Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #0595
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/03/13 11:07:20
HOMEBREW Digest #595 Wed 13 March 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
To Clone Jenlain ... (Martin A. Lodahl)
glass scratches, update (Russ Gelinas)
Kosher beer (Bill Thacker)
Extract Efficiencies (Mike Fertsch)
small bottles (Dave Brown)
Carbonation and Priming (Stephen Saroff--TMC Applications Scientist at NCSA )
Wet towels (dbreiden)
Re: Capping champagne bottles (Bob Clark - Sun Engineering)
Oxygen, Yeast and Good Brewing Practice (Bruce Mueller)
Root Beer (Rick Myers)
Calculating Bittering Units (Speaker-To-Bankers)
Re: Campden vs yeast (Pete Soper)
Types of bottles used. (Jim White)
Alcohol-free beer (Paul L. Kelly)
Summary: Campden tablets and mead (Dieter Muller)
Brewing Sheet (Nik Subotic)
Aluminum pots (Randy Tidd)
Boilovers, small lager space (hersh)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmi@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmi@hplabs.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues]
Archives are available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 91 10:40:07 PST
From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!malodah@decwrl.dec.com>
Subject: To Clone Jenlain ...
In HOMEBREW Digest #590, Jack D. Hill asked:
>Does anyone have a good recipe for a French Bier de'Garde(sp?)? I would
>like to try to recreate something like St. Leonard's or 3 Monts or Jenlain.
>Also, has anyone had any luck culturing yeast from these brews?
Jenlain is the only one of the beers mentioned that I'm familiar
with, and I haven't tried to duplicate it, but I know where I'd
start. I'd take a good brown ale recipe, substitute a German hop
for the English to about the same degree of bitterness (and keep it
all in a single application, 60 minutes before the end of the boil),
"goose up" the pale malt significantly while holding the crystal and
dark malts constant, and ferment it with a lager yeast of mild
attenuation and neutral character. That should get you into the
"fine tuning" range.
I've read that Jenlain pasteurizes their beer, which is
counter to customary biere de garde practice, and pretty much
precludes culturing the yeast. My recollection is that it didn't
taste like a yeast of great truth and character, so that's probably
not a great loss. Good luck!
= Martin A. Lodahl Pacific*Bell Staff Analyst =
= malodah@pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 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: Tue, 12 Mar 1991 9:17:52 EST
From: R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: glass scratches, update
I know that scratches on a plastic fermenter are a perfect breeding
ground for all those things that we don't want in our beer, but just
how dangerous are scratches on a glass carboy? The scratches are the
result of the metal part of a carboy brush rubbing against the glass.
I fill the carboy with water and bleach when it is not being used. Will
days of soaking kill off any critters?
Now a follow-up: I cultured a batch of Wyeast german ale yeast, tossed
it in a batch, nothing (seemed to) happen, so I pitched dry yeast, which
worked fine. Soon after bottling, I started getting gushers, with all
the indications that the German yeast had started up. The beer was
undrinkable at that time. So I emptied all the bottles back into a
carboy, added ~.5 cup of corn sugar, and stirred it up alot. It
fermented quite a bit more (and I gave it a good shake every day to
try to get any dissolved off-flavors to bubble out). After about a
week (maybe more, I don't have the brewsheet with me), I bottled it (again)
with 0.5 cup sugar. It's been bottled for ~2 weeks now, and it tastes just
fine!!!!! A little bit flat (to be expected after all that shaking),
but no off flavors. Alot of work for one batch, but I'm not complaining.
Russ in Manchester, NH, site of 1991 AHA conference
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 8:59:41 EST
From: Bill Thacker <hplabs!hp-lsd.cos.hp.com!cbema!wbt>
Subject: Kosher beer
A few issues ago someone asked if beer was kosher/vegetarian (parve
or whatever it's called).
It's worth pointing out that some fining agents (um, isinglass and
Irish moss, I think) are derived from various bits of animal guts,
so that beers using these would not be strictly vegan (or is that
(vegetarian?). (Don't you get sick of people who use too many commas ?)
Oh, and thanks to all who replied about travelling brews and Seattle
pubs. I'll post a summary in a day or two.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bill Thacker AT&T Network Systems - Columbus wbt@cbnews.att.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 10:06 EST
From: Mike Fertsch <FERTSCH@adc1.adc.ray.com>
Subject: Extract Efficiencies
There has been some discussion lately regarding extract effieiency. It's
good to see this discussion. Over the years it has seemed to me that
discussing extract efficiency is like comparing professional salaries.
People just don't do it!
I use a 5 gallon igloo cooler to do my mashing and sparging. I get around
30 points per gallon. I've found that extract efficiency depends on grain
type. I've had bad luck with American 2-row Klages (25-27 points per
gallon), but get 30-31 points on English 2-row. Imported grains cost more,
but, IMHO, are worth it because they give better extraction, and less grain
is needed. In addition, I've just started tracking sparge times - slower
sparges give better extraction. With my equipment, I've noticed that
bigger batches (5 gallon) give a better yield that small (3 gal) batches.
I suspect that the depth of the grain bed affects extraction.
Although I don't worry a great deal about extraction rate per se (a few
points either way doesn't really matter); I feel that good extraction rate
is indication that "the mash went well". Good extraction rate implies that
the grain bed settled well, resulting in clearer beers with less phenol
content. Good extraction rate implies that less grain is used, and less
grain implies less tannins in the beer. Higher extraction means less grain
is needed, helping the pocketbook, and reducing brewing effort.
The real bottom line is that the taste tells the tale, and that extraction
rate doesn't matter. I feel that beers with good extraction rates are cleaner
and better tasting than those with low extracts.
Mike Fertsch
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 08:44:41 PST
From: brown@ocelot.llnl.gov (Dave Brown)
Subject: small bottles
Find some yuppies. The small, single serving perrie bottles are nice.
Well shaped, cap well, and they are green, which is at least better
than clear.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David S. Brown | The Carboys
brown@ocelot.llnl.gov | Lycanthrope Brewing, CCC CA
.__ / .__ | HM(415) 625-1029
| \ \ |__) | WK(415) 423-9878
|__/ / |__) | beer@ocelot.llnl.gov FAX(415) 294-5054
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 11:12:37 CST
From: saroff@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Stephen Saroff--TMC Applications Scientist at NCSA )
Subject: Carbonation and Priming
I recently tried to make a batch of pale ale without using any sugar.
To do this, I used M&F tinned Malt and amber dried malt in the fermenter.
And that seemed to work well. I used the same amount of dried malt as I
would have used sugar (I was using the recipe ont he M&F can).
Then when it came time to prime, I tried to use some Geordies canned malt
instead of sugar. I boiled up the Geordies so that I had ~ a cup of 'new'
wort and mixed that in to prime.
Now almost a month later, I have a clear beer, with yeast at the bottom,
but little carbonation. It seems to me that I should have used more
Geordies. Any suggestions as to how to estimate amounts for this sort of
half-assed kruesenning I did? Or was I insane to prime without sugar?
SzS
- ---------------
Stephen Saroff (Thinking Machines) o o
TMC Application Scientist for NCSA (_)_____o
405 N Matthews Ave ~~~~~~~~~(_____)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5215 Beckman Institute oo oo The Bear who Swims
(217) 244 5556 <tmc@ncsa.uiuc.edu> <saroff@think.com>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 12:18:24 -0500
From: dbreiden@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
Subject: Wet towels
In the past couple of digests, the question of fermenting in a warm apartment
came up, and the suggestion of a wet towel around the fermenter was given.
I've heard of this suggestion before, and I am left wondering how good it
really works.
Let's say we've got a 75 degree room--low humidity--and a wet
towel around the fermenter. What sort of temperature should this result in?
Would the fermenting wort actually drop below 70 degrees??
Danny
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 09:31:51 PST
From: bobc@Eng.Sun.COM (Bob Clark - Sun Engineering)
Subject: Re: Capping champagne bottles
-> I just got a case of champagne bottles and want to bottle in them. The
-> normal 28 mm. caps I use on beer bottles do fit, but they don't come down
-> on the sides of the bottle top as snugly as they do on the 12 ox. bottles.
[...]
-> Dan Graham
My buddies and I concluded that you should only use domestic champagne
bottles. We observed that capping imported bottles tended to be very
error prone, and generally unsatisfactory due to the bottles being
slightly larger.
Bob C.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 10:31:45 PST
From: Bruce Mueller <mueller@sdd.hp.com>
Subject: Oxygen, Yeast and Good Brewing Practice
Oxygen, Yeast and Good Brewing Practice
This is a summary of an outstanding talk given by the eminent Dr. George Fixx, a
kineticist from the University of Texas, at the First Annual Southern California
Homebrew Conference.
George was asked to pull out some practical advice from the wealth of
information in his recent book. He said what he did was look back and see what
he'd changed from the early days of his brewing to the present. The two most
important areas concerned oxygen and yeast. The following is how to apply this
to homebrewing.
Regarding oxygen, it is important to prevent its introduction into hot wort,
because at that time it will very rapidly (seconds to minutes) oxidize the
phenolic (and other unsaturated) components therein. This includes the alpha
acids from hops, among other things. The oxidation products can produce off
flavors and contribute to a very short shelf life in the finished beer.
Contrary to the above, cold wort should be thoroughly aerated. The breakpoint is
about 70F (20C) for aeration: do it below this temperature to allow rapid growth
of yeast; above this, see previous paragraph. Oxygen here is also good in
preventing growth of some bacteria, and wild yeasts don't get as good a chance
to compete with the ones you want under these conditions. Shaking the wort is
not adequate to really oxygenate it. George recommends an aquarium pump WITH A
FILTER to keep out particulates, like the one advertised in Zymurgy. Bottom
line: if your fermentations start quickly and never get stuck, you are probably
in good shape here.
Yeast was the other big area to George. He used to think reuse was bad news;
however, he learned that if you want to reproduce a great beer you've just
finished and can get (or have) unpitched wort ready quickly, the yeast from the
secondary is THE BEST IN THE WORLD for getting more of the same.
Washing yeast, George believes, can best be done with cheap beer (e.g. Keystone)
acidified to approximately pH 2.3. He feels the most detrimental part of washing
is not the low pH but the different osmotic pressure inside and outside the
yeast when the standard acidified water wash is employed. Also, he recommends
only washing every fourth to sixth time; washing each and every time can
increase the percentage of wild yeast unacceptably.
Speaking of washing with grocery store beer, George had a suggestion for the
rinse after sanitizing, before filling the carboy with wort: use the cheap
stuff. Beer absorbs the leftover chlorine and/or sulfites quite nicely--use your
nose! He recommends a 12 ounce beer for a 5 gallon fermentor. Swirl it around so
it contacts all surfaces and sniff the result. He is also suspicious that a lot
of the off flavors blamed on bacterial infections (in the case of advanced
brewers) actually come from remaining sanitizer. Chlorinated phenols are
detectable by taste at very low levels, and have obnoxious flavors, sometimes
metallic in nature. So rinse with the bee-ee-squared-arr. If George had a
brewery of his own, he would.
Hope this info helps y'all make world-class beer.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 12:19:48 MST
From: Rick Myers <cos.hp.com!hpctdpe!rcm@hp-lsd>
Subject: Root Beer
Full-Name: Rick Myers
> Subject: sassafras in beer
>
> Maybe sassafras root would work better than the bark; if you try it I
> hope you'll post your results. I've thought about trying a little root
> beer extract in something like a stout. Has anyone out there ever tried
> this before?
>
> Terry Noe
I have made a 'root beer ale' by using a can of malt extract (light) along
with the root beer extract, and then fully fermenting it out. It tasted
like a dry root beer (not at all sweet, of course), but had a kick to
it. :-) It was hard to drink more than one at a time, and it left the
taste of root beer in my plastic primary, which didn't go away until
I had used it 5 or 6 times. I doubt that I would try this again...
- --
Rick Myers rcm@hpctdpe.col.hp.com
Hewlett-Packard
Colorado Telecommunications Division
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 14:51:12 EST
From: cmorford@umbio.med.miami.edu (Speaker-To-Bankers)
Subject: Calculating Bittering Units
I have just been reading the Winter 1990 issue of Zymurgy and came across
a definition of International Bittering Units, which is a measure of how
bitter a beer is (Or should be). The definition given is .000133 oz. of
IsoAlpha Acid per Gallon of solution or about 1 mg./L.
I have been trying to figure out what the bittering unit figure would be
for my latest brew, a respectable classic pale ale, but I keep coming up
with a number much larger (An order of magnitude larger) than I have been
expecting. The formula that I have been using is one of my own devising, but
I think it should at least be close to the expected figure.
Here is my formula:
Total Bittering Units = (Amount of Hops used * % Alpha Acid content)/.000133
Bittering Units/ Gallon = Total bittering units / Total gallons
My numbers are as follows: 2 oz. of 4.5% AAU hops, 6 Gallons.
(2 * .045)/.000133 = 676.69172 Total Bittering Units
676.69172 / 6 = 112.78195 International Bittering Units
I have been expecting a number in the range of 10 to 30....
Is my formula wrong? Am I working without all of the needed info?
If anyone has an answer, or a formula that works, please let me know...
C.Morford
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 14:58:33 EST
From: Pete Soper <soper@encore.com>
Subject: Re: Campden vs yeast
dworkin@habitrail.Solbourne.com (Dieter Muller) asks about Campden
tablets.
The basic notion behind Campden tablets is that for wines and
the like that have fruit-based ingredients it is not a good idea to
boil so boiling cannot be used to kill infection organisms. The
metabisulfites in Campden tablets when mixed with water create a
dilute sulfur dioxide solution which is used in place of boiling to
sanitize the must. Another key notion is that wine yeast is resistant
to a certain amount of SO2. The 24 hour wait that many wine making
books specify gives the dilute SO2 solution time to nail infection
organisms while there may also be some loss of SO2 to the atmosphere
in the process, reducing the concentration that the yeast have to
contend with.
The theory is not that the sulphite settles out, so moving
the fermenter poses no danger.
Are there alternatives to sulfites for wine making these days?
With the pressure to get these substances out of wine because of the
allergy problems, I wonder if there are alternatives that we can use
at home?
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Soper (soper@encore.com) +1 919 481 3730
Encore Computer Corp, 901 Kildaire Farm Rd, bldg D, Cary, NC 27511 USA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 15:32:13 EST
From: JWHITE@maine.maine.edu (Jim White)
Subject: Types of bottles used.
I'm going to try using the plastic soda bottles next time I bottle some brew.
I see a few advantages/disadvantages;
Advantages;
1) They're bigger, thus fewer bottles with which to hassle.
2) They're designed to contained carbonated beverages.
3) No need to buy caps, as one can re-screw the cap.
Disadvantages;
1) They're plastic. Somehow seems criminal to bottle beer in plastic bottles.
2) They're bigger, thus could have problems if I don't drink it all and
disturb the bottom. Also, might lose some carbonation
Any thoughts, or experiences? Has anyone used other then recapable beer
bottles?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 15:09:08 EST
From: pkel@psych.purdue.edu (Paul L. Kelly)
Subject: Alcohol-free beer
I have tried a few no alcohol beers (e.g. Kaliber), and have found them
wanting in one or more ways, such as too watery, not hoppy, etc. My wife,
an avid homebrew fan, is now pregnant and has sworn off alcohol for the dur-
ation. I would like to make it possible for her to satisfy both her desire
to drink real beer and her wish to not consume ethanol. So how would a home-
brewer make alchohol-free beer? I have thought about boiling off the
ethanol, priming, and inoculating with yeast, but I'm afraid the boil after
fermenting would be detrimental to the flavor. Is there some other way
of removing alcohol from a fermented product? Any suggestions would be
greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 17:17:28 MST
From: dworkin@habitrail.Solbourne.COM (Dieter Muller)
Subject: Summary: Campden tablets and mead
I recently (was it really only yesterday?) sent off my confusion over
Campden tablets, mead, and yeast. I got replies from:
loc@bostech.com
smithey@hulder.css.gov
sherwood@adobe.com
Here's the summary:
smithey> Duncan and Acton, I think -- a brewing friend of mine has it,
smithey> and I borrowed it recently when I made my first batch of mead.
This is indeed the book under discussion. I can't really recommend
it for the first-time brewer.
loc> No need to be confused about Campden tablet and yeast.8-)
Well, when your only source of reference is a book written by people
that assume you already know about wine-making....
sherwood> The campden tablets make SO2 which comes out of solution and
sherwood> dissipates into the atmosphere. The directions usually say
sherwood> to cover the batch with a towel for those 24 hours -- this
sherwood> allows the SO2 to diffuse out. If you put an airlock on it
sherwood> (I did this before realizing what was involved) you can
sherwood> indeed kill the yeast when you add it.
Yup. Dead yeasties. *sigh*. It's time for another trip down to the
guy that sells brewing supplies out of his sitting room. For some
reason, I always feel a little odd about that....
smithey> I think the idea is that the the "active ingredient" in the tablets
smithey> escapes as sulphur dioxide (?) gas over the 24 hour period, so the
smithey> waiting is not only to give time for wild yeasts and bacteria to
smithey> die, but also for the mead to become safe again for your yeast.
smithey> As for the sulfiting at each racking, our guess is that you wait
smithey> for the mead to "finish" (either ferment all the way out, or until
smithey> it reaches the desired dryness), then rack and sulfite. This stops
smithey> the yeast, and your mead is pretty much finished. The additional
smithey> racking and sulfiting is to allow the mead time to settle/clear,
smithey> and the sulfiting is to inhibit acetic acid producing bacteria,
smithey> which would like to turn your mead to vinegar. My mead has been
smithey> in a 3 gallon glass carboy for a couple of months now, the first
smithey> sulphiting definitely stopped any remaining fermentation, and I've
smithey> racked/sulphited once.
Honey vinegar sounds intriguing, but I must admit it's not quite what
I'm looking for.
loc> The addition of one campden tablet each time you rack, does not raise
loc> the sufite concentration high enough to kill healthy yeast (it just
loc> weeds out the weak ones :-)). This addition of sufites at racking
loc> also protects the mead from oxidation when you rack.
loc> Just to fill in the cracks a bit more: There is some contraversy
loc> over the need for the initial sulfites anyway (especially if you
loc> make great meads, those with #2.5-3.5 of honey per gallon of
loc> water). Honey is naturally antiseptic and hence the contraversy.
loc> Some people say it is not worth the chance and sulfite anyway.
loc> Personally (since I make great meads) I tend to avoid any extra
loc> sulfites. I do use them at racking and do use them when I make
loc> small meads. Additionally, I will add 1/2 tsp. of sodium meta-
loc> bisufite per gallon at bottling time if I am making still mead.
loc> This prevents the mead from undergoing a secondary fermentation
loc> while in the bottle.(I'm not fond of watching corks fly out of
loc> bottles in my cellar and having a sack mead rinse the floor, but
loc> that's a different problem|-O)
loc>
loc> I also prestart all my yeast so that there is a minimum of lag
loc> after pitching. I boil up 1/4 cup each of orange juice and
loc> water, cool it, add a tablespoon of yeast nutrient, put all of
loc> that in a sterile bottle, pitch the yeast in there, put a lock on
loc> it and let it go for 24 hours before pitching the 'must'. I
loc> think of it a appetizers for my pets.:-)
Dworkin
See you at Al Packer's Legendary Culinary Fast-Food Cannibal Bar and Buffet
dworkin@solbourne.com Flamer's Hotline: (303) 678-4624
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 17:26:27 PST
From: dannet!bruce@uunet.UU.NET (Bruce Hill)
Greetings!
I have several questions to ask the collective wisdom of the
homebrew readers. I have been reading this mailing list for
about 6 months now and have been very impressed with the
comprehensive and understandable answers given to most
questions. Here goes:
1) Has anyone used the soda-type (cornelius?) stainless steel kegs for
primary fermentation? It seems that using these would have numerous
advantages over the glass carboys that I am now using.
Advantages:
They don't break.
They are easy to move.
Stainless-steel is not going to impart anything to the fermenting beer.
They are narrow enough so I can fit two of them, side by side in the
incubator (refrigerator) instead of one glass carboy.
They are easier to clean (wide-mouth).
You can transfer the contents from one keg to another by
pressurized CO2 (no exposure to oxygen and no siphoning or pumping).
A filter cannister can be put in-line between primary and secondary
fermenters to reduce sedimentation and clarify the beer
when transferring.
You can easily draw off small amounts for checking specific gravity.
Disadvantages:
Have to rig up some type of fermentation lock or blow tube.
Can't see through stainless steel.
Sanitation of various inlets and outlets.
Any other comments about doing this?
2) I have a 6lb bag of liquid weizen extract from Williams. Does anybody
have a good wheat beer extract recipe they would like to share? I would
like to make a 5 gallon batch for this summer. Do I need a special
strain of yeast for wheat beer or can I use my Sierra Nevada culture?
3) Speaking of Sierra Nevada, does any one out there have an extract
recipe that comes close to SN Pale Ale? I have seen this question before
but no answer. Making a decent copy of SN Pale Ale is my goal in life :-).
A homebrewer friend claimed that SN used CFJ-90 hops. Has anyone ever
heard of these before? Where can I get some?
4) Our wort chiller is made out of 1/4 inch copper tubing. My brew partner
is a microbiologist and he is concerned about possible affects from
passing hot wort through 10 feet of copper tubing. Is this going to affect
the flavor of the beer or our health in any way or is he just being
paranoid? Does anyone know where I can get 1/4 to 3/8 inch stainless steel
tubing to use instead of copper? How much does it cost per foot?
My brew partner and I recently upgraded much of our brewing equipment and
our first batch using the SN yeast culture, a wort chiller, racking off
the trub, and a temperature controlled refrigerator (set to 60F) has come
out by far to be our best yet. Many thanks to all of the great suggestions
that have come from the digest!
I eagerly await your answers and comments to the above questions.
Thanks,
Bruce Hill
Email: uunet!dannet!bruce
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 20:36:04 EST
From: Nik Subotic <subotic@osl380a.erim.org>
Subject: Brewing Sheet
Hi All,
I recently downloaded Chris Shenton's bewsheet that he put together in
the Latex format via anonymous ftp from mthvax.cs.miami.edu. It's a
very useful document in which you can tabulate procedures and
ingredients for a particular batch (thanks Chris :-)). As I looked
over the sheet, I must admit that I don't quite understand some
nomenclature and symbols. The questions are:
Under the "Malts, Grains and Adjuncts" area, there is a column
reserved for a quantity in units oL (degrees L)? I'm not familiar
with this unit convention. Anyone have an idea?
Under the "Prodedure" section there are some unfamiliar terms:
"Mash-in, Acid Rest, and Mash-out." I can conjecture what these
*might* mean but if someone knows for sure it would be nice to have
the real scoop.
Thanks for the info!
Nik Subotic
subotic@osl380a.erim.org
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 91 22:43:31 EST
From: rtidd@ccels2.mitre.org (Randy Tidd)
Subject: Aluminum pots
Sorry to rehash an old topic, but why exactly did people have
problems with aluminum brewpots? I don't want to start a flame
war here, I just want some facts. A local warehouse-type place
has 20-quart aluminum pots on sale for like $25, and they LOOKED
good for brewing.
Send me e-mail so we don't get this argument going again; i'll
submit a summary if there is interest.
Thanks!
Randy Tidd
rtidd@mwunix.mitre.org
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 91 00:43:29 EST
From: hersh@expo.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: Boilovers, small lager space
You've got to keep an eye on your pot near the beginning of
the boil especially. FOr gas stoves no problem, turn down
the heat, for electric, you'll have to use the cold water
approach. Handy tip gleaned long ago from this digest.
Take a soapy sponge and wipe down the stove top . This makes
cleaning subsequent boilovers mcuh easier.
You could consider a 3 gallon carbouy. Also Cornelius kegs
can be used to ferment in by attaching the CO2 in hose up
and placing the end in a jar to serve as an airlock.
Cornelius comes in 3 and 5 gallon sizes.
Avoid plastic water coolers unless you know they are of a
type of plastic that is safe for alcohol storage. Remember
when plastic liquor bottles first came out, they were not
sufficiently tested. Seems the plastic that was used leached
carcinogens when in contact with alcohol. Wouldn't want this
happpening, eh??
Jay H
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #595, 03/13/91
*************************************
-------
