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Contents:
  Storing CFCs filled with PBW (John Palmer)
  RE: sugar in secondary (Brian Lundeen)
  Re: Starter wort gravity revisited ("-S")
  Re: St. Pat's counter-flow wort chiller (Fred Johnson)
  RE: St. Pat's counter-flow wort chiller ("Houseman, David L")
  Soda Keg Cleanup and PBW-Copper Contact Time (rickdude02)
  making a big BW ("Jay Spies")
  Sticks and stones and malt milling ("Dave Burley")
  Re: SWAG Definition (Jeff Renner)
  RE: getting soda smell out of kegs ("Houseman, David L")
  Re: steam-rolled barley (Jeff Renner)
  RE: Motorizing a Mill (DC or AC motor) (Ronald La Borde)
  Re: getting soda smell out of kegs ("Rich Medina")
  re: nitrogen and hops don't mix ("Mike Racette")
  Replacement for 5 gallon soda kegs ("Orin Walker")
  3 Tier Systems & Aluminum Kettles ("Joe Berardino")
  Refractometer Tips (Bob Hall)
  Corny Kegs - 10's & 3's ("Chip Stewart")
  tap handle brass ferrules (Ed Jones)
  Re: Sanke conversion to corny ("Rob Dewhirst")
  Re: The making of Barleywine ("Webb, Mike")
  RE: The making of Barleywine ("Charles Duffney")
  Motorizing a Mill (DC or AC motor) (mpdixon)
  re: motorizing a mill (Rama Roberts)


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Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:32:51 -0800
From: John Palmer <jjpalmer at altrionet.com>
Subject: Storing CFCs filled with PBW

Brian asked about storing his CFC filled with PBW.

No, don't do it. In the past, people whom have stored/soaked copper and 
brass objects in PBW solutions overnight or for a couple days have 
reported that the solution turns blue. I tried it but didn't experience 
a color change.
But as a general rule of thumb, don't store you CFC full of anything 
except air. Water is usually benign, but the problem is the 
localization effects of stored solutions. Pits can readily develop in 
copper and stainless tubes if conditions are right. Usually plain water 
is okay, but if you have hard water or acidic water (look at your home 
plumbing) then its better to store them dry.

Clean them with PBW by all means. Then Rinse them thoroughly and drain 
it and cap it.

Good Brewing,
John Palmer
john at howtobrew.com
www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer
www.howtobrew.com - the free online book of homebrewing



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Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 23:56:09 -0600
From: Brian Lundeen <BLundeen at rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: RE: sugar in secondary

> Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 07:40:03 -0800
> From: "Tomusiak, Mark" <tomusiak at amgen.com>
> Subject: Sugar in Secondary?
> 
> Greetings all...I have been looking into techniques for 
> brewing high-gravity belgian strong ales, and have found a 
> number of references to adding sugars at some point after 
> primary fermentation commences (such as in the secondary). 

I can't comment on why other people do this, only my own reasons for
adopting this practice.

1. As is being discussed in the barleywine thread, it creates an easier
initial environment for the yeast. With my own techniques (YMMV) I've had
trouble getting the attenuation I want in high gravity beers by starting
with all the fermentables. Adding some sugar later seems to have helped in
this regard.

2. I want to try and tame some of the wild esters thrown by these yeasts so
the beer doesn't come across like a Carmen Miranda hat. ;-) Having the
yeasts doing most of their work at a lower OG should assist this.

3. If I'm adding a sugar with some character of its own (such as dark candi)
I figure it will retain more of those attributes by giving it a brief boil
in creating the syrup, and adding late in the process.

I don't worry about the small amount of water I use in the sugar syrup.
However, if you wish to be precise, this water addition can be accounted for
when determining the volume and OG you want after the boil.

Cheers
Brian, in Winnipeg



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 03:53:19 -0500
From: "-S" <-s at adelphia.net>
Subject: Re: Starter wort gravity revisited

Travis Dahl says,

>Yeast grown on 15P(1.060SG) or higher wort
> >should be discarded - the hi-gravity stress causes performance problems.
[...]
>
> This has implications for people trying to reuse the yeast cake from a
> previous fermentation.  If I'm just dumping the new wort onto the old
> yeast, it sounds like I need to make sure the previous beers were all
under
> 1.060 (and preferably under 1.040).  Is this a reasonable
> interpretation?

Growing great yeast and making great beer are two different things.
You should always be aware of which of these is the goal.

Virtually all brewing yeast will do very well with starter wort gravities
under 10P.  Most conventional brewing yeasts can be repitched after
fermenting common 12-13P worts with no problems whatsoever.  Still
you may attain better growth conditions at 7P or 10P.  At 15P you are
taking a chance.  Yes you can often repitch yeast from a 15-16P
wort and get good results, but it's more likely that these yeast will have
performance problems compared to the same yeast from a 12P
fermentation.

>What can I do to help out the yeast in a situation like
> this? (add nutrients?  wash the yeast and use it to create a new starter?)

Understand the problem.   Yeast from a hi-grav ferment have endured high
osmotic pressure and this in turn has caused them difficulty in extracting
nutrients from the surrounding wort, and also in expelling unwanted ions
from within the cell.  You need more oxygen (1ppm per Plato degree is a
Narziss rule of thumb) at high gravity, yet the wort holds less.   These
cells have usually tolerated higher alcohol levels which causes growth
problems.   The hi-grav fermentation usually is slower and more protracted
than a lo-grav fermentation - so the yeast have tolerated these poor
conditions longer.

For these reasons yeast from hi-grav fermentation generally have lower
viability and the viability drops off faster after the fermentation !  Doing
a warm VDK conversion rest late in a hi-grav fermentation is an invitation
to the graveyard for much of your stressed yeast.

If you really want to salvage that yeast, pull it from the fermentation
ASAP, and wash/separate with COLD sterile water (not acid washing). The
water washing, described on Dave Logsden's Wyeast pages, will remove a fair
bit of the trub and this also dilutes any ethanol.   Then I'd be inclined to
hit this with some wort and only re-pitch the live segment of this
population.- the yeast which deflocculate and go back into suspension in
wort.  This method is more a matter of preventing further decline in the
post hi-grav yeast and separating out the dead & dying.   This is roughly
what I would do with any 'old' slurry which is likely to have poor
viability.

Again 15P isn't magic.  I'm sure some yeasts can handle 15P w/ no problems
and repitch forever at that grav.   A lot of yeasts will bog down around
15-16P.

=======

It's a somewhat different question than you ask Travis, but there are some
measures you can take to improve the hi-gravity yeast performance, which in
turn will improve the health of the resulting slurry.   Let me say that I
still think that any yeast that has munched thru 18P or more deserves to be
set free.  And I'm personally inclined to toss yeast around the 15P mark.

Of course increase the pitching rate in proportion to the gravity.
Overpitching in moderation seldom causes a problem but you don't need an
entire ale batch yeast cake for the next hi-grav batch.  I'm not a big fan
of the huge huge beers (hate fusels) but around that 18-20P mark I would
plan on having a second full slurry available for repitching mid-way thru
the fermentation.  Perhaps keeping a fraction of that original yeast cake
viable with a pint of starter wort in the fridge.  Aerate the heck out of
your yeasts prior to pitching cause the hi-grav wort may not hold enough O2
to get the job done.  You may want to give the fermenter some air/O2 early
after the first pitching ... in the first 12 hours.

Decreasing the initial wort pH to 4.9 to 5.0 reduces the difficulty yeast
have in obtaining metallic co-enzymes, like zinc.   Knocking the initial
wort pH down from around 5.4 to 4.9 decreases the fermentation time in one
hi-grav study from 9 to 7 days and improved the attenuation by 1% at there
same time.  The final beer pH was 0.25 lower, however this was reportedly
not a problem.

The req for FAN is more stringent at higher gravity, so don't get carried
away with unmalted adjuncts unless you'll supplement the nitrogen.  There is
an added req for magnesium (a few ppm) and it seldom hurts to add around
0.1ppm of zinc.

Again - get rid of the fermenter CO2 to the extent practical !

 -Steve




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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 07:37:08 -0500
From: Fred Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com>
Subject: Re: St. Pat's counter-flow wort chiller

Dave Houseman says that the convolutions of the counter-flow chiller 
that St. Pat's sells is on the outside rather than the inside of the 
tubing carrying the wort. Indeed, the photograph on the St. Pat's web 
site seems to show this, and I'm sure Dave is right since he actually 
has one of these. That means that wort flows in a laminar fashion as it 
does in any straight walled chiller, but the turbulence is with the 
cooling water, just as Dave has said. And it means that cleaning one 
would be no different than for a straight-walled chiller.

But it is interesting that St. Pat's doesn't seem to have the same 
understanding as Dave, and from their description of how it works, one 
would certainly come to the conclusion that the wort (and hops) move 
through this chiller very differently and could conceivably get hung up 
in the convolutions.

Excerpt from St. Pat's description of their chiller:

"By the way, the generally held belief that cleaning counterflow 
chillers is difficult applies only to counterflows that use straight 
wall copper. Such chillers have boundary layers (see below) in which 
the flow rate is effectively zero thus necessitating either a brush or 
running enormous amounts of water through them. This is another manner 
in which our convoluted chiller is far superior."

So which is it?

Dave, are you sure that inside cross-section of the wort tubing is a 
circle?

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 08:42:57 -0500
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: RE: St. Pat's counter-flow wort chiller

No, Fred, I must admit I have not dissected my, or any, CFC to see how it's
made internally.  I made an assumption that if there are cooling fins or
this sort of thing to cause turbulent flow it would be between the wort line
and the outer jacket.  Perhaps the inter wort line is itself twisted about
it's axis to cause turbulent wort flow.  This really shouldn't affect
cleaning however.   Whatever the make-up, I've used my counter flow chiller
for two+ years without difficulty.  No infections.  No off flavors.  I use
both hop pellets and whole hops.  I know that some of both have passed
through my chiller.  It hasn't got clogged (knock on wood).  So I'm happy
with it.  One thing about this chiller that I had to learn early on was that
I had to be sure that there was no air leaks at the tubing connections I
made between it and the kettle.  When I had a looser connection I was not
getting a good solid siphon and had difficulty getting the wort to flow at a
fast pace.  When I fixed this problem with some hose clamps, I've found I
can empty my kettle much faster than I could with my homemade CFC that only
had 1/4" copper tubing.

Dave Houseman


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:26:42 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: rickdude02 at earthlink.net
Subject: Soda Keg Cleanup and PBW-Copper Contact Time

Marc asks about cleaning up a soda keg and is apparently
having problems getting the smell out.

All I can say, Marc, is that stainless won't harbor soda
syrup.  You said you changed the gaskets, but there's
still a smell.  Did you completely dis-assemble for the
soak?  Washing soda isn't a particularly good wetting
agent, so you probably didn't reach into all the nooks
and crannies with it.

When I'm cleaning out a keg thoroughly, I take the 
whole thing apart and soak the pieces together inside
the keg.  (And if you didn't take it apart, you might have
missed a couple of gaskets, too.)  Then, after I know it
is clean, I'll re-assemble.  I alse believe in using a 
good cleaning compound such as Straight-A (yes, I
make it, but what else would you expect me to use?) or
<ahem> PBW.

- --------------------
Someone else asks about storing their CF chiller with PBW
in it.  DON'T!!  

And I don't just say this because PBW is a competitive 
product to mine-- I'll say it for Straight-A as well.  The 
problem is two-fold.  First, part of the activity in both 
products is due to a form of peroxide.  This will oxidize
your chiller over time and both shorten the life and 
lower the performance of the chiller.

Second, PBW is an alkaline product.  Alkalis will degrade
copper as well as acid (although not quite as spectacularly).
The reason we can get around this is the presence of 
silicates protects the metal in the short run, but in the 
long run you'll have degradation/corrosion.

Rick Theiner
LOGIC, Inc.


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:50:55 -0500
From: "Jay Spies" <jayspies at citywidehomeloans.com>
Subject: making a big BW

All -

Bill Tobler spaketh thusly:

>>I'm going to make my first Barleywine next week, and am looking for a few
tips on fermenting it out.  It's going to be 5 gallons of a 1.100 OG beer.<<

Bill, I know you have a cake of yeast from a Cream Ale ready to roll, but
here's an option for your 5 gallon BW recipe:

5 paks of rehydrated Nottingham.

Aerate the whole batch with O2.  Pitch.  Yawn.  Wait a week.  Keg.

Last month I made a Cyser with 5 paks of Danstar Windsor (which is reputedly
a lesser attenuator) and it cranked the mead from 1.103 to 1.004 in ~ 6
days.  And I didn't aerate b/c I *wanted* some residual sugar.  Which I
didnt get.  I had to add potassium sorbate and 3 extra pounds of honey, but
thats another story...

I think for fermentations like these, use some yeasties which you *know* are
packed full of sterols and have silos worth of glycogen reserves.  Think of
it this way - you're getting little Dolph Lundgren-genetically-engineered
look-alikes instead of a colony of scrappers and misfits.  Hey, your yeast
may be in tip-top shape, but honestly, Barleywines are not the cheapest
beers in the world to make, and for my money, I'd bet on a sure thing rather
than taking your chances with the yeast you just used.  Besides, Nottinghan
is cheap.  Seven bucks and you're at a commercial pitch rate.

Just my .02...  Best of luck on the BW.  Make it right and you can lay it
down for a couple of years and watch it improve......

Jay Spies
Asinine Aleworks
(formerly Charm City Altobrewery)
Baltimore MD



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:45:39 -0500
From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net>
Subject: Sticks and stones and malt milling

Brewsters:

Jeff Halvorsen asks about motorizing his Crankandstein mill and also asks the
important question about how to design it so it can deal with detritus ( like
stones) in the malt.

In the good old, bad old days I used an AC powered drill to turn the key made
from a cut down hex headed bolt to replace the manual crank.  The bolt
diameter was the same diameter as the crank handle and the top was cut across
to make a "t" shaped section which fit into the slots on the mill.  The bolt
was held in the drill chuck and the chuck lay on its side on a platform of the
appropriate height so the drill axis and key fit into the mill.

I wrapped up the cord so the cord was tight enough that if the drill handle
rotated around the drilling axis it would pull the plug, if something got
caught in the mill.  The drill was heavy enough that it would be able to turn
the mill without strapping it down and was therefore free to rotate if the
mill stopped. I used this configuration for lots of years ( hundreds of pounds
of malt, no doubt) and the plug pulling worked succesfully several times. My
drill was so old it was only a two pronged plug, so was easy to remove.

Memorable are the chunks of rubber and the small screw which on different
occasions stoppped the mill cold. Never had a situation where this
configuration didn't pull the plug when needed.  Pretty simple solution to
this problem if you have this kind of drill.  You may have to replace the
grounded three prong plug with a two prong keyed plug. Pay attention to
grounding.

More recenly, since my old drill of 30 + years finally died during a screwing
session (we can only hope),  I have been using a new fangled Makita
rechargable battery operated one. It comes with an adjustable clutch on the
drive and should take care of any problems.  Set it to the lightest slip . No
junk in the malt so far, so can't say for sure it will work, but it should.

Interestingly, when I was contemplating going to a new battery powered drill
for my mill, I was mentally designing a clutch based on two concentric tubes
or one tube in the chuck and the key for the mill in the inside of this
tube.Tube was to be cut parallel to the central axis with two or more slots
and the tube bent inward like fingers so the key fit snugly but not tightly,
so I could get slip to prevent mill damage. Maybe something like a worm clamp
would be needed to adjust the slip. And then I said "Hey, I already have that
clutch on my drill."  So now I just set my drill on the lowest numbered clutch
position and mill away.

Nevertheless, the clutch idea is a good one, I believe, especially for those
millers who choose a direct drive method as in the reference Jeff provided.
Maybe Dan Listerman or other mill suppliers would care to provide such a
concentric clutch.  It would be a service to the milling community.  Just name
it after me if it works.

Keep on Brewin'

Dave Burley




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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:54:38 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: SWAG Definition

>I learned SWAG was Stupid Wild A$$ Guess.

A relative of SWAG is POOMA.  Pulled out of my  at ss, or, pulled out of 
mid-air, for public consumption.  This was a commonly cited source 
for skipped steps in answers to class problems back in my ill-fated 
chemical engineering days at the University of Michigan in the 
mid-60s.  Sometimes referred to as Professor Pooma, as in, "see Prof. 
Pooma," when going, say, directly from step G to step P, with no 
visible means of support.

I still occasionally cite the old Prof.

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


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 11:02:29 -0500
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: RE: getting soda smell out of kegs

Marc,

The stainless steel itself isn't the problem, it's rubber.  Replace all the
O-rings.  Main ring on the hatchway, on the out and in tubes, in the
quick-disconnects on the keg and the QDs themselves.  You may have to
replace the poppets or any rubber that's replaceable as well.  

Dave Houseman


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 11:09:06 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: steam-rolled barley

Marc Sedam writes from Chapel Hill, NC:

>Steam-rolled barley refers to the process of barley kernels (sans husk)
>that have been pressed through two metal rollers heated with steam.  The
>process quickly gelatinizes the starch in the barley kernel without
>pulverizing it.  In doing so, any enzymes are destroyed.

I don't think this is everything - there has to be some moisture for 
the gelatinization of the starches and to soften the grain to prevent 
it breaking into pieces.  The barley (or oats or whatever) kernels 
are moistened (perhaps with steam?) before being rolled between 
heated rollers.  The rollers not only flatten the grain and 
gelatinize the starch, they dry the grain.

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


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:44:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Ronald La Borde <pivoron at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Motorizing a Mill (DC or AC motor)

>From: "Jeff Halvorson \(tTB\)" <jeff at
truthbrew.com>
>
>I would like to motorize my Crankandstein CGM-2A
>grain mill.  What are my best
>options?

Jeff, there are many options, take a look at my design
at:

http://hbd.org/rlaborde/maltmill.htm

It's one of many, but I can say it works well. If
there's any downside it is that it takes up more room
than a smaller setup.

The motor can be had for free, if you cruise for
discarded washing machines.

Ron



=====
Ron
Ronald J. La Borde -- Metairie, LA
New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie, LA
www.hbd.org/rlaborde



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 14:16:27 -0500
From: "Rich Medina" <gothambrewer at att.net>
Subject: Re: getting soda smell out of kegs

Marc writes of trouble with the persistent smell of soda in some
newfound kegs despite the replacement of o-rings.  I would recommend
braking down the down the poppets as well as the pressure relief valve
(if you have one).  You'll be amazed at the amount of caked-on syrup
that is encrusted in the springs of both the poppets and valve.
Basically, I made a PBW solution as per instructions for heavily
soiled parts, brought the solution to a boil, added parts, waited
overnight and repeated for the most stubborn parts. FWIW, HTH.
YMMV.....

Rich Medina
Gothambrewery
Jamaica Estates, NY


You can observe alot just by watching
 - Yogi Berra





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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 12:51:25 -0700
From: "Mike Racette" <mike.racette at hydro-gardens.com>
Subject: re: nitrogen and hops don't mix


What happens to the hop components? Do they break down into some other
compound or do they go out of solution and mix with the nitrogen gas and
then escape as the beer is poured? Why doesn't CO2 have a similar effect?



Return to table of contents


Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 14:59:53 -0500
From: "Orin Walker" <orinw at hotmail.com>
Subject: Replacement for 5 gallon soda kegs

>>Bag-in-box systems are quickly replacing everything
>>in my area, as I have to assume other areas, too.
>>For the short term, this is going to mean more
>>available kegs for us homebrewers, but I don't think
>>its going to be all that long before all of these
>>5 gallon soda kegs (Coke and Pepsi) are going to
>>be hard to find, except for scrap metal.

Bill's post got me thinking...
* How long will it be before the 5 gallon soda kegs become hard to find?
* Even if I stock up, will I be able to get replacement parts?
* What can homebrewers use for replacements when the supplies are
dimenished?

Any thoughts?

Orin Walker
Tallahassee, FL


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:05:39 -0500
From: "Joe Berardino" <misbrewhaven at hotmail.com>
Subject: 3 Tier Systems & Aluminum Kettles

Hello All,
I am in the process of designing a 3 tier system currently and have
been debating over if I should should use aluminum or not. I am
tentatively planning on using 2 -40 qt alum stock pots for HLT and
brew kettle and a cooler of some sort for a mash tun. I eventually
want to end up with a HERMS type setup but for now will have
to make due with the previous. I think it would be fine for the
hot liquor tank as all it is ever going to hold is water, but am
wary of using it for the actual brew kettle. I am under the
impression that the ball valve and fittings shouldn't cause any
corrosion problems with the kettle due to the fact that there
will be such a small amount of it and such a large amount of
aluminum. I know that stainless steel would be a nicer option, but
I am trying to be thrifty about this as I don't have that much $$
to spend making the jump to all grain. I guess my main concern
would be pitting of the kettle and possible off flavors due to the
aluminum. I have read that it should ok for brewing beer, but have
also read that in distilling, it would be bad to use it. I am brewing
beer, not distilling but still wonder why one source says to totally
avoid it, and the other states that it's ok.
Are there any folks who have a really slick system of this
type and have advice about designing one? Are there any real pitfalls
or disavantages in using aluminum I should be aware of ? TIA.

Joe B.



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 15:18:18 -0500
From: Bob Hall <rallenhall at toast.net>
Subject: Refractometer Tips

A year or so ago I purchased an ATC refractometer in hopes of reading OG 
with a few drops of wort rather than needing a whole hydrometer sampling 
tube. I gave up after awhile and went back to the hydrometer because my 
refractometer readings seemed to swing wildly in back-to-back readings with 
the same wort, same temperature. I think that I was following the 
directions; a few drops of wort to completely cover the prism window before 
dropping the plate, rinsing and drying between readings.

I've since read somewhere that the sample should be left on the stage for 
30 seconds before a reading is taken, but last night while watching the 
Thirsty Traveler on the Fine Living Channel I saw a Brazilian distiller 
literally take a ladel of potential Cachaca, pour it over the prism, and 
take an immediate reading.

So what's the deal? Any tips from refractometer users would be appreciated.

Bob Hall
Napoleon, OH



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 16:31:11 -0500 (EST)
From: "Chip Stewart" <Charles at thestewarts.com>
Subject: Corny Kegs - 10's & 3's

On Fri, 07 Nov 2003, NO Spam <nospam at brewbyyou.net>, AKA Bill Wibble informed
us that:

>The 10 gallon corny is the rarest bird of all. Welders have mostly turned them
all into cylindroconical fermenters.  I saw one on ebay not too long ago that
went for almost $300.

I wish.  I occasionally sell them on e-Bay and generally get $70 or $80 for
them.  A current seardh on the completed items section of e-Bay show a number of
them in that price range.  They're not as common as the 5's, but I wouldn't say
they're as rare as you suggest.

> 3 gallon kegs are next, those are also getting hard to come by.

Not at all.  I sell them on my web site. So do hundreds of homebrew shops,
beverage equipment distributors, etc.

> Bag-in-box systems are quickly replacing everything in my area, as I have to
assume other areas, too.  For the short term, this is going to mean more
available kegs for us homebrewers, but I don't think its going to be all that
long before all of these 5 gallon soda kegs (Coke and Pepsi) are going to
be hard to find, except for scrap metal. Get 'em while you can!

I don't think I'd sound the alarm quite yet, as they're still in current
production.  But if you're that concerned, I'll be glad to sell you some.  And
I'll still donate $2.50 for each one sold to an HBD'er to the server fund.
Don't forget to identify yourself, though.
http://Charles.TheStewarts.com/brewing

On another topic, I hate to brag, but I got me a brewery  (okay, I like to
brag).  I just bought a 1825 house (http://Charles.TheStewarts.com/house) with
a separate summer kitchen, and SWMBO is gonna let me turn it into a
tavern/brewery (not commercial).  I'll post pix as the project develops
(probably in the spring).

Chip Stewart
Hagerstown, Maryland
Charles at TheStewarts.com
http://Charles.TheStewarts.com

Support anti-Spam legislation.
Join the fight http://www.cauce.org


"I bet if you reached total enlightenment while drinking beer, it would make
beer squirt out your nose"
- -- Jack Handey


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 14:24:19 -0800 (PST)
From: Ed Jones <cuisinartoh at yahoo.com>
Subject: tap handle brass ferrules

Does anyone have an inexpensive source for the brass ferrules and
hanger screws for making tap handles? I have a buddy looking to make
some custom tap handles and I'd like to source these ferrules cheaply.
B3 ( http://www.morebeer.com ) has the ferrules for $3.25 and the bolt
for $0.75 each. Are there any better sources?

Thanks,
Ed


=====
Ed Jones - Columbus, Ohio U.S.A - [163.8, 159.4] [B, D] Rennerian

"When I was sufficiently recovered to be permitted to take nourishment,
I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness...I am
confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery."
  - written by a wounded officer after Battle of Waterloo, 1815



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:04:08 -0600
From: "Rob Dewhirst" <rob at hairydogbrewery.com>
Subject: Re: Sanke conversion to corny

> I have a similar project to this on my long term (i.e., may never
> happen) list of things to do.  I thought I recalled someone having
> cut an appropriately sized hole out of a sanke keg and then just
> using a corny lid in that hole, with no welding or other
> modifications.

I don't see how you could cut out a hole that would fit the corny lid unless
you cut out the dome at the top of the sanke keg, which would remove the
valve.  This would make it impossible to get gas in and beer out.

?



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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 16:27:16 -0800
From: "Webb, Mike" <mike.webb at pse.com>
Subject: Re: The making of Barleywine



I've made a few Barleywines in the 1.120 range and I used 
Wyeast Calif. Ale yeast (2 tubes) pitched from the tubes. 
(although next time I think I'll make a starter). The yeast 
performed wonderfully. It took it down in less than a week, 
and I bottled without repitching, and it worked well in the 
bottles also. This is probably near the top end for that yeast 
though. I used it on stronger beers and it petered out near 12%.

Mike Webb
Communications Foreman
Puget Sound Energy
mike.webb at pse.com


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:11:20 -0800
From: "Charles Duffney" <cduffney at wesleyan.edu>
Subject: RE: The making of Barleywine

Bill,

When reading that quote, "...Incremental additions of concentrated wort," I
interpreted it a little different than I think you did.  The idea is that
you want the concentration of fermentable sugars (and other things) in the
wort at the start to be less than what you would normally make.  If you just
split the wort up into sections (such as 3 gallons, 1 gal, 1 gal from a 5
gallon boil) then you aren't changing the concentration.  What I was
thinking was go ahead and sanitize 2 gallons of water in the pressure cooker
and boil a 3 gallon batch.  You can then split up the wort (say in 3 equal
one gallon sections).  Add one gallon of the wort to the two gallons of
water and start the ferment.  The first ferment of both methods has a volume
of 3 gallons, but difference between the two is that in the first method you
only have 33% of the fermentable solids.  That's a reduction of almost half!
I'm not sure how you should store the wort for the next two additions or
what pressure cooking will do to it.  You'll have to rely on someone else's
advice for that.  As to a schedule for adding the extra wort I would say
it's best to add more wort while the yeast are roaring.  I'd try to wait
until they have fermented a lot of the first section, but I'd also try to
avoid a slow in their activity.  Just when their food supply starts to get
low, bam, surplus.  I hope that helps you out, or maybe someone else out
there.  Cheers!

Hoping the first boilover will be the last,
Chuck




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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 20:20:46 -0500
From: mpdixon at ipass.net
Subject: Motorizing a Mill (DC or AC motor)

Quoting Jeff Halvorson
> I would like to motorize my Crankandstein CGM-2A grain mill.  What are my
> best
> options?

You can run it off a drill, or mount a motor.

> 
> I have read the excellent article by Mike Dixon on using a 1/8 HP motor and
> v-belt to rig up a pulley system
> (http://hbd.org/carboy/motorizing_a_malt_mill.htm).  While this method seems
> decent, I thought I would see if anyone else had other suggestions or
> information.

I would suggest getting a little more powerful motor...

> 
> My concerns/questions:
> How will it handle stones in the malt?  I'm assuming a pulley would just
> slip
> as opposed to damaging the mill or motor.


Exactly, or the stones would be crushed.  I have really only seen stones in a
single malt in great numbers and that was Thos Fawcett Optic.  I picked them
out of the malt which was a time consuming process.


> 
> With the above concern in mind, is there a good way to motorize without have
> to
> have exposed pulley system?  Of course you can build a box around the
> pulleys
> to keep them hidden, but are there other options?


You can certainly use a direct drive gearbox, but then the mill would take the
brunt of any encountered stones.  A box to hide the sheaves is easy to
construct, and I have seen designs where the belt is run thorough a table which
would make enclosing the belt even easier. I chose to leave the belt exposed
since the only person who encounters the mill during grinding operations is
me.

Cheers,
Mike Dixon
Wake Forest, NC
http://www.ipass.net/mpdixon


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Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:36:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Rama Roberts <rama at sun.com>
Subject: re: motorizing a mill

Jeff Halvorson asks about motorizing his grain mill, and mentions Mike
Dixon's document. I used Mike's notes when motorizing my grain mill, and
am very pleased with the results. The only thing I would do differently is
to design the stand to be freestanding rather than using the bucket as a
rest, so you don't need to lift the assembly up to get at the milled
grains. It is nice to have a tight fit like Mike's design to prevent dust
from escaping.

> is there a good way to motorize without have to have exposed pulley
> system?  Of course you can build a box around the pulleys to keep them
> hidden, but are there other options?

Gearboxes, but the can get costly, and...


> How will it handle stones in the malt?  I'm assuming a pulley would just
> slip as opposed to damaging the mill or motor.

Yup, the pulleys will slip- unlike a gear box. The pulley can be fairly
loose too, which I recommend. Mine is loose enough to have an added
benefit- it causes a slight wobble that helps feed the grain down to the
rollers.

> Are DC motors an option?

Sure- whatever you can get your hands on. I would guess it'll be
harder/more expensive to find a high torque DC motor, but I'm not sure.

- --rama


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