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


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Contents:
  Spiced Winter Ale (Joseph M Labeck Jr)
  Spiced winter ale question ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  Sparkling Mead Not Sparkling (Michael)
  More on Sodastream and its cousins (Sandy C)


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*   Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
                  Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce



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Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:15:31 -0500
From: Joseph M Labeck Jr <jmlabeck at joesjokearchive.ws>
Subject: Spiced Winter Ale

Hi, all;
I have a question for the collective. I've made this a few times. The 
flavor isn't bad, but not where I want it.
First, here's the recipe, partial mash.

2 lbs 2-row malted barley
8 ozs 40L crystal malt
8 ozs chocolate malt
3 lbs light liquid malt extract
1 oz sweet orange peel
2 tbs ground cinnamon
pkt dry ale yeast

I've never been able to get the orange and cinnamon to come through with 
the intensity I want. So, what do you do?

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Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:47:44 -0500
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <hbd at spencerwthomas.com>
Subject: Spiced winter ale question

Joseph asks how to get better orange and cinnamon intensity in his 
spiced winter ale.

The obvious answer is "use more!"

Spicing beers is a tricky thing. It's sometimes really hard to predict 
how the spices will come through at the end, after boiling and 
fermentation. But there are ways...

First, you usually want to add your flavoring elements near the end of 
the boil, or even after you've turned it off. The compounds that produce 
the spice flavor and aroma are volatile, and will be driven off boiling. 
Some flavors will remain, but the most delicate components, the ones 
that really highlight the flavor, will be gone. Fermentation can also 
drive out volatiles, which leads to the next tip.

I learned this one from Randy Mosher. I'm sure it's in more than one of 
his books. The trick is to use neutral alcohol, such as vodka, to 
extract flavors, producing flavor "tinctures". Most flavor and aroma 
compounds are soluble in alcohol, even when they're not very soluble in 
water. You can then adjust the result with precision. Steep each of your 
flavoring elements separately in a small amount of vodka. You might put 
a teaspoon of cinnamon into an ounce of vodka, for example. Then pour a 
measured amount of beer, say 100ml or 4oz. Add the flavored vodka using 
a medicine dropper until you get the intensity of flavor you want. Once 
you've figured out the right ratio, you can scale up to the full batch. 
Do this for each of your flavors, and you can nail the intensity and 
balance quite easily.

Example: in 100ml of beer, you add 1ml of your cinnamon tincture to get 
the cinnamon character that you're looking for. If you've got 5 gallons 
(19 liters) of beer, you will need 190 ml of tincture to get the same 
cinnamon flavor in the full batch. Using my example above, you'd steep 
about 6.5 tsp of cinnamon in 200ml of vodka, then strain it through a 
coffee filter into the beer.

One of the beauties of this technique is that you can use it to add 
flavor after your beer has finished fermenting. So, if you start with a 
recipe like Joseph's, and you aren't getting the intensity you wanted, 
you can easily "pump it up" before bottling or kegging. You can even 
spike individual glasses of beer just before you drink them.

I've used this technique a number of times, and it's never failed me.

=Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI


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Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:55:47 -0600
From: Michael <blairdad at everestkc.net>
Subject: Sparkling Mead Not Sparkling


Hoping some of you mead makers can help me.  I brewed a basic mead on
10/22/11 using champagne yeast.  Bottled the mead on 5/28/12.  Starting
gravity was 1.105 and the final gravity was at 0.998.  At bottling, I split
the batch so I could try my first sparkling mead.  The 3 gallons of still
mead is doing quite well, but the 2 gallons of sparkling mead is not
carbonating.  When I split the batch, I added 1 ounce of bottling sugar (no
stabilizers) with the hopes of a lightly carbonated sparkling mead.
Instead, I have a noticeably sweet still mead with just a hint of acid on
the tongue (as if carbonation started, but never completed).  The mead is in
beer bottles (some capped, some flip-topped) and has been stored in my
basement for 7 months since bottling.  The basement temperature is
consistently between 66-70 degrees F.  Anyone ran across this before and
solved the sparkling mead not sparkling problem?

Thanks.

Michael Blair





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Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2012 19:26:54 -0500
From: Sandy C <scockerham at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: More on Sodastream and its cousins

> Pat,

> 

> I'm not sure if the info in the following link will be useful for you. (
I'll also attach a review of this device that might give someone more ideas
for home grown fixes. )

> http://co2doctor.com/freedomoonespec.htm

> http://co2doctorfreedomoneplusreview.blogspot.com/2011/04/review.html?m=1

> 

> And this site this sells adapters to the cylinder

>
http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_
id=1102

> 

> But what you really might like is sold here, but I think it is an
alternative carbonator device. It has photos that may prove to be of use.

> http://sodaco2.com/fillstation.html

> 

> I'd be interested in what the gear folks come up with since hauling little
tanks around is much preferred. Honestly though, it sounds as though
Sodastream is the least adaptable of the lot due to the proprietary tanks.

> Sandy in Indy

> 

>> 

>> 

>> 

>> 

>> Contents:

>> Carbon Dioxide adapters for Small Tanks ("Wallace, Robert S [EEOBS]")

>> Sodastream ("Steve

> 

>> 

>> If 

>> JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,

>>		  Spencer Thomas, and Bill Pierce

>> 

>> 

>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>> 

>> 

>> Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 12:12:28 +0000

>> From: "Wallace, Robert S [EEOBS]" <rwallace at iastate.edu>

>> Subject: Carbon Dioxide adapters for Small Tanks

>> 

>> Pat Babcock asked:

>> 

>> "Has anyone put together a rig to refill the little Cylinders from a

>> 

>> draft system tank? Also, wondering if anyone has figured out an

>> 

>> adapter to make those little cylinders useful for our draft systems?"

>> 

>> I can't help you with the Sodastream CO2 system or refilling it, but I
did

>> make an "emergency" adapter which has a CGA 320 male carbon dioxide
fitting

>> that I can mount my beer system regulator on that adapts to a 1/8" NPT

>> fitting on my son's paintball CO2 supply hose.    I can get the paintball

>> cylinder refilled almost any time at a sports store here in town, even on

>> weekends.  The local machine and welding supply store set me up with this

>> simple two part adapter which gives me some insurance that I will always
have

>> enough CO2 around to dispense my beer at parties, etc. if my main tank is

>> getting uncomfortably low in gas.  It is worth the ca. $10 investment,
just

>> for the pace of mind.  It may be possible to do the same thing with the
soda

>> system canisters.

>> 

>> Good luck with the new soda system!!  (I was looking at getting one of
these

>> too!)

>> 

>> Rob Wallace

>> 

>> Ames, Iowa 

>> 

>> ------------------------------

>> 

>> Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 07:50:26 -0600

>> From: "Steve Johnson" <sjohnson3 at comcast.net>

>> Subject: Sodastream

>> 

>> Pat, I was wondering the same thing when I first saw the Sodastream

>> advertisement.

>> 

>> In particular, I was wondering about how it might be used to charge up a
PET

>> bottle

>> 

>> for use with a liter or so of beer to take to our homebrew club meetings.

>> I've been 

>> 

>> using those special carbonator caps for a while now, and our local guys
at

>> Rebel Brewer

>> 

>> have found a source for stainless steel carbonator caps that have a much

>> longer

>> 

>> lifetime, apparently. But the Sodastream looked like it might have
similar

>> applications.

>> 

>> I'll be eager to see if anyone responds to your query.

>> 

>> Steve Johnson

>> 

>> Music City Brewers

>> 

>> Nashville, 

>> 

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