HOMEBREW Digest #888 Mon 25 May 1992

Digest #887 Digest #889


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Pinlock soda kegs (Jim Larsen)
  racking tubes (John Freeman)
  Marga Mulino Grain Mill (Darren Evans-Young)
  Hot vinyl hose kinking (Darren Evans-Young)
  conceptual hangup, anyone? ("Brett Lindenbach")
  who where? (C05705DA)
  First Lager ("Peter W. Karlson")
  more on beechwood (florianb)
  first real use of a blow-off (ZLPAJGN)
  Hops (fjdobner)
  Keg fitting removal from Micah Millspaw (Bob Jones)
  Toronto pubs (grant)
  quick question: re: blow-off hoses (ZLPAJGN)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 21 May 92 14:26:22 PDT From: jal at techbook.com (Jim Larsen) Subject: Pinlock soda kegs Dan Watson inquires about his Firestone keg. As I understand it: Firestone = Pinlock = Coca Cola Cornelius = Ball lock = Pepsi Since Coke and >Pepsi never talk to each other, the Cornelius and Firestone kegs are even threaded differently, so you cannot interchange fittings without created specialed hybrid hoses. jal Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 10:21:20 CDT From: jlf at palm.cray.com (John Freeman) Subject: racking tubes > Date: Thu, 21 May 92 12:57 CDT > From: fjdobner at ihlpb.att.com > Subject: Wort Transport > > 2. To keep the hose from kinking at the top of the brewpot (due to such a > severe temperature of the wort) I plan on using a racking tube. Does anyone > know if these racking tubes (you know the ones of clear hard plastics with > bend at one end) will be affected negatively by the heat (like melting for > instance)? > I used a white plastic racking tube on hot wort once and the heat softened the plastic. It had a permanent curve in it after that. My carboy was sitting on the cold basement floor and broke ever so cleanly around the base. If you're going to siphon lots of liquid, make a racking tube out of 1/2" copper pipe, a 90 Ell and a 45 Ell. Large diameter plastic hose fits over the copper pipe. I notice a big difference even in racking five gallons. pipe ------------------------------+ 90 Ell | pipe # 45 Ell / pipe / hose Return to table of contents
Date: FRI, 22 May 92 12:26:26 EDT From: "Deborah Poirier" <POIRIER at INRS-ENER.UQuebec.CA> from: poirier at inrs-ener.uquebec.ca subject: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone Hello fellow fizzicists! I recently returned from a trip to California, where I fell in love with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which is absolutely unfindable here in Montreal. Does anyone have a good all-grain imitation recipe? I heard that Wyeast American Ale is the right type, and that Cascade hops are used. Is that true? If so what about the rest? Summer's coming and I'd love to brew some of that lovely stuff. email me directly and I'll post a summary of your copious (I hope) replies. Thanks in advance, Deborah Poirier Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 10:42:02 CDT From: Darren Evans-Young <DARREN at ua1vm.ua.edu> Subject: Marga Mulino Grain Mill >From: CITJLF at ARIZVM1.ccit.arizona.edu >I FINALLY RECEIVED THE MARGA MULINO GRAIN MILL AS A WEDDING PRESENT >AND USED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME A FEW WEEKS AGO. I AM QUITE IMPRESSED >BY THE QUALITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MILL AND WITH THE WAY THE >THE GRAIN WAS CRUSHED WITHOUT CREATING ANY FLOUR. MY ONLY PROBLEM >WITH THE UNIT WAS THAT I HAD TO KEEP A FINGER IN THE HOPPER CONSTANTLY >SWIRLING THE GRAINS OR ELSE THE GRAINS WOULD EVENTUALLY SETTLE IN >OVER THE HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE HOPPER AND NOT FEED THROUGH. MAYBE >I NEED TO ENLARGE THE HOLE. ALSO THE HOPPER AND CATCH BASIN ARE VERY >SMALL. IF ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE HAS ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS MILL, >EMAIL ME WITH YOUR SOLUTIONS. I also own one of these mills and have experienced the same problem with the grains not being pulled in by the rollers. However, since I drive my mill with a 1/2 hp variable speed drill, I like the small opening! I've tried, there is no way I can get my fingers down into the rollers. I'm not sure enlarging the hole will have any effect anyway. The problem is the spacing of the 1st two rollers not being wide enough. So, DONT ENLARGE THE HOLE!!! Get a good drill with a screwdriver bit, and grind away. I'm still working on a solution to the small catch basin problem. Darren Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 10:49:37 CDT From: Darren Evans-Young <DARREN at ua1vm.ua.edu> Subject: Hot vinyl hose kinking >From: fjdobner at ihlpb.att.com >Subject: Wort Transport > >2. To keep the hose from kinking at the top of the brewpot (due to such a >severe temperature of the wort) I plan on using a racking tube. Does anyone >know if these racking tubes (you know the ones of clear hard plastics with >bend at one end) will be affected negatively by the heat (like melting for >instance)? I image, from what I've heard from others, that the racking tube will deform (melt). Your solution is to get a small section of copper tubing and a hose clamp. Bend the copper tubing over the edge of the pot and use it as your siphon pickup. Attach the vinyl tubing to the copper tubing with a hose clamp. Voila! Darren Return to table of contents
Date: 22 May 1992 13:15:26 -0600 From: "Brett Lindenbach" <Brett_Lindenbach at qms1.life.uiuc.edu> Subject: conceptual hangup, anyone? Subject: Time:1:06 PM OFFICE MEMO conceptual hangup, anyone? Date:5/22/92 I realize this could belabor the point. But, "sterile" means that you are sure everything is dead. Period. No "degree of sterility," it is an absolute. Because we don't know exactly what organisms are in our wort, we cannot say it is sterile unless we know that we have killed *everything* that could be in there. Canners and commercial brewers do not claim to maintain sterility, but only a high degree of sanitation, usually through pasteurization. The TDT drops sharply with increased temperature (autoclave 10 min, 121C). -bdl Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 12:54:15 CST From: C05705DA at WUVMD.Wustl.Edu Subject: who where? Does anybody know or refer me to American Mead Association in Ostrander, Ohio? Do they have an email address? Any info would be apreciated. thanks. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 1992 14:40:18 -0400 (EDT) From: "Peter W. Karlson" <pk at columbus.dfci.harvard.edu> Subject: First Lager I have a few questions for the seasoned lager gurus.... This is my first attempt at a lager, the primary fermenter is a 5 gal. glass carboy with a tube/bucket blow-by for 4-6 days at 45-50 degrees. The secondary fermentation will be in another glass carboy with a fermentation lock at 38 degrees. Question 1: Does it even have to be moved from the primary to the secondary or should I just leave it in the same carboy and lager it at 38 degrees (a closed system). Question 2: After lagering at 38 degrees, what do I do at bottling time, do I need to keep the bottled beer refrigerated? Question 3: About dry-hopping, the recipe was originally for a pilsner but it seemed too hoppy, so I didn't dry-hop. What is the advantage/result of dry hopping (bitterness, flavor, aroma). How do you dry hop? When do you add the hops to the fermenter (primary/secondary), I'm using pellet hops, should I throw them in loose or in a cheese cloth bag. If you do move the beer to a secondary fermenter, how do you/do you filter out the hops. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance -pk Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 12:12:01 PDT From: florianb at chip.cna.tek.com Subject: more on beechwood Yesterday, matth replied to my smart-ass remarks: >i Yes, the yeast are in suspension. However, the beechwood aging is done in >the secondary when the intent is to get the yeast *out* of suspension. I >believe (not %100 certain) that the big advantage here is indeed the surface >area of the beechwood that acts as a fining agent. The yeasties collect more >on the beechwood than they would just settling to the bottom of the I'm still not quite up with you yet. Why bother with beechwood chips when a simple filtration would do the trick? Is it because the filtration would thin the brew even more than it already is? When I visited the Full Sail Brewery a couple of years ago, I noticed a filter. Their brews aren't thin, so I wonder under what conditions the filtering is acceptable? Then there is Coors and Miller who advertise filtering. Back on the subject of beechwood, could it be simply traditional that AB uses this process? Florian Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 15:27 CDT From: ZLPAJGN%LUCCPUA.bitnet at UICVM.UIC.EDU Subject: first real use of a blow-off Dear Brewers, I've brewed a few batches before - some successful, and others that turn out tasting like...well, I called one "Chicago Tunnel Water" - but I've never really used a blow-off tube before. Now I should qualify that a bit: I've installed the apparatus before, but the brew never really needed it - I've either used a 5 gal. carboy for a 2 gal. batch, or as was the case with the Propensity Lager I brewed earlier this year, the kreausen never rose high enough to need a blow-off (I understand that that was because I used honey, as called for by the recipe.?). Now, however, I'm experiencing a bit of anxiety (I know, it's a home- brewer's cardinal sin...) as I watch my latest ale (porter) vigorously blow kreausen through the tube I normally use for siphoning at a rate strong enough to sustain a deep sea diver (nitrogen narcosis be damned!) So, dear illuminati, should I worry? Specifically, I'm concerned that the tube I'm using might be too small in diameter to 1) handel the pressure, and 2) get clogged from a) leaf hops (even though I strained and sparged, I'm sure some got through.) and/or b) grain hulls which were too small to strain. Thus far, it seems to be going well enough but, considering that I only pitched the yeast this morning (Whitbread dry - 2 pkgs) and the vigorous activity I'm getting this afternoon, I worry (there's that word again...) about clogs and resultant "top- popping" (?). Oh, and another thing: due to the fact that 1) it's now summer, and 2) the temp. is presently hovering around 82F, and 3) I have little to no way to control the temp. on my porch other than w/ a fan, I'm concerned (a better word, I think!) about the effects that will have on the yeast activity (the little buggers/buggetts are presently swimming through the wort with more determination and speed that I had when I was swimming competitively in S. Fla.!!) certainly with greater activity than I've ever seen with any of my previous brews. Is this OK? Should I attend to my brew any differently? Finally, thanks again to all - especially to Mike Tighe - for your responses about my mead questions. My batch seems to be off to a healthy start. More on that later.. Thanx in advance for your reassurances and guidance.. John Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 92 15:40 CDT From: fjdobner at ihlpb.att.com Subject: Hops Hop Growers I live in Aurora "Waynes World" Illinois and have just planted Hallertauer (hersbrucker), Saaz and Cascade cuttings just this week. I am being very very careful in making sure that the sun does no scorch these delicate plants and watering dutifully. I would like to know if anyone has a recommendation of fertilizer or plant food that has proven itself to be the key to successfully growing useable hops. I have recently picked up a copy of the book by Beecher (or Beacher) for homegrown hops and all of his recommendations are really local to his Pacific Northwest location. Such as (not quoting directly) "plant the cuttings or rhizomes in February or March at the latest." Well, if I planted anything that early in the frost belt, it would be a brown spindly-looking twig flapping in the breeze. My question is, what kind of yield may I expect this year and will plants be able to survive the harsh winters we get here during its first calendar year in northern Illinois soil? Your comments would be of great interest to me. Thank you. Frank Dobner Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 22 May 1992 14:30 PDT From: Bob Jones <BJONES at NOVA.llnl.gov> Subject: Keg fitting removal from Micah Millspaw For those with pin lock kegs, I have a solution to the problem of removing the pin fitting from the kegs. It is a specialy modified socket that will fit on both the gas and liquid side. I will bring one to the conference in Milwaukee. If some one is interested in buying such a tool it can be ordered from Benjamin Machine Products 1121 Doker Unit 7 Modesto, CA. 95351 phone or fax 209-523-8874. The cost is $15 plus shipping, and tax if in CA. By the way it fits on 3\8 drive rachets. Micah MIllspaw 5/22/92 Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 24 May 92 12:56:56 EDT From: grant <KW6 at CORNELLA.cit.cornell.edu> Subject: Toronto pubs I am going to Toronto for a wedding on the weekend of June 12 and would like to know of a great place to get a real beer. Please reply either to the HBD or directly to me at KW6 at cornella.cit.cornell.edu. -Lost in the Suds, Grant Ehrlich Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 24 May 92 19:27 CDT From: ZLPAJGN%LUCCPUA.bitnet at UICVM.UIC.EDU Subject: quick question: re: blow-off hoses Dear Brewers, I just have a quick question: I used the hose that I normally use for siphoning for a blow-off hose, and now it seems to be stained with a mustard-like discoloration. I think I got most of the scum and resinous "blow-off" out of the tube, most if not all. I soaked it over night in a chlorinated water solution and then rinsed it maticulously with HOT water numerous times. Still, it's got a noticible stain to it. So the question is, is it time to get a new tube for siphoning (as this one runs a risk of contamination)? If so, should I keep this old tube for future use as a blow-off tube, or get another tube for that specific use as well (or further still, should I get an all together different type of tubing - perhapse with greater I/O diameters?) Thanx in advanse for the responses, John Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #888, 05/25/92