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


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Contents:
  alcohol test method ("Bill & Sara Frazier")
  Smoking grain ("T. Rohner")
  Re: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content (Fred L Johnson)
  Ginger mead recipe ("Mike Maag")
  Smoking Grain (Joe Katchever)
  re: Ginger Mead ("Jeff McNally")


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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:29:39 -0600
From: "Bill & Sara Frazier" <bsfrazier at att.net>
Subject: alcohol test method

"I want to try the distilled method to measure the amount of alcohol in 
sake."

Go to Valley Vintner's website.  They have a method that works well.  Our 
wine club compared results from the Valley Vintner method and a Ebulliometer 
for several wines.  Alcohol content was within 1% in all cases except for a 
high alcohol port.  To get good results you have to measure the wine sample 
accurately and you have to take the hydrometer readings at the temperature 
the hydrometer is rated for.  A 250ml volume of wine will work...that's what 
I used.  What's really important about the volume of wine is to be sure the 
volume is exactly the same before and after the boiling step.  With respect 
to the hydrometer temperature I used an ice bath to cool samples to the 
exact temperature.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA 



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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:10:31 +0100
From: "T. Rohner" <t.rohner at bluewin.ch>
Subject: Smoking grain

Hello all
i only bought Weyermann smoked malt until now.
But i bought a used smoking chamber this year. I cold smoked salmon in 
it. (over 200lb...) I can hang in around 50 salmon sides in one go.
We also bottled our first whisky last week. (everything legal here... as 
long as you pay the tax) We had the mash distilled by a licensed pro.
The next one will have some smoked malt. I will smoke it myself in my 
smoker.
I was looking for a smoke generator for cold smoking and found this to 
work very nice for me. It's like fire and forget.

http://www.macsbbq.co.uk/CSG.html

and look at these guys, hilarious... (skinny...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYqUt6tbpw

We just made 300 "Weisswurst" sausages yesterday evening.

Merry Christmas

Thomas


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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 05:41:23 -0500
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Re: Toys needed to use distilled method for measuring alcohol content

Will Auld asks what he'll need to measure the alcohol content (actually the
real/true extract) of his beer.

He will need a good quality volumetric flask to accurately measure the volume of
beer that he'll be boiling for the measurement and for bringing the the
alcohol-free beer back up to the same starting volume after the alcohol has been
boiled off. If Will will be using a fairly standard length hydrometer, a 250 mL
volumetric flask would be appropriate. The flask only needs to be slightly
larger than the volume that will be used with the hydrometer.

Will will also need some distilled water for reconstituting the beer from which
he removed the alcohol.

Fred L Johnson 
Apex, North Carolina, USA






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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:08:36 -0600
From: "Mike Maag" <mikemaag at comcast.net>
Subject: Ginger mead recipe

Ginger Mead
8 gallons

2 gallons honey
6 gallons charcoal filtered water
4 tsp yeast energizer
4 tsp yeast nutrient

Add 4-5 tsp of carbonate to get the pH around 5.4
(if you don't need the carbonate for the pH at first,
 monitor it during the first 12 hours of fermentation.
 Add as needed to keep the pH at or above 3.2, or add 
it just in case as a buffer).
Heat to 170F and hold for 30 minutes.
chill to 80F
Pitch two packets of Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast.
Should be fermented out in a month or so.
Decant off the yeast and add around 2 lbs of fresh sliced ginger.
I let mine sit for 10 days, then kegged and force carbonated.  
Tastes like dry ginger ale on steroids.  I last brewed it 8/22/05.
 After it sat in cornies for a while, I filled and capped 12 
bottles and saved them.
I am sipping some right now, and it's still excellent.
The ginger has mellowed out a bit, but still stands out.

The 2 lbs of ginger is pretty intense in 8 gallons.
1 lb should be subtle.

Cheers!

Mike Maag, Shenandoah Valley



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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:37:03 -0600
From: Joe Katchever <joe at pearlstreetbrewery.com>
Subject: Smoking Grain

Whenever I've tried to smoke grain, it just gave
me a headache.

Actually, I went down to a restaurant that does a lot of smoked
meats and they were happy to smoke up some 2-row for me. Just flat
on a cookie sheet worked. In exchange for a growler, of course.
You might try the local butcher shop. They have the smoker and the
best wood. At home, I use apple wood exclusively. If you use young
wood (< a year old)and you keep the smoker under 220F, you will
have no bitterness in your beer. <br>

Joe Doe

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Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:27:31 -0500
From: "Jeff McNally" <jeff_ri at cox.net>
Subject: re: Ginger Mead

Hi All,

  Glyn in S. Middle TN asked in HBD #5770 about ginger meads.

  I've only made one, but I have tried two others.

  The one I made used 1 oz of fresh peeled and grated ginger root boiled in 
1 cup of water for 1 minute, and then added to the secondary (5 gallon 
batch).  One of the others I've tried used the same method, but used 4 oz of 
ginger.  Mine turned out fine with a moderate amount of ginger flavor.  The 
other one with 4 oz was way overpowering even after years of aging.

  Boiling the ginger for any amount of time seems to knock the aroma down, 
and bring out the heat in the ginger flavor.

  The only other ginger mead that I've tried was made by Ken Schram and 
sampled at the 2004 NHC in Las Vegas.  His used 3 lbs of ginger (not a 
typo)!  He just peeled and chopped it up and added to the secondary (no 
boil).  Huge ginger aroma and flavor, but little to no heat.

Jeff McNally
Tiverton, RI
(652.2 miles and 90.0 degrees Apparent Rennerian Coordinates)
www.southshorebrewclub.org




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