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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Re: Removing Moisture ("Craig S. Cottingham")
  RE:  Removing Moisture ("Houseman, David L")
  The Gout (Dean)
  re: bleach and vinegar ("-s@adelphia.net")
  fermentation temps ("-s@adelphia.net")
  re: Induction heating? ("-s@adelphia.net")


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Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 22:59:39 -0500
From: "Craig S. Cottingham" <craig.cottingham at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Removing Moisture

On Aug 4, 2007, at 10:11, "Keith Christian" <keithchristian at  
roadrunner.com> wrote:

> What is a product that will prevent moisture build up and mold in a  
> beer
> frig?  Can someone recommend a product for this?  ?
>
> Would the same product work in a bathroom?

Silica gel -- yes, the same stuff that's in the "do not eat"  
packages. Google "silica gel", one of the top links is <http:// 
www.drypak.com/Products/Desiccants.html>. I've never bought from the  
company, don't know anyone who has, it's just a link I found.

For the budget conscious, I suppose good old-fashioned baking soda  
would work, though not as well nor for as long.

- --
Craig S. Cottingham
craig.cottingham at gmail.com





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Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 08:18:24 -0400
From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com>
Subject: RE:  Removing Moisture

Keith,

It's call "Damp Rid" and is available (at least in my area) at Ace
Hardware -- likely many places.

David Houseman


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Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:58:39 -0400
From: Dean <dean at deanandadie.net>
Subject: The Gout

Hello HBD,

In #5211-5 Amos inquires about gout.  Much good information resulted from the 
question so I will not repeat it.  I too suffer from occasional acute attacks 
and wanted to share a remedy not mentioned prior.  As we now know, gout is 
crystallization of uric acid in the joints as a result of a build up in the 
blood.  Lowering blood pH allows those crystals to dissolve back in the blood 
and pass to the kidneys for filtration.

I have taken to adding vinegar to my diet, mainly on salads, as a way to drop 
blood Ph.  I imagine anything sufficiently acidic will suffice (citrus also 
comes to mind), but I chose vinegar for additional health benefits.  The last 
time an attack woke me early in the night I added two or three tablespoons of 
vinegar to a large glass of water, downing it with pain killers and 
anti-anti-inflammatories.  That attack lasted a mere day in contrast to 
previous 2-3 day long bouts.  Still skeptical at the time, the result 
convinced me of vinegar's worth.  So, whenever I eat too much and drink, I'll 
supplement my diet with a few spoonfuls of vinegar.  I almost like the stuff 
by now.

- --Dean


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Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:23:14 -0400
From: "-s at adelphia.net" <-s@adelphia.net>
Subject: re: bleach and vinegar

Peter A. Ensminger notes ...

> For cleaning stainless steel in the brewery (kegs, kettles, fittings, 
> etc.), it's best to avoid chlorine bleach and chlorine bleach-containing 
> products. These can permanently damage your stainless steel by causing 
> "pitting".

Bleach, (especially with vinegar) is the bane of any steel, and most metals.

Extended contact of bleach on plastic makes the plastic brittle, causing
cracks that can later harbor infection.

For mechanical cleaning percarbonates are best for both.

Bleach on glassware works well as a cleaner & sanitizer, but of course
requires rinsing.

 -S




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Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:08:12 -0400
From: "-s at adelphia.net" <-s@adelphia.net>
Subject: fermentation temps

Danny asks abt fermentation temps ....
> However, I was reading recently - why I didn't notice
> this before I don't know - that the optimum
> temperature for fermenting ales is somewhere around
> 68-72 degrees. I live in a small apartment at the
> moment in hot and sunny Florida, and the thermostat is
> usually set around 78-80. It is my understanding that
> fermentatunusable.ion at these temperatures can cause
> undesirable esters as well as the production of excess
> fusel alcohols, and that fermentation activity
> generates enough heat the warm the fermenting beer ~10
> degrees higher than ambient air temperatures (making
> it effectively 90 degrees?). 
>
> So, I don't want to go out and get all the equipment
> only to brew sub-par beer,...

Your fermenting temps at 78-80F ambient will be high but not
unusable.    First note that ales normally have more "yeast
flavors" than lagers and the extent of yeast flavor the you prefer
is a matter of taste.   Esters are both desirable in an ale and only
specific ones and others in true excess are undesirable.  Fusels
are negative so you want to limit the fusel content.

Your first method of flavor control is in the selection of yeast.
Different ale yeasts produce wildly different amount of esters
and fusels and behave a little differently with temp increases.
Many UK ale yeasts get funky at your temps.  The belgian style
yeasts are completely the wrong thing.  My first guess would
be to try the Chico (Sierra Nevada) yeast - (Wyeast WY1056
or Whitelabs WLP001 I think).  It's a  is a clean tasting yeast
unlikely to have problems at your temps.  I'd defer to the hot
climate HBDers, one of them may have a better yeast selection.

Numerous methods of marginally reducing  temperature have
appeared in HBD.  The "wet t-shirt" is a classic.  You place the
carboy in a shallow tub of water with t-shirt or other "wick"
cloth over it.  The water evaporates slowly and reduces the
surface temp according to wet-buld/dry-bulb temp difference.
This doesn't work well in very humid conditions.  Another
practice it to place he carboy in large trash container, add
water to the shoulder and then cycles a few (slightly underfilled)
water bottles between the freezer and the "tank" a couple times
per day.  None of these extreme measures may be necessary
for your ~80F ambient conditions.
 
Flavor strength is relative.  If you have a little excess esters or
fusels then it shows up like a sore thumb in a light budweiser-y
beer but seem normal in a flavorful hoppy ale with a bunch of
munich malt.  For a lot of reasons I'd suggest starting your
HB attempts with a flavorful beer style.  An APA with ~20%
munich malt (or colored extract) and 25-40IBUs of bitterness
and a good handful of finishing hops ... assuming you like that
style.   Don't try high gravity brewing at your temps.  Flavor
problems become worse as the wort gravity increases to keep
around 12P (OG=1.048).

I could suggest a lot of exotic practices and wort additives to
attempt reduce fusels, but instead I'll offer this: don't underpitch!
One of the simplest things most newbie HB'ers can do to improve
beer flavor is to pitch more yeast.  Do splurge on the oversized XL
packs or two dry packs into 5 gallons.  With a little more
experience you should be considering making your own starters
or re-pitching yeast from a previous batch.

If you pitch well at these temps your fermentation should take
off like a rocket and your ferment should finish in a couple days
and you should be separating the beer from the yeast cake in
well under a week.  The downside is that yeast foam may clog
your fermentation lock and it (and a lot of beer) may take off
like a rocket too.  Every experienced HBers has his personal tale
woe about the day the fermenter had an explosive release and
made a huge mess.  SWMBO will never forget either.  As a
safeguard I strongly suggest that you place your fermenter in
large contractor type trash bag and tie it closed while unattended.
With some experience you'll understand when to be concerned
about such releases and fill your fermenter accordingly.

No - I wouldn't let 80F ambients prevent me from brewing but
I would definitely take this into account.

 -S



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Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:35:20 -0400
From: "-s at adelphia.net" <-s@adelphia.net>
Subject: re: Induction heating?

Dean asks abt induction heating ...

> Does anyone know enough about induction heaters to tell me whether it
> would be worth looking at building one of these for my HLT and kettle?
> My first question is: can it be done on standard 120V/60Hz power?
>   
Yes it can be done with 120vac/60hz and there are residential and commercial
stove-tops that operate this way.

The problem is that at 120vac you will need a lot of current to heat enough
wort or water.   If you poke thru the HBD archives or the article I did on
mashing system design for Zymurgy a few years ago you'll see that I am
not impressed with the amount of power available from residential electric
systems when you want to brew 10+ gallons.   It works but the heating rate
is limited.

Induction heating has the same thermodynamic inefficiency as do resistive
heaters like those in RIMS.  Heat pumps would be far more efficient but
impractically complex.   Induction will to a nice job of transferring energy
only to conductive/resistive materials and the brew pot would work well,
but these heavy laden pots must be supported too.  The problem of
transferring heat from pot to wort without creating hotspot scorching
remains and I am still in favor of hot water or even steam heat exchangers
as it's impossible to scorch when the hot side is limited to 100C or a bit
more.

Now I must admit that the homebuilt induction heater has a good deal of
geek-chic.  The heater uses copper tubing as the induction coil to take
advantage of skin effect.  *IF* you could use the same coil  as a wort
heat exchanger (heat water indirectly w/ the induction heater;  run the
heated water through one side of the heat exchanger to heat wort
flowing through the other.    Very neat in terms of geek factor and
heating safety, tho' complex.  Maybe suspend some flourescent lights
around the induction coil (they should light from the em field).

 -S



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