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HOMEBREW Digest #0582
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/02/19 03:18:18
HOMEBREW Digest #582 Tue 19 February 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
High Final Gravity (Don McDaniel)
Spring is here! (John E. Greene)
Free Refrigerator with CO2 tank, keg, tap, hoses etc. (Mark Stevens) <stevens@stsci.edu>
Large canning pots (flowers)
Re: Stuck Fermentations (bryan)
Re: Bruheat Experience (John Polstra)
2nd try ("David E. Husk")
Your Dream BrewPub!! (Jeffrey Marc Shelton)
Cider (MC2331S)
Re: Homebrew Digest #581 (February 18, 1991) (David Fudenberg)
Send submissions to homebrew%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request%hpfcmr@hplabs.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues]
Archives are available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 09:34:51 -0700
From: dinsdale@chtm.unm.edu (Don McDaniel)
Subject: High Final Gravity
In HBD 581, Tony Plate says he brewed a partial mash with
... 2 lb Munich
1 lb 2-row pale
3 oz crystal...
and mashed at 150F. His FG is a disturbing 1.020.
I'm no expert, but I'm working on it :-). I spent
much of the past weekend studying brew chemistry in Miller's
book. From what I read, this is my guess:
That mash temp is quite high and would result in de-acivating
the alpha-amylase enzymes and retarding the activity of
beta-amylase (the best compromise temp for both enzymes is 121F.
pH is also important at this point and should be 5.0-5.5).
The result would be poor breakdown of the malt
starches to fermentable sugars and hence a high final gravity.
This situation is worsened by the fact that much of the grist is
Munich, a high-kilned malt in which much of the enzymes are
already deactivativated.
My guess is that your fermentables are already eaten up. Hence you
should use the normal amount of priming sugar.
Don McDaniel
dinsdale@chtm.unm.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 08:43:56 PST
From: jeg@desktalk.com (John E. Greene)
Subject: Spring is here!
Well, spring must finally be here. I was out in the yard yesterday weeding
all the grass out of the flower beds and getting the hop yard into shape
when low-and-behold, what did I see?, but three Cascade hop vines poking
their little heads out of the ground! This is the second year of growth for
these guys and they are really taking off. Last year I got two harvests from
one vine and it looks like this year I will be getting much more. I was
concerned that they may have dried out over the winter because I haven't been
able to water much due to the drought conditions here in California.
However, I have been dumping my spent grains from mashing over the area and
I was surprised how moist the ground was around the hops when I dug it up
this weekend. The hops seemed to like it as they are growing like crazy.
Anyone else seeing any activity??
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John E. Greene Everyone needs something to believe in. I believe
Sr. Staff Engineer I'll have another homebrew!
Desktalk Systems Inc.
(213) 323-5998 internet: jeg@desktalk.desktalk.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 11:43:34 EST
From: (Mark Stevens) <stevens@stsci.edu>
Subject: Free Refrigerator with CO2 tank, keg, tap, hoses etc.
Any homebrewers in the D.C. or Baltimore area care to take an old
refrigerator off my hands??? The beast stopped refrigerating a
couple months ago and I have no mechanical aptitude, no knowledge
of how refrigerators work, and no inclination to spend my $$$ on
an appliance repairman. If anybody wants this fridge it is free
for the asking. It includes a built-in beer tap handle, hoses,
CO2 tank, and even a keg (albeit a 15 gallon keg). Even if you
can't get the refrigerator working, you could dismantle the
kegging stuff and put it in another refrigator. (The CO2 tank
includes double gauges).
Please, take this fridge.
- ----Mark Stevens
stevens@stsci.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 1991 11:32:25 -0600
From: flowers@csrd.uiuc.edu
Subject: Large canning pots
There were some posts over the last few months about large (36+ quarts)
enamel canning pots. I cannot find one. I have looked in Chicago in
Venture, Wal Mart, JC Penney's and other such stores. Where are these pots
to be found?
-Craig Flowers (flowers@csrd.uiuc.edu)
------------------------------
Date: 18 Feb 91 10:14:41 PST (Mon)
From: bryan@tekgen.bv.tek.com
Subject: Re: Stuck Fermentations
I've seen a few postings about fermentations that stopped at a high F.G,
then seemed to restart for a little bit after racking.
My 2 cents as to why this happens is there was not enough oxygen in the wort.
I try to oxygenate the chilled wort (before pitching) by shaking the carboy,
but it doesn't seem as effective as I would like it to be.
I read about an air filter/pump to oxygenate the wort, but it seemed like it
might need a few changes before it's worth the money they are asking.
Is anyone using sanitize/sterilized air or medical oxygen to oxygenate thier
wort? If so, I'd like to hear what they are using.
Bryan Olson
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 10:39:42 PST
From: polstra!jdp@uunet.UU.NET (John Polstra)
Subject: Re: Bruheat Experience
In HBD #581, dinsdale@chtm.unm.edu (Don McDaniel) asked about using the
Bruheat system for mashing, sparging, and boiling. I've been using one
for almost 3 years.
> So all of you who have one... what do you think of it?
It works just fine once you figure out its limitations and stop trying
to exceed them.
> Do you avoid scorching by stirring or have you not seen a problem?
With any reasonable mash thickness, the Bruheat *will scorch* when the
heat is on, unless you stir constantly. Forget any "set it and forget
it" dreams that you might have been entertaining.
I almost always perform a 3-step mash, as follows:
Protein rest: Put 1 quart of hot water per pound of grain into the
Bruheat. (E.g., for a recipe that uses 8 lbs. of grain, use 2
gallons water.) Turn on the heat and raise the water to 132
degrees F. Turn the heat off and leave it off. Stir in the
grains. The temperature will settle around 123 degrees. Let it
rest 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Do not turn on the
heat, or I guarantee you'll get scorching. The Bruheat is simply a
bucket at this point.
First saccharification step: As soon as the protein rest has
begun, put about 1 quart of hot water per pound of grain onto the
stove to boil. At the end of the protein rest, add about half the
boiling water to the Bruheat. Stir well and measure the
temperature. Add more boiling water if necessary to achieve the
desired temperature. (Depending on the beer style and the types of
grain, I usually aim for around 150 degrees.) Stir every 5
minutes. Let this rest last for about 10 minutes, depending on the
style of beer. If the temperature drops too much during this rest,
you can turn on the heat. But be sure to stir constantly while the
heat is on. Stir in such a way that the current from the spoon is
blowing across the heating element.
Second saccharification step: Turn on the heat and stir stir stir
(your arm will get tired). Monitor the temperature and remove the
heat when you achieve your desired temperature. Depending on the
style of beer, I aim for up to 158 degrees. If your thermometer
has any lag at all, you will have to compensate for it by turning
off the heat a little early. When you reach the desired
temperature, turn off the heat and leave it off. Let this rest
last until conversion is complete (usually around 20 minutes or
so). If the temperature sags too much, turn on the heat again and
stir until you've got it where you want it.
Mash out: Turn on the heat and stir until the temperature reaches
168 degrees. Turn off the heat and let the mash rest for at least
5 minutes.
A couple of additional points: (1) Forget the thermostat, it's
virtually useless. (To mention just one deficiency, it's *not
calibrated*!) You have to be there stirring anyway, so control the
heat yourself by hand. (2) It helps to insulate the bucket by wrapping
a folded towel around it and securing the towel with a bungee cord.
Also, set the lid on the Bruheat when you're not stirring. (3) It helps
enormously to have a low-mass fast-response electronic thermometer.
> I'd also be interested in what kinds of beer you brew. Naturally
> Porters and Stouts would be less revealing of such a problem than say,
> Pilsners.
Using the above methods, I've had excellent success even with light
lagers. When you clean the heating element at the end of the brewing
session, you can tell right away whether any scorching occurred. (For
that matter, you can smell a scorch instantly when it happens.) I
haven't had a scorch for a long time using the Bruheat.
> Assuming that mashing can be accomplished successfully, how does it
> boil? How long does it take to get to a boil after sparging?
It works fine for boiling, although I don't use mine for that any more.
As I recall, it takes it about 15 minutes to boil 6 gallons from
sparging temperature. I sparge in a separate bucket, but I use the
Bruheat to keep my sparge water at 168 degrees. It works great for
that, and that's one time when I do get some use out of its thermostat.
Why use the Bruheat, I hear you asking? (1) It has enough oomph to
raise the temperature of a mash very quickly. (2) The element has low
thermal mass so that when I turn off the heat I see almost no
temperature overshoot. These two properties permit me to actually
achieve my desired mash temperatures and schedules, to within say 1
degree F. and two minutes of time.
John Polstra polstra!jdp@uunet.uu.net
Polstra & Co., Inc. ...!uunet!polstra!jdp
Seattle, Washington USA (206) 932-6482
"Self-knowledge is always bad news." -- John Barth
------------------------------
Date: Mon Feb 18 12:27:01 1991
From: "David E. Husk" <deh7g@newton.acc.virginia.edu>
Subject: 2nd try
I'm not sure what happedn to the first message but it turned out
Strange!! I.E.
Subs need to be replaced? I just acquired
3 of the beasties?
Husk@virginia.edu
Anyway what it was suppose to be was was a request for info
about cornelus (sp) kegs. I just accquired 3 of the beasties and
remember that someone said there was a return program on the tops for
refitting. Anyway can anyone send me the info on the program, and why
they need to be refitted and what to look for?
Husk@virginia.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 14:31:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Jeffrey Marc Shelton <js8f+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Your Dream BrewPub!!
What would be at your Dream BrewPub? I am looking for ideas to include
in a business proposal that I am writing for an Entrenpeneurial class at
school. I got the idea after starting to homebrew a few months ago:-)
Who knows, if it looks good, I might even start the business.
Currently, my brewpub experience is limited to one visit to the
Allegheny Brewerey here in Pittsburgh. (Of which I was quite impressed)
Other than that, I only know what I have read in several newspaper
articles.
Several items that I would like feedback on are
1) What do you think of the establishments that you have visited. What
are their strong points. What do you feel their weaknesses were.
2) What type of food did they serve and was it good? Was it worth the price?
3) What types of beer did they serve? How much did it cost?
4) If you owned a brewpub, what types of beer and food would you serve?
5) How much money do you spend when you visit a brewpub. How much of
this is for food, and how much is for beer.
6) How often do you go?
7) What would make you go more often?
Any other help such as were I might find statistics on the brewpub and
microbrewerey industry would be appreciated.
I will post a summary of the results on the board.
-Jeff
(js8f+@andrew.cmu.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 14:34 CDT
From: MC2331S@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU
Subject: Cider
My partner and I have been working for some time on making some
cider that would aproximate Strongbow Dry Cider. Our first batch, using
Pastuer Champagne yeast, was a very cloudy (and VERY strong) batch that
left a lot of people puddles on the floor. To insure the continued viability
of our friends, we switched to Red Star Ale yeast. The batches worked out
much better, with much shorter fermentation times. We ferment the stuff in
the gallon glass jugs that it comes in, the only addition being a fermentation
lock stuck in the neck. It seems that any sort of pastuerized cider will work.
(What is the difference between juice and cider) (Or wine and hard cider for that matter?) We add 1/2 c of cane sugar to each jug before pitching the yeast (Wedon't really care if it tastes cidery!) and let it sit for about 1 1/2 weeks.
We don;t know how well it keeps, or whether it improves with age, since it
never stays around very long.
Mark Castleman
Big Dog Brewing Cooperative
MC2331S@ACAD.DRAKE.EDU
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 14:08:26 PST
From: dfuden@fudenberg.net.com (David Fudenberg)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #581 (February 18, 1991)
Please delete dfuden@net.com from your mail list
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #582, 02/19/91
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