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


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Contents:
  starters/pitching .... ("steve.alexander")
  Traveling with HB ("Keith Christian")
  Would like a clone recipe: Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale (Donald Hellen)
  Alternatives for Mini-Kegs (Bob Hall)
  Water Analysis (Bob Hall)
  "late" adjustment of specific gravity (Aubrey Turner)


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JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
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Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:29:36 -0400
From: "steve.alexander" <-s at adelphia.net>
Subject: starters/pitching ....

Aleman/Le Man/?Tony? of Blackpool has hit on a method of pitching
a nwell aerated starter and not aerating the wort.    This is essentially
the same idea exploited by Boulton/Quain at Bass Ltd.  They
take a slurry, add a bit of wort and aerate.  Then they pitch the
O2-req lipid rich slurry into unaerted wort, at conventional pitching
rates and ... ferment.  Of course Bass measures the O2 utilization
and controls for this.

There isn't much magic to it.  You need a certain minimum amount
of sterol to ferment a given wort, and sterol deficit is a common
reason for EOF(end of fermentation) [this assumes we want
fermentation to approach completion with yeast in log growth
phase].  As brewers we'd prefer this and also that lack of simple
sugars would be the cause of EOF.

Back to the practical - keeping some extra wort frozen, a sack of
extract or even performing a stovetop micromash to obtain some
starter wort isn't so onerous if you want a good result.   I think
the importance of a vigorous starter on final beer is underestimated
by many HBers.  I personally don't think that the typical dry sachet
of yeast is adequate for 20L of ale, the whitelab type vials are closer
to the mark for ales.   None of these is even close for lager
fermentation.

So that brings up the other question - should you separate the yeast
from starter wort.    I personally feel this depends on the starter
wort used.  If you wouldn't want the wort used in the final beer then
separate, but it does add time and stall the yeast metabolism.

 -S




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Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 08:26:39 -0700
From: "Keith Christian" <kchristian at surfside.net>
Subject: Traveling with HB

Hi,

I am flying to SF this week and I'd like to take some of my beer with
me.  Will I have problems bringing it with me in my carry on baggage?  I
am only staying the night and I will not need to bring a large suit
case.  I guess I could, if needed. 

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Keith



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Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 13:48:32 -0400
From: Donald Hellen <donhellen at horizonview.net>
Subject: Would like a clone recipe: Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale

Does anyone have a clone recipe for Tupper's Hop Pocket
Ale? If so, could you please post it here?
- --------------------------------
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
   -Albert Einstein



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Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 08:15:55 -0400
From: Bob Hall <rallenhall at henry-net.com>
Subject: Alternatives for Mini-Kegs

I've just tossed out my collection of mini-kegs. Each one was forming rust 
around the opening and I was beginning to get some metallic tastes (actual 
or imagined). Of course, I still have two of the Phil-Tap assemblies. Has 
anyone found or developed a plastic alternative to the metal kegs that can 
be adapted to the mini-keg hardware? An easier-to-clean, rust free 
alternative to the metal cans would be great. As I also use cornie kegs and 
bottles, I don't use the mini-keg option often, but it is handy for 
tailgates and other gatherings.

Cheers,
Bob Hall,
Napoleon, OH




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Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 08:23:31 -0400
From: Bob Hall <rallenhall at henry-net.com>
Subject: Water Analysis

Traffic on the list seems a bit slow, so I'll toss this out. The interest
in water analysis awhile back finally spurred me to send a sample in to
Ward Labs. Of course, now that I have the results I could use some help
with interpretation and suggestions on appropriate treatments. I've never
really had any problems (and seldom use any treatments), but the perfect
pint can always be improved.

Thanks,
Bob Hall
Napoleon, OH

pH - 7.8
Total Dissolved Solids - 186
Electrical Conductivity - 0.31
Cations/Anions - 3.2/2.9

PPM
Sodium (Na) - 3
Potassium (K) - 1
Calcium (Ca) - 43
Magnesium, (Mg) - 10
Total Hardness (CaCO3) - 149
Nitrate (NO3-N) - <0.1
Sulfate (SO4-S) - 15
Chloride (Cl) - <1
Carbonate (CO3) - <1
Bicarbonate (HCO3) - 119
Total Alkalinity (CaCO3) - 98
Flouride (F) - 0.20
Iron (Fe) - 0.04




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Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 16:47:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Aubrey Turner <arturner at mindspring.com>
Subject: "late" adjustment of specific gravity

First time post from a lurker.  I've learned a lot just by 
reading the HBD this past year, so my thanks go to the 
active HBD members.

Now, I would like to ask for suggestions to increase
specific gravity after the boil and even after active 
fermentation.

Let me frame this.  I typically take hydrometer 
readings of my sparge runoff, and then again at the end of
the boil.  But this day I just had too much going on...and
perhaps one too many "inspirational" brews!  So after I 
cooled the wort and then pitched yeast, I realized...ooops,
no hydrometer readings!  So I promptly took a reading, 
and found a dissapointingly low starting SG=1.026.

So I am now in day 2 of active fermentation.  This has 
given me two days to devise a plan to "raise" my gravity 
via DME, as follows.  I plan to wait until active 
fermentation falls off considerably, perhaps around day 
4-5.  Then I will tranfer most of my 6 gallons of brew 
to a secondary, while pulling something like 2 quarts 
aside.  To this 2 quart volume, I will slowly heat, 
stir in about 2.5 lbs of DME, bring to a boil for 15 
minutes, cover the pot, cool, then add back into the main
 volume.  I expect this will add about 0.020 to the 
overall gravity, thus giving an "apparent" starting SG 
which will resemble 1.046.  I expect this additional DME 
will be fermented as if added normally, and that the only 
downside is the risk of contamination due to additional 
manipulation.

Anything I'm overlooking here?

Anyone tried similar approaches? Is there a better way to 
do this?  Or should I do nothing at all? Thanks in advance 
for any advice.

 -Aubrey Turner
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 


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