed beer at restaurants.
> I wonder how everyone else on the list gets past this.

For the past decade or so, I have been an ardent supporter of Saint 
Arnold Brewery here in Houston, Texas. <shameless plug> Who won two 
more medals at the GABF this year!  </shameless plug>  I've long since 
given up on being politically correct regarding a restaurant's beer 
selection as a result.  I think it is far more useful to let the 
waitstaff know there are local alternatives and as long as you make it 
clear to them it's not about them, but rather the choices of the 
restaurant management, it's a chance to provide some education.  I make 
a point to carry some Saint Arnold tour information with me so that 
they can come find out for themselves what the options are.
However, I do refuse to pay good money for mediocre beer.  If they 
don't have a good micro or import choice then I drink iced tea or 
water.  They CAN see that as less money on the tab (and as a result in 
their tip) because their restaurant didn't stock a beer that was 
suitable.
I honestly don't feel I've missed out on anything by skipping a beer 
with a meal and I've expressed my opinion in no uncertain terms with my 
cash.  If the restaurant provides a comment card, I will always fill it 
out, noting the lack of beer selection, that way the message also gets 
back to the management in some way.

Life is too short to drink bad beer.

 -BDB2

Bev D. Blackwood II
http://www.bdb2.com



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 07:01:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: "H. Dowda" <hdowda at yahoo.com>
Subject: 5th Annual Palmetto State Brewers Open - Dec 6

The 5th Annual Palmetto State Brewers Open will be
held in Columbia, SC on Dec 6, 2003.  This is the
final stop for the 2003 Carolina Brewer of the Year
Award.  The usual great perks will be repeated. More
than 12 entries are free.  Cash for 1-2-3 BOS ($50,
$30, $20). Just Good Beer Brew-off, lunch on the
grounds

http://www.sagecat.com/psb/psbo5.htm



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:13:06 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: rickdude02 at earthlink.net
Subject: Beer in Chicago?

Hey Collective,

I'll be in Chicago around the 16th, specifically at 
McCormick Place for a conference.  In case I don't 
get on any major reception/party lists (which is 
about 50/50 at the moment), can anyone tell me 
where I can head to for some good beer?

Thanks,

Rick Theiner


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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 07:21:39 -0700
From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com>
Subject: specific gravities

From: Isaac Gibson Sun, 5 Oct 2003 19:34:04 -0700 (PDT)

>If I want to calculate the percent utilization of hop alpha 
>acids in order to calculate the IBU then I need the 'specific 
>gravity of the boil' as stated in Charlie Papazian's most 
>excellent book.  When do I take this reading,

If you take the SG reading as you start the boil, making note of both SG
and volume, you can calculate the resulting SG with evaporative loss.

For example: 

1.050 SG at 8 gallons
After a one gallon evaporative loss: 1.057 at 7 gallons
1.067 at 6 gallons

Here is the math:

Dilutions
New volume from current volume, current SG, and target SG

Vnew = ((SGc - 1.0)/(SGt - 1.0)) * Vcur

          where:
                   Vcur = current volume
                   SGc  = current SG
                   SGt  = target SG

New SG from current SG, current volume, and target volume

SGnew = ((SGc - 1.0) * (Vcur / Vtar)) + 1.0

          where:
                   SGc  = current SG
                   Vcur = current volume
                   Vtar = target volume

Domenick Venezia
Venezia & Company, LLC
Maker of PrimeTab
(206) 782-1152  phone
(206) 782-6766  fax
Seattle, WA
demonick at zgi dot com
http://www.primetab.com



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 09:25:24 -0500 
From: Brian Lundeen <BLundeen at rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: RE: Beer snobbery

Jeff Gladish writes:

> For years I've been trying to find the most politically 
> correct way to ask for craft-brewed beer at restaurants.  
> 
> I wonder how everyone else on the list gets past this.
> 
Real simple. I ask what's on tap, and pick the best thing available. More
often than not, it's decent drinkable stuff and that's all I care about.
Most restaurants around here don't have an extensive beer selection and that
simply isn't going to change. I accept that, and adjust my expectations
accordingly.

I like to think of myself as a beer lover, but sometimes all I care is that
it's cold, wet and rinses the food bits out of my teeth. Good grief, think
of the times you've sat and watched a bad TV show or movie and turned your
brain off so the plot holes didn't swallow you up and drag you down to logic
hay-ull (as the evangelists would say). 

Just do the same thing at the restaurants. Find the little switch in your
brain that's labelled "Beer Snob" and turn it off for awhile.

Sometimes, it IS "just a beer", even for us.

Cheers
Brian, in Winnipeg


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Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 10:36:22 -0400
From: Bob Pelletier <rp at ihrsa.org>
Subject: Insurance and CO2 Cylinders?

Some what related to Brewing??!?!?!?

So this week end My bro in law and I bought CO2 powered paintball guns. They
come with tiny 9oz tanks. I figure no problem I can fill it from my 20#
tanks at home. So I ask the paintball shop owner if he has the kit to fill
the small gun tank from my big tanks. He said he won't sell them due to
liability and that I shouldn't have the tanks in my house because my
insurance co. can drop my policy if they found out.


Does this make any sense? 



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Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 11:22:17 -0400
From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu>
Subject: enjoying beer/ ordering in restaurants

Good thread...interesting observations.

I've done a fair bit of brewing, judging, and writing over
time and find the concept of just "enjoying beer" pretty
simple.  It's like most things--know what you know, know
what you don't know, and leave the rest alone.  When I'm
judging in a competition the first thing I do (after looking
at head retention...hey, it's part of the score) is just
taste the beer.  Is it good?  Do I *like* it?  What's my
impression of the overall drink?  After the 'gut check' then
I go down the list of specific characteristics and focus on
them one at a time.  Keeps you from getting in to deep and
forgetting to enjoy the product.

When I go to a restaurant I'm usually seeking out something
I've never had before.  If not, then it's back to the best
craft beer on the list.  For me, it's the same process...a
quick sniff and a short taste to determine if the beer is
"good."  After that it's kick back and enjoy a nice beer.
No more thinking.  If you hit a bar (as I did) that insists
a beer is fine even though it may very well suck, there's no
need to get terribly petulant. Of course I'm as guilty at
that as the next person, especially when I really am looking
forward to the beer.  If I get a beer that I feel is bad I
simply request another beer or ask for a small taste to
decide what I want.  Most bartenders are OK with putting an
ounce in a couple of shot glasses provided you don't go down
the 100 tap list before deciding.

In terms ordering in restaurants I do ask for the beer list
first.  Sometimes there is one, especially in places that
really respect good beer and have more than four taps.  If
they say they don't have one then I just ask what they have
that isn't a Bud, Miller, or Coors product.  This avoids
asking "what beer do you have" and getting the "oh we have
everything" response.  Once I returned the "everything"
question by saying that I'd have a Chimay red cap...when the
waitress understood I was asking for a beer they didn't
have, she gave me the full list (which included Sam
Adams...OK by me).

My worst restaurant experience was in a local taproom that
generally does a very good job getting and keeping good
stuff on tap.  I ordered a Brooklyn Pennant Pale Ale because
I'd just been to the brewery a few weeks before and really
dug that beer in it's prime state.  The bar's version was
stale, reeked of diacetyl, and was just "off".  I told the
waitress that I thought the beer was bad and she brought the
owner out.  Nice guy.  I told him the beer was off and he
said "no it's not...that's what it tastes like".  I
mentioned that I was at the brewery a couple weeks ago and
it was much better up there and that they'd possibly just
gotten a bad keg.  He got pretty indignant with that and
told me that it wasn't the beer, it was me.  I didn't think
it was a very customer-friendly attitude, but just asked
that I be given a different beer since I couldn't enjoy the
one I had.  After much deliberation they brought me another
beer.  At the end of the day I just don't go there very much
at all anymore...and that's all you can do if you don't like
the selection.

Cheers!
marc



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 08:24:54 -0500 
From: Terrence.Benton at med.va.gov
Subject: asking wait staff the list in resturants

Jeff asked the group..."For years I've been trying to find the most
politically correct way to ask
for craft-brewed beer at restaurants."

Politics are out-the-window when you're the tipping customer.  

You said restaurant, not Noisy dance-bars so try making the inquiry personal
to the 
wait staff instead of to the establishment, as in what kind THEY like to
drink.  
Spin the conversation a little and ask what the best seller has been lately,
the answer becomes the list that's available.  Be receptive to the answers
no matter 
what they are.  Pay cash for the first round and tip well, enjoy your
beer. When they come back (and if you tip well they will be back soon) ask
what else is available.





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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 11:05:37 -0500 
From: "Smith, Brian (Inland-Gaylord)" <BSmith51 at ICCNET.COM>
Subject: Taste sophistication and restaurant beer lists...

List,

Having an appreciation of good beer is a definite hazard.  I fined that I am
most critical of my own beers.  I recently brewed a CAP like beer and my
wife thought it was one of my best.  I, however could taste every flaw.  I
have, at tasting with some of my brewer buds, told the pourer to "just throw
that one away" after I smelled it.  Granted, it was about 3 yrs old, but
still I couldn't stand the smell of it.  As for restaurants, I feel a little
luckier than most, I can usually get fresh Abita in just about any
restaurant in the area.  But, I recently went to a VERY fancy restaurant
(read $$$) in Mandeville (a small town on the northshore of Lake
Ponchatrain).  While it had a very nice and extensive wine list, they only
had AB beers.  And not the better ones mind you, just Bud, Bud Light and
Mich.  I just shook my head in disgust and ordered a Diet Coke.  Nothing in
the world is more disappointing that a restaurant with crappy beer.  There
in NO excuse for it.  But as long as the masses ( both well heeled and
other) continue to accept watered down, over carbonated, goat piss as beer
then we who appreciate the blending of malt and hop will be voices in the
wilderness.  As we just to say in the 70's, keep the faith, baby.

Brian Smith
Big Ring Brewery
Bogalusa, LA



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Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 16:45:17 +0000
From: "Dave Larsen" <hunahpumonkey at hotmail.com>
Subject: Decoction Gone Bad

I tried my first decoction mash and it did not go very well. It was a single 
decoction with steps at 140 and 160 degrees.  I mashed in with 1.33 quarts 
per pound at 11 lbs. I pulled about a gallon and a half of the thickest part 
of the mash.

The first problem: I heated and stirred but the thing never really came to a 
solid boil, even after over an hour on full heat on my stove.  It bubbled a 
bit here and there, but I would not call it a boil.  I kept adding a little 
boiling water because it just kept getting drier and drier.  After 75 
minutes of that, I decided enough was enough and I infused it back into the 
main mash.

That is where the second problem occurred.  Instead of jumping up to 160 
degrees it went to less than 150, going up 10 degrees instead of 20.  I had 
to add a ton of boiling water to bring up the temp.  However, my mash tun 
filled up long before I ever hit 160 degrees.  I think it settled in at 
about 157.  It was the most watery mash I've seen.

I did an iodine test and it all converted, but into what I don't know.  At 
75 minutes at the bottom edge of beta amylase and never hitting may target 
temp in mid alpha amylase, I'm afraid it is going to be the driest beer I 
ever made, not really in style for a Marzen.

To make matters worse, the decoction made the mash really gummy.  I ended up 
with a nasty stuck sparge.

I'm not sure where I went wrong.  Anybody have any ideas?

Dave
Tucson, AZ



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Date: Mon,  6 Oct 2003 09:57:39 -0700
From: Jonathan Royce <jonathan at woodburybrewingco.com>
Subject: Using Enzymes to Lower FG

As there was a recent article in BYO regarding high FGs and as I am 
experiencing my first ever stuck ferment (1.022 vs. expected 1.014), I would 
like to revisit the following article, which was originally posted back in May 
1995 in HBD #1733:

http://www.hbd.org/brewery/library/enzymes595.html

There wasn't much discussion regarding this article when it was originally 
uploaded, and it seems that the names on HBD have changed quite a bit since 
those days.

To get the discussion rolling, I pose the following questions:

1) Is there any advantage to using alpha or beta amylase over "Beano"?
2) Have *you* personally ever tried any enzymatic technique to lower FG and 
what were the results?
3) What type and what volume of enzyme have you used and did fermentation 
actually *end* or did you crash the fermenter and refrigerate to prevent 
further activity? (I ask this because I do not have a place to store beer cold 
and I don't want bottle bombs if I add an enzyme to my fermenter.)

TIA and happy brewing,
Jonathan
Woodbury Brewing Co.
www.woodburybrewingco.com


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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 14:07:11 -0400 
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: Re:  beer at restaurants

Jeff, so what's wrong in asking for the Beer List?  I've found that at a
number of restaurants, although not that many.  But if we as patrons ask
perhaps those that don't publish a Beer List just as they do a Wine List
will realize this is in demand.  The next thing to do is to politely decline
any beers from their list (verbal or written) and make it known that you'd
prefer XYZ beer or craft beers or Belgian beers or whatever.  IMHO it's only
when enough people ask for something, and don't buy what they do have, that
a restaurant will provide what we do want.  Restaurants and waiters like the
extra income that comes with meals in which bottles of wine are bought.  If
they only realized that they could get nice revenues from some of the craft
and imported beers they would change.  

Dave Houseman

"Don't waste the calories on bad beer"






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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 15:11:06 -0400
From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net>
Subject: A carrot a day

Brewsters,

Steve Alexander says in response to my comments about the modern diet/calorie
urban myth:

>An extra carrot a day would add about 2.6 lbs to you per >year.  And if
>you want to continue with absurd extrapolations it would >take 230 year
>lifespan to gain  600lbs !

OK well maybe it was a BIG carrot the author of those comments was thinking
about, but don't diffuse the point.  The Point is the body just doesn't work
the way people would have you believe, for their own monetary gain, in these
diet plans. Bodies do differ in their efficiency in extracting goodies from
the food supplied.  Your above comments do support my Point that excess
calories intake  is not the complete issue and that believeing so can lead to
absurd conclusions.  Food Calories that are in most ( or all ) tables are not
constructed by measuring the amount of calories in and the calories out as
waste plus the other measurements of caloric output.  If this is true I'd like
to see the test specs that indicate this is so.

Food also has the job of supplying building blocks for the body and in this
maner would not contribute to the caloric output.  Intestine length, enzyme
concentration and content are also factors in individual digestion
efficiencies. Diet plans focus on the NORMAL individuals to support their
diet, yet normal individuals are not the ones with the weight problem, by
definition.

> there are major loopholes  or exempt foods
>to the calories balance <==> weight relationship.  There >aren't.

At least that is what researchers and the Federal Govt would have us believe.
I only have to point to the current stink about the food pyramid to assure you
all is not as correct in this area as you and others would have us believe.
Tables do not take into account the individual variation in efficiency of
digestion nor the complexieites of food combinations in which high fiber foods
may reduce the absorption of calories, nor high fat and high fiber diets in
which residence time in the digestive tract is often reduced.

I do not doubt simple carbohydrates are pretty close to the theoretical ideal
since they are easily and completely digested therefore no calories as
excreted, but fats and proteins are different issues. There are still lots of
questions generated by groups of people who subsist on "unhealthy" diets of
nearly pure protein and fats from various sources.  These are largely ignored
by the researchers.

The reference you supplied in which subjects consumed higher than normal fiber
in their diets to see the effect on weight control actually supports my point.
The authors talk about the fact ( at least in rats as far as I couild tell)
that the fiber prevents the same level of contact and extraction with the
enzymes in the digestive tract and the best they can say about high fiber
diets fro humans, which didn't affect weight changes over the test period is
that they produce regular bowel movements.


On the low carb diet:
>.  [["Among obese patients, weight loss was associated
with longer diet duration (P =.002), restriction of calorie intake (P =.03),
but not with reduced carbohydrate content (P =.90)."]].

Maybe you mis-stated the statistical conclusions but I conclude from this
information that it was NOT associated with reduced calorie intake but WITH
reduced carbohydrate.

My point in all this is not that the basic theory is wrong or that there any
major loopholes in the basic energy equations, but that the numbers describing
foods and how many available calories they impart is wrong or at least blurry.
There cannot be just one number for each food as it is individually dependent
on how much is extracted and also on the actual diet of what is consumed with
what as the reference you supplied shows.

Keep on Brewin'

Dave Burley





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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 17:37:20 -0700
From: "Chad Stevens" <zuvaruvi at cox.net>
Subject: Flax

I managed to answer my own Flax Mucilage/Foam Stability question after a
couple of days searching.  I found a site with Flax Mucilage info:

http://www.herbalgram.org/iherb/expandedcommissione/he036.asp

Flax mucilage appears to be:

8-10% Galactose
9-12% Arabinose
13-29% Rhamnose
25-27% Xylose

and roughly 30% Galacturonic & Mannuronic acids.

Flax mucilage increasing mouthfeel seems fairly intuitive; it's gummy in
solution and composed chiefly of non-fermentable sugars.  It would be like
adding gum arabic or xanthan gum to your beer.

As for foam stabilization, WOW! I found all kinds of liturature on Guar Gum,
Gum Arabic, and Xanthan Gum being used as foam stabilizers.  Guar gum is
basically Galactomannan and Gum Arabic Arabinogalactin.  Xanthan Gum is used
as a foam stabilizer for among many other things, fire fighting foam, which
is stable for up to three days.  Flax mucilage seems to incorporate elements
of several different commercially used gums.  And I've seen galactose used
commercially to adsorb proteins and tannins.

These gums appear to provide the best foam stability at .05 to .1% (by
weight? volume?) solution and become too viscous to to support foam at about
2%.

Adding Guar Gum to my beer seems heretical to me.  "Nothing but Malt, Water,
Hops, and Xanthan Gum," just doesn't look good on a label.  But flax
seed...all natural, wholesome, lowers colesterol...I think I'm going to play
with it some more.

Anyone else played with flax in their beer?

Thanks,

Chad Stevens
QUAFF
San Diego



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Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 19:52:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Augie Altenbaumer <afalten at yahoo.com>
Subject: Sparge Particles

Hi all...I've got a question about my sparge.  I am
doing all grain batches (~10lbs of grain) and mashing
in a 7gal enamel pot.  I'm scooping this into a 5gal
bucket that has a stainless false bottom (one of those
upside down pie pan things with a pick-up tube through
it.)  I let it sit in the 5gal bucket for about 15min
before I start the flow.  The problem I am having is
that the wort never really appears to clear.  There
are always these fine particles in it (kind of remind
me of break material.)  There are some big chunks of
husk that come out with the first few quarts of wort,
but there are always these smaller particles.  They
never go away throughout the entire time I am sparging
(1hr or so.)  Any ideas on what is happening?  Thanks
for any help.

Augie Altenbaumer
Brownwood, TX



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