FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org *************************************************************** THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Your Company Name and Contact Info Here! Visit http://hbd.org/sponsorhbd_table.shtml for more info! Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site! ********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html ********* Contents: Re: Burners (Kent Fletcher) keg coating (KC Sare) alcoholic root beer ("Tom & Dana Karnowski") Concept of "Session Beer" (Alexandre Enkerli) Spartanburg, SC ("Bridges, Scott") Re: trash can bags for brewing (Gary Krone) Fermenter Heating ("Martin Brungard") Lightbulb as heat source (Jeff and/or Donna May) Quick brews ("Dave Draper") kegging questions ("Chris Keenan") re: Warmer in my fridge than in Michigan ("Michael O'Donnell") Re; St. Patty's Day Brew (NO Spam) Kaltenberg Castle (davidpeters) Cooking with beer (Steve Funk) Re: Ginty's Irish-American (Ted Grudzinski) Washoe Zephyr Zymurgists HBC ("John C.Tull") RE: quickie beer (Steve Funk) CACA vs CAP ("Ed Dorn") Speaking of Irish Red Ales ("Steve Arnold") Gelatinization and corn malt ("Jon & Megan Sandlin") Question for Dave Burley ("William Frazier")
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 22:29:01 -0800 (PST) From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Burners Ted Hull is considering going with Natural Gas burners: > Checked w/ a co-worker who does HVAC, and it appears > that the 5/8" supply line will only carry roughly > 70-90 cu ft/hr, which equates to roughly 70,000 to > 90,000 Btu/hr. It's not quite that simple, it depends on the distance from the pressure regulator, which is at the meter. If you're fairly close to the meter you will have more capacity. A 1/2" pipe at 40 feet from the meter will supply 82 cu ft/hr. Fifty feet takes you down to 73. On the other hand, if you're only 20 deet from the meter you'd have 119 cu ft/hr capacity, which is pretty decent, and should run a burner big enough for 10 gallon batches with no real strain. If your desired location is a long distance from the meter, you'll probably want to stick with LPG. If it's only 20-30 feet, you might consider upsizing to 3/4" pipe, which would more than double the capacity (249 cu ft/hr at 20 feet, for example). Gas meters are usually placed at the side of a house, so it can be a short run to a back patio. It's only 13 feet from the meter to my patio. Kent Fletcher Brewing in So Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 22:42:30 -0800 (PST) From: KC Sare <beerbeer95648 at yahoo.com> Subject: keg coating Today I was trying to weld a 2 inch tri-clover ferrel to a converted keg. I was welding from the inside using a small miller TIG welder. The problem being that a stable ark would not form inside the keg. However, there was no problem from the outside. I have faith in my welding skills, and am sure there was no problem with my set-up. The keg is an old Anheuser Busch keg, and is definitely stainless. Does anyone know if there is a possibility of there being some kind of coating inside these kegs? Thanks KC Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:13:26 -0500 From: "Tom & Dana Karnowski" <karnowsk at esper.com> Subject: alcoholic root beer Tim Cook wants to make alcoholic root beer. I think the best way to do this is completely forget the sugar and honey. Instead, use Laaglander dry malt extract, probably the extra light "shade". This malt extract has a notoriously low attenuation and thus can be used for many different styles of beers to supplement a more attenuative extract. There may be others that have this quality too but I don't know of them. You should also choose an unattenuative yeast as well, I think I'd suggest one of the scottish strains. In my experience sucrose or honey attenuate a tremendous amount and do not add much in the way of sweetness unless you have a really big beer. Another idea would be to add lactose, to sort of make a "milk root beer". good luck! Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:20:31 -0400 From: Alexandre Enkerli <aenkerli at indiana.edu> Subject: Concept of "Session Beer" Saw the term a number of times and understood it from context to mean an easy-to-drink beer. Didn't understand the relation to a "drinking session" (quite British a concept), but could still imagine it being the kind of beer brewpub patrons are likely to order a pitcher of. But I'm wondering about implications and connotations. As opposed to a lot of our terminology, it seems to be consumption-oriented, rather than brewing techniques. It also seems much more fluid than tasting and judging categories. After googling a bit for explanations, I thought I'd ask the collective. So, what are the "limits" of a session beer? The easy-to-drink factor clearly involves alcohol content but is there an acknowledged limit on this? Can a 6% ABV beer be considered a "session brew" if it meets other criteria? If so, what other criteria are there? If not, is 5% the limit? What role does body/FG/residual sweetness play in the equation? For a session beer not to be "filling," should it be low in calories and/or low in flavour? Then, aren't there tacit restrictions on which beer styles may be the base for a session brew? Can there be a "session witbier" if the brewery or pub sells it as the main quaffable beer (as happens in some places)? Also, is it like ABT, defined as one extreme for a specific brewery or is there a general consensus on what it means? Ah, so many questions, so little beer. Thinking about this... it might be fun to have "session beer" experiments, using different brews. Which beer is easier to drink? Does the beer profile have an influence on rate of intake? Older residents of a university's "greek system" would surely volunteer as guinea pigs... ;-) AleX in Moncton, NB [1568.9km, 68] Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:41:06 -0500 From: "Bridges, Scott" <ScottBridges at sc.slr.com> Subject: Spartanburg, SC "Robert Humphrey" <RobertHumphrey at ev1.net writes: >The last plant I worked in had protable emergency eye wash stations made out >of ten gallon corny kegs. I believe the kegs were made in Spartenburg >Georgia. Robert, Spartanburg is in South Carolina, not Georgia. They are our neighbors, but I didn't want you confusing us with those crackers next door... Many of the corny style kegs were produced by Spartanburg Steel. ob brewing: I'm moving next month to a new house in the area and have already scoped out a space for my brewery. She Who Must Be Obeyed has already granted my petition for the dedicated space in the garage which I guess was designed for a workshop. I haven't brewed much lately due to life's other obligations but I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I hope to be able to put some of the suggestions I've seen here in place in the new brewhouse. Scott Brewing in Columbia, SC (not Maryland, not Missouri, not District of ....) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 07:59:21 -0600 From: Gary Krone <gkrone at wi.rr.com> Subject: Re: trash can bags for brewing I wouldn't even consider trash can liners for this!! Many have an insecticide on them for the obvious reasons. Can be hazardous to your health. >------------------------------ > >Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:29:05 -0500 >From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> >Subject: trash can bags for brewing > >Yesterday's HBD had a couple of suggestions to use trash can bags as a >sanitary liner for fermentors. >I have no doubt they are sanitary, but how do you know which brands >would be food-grade? Considering their intended use, I doubt if the >manufacturers would be touting them as food-grade. > Gary Krone 7617 50th Ave Kenosha, WI 53142 gkrone at wi.rr.com (262)697-5041 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 05:18:08 -0900 From: "Martin Brungard" <mabrungard at hotmail.com> Subject: Fermenter Heating I'm not surprised to see all the posts with recommendations for using a light bulb as a heat source in a fermenter chamber. Its very cheap and easy to do. Of course the light from the bulb is not an ideal by-product, but that is easily accommodated with an aluminum foil shroud. I have another simple and relatively cheap heat source. A simple heating pad is what I use. For less than $15, I have an adjustable heat source that also serves me when I overdo some lifting ;-) I just put the pad in the chamber and set it to the high setting. I keep my cooling thermostat setting at the proper temperature and let it keep the fermenter temperature correct. I usually have to turn the heating pad setting down after the fermenter has reached its target temperature so the cooling system isn't working overtime. My workshop has its temperature set at about 50F, when I'm not working out there. My well-insulated fermenter chamber works beautifully at ale temperatures with this arrangement. Throwing a heating pad in your normally "cooling-purpose" fermenter chamber is an easy addition for those cold times of the year. Martin Brungard Tallahassee, FL Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:45:32 -0500 (GMT-05:00) From: Jeff and/or Donna May <mayzer at earthlink.net> Subject: Lightbulb as heat source I am having the same problem with my fermenting fridge not staying warm enough to ferment ales. It is in the laundry room where it stays around 62F during the winter months. I am considering the light bulb approach with a thermostat. It works for my pump house, so it should work for my fridge. My concern is exposing the beer to light. I ferment in glass carboys and I try to prevent the beer from getting light-struck. Should I be concerned about the light bulb exposing the fermenting beer to too much light? I guess I could cover the carboy to shield it. Jeff May Mayzerbrau Wilmington NC Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:16:12 -0700 From: "Dave Draper" <david at draper.name> Subject: Quick brews Dear Friends, With regard to Michael O'Donnell's query on a quick-conditioning batch: I recommend a very straightforward British-style pub bitter. I have one in the keg now that went from brew day to tap in just over two weeks. I am at work and so don't have my notes to give you the exact recipe, but that's not really important. Use a grain bill that starts with a good, standard pale ale malt and about 20% medium crystal, and that's it-- simplicity itself. Shoot for an OG of about 1.040, and hop with any decent bittering hop for about 30 IBU, and be sure to use generous amounts of a good British finishing hop in the final ten minutes. Mine used East Kent Goldings, and the hop flavor and aroma are wonderful (and I didn't even dry-hop). I also used Nottingham dry ale yeast (I am a firm fan of this yeast for such beers). For this brew, I was shooting for something like Hook Norton, a straw- to-golden bitter that was one of my very faves when I lived in the UK lo! these many years ago. I recall Michael's aim was to have something besides his darker brews that are already on hand, so this would fit that bill as well. Hope this helps, Dave in ABQ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- David S. Draper, Institute of Meteoritics, Univ New Mexico David at Draper dot name Beer page: http://www.unm.edu/~draper/beer.html Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 10:52:53 -0500 From: "Chris Keenan" <chrisk at flagshipcinemas.com> Subject: kegging questions Hello, I would first like to thank all of you who helped me so much with the encouragement to move to kegging. I did it for my last batch and I am in love with both the product and the time it saved me. I do have a couple of questions though, that I am sure are elementary for you all, but I am stumped. 1) I think that I dispensing the beer all wrong. I have a standard 5 gallon corney keg with a CO2 set up. I am not able to convert a 'fridge (yet) and I keep the keg in a standard 'fridge with the shelving removed. I also have the tavern style tap which attached directly to the quick disconnect of the corney. When I first drew a glass, it was great, now when I draw a pint, I get probably 3/4 foam and 1/4 beer. This as you know is not all that appealing. I have tried dispensing using no CO2 flow, I have used CO2 flow low and then at 1 - 2 psi above the psi to carbonate, and I still get foam, what is the solution here, I am stumped. I am convinced that I am dispensing wrong, yet I cannot find good advice on this... 2) I have a brew in my Carboy that is ready to be moved to the keg for Super Bowl Sunday. I still have some of my prior batch in the keg, is there a good way to get out the beer and so that I can force carbonate the next batch without purchasing a counter-pressure bottle filter, as I really do not want to spend the money, yet. Thanks for the help!! Chris Everett, MA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:00:45 -0800 From: "Michael O'Donnell" <mooseo at stanford.edu> Subject: re: Warmer in my fridge than in Michigan Another option that I use to keep my fridge warm is little baseboard heaters they sell for de-humidifying closets. Now, it doesn't get that cold where I live (<40F, and people whine), but I use these to keep my fermentation box at 65 in the winter. They look like a piece of 1/2" pipe with a plug coming out and never get too hot to touch. I think they are between 10-30 watts, which might be a little low. They have the advantage that they are sealed and pretty sturdy so you don't need to worry if you spill some beer on them or about breaking one while shifting kegs around. I think I paid about $10. cheers, mike Monterey, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 11:13:51 -0500 From: NO Spam <nospam02 at brewbyyou.net> Subject: Re; St. Patty's Day Brew Hey Jeff, Nice to hear from you - great posts as usual. I really like your interpretation of American Irish Red Ale - I just may have to try this one! Looks to be a great recipe. One question though - and I see this alot, so I'm really wondering. I own a homebrew shop, as you probably know from previous conversations. I buy all my grains from established, well know suppliers. I am very familiar with their catalogs - I know what's available and what isn't, for the most part. Very frequently, we see these recipes, like yours, that call for crystal malt in everything from 35L to 25L to 55L to 65L. I don't understand where this comes from. All the major suppliers supply crystal malt in 20L, 40L, 60L, 80L and 120L. There is no such thing as 55L, 35L or 25L crystal. Are you blending your crystal? I could see where if you blend, say 1/2 pound of 60 and 1/2 pound of 40, you'd get 1 pound of 50. Just curious. Bill Wible Brew By You "It's not great brew, unless it's Brew By You!" - ------------------------------ Brew By You 20 Liberty Boulevard, Ste A-4 Malvern, PA 19355 610-644-6258 888-542-BREW (Toll Free) 610-644-6629 (Fax) http://www.brewbyyou.net - ------------------------------ Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 17:20:40 +0000 From: davidpeters at comcast.net Subject: Kaltenberg Castle Bill Tobler had problems with his google search. Maybe because I enjoyed too many beers there. It was Duke Wilhelm rather than King Wilhelm as I found in their sight "World-wide it is the view that the most important contribution made by Duke Wilhelm IV was the establishment in 1516 of the famous Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) on which the whole reputation of Bavarian beer depends (and which later was adopted for the whole of Germany). The law has to be one of the first ordinances controlling the quality of food and drink in the whole world - and of course is that of highest importance to the beer drinker. The Beer Purity Law states that the beer shall be brewed "only from hops, barley malt and water" and nothing else. In other words, this means that the beer must not contain any other additives - something which nowadays plays a great role." The reference is from : http://www.kaltenberg.com/koenig_ludwig.asp?lang=en Hit the Brewery Tab and then Prinz Luitpold - a Wittelsbacher for a little history lesson. >Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 20:43:53 -0600 >From: Bill Tobler <wctobler at sbcglobal.net> >Subject: RE: Yeast Starters, CACA vs CAP, Plastic fermenters >Yesterday, David Peters told of his trip to Vail and a brewery tour. ........ >I got curious and did a Google search on King Wilhelm. It looks like he >was around between 1797 and 1888. (He must have been a healthy bugger) >I had to do another search for the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law) >which was adopted in 1516, almost two hundred years before the long >lived King >Wilhelm. Am I missing something or is there an earlier King >Welhelm? David Peters Northville, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:27:55 -0800 From: Steve Funk <steve at hheco.com> Subject: Cooking with beer Brewing beer for use as a beverage is obvious. But, cooking with beer can really add pizzazz to your recipes too. Even Emeril Lagasse has an article with a couple recipes that include beer. http://houseandhome.msn.com/Food/Experts/CookingwithBeer.aspx How many of you have a favorite recipe that includes beer. Would you care to share any recipes? Cheers, - -- Steve Funk Brewing in the Columbia River Gorge Stevenson, WA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:31:32 -0800 (PST) From: Ted Grudzinski <tgrudzin at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Ginty's Irish-American Do I trest the maize and barley in any special way, or just add it to the mash? Ted Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 10:12:46 -0800 From: "John C.Tull" <johnctull at fastmail.fm> Subject: Washoe Zephyr Zymurgists HBC I want to invite the members of this list to participate in the 2004 Washoe Zephyr Zymurgists Hombrew Competition here in Reno, NV. We will be judging Sunday 29 February 2004, with entries due from 7-21 February 2004. Last year we had over 100 entries, and the BOS winner brewed their beer at the Great Basin Brewing Company. This year's winner will brew at Silver Peak Restaurant & Brewery in Reno, NV, receive a $50 gift certificate for use at the Reno Homebrewer (mail orders ok), and receive their very own yard glass. If you would like to enter your homebrew, or volunteer to steward or judge, or for more information, please visit our competition web page for all the details, and for online registration. Email me if you have any questions. http://134.197.55.114/wzz/wzz-comp2004.html I look forward to getting your beer. Best of luck and skill! John Tull WZZHC Competition Organizer Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 11:04:26 -0800 From: Steve Funk <steve at hheco.com> Subject: RE: quickie beer Alan Semok proposed a recipe outline for a quick turn-around time beer. I just have one question about a statement: <snip> <...and a pinch or two of black for color (and to help the beer clear)." Back to me- Does the use of black malt, or any dark malt for that matter, aid in the clairity of the wort runoff, final beer or what? Cheerr, - -- Steve Funk Brewing in the Columbia River Gorge Stevenson, WA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 17:44:00 -0500 From: "Ed Dorn" <edorn at cox.net> Subject: CACA vs CAP First - to Ron from Cajun country. No, we don't smoke. And in my absence, please visit Acme Oyster House and have a few dozen oysters knowing that I long to be in one of those seats again soon. Several people have asked about the fermentation temps/schedules I used for my brews. I should have mentioned this in the original post. Generally I followed what I think are pretty typical fermentation schedules - I certainly had no interest in trying to gimmick the results. Brewday was November 1. Original gravity was 1.043. The ale (Wyeast 1056) was fermented one week in primary at 67-70 F, and one week in secondary at the same temperature. It was kegged on November 15 with FG at 1.007. The CAP (WLP 833) was fermented 9 days at 50 F, got a 36-hour rest at 60 F, then secondary fermentation at 45 F for 11 days. Temp was then taken to freezing and remained so for 2 weeks. Beer was then kegged with a FG of 1.009. It then went into the serving tank at 40F and was carbonated over the next week. Both beers are force carbonated. Others have said that their results of similar tastings have yielded dissimilar results. I'd urge caution about tastings that are not blind. The power of suggestion is incredibly strong. I, too, thought that the beers were different as I consumed them. The blind triangle tasting proved me mistaken. Some have suggested by private email that it's not surprising that 1056 is clean enough to brew a beer quite similar to a lager. If that turns out to be consistently true, that's BIG NEWS. To me, at least. Maybe I was in the proverbial 10% that didn't get the word, but I was unaware that such is the case. I'm certainly not drawing any conclusions from one tasting result. But as I've progressed over about 6 years of brewing, I've found myself wondering how important lagers really are to the homebrewer. I find myself thinking back to when the first pilsner appeared in central Europe. It was a beautiful golden color and quite striking in the comparsion to the brown mud that passed for beer in those days. It seems to me entirely plausible that over the years a culture has grown up around the idea that to create a particular type of beer it must be a lager. AND with today's wide variety of yeasts, perhaps "clean" ale yeasts can produce beers that are virtually indistinguishable from their lager brethren. In fact, my original post asked if it was possible to differentiate between a lager and an ale IN THE GLASS. Just think what it would mean to a great many homebrewers if they could very nearly clone world-class lagers in their homes with no refrigeration for fermentation. I'm simply wondering if it's possible. Ed Dorn, Va Beach, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 19:57:08 -0600 From: "Steve Arnold" <vmi92 at cox-internet.com> Subject: Speaking of Irish Red Ales A recent issue of Zymurgy mentioned the possibility of IRA becoming an official style for BJCP. Anyone have any insight into that process? Any chance of that style being recognized before the March Bluebonnet competition in Texas? -Steve Arnold Fort Smith, Arkansas Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:27:10 -0800 From: "Jon & Megan Sandlin" <sandlin at bendcable.com> Subject: Gelatinization and corn malt I have malted some corn that I would like to use to make a "beer" from 100% corn malt; however, I have a concern with the fact that the temperature for starch conversion is lower than the gelatinization temperature for corn (70-75 degrees C). I have a dilema, will I denature the enzymes in the corn malt if I getatinize the corn? Thanks in advance for your help. Jon Sandlin Bend, OR Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 21:21:19 -0600 From: "William Frazier" <billfrazier at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Question for Dave Burley Dave wrote, in a discussion of how to purge kegs with CO2; "Other later modifications by other brewers added in the idea of using sanitizing agents instead of just plain hot water. There is no need to make up 5 gallons of sanitizer" Dave - I'm one of the brewers that fill a keg with Iodophor to sanitize. Then I dispense the Iodophor into beer bottles to sanitize them before filling with beer. My question - do you sanitize your beer bottles or do you treat them with very hot water like you do to sanitize your kegs? Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas Return to table of contents
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