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HOMEBREW Digest #0914
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 92/07/01 00:08:26
HOMEBREW Digest #914 Wed 01 July 1992
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: First all grain, Low Yield (Desmond Mottram)
Freezer Conversion (Mitchell M. Evans)
Lagering and priming (KIERAN O'CONNOR)
White gloppy stuff (Phillip Seitz)
Hefe Weisen (John L. Isenhour)
Berkeley Brewpubs (and the greater Bay Area) (Jeff Copeland)
extraction rates / hefeweizen (Brian Bliss)
Trade (Chris Estes)
Cleaning hop residue (Carl West)
Oops - Counterflow Chiller (Bob_Konigsberg)
Low yield (Darren Evans-Young)
Paul's Peppered Pils (SHERRILL_PAUL)
Low yields (Rob Bradley)
Re: Homebrew Digest #907 (June 22, 1992) (Robert Millette)
Young's and lupulophobia (Jay Hersh)
Used Kegs (Bret Olmsted)
Mash and Hops (Phoebe Couch)
Brewpubs in Berzerkley (summary) ("Spencer W. Thomas")
CAMRA & Beer Drinkers of America (Bob Gorman)
Long time in the primary (Dances with Workstations)
BEER ACROSS AMERICA (STAFINIAK)
Ladybugs (chris campanelli)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 12:51:17 BST
From: des@pandora.swindon.ingr.com (Desmond Mottram)
Subject: Re: First all grain, Low Yield
caa@com2serv.c2s.mn.org (Charles Anderson) writes:
> Subject: First All grain, Low Yield
>
> I made my first attempt at an All-Grain brew yesterday using a simple
> recipe from Cat's Meow 2, which was 8lbs of British Pale, 1lb of British
> Crystal, 3oz Fuggles, and 1oz of Willamette. I mashed for 90mins w/2.25 gals
> in my electrim-bin, and I had a hell of a time getting the temp to stay constant
> at 150. This was a single step infusion mash, I think my temps varied from
> about 145 to 160, with various hot spots around the heating element.
I use an Electrim bin with a sparge bag. This means you have to use rather
more water, about 3 gallons, but you don't get problems with grain sitting
on the element and hot spots are easy to stir in. I stir it about every 30
mins. Every 10 mins is likely to do more harm than good - you're going to
cool it excessively.
I have had no problems with getting the temp to stay completely steady but
it is a bit cooler at the top. I get 155 near the element, 150 at the top.
I've found it's best to leave the stat set between the two 'M's of the word
"SIMMER" above the knob. If it needs boosting turn it up to 6 for five
minutes, set back, stir and check the temperature. If it needs cooling,
splosh in half a cupful of cold water, stir and check. But don't get too fussy,
you are more likely to make matters worse. There is a lot of thermal inertia
in 9 lbs grain plus 2.5-3 gallons of water and you are likely to keep over
correcting. Give it 20 minutes to settle between trying to make adjustments.
When it's about right, leave it.
Temperature is important but it won't ruin the beer if you are a few degrees
out, it just means you have to give it a bit longer. It is supposed to affect
the taste slightly - warmer mashes leave more dextrins so sweeter beers, but
I'll bet there aren't many who can honestly say they can tell.
[choppity chop]
> Should my sparge water be boiling when I start, TCJOHB says
> 170, does it matter?
Hot (170-180) but don't bother boiling. It's not crucial but malt sugars
dissolve better if the water is really hot. Boil up a few kettlefuls as you
are sparging to keep it hot.
> I'm not worrying,
Definitely the right attitude! I'm sure you'll get the best beer you've
ever made.
>
> -Charlie
> - --
> /-Charles-Anderson-\ | caa@c2s.mn.org
> \------------------/ | Com Squared Systems, voice (612) 452-9522
Desmond Mottram
d_mottram@swindon.ingr.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 00:05:36 PST
From: doc@brewing.cts.com (Mitchell M. Evans)
Subject: Freezer Conversion
Howdy folks!
I would like to convert an upright freezer into a cool place for my
brew for ferment and age. I have looked for "conversion" kits in
this area, and have found only one available. Unfortunately, it
costs $75. Does anyone out there in netland have a cheap (less than
$40) solution to my problem? If so, I'd love to hear from ya!
Mitch
===========================================================================
doc@brewing.cts.com or crash!brewing!doc or ???????
"I wonder sometimes, how long this trouble gonna last..."
-- Stevie Ray Vaughan
===========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1992 21:45 EDT
From: KIERAN O'CONNOR <OCONNOR%SNYCORVA.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Lagering and priming
Hi,
I've been lagering two batches o' beer for about two months in
Cornelius kegs at 32 degrees f. Its about time to bottle them (I dont
have the equipment to keg 'em) and I need to kow about priming.
I made a culture from 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast. If I warm up the two
batehs to 60 degrees before bottling, will there be enough active
yeast so that i can just do the 3/4 cup of corn sugar thing? I'd
rather not do another culture if I dont have to--but I will if
necessary. Any thoughts?
Kieran O'Connor
oconnor@snycorva.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 13:34 GMT
From: Phillip Seitz <0004531571@mcimail.com>
Subject: White gloppy stuff
Ok, so what is all that white gloppy stuff that forms when the wort
begins to boil? Did someone say that it's protein? And should I work
to remove it (skim it off?). Inquiring minds want to know!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 9:25:43 -0500 (CDT)
From: ISENHOUR@LAMBIC.FNAL.GOV (John L. Isenhour)
Subject: Hefe Weisen
Sam (sami@scic.intel.com) writes:
>I have brewed a couple of weissen beers and they were great. recently I was
>reading Dave Miller's book and he mentioned a hefeweissen. What's the
>difference?
The hefe part just means that there is yeast in the bottle, most likely you are
already making it this way, unless you're filtering the brew. I usually buy
these types of (import) beers because I feel that it travels better if it has
some yeast in it.
Oh, and BOB JONES <BJONES@NOVAX.llnl.gov> writes:
>Does anyone know of a chemical that will cut the hop residue inside a
>blowoff tube.
Since my blowoff tube never contacts the wort/beer (at least not the brew I
drink), I just soak it in a real strong Tide tm detergent (no scent) and hot
water and it comes right off, then I rinse it really well, then I clorox it.
I used to use count-off, alconox, and micro brand cleaners but Tide works just
as well and its cheaper too.
Hefty Weiss for all,
John - the HopDevil
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 08:55:25 -0600
From: copeland@calypso.atmos.colostate.edu (Jeff Copeland)
Subject: Berkeley Brewpubs (and the greater Bay Area)
Here's a list I got from Rec.crafts.brewing on June 18 1992. Its more than
just Berkeley, but a number are accesible via BART or other mass transit.
(kudos to Nick Cuccia cuccia@mica.berkeley.edu for the list)
Anchor Brewing Company
1705 Mariposa Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415 863 8350
The nation's first modern microbrewery, home of Anchor Steam, Liberty
Ale, Anchor Porter, Anchor Wheat, seasonal Holiday beers, and Old
Foghorn Barleywine. Tours on weekdays, by appointment.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Civic Center; catch MUNI 19 Polk south at
Hyde/Eighth and Market; get off at Rhode Island and Mariposa; walk
two blocks east.
Bison Brewery
2598 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
510 841 7734
Originally opened by "Buffalo" Bill Owens, now run by Eric Freitag
and Scott DeOca. Scott likes to experiment with herbs and flavorings
in his beers; I remember an espresso stout that he made last year as
being particularly interesting. Postmodern building with art by local
artists. Sandwiches; salads; coffee drinks (This *is* Telegraph Ave.
in Berkeley, after all).
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART to Berkeley Station, transfer to AC
Transit #40. Bus stops right in front of Bison.
Boulder Creek Brewing
13040 Highway 9
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
408 338 7882
Beers include Tall Tale Pale Ale, Redwood Ale, and Lorenzo Logger
Lager. Not far from Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: CalTrain Santa Cruz shuttle from San Jose
BART station; get off at Santa Cruz transit center; transfer to
Santa Cruz transit #35. Note: last shuttle from Santa Cruz leaves
Santa Cruz at 8:50p.
Brewpub on the Green
3350 Stevenson Blvd
Fremont, CA 94538
510 651 5510
Haven't been to this one. Menu by Narsai David, one of California's
best-known cooks. "Buffalo" Bill Owens is a partner in this pub.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Fremont BART; roughly 3/4 mi. walk/cab ride
from there.
Buffalo Bill's Brewpub
1082 B Street
Hayward, CA 94541
510 886 9823
First brewpub to open in Bay Area since Prohibition. Also home of
_American Brewer_ Magazine. Nice amber ale, Yakima Cider on tap,
and one of my favorite brewhouses--all recycled dairy equipment.
Also home of _American Brewer_ magazine.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART to Hayward Station, walk three blocks
east on B.
Dempsey's Ale House
50 E. Washington St.
Petaluma, CA 94952
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Golden Gate Transit from SF/San Rafael to
Petaluma.
Golden Pacific Brewery
5515 Doyle St.
Emeryville, CA 94608
510 547 8270
Produces draft and bottled beers for the Berkeley area. Arranged to
contract brew Thousand Oaks products after TO ceased production.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART MacArthur Station; transfer to AC Transit
#57 (Emeryville Marina direction).
Gordon Biersch #1
640 Emerson
Palo Alto, CA 94301
415 323 7723
Specializes in German brews--their standards are Export, Maerzen, and
Dunkle; weissbiers in summer and bocks in autumn. Mmmmm!
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: CalTrain to Palo Alto Station, east on
University to Emerson (2-3 blocks), south on Emerson.
Gordon Biersch #2
33 E. San Fernando
San Jose, CA 95113
408 294 6785
See Gordon Biersch #1.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: SCRTD Light Rail-able.
Gordon Biersch #3
2 Harrison St.
San Francisco, CA
See Gordon Biersch #1. Opened last week of March 1992.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART to Embarcadero station, south along the
Embarcadero for about 4-5 blocks; in the old Hills Brothers building.
Hogshead Brewery
114 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916 443 BREW
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Amtrak from Oakland, Berkeley, or Richmond
station/stops to Sacramento.
Kelmer's Brewhouse
458 B Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
707 544 4677
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Golden Gate Transit to downtown Santa Rosa.
Lind Brewing
1933 Davis #177
San Leandro, CA 94577
510 562 0866
Microbrewer; Roger Lind is an alumnus of Triple Rock, Golden Gate (RIP),
and Devil Mountain (RIP) breweries. Local distribution; his ales
(Drake's Gold and Drake's Amber) are especially nice.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: unknown.
Marin Brewing Company
1809 Larkspur Landing Circle
Larkspur, CA 94939
415 461 4677
After Gordon Biersch, my favorite brewpub. Don't think they have a
bad brew in the bunch (Marin Weisse, Mt. Tam Pale Ale, Albion Amber,
Point Reyes Porter, Raspberry Trail Ale (Mt. Tam with raspberries--
yum!), Old Dipsea Barleywine (smooooth; blows Old Foghorn Away), San
Quentin Breakout Stout, Point Reyes Porter).
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Across Sir Francis Drake from Golden Gate
Ferry's Larkspur terminal.
Mendocino Brewing Company
13351 Highway 101 S.
Hopland, CA 95449
707 744 1015
Every homebrewer must make the pilgrimage: not only is it the first
legal brewpub since prohibition in California, but its original brewing
equipment came from the late New Albion Brewery (the first startup
micro in the US). All of its beers--Pale Ale, Amber, Specialty Ale
(Eye of the Hawk--nectar in a bottle), Stout, Christmas Porter--are
excellent. Worth the trip from San Francisco.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Greyhound from San Francisco.
Pacific Coast Brewing Company
906 Washington
Oakland, CA 94607
415 836 BREW
Been a while since I've been there. Nice old Victorian-style bar,
with downstairs brewery. Also serves microbrew from other makers.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Oakland, south on Broadway to Ninth
Street, west on Ninth to Washington.
Rubicon Brewery
2004 Capitol Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95814
916 448 7032
Phil Moeller was once an award-winning homebrewer. Now his brews win
medals at GABF. His Amber Ale is particularly yummy.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Amtrak from Oakland, Berkeley, or Richmond
stations/stops to Sacramento.
Hogshead Brewery
114 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916 443 BREW
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Amtrak from Oakland, Berkeley, or Richmond
stations/stops to Sacramento.
San Francisco Brewing Company
155 Columbus St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
415 434 3344
Great looking copper brewkettle, pretty good lager, mediocre amber.
Pubfare.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Montgomery, catch MUNI #30 at Market and
Third, get off at Columbus, walk towards the Transamerica Pyramid until
you get to Pacific. Look for the kettle.
Seabright Brewery
519 Seabright Av.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: CalTrain shuttle from San Jose CalTrain
station. Note: Last shuttle leaves Santa Cruz at 8:50p.
Santa Cruz Brewing/Front Street Pub
516 Front Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
408 429 8838
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: CalTrain shuttle from San Jose CalTrain station.
Last shuttle to San Jose leaves at 8:50p.
Sudwerks Hubschbrau
2001 Second Street
Davis, CA 95616
916 756 BREW
This brewpub specializes in the best German-style brew in the Bay
Area. Their wheat beer is my favorite next to Anchor's, and their
pilsner and bock are the best in the Bay Area. Period.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Amtrak Capitol Special from Oakland, Berkeley,
or Richmond stations/stops to Davis.
Tied House Cafe and Brewery #1
954 Villa St.
Mountain View, CA 94041
415 965 BREW
20 Bbl brewery. Pale Ale, Amber, Dark, Doppelweizen, and I believe a
low-calorie amber. Good food.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: CalTrain Mountain View. East on Castro, north
on Villa.
Tied House Cafe and Brewery #2
65 N. San Pedro
San Jose, CA 95110
408 295 2739
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: Unknown.
Tied House Cafe and Brewery #3
#8 Pacific Marina
Alameda, CA
510 521 4321
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Oakland 12th St. Station. Transfer to AC
Transit #12; get off at Marina Village Parkway and Challenger. Walk
towards the water and look for the signs.
Triple Rock Brewery
1920 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
510 843 2739
First Berkeley Brewpub. Pinnacle Pale Ale, Red Rock Ale (my fave),
Black Rock Porter. Sandwiches/chili/nachos.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Berkeley station. North on Shattuck 4-5
blocks.
Twenty Tank Brewery
316 11th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415 255 9455
Third brewpub opened by owners of Triple Rock (#2 is Bigtime Brewery
and Alehouse in Seattle). Mellow Flow Pale Ale, Hi Top Amber (dry),
Kinnikinnick Amber (malty), Kinnikinnick Stout. Sandwiches/chili/
nachos.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: BART Civic Center/MUNI Van Ness stations.
Four blocks south of Market on Eleventh Street.
Winchester Brewing
830 S. Winchester Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95128
408 243 7561
Nice barleywine.
ACCESS BY MASS TRANSIT: unknown.
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
Jeff Copeland copeland@calypso.atmos.colostate.edu
Atmospheric Science
Colorado State University
Ft Collins CO 80523
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 10:03:48 CDT
From: bliss@csrd.uiuc.edu (Brian Bliss)
Subject: extraction rates / hefeweizen
> I use a one step infusion mash at 155 for 45 minutes.
>
> The starting gravity is 1.036 and finishing is 1.006. With 9 lb
> of grain I think I should be getting around 1.040.
I've noticed that one-infusion mashes seem to take longer than
using a protein rest, also. I beleive the difference is just
the time it takes for the grain to get thouroughly soaked in
the mash water, which can be a good 10-20 minutes. With such
mashes, I've also had much better luck enough adding hot water
to bring the temp to 140-145, and then slowly raising it to the
desired temp, rather than immediately raising the temp with
water to the lower 150's. anyway, the iodine test should tell.
>I'd expect to get still more than that. I mash in three gallons, sparge
>with three gallons, and with 9lb of grain usually get around 5.5 gallons at
>1042. Based on what the books say I would say I have room for yet further
>improvement.
5.5 * 36 / 9 = 22 pts/lb
which is the lower end of the acceptable range for me. The only
time I usually get more than 25 pts/lb is when I use wheat malt
and get into 3 hr. sparges.
As for the rest of my technique, in summary, Corona grain mill,
Zapap lauter tun with sparge bag, grind the grain the day before,
I try to check ph, but I usually make dark beers and they stain the
ph paper enough that it's practially useless, mash for 2 hrs, and my
final extraction rates are based upon how much I got after I siphon
the beer off the .25 - .75 gal of hot break.
Which brings up another question, why do my hydrometer readings
go up after I let the hot break settle out? The stuff is heavier
than the wort (it sinks)... what gives?
- -------------------------------
>I have brewed a couple of weissen beers and they were great. recently I was
>reading Dave Miller's book and he mentioned a hefeweissen. What's the
>difference? Does anyone have recipe that I can use? Neither Miller nor
>Papazian have one listed that I could find.
"hefe" means yeast, and hefeweizen contains a significant amount of yeast
in solution, whereas a krystallweizen does not, usually due to filtering.
Most homebrews are considered a hefeweizen (unless the brewmaster has a
filtering system). Most commercial hefeweizen have had (the brewing yeast
possibly filtered out and) a non-flocculating strains added prior to bottling,
which is especially neccessary if the beer is pasteurized. Has anyone
tried this, and what did you use for the non-flocculating yeast? Wyeast
3056 seems to flocculate more than I want; I would prefer more yeast in
my hefeweizen. (I guess I could just stir up the dead yeast on the bottom
of the fermenter prior to bottling, and pour out all the sediment at
serving time...)
bb
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 11:28:58 -0400
From: cestes@argos5.DNET.NASA.GOV (Chris Estes)
Subject: Trade
Hi All...
If anyone in the Washington DC metro area is interested, I have two
5 gallon soda kegs, one of which I would like to trade for a 2.5 or 3
gallon version.
Any takers???
-Chris Estes-
cestes@argos5.dnet.nasa.gov
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 11:23:25 EDT
From: eisen@kopf.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Carl West)
Subject: Cleaning hop residue
Bob,
Run a long string or rope through the tube (use a weight or stream of
water to help if necessary), tie a piece of cloth into the middle of
the rope, (make sure that the cloth is big enough to make a tight fit
in the tube), stand on one end of the rope, hold the other end up high
in your hand and with the other hand move the tube up and down thus
scrubbing the inside of the tube. You could use a bottle or carboy
brush for this instead of the cloth. Cheaper than those brushes is
taking apart a _new_ toilet brush, straighten the bristle-wire out and
pull that through the tube.
Works on mine.
Carl
WISL,BM.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 09:20 PDT
From: Bob_Konigsberg@3mail.3com.com
Subject: Oops - Counterflow Chiller
Sorry to all for the mixup. Thanks to all who pointed out my error.
Yes, I use a COUNTERFLOW chiller, and have made a diagram of how to
construct one. The previous offer still stands.
BobK
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 12:10:44 CDT
From: Darren Evans-Young <DARREN@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: Low yield
With 9 lbs of pale ale malt, I get a SG of 1.055.
All my water is preboiled to remove chlorine.
When I add the grains to 170 deg water, the temp drops to 153 deg.
The pH is too low (4.7). I was adding CaCO3, but it had very
little effect on pH and my mash wasnt completely converting.
I then started adding 1 tsp gypsum to my mash and the effects
were very noticable. I mash for 2 hours and even though the
pH is too low, it converts completely.
As for grain bags, I dont use one. I keep my water level at
least 2" above the grain bed. I dont see how a grain bag
will help me. I take a full hour to sparge. Sparge water
treated with lactic acid to pH 5.7. I have even had a SG of 1.057
with 9 lbs of grain.
Darren
------------------------------
Date: 30 Jun 92 10:45:00 -0700
From: SHERRILL_PAUL@Tandem.COM
Subject: Paul's Peppered Pils
Hi All,
I thought I'd report on my pepper beer experiment that I queried
you all about. Most recommendations leaned towards adding the pepper
as late as possible in the process. Here's what I did.
Recipe (for 4 gallons)
6 lbs light liquid extract
1.0 oz Hallertauer hops (~ 4.8 AAU) boiling 50 minutes
1.0 oz hallertauer hops steep 15 minutes
Wyeast Pilsen yeast (I don't have my notes with me can't remember
number) Serrano chile added at bottling
Ferment at 50 degrees for 1 week. Then ferment at 45 degrees for 3
weeks. At bottling cut up serrano and add slices to each bottle.
What I did was cut up one chile and set aside 6 bottles for dry
peppering. The rest of the batch was just bottled as is. I labeled my
6 bottles 1 to 6 and put a little more pepper in each beer.
Taste results: The non peppered beer is way malty but it has mellowed
nicely after 3 weeks at 40 degrees. Dare I say it is not balanced.
The peppered bottles are good. The ones with the least pepper (one
thin slice 1/8 inch) don't have any pronounced heat but have an
incredibly dry and abrupt finish. You wouldn't know it was pepper that
added the strangeness. The ones that were more highly peppered (two
1/8 inch slices) begin to feel the heat. This seems to be the right
amount to use to get the flavor and slight feel of the pepper with
burning a hole in ye gut. The flavor only comes through in the finish
and you can tell it's pepper. The last two bottles are waiting for our
next homebrew meeting. Hopefully it'll have the good slowburn. By
the way, the peppers did not seem to have any effect on the physical
characteristics of the beer (head or color).
When I do this again I will go for the 1/4 inch slices in some sort of
ale. In fact the IPA in primary could turn into India Peppered Ale.
Also on the agenda for the future would be attempting a pepper tea at
bottling. The problem with this is the extrapolation of the number of
peppers to use and the pepper extraction rate when made into a tea.
Overall I really like this beer and I think that it could be a good
subcategory for just about any beer style.
Now how can I figure the pepper extraction rate in IPUs (International
Peppering Units) ?
paul
sherrill_paul@tandem.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 14:41:36 -0400
From: bradley@adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
Subject: Low yields
In HBD #913, Larry Barello writes
> Regardless of the dextrine maltose balance, the OG should be pretty
> consistent.
In reply to Kinney Baughman's claim that a high mash tempreature in the
mash might be responsible for a low yield. If my understanding of the
workings of the enzymes is correct, then Larry is right. If Kinney
is right, sould some kind soul please e-mail me (or the HBD) to explain
why a higher proportion of dextrins lowers the SG? I have often
mashed at temperatures higher that 150 for the purpose of getting
higher fianl gravity and have never noticed a statistically significant
ddecrease in yield.
Desmond Mottram elaborates on the issue of mash time (also first brought
up by Kinney). Again, if this is a factor, I have to go back to drawing-
board. It seems to me that once the starches have been glutenized
and dissolved, the OG is essentially determined. What proportion of
the dissolved material is fermentable sugar, unfermantable sugar and
unconverted starch is abviously a matter of great concern, but is
in no way reflected in the density of the solution.
IF THIS IS WRONG, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
I have always believed that lower-than-expected yields come from grinding
too coarsely, from sparging with too little water or from using
different ingredients (e.g. US malt for a British recipe) than called
for in the paradigm.
Cheers,
Rob Bradley
(bradley@adx.adelphi.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 11:59:02 PDT
From: millette@ohsu.EDU (Robert Millette)
Subject: Re: Homebrew Digest #907 (June 22, 1992)
You are a selfish prig.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 15:27:02 EDT
From: Jay Hersh <hersh@expo.lcs.mit.edu>
Subject: Young's and lupulophobia
While I don't disagrre that if your info is accurate Young's hooping rates
are quite low, you should still realize that there is an inverse and quite
counter-intuitive relationship between hopping rates and batch size.
Because the wort quickly saturates with bittering acids in small batches
(of which you could consider 5 gallons) it becomes necessary to add quite
a bit more hops to acheive the desired bitterness thanbn in larger batches.
This non-linear effect can be shown by doubling your batch size and exactly
doubling your recipe. I think you will find that the bitterness of the beer
actually undergoes a substantial increase, and that to preserve the reciupe
you'll have to cut back on the hops.
This being a non-linear effect I don't know a formula off hand. Perhaps George
doesa and can provide us one on his return. I first became aware of this
phenomena when attending a talk by Finn Knudsen of Coors who spoke at the AHA
National Conference several years ago on scaling up recipes from 5 gallon
test batches to a pilot brewery, to full production. The effect is deemed
brewing to scale, and I expect many a homebrewer turned proi has encountered
this.
All that said, the hopping rates quoted for Young's still seem truly low.
JaH
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 12:26:12 -0700
From: bsolmsted@ucdavis.edu (Bret Olmsted)
Subject: Used Kegs
Hi-
I am interested in finding suppliers of used kegs and there prices. I am
interested in putting together a list of suppliers and there prices and would
appreciate people who are satisfied with their kegs to send me a letter telling
me the place you bought it from and the price. Thanks in advance.
Bret Olmsted
bsolmsted@ucdavis.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 12:11:45 PDT
From: ithaca!amber!phoebe@uunet.UU.NET (Phoebe Couch)
Subject: Mash and Hops
First I'd like to thank everyone out there for all the advice on the net,
I didn't ask the questions but read the answers all the same.
Thought I will tell y'all about my setup, I recently started doing all grain,
and we have 2 setups:
1) Mash in the oven in a stainless pot
sparge in 2 plastic bucket with holes in bottom of the inner bucket and
spigot on outer bucket.
2) Mash in a 48 qt cooler with slotted copper pipes(15 ft) and faucet
fitted to it. (The leftover copper tubing (~30ft) became a 2 layer
wort chiller and it works fast too. )
sparge in same.
I don't know if we were too impetuous and checked too often, but setup2
can't seem to keep a constant temp and we ended to having to reheat the
grain a lot and ended up putting all the stuff in the oven.
But either way it came out good, the mashing process took about
6 hours the first time (cooler) because of all the hassles and 4 hours
the second time because it kept tasting sweeter everytime we checked on it.
IMpale ale was made with setup2 and was dry hopped with Saaz pellets(cos
I like the smell, but can't buy it freash)
The beer that came out was a lot clearer and smoother than extract
brewing. I will highly recommend all-grain brewing, we had a BBQ outside while
the enzymes were working, so that wait was no problem.
IMpale ale was very tasty, but the hop flavour seemed to have become stronger
as it developed in the bottle. It's like drinking malty flower juice.
Anyway I have a question about hops, I am growing cascades, williamette,
nugget and Mt Hood in the backyard, the cascade is the only one with what
ressembles flowers, but they are small bases with white spikes sticking out
and not leafy like the stuff you buy. I am worried that I may have been
sold a male plant instead of a female plant (if there is such a thing for Hops)
Does anyone out there know?
P.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 16:36:11 EDT
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas@med.umich.edu>
Subject: Brewpubs in Berzerkley (summary)
Such an inpouring of (conflicting) information! How will I ever
digest it all!? How will I ever go all those places in one short
afternoon!?
Lots of folks noted that the Golden Gate brewpub is gone. Several
strongly recommended that I take the extra hours (2 each way!) to
drive up to Hopland and visit the Mendocino Brewing Co. Seems
impractable for this trip, unless I can reschedule my flight several
hours earlier. Comments the pubs actually in Berkeley included:
Triple Rock:
You'll definitely want to visit [it].
First Berkeley Brewpub.
For sure!
Popular close-to-campus hangout, but beware: they make lousy beer.
Good, but staid... (same 3 house brews, no rotation)
Great place to hoist a few, especially in summer, when it's
not packed to the rafters with [students].
Great beer and a great ambience.
Bison Brewing:
Likes to experiment with herbs and flavorings ... espresso
stout last year... Postmodern building
Popular close-to-campus hangout, but beware: they make lousy beer.
Good, but artsy and experimental ...(sage pale ale)
Still exists, but I have never figured out why. ... sour and
unpleasant, though others like it.
I dunno what kind of people you like to hang out with, ...
maybe I should dye my hair black and look bored to fit in.
The beer was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad ... underhopped, sweet
and boring.
Thanks to all. Now I have to decide whether to try take extra time to
go up to Mendocino Brewing Co, or maybe try to visit Anchor (will they
take just one on a tour?)
=S
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 17:37:50 EDT
From: bob@rsi.com (Bob Gorman)
Subject: CAMRA & Beer Drinkers of America
Hi All,
I'm looking for North East based CAMRA type of organization.
Is anyone aware of a political organization primarily dedicated to
the promotion of beer?
This could either be an extension of CAMRA or another organization,
independent of any beer company.
I've recently become aware of The Beer Drinkers of America but I
know very little about them. I have a gut feeling that this may be
just an organization which is sponsored by BudMilLob but set up to
appear as a grass roots organization. Does anybody know anything
about them?
I ask all of these questions because there seems to a fair number
of people at least in the Boston area who are interested in the
politics of beer. I would like to find a way to get all of these
people united into some form of organization.
So rather than trying to start up one on my own I thought it might
be better to merge in with an existing organization, like CAMRA.
Does CAMRA have a North East affiliation?
Can somebody please enlighten me, or point me in the right
direction?
Direct email responses would be preferred.
Thanks!
- -- Bob Gorman bob@rsi.com Watertown MA US --
- -- Relational Semantics, Inc uunet!semantic!bob +1 617 926 0979 --
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 19:00:13 EDT
From: Dances with Workstations <buchman@marva1.ENET.dec.com>
Subject: Long time in the primary
Greetings, fellow HBD'ers,
A friend of mine, who is a former brewer, has an interesting
question which he asked me to pass on to someone who knows about
home brewing:
>From: park@h2sun5.sph.jhu.edu "L. Park" 30-JUN-1992 14:37:28.07
>To: buchman@marva1.enet.dec.com
>
> Hi Jim -
> I have been inspired to resume the fine art of brewing.
>I have a quick question. I have a batch of beer which is
>about 5 years old and still in a sealed primary fermentor.
>I recently bottled a small sample of this brew with little
>expectation of any live yeast. To my surprize, the stuff
>is well carbonated. The flavor is about what I expected,
>except that there is a bit of an edge of a funny flavor
>present. My concern is that it is some alcohol congener,
>perhaps propanol, or worse, methanol. Have you ever heard
>of beer being kept so long? Or are you aware of the ability
>of yeast to produce alcohols besides the friendly ethanol?
>
> I have considered trying to get some of this information,
>but I am not sure where to try. Is there a beer brewing
>group out on the net? If so, have you ever consulted any
>of the information out there? I look forward to hearing
>from you. Thanks.
>
> Larry
I'm giving him information on joining the digest, so expect a new
Baltimore area subscriber soon.
As to his problem, my feeling is that he is probably okay. I'm not sure,
but I think the beer he is talking about is a porter. It would be
intriguing to see what this brew tasted like after a five year primary,
if it were safe.
On the one hand,
- alcohol acts as a preservative;
- wines are commonly aged for years or decades;
- Thomas Hardy ale is often aged for years, in the bottle; and
- I've talked with other subscribers who regularly age their stouts
for 18 months or more.
On the other hand,
- this is in the carboy, not the bottle, and
- it has been sitting in Larry's basement, but almost certainly has
been subjected to fluctuating temperatures during that period.
- it has had lots of opportunity to get infected.
- my father's golden rule of spoiled seafood survival is "When in doubt,
throw it out".
So what would you recommend? Is it possible that other, nastier alcohols
have been produced during this time? Or should he bottle and drink it
with careless abandon if it shows no obvious signs of infection?
Thanks!
Jim Buchman
buchman@marva1.enet.dec.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 22:31 EST
From: STAFINIAK@hermes.psycha.upenn.edu
Subject: BEER ACROSS AMERICA
THERE HAS BEEN MENTION IN THE PAST OF A COMPANY THAT DELIVERS MONTHLY MI
MICORBREWS - A BREW OF THE MONTH CLUB OF SORTS. i BELIEVE IT WAS CALLED BEER
ACROSS AMERICA. CAN SOMEONE PROVIDE ME WITH AN ADDRESS/PHONE NUMBER? THANKS IN
ADVANCE.
PAUL
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 92 20:16 CDT
From: akcs.chrisc@vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli)
Subject: Ladybugs
Ladybugs are ruthless when it comes to consuming aphids. Ladybugs
also prey upon a host of other pest insects as well. There are quite a
number of mail order businesses that deal in ladybugs. They are sold
(usually) by the 1/2 pint, pint and quart. 1/2 pints are around $11 and
full pints around $15. Some businesses go the extra mile and ship the
bugs with a piece of dry ice to slow the bugs metabolism and to help
prevent mortalities. These businesses advertise in the back pages of
most gardening magazines. Check your library's magazine rack if you
like. If anyone has trouble finding sources for ladybugs, send me
private email and I will dig up some catalogs for the info.
The only complaint about ladybugs is that most if not all eventually
fly away. It has to do with mating and such. Your money literally flies
away. Its kinda neat to watch. If there is food present for the
ladybug, alot will hang around until the food (aphids, weevils, red
spiders and the like) source is depleted.
A way to trick the ladybug into not immediately flying away is to
give the insect a splash of 7-UP just prior to placing the bug on the
plant. The water in the soda wets their wings, thus grounding the insect
until the wings dry out. The mentality is ". . . can't fly so I might as
well eat someting. . .". The reason for 7-UP and not water is because
after the water evaporates, the sticky sugar thats left behind will
further make the ladybugs wings inoperative. The sugar eventually will
disappear and the ladybug will regain flight but hopefully by that time
your aphids are history. This method of using 7-UP is not harmful to the
ladybug. I seem to remember that California has organic farming laws or
regulations or someting like that which also specifies this method.
chris campanelli
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #914, 07/01/92
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