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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  link of the week - beer foam (Bob Devine)
  Autoclaving equipment (John Harvey)
  Re: Candi Sugar ("Mike Dixon")
  Transferring cans to kegs (Calvin Perilloux)
  Warm Weather Yeasts for Tasty Ales (pacman)
  Re:  High Altitude Hop Cultivation ("Mike Racette")
  Yeast Growth on Nutrient Agar ("Sebastian Padilla")
  Hop Harvest Time ("Dave and Joan King")
  re: Harvest Time? (Tim Howe)
  Hogtown Brew-Off (David Perez)


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JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
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Date: Sun, 12 Sep 2004 23:44:32 -0600
From: Bob Devine <bob.devine at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: link of the week - beer foam

Over the past decade, research has identified one of
the main components of beer foam -- a polypeptide
called LTP1, or "lipid transfer protein".

The nature of this protein is that is loves fat (ie lipids)
and hates water.  This is the reason why if you eat greasy
food and then take a sip of a beer, the beer's head drops.

Researchers continue looking at LPT1.  Some facts are that
it occurs in barley more during hot, dry summers than in
normal or wetter years.  It decreases during fermentation.
And using "raw" LPT1 directly from barley makes a poorer
head than if it had been fermented.

Here are two intro.  A web-search yields mainly technical
papers on the topic if anyone is curious.
http://www.grdc.com.au/growers/cd/west/Western_Region885.htm
http://us.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/2004/07/one_beer_please.shtml

Now to stir the pot, why does adding wheat aid in a
better head on your beer?  This common homebrewers' trick
does help but is it the best way?  Actual reasearch is
a bit lacking on this except to note that wheat does
contribute more proteins, but, this can harm clarity.

One researcher thought that if the barley has some LPT1
then more must be better, right?  He modified yeast to
produce additional LPT1 and found that the head much improved.

Bob Devine


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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 03:08:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Harvey <theharv0157 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Autoclaving equipment

Hello again everyone.  I was hoping some lab type
people could help me with another question...

I recently had an infected brew...  yeah, yeah.. I
should have been more careful.  Fortunately, I have
access to a lab-sized autoclave, big enough for
carboys and corney kegs.  Although it's a hassle, I'm
thinking about taking most of my equipment up to the
lab and autoclaving it.  That should do away with my
infection problems.  :)

I'm curious though about how some of the stuff will
hold up to those conditions.  Is there anything that
shouldn't be autoclaved?  I'm especially worried about
hoses and keg O-rings.

Does anyone have experience with this type of thing? 
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

John



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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 07:57:59 -0400
From: "Mike Dixon" <mpdixon at ipass.net>
Subject: Re: Candi Sugar

> From: "Graham L Sanders" <craftbrewer at bigpond.com>
> But most references I see says
> most candi sugar is mostly sucrose - cane sugar, but has a little inverted
> sugar. And further proof is inverted sugar does not crystalise anywhere as
> easily as sucrose for the average punter.


While I agree candy sugar is sucrose, it ain't cane...it's almost certainly
beet*. I have meant to send you a note about that for a long time.

I also, like Denny, have never found any evidence that it is inverted.


*Look at the top countries that produce cane and think about climate...
http://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/commodity.jsp?lang=EN&commodity=156&CommodityL
ist=156&year=2002&yearLyst=2002 also check out the top commodities for
Belgium, beets are high on the list...
http://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/country.jsp?lang=EN&country=255&pays=Belgium&i
so3=BEL&CountryList=255&year=2003&yearLyst=2003

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




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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 06:46:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Calvin Perilloux <calvinperilloux at yahoo.com>
Subject: Transferring cans to kegs

Brendan Oldham in a recent HBD asks if it is possible to keg beer 
from a can.  Well, yes, but it's not a perfect process.  Here's 
what I've done to "save" growlers, but this is with a cornie keg
with a decently wide mouth.  If you have a commercial beer keg
without a wide opening, this won't work as well.

Take a COMPLETELY purged keg.  (That is, fill with water, 
then force out with CO2 so that almost all the O2 will have 
been completely displaced.)  Release pressure and remove the lid.
Connect CO2 to the gas-in at a modestly low pressure and let 
it flow (slowly) into the keg.  Open your growler, or in your 
case a can, and turn it over into the keg, making sure to insert 
it into the keg mouth part way, but gently so as not to cause 
much turbulence that would mix air and Co2 together near the 
top of the keg.

Don't worry about the splashing as you dump this beer 
down 20 inches to the bottom of the keg -- the atmosphere 
inside is hopefully almost all CO2, so oxidation will
be minimal.  After you've filled the keg and closed it,
you'll need to force carbonate because all the splashing
released some CO2 from the beer.

I'll tell you now that I've never done this with cans,
never having seen any beer in cans worthy of all this trouble,
but I have done it with growlers, with good results.

Calvin Perilloux
Middletown, Maryland, USA



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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 12:34:31 -0400
From: <pacman at cox.net>
Subject: Warm Weather Yeasts for Tasty Ales

Hello, 1 year extract homebrewer, 
first post, hbd regular lurker...

I have the unfortunate honor 
of living in an apartment that 
is seldom cooler than 76 degrees. 
Because of this, I am limited to 
brewing ales (which, in general, 
I prefer) and fermenting them at 
warmer than recommended 
temperatures. I have absolutly 
no room for a second fridge, and 
the A/C costs are astronomical in 
my apartment in Fairfax, Virginia, 
USA. 

I realize through reading and 
exper. that any yeast fermenting a 
beer at 75-78 degrees (and that's 
next to the A/C vent) ends up fruity 
and estery. I have had better luck 
with Brittish yeasts than with Irish 
yeasts in terms of producing good 
fruity tastes rather than off, 
bubblegummy and overly diacytlic (sp?) 
tastes in my red ale. 

1) What yeasts have have other 
warm-weather brewers found to work 
well for various styles of beer, givin 
a ferment temp of 75-78F

2) Is there a cooling device of some 
sort that doesn't involve changing 
ice, or wetting towels? Something 
that uses peltier effect, a small 
glycol jacket for a carboy, etc... 

Thanks!

Noah A. Bolmer




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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 12:30:13 -0600
From: "Mike Racette" <mike.racette at hydro-gardens.com>
Subject: Re:  High Altitude Hop Cultivation


Good to hear that you are having some success with  hops at high elevation,
Dan.

We recently moved to Green Mtn. Falls, Colorado which is at 7,800 ft,  with
a relatively short growing season. Want to try some hops next spring and was
wondering what varieties might work best. I'll try the Cascades, but would
really like some other varieties as well. Anyone have other suggestions for
this?

Mike



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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 20:06:11 +0000
From: "Sebastian Padilla" <sebastianpadilla at hotmail.com>
Subject: Yeast Growth on Nutrient Agar

I recently got a bunch of slants that are made up of Nutrient Agar (from 
Cynmar), and I was wondering about there applicability for use as a yeast 
storage medium.  I got these as a throw away, and was hoping to use them in 
place of my usual malt + agar.  Does the nutrient agar have everything in it 
needed to store my yeast cultures.

Thanks in advance
Sebastian
Tucson, AZ



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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 19:49:41 -0400
From: "Dave and Joan King" <dking3 at stny.rr.com>
Subject: Hop Harvest Time

Dave,

When hops get light and papery feeling, they're ready.  Sometimes I notice a 
little lighter color.  If the tips of a couple cone pieces start turning 
brown, they're on their way to beyond ripe.  I still use them at that stage, 
since I'm not afraid of "stale hops" flavor.  I got about 25 oz, dried, a 
great season (Binghamton, NY).

    Dave King, BIER, [396.1, 89.1] Apparent Renner 




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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 20:11:16 -0700
From: Tim Howe <howe at execulink.com>
Subject: re: Harvest Time?

Dave:

I'm about 2 hours north of you as the crow flies, and I picked mine this 
week. Ideally, you want the hops to be dry-ish and papery on the outer 
edges, without turning brown. If you pick them too early, the bitterness 
level will be lower. If you pick them too late, they start turning brown, 
and aren't as good for flavoring. I use my homegrown hops mostly for 
flavor, so I'd rather pick them a little early...

Cheers,

Tim Howe
London, Ontario


Subject: Harvest time?

Hello, All!

Despite the cool and wet summer here in the Cleveland area, I have a hop
plant that has managed to squeeze out 20-24 blossoms. This is the first
year it has produced anything other than leaves, and I was wondering
when I should be harvesting...how do you know when they are "done"?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Dave Glowacki
Novelty, Ohio




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Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 21:26:56 -0400
From: David Perez <perez at gator.net>
Subject: Hogtown Brew-Off

I have been unable to get this out until now due to an obscene work
schedule and a fairly large tree leaning on my house that needed to be
cut and hauled away.

It is with great regret that the Hogtown Brewers announce the
cancellation of the 2nd Annual Hogtown Brew-Off. Hurricane Francis (and
possibly Ivan) has caused significant impact on Gainesville and members
of the Hogtown Brewers. Several prominent organizers were without power
for 4 days and our Cellar Master Wayne and Head Steward Sue still don't
have power. The University of Florida has moved the football game that
was postponed to October 16, thus making hotel availability nearly nil
and prices exorbitant. As we explored our options we found we don't have
sufficient housing to offer as "Beds for Brewers" and moving the
competition to another weekend would impact significant numbers of
judges and/or organizers. We decided it was in everyone's best interests
to cancel this years event. Or if you are an optimist, we are postponing
the 2nd Annual Hogtown Brew-Off to October 2005 and may change the name
to the 2 1/2 Occasional Hogtown Brew-Off.

We hope that everyone will understand and will save their entries for
next years event! Please don't forget us.

Thanks,

Dave Perez, Organizer
The ex-2nd Annual HBO
Hurricane ridden Gainesville, FL



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