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


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Contents:
  Re: Subject: fastening stainless steel mesh (Thom Cannell)
  Disappearing hop aroma (Signalbox Brewery)
  fastening stainless steel mesh ("Joe Aistrup")
  Re: Disappearing hop aroma (Jeff Renner)
  11th annual South Shore Brewoff - reminder ("jeff_ri")
  Re: Disappearing Hop Aroma (Fred L Johnson)


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Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2006 22:29:38 -0500
From: Thom Cannell <Thom at CannellAndAssociates.com>
Subject: Re: Subject: fastening stainless steel mesh

> Subject: fastening stainless steel mesh


I've done this many times. You can silver solder it neatly. As the mesh is
thin (assuming something like screen-door mesh) I'd use vice grips to clamp
two areas and spot solder in between. Surprisingly pure bees wax works well
as a flux, as does normal acid flux which is harder to clean off. FWIW, the
more silver, the easier it melts.

Crimping with normal home tools is pretty tough. Sewing works OK, too.


Thom Cannell

T_Cannell sometimes  compuserve.com
Thom near CannellAndAssociates.com




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Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2006 12:12:13 +0000
From: Signalbox Brewery <signalbox.brewery at ntlworld.com>
Subject: Disappearing hop aroma

Fred Johnson laments the fading of hop aroma.
I can't help from experience, but two thoughts occur:

Would first wort hops be more stable? - anyone?

Has anyone noticed the phenomenon where hop aroma
goes away and comes back. This was mentioned at a recent
meeting of the East Anglian Craft Brewers (UK).

Also, how warm or cool do you store your beer?
Maybe worth keeping competition samples in a fridge?

David Edge, Derby




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Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2006 16:06:09 -0600
From: "Joe Aistrup" <joe_aistrup at msn.com>
Subject: fastening stainless steel mesh

Aaron asks:

"I am in the process of fabricating some brewing equipment out of type 316
stainless steel mesh, 20 X 20 and 32 X 32.  What is the best way to form
shapes out of the mesh? Is it possible to solder/weld the mesh?  Is it
better to try to sew it somehow?  i can of course crimp it, but i don't
think that will be as secure as i would like it."

A few weeks ago I wanted to fashion my own "hop-stopper" out of stainless 
steel mesh.  (My apologies to Doug Collins) First, I made a pattern for my 
project out of card board, including the folds and cuts.  I then used this 
pattern, like a tailor uses a paper pattern to make a dress, to fabricate 
the project.

All my seams were folded together, crimped by hand, and then to keep the 
seams together, I used a few stainless steel rivets.  The stainless steel 
mesh was actually easier to use than I expected.

As a side note, the original hop stopper is round, mine is square.  I have 
used it three times.  It works like a charm.

Joe Aistrup
Little Apple Brew Crew
Manhattan KS




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Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 17:12:43 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <jsrenner at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Disappearing hop aroma

Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com> writes from Apex, North  
Carolina, USA:

> Are there any tricks to maintaining fresh hop aroma in beer from  
> either
> late hop additions or dry hopping? I have been having difficulty
> keeping that wonderful aroma in my pale ales. It doesn't seem to  
> matter
> whether I'm putting in aroma as late hopping, hop backing, or dry
> hopping. In a few weeks, the aroma is gone.

This is just about a text book description of the effects of  
oxidation.  They aren't always the obvious cardboardy or papery  
aroma.  They can be more subtle, rendering a previously wonderful  
beer just sort of dumb.

I think you are just going to have to be very diligent in removing  
sources of oxidation from your process.  You no doubt know the usual  
 - avoid splashing whenever the mash or wort is hot, avoid  
incorporating air into the mash when you stir it, don't splash the  
beer when racking it, etc.  If you are kegging, be sure to purge the  
keg with CO2 before racking into it, and then purge the top space.

Another trick that I have taken to using, more for insurance than to  
remedy any problem, is to use a crushed Campden (potassium  
metabisulfite) tablet in the mash as an anti-oxidant.

And finally, if you are bottling, bottle condition - don't fill from  
the keg, even with a counter-pressure filler.  I am convinced that we  
as homebrewers cannot fill bottles without introducing damaging  
levels of O2 unless we invest in one of those expensive Zahm & Nagel  
fillers http://www.zahmnagel.com/9000.html.

Check out my post http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/4578.html#4578-6,  
which includes some references to George Fix's comments on CP  
bottling and O2.  George's original post, which I said in my post I  
would find, is at http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/1802.html#1802-15.

Jeff

- ---
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, jsrennerATumichDOTedu
"One never knows, do one?"  Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943


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Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 20:42:00 -0500
From: "jeff_ri" <jeff_ri at cox.net>
Subject: 11th annual South Shore Brewoff - reminder

Hi All,

  This is a reminder that the 11th annual South Shore Brewoff is coming up 
on Saturday, April 1st in Mansfield, MA.  All of the entry and judging 
information and forms are on the club website 
(http://www.southshorebrewclub.org).

  The entry deadline is Friday, March 17th.

Jeff McNally
Tiverton, RI




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Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 21:28:15 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: Disappearing Hop Aroma

Thanks to Jeff for his recommendations on how to avoid oxidation. Since 
Jeff is convinced that I have a textbook case of oxidation, I'm going 
to assume this is the problem and go all out to kill it.

I think I have a really serious problem with this, as every beer I brew 
goes through the Great-to-Lousy stage in a very short time. I think I'm 
going to go to some extreme measures to prove to myself that this is my 
problem.

I've used metabisulfite in the mash for a long time now, and this 
hasn't really helped me. Nevertheless, I'll add it to my mash and a 
little to the hot liquor for sparging and mashing in.

On the hot side, I will:
Mash with NO stirring whatsoever and live with whatever efficiency this 
gives me.
Transfer the mash VERY slowly to my lauter tun.
Immediately cover the mash with a couple of inches of water.
Carefully circulate the wort to clear.
Carefully sparge to the kettle keeping a couple of inches of water on 
top of the grist all the time.

On the cold side, I will:
Not transfer to a secondary fermentor
Not open the primary carboy fermentor until I'm ready to bottle.
Bottle extremely slowly if possible. (I can't think of a practical way 
to purge the bottles with CO2.)
Use some oxygen absorbing caps if I can find them.

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA



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