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


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Contents:
  Re: Batch size vs fermentation time (Bob Tower)
  long ferment (Vincent Dongarra)
  RE: Batch size vs fermentation time (Steven Parfitt)
  Re: Time to Brew (Terry Felton)
  re: Time to brew (Rama Roberts)
  A true honeymoon (lyona)


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Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 23:52:41 -0800
From: Bob Tower <tower at cybermesa.com>
Subject: Re: Batch size vs fermentation time 

Francisco Jones wonders if larger batch sizes take longer to ferment  
than smaller volumes. My opinion is that volume has no bearing. I  
should qualify that by assuming that the proper amount of yeast is  
pitched. I do 20 gallon batches and terminal gravity is usually  
reached in 3-5 days, the same as when I was doing 5 gallon batches.

Bob Tower / Los Angeles, CA


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Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 07:59:57 -0500
From: Vincent Dongarra <vdongarra at gmail.com>
Subject: long ferment

Hello all,

I'm confronted with a five gallon batch of pale ale (OG = 1.060ish...I
broke my hydrometer whilst making the starter) that is still bubbling
away after slightly longer than a month.  I pitched a half-gallon
starter of WL 001 which had the wort going strong in slightly less
than three hours, but then a cold front hit us and my temp went from
70F to 63F overnight and hovered around 65F for the next couple of
weeks.  This didn't bother me, as the fermentation went like
gangbusters; I even had to attach a blowoff tube.  I racked it into a
secondary, and now find that I'm still seeing tiny bubbles and a bit
of a head in the carboy after a month.  It's only enough to lift the
airlock every couple of minutes or so, but I don't usually bottle
until there is no activity for fear of bottle bombs. Previous batches
with this yeast fermented out in about a week.  Temperatures are in
the mid to high sixties, while I normally ferment in the low
seventies.  I was excited by the prospect of producing a clean tasting
beer at these temperatures.

It smells wonderful and I'm willing to let this hang out in the closet
for another couple of months, but what will I have when this completes
such a long fermentation?  Can anyone offer a sugggestion?  Should I
innoculate with some Belgian mystery organism to beat any native
bacteria to the punch?  Help!

Thanks,
Vincent Dongarra
- --
Montgomery Village, MD
Bonum vinum laetificat cor hominis



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Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 06:09:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Steven Parfitt <thegimp98 at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Batch size vs fermentation time

Francisco Jones Ponders

>Here's another one I have been wondering about.  To 
>skip straight to the gist, do larger batches take
>longer to ferment than smaller batches, with 
>all else (gravity, temp, yeast) being equal.

 .....snip....
>Francisco Jones
>Kankakee, IL
>[256 magnetic/196 nm] AR 


If it did, brewing and wine making would be
impractical on a large scale.

As long as pitching is scaled as well as all other
variables in the process, there should be very little
difference in fermentation time.

Temp control is probably a bigger issue with large
fermentrs due to yeast heat generation. Maintain the
same temp in a big fermenter as a small batch and your
fermentation time should be the same.

If you are seeing longer fermentation times look at
your pitching rate, oxygenation, etc.



Steven, -75 XLCH- Ironhead Nano-Brewery  http://thegimp.8k.com
Johnson City, TN [422.7, 169.2] Rennerian 

"There is no such thing as gravity, the earth sucks." Wings Whiplash - 1968


		


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Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 12:03:50 -0500
From: Terry Felton <tdfelton at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Time to Brew

Dave,

Lagering in a cellarway works great for me.  I live near Buffalo, and
use my concrete cellarway under a steel Bilco door as a lagering room
all Fall and Winter.  I do add a few very inexpensive enhancements. 
First, buy a cheap indoor/outdoor digital thermometer (about $8 - $10)
with an outdoor sensor on a long wire.  I leave mine in the basement
with the remote lead running under the door.  I usually tape the
sensor end to the side of the fermentor with a piece of duct tape. 
Then I can monitor the temp without opening the door too often.

As far as controlling the temp, 2 things are critical, insulating the
fermentor to reduce fast temp swings, and providing some extra heat to
keep it from getting too cold.

I solve the first with an old fiber filled winter coat.  When zipped
up it fits nicely right over the fermenter.  I just stuff the arms and
excess into the neck opening to cover the top.

I add heat with a small heat pad under the fermentor connected to a
tabletop lamp dimmer.  The dimmer costs about $5 at any hardware.  The
photo tray heaters I use came from a surplus dealer years ago, and are
about 15 Watts and pretty gentle.  Since then, I have seen similar
small heater pads in pet supply stores, sold as heaters for reptile
tanks. They're also pretty cheap, about $10 - $20 if I remember
correctly. It really takes very little heat inside the coat to keep
the fermentor at 50 when the cellarway is in the low 30s.  Just look
in on the temp every few days and tweak the dimmer to adjust the temp.
 Oh yeah, if your dellarway gets below freezing - be sure to add some
vodka to your airlocks!

I have 2 heaters, so I can manage 2 different beers in primary at
once.  To minimize wear and tear on the heater, I place a piece of
carpet under it to reduce the pressure from the hard fermenter bottom.

Lots of luck - making your own lagers is just a bit more satisfying
than those 'easy' ales.

Terry Felton
Holland, NY



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Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2005 12:32:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Rama Roberts <rama at Sun.COM>
Subject: re: Time to brew

> Now I know that there are a lot of you out there, as all of the postings
> noting Rennarian coordinates bear out.  Are you making any beer?  Are you
> having successes or failures?  Tried anything new?  Got a favorite recipe
> to pass along? For myself,  I have developed a fondness for coriander in my
> witbeer to the point where I grow my own cilantro to harvest the seeds.  I
> let my hops go for a time when I can get them transplanted into a more weed
> free area.

Funny, I've relaxed my beer brewing schedule this past year when I ramped
up on wine making October 2004. Now that the 2005 harvests are happily
resting in carboys, I've been catching up on the HBD and also noticed how
quiet things have become lately. (remember when your post might not make
it until the following day's digest due to the digest length limits?)

I feel like I've come full-circle on my beers. Got a bit bored with the
standard stuff and started experimenting with adjuncts and such. Now I'm
coming back to the classics. My beer brewing schedule has been as follows:

July 05- Karmeliet clone (corriander, sweet orange peel- both were a bit
too light, but I was afraid to OD on these. The corriander was homegrown
for me too ;).  Used WLP400 Belgian Wit yeast, along with a longish
secondary. When it came time to bottle condition, I think the yeast gave
up, and I ended up with a fairly flat product.

Oct 05- dunkelweizen. Pretty standard affair.

Dec 05- plan to whip up a 8-10% barleywine, and bottle a Dec 2003
barleywine still in the carboy (tertiary).

The 2005 year was a wash for the hop vines this year too. Some squirrels
took an interest in the younger rhizomes of one varietal, so only the Mt
Hood survived- but interestingly didn't produce a single cone (despite
being 3 years old, and producing the previous 2 years. Whats up with
that?)


BTW, I'm hoping more of you vintners join the HVD. Its really quiet there
too: http://hbd.org/mailman/listinfo/hvd

Rama
SF bay area


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Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:42:24 -0500
From: lyona at umich.edu
Subject: A true honeymoon

So, I'm getting married in July 2006 and my fiancee suggested I register for
some homebrew equipment (I'm so glad I'm marrying her!).  The only problem is
that most/all homebrew stores don't seem to offer online registry options.  It's
not that surprising as most shops out there are mom and pop operations and their
websites aren't always the most sophisticated, but I couldn't even set up a
"wish list" that could be viewed by others on Beer, Beer, and More Beer's
website!  That was especially frustrating, as I would like to register for one
of their stainless conical fermenters - maybe I'm just getting greedy! :)  So,
I'm wondering if the list has any ideas about how to electronically register
for homebrew products in a way that is easiest for the gift giver?  Suggestions
on or off list are appreciated.  Thanks!

 -Aaron


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