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HOMEBREW Digest #0748
This file received at Mthvax.CS.Miami.EDU 91/10/25 03:08:47
HOMEBREW Digest #748 Fri 25 October 1991
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Bad Burst (Curt Freeman)
homebrew laws in nj (dave ballard)
Re: Brewing Practices (John DeCarlo)
Fermenting vessels (GARY MASON - I/V/V PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 24-Oct-1991 0911)
Anybody Used a BrewCap? (Alan Gerhardt)
Starting a Siphon (OCONNOR)
Making Hard Cider (David Van Iderstine)
Munich Malt and IBUs (Bryan Gros)
homebrew: any good pubs in Englewood, NJ area?
(SOJOURNER_CLIFF)
Re: Homebrew Digest #747 (October 24, 1991) (Norm Pyle)
Re: Homebrew Digest #747 (October 24, 1991) (Bob Jones)
NJ state laws (Daniel Roman)
Please help; what is your FAVORITE pub? (Greg J. Pryzby)
More old recipts (Thomas Manteufel 5-4257)
Re: Pectin and Fruit Beer (S94TAYLO)
OXIDATION (Jack Schmidling)
Yet more on hot wort oxidation (Conn V Copas)
Barleywine & Miller (joshua.grosse)
Re-Using Yeast (Dr. Tanner Andrews)
Send submissions to homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Send requests to homebrew-request@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
[Please do not send me requests for back issues!]
Archives are available from netlib@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 8:00:36 EDT
From: Curt Freeman <curtf@hpwart.wal.hp.com>
Subject: Bad Burst
Full-Name: Curt Freeman
Now that I whetted your appetites with that empty message the other day,
here's my problem...
I went to burst the inner lump of my Wyeast package, and the seal at one
end of the outer package opened instead. Just a very small leak, but of
course it renders the package useless for the initial "puffing". The inner
package didn't seem to burst, and since I don't have yeast leaking all over
my 'frig, I'd say it is intact. So, at the risk of loosing an extended
"best-way-to-burst-liquid-yeast-packages" debate, how should I start these
yeast beasts?
- --
Curt Freeman | INTERNET curtf@hpwala.wal.hp.com
Hewlett-Packard | HP DESK curt_freeman@hp1700.desk.hp.com
175 Wyman Street | FON: (617) 290-3406
Waltham, MA. 02254 | FAX: (617) 890-5451
------------------------------
Date: 24 Oct 1991 8:51 EDT
From: dab@pyuxe.cc.bellcore.com (dave ballard)
Subject: homebrew laws in nj
In HBD #747-
Bob writes:
>>From: Bob Hettmansperger <Bob_Hettmansperger@klondike.bellcore.com>
>>A) I understand that brewpubs are currently illegal in New Jersey (as is
>>homebrewing apparently). Is there any effort currently underway to make them
>>legal? Anyone know who to write to? Anyone have any information on micros?
>>I know that ther is one in Vernon, but that's all I know about. Are micro
>>licences hard to come by?
GC Woods writes:
>There is presently a bill (A-114) currently before the NJ legislature to
>make homebrewing legal and to remove the permit ($3) for making wine.
>This saga however has been going on since 1986 and every pervious bill
>was never voted on, so it dies and must be reintroduced during the next
>meeting of the NJ Legislature (every 2 years).
I write:
According to a photocopied article hanging in the Home Brewery in Teaneck,
the bill legalizing homebrewing in NJ was passed on 8/22/91. It's basically
the same as everywhere else, 100 gallons per adult up to 200 per household.
No mention of brewpubs of course. After all, you can't have legalized
gambling and brewpubs in the same state!!
later
-dab
========================================================================
dave ballard | Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
dab@pyuxe.cc.bellcore.com | if your cup is full may it be again
------------------------------
Date: Thursday, 24 Oct 1991 09:08:40 EDT
From: m14051@mwvm.mitre.org (John DeCarlo)
Subject: Re: Brewing Practices
OK, I couldn't resist getting on my own personal hobby horse and
ranting and raving once again :-). Just consider yourselves
lucky not to have to experience this in person :-).
Beer is a product of heredity and environment. Heredity refers
to the ingredients and their quality. Environment to the brewing
process and where/how it takes place.
For new brewers, you can tell them a lot of very useful
information about the heredity of a beer, but the environment is
often a big unknown.
For this very reason, *I* (IMHO) consider it extremely important
to emphasize sanitation to the new brewer. While you cannot
control the microflora and microfauna, the ambient temperature
(and fluctuation therein) the quality of the air and water, etc.,
you can be fairly confident in telling people that if they do a
rigorous job of sanitizing everything, follow a good brewing
procedure, and use good ingredients, they will end up with good
beer.
Now, I can say that I know my environment pretty well. I can
often tell from listening and looking at my beer what is
happening. I detected a stuck fermentation without the use of a
hydrometer (used it for confirmation) because of just noticing
that something felt wrong about the fermentation. Is this useful
to anyone of you? Probably not. Would I be able to explain it
to a new brewer in a useful manner? No.
In conclusion, there are things I do nowadays that I wouldn't
recommend to anyone else. All I can say to justify it is that my
beers are improving as far as club competitions and my limited
palate can attest to. This is how I view all the other similar
brewing stories being told--mildly interesting should I want to
perform my own tests, but probably a product of a specific
brewing environment as well as increased attention to non-obvious
signs from the beer.
John "Art? Science? Maybe. :-)" DeCarlo
Disclaimer: I may be ignorant and/or apathetic.
But I don't know and I don't care.
Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
(or John.DeCarlo@f131.n109.z1.fidonet.org)
Fidonet: 1:109/131
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 09:12:10 EDT
From: GARY MASON - I/V/V PCU - 603-884[DTN264]1503 24-Oct-1991 0911 <mason@habs11.ENET.DEC.COM>
Subject: Fermenting vessels
After listening (sic) to the discussions about plastic vs glass, I had a
thought (A thought? We'll have none of that now!). I believe in the
sanitary aspects of glass, and would like the conveniences (I have never used
plastic) attributed to plastic. So...why not a large battery jar (is that
the right name? It's been a long time since chemistry class). It is
essentially the same thing as a plastic bin, but in glass. It would be very
heavy, and probably expensive, and would be interesting to handle, but it has
the best of both options.
Then there is the matter of a lid...
Cheers...Gary
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 91 13:53:09 CDT
From: agerhardt@ttsi.lonestar.org (Alan Gerhardt)
Subject: Anybody Used a BrewCap?
I finally got curious enough to order a BrewCap system.
Has anybody else used one of these?
I would like to hear any positive, negative, or gotcha comments
about it.
I'll send out my experiences after I use it the first time.
Cheers,
Alan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1991 10:56 EST
From: OCONNOR%SCORVA%SNYBUFVA.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Starting a Siphon
In regards to starting a siphon. I saw it on the HBD before: just
use a sanitized funnel and then remove it as the flow starts--then put
the hose into your carboy.
In regards to the use of a dishwasher for bottling. Whomever
suggested that should get a medal. It saves a lot of time and is
great if you happen to spill any beer. I highly reccommend it (if you
have a dishwasher)
Kieran
oconnor@snycorva.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 11:35:15 EDT
From: orgasm!davevi@uunet.UU.NET (David Van Iderstine)
Subject: Making Hard Cider
I'm making my first real batch of Apple Jack (that is, purifying it & then
adding yeast, as opposed to just letting it sit as it comes) and I'd like to
get some advice on a few points-well okay, many points.
First, what are the opinions regarding the different sterilization options?
There's boiling, steeping, and sulfites. I went the potassium metabisulfite
route for this batch, at about 60 ppm.
Assuming sulfite sterilization, how long should the cider sit before pitching
the yeast? And what about yeast choice? Adjuncts? Yeast nutrients?
Then how often should it be racked, and is it necesary to perform any further
sterilizations, or maybe additives for clarification? Finally, how long should I
wait to bottle the stuff, and should I prime it, a la wort, for a carbonated
product? WHEW!
Thanks in advance. Now deserve it!
Dave Van Iderstine, demented rural homebrewer
..uunet!pharlap!orgasm!davevi
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 09:38:37 PDT
From: bgros@sensitivity.berkeley.edu (Bryan Gros)
Subject: Munich Malt and IBUs
What is munich malt and what is it used for?
What exactly is IBUs and how do they relate to HBUs??
thanks.
- Bryan
------------------------------
Date: 24 Oct 91 08:54:00 -0700
From: SOJOURNER_CLIFF@Tandem.COM
Subject: homebrew: any good pubs in Englewood, NJ area?
Hi there,
Looks like I'm going back east soon. Any worts of
wisdom re: decent pubs in the Englewood, NJ area? I suppose
anything within an hour's drive would be fair game.
Happy Homebrewing,
Cliff
sojourner_cliff@tandem.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 09:31:41 MDT
From: pyle@intellistor.com (Norm Pyle)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #747 (October 24, 1991)
>
>I'm not suggesting that any of you do anything different. I'm just
>sharing my personal experience. Take what you like and leave the rest.
>
> -- Marc Rouleau
Thanks, Marc. Good advice for life, really.
As far as beer goes, I've got a question to pose to the net. Has anyone ever
had a batch turn darker *during fermentation*??? I brewed an Apricot-Ginger
Ale a fortnight ago, putting the apricots in the wort after the boil, while
the wort was still quite hot. These were canned apricots, in a heavy syrup
(I didn't use the syrup) and, as far as I could tell, there were no
preservatives in it. The brew is an amber ale with lots of crystal (3 cups)
added. After carboying it, it appeared to me to be a nice deep amber, with a
slight red tint to it. I racked it after three days, getting the fruit off
of it. The colour looked normal to me then. A few days later, it appears to
be much darker, on the order of a brown ale. Have I had too many homebrews?
Has anyone seen anything like this?
I plan to bottle in the next few days, but not before a taste-test.
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1991 10:15 PDT
From: Bob Jones <BJONES@NOVA.llnl.gov>
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #747 (October 24, 1991)
>In reply to Chad Epifanio's question : I would ask you how many
>awards have you won with your beers?
The answer to this question is about 35, (I didn't think anyone
would ever ask) but then again who's counting. I've been brewing
for 13 yrs. Not that I think I need to justify myself to you, but there
are a lot of beginning brewers who read HBD and I think they
should get the most generally excepted advice from experience
brewers. Your experiences with brewing in plastic may work for
you and your friend, making beer you and your friend enjoy,
however it won't stand as "State of the Art Brewing Technique".
Most of brewing technique is tradition based on hundreds of years
of trial and error. It's good to experiment with new ideas and
techniques, just be careful to state them as such. Your signature
trailer said it so well.
"There are no bad brews. However, some are better than others."
Bob Jones
I get no respect!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 14:21:37 EDT
From: tix!roman@uunet.UU.NET (Daniel Roman)
Subject: NJ state laws
Bob Hettmansperger asks about NJ law and brewing:
Well Bob, here is what I know, the current New Jersey law allows
residents to make 200 gallons of WINE a year for personal consumption
with a $3 permit. Because beer making is not specifically mentioned,
it's considered forbidden according to State Division of Alcholic
Beverage Control Director Catherine Costa. Nobody has ever been
arrested however. Their view is that they have other priorities.
I am not sure of the current status of new laws, but there were two
bills floating around a few months ago which would change the status.
One would have allowed up to 100 gallons of beer or wine a year without
a permit and 200 with a permit. That seems to have been dropped and
replaced with one that requires a permit for up to 200 gallons of beer
or wine. I don't plan to get a permit either way. I think it makes
more sense to be in line with the federal regs but then I'm not a
politician. For what it's going to cost NJ to issue and track these
stupid permits it'll probably cost them 100 times the cost of the $3
permit. I'm going to save the NJ taxpayers some money and (continue) to
ignore it. I'm not sure of the current status, but it might have been
passed by now. Assemblyman Albert Albohn from Morris County is the
sponsor. I don't think he is a homebrewer.
I don't have any info on brewpubs but if they allow breweries, micros,
and bars that sell beer I don't understand why no brewpubs, but like I
said I'm not a politician (or a lawyer).
________________________________________________________________________
Dan Roman | /// Internet: roman_d@timplex.com
Timeplex Inc. | \\\/// GEnie: D.ROMAN1
Woodcliff Lake, NJ | \XX/ Only AMIGA!
========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 14:40:35 EDT
From: virtech!gjp@uunet.UU.NET (Greg J. Pryzby)
Subject: Please help; what is your FAVORITE pub?
After offering a list of brewpubs and microbreweries and getting such an
great response, I would like to compile a list from you, the readers.
I am interested in compiling a list of pubs that have been visited by you.
Completing the form below would help. I realize that this is VERY SUBJECTIVE
but I think there is a interest in this information.
Thanks in advance for your help.
=-=-=-=-=-=- C U T H E R E -=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bar/Pub :
Address :
City :
State :
Type of beer :
Size (capacity) :
- --
Greg Pryzby uunet!virtech!gjp
Virtual Technologies, Inc.
Herbivores ate well cause their food didn't never run. -- Jonathan Fishman
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 07:22:42 CDT
From: tomm@pet.med.ge.com (Thomas Manteufel 5-4257)
Subject: More old recipts
Hello again, fellow history lovers.
As promised, here are some more old homebrewing recipes. I received quite a
few requests for them. More readers than we realize are interested in
living history. Some things to remember: Spelling rules were followed
rather haphazardly, as were punctuation. I have entered these recipes as
closely to the sources I got them from as I could. Bear is Beer, Pompion
is Pumpkin. Most of the recipes use unknown or uncertain units, and are
probably more of historical rather than practical interest. Some of the
terms I don't understand, such as "seen to break" in the Green Corn Stalk
recipe. Anyone have any ideas? Could it have something to do with the
capillary tubes the wine makers use to measure alcohol? Small or Strong
refers to a beer's strength. Small beer was not seeped in the grains for
as long, and was meant to be drunk as soon as it fermented. Think of it as
(gag) light beer. Strong beer required aging before it could be drunk.
It had a higher alcoholic content. Most of these recipes are from the book
"Brewed in America" by Stanley Baron. The Persimmon Beer is from the
"Old Timey Receipts from Appomattox: The Heart of Virginia" by the National
Park Women (of Appomattox). Enjoy:
Receipt to make Bear
Major Thomas Fenner, early 1700's
One ounce of Sentry Suckery or Sulindine one handful Red Sage or
Large 1/4 Pound Shells of Iron Brused fine take 10 quarts of Water
Steep it away to Seven and a quart of Molases Wheat Brand Baked
Hard. one quart of Malt one handful Sweeat Balm Take it as Soone
as it is worked.
Translated into modern English, the recipe is most likely:
Recipe to make Beer
One ounce of the dried leaves of the senna tree, chicory, or celandine.
One handful of red sage or crushed 1/4 pound shells of iron [which may
be the hop-like fruit from an ironwood, Ostrya Virginica, also known as
the hophornbeam. The ironwood is known as hophornbeam because the fruit
it produces look so much like hop bracts, unlike the fruit of the
American Hornbeam, which don't.]
10 quarts of water, boiled down to seven.
A quart of molasses.
A cake of hard baked wheat bran.
A quart of malt.
One handful of barm. [brewers yeast cake from a previous batch]
Drink it as soon as it is fermented.
Col. George Washington's Small Beer (1737)
To Make Small Beer
Take a large Siffer [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste. - Boil
these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons]
Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses
into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot. let this
stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of
Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] &
let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask - leave
the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working - Bottle it that
day Week it was Brewed.
Pumpkin Ale
An anonymous recipe for pumpkin ale appeared in the papers of the American
Philosophical Society in February, 1771. The author notes that he obtained
this recipe from someone who claimed this tasted like malt ale, with only a
slight "twang". After two years in the bottle, this twang had mellowed to
an acceptable level.
Receipt for Pompion Ale
Let the Pompion be beaten in a Trough and pressed as Apples. The
expressed Juice is to be boiled in a Copper a considerable Time and
carefully skimmed that there may be no Remains of the fibrous Part
of the Pulp. After that Intention is answered let the Liquor be hopped
cooled fermented &c. as Malt Beer.
Directions for Brewing Malt Liquors
>From the letters of Joseph Clarke, general treasurer of the Rhode Island
colony, sometime around 1775.
You are first to have ready the following Implements, a mash Vat, to
put your malt in; a Vessel under this to receive the Wort in; a Copper
to boil in; a Rudder to stir your malt with, and Vessels to cool
your Liquor in;
First then fill your Copper with water, take then 6 Bushels of Malt
and put into your mash Vat, leaving about a Peck to sprinkle over the
Liquor when in, Let your water simper, and be in the next degree
of boiling but not boil; lay it on upon the Malt well ground, and
when you have laid on such a quantity as you can draw off a Barrel
of Wort, stir the malt well together with your Rudder; and then
sprinkle the remaining Peck of Malt over all covering it up with Cloths
to keep the heat in; for three hours; only when it have stood an hour
and half draw off a pail full or two; and lay it on again to clear your
tap hole.
This done the next Business is to boil a Copper of Water, to scald
your other Vessels with; always taking care to have a Copper of Liquor
hot to lay on, upon the malt when you draw off the first Wort, and
this will be for small Beer.
The three hours now expired; let go (as the Term is) which is let the
first wort run off, putting into the Vessel which receives it a pound of
Hops; when all drawn off lay on the hot Liquor for your small Beer,
clean out your Copper and put the wort, Hops and all into the Copper
and boil it for two hours; strain it then off thro: a Sieve into your
Vessels to cool it; and put your small Beer into Copper and the same
hops that come out of the first Beer and boil it an hour.
When both are almost cool add Yeast to them; to set it to work,
breaking the head in every time it rises; till it works itself clear and
tun in; Bung it up with Clay and keep it in your Cellar, in three
months you may bottle the strong Beer, the other in a weeks time
will be fit to drink.
Green Corn Stalk Beer
Published in the Virginia Gazette on Feb. 14, 1775. A family recipe by
Landon Carter.
The stalks, green as they were, as soon as pulled up, were carried to
a convenient trough, then chopped and pounded so much, that, by
boiling, all the juice could be extracted out of them; which juice every
planter almost knows is of saccharine a quality almost as any thing
can be, and that any thing of a luxuriant corn stalk is very full of it,
... After this pounding, the stalks and all were put into a large
copper, there lowered down it its sweetness with water, to an equality
with common observations in malt wort, and then boiled, till the
liquor in a glass is seen to break, as the breweres term it; after that it
is strained, and boiled again with hops. The beer I drank had been
made above twenty days, and bottled off about four days.
General Amherst's Spruce Beer
>From the journal of General Jeffrey Amherst, governor-general of British North
America
Take 7 Pounds of good spruce & boil it well till the bark peels off,
then take the spruce out & put three Gallons of Molasses to the
Liquor & and boil it again, scum it well as it boils, then take it out the
kettle & put it into a cooler, boil the remained of the water sufficient
for a Barrel of thirty Gallons, if the kettle is not large enough to boil
it together, when milkwarm in the Cooler put a pint of Yest into it and
mix well. Then put it into a Barrel and let it work for two or three days,
keep filling it up as it works out. When done working, bung it up with
a Tent Peg in the Barrel to give it vent every now and then. It may be
used in up to two or three days after. If wanted to be bottled it should stand
a fortnight in the Cask. It will keep a great while.
Benjamin Franklin's Spruce Beer
Translated from the french while he was stationed in France.
A Way of making Beer with essence of Spruce
For a Cask containing 80 bottles, take one pot of Essence and 13
Pounds of Molases. - or the same amount of unrefined Loaf Sugar;
mix them well together in 20 pints of hot Water: Stir together until
they make a Foam, then pour it into the Cask you will then fill with
Water: add a Pint of good Yeast, stir it well together and let it stand 2
or 3 Days to ferment, after which close the Cask, and after a few days
it will be ready to be put into Bottles, that must be tightly corked.
Leave them 10 or 12 Days in a cool Cellar, after which the Beer will
be good to drink.
Persimmon Beer
An old family recipe that used ingedients available in Virginia in the 1860s.
It's not actually beer because there is no hop nor malt in it, but corn. Of
course, the North American brewers get away with calling their product beer,
and it's got a lot of corn in it, so ...
Wash 1 gallon ripe persimmons. Mash well and add 1/2 cup cornmeal. Add
5 gallons water and 2 cups sugar. Let set until fruit rises to top (3 to
4 days). Stain, bottle and seal. (Clear, light colored, fizzy. Fill
bottles 2/3 ......... Explosive!)
Thomas Manteufel IOFB
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 07:33 EST
From: <S94TAYLO%USUHSB.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Pectin and Fruit Beer
Mr. Thomas was wondering about an enzyme to degrade pectin. There is such
an enzyme, and not surprisingly, it is called pectic enzyme.
In my experience, it ABSOLUTELY WORKS VERY WELL. My first two cranberry beers
were very cloudy, the last one using pectic enzyme (at 4 grams, or 4
tablespoons per 4 gallons) was crystal clear. I add it to the primary about
a day after 24 hours after pitching. This also prevents, IMHO, the thick
foam that often clogs the blowoff tube. I just dump it in dry and relax.
I didn't have any trouble finding this stuff, even in Montgomery County, MD.
Which reminds me, I have to start this year's batch up for Thanksgiving while
I listen to Arlow's Alice's Restaurant.
Al Taylor
Uniformed Services University
School of Medicine
Bethesda, MD
s94taylor@usuhsb.bitnet.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 12:02 CDT
From: arf@ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: OXIDATION
To: Homebrew Digest
Fm: Jack Schmidling
MORE ON THE OXIDATION MOMILY
As a debunker of MOMILIES, I decided to conduct my own experiment regarding
assertions that the billowing foam in my video "BREW IT AT HOME", would cause
oxidation leading to "cidery" or "cardboardy" tastes.
The experiment goes like this:
I brewed a batch of extract beer following all the does and don'ts derived
from the discussion on oxidation. No splashing or foam and minimum of head
space. I even tilted the bottles until the filler head was covered to
preclude turbulence at that point.
I left about a quart of beer in the priming vessel and did just the opposite
to this. I abused it in every way I could think of. I sloshed it around for
several minutes. I poured it into a quart bottle through a funnel and then
decanted it back and forth into another bottle about a dozen times. I then
poured this into three 12 oz bottles, with a funnel, leaving about 3 inches
of head space.
The bottles were numbered T1, T2 and T3. They are to be opened and tasted at
30 day intervals, beginning 30 days after bottling and compared with the
control samples.
We tasted T1 today and neither my wife nor I could detect the slightest
difference. Be back in 30 days.
js
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1991 00:01:15 +0000
From: Conn V Copas <C.V.Copas%loughborough.ac.uk@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
Subject: Yet more on hot wort oxidation
Pardon me if I am resurrecting an old issue, but it seems that there may be
more implications of avoidance of hot wort sloshing. Presumably, sparging
systems which make use of a series of cascading buckets may also be a
problem. What is the verdict ? BTW, I find that I have to heat my sparge
water to near boiling before it will raise the temperature of the actual
grain bed high enough to kill enzyme activity. Am I missing something ?
Conn V Copas tel : (0509)263171 ext 4164
Loughborough University of Technology fax : (0509)610815
Computer-Human Interaction Research Centre
Leicestershire LE11 3TU e-mail -
G Britain (Janet):C.V.Copas@uk.ac.lut
(Internet):C.V.Copas%lut.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
------------------------------
Date: Friday, 25 October 1991 0:42am ET
From: joshua.grosse@amail.amdahl.com
Subject: Barleywine & Miller
In HBD 747, Martin A. Lodahl <hpfcmr.fc.hp.com!hplabs!pbmoss!malodah>
writes on Yeast Repitching's Risks:
> if a brewer is able to keep the bacteria under control, there is a
> limit to how many times a culture can be repitched...
Well, I have begun using a mixture between Father B and Dave Miller's
recommendations in order to keep sanitary and to reduce costs.
First, I use Miller's method for premixing and canning 3 gallons of
"sterile" wort. Miller misused the word. Its really sanitary wort that
wont allow stuff to grow, due to acidity and hops. Lots of stuff isn't
killed by canning at atmospheric pressure, but the stuff that remains
can't do anything. I find this method easy, just a couple of hours.
And I have lots of quart jars filled with ready to use wort.
I culture yeast in my primary fermenter, a 5 gal carboy. So, I pitch
the yeast and a jar or two of wort and attach a fermentation lock. This
way, I avoid any contamination problems that might happen when
re-pitching from small jugs into the fermenter later.
After the kraeuueuaeuueesen (did I spell it right?) has fallen, I
carefully pour off the "used" wort, leaving a nice trub on the bottom of
the fermenter, and then send my cooled wort in on top. Thanks, FB!
Less chance of contamination, and no need to mess with gallon jugs,
smaller corks, or the mess of 12-ounce bottles in the fridge that some
folks use.
I intend to culture from my homebrew, using only the first generation of
beer made from the original lab grade yeast. This is Miller's
recommendation. This way, I avoid both mutations (somewhat) and
contaminations (somewhat) while reducing cash outlay (somewhat). To
date, my Wyeast brewing has required very different yeast strains.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Grosse jdg00@amail.amdahl.com
Amdahl Corp. 313-358-4440
Southfield, Michigan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 91 7:35:24 EDT
From: Dr. Tanner Andrews <tanner@ki4pv.compu.com>
Subject: Re-Using Yeast
If you wish to avoid the worry about number of generations of
yeast re-use, you can cut the number with a simple change of
procedure.
After you have racked the beer out of secondary, perform any
appropriate sanitation rituals around the neck of the carboy and
pour the yeast slurry (there is always a little beer that you
can't rack out) into a clean jar. Cap; keeps for at least a few
months in the fridge.
Make a starter using a spoon-full of this a day before you brew.
You'll get several spoons full from the jar full of yeast, and
all of these ferments will be second generation instead of
higher. The spoon-full of yeast in a starter gives me good,
vigorous starts.
- --
...!{bikini.cis.ufl.edu allegra uunet!cdin-1}!ki4pv!tanner
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #748, 10/25/91
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