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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Foreign Bodies ("Graham L Sanders")
  MCAB 6 ("3rbecks")
  beer in San Antonio ("3rbecks")
  "dry heathering" ("Randy Scott")
  Nitrogen source affinity ratings? - relative rate of uptake of external nitrogen sources? ("Fredrik")
  Re:  MCAB Info? (Jeff Renner)
  Sweet Corn (Melvin E Kemp)
  HELP - Temp Controller Gone Mad! (dw)
  copper coil (kingkelly)
  Cooper's Drops - my first experience (Robert Marshall)


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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:29:10 +1000
From: "Graham L Sanders" <craftbrewer at bigpond.com>
Subject: Foreign Bodies

G'Day All

Well the recovery goes well, or as well as one expects when you consider
what I have been thru. Bad enough almost meeting my maker with a bus, but
Pat has the balls to try to put me back in contact with Gorge Fix by
stressing
me out with the HBD. Keep this up mate and I will send you a pre-paid ticket
to catch a Hermit Park Bus, and you can catch it like we do in North
Queensland.

Speaking of buses, I have found out I have whiplash on top of a wealth of
injuries. Those law dramas on TV have a lot to answer for.
Here was I thinking whiplash is a neck with a
brace on, and looking like you will never have s?x again. Going to the
doctors complaining of being dizzy if I twist my head certain ways, well,
last thing I expected was "Graham, you have whiplash". And here was I
thinking all these years I was just plain drunk. Not anymore, Now when
some-one tells me i had a few to many, I can come back with, not at all, I
have whiplash.

Anyway, as I toss back the last lot of my Bloody Bastard Bus Vienna,
(Perhaps tasting my very own blood as it has this nice red colour to it),
one has to tell you lot of my latest beer. All went well, a perfectly start
to a perfect day as I started to make my Alt on my HERMS. When it came to
turning on the pump, well the flow was a little slower than normal, which
sometimes can occur if I attempt to pump it too quick at the start. But with
a little throttling, away she recirculated for a nice hour.

Turned the pump off to change over the flow to the boiler. Well opening the
tap again, she was as dry as next mornings park-persons wine flagon. Nothing
flowed. Now a prostitute couldn't blow harder than I tried to get the flow
going, and not even a drop (lady of the night or not) came. Nothing for it,
the worst job I feared, (well after SWMBO), was to take the pump off. I
hoped the blockage was in the pump, so when the pump came off I expected the
wort to gush out of the tun. But again nothing. Bugger, its in the mash tun.

I shouldn't say nothing showed, for infact a tail poked out. Yes a tail.
Closer look and it looks
like a gecko's tail. Now one quickly jumps to the logical conclusion that a
body must be attached to that tail, and that whole animal  is clogging a
narrowing of the pipe, between the the bottom of the mash tun, and the pump.
And worse, I cant get the bastard out. And then a sudden realisation hits
you, I have recirculated many many times my whole wort past said gecko. By
now he is nicely poached. And worse, he has to stay there while the whole
wort get sparged. Every drop passes it again, at a higher temperature.

Just yummmmmmm!!!!!!!. But how do I get the flow going again, as it will
just clog the pipe again. A little NQLD enginuity called for. So I got a
splinter of wood, broke it off to the right length, pushed the gecko back
from the narrowing, left the wood there, and quickly resembled the pump. It
all flowed nicely. But of course one still has more worries. Has the gecko
spilled its guts. Well empting the mash tun didnt see it come out, but
reverse flushing the mashtun flushed it out. And yes good enough to eat,
skin just
came away soooo easy, nice and white, (but they are white anyway), but best
of all, it was intact.

And the name of this beer - hows ALT(ered) GECKO grab you.

It left me pondering. Up this way you put covers over all open pipes in your
system in storage. Mud wasps, spiders, ants, even plants quickly claim them
as home. Nothing worse starting the pump, and a whole ant colony comes
flooding out calling for Noah. But now geckos. They do get everywhere. If
you smell something off in the house, chances are you have squashed one in a
door jam, or window sill as you closed it. But I tought an upside down mash
tun, was too much for any wildlife. Wrong!!!!!So its sealed now as well.
Interesting I had a flow initially. Probably died "hanging on for dear life"
and still had its grip during the mash, only to be dislodged when I stopped
the flow.

From: Raj B Apte   >>>> I made a BW a year and a half ago, and the last few
bottles are noticeably LESS sour than at 3 months. .....but I thought they
needed
oxygen. Regardless of the mechanism, has anyone else noticed that sour ales
age softer? <<<<<<

Strange you mention that, I found my Lambic tames a little. At 1 year 3
months is was noticabley sour, at 1 year 6 month, a smoother sourness, not
as dominant. I tested it with a pH meter and it hadn't got less acedic. I
think as it ages, the compounds somehow mellow the perception of sourness,
giving it a more pleasing note. Being more pleasing, you can be tricked into
thinking its les acedic.

Shout
Graham Sanders

oh

This whiplash caper has great benefits. Great for enjoying a few beers,
"honey, I'm not pissed, Its the whiplash." But even far far better, I've
successfully avoided SWMBO in bed for months. All I have to do, is pretend
I'm lusty, make my move, and "oh!!!!!!!! I'm feeling a little dizzy".
Finally have something over these women who "always have a headache".







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Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:13:57 -0500
From: "3rbecks" <3rbecks at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: MCAB 6

Al,
Here's the info I have.
Entries are accepted July 14-20. They need 3 bottles. I believe that you can
download entry forms and bottle labels from the MCAB website.
MCAB 6
Dragonmead Microbrewery
c/o Kim Schneider
14600 E. 11 Mile Road
Warren, MI 48089
(586) 776-9428
Good luck
Rob
Kansas City, MO




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Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 22:33:41 -0500
From: "3rbecks" <3rbecks at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: beer in San Antonio

Any suggestions as to where I might be able to find good local beer in San
Antonio? I had heard several months ago that Paul Farnsworth was in the
process of opening a brewpub.
Thanks for your help
Rob
Kansas City, MO




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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 01:54:06 -0500
From: "Randy Scott" <lists at scotts.dynu.com>
Subject: "dry heathering"

I've got a Scotch ale that I've added heather to.  I'd like to add more
heather in secondary (akin to dry-hopping), but I'm concerned about
sanitizing the heather.  It's unopened in the celophane bag it came in, but
I assume it's not sterile.  I have 3 ideas:

1.  Getting it damp, putting it in a grain bag, and microwaving it for a few
minutes.

2.  Boiling it for a few minutes in a pint or two of water (in a grain bag),
cooling, and then adding the bag and water to the secondary.

3.  Not adding the heather in secondary, but waiting until I keg and
refrigerate the ale - and then not doing anything to sanitize it (because it
will be refrigerated by then).

Thoughts?

ras




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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:01:06 +0200
From: "Fredrik" <carlsbergerensis at hotmail.com>
Subject: Nitrogen source affinity ratings? - relative rate of uptake of external nitrogen sources?

I finally got my first digest after the crash! :)

In theory yeast seems to be able to reproduce on a great variety of nitrogen
sources,  but as with sugars, when it has a choice it will use them in some
kind of order probably determined both by needs and kinetic issues as
recycling vs new synthesis. Fix has a simple table in his book, that groups
in to 4 groups but I wonder if anyone has any more detailed info on the
nitrogen utilization kinetics? Are the rate of uptake of the different amino
acids quantified somewhere? Also, ammonium ions is not in fix table. How
does the affinity of ammonium ions rate in an amino acid blend?

Similarly to modelling the skewed sugar profile with time, I figure the
nitrogen analogue is harder because of the dramatically larger number of
variables, but it looks like there is not much choice. To just consider the
joint FAN levels appears to me like too simple to be useful as its seems
clear the composition of the "FAN levels" would have dramatic effects on the
kinetics?

Any comments or sources of information is appreciated.

 /Fredrik


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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 09:24:53 -0400
From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net>
Subject: Re:  MCAB Info?

"Al Folsom" <alan at folsoms.net> wrote:

>I had an entry qualify for the MCAB at the past Buzz-Off, but have no idea
>where or when to send it.  Anyone know where this should go, or if it's too
>late?

Al

Check out the MCAB-6 site http://dragon.ldmi.net/MCAB/.

Everyone - there is still time to register for the event, which 
includes the Michigan Beer Fest.

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: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 08:00:34 -0700
From: Melvin E Kemp <Melvin_E_Kemp at raytheon.com>
Subject: Sweet Corn







Good morning everyone,

Sweet Corn has come on sale here in Tucson recently and so I picked up a
few ears that are now drying nicely in the breezeway. I've only brewed with
corn once before and that was flaked, so I'm looking for suggestions and
experience on how to handle this. I assume I grind it and cook it before
mashing, but it would be nice to have a few more oppinions on the subject.
     Thanks everyone and I sure am glad to see the Digest back up.

Mel Kemp
Tucson AZ






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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 11:07:19 -0400
From: dw <daveweeks at mac.com>
Subject: HELP - Temp Controller Gone Mad!

Hey,

I have a "FermTemp" controller (J.S.Technologies Model FT-1) from 
Brewers Resource which I hadn't used for a few years. I plugged it in 
recently and it seemed to function well for about a week then it 
started behaving erratically. I think the probe might have gone bad 
somehow and I would like to replace it - hopefully this will solve my 
problem.

Unfortunately Brewers Resource/J. S. Technologies, no longer exists and 
the manual doesn't specify part numbers or even a good specification 
description so I am having trouble determining exactly what I am 
looking for...
I have been unable to find anything about the controller on the 
internet.
The manual describes the probe as:
"8 foot brass encapsulated, triple protected thermocouple sensor"
The connector plug to the "FermTemp" controller looks like a telephone 
line connector.

Does anyone know the specifications for this thing or maybe a part 
number?

I will be very grateful for your input.

Thanks
Dave



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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:35:30 -0400
From: kingkelly at juno.com
Subject: copper coil

I have a jockey box that uses a copper coil for cooling. When dispensing
beer over the weekend there was a distinct green color and metallic taste
in the beer. We, of course, continued dispensing from another unit.Does
anyone know how to avoid this problem in the future? thanks jim kelly


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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 17:52:30 -0700
From: Robert Marshall <robertjm at hockeyhockeyhockey.com>
Subject: Cooper's Drops - my first experience

Hi all,

Just wanted to post a quick note on my first experience using the 
Cooper's Drops product that came out during the last year, or so. Of 
course, YMMV, so bear that in mind.

I was making a micro-batch of IPA, using some hops and malt I had laying 
around. Basically something just to get rid of it. Came out to about 15 
bottles once everything was bottled. In the past I've been suspect about 
either my supply of corn sugar, or sanitation issues during bottling, 
because most of my beers have had a certain twang to them. So, this time 
I decided to try the "pill" method of bottle carbonation.

Originally I was leaning towards using the Primetabs because I was able 
to read a lot more about them, however, the brew shop that I went to was 
all out. They did have the Cooper's Drops, so I went with them instead.

First observation, they are STICKY!!!!! Nasty Sticky! This causes issues 
because when you try and separate them, you will bust up some of the 
other ones so that they're not whole drops anymore, or you'll get extra 
remnants from other drops stuck to the one you want to use. This causes 
discrepencys in the amount of carbonation per bottle. And you really 
don't get to use the full package as busted up pieces will probably get 
tossed out (less you have a super sensitive scale and can weight an 
amount that would equal a typical drop).

Next issue are the instructions. They say to use two drops per long 
neck. So far I've worked through have the batch and everyone has been 
overly carbonated. No signs of infection, but definately over carbonated.

I still have about half a bag left over, so will use them again, 
probably trying them with only one drop per bottle, but I'm thinking 
I'll be trying Primetabs somewhere down the road. They just seem like an 
easier product to use.

Later,

Robert



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