---

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


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
Visit http://www.northernbrewer.com  to show your appreciation!
               Or call them at 1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  Adding yeast when bottling. (jbryant)
  Sour cherries (Delano DuGarm)
  Robert's looking for Sour Cherries... not same as tart ("Christian Layke")
  sour cherries for beer (Raj B Apte)
  RE: saving yeast ("William C. Tobler")
  Mash PH at room temp or mash Temp ("dohmfamily")


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*           The HBD Logo Store is now open!             *
*            http://www.hbd.org/store.html              *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*  Suppport this service: http://hbd.org/donate.shtml   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*   Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org

If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word
  "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL
  ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
  the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address
  for the automation - that's your job.

HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.

LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.

The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright 
  HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK 
  before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content 
  cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.

More information is available by sending the word "info" to 
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.

JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
                  and Spencer Thomas



----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 09:03:31 -0500
From: <jbryant at wrsystems.com>
Subject: Adding yeast when bottling.

My very first brew wouldn't carbonate.  It was a brown ale at about
5%abv, so nothing crazy. The beer spent one week in the primary and two
in the secondary.  After three weeks in the bottle nothing was
happening.  I assured the proprietor of my local homebrew shop that I
hadn't forgot to add the priming sugar or stir it in well.  Based on his
advice I added a few grains of dry yeast to each bottle.  I used the tip
of a pointy knife to add the yeast.  Of course I had to recap, but caps
are cheap.  It worked great!  A week later I had fully carbonated beer.
I had no more than a wisp of sediment in each bottle.  I forgot what
yeast I used to ferment, but it was extremely flocculent.  So much yeast
dropped out that there wasn't enough in suspension to carbonate the
beer.  Plus, being my first beer I was being overly cautious about
everything and made sure I didn't siphon up ANY trub.

Jason in Norfolk, VA 





Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 06:10:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Delano DuGarm <ddugarm at yahoo.com>
Subject: Sour cherries

Sour cherries (or as I prefer to think of them, pie
cherries) are available over much of the United
States, but they aren't easy to find. The principal
reason for this is their short season, I think.  In
Virginia the season is mid June, while out here in
Minnesota they are ripe for a short period in early
July.  Different varieties are grown in different
parts of the county -- we grow Northstars and Meteors
in the Gopher State.  Your best bet in finding
cherries is to call your local extension service, and
quiz them on local availability.  I've never seen
sourcherries for sale at our rather huge farmer's
market, but have harvested them from neighbors yards. 
Ask first.

Failing fresh, local produce, I guess you could try
dried, frozen, or canned products, but I prefer the
real stuff, which is why I planted three Northstar
trees in our front yard.

Delano DuGarm
St. Paul, Minn.
ddugarm at yahoo.com


 


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:58:15 -0500
From: "Christian Layke" <clayke at wri.org>
Subject: Robert's looking for Sour Cherries... not same as tart

A nursery that will custom graft unusual varieties recently did a search
for me for the Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek (French and Dutch spellings) in the
USDA repository database and through all his contacts and found no
record of the variety in the U.S.  Even in Europe they are a very minor
variety.  While I share your seeming preference for dark red cherries, I
think the Montmorency cherries would make for a suitable substitution,
especially if you need them for a stout where color would be irrelevant.
 They are tart and have nice flavor.  

It would be interesting to find someone in Belgium or the Netherlands
who could do some analysis on the Schaarbeek fruit so we know how local
cultivars compare in terms of acidity, sugar content and astringency. 
I've ordered a Northstar from
http://www.cumminsnursery.com/tartcherry.htm to ensure a local source
of dark red sour cherries.  No affiliation, etc.

Cheers,

Christian 


Return to table of contents


Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 10:30:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Raj B Apte <raj_apte at yahoo.com>
Subject: sour cherries for beer

All,

In my experience the best (and only) option for cherries is
IQF Montmorency. They are easy to find: last year I bought
a 40# box from a Michigan outfit that had distribution in
my state. I drove 20 miles to the local freezer (12 acre
freezer, I believe, with 36 truck loading bays) and picked
them up.

Start with 

www.usacherries.com/downloads/wholesale_guide.pdf

or just google iqf montmorency. They are available from
Michigan, Washington, or Oregon.

IMHO the pit is critical for good flavor. Most IQFs are
de-pitted, so I recommend buying the pits if you can (often
only in June/July during the season). Mahleb is a decent
substitute.


Enjoy,
raj



 


Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 08:55:04 -0600
From: "William C. Tobler" <wtobler at houston.rr.com>
Subject: RE: saving yeast

Paul is asking about saving yeast,

Wyeast has a very good procedure for Homebrewers to wash their  
yeast.  Here is the link.  http://www.wyeastlab.com/hbrew/hbyewash.htm

Your thoughts were right on track.  You use boiled and cooled water  
in three separate jars.  I use 3 mason jars half full of water which  
I put in my pressure cooker for 20 minutes to sterilize.  I think  
boiling would work equally good.  I usually don't get to the third  
jar as the yeast in the second jar looks clean enough for me.  I use  
it within one month usually, but it will keep longer.  Use your nose  
and taste buds before you pitch to make sure its ok, and have some  
dry yeast on hand in case it's not ok.  At least you can still brew.   
Sense it has a shelf life, I would just pitch the whole thing.  If  
you want, on brew day, decant off the water and get the yeast awake  
with a little wort.  Hope this is what you are looking for.  Cheers!


Bill Tobler
Lake Jackson, Tx
Brewing great beer in South Texas



Return to table of contents


Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 14:09:52 -0600
From: "dohmfamily" <dohmfamily at juno.com>
Subject: Mash PH at room temp or mash Temp

When taking mash PH readings 5.3 to 5.6 is said to be best PH for mash . But
no one seems to say if this reading is at mash temp of 150 or room temp of
70. There would be .3 difference in PH from 150 to 70 degrees. I normally
cool sample to 70 degrees and take reading. If between 5.3 and 5.6 I say
good enough. Is this the correct way to take readings or should I be
compensating for temp difference by deducting .3PH from my room temperature
reading.



Return to table of contents

---