---

	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 *********

DONATE to the Home Brew Digest. Home Brew Digest, Inc. is a 
501(c)3 not-for-profit organization under IRS rules (see the
FAQ at http://hbd.org for details of this status). Donations
can be made by check to Home Brew Digest mailed to:

HBD Server Fund
PO Box 871309
Canton Township, MI 48187-6309

or by paypal to address serverfund@hbd.org. DONATIONS of $250 
or more will be provided with receipts. SPONSORSHIPS of any 
amount are considered paid advertisement, and may be deductible
under IRS rules as a bsuiness expense. Please consult with your 
tax professional, then see http://hbd.org for available 
sponsorship opportunities.
***************************************************************


Contents:
  Conicals, Music ("A.J deLange")
  more on conicals (Starkbier)
  Re: Chloramine and Campden Tablets (Dana Edgell)
  Re: New to Homebrewing (Tim Bray)
  Bimetal Thermometer Calibration ("Dave Larsen")
  30th Annual California Homebrew Competition ("Mike Riddle")


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*           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: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:38:33 -0400
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Conicals, Music

I have 2 barrel cylindroconicals which I fill to 1.5 bbl and I do notice 
strong circulation during fermentation. This is a great benefit as it 
keeps the yeast in suspension and makes for a short, vigorous ferment. 
Where it is not a benefit is when you want to keg. Even after the yeast 
floculate the circulation keeps a fair amount in suspension. What I 
usually do to try to beat this is bring the temperature down to close to 
freezing and then shut off the refrigeration loop a few days before 
kegging. The insulation is good enough that the beer is still relatively 
cool after 2 - 3 days and during this time the rest (or most of the 
rest) of the yeast have chance to drop into the cone.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As for music during brewing I usually listen to Bach. I got the whole 
BWV for about $135 which is amazing (less than a buck a disc) and, as a 
review said "there are few disappointments". Ther is usually some piece 
of equipment running which makes too much noise to hear it very well so 
I often don't bother to put any thing on but when I do it's JSB.


A.J.


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:20:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Starkbier <starkbier at yahoo.com>
Subject: more on conicals

Lance mentions how he cleans his conical using a SS bar:

<Using a piece of thin stainless sheet I scrape off...

I just want to note that you really dont want to use
any abrasion system that can scratch your conical.  Using
a SS sheet to scrape off krausen of a SS tank can cause
scratching that will tend to be a capture/build up point
for subsequent dirt/protein/trub buildup.

So stick with CIP systems and plastic scrubbies and
you should be fine.  You always want to scrub with something
that is softer then your base metal.

Cheers,

Jim Busch
Colesville, Md


      


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:54:58 -0400
From: Dana Edgell <dedg at lle.rochester.edu>
Subject: Re: Chloramine and Campden Tablets


A.J. writes ...

> So if your goal is to dechlorinate/dechloraminate AND deoxygenate then 
> observe that it takes 2 Campden tablets per 5 gallons to get the oxygen 
> out and 1/4 Campden tablet (per 5 gallons) to get the 
> chlorine/chloramine at the normal maximum level of 3 mg/L. Thus if you 
> dose with 2 tablets per 5 gallons you will certainly get all the 
> chlorine/chloramine and most of the oxygen. Add the extra quarter tablet 
> if you like. Note that there is no reason to deoxygenate mash, sparge or 
> kettle makeup water. It is important to deoxygenate water used to dilute 
> beer after fermentation and before bottling.

If I add 1/4 Campden tablet to 5 gal cold tap water does it attack the 
chlorine or oxygen first or does it do both partially?

I have been adding Campden tablets to my tap water in the HLT before 
heating. Should I switch to adding it to the heated water which will 
have little oxygen to compete for the campden tablet's effects?

Thanks,
Dana Edgell


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:10:31 -0700
From: Tim Bray <tbray at wildblue.net>
Subject: Re: New to Homebrewing

Delurking to reply to Daniel's questions, and some of the responses.

Like most, I wouldn't recommend getting too carried away with equipment 
until you brew a few batches.  By that time two things will happen: You 
will start to get a feel for the process, thus identifying the equipment 
that will work best for you; and you will become thoroughly hooked on 
this most excellent of hobbies.  As you've no doubt observed from the 
discussions, everybody's got their own way of doing things and they all 
(or almost all) work, so none of us can really tell you whether a 
conical or a carboy is going to be best for you.  It all depends on how 
you like to do things, and you aren't likely to know the answer to that 
one until you do it a few times.

So start out with the basics, brew a few times, then see where it leads 
you.  Even a carboy is optional; I often do primary fermentation in 
plastic buckets for 7 to 10 days, then keg directly from the bucket.  
Buckets are easier to clean but harder to sanitize, compared to a 
carboy, so it takes a little more care.

As for kegs vs bottles, I'm loving the keg life, but it does involve a 
big increase in equipment and expense.  Not only do you need the kegs, 
the fittings, the gas bottle and regulator and hoses and taps, you also 
need a fridge.  Again, I'd recommend starting out with bottles, get 
hooked, then move up to kegging if it seems like something you want to 
do.  I will dispute those who say kegging impairs your ability to give 
away beer or take bottles to parties - just get a counter-pressure 
bottle filler or BeerGun, and you can bottle clear yeast-free beer and 
take it to parties the same day.

Finally, I strongly dispute the slur on dry yeast.  That was true many 
years ago, but not today.  Safbrew, Danstar, Lallemand all make very 
clean, reliable dry yeast.  In fact I assert that dry yeast today is 
more reliable than liquid yeast.  I've never had a slow start or weak 
ferment with dry yeast, but it has happened several times with liquid.  
If you have a nearby store that keeps a supply of fresh liquid yeast and 
rotates their stock, the difference is negligible; but if you have to 
mail-order it, liquid yeast can get heat-stressed en route and fail on 
you.  If I could only get the San Francisco Lager yeast in dry form I 
would hardly ever need liquid!

Chers,
Tim in Albion, CA



Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:49:38 -0700
From: "Dave Larsen" <hunahpu at gmail.com>
Subject: Bimetal Thermometer Calibration

I was calibrating a new bimetal thermometer the other day using
boiling and ice water.  I used boiling water to calibrate the high end
of the scale.  Water boils in Tucson at 207 degrees F.   I used ice
water to calibrate the low end of the scale.  Ice water is close to
freezing, or 32 degrees F.  What I found is that the thermometer was
off differently from high to low.  For instance, if I adjusted my
thermometer to read correctly at the low end, it would be off by a
degree at the high end, and visa-versa.  I guess that one degree is
not that bad, but it was quite annoying.   I actually had bought two
thermometers and only one of them was this way.

I actually own a third bimetal thermometer, a Blichmann Brewmometer,
and this one does not go low enough to measure the freezing point of
water.  That is quite annoying, because I cannot calibrate at two
points.  I only can calibrate at boiling.  I guess that that is okay,
because when mashing it will be closer to the high end of the scale
rather than the low end, but I still wonder if the temperature
readings are off high to low like my other bimetal thermometer.

Speaking of which, does anybody know a good place to buy a mercury
calibration thermometer, at a decent price?  The brew shops don't seem
to carry those anymore.  They only carry the alcohol filled ones,
which I've never found to be that accurate.

Dave
Tucson, AZ
http://hunahpu.blogspot.com/


Return to table of contents


Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:31:14 -0700
From: "Mike Riddle" <mjriddle1 at comcast.net>
Subject: 30th Annual California Homebrew Competition

The 30th Annual California State Homebrew Competition will take place on
Saturday, November 8th, 2008 at Stern Grove in San Francisco.  For details,
please click on the competition link on the nchfinfo.org webpage.


Return to table of contents

---