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


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Contents:
  Acidifying sparge water ("A.J deLange")
  Boston Homebrew Competition (Mark Irwin)
  RE: Fridge/Freezer conversion to beer tap ("Brian Lundeen")
  2008 Upper Mississippi Mash-Out results are posted ("Crist, Jonathan")
  sugar ("Matt Wallace")
  RE: chimay yeast strain ("Ronald La Borde")


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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:39:55 -0500
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Acidifying sparge water

This usually isn't necessary as the pH during the sparge isn't critical 
as long as it stays below 6 or so to reduce the amount of husk tanins 
brought over. If the source water is at high pH and alkaline then you 
may find you reach pH 6 before all the sugar is extracted and this is 
the case in which you may want to add some acid. If the pH of your 
runoff is 6 or less when the runoff has reached 3 P then you should be 
OK without treatment of the sparge water. At 3 P each gallon of runoff 
you leave behind contains about 120 grams (approximately 4 litres x 
approximataely 1 kg/liter x .03) of extract (about 4 Oz or 1 Oz per 
quart) so it's not generally worth pushing it and risking tanin 
extraction or taking the trouble to adjust the sparge water and winding 
up with acid anions in the brew.

 If the water is very alkaline (you are hitting pH 6 when the extract is 
5 P or higher) then you may wish to decarbonate it somewhat. Sparge 
water has to be heated to 170F or so anyway and you might just want to 
take it up to boiling to let it drop carbonate (it turns murky). The 
amount of carbonate it drops can be increased by adding a calcium salt 
such as the chloride or sulfate but this increases the amount of those 
anions going into the kettle. Also adding a wee bit of calcium carbonate 
insures nucleation sites for the CaCO3 that is to precipitate. A larger 
problem with this suggestion is that it takes time for the calcium 
carbonate to settle. If you are treating the mash water in this way (or 
some other way as with, for example, lime) increase the volume treated 
to include the sparge water.


If you are determined to use acid then the advice already given is 
valid. The amount of acid required, in milliequivalents per liter, is 
approximately the alkalinity of the water in the same units i.e. if the 
alkalinity of the water is 200 ppm as CaCO3 then approximately 200/50 = 
4 mEq/L acid will be required. This approximation holds as long as the 
starting pH of the water is 8.3 or less. Most potable sources qualify. 
The approximation is pretty fair as long as the pH change is a couple of 
points i.e 8.3 to 6 or 7 to 5. The amount required can be more precisely 
caculated using the steps set out at 
http://www.wetnewf.org/Brewing_articles/Water_acidification.html but a 
pH meter or test strips should be your guide as there are lots of ways 
to have the calculated acid amount get you to a pH other than the one 
you wanted.  So what pH do you want? In a worst case we might suppose 
the source water was at pH 8.3 (near the limit allowed for municipal 
water in the US). If the pH is reduced to 6 almost 70% of the alkalinity 
will have been neutralized so 6 seems like a reasonable target.

Let me comment briefly on Ron's unfortunate experiences with pH meters. 
I certainly have had similar experiences in the past but technology has 
advanced. I am now almost to the 3 year point (to be reached in May) on 
a relatively simple gel filled electrode. This is a record for me and 
I'm somewhat in disbelief but this electrode, while its response is 
slower than it was in the past, still has 97-98% of the Nernst slope and 
an offset which hasn't shifted more than a couple of mV from what it was 
when new. I have never even used enzyme cleaner on it. I do put it into 
wort but not hot wort and I think that must have a lot to do with it. 
Apparently the stresses of going from hot to cold are most effective at 
reducing electrode life. Now this is not a $78 item I bought at a 
homebrew shop but it isn't a $300 double junction refillable electrode 
either.

A.J.


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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:34:32 -0500
From: Mark Irwin <irwin at markirwin.net>
Subject: Boston Homebrew Competition


It is with great pleasure that The Boston Wort Processors present the  
13th Annual Boston Homebrew Competition, sponsored by the Allagash  
Brewing Company, on Saturday, March 1st.  This year's competition  
follows in the fine tradition of brewing and judging that has been  
proven at our previous competitions.  This competition attracts  
entries from many of the best brewers not only in New England but  
across the country and is judged by many of the founding members of  
the Beer Judge Certification Program. We look forward to your  
participation this year.

This is a BJCP Registered/Sanctioned event and we will be judging all  
28 BJCP 2004 Styles for this competition.  Also, as has been the case  
since its founding, this year's contest again will be part of the New  
England Homebrewer of the Year series and as in past years, will serve  
as the Northeast Region Qualifying Event for the Masters Championship  
of Amateur Brewing (MCAB).

For information about the competition, to register enteries, or to  
signup to judge or steward, please see http://bhc.wort.org.

Mark

- -- 
Mark E. Irwin
Webmaster - Boston Wort Processors
irwin at wort.org
http://www.wort.org




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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:43:23 -0600
From: "Brian Lundeen" <blundeen at mts.net>
Subject: RE: Fridge/Freezer conversion to beer tap

> 
> Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 10:33:00 -0600
> From: Bill Tobler <brewbetter1 at comcast.net>
> Subject: RE: Fridge/Freezer conversion to beer tap
> 
> If we go with top of the line 
> stuff, for a 4 keg system, not counting the fridge or kegs, 
> you can expect to spend (For all new faucets, drip tray, 
> hoses, fittings, 5 Lb. CO2 tank, regulator, 4 line CO2 
> header)  Oh my, $500, NOT counting the kegs and fridge.  I 
> would start looking for stuff on sale and or used.... Try 
> ebay and second had stores.
> 

Bah, I consider the expense an investment in my sanity. Washing, sanitizing,
filling and capping bottles, thousands and thousands of times in your
brewing life... How do you put a price tag on avoiding that? A keg fridge is
worth it at twice that price.

Having said that, I refuse to spend $100 on a fancy drip tray. I consider
this a completely needless expense for a piece of gear that just isn't
required. A cheap plastic tray on the floor under the taps does the same
thing. 

Cheers
Brian, in Winnipeg



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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:42:32 -0600
From: "Crist, Jonathan" <Jonathan.Crist at bsci.com>
Subject: 2008 Upper Mississippi Mash-Out results are posted

The 2008 Upper Mississippi Mash-Out is history!  The organizing
committee would like to thank our sponsors, our volunteers, our entrants
and our guests for helping make this year's Mash-Out such a HUGE
success!  You can check out the results and pictures on our website at:

http://www.mnbrewers.com/mashout

SET YOUR CALENDAR!  Next year's Mash-Out will be held on Jan 23-24,
2009!

Jonathan Crist



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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:03:14 -0800
From: "Matt Wallace" <dubious.chewy at gmail.com>
Subject: sugar

I've enjoyed Lagunitas' "Brown Shugga" quite a bit, and am considering
trying something similar at home.  Not surprisingly, this beer
contains a significant amount of brown sugar, by some accounts 200lbs
per batch.  I'm not sure what that comes out to in lb/gallon, but my
question to HBDers is this:  If you've used brown sugar, table sugar,
molasses, belgian candi sugar, or other forms of sucrose, how much
have you added?   What are the limits past which flavor is negatively
affected?

I've read that back in the "olden days" of home brewing, many recipes
were 50% table sugar or more, and generally had a negative,
sherry-like flavor.  In my opinion, the commercial ale in question has
a surprisingly light body and warm alcohol notes that nicely
complement the flavor of the beer.  That, and, at 9.9%, it'll knock ya
back in yer chair....

Thoughts?


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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:34:44 -0600
From: "Ronald La Borde" <pivoron at cox.net>
Subject: RE: chimay yeast strain

>From: Aaron Martin Linder <lindera at umich.edu>
>
>The WLP500 just seems to be a bit hot tasting and kind of solventy.  It's
>not exactly unpleasant, just not the same as Chimay.  Maybe I need to age
>my beer for several months to get the smooth flavor of the Chimay blue?

It is possible to get the Chimay yeast right from a bottle of Chimay.  A
while back I collected about 1/4 ounce of stirred beer from a bottle of
Chimay.  I think it was the red label, but any should work.  In the past the
corks were dated, but that seems to be gone now.  If you can get a fresh
shipment, try it in a stir plate.  It took about 4 days to show any
activity.  Start with a small starter, an ounce or so, then build it up a
couple times.

The findshed beer tasted like Chimay!

Ron
Ronald J. La Borde -- Metairie, LA
New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie, LA
New Orleans is the New Atlantis




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