---

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


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

                     Your Business Name Here
    Visit http://hbd.org "Sponsor the HBD"  to find out how!
			 
    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  hops bittering equations ("peter ensminger")
  Re: Carboy on magnetic stirrer ("Doug Moyer")
   ("Doug Moyer")
  long-term conditioning temperature/sulfur in lagers (Aaron Martin Linder)
  Jalapeno zinger ("Brian Dougan")


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*           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: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:26:13 -0400
From: "peter ensminger" <ensmingr at gmail.com>
Subject: hops bittering equations

FWIW, I agree with -S's FWIW in
http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/5164.html#5164-2 .

Hop aging is one of many unaccounted-for variables in calculating hops
bittering/utilization. There is also lots of variation in brew
kettles, boil methods, cooling methods, etc of homebrewers.

When I brew, I consider utilization as a kind of "saturation" equation
(such as Weber-Fechner: R=k*log (S/S0); Stevens: R=k*(S-S0)^alpha;
etc). I also consider previous history with MY system.

So ... look at the equations, but also use your experience with YOUR system.

Cheers!
Peter A. Ensminger
Syracuse, NY

- ----------
 ...

FWIW - I am not a fan of any of the hops bittering equations (some
clearly do not model any physical process) especially since hops change
so radically with age and their extraction is so variable.  Anyone who
gets within 10% of a desired IBU level in beer, even with recently
measured hops AA% values is lucky.  +-25% is probably more typical.
You can use homegrown hops w/o a quantitative analysis and still get
good results, but you will need some experience gauging the IBUs by
taste.
- ----------


Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:09:54 -0400
From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Carboy on magnetic stirrer

Craig sez:
- ----------------------------------------------
You should see an eddy in the center of the liquid, like the kind you see 
when water is going down a drain. How deep/pronounced it is is a
function of (among other things) how fast the stir bar is spinning (faster 
== deeper).

Of course, if the beer is light enough and clear enough, you should just be 
able to see it. :-)
- ---------------------------------------------

You'd see a whirlpool even with a full five gallon carboy? It must not be 
working, then. Sigh. (FYI, I have a stir bar like this one: 
http://www.cynmar.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=15023293)

I have a BIG beer in the secondary. When I transferred it to the secondary, 
it was only down to 1.035 or so. I added a pint of blackstrap molasses, dry 
champagne yeast, and yeast "energizer" during the transfer.

I set the stirrer up because it seemed that my beer was supersaturated with 
CO2 and I was concerned that the CO2 was inhibiting further fermentation.

I've seen the stirbar hang up in the outside annular indentation and just 
wiggle. It's a bitch to get it centered again and the only way I can tell if 
it is centered is if I don't see it around the edge...

The beer, while not a stout, isn't terrible light in color and it is still 
cloudy as hell...

I may transfer it again to a six gallon carboy if the bottom of that size is 
flatter (the five is raised slightly in the middle).

Here's the story of the brewing of this beer:
http://shyzaboy.blogsome.com/2007/02/27/extreme-brewing-with-joe/

Brew on!
Doug Moyer
Troutville, VA

Star City Brewers Guild: http://www.starcitybrewers.org

Beer, brewing, travel & kids: http://shyzaboy.blogsome.com 



Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:13:51 -0400
From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com>
Subject: 

Pete sez:
- -------------------------------------------------
I originally asked about the difference between "roasty" and "toasty"
(see:  http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/5158.html#5158-1 ) for guidance
in developing a doppelbock recipe. Weyermann (which makes great malts
IMO) suggests 1-5% of Carafa-I, -II, or -III for doppelbocks and
several other styles. Thus, I used ~1% Carafa-II in a recent
doppelbock (see: http://www.hbd.org/hbd/archive/5161.html#5161-1 ).

But, when I gnaw on a few grains of Carafa-II, it seems "roasty", not
"toasty" to me.

So ...
Are the Weyermann Carafa malts "roasty" or "toasty"?
Is there a disconnect between BJCP guidelines (doppelbock:
toasty=good, roasty=bad) and Weyermann?
- -------------------------------------------------

At 1%, the Carafa will only contribute color, no roastiness. 5% though? I 
think that would be out of style. You should be getting your toastiness from 
the base malt...

Carafa is certainly roasty to me.


Brew on!
Doug Moyer
Troutville, VA

Star City Brewers Guild: http://www.starcitybrewers.org

Beer, brewing, travel & kids: http://shyzaboy.blogsome.com 



Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:54:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: Aaron Martin Linder <lindera at umich.edu>
Subject: long-term conditioning temperature/sulfur in lagers


I recently brewed a russian imperial stout.  I plan to bottle condition it 
and then place it into long-term storage(0.5-2+ yrs.) to get the best 
flavor out of such a beastly beer.  Is there anyone who has experience 
with aging beers at various temperatures?  Can you advise as to the best 
conditioning temperature for such a beer?  My goal is the best flavor.  I 
don't care about time.  My plan was to use 40 degrees F and just try it 
occasionally.  I thought about using my basement, but it gets up to 70F in 
the summer, and that can't be good for a beer, right?

On a somewhat related note, I'm curious as the sulfur aromas of lagers. 
I recently did a German Pilsner using German Lager Yeast from White Labs. 
It's been two months since brew day and about one month since I started 
lagering/conditioning at 40F.  The sulfur has dropped off dramatically, 
but it is still a background flavor, not that unpleasant but present.  I 
assume it will dissipate even more as I let the beer just sit. What are 
the primary compounds responsible for "normal" sulfur character in 
pilsners and what is the mechanism by which they are conditioned out of a 
beer, chemical reaction or degassing or both?

I don't think I have much DMS in my beer, as I did a 90 minute boil and 
chilled to below 140F in less than 5 minutes, more like 3 minutes.  Also, 
is DMS less likely when using ale yeasts at temperatures around 66-72F 
(using the same Weyermann Pilsner malt, such as in a Blonde Ale)?


Aaron
A^2,MI









Return to table of contents


Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:20:10 -0400
From: "Brian Dougan" <dougan.brian at gmail.com>
Subject: Jalapeno zinger

Thanks Brian in Winnipeg, I do love a good zinger in the morning.

Slainte,
Brian


Return to table of contents

---