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


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Contents:
  Oats (Jeremy Bergsman)
  Using oats in light-coloured beer (David Edge)
  Airing/warming hops (Fred Johnson)
  Oats in light colored beers ("Rick Garvin")
  Hops--When to pick, how to dry them (Donald Hellen)
  Preparing partial mash prior to brewing (Andy Hostetter)
  MCAB VII Results ("David Houseman")
  barley wine ("eric")


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Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 00:15:47 -0400
From: Jeremy Bergsman <jeremy at bergsman.org>
Subject: Oats

Adding oats is SOP for me for most beers (unless they already have wheat or 
some other head booster).

> - The main intention is to improve the head; I've been finding that
>   the lighter the colour of ale, the less the head.  So: are oats
>   going to help here?

Yes.

>  - I'm planning to use commercial oat flakes intended for porridge.  Is
>   this a good idea?  If not, what should I be looking at?

That's what I use.  Cheap, easy, effective.

>  - What difference do oats make to the colour?  I'm guessing that since
>   it's not roasted, it'll make very little difference.

Right.

>  - How much should I be trying to use?  I'm guessing 10<insert percent
>   sign here> of the total weight of the grain, but maybe 20<insert
>   percent sign here> would be a better choice.

I use about 3-5 percent.  They're pretty powerful.  You don't want too much 
or you can tell there're in there.

>  - I typically use a two-step infusion mash (63<insert degree sign
>   here>/72<insert degree sign here>).  Am I going to glue up my mash
>   with porridge?

I would guess not, but I do a 38-60-70 or so mash.  The 38 is ideal for 
breaking down the beta glucans in the oats.
- -- 
Jeremy Bergsman
jeremy at bergsman.org
http://www.bergsman.org/jeremy


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Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 08:54:27 +0100
From: David Edge <david.j.edge at ntlworld.com>
Subject: Using oats in light-coloured beer

Greg asked:

 >I'm thinking of experimenting with a bit of oatmeal in a
light-coloured ale. I've never used oats before, but I gather this
isn't the way they're usually used, so before I go and do something
silly, I'd be interested in feedback on whether it's a good idea or
not, and what pitfalls there may be.

I've used them in oatmeal stout and also an end-of-season multi-grain
beer called "Hamsterbraeu used to clear out the pale grains from
the grain store.


  - The main intention is to improve the head; I've been finding that
   the lighter the colour of ale, the less the head.  So: are oats
   going to help here?

Conventional wisdom is that the oils in oats reduce head retention.
My oatmeal stout has a good head, but I wouldn't suggest it will help.
Wheat is the usual suggestion for that


  - I'm planning to use commercial oat flakes intended for porridge.  Is
   this a good idea?  If not, what should I be looking at?

Yes, it's a good idea. These are pre-gelatinised. If you get oatmeal
(in case that doesn't make sense in the US, that's ground oats here)
you'll have to cook it first. One source in a country where porage is
regularly eaten for breakfast says the cheaper the brand the better
(for brewing).


  - What difference do oats make to the colour?

Dunno.


  - How much should I be trying to use?  I'm guessing 10<insert percent
   sign here> of the total weight of the grain, but maybe 20<insert
   percent sign here> would be a better choice.

I struggle to sparge at 30% unless I pre-rest the oats with some barley
malt at 40 degC before stirring into the main mash. Jeff Renner manages
ok as do some others. So arek yourself - am I a god of home brewing?
My *guess* would be 20% so you see the difference.

  - I typically use a two-step infusion mash (63<insert degree sign
   here>/72<insert degree sign here>).  Am I going to glue up my mash
   with porridge?

You'll have to be careful and patient depending on the percentage.


If you want to try something really unusual, Clive la Pensee quotes
an 1865 Yorkshire recipe. 2.5 kg oat *malt* mashed in 5 litres of
cold soft water for 30 minutes. Wort run off and infure 100g
Goldings for three hours and then ferment. Drink quickly.

Chacun a son gout

David Edge, Derby, UK



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Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 08:27:57 -0400
From: Fred Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com>
Subject: Airing/warming hops

Somehow my first post got trunctated in the transmission. The following 
is a more complete post with a question.

In a recent podcast on basicbrewingradio.com featuring Gerard Lemmens, 
Lemmens stated that it is important to bring hops out of the freezer 24 
hours prior to using them to allow them to loose certain aromatics that 
can impart off flavors to the beer.

Does anyone have any more information on this?

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA



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Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 14:14:36 -0400
From: "Rick Garvin" <rgarvin at garvin.us>
Subject: Oats in light colored beers

Gregg,

I routinely use rolled oats for up to 20 percent of the grain bill for wit
beers. Another grain that I have found to be very good for increasing head
retention is the Weyermann CaraPils; that is what I would use. It is called
CaraFoam in the USA due to a pre-existing trademark. At 3 EBC and 2 Lovibond
it is quite light. English language web site at
http://www.weyermann.de/eng/index.asp?sprache=2.

If you take the rolled oats route with 10% or more I would recommend a
protein rest. The temperature I use for a protein rest is 117F for 20
minutes. A Wit recipe example that uses oats is at
http://realbeer.com/spencer/Belgian/white-brewing.html.

Cheers, Rick




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Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 21:00:07 -0400
From: Donald Hellen <donhellen at horizonview.net>
Subject: Hops--When to pick, how to dry them

I have a few Kent Goldings hops on my hop vine that finally
produced a few smallish cones this year. 

What is the right time of year to harvest them and how do I
go about drying them out? Speed is not important, but I do
have a cheap food dehydrator somewhere out in the garage. 

I just have to keep them away from my greyhound. For some
reason, they are poisonous to that breed.

If I plan to use them as aroma hops, do they need to be
dried at all (can I take them off the vine and use them in
the last 2 minutes of the boil)?

Donald Hellen

Made of only the finest electrons and the purest 
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Made of only the finest electrons and the purest 
ascii text to bring you the utmost email pleasure.



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Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 12:01:43 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: Andy Hostetter <andyhos at earthlink.net>
Subject: Preparing partial mash prior to brewing

My brewing partner and myself aren't quite ready to jump to all-grain.
I have read a bit about the partial mash and it sounds like it would be 
good for us.  Unfortunately, our brew day is wednesday and the extra 
hour to mash would keep me out later than headquarters (the wife)
would appreciate.  I was considering mashing the grains on tuesday while at
home and transferring it to a clean container and picking up the brew on
wednesday.  Is this a sound strategy or am I headed for disaster?  
Is there anything other than keeping the contaminants out of the wort that
I need to consider.  Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Andy H 
Dayton,OH



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Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:57:51 -0400
From: "David Houseman" <david.houseman at verizon.net>
Subject: MCAB VII Results

MCAB VII is in the history books.  The results are posted at the MCAB web
site, http://hbd.org/mcab/.  Special congratulations to the Best of Show
winner - Rob Beck of Kansas City, MO!  A very senior panel of Grand Master
and Master judges struggled with a number of excellent beers in the Best of
Show judging but settled on Rob's excellent American Pale Ale.

MCAB wants to especially acknowledge the aid and support we received from a
number of organizations.  We wish to thank the BJCP, the AHA, Beer, Beer and
More Beer, Keystone Homebrew Supply, Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant, Hop
Union, White Labs and Wyeast.

Congratulations to all those that placed and to thanks to all the brewers to
entered.  There were some excellent beers from all over the country.  Score
sheets and ribbons will be mailed within several days.

David Houseman
MCAB VII Organizer



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Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 09:03:29 -0600
From: "eric" <zeee1 at nebonet.com>
Subject: barley wine

Hello all

 I would like any suggestions on yeast strains for a barley wine, does a
"plain" ale yeast give enough alcohol percent? Coopers, Nottingham, etc, or
is a wine yeast preferred?
If so Lalvin is most easily obtained in my area.

Thanks

Eric



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