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


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Contents:
  Re: Star San Correct Usage (Jeff Adelsberger)
  Cloudy Beer (leavitdg)
  old hops (Tom Puskar)
  Lingering acetobacteria? ("Doug Moyer")
  Cloudy beer problem (Matt)
  RE:  Cloudy beer problem ("William C. Tobler")


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Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 07:09:48 -0400
From: Jeff Adelsberger <jeffade at mac.com>
Subject: Re: Star San Correct Usage


  I think he was referring to thinking it needed to be rinsed. I  
think this is probably #2 in the big list of incorrect sanitizer  
usage, #1 being "hey a little is good, alot == better!!!". I think  
this is why chlorine has gotten such a bad rap.


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Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 07:41:27 -0400
From: leavitdg at plattsburgh.edu
Subject: Cloudy Beer

Steve;
  Tell us more of your process, and equipment.  I assume that you do a full
boil? And for how long?

  Have you tried using Irish moss, re-hydrated, in the last 15 minutes of the
boil?

  I know that my heat source is way too meek (30,000 btu if I am lucky, ie an
inside regular gas cooking stove), so I do a full 2 hour boil to make sure that
there is a sufficient hot break.  Do you see the slimy stuff coagulating in your
boil?  If not, then this could be a factor.

  Do you use whole or pellet hops?  I am unsure, but often feel that at least
some whole hops help to grab/ contain the cold break slimy stuff at the end of
the chill.  Also, how do you chill?

  Sorry for all of the questions, but these may help to get to the bottom of
this.

  Also, I wonder how hard it would be to eliminate the mesh that you made, and
use another method, just for one batch to see if for some reason this mesh
might be allowing some stuff into the fermenter that you don't want there?  You
do say that the hops are filtered out, but it continues to run, so it makes me
wonder if some of the slime/ coagulated proteins (I guess) are making it in to
the fermenter?

 Please let us know what you find.

 I am lucky that I seem to have gotten it down to the point where almost all of
my beers come out very clear, and in fact have at times the opposite problem,
that is that my hefe's clear too much (Krystalweizen), but I think that this
might be due to the fact that I don't "top crop" the yeast, but just re-used
the cake in each subsequent batch.

 Darrell
<Plattsburgh,NY, just 1 hour south of Montreal>



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Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 12:43:16 -0400
From: Tom Puskar <tpuskar at optonline.net>
Subject: old hops

I've been out of brewing for about 5 years and am getting back into it.  I
want to make a partial mash Sam Adam's Summer Ale clone next weekend.  I
found some old hops in the back of my freezer (Hallertau & Tettanger) which
would be fine for this style.  Problem is they are probably at least 5 years 
old!

They are sealed and have been frozen since I bought them.

What opinions on whether I should use them and should I make any concessions
for their age--i.e. add more than the recipe calls for?

I'm glad to be back and to see this group is still around.  I value the info
I got here and look forward to getting back into all grains where I left
off.  Unfortunately I sold all of my converted kegs and many of my carboys.
If anyone in NJ is looking to sell equipment, drop me a line.

I'll look for comments.

Best to all,

Tom in Howell, NJ




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Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:18:01 -0400
From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com>
Subject: Lingering acetobacteria?

Mr. -s sez:

==================================================
"Distilled" white vinegar means the vinegar is concentrated (see the
definition of 'distilled').  It does NOT mean that the vinegar passed
through a reflux still.  "Distilled vinegar" may include viable
aceobacteria.  treat it accordingly.
==================================================

Once you mix the vinegar with the diluted bleach, won't that kill any viable
acetobacteria? Isn't that the whole purpose of the exercise?

Brew on!
Doug Moyer
Troutville, VA 



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Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:41:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Matt <baumssl27 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Cloudy beer problem

"My efficiency has been a bit lower than usual for the past 8 months -
around 65-70% instead of 75-80% - and I think that might be due to the
grain picking up a bit of moisture, so weighing it out results in a bit
less grain mass in the mash."

Maybe, but the efficiency and haze issues happening simultaneously is
quite a coincidence.  Is it possible that the grain really picked up
about 15% moisture (enough to reduce 77.5% efficiency to 67.5%)?  If
so, then I calculate (for a single infusion, 150F mash) that your mash
temperature would also change, due to the difference between specific
heat of water vs grain, by more than 5 degrees F!  

Seems like your efficiency change, even if it really is due to
moisture, could well be related to the haze issues.  Did you notice a
difference in what you had to do to get the mash temps you wanted?  Did
you get new malt 8 months ago?  Did you change ANYTHING about your
mashing/lautering?  Is there any way you are getting more, or
different-sized, protein during the mash?

Matt


       


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Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:41:19 -0500
From: "William C. Tobler" <wtobler at houston.rr.com>
Subject: RE:  Cloudy beer problem

Steve, the only thing I can think of is that your mash thermometer  
took a dive, and is reading low.  You did not mention wether or not  
you checked it.  There is not much downstream of the boil that can  
cause cloudy beer, and you have covered the most everything.  I  
really do not believe that the boil screen can cause this problem,  
but if you can't figure it out, go back to your old system and see  
what happens.  Sorry I can't be of more help.



Bill Tobler
Lake Jackson, TX
(1129.2, 219.9) Apparent Rennerian
Brewing Great Beer in South Texas



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