HOMEBREW Digest #4485 Thu 26 February 2004


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Happy Hour in Seattle ("Mike Sharp")
  Brewing Movies/Pictures (Alexandre Enkerli)
  Bunratty Mead ("Brian Dougan")
  safety of coolers as mashtuns (Aaron Martin Linder)
  Re: Potassium Metabisulfite (Robert Sandefer)
  OT: Harvesting of addresses (Patrick-Gabriel Clarke)
  Building a bottling station ("Rob Dewhirst")
  metabite in brewing ("A. J. deLange")
  Re: Copper in Fermenters (Jeff Renner)
  golden gate cask bungs (RiedelD)
  useful if true (Jeremy Bergsman)
  Gas Measurement ("Martin Brungard")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 22:04:55 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com> Subject: Happy Hour in Seattle Demonick suggests a happy hour: > Peter, email me and perhaps we can hook up somewhere. Heck, email me too; I'd love an excuse to quaff a brew at any of the places (except the chains) on Demonick's list. The Elysian is nice, and I've been wanting to visit Big Time Brewery--I've heard great things about their head brewer. I was just in Tacoma last week--our brew club met at the Harmon Brewery, and we met their brewer, Michael Davis. Great fellow, great brew--he's got quite a number of GABF medals. But Tacoma's a bit of a drive. But Hales, Maritime Pacific and the old Redhook are all great places too. Damn, it's great to live near Seattle! So many brewpubs, so little time. Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 02:59:23 -0400 From: Alexandre Enkerli <aenkerli at indiana.edu> Subject: Brewing Movies/Pictures Was looking for pictures of lager fermentation and couldn't find any through obvious searches. As a lot of people now have digital camera and even digital camcorder, there must be a lot of brewing-related pictures and movie files out there... Of course, brewclubs have galleries but these usually contain pictures of group events such as Big Brews and visits, not much on fermentation... I know of at least one (local) site which has fermentation pix, but nothing specifically on lager: http://www.bodensatz.com/gallery/ It'd be nice to see, say, movies of a carboy and airlock at different stages of fermentation... Anyone got a good repository for general brewing pictures and movie files? Thanks in advance! Ale-X in Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 14:33:55 +0000 From: "Brian Dougan" <dougan_b at hotmail.com> Subject: Bunratty Mead While travelling around Ireland last spring I happened upon "Bunratty Mead" produced at the Bunratty Winery, Bunratty, Co. Clare. Has anyone else sipped this mead and have opinions on it? I was hoping perhaps someone would be able to help me figure out a recipe that would be close to it. Having yet to make a mead, I thought this would be a good one to try and get close to having enjoyed it. Thanks in advance. -Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 11:02:06 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Martin Linder <lindera at umich.edu> Subject: safety of coolers as mashtuns Hi, I have searched the HBD archives for good information for as long as I could stand it using my 56K dial-up and finally decided to post my first message since I couldn't find any good information(on plastic mashtuns that is!) Sorry if I missed it somehow. I have been curious about the safety of using coolers as mashtuns for awhile now. I currently use a 5 gal. Rubbermaid and a 10 gal. Igloo (one use). I decided to cast aside any hints of fear I had or regrets I might have had for using the coolers without thinking about it more by calling Rubbermaid to settle the issue. I'm not particularly convinced by anecdotal evidence such as, "Well, I've been doing it for years and you don't see anything wrong with me, do you?" Well, no I guess I don't see anything wrong with you. So it's not an acute, fatal exposure, that's mildly reassuring. I assure you, I'm not dead yet either. I called Rubbermaid three times and listened to three people tell me a variation of the following dialogue: Me: Is it ok to use coolers for hot liquids, like for making beer. Them: No, it's never been tested for hot liquids. Only use cold liquids. Me: So it might be unsafe to use them, like they might leach out toxic metals or organics? Them: No, I'm not saying that, just that they haven't been tested. After calling them, I of course felt two things. One, they're just a corporation trying to cover their ass, as usual. I understand. It's probably made of food grade HDPE (Rubbermaid at least) and is probably safe to use. Besides, Rubbermaid is probably mostly scared the cooler will become brittle and crack or something, not that the homebrewing world is slowly raising the levels of lead or cadmium or whatever else in its collective body. Two, I thought, well, maybe it's fundamentally different to have a slightly acidic solution at 170 degrees or maybe a touch over. Maybe it really is a risky business, maybe less so than other things like smoking or walking out of the house, but maybe still a little risky.(yes, i could easily have done more damage to myself by going to Frasier's pub last night, breathing in cigarette fumes for 2 hours, i know.) So, does anyone have any counter-evidence. OR, is this issue like so many others in life, an issue of whether you are willing to take a probably insignificant risk in exchange for the convenience and monetary-savings versus going with the perceived safer alternative which will cost you more money, time and convenience(i.e. stainless steel) By the way anyone know how long a pot of mash will hold temperature in your kitchen without applying heat? That being said, I also called "ROPAK," a corporation that makes food grade, white, HDPE buckets. I use them for sparging, etc. They said that their products ARE safe for brewing. The lady with whom I spoke gave an example from the fruit-filling industry. She said that the fruit-filling people, apple filing to be exact, blurp their gooey ware into the plastic buckets, stamp on the lid and flip them over. I assume that this is to sterilize the lid. The mixture was at 170+ degrees (not sure how high). This seemed like a good comparison with a mash. A hot, sweet, probably mildly acidic mass. So, the plastic in ROPAK, or other food-grade buckets must be the same as Rubbermaid, and it's probably safe to use coolers, but who knows. Thanks. Aaron Sorry if this is an old horse. I'm an animal lover too. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 11:41:11 -0500 From: Robert Sandefer <melamor at vzavenue.net> Subject: Re: Potassium Metabisulfite In an acidic environment, potassium metabisulfite releases SO2, which many organisms cannot survive. However, I believe a pH less than 4 is generally required to have a reasonable metabisulfite addition release enough sulfur dioxide to have much of an effect on the microorganisms in a must. To my mind, both wort and plain water (in any area I've lived) are not acidic enough for metabisulfite addition to be viable. I'd just boil the water. If it's for topping up an extract, partial-boil batch, you could just use tap water straight from the tap. (It's worked for me in the past. I have transfered water from the tap to the fermenter, pre-pitching, with a sanitized quart measuring cup. I haven't had an (obviously) infected batch yet.) Robert Sandefer Arlington, VA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 09:25:48 -0800 From: Patrick-Gabriel Clarke <hbd.to.theq at xoxy.net> Subject: OT: Harvesting of addresses Greetings brewers - Firstly, hats off to the establishment for being cognizant of and caring about email security on the list. Unfortunately, my address has apparently been harvested from this list despite their efforts. This is a tagged address that has been used only three times: 1) to submit a subscription request to HBD - some time ago 2) to confirm said request - also some time ago 3) to make my first post - a week or so ago That's it - never exposed anywhere else, never used anywhere else, and not terribly subject to a dictionary attack. This will be only the 4th email sent from this address. Has anyone else had similar experiences? This particular spew originates from 217.10.166.50 on Engineering-Internetworks (kcom.com?) which has a New Guineau address, but whose contacts appear to be from Gerrards Cross, UK. Does this ring any bells for anyone? The spam itself involves a "weblotto" scam, from a "Dr Enrique Westerhoff" and appears to be laughable phishing attempt. Appropriate entities have already been larted. Has anyone else received this? Thanks and sorry for the bad news! - Patrick-Gabriel PS - FWIW, I agree with Demonick's estimation of the numerous Seattle brewpubs, and would add that the Muffaletta sandwich at Big Time is worth the visit even if they didn't have great beer! Also, Fiddler's Inn and the Wedgwood Ale House (both on 35th NE in Wedgwood), while not brewpubs are pleasant places to explore many local brews. The former is non-smoking & has good food (try the Harvest sandwich), sports a nice wood theme in it's "new" incarnation (it used to be a tiny green cabin dive serving Bud & Rainier) but gets noisy on weekend nights and on open mike nights - and has a small outdoor patio that's nice. The latter is a basic neighborhood pub also with a great beer menu, and similarly good food - also has a "back room" all-ages restaurant for when you want to bring the kids. (Youngest Daughter recommends the cheesy noodles) ;-) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:01:30 -0600 From: "Rob Dewhirst" <rob at hairydogbrewery.com> Subject: Building a bottling station I am looking for ideas for building a bottling station (a bench-capping station). If you have pictures or ideas for what you have done in your brewery, I would appreciate ideas I can rip off, er, I mean, use as a basis for my homage to your ingenuity. My vague idea of features would be: Based on a small desk-size table, about the size of a large card table. Draining rack that holds bottles upside down. Platform for carboy/container of liquid to be bottled. Removable mount for bench capper (already have an idea there from Norm Abram). Would accomodate both beer capping and wine corking (with floor corker beside station). Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 18:48:18 +0100 From: "A. J. deLange" <ajd at zai.com> Subject: metabite in brewing Metabite is used in brewing but the usual application is the elimination of chloramine rather than trying to establish an advantage for the desired strain of yeast as is done in wine making. One campden tablet should convert the cloramine in 40 gallons of water at a chloramine level of 3 mg/L/. See http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/4216.html#4216-18 for more details. A.J. A.J. deLange ERS Project Manager Zeta Associates Inc 703 359 8696 855-6005 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 16:10:49 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Copper in Fermenters [This hasn't shown up in the queue, so Ill send it again. Hope it doesn't appear twice. -J] Eric Schoville <eric at schoville.com> writes (from Texas? Seems to me you were going to live in Europe for a while) >Is there a problem with copper in fermenters? I would like to but a SS >valve in my fermenter, but all of the extra parts I have are out of >copper. I think the US government is trying to get copper out of contact with all kinds of foodstuffs, but copper has been used for brewing for centuries, including for fermenters. Ridley's Brewery in Essex, UK, which I visited a few years ago, has copper lined square oak fermenters dating from 1842. You can see them at http://www.ridleys.co.uk/pages/tour.asp?ftime=1& (scroll across to the fermenter). After the fermenter is emptied, a worker puts on wellies and climbs in and scrubs the lining with a green pad, or so I was told. You'd think that many years of that would wear out the copper. It must have been thick to have lasted this long. Ridley's beer can be problematic, but I don't think it's from the copper. And their yeast, sold as WhiteLabs WLP023 Essex Ale Yeast, is one of my favorites. I have copper parts in the valve on my aluminum kettle that I use as a fermenter, and I don't think it has anything to do with the way I am. We have to look elsewhere for the blame. >If not copper, what about PVC? Does PVC tolerate acid >environments like wort? Can't help on that. Jeff Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 13:38:49 -0800 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: golden gate cask bungs Hi all, I have a grave situation: 1 golden gate cask, 0 wooden bungs. Problem is, these are difficult items to find. Many suppliers don't even know what kind of keg I'm talking about. The bung appears to be about 2" in diameter at the top, tapering down very slightly to just less than that. I have a rubber stopper that is the right size - it is a 10 1/2. Does anyone have any of these solid wooden bungs for sale? Or, does anyone know who sells them? I'd buy probably at least 10. Note: the firkins sold for cask ale by UK Brewing Supplies have a 2" wooden shive - but I *think* they have a hole in them (for the soft spile, followed by the hard spile). If these are actually solid *until* the center is knocked out, would they work for the golden gate? Anyway, I really hope someone can help. The 30L golden gate is a great size for cask ale (not too big), I want to be able to use it. cheers, Dave Riedel Victoria, BC, Can. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 17:58:40 -0500 From: Jeremy Bergsman <jeremy at bergsman.org> Subject: useful if true I keep my beer in a fridge in unconditioned space. During the winter it is quite cold out there and I use my temperature controller to heat it to the upper 30's to avoid freezing my beer, but to save money and wear and tear on the heating pad I am currently using I don't keep it as warm as I like my beer, especially styles like IPA. To deal with this I have taken to microwaving my beer for 9 s just after pouring. (I have a powerful microwave--this is probably like 12-15 s in most I have used. It also has a turntable FWIW.) I believe that I get an amazing hop aroma from the hoppy beers I do this to. It seems much stronger than comparing to a beer which has been stored at a warmer temperature, but it is hard to do this precisely, and I haven't. Anyway, it's a good trick if your beer is too cold, and I would be interested in feedback if anyone tries it and thinks the hop (or perhaps other?) aroma is increased. - -- Jeremy Bergsman jeremy at bergsman.org http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:00:20 -0900 From: "Martin Brungard" <mabrungard at hotmail.com> Subject: Gas Measurement It seems that gas flow measurement during fermentation could be a beneficial tool for brewers. There have been some pretty high-tech gas measurement schemes discussed recently. Most notable is the mass flowmeter. From what I can tell, a mass flowmeter is a fairly high dollar unit. I'm not sure that its the way to go though. There is some question about accuracy at low flow rates. I've done a little investigating and have come to the conclusion that an Event Logger or State Logger attached to some sort of gas volume tripping device would provide a less expensive and higher accuracy device at low gas flow rates. These loggers record the time of every event that is signaled to it. You would download the data from the logger into a computer for conversion into an actual flowrate. There has been a mention of using bubble counting to measure gas production. Its probably effective, but I'm not sure that the minimal volume of a bubble and the shear number of bubbles could be counted by most of the inexpensive event or state loggers. From what I can tell, the sub-$100 loggers can only handle 6000 to 8000 events. Hobo and Nomad are two loggers that I've found so far. So for these loggers to be used, the tripping device needs to cycle with a larger gas volume. Rain gauges use a techique refered to as a "tipping bucket" to measure discrete volumes of rainfall. I'm envisioning some sort of similar tipping bucket approach, excepting that it will be submerged in a water bath. Think of one of those ornamental aquarium things driven by the air bubbler that tip up and release a big gush of air occasionally. I assume the tipping apparatus would need to contact some sort of switch to signal the event to the logger. What I'm hoping to cultivate with this message are some ideas about how a tipping device might be fashioned or if there are other approaches to flow measurement that aren't going to cost an arm and a leg. Martin Brungard Tallahassee, FL Return to table of contents
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