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HOMEBREW Digest #0218
HOMEBREW Digest #218 Wed 02 August 1989
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
using ice for a cold break (blumenthal @ home with the armadillos)
Pitching Rates ("Allen J. Hainer")
Irish Moss. (James Kolasa)
a little more on Red Star... (florianb)
Roto-Keg, revisited (Martin A. Lodahl)
Mailer problems; results of cherry brew ("FEINSTEIN")
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
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Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 08:14:24 CDT
From: brad@cs.utexas.edu (blumenthal @ home with the armadillos)
Subject: using ice for a cold break
I've used ice about three times for cooling down my wort and haven't
had any trouble with it. What I've done is to clean and sanitize some
plastic stadium cups (which hold between 18 and 28 ounces of water,
depending on size), and then I pour measured amounts of water into
them. If you can remember to do this the night before, you really do
get a hell of a cold break by adding about 1.5 gallons of ice to about
2.5 gallons of wort (topping off with a gallon of cold water). Even
if you don't remember, you can put the water in the freezer just
before you start putting your wort together, and by the time you're
ready to move it into the carboy, it will be partially frozen -- cold
enough to get your wort down into the 90F range.
Since the cups are plastic, it's easy enough to get the ice out by
squeezing them so that the deform slightly. One other hint, although
it might be obvious: If you're using a plastic carboy to receive the
hot wort, put the ice in first. It avoids splashing. I don't know if
it's such a great idea to pour hot wort into an iced glass carboy
though (or any glass carboy for that matter).
Take care,
brad
Brad Blumenthal CS Dept. University of Texas uucp: uunet!cs.utexas.edu!brad
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 09:54:09 EDT
From: "Allen J. Hainer" <ajhainer@violet.waterloo.edu>
Subject: Pitching Rates
I was in my local hb supply store, and all this talk about yeast prompted
me to ask several questions of the owner. The answers he gave me were very
interesting, but second hand. I don't have access to any literature that
is technical enough (I haven't even been able to find Miller's book, I guess
I'll have to order it from the book store), so I was hoping someone out
there would be able to confirm/deny this:
Papazian was invited up several weeks ago by the store for a guest lecture.
(unfortunatly, I was unable to attend :-() On the topic of starting yeast
before pitching, Papazian said that even after 6-8 hours, liquid yeast has
only reached 1/10 the recommended pitching concentration. He recommended
letting it start for several DAYS before starting the beer, adding some malt
and putting it in a dark place on its side so that when the seams burst, the
yeast doesn't leak out. (Just as a warning, the store owner tried this but put
it in a dark drawer. When the package expanded, it jamed the drawer shut :^o )
What is the recommended pitching concentration? How fast does a liquid
yeast package reach this concentration? I always thought that yeast reached
a particular concentration and leveled off, can only a few ounces of
starter solution reach a high enough yeast concentration so that it results
in the "recommended" concentration when added to 5 gallons of wort?
-al (ajhainer@violet.waterloo.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 11:39:45 EDT
From: James Kolasa <jkolasa@ms.uky.edu>
Subject: Irish Moss.
Recently, I picked up a package of Irish Moss on a whim. I have never seen
a description of how to use this stuff, however. I played around with it on
my last batch and it seemed to clear up the brew a bit, but I'm not sure.
My question is how does one use it and is it worthwhile?
Also, I'm whipping up my first stout in about a week. Any tips? And for
that matter, any recipes? I haven't exactly committed myself to any method
yet.
Thanks,
jk
--
-- James Kolasa | Dual beers, --
-- 902 P.O.T., Univ. of Ky. | Twice the fun! --
-- Lexington, Ky. 40502-0027 | --
-- jkolasa@ms.uky.edu {rutgers,uunet}!ukma!jkolasa jkolasa@UKMA.BITNET --
------------------------------
Date: 01 Aug 89 08:47:13 PDT (Tue)
From: florianb@tekred.cna.tek.com
Subject: a little more on Red Star...
In #214, Gary Benson asks:
>yeast, but at ale temperatures. Is that correct? Are there other things that
>differentiate Steam Beer? What kind of fermentation time am I likely to
>experience -- like ale or like lager? The primary took off like a shot (Red
>Star lager yeast started in 1 cup of wort plus a tablespoon of corn sugar).
>But now, a day later, it has slowed down to one bubble every few seconds.
>Last night, I couldn't keep water in the S-shaped airlock I use - the gas
>was pouring out so fast. Is this thing going to be over before I have time
>to go to the secondary fermenter? With this kind of activity, would I do
>better to just forget the carboy and use a single-stage fermentation?
My experience with using Red Star Lager yeast for steam beer is that
with a two-stage fermentation, after the krausen falls and I transfer it
to the carboy, the bubbles have fallen to 1/120 seconds or so, only
after two days. This particular dry yeast seems to work like
gangbusters at RT (68 degrees). It's possible that a single stage
fermentation in the carboy with a blowoff tube would be sufficient.
Then in #217, Dave Sheehy writes:
>Florian, I'm beginning to have some ideas about your success using Red Star
>Ale yeast. Miller's book has a summary of some of the yeasts he has tried
>...
>like. Being in Sacramento and not having a form of temperature control my
>fermenation temperature tends to range in the high 70's. I would suspect that
>your fermentation temperature would be somewhat lower than mine since you're
>up in Oregon. Yeasts will tend to produce more byproducts at higher
>temperatures so I further suspect that you are probably not getting the
>clove flavored fusel alcohol in your beers (if you did you'd know it and I'd
>wager that you wouldn't like it!). You must be getting the banana ester
Yes, you are right. We have a log home, and the interior stays a
comfortable high sixties most of the year. In the winter, my brew
is a little warmer due to my brew cabinet being in the kitchen near the
wood stove. My wife has thoughtfully given me the pantry for beer storage,
so in the future I will be putting the carboys there also. This should
provide even better temperature regulation. Now if I could just get her
to stop using the refrigerator for food storage...
[Florian Bell, Boonesborough, Oregon]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 89 10:20:46 PDT
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!mal@hplabs.HP.COM>
Subject: Roto-Keg, revisited
Some time back, David Carter thoughtfully posted information on the
Roto-Keg system and his experiences with it, including the address
of the retailer (Winemakers, Ltd.) that had sold it. I wrote them
for further information, and yesterday received their reply. They
have evolved into Crosby & Baker, a strictly wholesale concern, and
no longer carry the Roto-Keg system. They do, however, carry the
Saffron Superkeg (6 gallons) and the Edme Mini-Keg (2.5 gallons),
neither of which I'd ever heard of -- a veritable plethora of kegs!
They directed me to a local shop for further research, and I'll post
what I learn.
= Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff =
= {att,bellcore,sun,ames}!pacbell!pbmoss!mal 916/972-4821 =
= If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, =
= Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) =
------------------------------
Date: 1 Aug 89 18:50:00 EDT
From: "FEINSTEIN" <crf@pine.circa.ufl.edu>
Subject: Mailer problems; results of cherry brew
Hello, all!
About that cherry brew: well, at the appropriate time I bottled. I was even
more careful about sanitation than usual, and tried to leave the white scum
behind.
Both my roommate and I sniffed at the priming bucket after I finished
siphoning, and neither of us could detect any off odors whatsoever. The scent
of cherries, however, damn near flattened us! :-)
Lo and behold, 36-48 hours after bottling, "la white scum" reappeared. Again,
it is a strictly surface phenomenon.
Well, I couldn't stand it. So, after one week, I broke down and opened a
bottle. Of course, the in-bottle fermentation was still going a bit and the
beer tasted very "new". *But*-- *NO* off odors or flavors! Again, heavy
cherries; but *very* nice.
I'm going to wait, now, until the brew has been in the bottle 4-5 weeks, and
taste it again.
My thanks to everyone who offered advice!
Yours in Carbonation,
Cher Feinstein
Univ. of Fla.
Gainesville, FL
INTERNET: CRF@PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #218, 08/02/89
