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HOMEBREW Digest #1128
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 93/04/27 00:28:41
HOMEBREW Digest #1128 Tue 27 April 1993
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Foam and kegging problem (Paul Andrews)
Clockwise? (thutt)
Fascination with Stainless ("Roger Deschner ")
Wet T-shirts (Jack Schmidling)
RE: 5 litre kegs and N2O (Kari Nikkanen, design engineer)
Easy Yeast Culturing 2 (Troy Howard)
Easy Yeast Culturing (Troy Howard)
Wort Cooling (William Shirley)
hops direction (Russ Gelinas)
Westchester, NY homebrew club meeting (CW06GST)
coupla questions (Jim Sims)
Competitions and Dry Yeast (George J Fix)
RE: Wyeast 1214, Parallel immersion chillers (James Dipalma)
Re: Hops (davidr)
Carboy Drain/Fill (roberts735)
Steel Kettles (Jack Schmidling)
petri dishes (Leo Woessner)
Need info on how to bottle Single Malt Scotch (Dimitri_Katsaros.Wbst139)
Whitbread History (George J Fix)
Best British Beers (Markham R. Elliott)
Clockwise Hop Growth (ulrich)
University of Rhode Island course (URI course 26-Apr-1993 1001 -0400)
soda keg prices (Soda Kegs 26-Apr-1993 0959 -0400)
Wooden trellis for hops? (emeeks)
old style beer (not the bra ("Daniel F McConnell")
Culturing Chimay (/O=vmspfhou/S=dblewis/DD.SITE=JSCPROFS/)
Soda adjuncts (/O=vmspfhou/S=dblewis/DD.SITE=JSCPROFS/)
Chimay culturing question (Guy Derose)
SUMMER MUST BE COMMING, QUESTION ON O2 (SMUCKER)
hop growth direction (Lee Menegoni)
Premier Malt Extract (hopz)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 07:17:43 -0400
From: Paul Andrews <PANDREWS@hpb.hwc.ca>
Subject: Foam and kegging problem
hi,
I finally got a good price on a 50L keg equipped with gauges and tubing and a
16 Lb CO2 tank...Ok.great I thought. but being a bit naive about this I
just forged ahead. I brewed up 23 L of my favourite pilsner to try it out.
I racked it over to a secondary , clarified and siphoned into the keg after
about 18 days. I pressurized to 50psi (at room temp).. let sit overnight..
(it went down to about 30 psi) after 16-18hours. I decided to see what it
tasted/looked like the next day. Ugh.. most foam and very little carbonation.
Ok.. I dropped the pressure to about 10 psi.. and kept this head pressure with
the CO2.. same thing.. hmm.. maybe chill it.. Dropped the tank in my laundry tub
and filled it with ice.:result not much better.. ALthough drinkable, There
was a GREAT deal of foam.. and little carbonation. (very small bubble).
Well I persevered and just filled pitchers with it.. drank it that way.
Ok. I'm checking with some friends who have more experience to see what I
did wrong. but I appreciate any comments from experienced keggers.
The keg is 50L stainless with 1/4" copper tubbing dip tube and 1/4"
"tapping tube, both silver soldered into a stainless steel plug in the top of
the keg.
Any help.. or tell me what I did wrong?. I'm dying to have my first keg party.
Paul Andrews: Health and Welfare Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
pandrews@hpb.hwc.ca
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 08:48:03 EST
From: thutt <thutt@MAIL.CASI.NASA.GOV>
Subject: Clockwise?
> mdcsc!gdh@uunet.UU.NET (Garrett Hildebrand) noted the following:
>
> I am growing three kinds of hops in my Southern California backyard,
> and they are all doing the same thing: climbing the stake *clockwise*.
Must be the coriolis effect! :-)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 11:07:41 CDT
From: "Roger Deschner " <U52983@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Fascination with Stainless
Either stainless steel or enameled steel can be used satisfactorily for
brewing. Aluminum is the big no-no.
The reason for prefering stainless is simple durability. If you ding an
enameled pot, the enamel chips off, and if that happens on the inside,
the required thorough cleaning becomes impossible. Enameled steel also
weighs quite a bit more than stainless, adding to the already
considerable weight of five gallons of (hot) wort.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 12:02 CDT
From: arf@genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Wet T-shirts
Date: Thu, 22 Apr 93 10:56:40 -0400
From: bradley@adx.adelphi.edu (Rob Bradley)
Subject: End of the season looming
> Has anybody had any REAL success brewing quality ale using the "wet
t-shirt" method when the ambient is above 80F?
My guess is that this would word about as well as an evaporation type air
conditioner on Long Island. Seen any lately?
For this to work at all, requires very low humidity ala Arizona.
BTW, nice to see you survived your experience with the World's Greatest Beer.
Make that second greatest... a red ribbon sure is humbling.
>Any other recommendations? Any thoughts as to whether the HBD is
a suitable forum to post a "personal ad" sseking a brewing partner?
Sounds more like you need a drinking partner.
js
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1993 17:52:11 +0400 (EET-DST)
From: NIKKANEN@ntcclu.ntc.nokia.com (Kari Nikkanen, design engineer)
Subject: RE: 5 litre kegs and N2O
in HBD1126 Steve wrote:
>I recently purchaced a tap for 5 litre cans operated by those little
>N2O cannisters you can use to make whipped cream (among other uses).
So you are using N2O instead of C02? Do you get
better (smoother) head in your beers than with
C02? I think I'll start kegging my beer too, and
I just thought some time ago, that if Guinness
uses N20, why shouldn't I. Does anyone else
have any opinions?
Kippis!/ Kari
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 93 10:47:30 PDT
From: troy@scubed.scubed.com (Troy Howard)
Subject: Easy Yeast Culturing 2
I wanted to follow up the compilation of responses to Easy Yeast Culturing
with my own experience.
I followed Rick's method with my latest batch, a dopplebock. I made the
1/2 gallon "mother" starter, and bottled 5 12 oz bottles. Stored them in the
fridge for three days. Next, I took one out, let it warm to room temp, then
pitched it into about a pint of 1.020-1.030 wort. This I used as starter for
my brew. I let this starter ferment for a couple of days. On brewing day
I poured off some of the "beer" sitting atop the yeast cake in the starter
(tasted ok, seemed to have high levels of diacytl), swirled the remaining
beer to stir up the yeast, and pitched into the wort.
12 hours later I had a FABULOUS krausen going. One of the fastest starts I
have ever seen. Fermentation looked like it was almost done in about 36
hours.
I have not tasted it yet, but so far I am quite impressed. I am bottling
this weekend, so I'll taste it then.
Just wanted to post a data point that this method does indeed result in
viable yeast (one of my fears as I started). I will post more data as
I collect it. So far, though, so good.
Troy
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 93 10:32:45 PDT
From: troy@scubed.scubed.com (Troy Howard)
Subject: Easy Yeast Culturing
Greetings all,
I have recently been inundated with email requests to forward summaries
of the responses I received from my questions on Easy Yeast Management.
Since there has been so much interest, I thought I would post a
compilation of responses.
Enjoy,
Troy
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
First, thanks to Rick (R.) Cavasin who posted the article which started
the discussion. Here is (briefly) his idea:
>Step 1:
>Prepare some starter wort (S.G. = 1.020), see Miller's book for
>recipe. Basically, you need about 1/2 gallon, but if you make
>more and can it in mason jars (using standard canning procedures),
>you will not have to prepare more at a later date.
>
>Step 2:
>Place 1/2 gallon or so of starter wort in a suitable container
>(1 gallon glass jug), pitch (inflated) Wyeast package at correct temp.
>and fit air lock. This is the 'master' starter.
>
>Step 3:
>Allow to ferment to completion. When fermentation has ceased,
>agitate the 'beer' to suspend all sendiment, and very carefully
>bottle it.
>
>You will now have about 6 bottles of very thin beer with a good
>deal of viable yeast sediment in each bottle. Use each bottle
>as you would use a package of Wyeast - ie. prepare a starter
>culture a couple days before brewing. This is facilitated by
>canning wort when you prepare the master starter. All you need to
>in that case is pop open a mason jar of wort, dump it into a
>sanitized bottle/jug of appropriate size, pop open one of your
>bottle cultures, add it, agitate vigorously, and fit an air lock.
>
- ------------------------------
Next, Daniel F McConnell <Daniel.F.McConnell@med.umich.edu> writes:
>I used to use a similar method-I would simply bottle 4 -6 bottles from a batch
>and keg the rest. Your method would yield even greater yeast cell counts and
>better, faster starts. I would purchase 2-3 Wyeast packages per year, usually
>an ale, a lager plus one that I had not yet tried, thus would have sufficient
>cultures for more than 15 batches. I'm the kind of person that is rather
>faithful to my yeast-I would stick to one ale (1098) and one lager (2206), get
>to know them and understand when the fermentatuion has run into trouble. I
>have carried some strains through a second generation with this method and had
>no problems.
>
>I have since gone to other methods (top cropping, slants etc.-no longer with
>Wyeast BTW), this method was not abandoned due to problems.
>
>Potential problems: 1) You must be extremely careful about sanitation. That is
>why I would bottle beer, not starter wort-you can taste any off flavors. 2)
>keep the starter gravity low (<1.050) to prevent mutation. 3) keep them cold
>once they have carbonated. 4) hop your starter but not so much to mask any off
>flavors. 5) did I mention sanitation?
>
Are there draw backs (like problems with autolysis, or the yeast just dying)?
>In the cold autolysis will be present but is not a problem. Your Wyeast is
>autolysing too in the cold!!
Rick mentions he has had bottled yeast last 6 months. Will they last longer?
>I always purchased new cultures each season so I dont know about lifespan. This
>insures success.
Are those 6 mo. old yeast just as good as those from a new Wyeast packet?
>Probably better. Good luck
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Then, Dennis B. Lewis <InterNet:dblewis@jscprofs.nasa.gov> adds:
> About yeast stretching: Sure, you can do that and it makes perfect sense. Make
> damn sure the stuff is completely fermented out or you'll get glass grenades.
> About four days before brewing, take out your starter, pour off the beer on
> top, pour in about 6 oz. of fresh, heavily-hopped wort (1.040 check Papazian
> on this. He gives good directions on how to bottle wort for later use in
> culturing.) Make sure you flame the mouths of the bottles before transfering.
>
> Attach an airlock to the bottle and let the yeast reactivate. After about 2.5
> days, pour off the top liquid (if it has started to clear again) and pour in
> some more wort. Then about 6 hours prior to pitching, do the same thing. If
> you care to do this much screwing around with your yeast, you will get
> tremendous starts and almost no lag time. I just did this with some Whitbread
> (Wyeast 1098) that I cultured from a bottle of ale that I had. It was glubbing
> like crazy 7 hours later.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------
And finally, "William A Kitch" <kitchwa@bongo.cc.utexas.edu> suggests:
> I've recently moved away from dried yeast and like you didn't want to pay
>$3.50 a shot for liquid yeast cultures. For what it's worth here's my
>experience.
>
> I didn't know a yeast from a slug before I started and have been brewing
>great beer from my own cultures for six months. So my rule #1) anybody
>can keep good yeast cultures if their careful and can think. I highly
>recommend getting the "Beers & Yeast" special issue of Zymurgy. It has
>a bunch of good and easily understood articles on everything from how
>to get a culture from bottle conditioned beer to how to maintain culture
>stocks.
> Having read the Zymurgy yeast issue, some HBD threads on the subject, and
>talked to other homebrewers this is what I have found to work for me.
>
>I don't brew with the same yeast often enough to keep starter bottles as
>your post talked about. Instead I keep pure yeast cultures on slants (test
>tubes 1/2 full of geletinized wort) and plates (petri dishes of geletinized
>wort). These are pretty easy to make; refer to the Zymurgy issue or mail
>me back for more info.
>
>Every so often when I brew I steal some of the wort and make up some
>mason jars of sterile wort. I use two sizes: pint jars w/ 1/2 cup of wort
>and quart jars w/ 2 cups of wort. The wort should be about 1.020 sg but
>I don't worry too much about it (just take some of whatever you're brewing
>and dilute it down). I process the jars just like any other canning
>operation. I don't have a pressure cooker so I just use a boiling water
>bath.
>
>Three days before brewing I take one of the pint jars of sterile wort and
>sterilize around the top with grain alcohol (Everclear), and flame it. I
>then take an innoculating loop (a small wire looped at the end) flame it and
>pick one colony of yeast off of a plate I made previously. I swirl the loop
>in the mason jar, set the lid back on and shake it to aerate the wort. Then
>I set the jar aside and let the yeast work. I don't bother with an airlock,
>the lid just sits on top. It will take about two days for this starter to
>work up to high krausen. When it's good and frothy I pitch the whole
>contents into one of the large mason jars of sterile wort. Again sterilize
>the tops of both jars and aerate the wort. This large starter batch will be
>ready to pitch in your primary the next day so get ready to brew.
>
>When I pitch my large jar of starter into my primary I get vigorous
>fermentation overnight (probably in 4 hours but I haven't stayed up to find
>out). I've been very happy with this method. I have on hand three ale
>yeasts and one lager yeast only one of which I had to buy. The others I
>cultured from bottle conditioned commerical beers of got from friends.
>It's really easy to do and gives you something to do inbetween batches.
>
>Read the Zymurgy issue and then mail back any questions, or post them if
>they're of a general nature.
- ---------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 93 17:16:32 EDT
From: William Shirley <william@chemres.tn.cornell.edu>
Subject: Wort Cooling
Why wouldn't it be possible to boil the wort down to a smaller
quantity and then add a gallon of ice? The ice can be made a
day in advance by putting boiled water in a sterilized refillable
gallon container from a super market.
As for the optimum design for an immersion cooler: usually good
ideas can be obtained by looking at designs which have withstood
the test of time. In this case the car radiator seems go be a
good model. If it were possible to obtain one without lead
sodder then it might work well...
William Shirley
ws15@cornell.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 10:09:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: R_GELINAS@UNHH.UNH.EDU (Russ Gelinas)
Subject: hops direction
Just so it's clear that we agree, yes, hops will climb "clockwise
*looking down*". The Hops Primer states it as "counter-clockwise *looking
up*". The reason for that orientation is that "up" is the direction of
growth, ie. imagine that you're a hops plant....
Russ G.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 11:35:18 EST
From: CW06GST <CW06GST@SJUMUSIC.STJOHNS.EDU>
Subject: Westchester, NY homebrew club meeting
To all Homebrewers in Westchester, NY:
There will be a meeting of the Wort Ever Ales You homebrew club at my
house, 219 Central Ave, Rye NY, on Tuesday April 27, at 7:30 pm. All
those who wish to attend can contact me for directions at (914) 337-5897
at my office, and at (914) 921-4081 at my home in the evenings.
If you can not attend, but would be interested in joining the club,
please contact Andrew Schmidt at (914) 238-4549 for more information.
We are a fairly new club that has been started in the last year. We
have about 20 members from all over Westchester Co. The membership
includes some very experienced brewers, a certified beer judge, as well
as quite a few beginners. All are welcome to join.
Also, Saturday, May 1, is National Homebrew Day, and our club will
be participating in a homebrew demonstration, as well as other brew
activities, at Mannion's Tavern, 640 Mc Lean Ave in Yonkers at about
1:30 pm until about 6:00. This event is open to the general public
in order to promote homebrew awareness. Mannion's phone # is
(914) 476-2786.
Mannion's has a large selection of bottled beer from around the world,
as well as a tasty menu. Come one, come all, admission is free. Bring
the kids. I hope to see you there.
Thanks,
Erik Zenhausern
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 10:58:07 EDT
From: sims@pdesds1.atg.trc.scra.org (Jim Sims)
Subject: coupla questions
Being new to homebrewing (since January, ~ 7 batches), I have a
coupla questions:
(1) I've noticed that several of the bartches dont have much head.
I've seen the comments about spotlessly clean glassware, etc. I seem
to notice a trend I'd like comments on: The batches i've done that
had brewers sugar (or honey) seem to have a good head, the no-sugar
batches seem to lack a good head. Anyone else observed this? Ideas
why?
(2) Where can I get some hop plants?
(3) Can someone email me (or send me the ftp location for) the yeast
culturing notes that were (apparently) posted here not too long back?
Please email me directly, I'll summarize to the list in a few days to
conserve bandwidth.
THANKS!
jim
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 92 09:39:40 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Competitions and Dry Yeast
I have been entering a lot of competitions primarily with high
gravity amber and dark lagers. The objective has been to get a measure
of the new Belgian malts. A summary of our findings plus a general
analysis of these malts can be found in an article I wrote for the first
issue of Brewing Techniques. This issue should appear at the beginning
of May. Our own cultured lager yeast was used for all these brews.
I have also made full scale brews with the dry yeast that was sent to us
from Crosby and Baker, and these were also entered in sactioned competitions.
In each case, the following "German Wheat Ale" was used:
Vol. = 50 liters
Grain Bill - 7.5 kg. D-C pale ale malt, 2.5 kg. D-C wheat malt
(SG = 1.048)
60 grams Hallentau leaf hops, 60 grams Tettnang leaf hops
(IBU = 26 mg/l)
This is a mild flavored beer, and was chosen for that reason. Any defects
in the yeast used would stick out like a sore thumb in this one. The Belgian
grains were used to remove malt quality as a issue.
Beer using the Mauri yeast from Australia that was sent to me by C+B was
entered in the 3rd Annual March Mashfest in Ft. Collins, Co. The judges were
Skip Madsen and John Landreman. Both are in the "recognized judge" category.
One gave a score of 41 and the other 39. The beer took first place in the
its category. I would be willing to bet that this beer was eliminated early
on in the BOS judging. This strain IMHO is not capable of producing beers
that can compete at that level. Our analysis and the Ft. Collins results
show that this yeast can nevertheless make creditable beer.
Beer made from the new Whitbread strain was entered in the March Pittsburgh
competition, the Bluebonnet, and the recent competition in Chicago. The judges
in the Pittsburgh competition were Cliff Beringer (certified) and Jim Desmond
(apprentice). They gave the Wheat Ale scores of 36 and 37, respectively. It won
a second in this event. The same was true for the Bluebonnet, except the score
sheets have not as yet been sent out. Jim Busch and a few others on this
network also won ribbons. Presumably these and the score sheets will be sent
out soon. I also entered a Brown Ale which took 1st place. This one was
fermented with a cultured yeast (BRY-204, a Belgian ale yeast from Siebel).
I have not seen the official results from Chicago. Al, when will we get this?
I personally prefer the Mauri strain to the new Whitbread, and indeed the
old Whitbread to the new version. The latter can, however, make creditable
beer. Copies of all the relevant score sheets will be sent to C+B where
they will be kept on file with our analytical results.
None of this refutes Mr. O'Connor's assertion that my yeast evalation procedures
are invalid. They are rather simple, but then I am a simple homebrewer and
never claimed to be anything else. Given Mr. O'Conner's depth of understanding
of yeast and related matters I would love to taste some beer he has brewed.
For reasons I do not understand, he has chosen not to participate in Texas
events like the Bluebonnent and Dixie Cup. I have been told that he has
sent samples of his beer to Chicago. They apparently called it "O'Conner's
O-Ring Beer". Does anyone know anything about this?
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 09:49:06 EDT
From: dipalma@banshee.sw.stratus.com (James Dipalma)
Subject: RE: Wyeast 1214, Parallel immersion chillers
Hi All,
In HBD#1126, Rob Bradley writes:
>Has anybody had any REAL success brewing
>quality ale using the "wet t-shirt" method when the ambient is above
>80F?
I've used this technique several times, it does work well. I do
have a basement, but it still gets to 75F-78F during the dog days of
July and August. In addition to putting the carboy in a basin of water
and covering it with a wet towel, I use a small computer fan to
circulate the air around the carboys. This keeps the evaporation rate
high enough to cool the carboys the 6-8 degrees or so necessary for
ale fermentation. The fan itself draws very little current, so it doesn't
cost much to run it 24 hours a day, even at the larcenous rates that
Public Screwing, er, I mean, Service of New Hampshire charges.
I've also been successful brewing dunkelweizens in warm weather using
Wyeast 3506 Bavarian wheat yeast. The warmer fermentation temperatures
seem to help this yeast produce more of the clove phenolic that's
desirable in a weizen.
>my
>major regret is that so many good bottles of beer aged past their
>prime. I don't drink fast enough!!! I don't want to increase my
>alcohol consumption. Brewing a 3-gallon batch is just as much work
>as a 5-gallon batch. If I brewed less frequently, I would suffer
>from decreased variety. Perhaps the answer is to get find a brewing
>partner, so that I get only a case or so from each brew and cut the
>work down accordingly.
>Any other recommendations?
Sure, throw a party! I have the same problem, as much as I enjoy
drinking homebrew, I enjoy brewing it even more. On those occasions when
I've developed a backlog of several cases, my friends have been more
than happy to relieve me of the excess :-).
***************************************************************
Also in HBD# 1126, Al Korz writes:
>But seriously, I've got a 50-foot, 1/4" OD immersion chiller (about
>1/4 of which is not even in the wort on a 5 gallon batch) and it
>cools my boiling wort to 70F in about 15 minutes. All this math
>and physics may indeed give me a chiller that is 20% more efficient,
>but all that means is that it will cut my 15 minutes down to 12 minutes.
>Is it really worth it? Let's not lose touch with reality, eh?
I built my immersion chiller from 50' of 3/8" OD copper, and like
Al's, about 1/3 of it is not even submerged in a 5 gallon batch. It too
will cool my wort from boiling to under 70F in 15 minutes. While this has
been a fascinating thread, with all of the discussion of heat transfer
and convection currents, I confess to being totally unscientific in
the construction of my chiller.
The copper came in a 50 foot coil, I was too lazy to cut it. I just
sat down with a pin lock keg, and started wrapping coils. I left a few
feet on either end for the inlet/outlet, and wrapped some bare 14 gauge
copper wire vertically between the coils to give it some structural
strength. I did the whole thing in about 30 minutes, it works great, and
never once solved a heat transfer equation.
Cheers,
Jim
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 10:57:51 PDT
From: davidr@ursula.ee.pdx.edu
Subject: Re: Hops
Bravo! Nice info on the Hops report, Alan. I'm more of a
gardener than a private brew master, so this was of great
interest to me.
I would like to make a small clarification.
- The garden is along my North fence, for maximum sun.
Alan doesn't state which side of the North fence. This
information of course, is dependant on what part of the world you
live on. For most, if not all of the US, the "Southern Exposure"
is what you are striving for. The side of a fence or house is
nice because it stores and reflects heat/light for sun loving
plants.
-David Robinson
davidr@ee.pdx.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 93 12:26:03 EDT
From: roberts735@aol.com
Subject: Carboy Drain/Fill
Not only will the carboy drain faster with the Rack hose venting air, it will
also fill faster if you are dunking it in a large container, as I do. I use
a very large cooler to hold by sterilizing water/chlorine mix, and put the
entire carboy in there, with a hose in it. It fills very quickly, whithout
the bubbles and splashes too.
Bob Stovall
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 12:05 CDT
From: arf@genesis.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Steel Kettles
>From: Keith A. MacNeal<macneal@pate.enet.dec.com>
>Subject: Wort Pots
>What is this fascination for using stainless steel pots to boil wort in?
It seems obvious to me that the way to save about $100 on a boiling pot is
to pick up a brand new enamled steel canning pot. I've seen them for around
$30.
Let me take a guess. Your responses will run ten to one about the evils of
chipping and how rust and iron will permate your beer and make it
undrinkable.
You will also get a few remarks about how the handles break off at the most
inconvenient times.
I used one for years for everything from fish boils and maple syrup to beer
making and although it was chipped in a number of places including a hole in
the lid that actually rusted through, it worked just fine. Scrubbing off any
rust before use seems to be all that is necessary and if you take care of it,
there is no reason is should chip. I was very rough on the pot and deserved
every chip it got.
I have never had a problem with the handles on my fossilized kettle but the
new ones do creak and crackle when flexed. I would, under no circumstance,
trust them with a full kettle of boiling liquid but they can easily be lifted
by the outside lip with potholders or gloves.
My first easymasher was installed in such a pot along with a false bottom.
The false bottom has been abandoned as a dinosaur and the easymasher is now a
commercial product.
There are several issues that seem to be limiting the universal acceptance of
the em and the most significant seems to be the cost of a large pot and the
fact that most people are unaware of the existance of the 33 qt
enamel-on-steel canning kettle.
There also seems to be a very powerful reluctance to drill a hole in a nice
new kettle. I am not sure what drives this paranoia but to buy a kettle for
the sole purpose of brewing beer and not go the additional step for the
ultimate in convenience seems a bit strange.
Finally, a product does not seem to exist until Zymurgy does a review of it.
Well, one thing led to another and I am now offering the EASYMASHER kit
installed in the 33 qt canning kettle, ready to mash, sparge and ferment.
Yes, in spite of all the momilies, they make great primary fermenters IF kept
in good condition.
email for details.
If you have received the Kettlemashing article, just ask for POT info.
js
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 13:59:18 EST
From: woessner@psych.purdue.edu (Leo Woessner)
Subject: petri dishes
I am trying to find a source of glass petri dishes to use for yeast
culturing. Every place I have found that carries them has either will not sell
to a individual, or has a large minimum order ($75). I want to find somewhere
I can order as few as say 5 or 6 petri dishes. I am also interested in locating
possible sources of yeast slants which contain yeast which is hard to find. Is
there a mail order place(s) which specialize in yeast culturing??
Thanks in advance,
Leo WOessner
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1993 12:29:49 PDT
From: Dimitri_Katsaros.Wbst139@xerox.com
Subject: Need info on how to bottle Single Malt Scotch
Hi all
My father had some barrels in Scotland and then had them shipped here...
They are 5 single malt scotches with different alcohol contents and different
darknesses. First, what is the _legal_ way of bottling this stuff and second
what goes into doing this methodically... are filters involved? is blending
necessary or even desireable? This is (I think) 18 years old.... give or take a
few years, so I don't want to screw this up :-)
Any advice is highly appreciated
Dimitri Katsaros
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 92 17:30:27 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Whitbread History
Apparently-To: homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
Here is the recent Whitbread history as I understand it. The original
3 strain culture was produced at an old yeast plant, operated under
license by Whitbread. It was distributed in the US to HB shops and
micros by Siebel. This plant was shut down ~2 years ago as a part
of Whitbread's company wide modernization program. Siebel then had the
yeast sent to another plant in Canada to temporarily produce it there until
Whitbread's new yeast plant went into production. This is where is wild yeast
infection occurred. It caused quite a scandal in California and Canada, the
regions that apparently got the bulk of the bad yeast. Siebel promptly
dropped distribution of this yeast. A short time later Crosby+Baker contracted
with Whitbread to have some more production runs done at the old plant,
and started distributing it.
Both versions of Whitbread can be found in homebrew shops, at least this
is the case in the Southwest. The C+B version comes in a 14 gram packet,
while the other version comes in a 12 gram packet. I have tested both,
and the samples were quite acceptable as far as lactics and super-attenuators
are concerned. The yeast in the 12 gram packets are now very old, and
its viability was unacceptable in 2 of the 3 samples tested.
In general, the detection of wild yeast is extremely subtle, however the
detection of super-attenuators is a piece of cake. One need only inoculate
a sample of the yeast in a sterile dextrin extract and measure metabolic
activity. As I mentioned in a previous post, the yeast was also checked
with Rodney Morris' incremental actidione test. I have found this procedure
to be very useful in my own personal brewing. If there is anyone out there
who actually brews beer and who has evidence to the contrary, then I would
be glad to exchange both beer and data.
The situation may become more complicated in the next few months. The
Whitbread yeast that was sent to me from a test batch at their new
plant appears to be quite different from the old mixed culture. First,
I believe it is a pure single strain yeast. Secondly, it tends to give
a soft, slightly woody flavor not unlike Wyeast's London Ale
strain. It is a far cry from the crisp and snappy tartness produced
by the old mixed culture. It, like Wyeast's London Ale yeast, is
exceptionally clean and has >90% viability. Feedback on the new strain
would be welcome by me when it becomes available. The hope is that
it can serve as a beginner's version of the London Ale strain.
George Fix
Take care.
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 20:22:35 GMT
From: u4imdmre@cpc41.cpc.usace.army.mil (Markham R. Elliott)
Subject: Best British Beers
Fellow Brewers,
Thought I would share with you the contents of an article from the May issue
of _Bon Appetit_. The article is the "Tasting Panel Report", and for May,
they pick ..."the 10 best British brews available stateside."...
Listed in alphabetical order, with *their* comments:
Bass Pale Ale, England ($1.50/12 Oz). This world-renowned brew is clean and
bright, with a light color and lively, malty, well-balanced flavors.
MacAndrew's Scotch Ale, Caledonian Brewery, Scotland ($3.00/17 Oz). A smoky,
spicy ale that is marketed with a lovable Airedale on the label, and the
slogan "Man's Best Friend." We can't decide whether this refers to the dog
of the ale.
McEwan's Scotch Ale, Scotland ($1.50/12 Oz). Anthony Dias Blue describes this
dark ale as "dense, sweet and rich, with hints of molasses and fruit."
Newcastle Brown Ale, England ($1.30/12 Oz). It isn't really so brown, but
this ale does have nice flavors of spice and malt, with a crisp, fresh finish.
Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale, England ($2.50/Pint). A fine Yorkshire product
that's smokey, toasty, lively and loaded with flavor.
Theakston Old Peculier Yorkshire Ale, England ($1.50/12 Oz). This brew with
the peculiar spelling of _peculiar_ is lush and toasty, with a great finish.
Thomas Hardy's Ale, Eldridge, Pope & Co., Dorset, England ($3.00/6.33 Oz).
Named for Dorset's most famous writer, this ale, bottled with its natural
yeast, will improve with age. Dark and complex, with Porter-like qualities.
Traquair House Ale, Scotland ($5.00/12 Oz). Yes, it's expensive, but Traquair
was tops with us. It's made on the estate of a historic Scottish manor house
that was once occupied by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Angela Freire of _Wine and
Spirits_ magazine finds Traquair "earthy and hoppy".
Welsh Ale, Felinfoel Brewery, Wales ($2.50/Pint). This brew was a favorite
of the poet Dylan Thomas. It is loaded with attractive spice and is "full and
thick with a nice bitter finish," according to one panelist.
Whitbred Traditional Pale Ale, England ($1.00/12 Oz). Bright, with fresh,
snappy flavors. "Fine balance and structure," says panel member. Cirilo
Octaviano.
*Listed prices are approximate and may vary from one state to another.*
Gosh, not too descriptive. By no means am I a qualified judge, but it sounds
to me like the panel doesn't get around to judging beer too often, or at least
they don't use the same language in describing things like you certified folks
out there in HBD land do.
Wish they would have ranked them.
Noch einmal, bitte!! Mark
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Markham R. Elliott u4imdmre@cpc41.cpc.usace.army.mil
Information Technology Laboratory (601) 634-2921
Waterways Experiment Station
Vicksburg, Mississippi USA
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 13:33:04 -0800
From: ulrich@sfu.ca
Subject: Clockwise Hop Growth
Garrett Hildebrand writes:
> I am growing three kinds of hops in my Southern California backyard,
> and they are all doing the same thing: climbing the stake *clockwise*.
Assuming you live in the northern hemisphere, the sun also travels around
the stake clockwise (clockwisdom being a holdover from sundials). Could
there be a connection? Are the plants following the sunlight?
Or maybe it's the Coriolus effect. :-)
Charles Ulrich
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 07:02:22 PDT
From: URI course 26-Apr-1993 1001 -0400 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: University of Rhode Island course
Any homebrew digest folks attend a class related to brewing at URI this
past friday?
Curious,
JC
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 07:01:31 PDT
From: Soda Kegs 26-Apr-1993 0959 -0400 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: soda keg prices
BCI in the state of Tennessee, sells 3gal soda kegs for $36.50 and 5gal soda
kegs for $26.50. These are reconditioned and quite clean. I just ordered
a kegging system from them for about $140-, including shipping (I got the
3gal keg too). I have yet to put beer in the keg, yet!
JC
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 16:56:34 EDT
From: emeeks@tx.ncsu.edu
Subject: Wooden trellis for hops?
Greetings--
I have persuaded a friend to let me grow some hops in his yard. To be
specific, it is on the side of his house. I planned to use twine to
make a trellis, but my friend's wife decided a wooden lattice-type
trellis would look better. It seems to me that a wooden trellis, while
more aesthetically pleasing, would get in the way during the harvest.
I'd like to know if a wooden trellis would be worthwhile. Anyone out
there have one in use?
Thanks!
- --Ed
------------------------------
Date: 26 Apr 1993 16:51:16 -0500
From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell@med.umich.edu>
Subject: old style beer (not the bra
Subject: Time:4:48 PM
OFFICE MEMO old style beer (not the brand) Date:4/26/93
Hi All:
Last year some of our club members and members of another club got together for
several weekends and brewed beer (imagine that) at an outdoor Renaissance Fair.
These beers were brewed with a three tier gravity/stainless steel keg/propane
burner system. There were many interested potential homebrewers and the events
were a great success. The beer was good as well. This year there are plans to
repeat the performance. All this got me thinking....why not take a giant leap
backwards in technology?
Stainless is great at home, but primitive might be fun as well. I envision not
a ss mash tun, but one made from half of an oak barrel, a large pot (cauldron)
boiled over an open fire. A single infusion mash using a procedure in which
the grain is doughed in at ambient water temperatures and boiling (or hot)
water added to reach mash strike. Draining to the boiler the first runnings
and a second mash possibly with no sparge.
Well, I am in the process of building such a beast out of a 55 gal used whiskey
barrel, at least as a proof of concept. Noonan's Scotch ale gives guidelines
for old style brewing ie. second mashing so I have something to start with. I
suppose decoctions are not out of the question either.
Has anyone tried something similar to this that can offer some guidelines? Can
you think of a better mash tun or boiler? I'm not sure how to cool this stuff
without entering the 20th century.
DanMcC
.....oh no, think'in again
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 93 13:23 PDT
From: /O=vmspfhou/S=dblewis/DD.SITE=JSCPROFS/@NASAmail.nasa.gov
Subject: Culturing Chimay
***************************** PROFS Note *****************************
From: DBLEWIS --VMSPFHOU Date and time 04/23/93 13:48:51
To: POSTMAN --NASAMAIL
FROM: Dennis B. Lewis <dblewis@jscprofs.nasa.gov>
SUBJECT: Culturing Chimay
BILL SOLVIBILE writes:
>THERE IS ACTIVE YEAST IN THE CHIMAY BOTTLES. WE FILTERED IT OUT AND
>ATTEMTED TO CULTURE IT. WE THOUGHT WE WERE SUCESSFUL, BUT OUR BEER
>WAS NO CHIMAY.
I have had several discussions with people on the net about Chimay
yeast. I believe I read (in HBD probably) that Chimay yeast is a
combination of 5 different strains plus some other microflora. One
person said that his plate of Chimay yeast had several "different"
colonies of yeast on it, while another said that his plate looked all
the same. I think they got their yeast from bottle dregs, not from
Wyeast 1214.
I'm starting to culture my own yeast and am curious about Chimay and
other Belgian strains. Is it worth plating out the yeast or do you
lose other important side strains? I would think that culturing the
bottle dreg in wort and keep repitching until you get enough yeast
slurry to pitch would be the way to go. Then keep repitching the
slurry until there is a noticable difference like one of the side
strains taking over. I'm not worrying about it, because I don't have
a batch in the fermenter, etc. etc., but I am curious. Thanks in
advance for all the expert advice.
Dennis B. Lewis * (713) 483-9145 * NASA/JSC/DH6 Payload Ops
Homebrew, The Final Frontier.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 93 13:23 PDT
From: /O=vmspfhou/S=dblewis/DD.SITE=JSCPROFS/@NASAmail.nasa.gov
Subject: Soda adjuncts
***************************** PROFS Note *****************************
From: DBLEWIS --VMSPFHOU Date and time 04/23/93 13:51:04
To: POSTMAN --NASAMAIL
FROM: Dennis B. Lewis <dblewis@jscprofs.nasa.gov>
SUBJECT: Soda adjuncts
In a recent HBD, someone asked about using cola to acidify
the sparge water. This idea rekindled the one I had about
using Coca-Cola as an adjunct in making a porter. So I gave
it a sample try. While the labelling didn't indicate that
there were any preservatives in the mix, there are "natural
flavors" which, of course, can be preservative in their own
right.
My test went like this: measure OG and pH; buffer with
calcium carbonate to 5.4 or so, pitch yeast and yeast
nutrient. The OG was a whopping 1.042! That's a pound of
sugar (high fructose corn syrup) per gallon. Or a teaspoon
per ounce. (Next time you have a can of Coke, think about
eating 4 tablespoons of sugar. :-b) The pH was below 4.5,
probably more like 3 something. Turned my pH paper bright
yellow. I didn't bother to boil the Coke, but I did
decarbonate it. I put 8 oz in a bottle with 1/2 tsp of dried
ale yeast (rehyd) and a little yeast nutrient.
The resulting cloudy mixture gave 2 glubs total and then the
yeast started dropping out of suspension. The SG didn't
change much and the taste was terrible and not the least bit
alcoholic. Moral: Don't bother with colas or other sodapops.
They have stuff that will knock out your yeast and don't
really taste that good. Blech.
Dennis B. Lewis * (713) 483-9145 * NASA/JSC/DH6 Payload Ops
Homebrew, The Final Frontier.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 93 09:09:40 -0400
From: gxd@po.CWRU.Edu (Guy Derose)
Subject: Chimay culturing question
After 6 batches of extract/specialty grain/dry yeast beer, I'm about
to make my first attempt at culturing yeast. I would like to make a
Trappiste style ale using the yeast from a bottle of Chimay. I have
read and enjoyed the recent thread on HBD about yeast culturing and
Papazian's and Miller's book descriptions of culturing. My question
is: Is there a difference between the yeast in a big (750 ml) bottle
and in a small (~11-12 oz.) bottle of Chimay red? Thanks for any
feedback.
- --
Guy DeRose
Case Western Reserve University
Physicist, PP-ASEL, homebrewer (NOT necessarily in that order)
------------------------------
Date: 26 Apr 1993 17:44:28 -0500 (EST)
From: SMUCKER@UTKVX.UTCC.UTK.EDU
Subject: SUMMER MUST BE COMMING, QUESTION ON O2
Summer must be comming not much traffic on the Homebrew digest and we
had a day without Jack!
Question? Have any of you out there used direct O2 before you pitched
your yeast? I have read tails of some using direct injection of O2
instead of AIR and some problems with too much and getting way too much
yeast growth. How much is right? What range of volumes do you use?
Since I'm a welder and have the equipment to inject O2 it would seem a
better way to go than with AIR.
Dave S,
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 16:49:38 EDT
From: Lee Menegoni <necis!lmenegon@transfer.stratus.com>
Subject: hop growth direction
Could the clock wise direction observed be due to the plant tracking the sun?
I think thye recent thread on Carboy tricks would eliminate the Coreolius effect
I just kegged a Chech Pilsner using the Wyeast Bohemian strain the package was
mid February, It had no off flavors or aromas. fermentation was at 45 and
lagering at 40 and a week at 32 to settle out yeast and proteins. I would
have to say that the description is different from the result. It did not
produce a strong malty flavor. I have heard other brewers have the same result.
- --
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 93 20:18:45 EDT
From: hopz@aol.com
Subject: Premier Malt Extract
Yesterday while grazing at the grocery store, I noticed a can of "Premier
Malt Extract" next to the cereal section on the bottom (dusty) shelf.
It said it was malt extract used for brewing and baking. Has instructions
under the lid along with unmarket packet of dried yeast.
Bright yellow label.
Interestingly enough it was 2.3 pounds or so... at about $4.50. Detailed
label gazing revealed ingredients of malted barley, corn, and hops. Also sid
it was made in United Kingdom for a U.S. company.
Any ideas what this stuff is?
Thanks
Bob
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1128, 04/27/93
*************************************
-------
