HOMEBREW Digest #629 Fri 03 May 1991
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: cheap malt extract
Unhopped malt
Maybock (02-May-1991 0940)
source for wheat beer yeast (Marty Albini)
cara-pils; diacetyl; mash-time (BAUGHMANKR)
Styro-Mead (Douglas Allen Luce)
yards (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
diacetyl, clinical flavor (Ken Giles)
Re: mashing dextrine malt (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Bottling Yeast (hersh)
extract prices (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Re: Miller on special malts (Ken Giles)
prime power/glasses ("KATMAN.WNETS385")
Brewing into Plastic bottles (Drew Lynch)
rootbeer revisited ("KATMAN.WNETS385")
Weizen Yeast (Mike Peterson)
Quicker Brewing (C.R. Saikley)
Federal law? (Robin Garr)
Diacetyl & "clinical" odor (CONDOF)
next issure such that # = prime ^ n (Brian Bliss)
Re: brewing software (darrylo)
Beer Stacks... (Gary Mason - I/V/HI PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 02-May-1991 2014)
looking for person with Druid... .signature (mbharrington)
Looking for second brew book (mbharrington)
Spreadsheet... (Gary Mason - I/V/HI PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 02-May-1991 2030)
new reader's questions ("David Taylor, Hardware Maintenance")
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmi at hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmi at hplabs.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues]
Archives are available from netlib at mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 8:36:01 EDT
From: William Boyle (CCL-L) <wboyle at PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: cheap malt extract
Alternative Beverage
1-800-365-BREW
Charlotte, NC
The dry is not the best price but the syrup is the best I've seen.
Their dry is M&F they have Canned extract
X-light, light, amber, dark, Price
and X-dark Brand Wt Hopped Unhopped
Quantity Price American 3.3 6.95 6.80
1 lb 3.40 Eagle, L,A,D
2 lb 5.85
3 lb 8.40 EDME DMS, SFX 3.5 ---7.45---
4 lb 10.85
5 lb 13.30 John Bull 3.3 7.85 7.25
L,A,D
M&F L,A,D 3.3 7.65 6.95
Other places for dry:
Hennessy homebrew Barleymalt & Vine Mayers
1-800-hobrews 1-800-666-7026 1-800-543-0043
Rensselaer, NY West Roxbury, MA Webster, NY
American Eagle American Eagle or American Eagle L,A,D
bulk plain, L,A,D M&F 2.25/lb or 6.49/3 lbs
109.95 for 50lbs 1.99/lb pick-up only 93.00/50 lbs
Telford L,A,D
2.49/lb or 7.25/3 lbs
121.85/55 lbs
I live on the East coast so all the places I order from are out here, I
don't know where you are from but I hope this helps.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 9:27:18 EDT
From: William Boyle (CCL-L) <wboyle at PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Unhopped malt
My brew partner wants to brew our next batch with unhopped
extract and add no hops. I think this will not turn out very
good. Has anybody tried this and how did it turn out.
Bill Boyle
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 06:45:03 PDT
From: 02-May-1991 0940 <hannan at gnpike.enet.dec.com>
Subject: Maybock
I recently bought some Ayinger Maibock (May Bock) beer from
West Germany. It is a very bitter very heavy very strong delicious
brew which I had never heard of. Apparently "bock" doesn't mean
dark, as this brew has a basic dense, golden color.
Anyone know the definition of May bock beer, or bock in general ?
Dankeshen,
Ken
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 7:23:15 PDT
From: Marty Albini <martya at sdd.hp.com>
Subject: source for wheat beer yeast
> From: Marty Albini <martya at sdd.hp.com>
> Subject: wyeast Bavarian wheat beer yeast(s)
>
> There's also an outfit in Tennessee that stocks it,
> but my order is two weeks old now, and still no yeast, so I
> hesitate to recommend them.
It arrived the afternoon I posted this. To make up for
impugning their reputation, here is a plug:
Brewhaus
4955 Ball Camp Rd.
Knoxville, TN 37921
(615) 523-4615
I mentioned in this article that I thought lower
temperatures would work against the S. Delbruckii strain in
the Wyeast packet; the MeV packet says "ferment below 20 deg
C" on it, which is pretty cold for an ale yeast. I'm going to
bite the bullet and make the international phone call today to
get the straight poop. Byron Burch recommends a warm ferment
for the Wyeast to get lots of esters, and I'm confused (but
not worried!).
Also:
> From: Brian D. Moore <bemo at spacsun.rice.edu>
>
> Here in Texas, it is currently illegal to operate a brewpub. However,
> there is currently legislation to allow microbreweries to operate (defined
> to be production < 75,000 barrels, a limit I do not exceed -- yet). Debate
> is ongoing, so I ask: in my letter to my representative, what arguments
> should I include? My local supplier suggests tourism, but I cannot back
> this up with any facts. Is local color enough of an argument for passage?
Tell them the current laws are anti-competitive, and
are inhibitting a potentially lucretive industry. Jobs is a
good arguement; I don't think anybody in the legislature would
be sympathetic to "I'm sick of bad beer!" If the process of
regulating alcohol is as corrupt in TX as it is in CA, the
megabreweries will have an easier time suppressing competition
than the public will encouraging it.
Simply pointing out the absurdity of a law doesn't
seem to help much either...
- --
____________________________________________Marty Albini___________
"Thank god for long-necked bottles, the angel's remedy."--Tom Petty
phone : (619) 592-4177
UUCP : {hplabs|nosc|hpfcla|ucsd}!hp-sdd!martya
Internet : martya at sdd.hp.com
US mail : Hewlett-Packard Co., 16399 W. Bernardo Drive, San Diego CA 92127-1899 USA
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 1991 10:47 EST
From: BAUGHMANKR at CONRAD.APPSTATE.EDU
Subject: cara-pils; diacetyl; mash-time
Greetings All:
The U.S. Open Homebrew Competition was a success. We judged 90 beers.
The guys who judged Best of Show had an awful time deciding which
deserved the "Big Blue" but in the end it went to the Pale Ale, from a
homebrewer in Texax (sorry, I didn't write down his name). This was
the first competition to participate in the Southeastern Homebrewer of
the Year Award program, an award to the homebrewer from the Southeast
who accumulates the most points in a year from all the competitions
he/she enters.
Being the judge director, I didn't have the privilege to judge a
category :-(. But the most interesting beer I sampled was a
raspberry/clove mead by Jeb Sturmer from Durham. A MOST interesting
beverage. A little heavy on the cloves otherwise it might have taken
first in the meads. In case anyone wants to try something
different...
A question arose so at the competition so I pass it to the group:
How do they malt Cara-pils so that it doesn't have any convertible
starches?
As for diacetyl in beer:
It's my understanding that diacetyl can be produced by racking too
quickly to a secondary fermenter. There is a diacetyl reduction
period just after primary fermentation when the beer needs to sit on
the yeast cake for a day or two. Diacetyl is what they use to make
margarine taste like butter (check out the ingredients on the side of
the package sometime) so "butter" is definitely what you should be
tasting if diacetyl is your problem. "Medicinal/clinical" probably
relates to another defect. I'll have to check some of my sources to
nail it down.
As for the time it takes to make all-grain beer:
I find that most of the time involved in making all-grain beer is used
up waiting for the mash to convert, sparging, and then waiting to
finish the boil. I wrote an article for the All-Grain special issue
that outlines a procedure whereby you brew two beers at once and
"stagger" the steps. Sparge #1 while you're mashing #2; Boil #1
while you're sparging #2; Cool #1 while you're boiling #2. It takes
some advance planning. I grind the grains, weigh out the hops and
sterilize the carboys the night before, because once the process
begins, it's non-stop! The net effect though is two batches of
all-grain beer in just a little more time than it takes to brew one.
The drawback is that it takes two brewpots. I'm a Bruheat fan and use
two Bruheats. Whatever you use, if you can borrow the extra pot and
mash tun from a fellow brewer for a day, then you don't have to drop
the coins on the extra equipment.
Kinney Baughman | Beer is my business and
baughmankr at conrad.appstate.edu | I'm late for work.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 11:32:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Douglas Allen Luce <dl2p+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Styro-Mead
Last September, I decided to try making a small batch of mead. I used
a recipe from the list calling for ginger, tea, and orange peel in
addition to the honey. I ended up with a one gallon batch (heated for
45 minutes with scum-scraping, no boiling) dubbed "Feinstein
Troublemead."
It has had pretty much the same taste since the fermentation (with Red
Star Champagne yeast) ended. Very sweet, no real taste of alcohol,
and a horrid composure of styrene!
Yuk. I've never heard about this taste before; what could be causing
it? The stuff came out of my stainless steel boiler into the glass
fermenting vessel and glass conditioning jug, never making it's way
through coffee cups or anything like that. I've only racked it once
after the primary fermentation, and there's a few wisps of yeast left
at the bottom; could this have anything to do with the taste? Is this
something that might go away? It seems as strong as ever.
Goofy stuff.
Douglas Luce
Carnegie Mellon
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 09:44:51 mdt
From: hplabs!hp-lsd.cos.hp.com!ihlpl!korz (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: yards
[sorry for ommitting the reference, but I'm not on my ususal windowing
termial today]
Yards are available from the Association of Brewers Catalog (often
included in Zymurgy. They seem a bit pricey -- I'd love to get a few,
but I'm looking around for a better price. Here's the AoB's prices:
yard glass w/stand - 36" tall - (holds 42 oz.) $75.50
1/2 yard glass w/stand - 18" tall - (holds 25 oz.) 56.50
set of four 1/2 yard glasses w/stands 208.25
they also have 12" "foot" glasses
I assusme that these prices do not include shipping, because
the "weight" of the glasses is listed.
Association of Brewers
P.O. Box 287
Boulder, CO 80306-0287
Order by fax: 303-447-2825
Order by phone: 303-447-0816
Office hours: M-F 9-5 Mountain time
[Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the AoB other than being an AHA member.]
Al.
korz at ihlpl.att.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 08:55:49 PDT
From: keng at ic.MENTORG.COM (Ken Giles)
Subject: diacetyl, clinical flavor
In HBD 626, R. Bradley asks about diacetyl and 'clinical' flavors:
From what I've read, diacetyl is naturally produced during the yeast's aerobic
reproductive phase. And during the anaerobic phase, diacetyl is reduced by the
yeast. I believe the amounts produced and reduced can vary in different strains
of yeast. Also, reintroducing oxygen during the anaerobic phase will restart
diacetyl production, sometimes producing more than can be reduced. You sound
like an experienced brewer, so I hesitate to suggest this, but are you being
very careful not to oxygenate the wort when racking off the trub? To me, this
seems like the most likely cause of your diacetyl problem. I wouldn't say that
diacetyl is the product of an unhealthy ferment, but rather an improperly
controlled ferment.
As for the clinical taste deriving from diacetyl, I don't think that could be
true. Some commercial brewers purposely try to produce some diacetyl (Samuel
Adams and Samuel Smiths come to mind) and it's a desirable attribute in stouts
and porters, where it stays in the background. I think the 'clinical' flavor
you're describing is known as phenolic. I usually associate this with
contamination problems. I know, you've done 160 batches with no problems, but a
small change in procedure can sometimes cause problems. Myself, I made good
beer for two years, then, all of a sudden, every second batch was going bad.
I realized (after doing a lot of reading) that I had just started using adjunct
grains in my extract beers, and since I wasn't doing full wort boils, the dust
from the cracking of grains was contaminating my brew water. I started cracking
outside, and no more problem. It sounds like you've changed your procedure,
slightly. Try to determine if you've increased the contamination risk, or tell
us more.
kg.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 10:37:55 mdt
From: hplabs!hp-lsd.cos.hp.com!ihlpl!korz (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Re: mashing dextrine malt
Ken asks about mashing dextrine, crystal and roasted malts.
I don't. I put them in a grain bag and drop the grain bag
in my kettle as I bring the cold liquor up to boiling temp.
Then I remove the grain bag and add extract malts and boiling
hops (which I recently read are also called "copper hops"
since kettles are (were) also known as "coppers"). I agree
that mashing them can convert the more complex carbohydrates
that you seek to add by using the crystal or dextrine malts.
Al.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 02 May 91 13:09:42 EDT
From: hersh at expo.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: Bottling Yeast
>The article I was replying was (I *thought*) about throwing in a fresh
>package of yeast at bottling time
Oops guess I wasn't paying close enough attention. I've never heard of primary
or secondary yeasts added at bottling time. the only thing I know about
bottling yeasts is that it is a not uncommon practice for German brewers to add
a liquid yeast of a different strain than used for fermenting at bottling time.
I don't know the specifics of how they go about this though.
JaH
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 11:15:35 mdt
From: hplabs!hp-lsd.cos.hp.com!ihlpl!korz (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: extract prices
Disclaimer: I have a limited collection of catalogs from
a limited set of suppliers. They are in the order that
I found them. I have only purchased from Lil' Olde Winemaking
Shoppe and have had no problems with their products or service.
Shipping prices vary and are not included. I am not
affiliated with any of the suppliers mentioned.
Here's the cheapest prices that I could find in all the
catalogs I have (please note the age of the catalogs):
William's (prices expire Oct. 31 1990) 415-895-2739
6 x 6lbs English Light or Dark - $66.00 ($1.83/lb)
Brewhaus (catalog revised Nov. 15, 1990) 1-800-638-2437(BIER)
Munton&Fison 55 lb. pail (5 gallons) - $103 ($1.87/lb)
Alternative Beverage (fall/winter 1990) 1-800-265-BREW
6 x 3.3lbs Americal Eagle Light, Amber or Dark - 10% (for buying 6)
$36.72 ($1.85/lb)
Lil' Olde Winemaking Shoppe (fall 1990) 708-557-2523
3.3 lbs John Bull Plain Light, Amber or Dark - $6.19 ($1.88/lb)
Al.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 09:45:52 PDT
From: keng at ic.MENTORG.COM (Ken Giles)
Subject: Re: Miller on special malts
In HBD 628, ken at oldale.pgh.pa.us (Kenneth R. van Wyk) writes:
> In chapter 8 (Special Malts), Miller says (any typos are undoubtedly
> my own), "One point that must be emphasized is that all roasted and
> crystal malts contain residual starch, and should be mashed with a
> diastatic malt in order to convert that starch and extract their full
> flavor and color."
>
> This is contrary to what I've always believed. Even many extract
> recipes that I've seen call for crystal malt. I've never heard of
> mashing crystal or roasted malts. I've always mashed my [pale|klages]
> malt and then tossed in the specialty malts in with the sparge,
> leaving some time for them to steep at about 170F. Perhaps I should
> be mashing. What do other folks do?
You'll find that Byron Burch, author of "Brewing Quality Beers" is an advocate
of mashing adjuncts, as well. What do I do? When I make extract beers, I use
primarily dry malt extract, which is almost complete fermentables, so I use
crystal to add both flavor and body. Therefore, I don't mash it, but just
steep it. When doing all-grain, however, I'm using the mash process to control
body. So I go ahead and mash the crystal (and other adjuncts) with my pale malt.
As to Miller's claim that mashing adjuncts must be done to "extract their full
flavor and color", I think he might be over-stating things, especially color. I
haven't done any extract-with-mashed-adjunct beers to support my opinion,
though. As it has been noted here before, crystal makes extract beer so much
better, almost every brewer will keep increasing it and end up with a beer
that's too sweet. If you were to mash the crystal, you could increase the
crystal without your beer becoming cloying. When I mash a pale ale, I use 1 lb
of crystal for 5 gallons. In an extract recipe for 5 gallons of pale ale, 1/4 lb
of unmashed crystal is about the limit (IMHO, of course) before causing
over-sweetness.
kg.
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 16:11 GMT
From: "KATMAN.WNETS385" <6790753%356_WEST_58TH_5TH_FL%NEW_YORK_NY%WNET_6790753 at mcimail.com>
Subject: prime power/glasses
Date: 02-May-91 Time: 12:12 PM Msg: EXT01002
Happy May to all and sundry -
1) The next issue whose number will be a prime power should be 729 which is 3
to the 6th power.
2) Someone mentioned Crate and Barrel as a source of glassware. Their 800
number is 1-800-323-5461. Other companies that have nice glassware are Williams
Sonoma 1-800-541-2233 (really pretty beer mugs) and Pottery Barn. Pottery Barn
doesn't have an 800 number. I called 1-212-505-6377 (a local call) and they put
me on the mailing list.
3) The local homebrew supply guy says that he has a catalogue at home with
"yard" glasses in it. I suspect it is wholesale, but who knows. You could send
him an SASE and ask for the name. His address is
Milan Home Wine and Beer
57 Spring St.
NY, NY 10012
212-226-4780
Disclaimer - I was never very good at arithmetic. (gee, am I going to need a
REAL disclaimer soon? after all, what opinions could Thirteen have about
homebrew...)
Lee Katman == Thirteen/WNET == New York, NY
=Do not= use REPLY or ANSWERBACK, I can not receive mail in that fashion.
Please send all mail to
INTERNET katman.wnets385%wnet_6790753 at mcimail.com
OR
MCIMAIL EMS: wnet 6790753 MBX: katman.wnets385
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 09:51:43 PDT
From: Drew Lynch <kpc!atl at uunet.UU.NET>
Subject: Brewing into Plastic bottles
I brewed a batch of brown ale and bottled it in plastic bottles. I
noticed no odd flavors or loss of carbonation. I wanted to be able to
take some beer in for the first day of a backpacking trip and not have
to carry around heavy bottles or cans for the rest of the trip. I
figured that the plastic bottles are very durable and would serve well
as canteens when the beer ran out. Unfortunately, we didn't get
another backpacking trip in before all the beer was consumed! :-)
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 17:45 GMT
From: "KATMAN.WNETS385" <6790753%356_WEST_58TH_5TH_FL%NEW_YORK_NY%WNET_6790753 at mcimail.com>
Subject: rootbeer revisited
Date: 02-May-91 Time: 01:46 PM Msg: EXT01008
Hello again
Does anyone have a recipe for rootbeer that is "from scratch" using the actual
plant parts that make the syrup? Thanks,
Lee Katman == Thirteen/WNET == New York, NY
=Do not= use REPLY or ANSWERBACK, I can not receive mail in that fashion.
Please send all mail to
INTERNET katman.wnets385%wnet_6790753 at mcimail.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 14:49:58 -0500
From: peterson at ddd.prepnet.com (Mike Peterson)
Subject: Weizen Yeast
Hello. I've got a quick question for all you out in homebrew land.
I am an intermediate extract/speciality grain homebrewer with an interest in
making an attempt at producing a Weizen this summer. I was hoping to do
something simple with a wheat malt extract and a traditional top fermenting
Weizen yeast. Here's where the question comes in. My girlfriend and I
managed to get these bargin basement tickets to Germany and are going to
vacation in Bavaria, alias Beer Heaven. I would like nothing better than to
grab a couple of bottles of Weizen mit Hefe (wheat beer with yeast) to bring
home in order to reculture the yeast for my Weizen. The problem is that
according to Papazian in the Spring 1990 issue of Zymurgy, most Bavarian
Weizen beers are filtered in order to remove the yeast used during
fermentation. The yeast is then replaced with a lager yeast which
flocculates better. Does anyone know of a Weizen brewer that does
not do this? If so, do you have any advice on reculturing from bottle
conditioned beers? Thanks in advance.
Mike Peterson
E-mail: peterson at ddd.prepnet.com
Phone: 215-975-0975
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 11:34:21 PDT
From: grumpy!cr at uunet.UU.NET (C.R. Saikley)
Subject: Quicker Brewing
From: dinsdale at chtm.unm.edu (Don McDaniel)
>I'm with Marc. I've recently gone over to all-grain brewing
>(except when I'm desperately low on brew and don't have time for
>mashing) but I find it takes me the better part of EIGHT HOURS
>to brew a batch. It's not a total write-off since I can use some of
>the dead time to get chores done around the house, but it does
>control my whole day. I'd really like to know how it can be done
>in four hours!
I made the move to all-grain about three years ago, and have been
refining my brewery and technique since then. In the last six months,
I have gotten my brewing time down to four hours. A full blown description
of my technique would be rather tiresome, so I'll limit the discussion
to a few hints and caveats. First the caveats.
This style of brewing is not for everyone, for at least three reasons.
1. Managing time efficiently. To brew that quickly, you must
streamline your process. There are usually several things
happening simultaneously, which must be executed with precision.
Even if you know what you're doing, it can get kind of harried.
Often I would rather take 5-6 hours, which leaves more time for
relaxing etc.
2. Equipment. The brewery set-up must be easy to use, and must
do its job quickly. Setting this up can consume hundreds of
dollars and infinite amounts of time. It helps to love brewery
building as much as brewing!!
3. Flexibility. If you really want to brew in four hours, you'll
probably have to forgo protein rests, low temp saccharification
rests (<157F), roasting your own grains, longer boils, whirlpooling,
etc. A high temp, single step infusion mash, followed by a one
hour boil limits your flexibility, but speeds up your brewing.
And now a few hints.
1. Concentrate on the "critical path". Know exactly what you will
need when, and have it ready at that time. Use periods of lesser
activity to prepare and clean. Examples, a) sterilize equipment
during the mash; b) drain and rinse carboys during the boil; c)
clean mashtun while chilling wort (saves water too!). By thinking
carefully about the process, you'll be able to see things that
can be done in parallel.
2. Use pre-cracked grains. If you get your supplies on brewing
day, or the day before, have your supplier crack them for you.
It beats spinning the handle of the old Corona, and should give
you a better crush too (assuming your supplier has a 2 roller mill).
3. Get a high output burner. This is a great way to shorten brewing
time that causes nothing to be compromised. The kettle is used to
heat mash water, heat sparge water, and boil wort. Depending on
your set up and schedule, all 3 of these may be on the critical
path. Anything that you can do to shorten the critical path will
reduce the time spent brewing. My 125,000 BTU burner can boil 15
gallons in 10-15 minutes, and has shortened my brewing time
considerably.
4. Use hot tap water. Part of your work is already done for you.
5. Brew outside. If you've got a high output burner, you'll want
to do so for safety reasons. Furthermore, you'll never have to
mop another floor again!! (A word of caution, sanitation can get
trickier outside.)
6. Shorten mash times. According to Dr. Lewis at UC Davis, nearly all
of the conversion takes place in the first 5 minutes of the mash,
provided that you use enzyme rich American malt (2 row Klages is
excellent), and mash in at 158-160F. Marin Brewing Co is now mashing
for about 35 minutes (it takes that long to get the sparge water up
to temp), and one sip of their beer is enough to convince most skeptics.
I've mashed for as little as 1/2 hour at 158F, and been very pleased
with the results. Because of the high mash temp, the finished beer
will be full bodied and rich in unfermentables (yummm).
7. Use a hot liquor back. This is an insulated tank that stores
heated sparge water. By freeing up the brew kettle, you can begin
heating the runoff before sparging is completed. You must exercise
caution, however, to avoid scorching the high density first runnings.
8. Limit the boil to one hour. One hour is sufficient to extract
& isomerize alpha acids, sterilize the wort, and get a good hot
break.
9. Clean up as you go. If you do this, you will minimize the amount
of drudgery after the fun part is over. By the time I've got cooled
wort and yeast into the carboy, there are only two things left to
clean : the brewkettle and the heat exchanger.
Naturally there are times when you wouldn't want to use some of the above
techniques. If, however, minimizing brewing time is a priority, you might
want to try them.
Questions?
Comments?
Advice?
CR
Return to table of contents
Date: 02 May 91 07:16:32 EDT
From: Robin Garr <76702.764 at compuserve.com>
Subject: Federal law?
According to wolfe at zeus.WEC.COM (braumeister)'s account, "UPS returns
HOMEBREW COMPETITION entry's," ...
> Friday, April 19,1991, I had returned to me, my homebrew entries.
>Reason, UPS does not violate Federal Law of Interstate Transport of Alcoholic
>Beverages across state lines.
> I was intructed to cease and desist my attempted shipping of
>alcohol across state line, or they would report me to the BATF.
Balderdash! UPS may elect not to ship the Demon Alky-hol across state lines,
but they have no right to tell you that you're a law-breaking malefactor.
There is NO federal law that forbids interstate shipment of alcohol, except
specifically by the U.S. Postal Service, and that's a postal matter, not in
BATF's bailiwick. Call the BATF agents in your own home town and they will
be happy to confirm this.
Most UPS agencies are quite willing to look the other way when you ship
"processed barley" via their system. In this case, while acknowledging that
they have the right to deny your shipment, I think I'd have a little talk
with your agent's supervisor about his attitude problem.
I think that UPS' problem, other than a galloping case of
neo-prohibitionism, is that there's a patchwork of STATE laws governing
shipment of alcohol IN, and a relative minority (Texas is said to be one
such) are fairly aggressive about enforcement. This is generally not because
of prohibitionist sentiment as because the states like to collect excise
taxes. UPS, among others, finds it easier to decline to accept the shipment
than to keep track of the paperwork.
Try Federal Express or Greyhound Package Express. And tell UPS that you
don't intend to send ANYTHING on the big brown truck until they get their
act together.
Robin Garr
Associate Sysop, CompuServe Wine/Beer Forum
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Date: Thu, 2 May 91 13:38 PST
From: <CONDOF%CLARGRAD.BITNET at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Diacetyl & "clinical" odor
bradley at math.nwu.edu (Rob Bradley) asks about diacetyl and a
"clinical" odor/flavor.
Diacetyl is short for diacetyl ester, CH3COCOCH3. It has a sweet
or butterscotchy or buttery flavor/odor, depending on who you
are. In low amounts, it can be quite pleasant. It's present only
in young ales, because the yeast will eventually digest it, even
in the bottle.
According to "Principles of Brewing Science," by George Fix,
high levels of diacetyl can be generated by a bacterium,
Pediococcus sp. These bacteria also produce lactic acid, and
I believe they are used on purpose in Lambics. In other
brews, they're considered disastrous.
Other sources of diacetyl, again acording to Fix: minor
metabolic pathways of yeast, "petite" yeast mutants,
spontaneous decomposition of alphaacetolactic acid, too
much oxygen in the wort, too little valine in the wort.
Correction: above I said it's diacetyl ester. That's wrong.
It's diacetyl KETONE.
As for the "clinical" odor, I suspect you mean a phenolic
character. The compound of interest, again according to Fix,
is 4-vinyl-guaiacol. It is produced by superattenuating
wild yeast (S. diastaticus) in high quantities. It is produced
more by ale (S. cerevisiae) than by lager (S. uvarum) yeast,
and it is produced by S. delbrueckii, the Bavarian wheat beer
yeast, in which it is considered desirable, as in low
quantities, it provides the "clovelike" character of those
beers.
>So, answers and/or opinions, please. Is the "clinical"
>thing mature diacetyl, or something diacetyl turns into?
>Is this kooky method of racking after (typically) 16 hours
>likely to cause diacetyl problems? Could the whole thing
>be explained by infection?
The "clinical" and diacetyl flavors are caused by quite
different compounds produced by quite different pathways.
The "maturing" of diacetyl to "clinical" is caused by the
disappearance of the unstable diacetyl. The prevalance of
phenol could be explained by infection by S. diastaticus
or its presence in a contaminated dry yeast source, for
example. Very high levels of diacetyl could be explained by
infection by Pediococcus.
According to Fix, Pediococcus loves maltose, so incomplete
or slow-starting fermentations are most susceptible. If you're
not getting short lag times after pitching, this could be
something to look into. Of course, thorough sanitation is
necessary. Fix says the bacteria can live even in scratches
in glass, and plastic is a great haven for them. Consider
replacing all your plastic equipment.
Hope this helps.
===
Fred Condo
Bitnet: condof at clargrad INET: condof at clargrad.claremont.edu
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Date: Thu, 2 May 91 16:01:50 CDT
From: bliss at csrd.uiuc.edu (Brian Bliss)
Subject: next issure such that # = prime ^ n
3^6 = 729
bb
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Date: Thu, 02 May 91 17:03:15 PDT
From: darrylo at hpnmxx
Subject: Re: brewing software
[ Darryl Richman's post on Mac brewing software reminded me of this. ]
In the 1989 or 1990 special issue of Zymurgy (the one on "Beer and
Hops"), there is an article by Jackie Rager (sp?) that gives a formula
for calculating IBUs given a hop's alpha content, boiling time, etc..
Can anyone tell me how accurate it is? I programmed the equations
and data table into my HP 48SX calculator, and noted that, using the
example in the article, an error of one minute roughly translated into
an error of one IBU. In other words, if the wort is boiled for an extra
five minutes, the IBU changes by 4-6 IBUs (I've forgotten the exact
number). Given that the IBU value can change rapidly with time, how do
you take into account wort cooling time, or is this already reflected in
the equation? Perhaps the bitterness extracted from hops decreases
rapidly with wort temperature?
-- Darryl ("Just a beginner") Okahata
Internet: darrylo at sr.hp.com
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Date: Thu, 2 May 91 20:18:45 -0400
From: mason at habs11.ENET.DEC.COM (Gary Mason - I/V/HI PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 02-May-1991 2014)
Subject: Beer Stacks...
Are all of these transmissions regarding HyperCard stacks about beer & brewing
referring to the BeerStax stacks I placed (with help) in the Homebrew Archives
some months back? If so, there they are.
Cheers...Gary
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 17:31:55 PDT
From: mbharrington at UCSD.EDU
Subject: looking for person with Druid... .signature
If you are the person with the little snipet about naked Druids in
your .signature, could you send me a note? I'd like to ask you something...
Thanks!, and please forgive the excessive use of bandwith...
- --Matt
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Date: Thu, 2 May 91 17:33:49 PDT
From: mbharrington at UCSD.EDU
Subject: Looking for second brew book
I own Papazian's book and love it dearly. I'd also like to get something
else, just for a second opinion and more recipes. I'm considering
Miller's book, but just thought I'd see what y'all thought of it before
I paid for it. Any comments?
Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 2 May 91 20:35:28 -0400
From: mason at habs11.ENET.DEC.COM (Gary Mason - I/V/HI PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 02-May-1991 2030)
Subject: Spreadsheet...
To the would be spreadsheet contributor...(sorry, I can't find your name)...
Rather than FTP, why not submit it to the Homebrew Archive? Then we can ALL
copy it via E-mail. BTW - is there any chance that it is in an older version
of Excel? The new version (V2.2?) is not acceptable to some other programs yet
(like my version of Macintosh WingZ at the moment)? I would like very much to
get at that piece of work. Thanks in advance
Cheers...Gary
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 3 May 91 11:51 EST
From: "David Taylor, Hardware Maintenance" <DAVID at phillip.edu.au>
Subject: new reader's questions
Gooday from Australia,
I'm a recent subscriber to this digest and think that it's great.
What follows is part of an article that I posted to rec.food.drink
a few weeks ago. Two homebrewers kindly mailed me details of this
list. Some of my questions may provoke some discussion?
I've been homebrewing for several years now with results ranging from
the usual undrinkable failures to some that were 'few-cents-a-bottle'
masterpieces.
I started with kits, made extract brews, then graduated to grain
brewing - {poetic waffle about joys of brewing deleted}.
Since moving to a four acre block in the hills North-East of Melbourne
and starting to owner-build our house there isn't much time for brewing
(*HOME* brewing on a massive scale). I've made a few extract brews to
keep up a supply but with mixed results. Here are some comments and
questions:-
We're now on tank water, currently a 2000 gallon galvanised main tank.
Are zinc ions known to affect yeast performance? When the house is
habitable we'll have a 15000 gallon concrete tank - some calcium
carbonate to harden the water - looks like I'll be brewing pale ale!
I believe that yeast quality has a large affect on flavour. One of my
best beers was made with a lager yeast that came from the US in a liquid
culture via the president of the local brewers club. I grabbed one of
his empties and got the sludge to start. My beer was all grain, hops and
water and had clean malt taste with beautiful yeast complexity and
balanced bitter finish. I wish I could make it again! Any comments on
yeast quality, sources, methods of culture etc?
I've just sent off a cheque to AHA to subscribe and ordered the 'Yeast'
and 'Extract' back issues, also, am about to invest in a glass carboy
for a primary fermenter (my plastic fermenter is getting old and I'm
not sure how well it cleans up these days). All in the cause of more
consistent, cleaner tasting brews.
Cheers... David Taylor
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #629, 05/03/91
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