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HOMEBREW Digest #1119
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 93/04/14 00:18:23
HOMEBREW Digest #1119 Wed 14 April 1993
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
kegging using a beer chiller (SWEENERB)
long ferments (Peter Maxwell)
Re: Blowoff (fusels, etc.) (korz)
All Grain technique questions (MOORE_ED/HP0800_01)
Yeast Culture Kit & Lab Equip (Glenn Raudins)
Bigfoot in NJ? (Eric Haas)
Color calibration (Eric Haas)
CAMRA Guide (Tim Fahrner)
Oops, bottle bombs??? ("Spencer W. Thomas")
Most Litigious Beer in the World (C.R. Saikley)
Cheap Carboys!! (atzeiner)
Siebel Institute ... in Chicago (Nir)
Hello? ("BRIAN A. AURAND")
Wyeast Bohemian Lager yeast (Ed Hitchcock)
Bottles (Europe/US) / Yeast Generations (Steve Yavorski)
CAMRA (Curt Harpold-Sun-Vienna VA-Systems Engineer)
Screen Tests (George J Fix)
Fermentable sugars in honey ("Anderso_A")
re measuring alpha acids with pH meter (Chip Hitchcock)
Oregon Homebrew Festival (Ted Manahan)
Please point me in the right direction (Dimitri_Katsaros.Wbst139)
Re: Immersion chiller (atzeiner)
Re: more comments on bottles (Sherman Gregory)
Re: My Belgian rock collection (Jeff Benjamin)
Krausening/Mashing ("Tom Stolfi")
RE: HOP ALPHA ACID (""Robert C. Santore"")
More on Immersion Chillers (HOWED)
rotten egg smell (Paul Biron)
Re: camra (Paul Jasper)
growing hops ("Jim L.")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 12 Apr 1993 11:34:07 -0600 (CST)
From: SWEENERB@memstvx1.memst.edu
Subject: kegging using a beer chiller
I have a question for you keggers out there. I have the opportunity to buy
several used Cornelius (sic) kegs and connections for what seems like a
reasonable price ($10/keg with connections). I do not however have an extra
fridge and probably won't for the near future. Is it possible to use
these kegs by connecting up a beer chiller like the one displayed in the
recent Gadgets issue of zymurgy--basically a copper tube running through an
ice bucket through which the beer flows? I was wondering, beyond the
obvious pain of having to fill the bucket with ice periodically, what are
the disadvantages of this system? Any advice would be appreciated.
Your friend and mine,
Bob
Bob Sweeney - SWEENERB@MEMSTVX1.BITNET
Memphis State University
(901) MSU-4210
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1993 11:03:30 -0800 (PDT)
From: Peter Maxwell <peterm@aoraki.dtc.hp.com>
Subject: long ferments
In HBD 1116 Al writes:
> Then, I thought, perhaps a lot of the yeast had gone dormant thanks to
> the cold and had not awakened from simply warming the wort. I rocked
> the carboy around-and-around to swirl the yeast up from the bottom.
> Naturally, lots of CO2 started escaping through the blowoff tube. 8 hours
> later, the ferment was going at a good pace, perhaps 1 glub per 30 seconds.
> 24 hours after swirling, the glubs were 2.5 minutes apart -- ready to bottle!
Are you sure the yeast were really roused into fermenting? I offer the
theory that the 1 glub/min was due purely to escaping CO2 and not
fermentation, so the swirling just released a lot more gas (as evidenced by
increased bubbling). After this had died down the release rate would
decrease. The lower temperatures that you'd been fermenting at would allow
more CO2 to dissolve which would explain why it took longer to escape.
I'm convinced I'm right, but feel free to flame away at my ignorance.
Peter
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 13:08 CDT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Re: Blowoff (fusels, etc.)
Joseph writes:
>Finally, fusel alcohols are quite soluble in alcohol, and can not
>be removed by blowoff. The unpleasant substances in blowoff residue
>are tannins, unisomerized hop resins, etc. They are largely insoluble,
>even in a weak alcohol solution, and are not going to be a primary
>source of bitterness or astringency in your beer once it has cleared.
First of all, thanks for the very informative post -- I'd like to sit
down with a few Pale Ales and do some palate training together -- how
about Portland, say, late July?
I've had very little chemistry, so I can't disagree with you regarding
what actually gets blown-off, but I have some beers done in split batches
blowoff versus non-blowoff and the difference was stunning. I can't
begin to explain it in chemical terms, but there definately was a big
difference in bitterness and astringency between the two sub-batches.
Perhaps its not the fusel alcohols or the tannins or the unisomerized
hop resins, but the difference in flavor was unmistakable.
Over the weekend, I bottled an Imperial Stout which I fermented using
the blowoff method. I would like to suggest an additional effect of
using the blowoff method (although it seems quite negative and does
little to reinforce my continued support of this method) -- loss of
head retention. It's not so much that I've noticed a reduction in head
retention with the blowoff-method beers, rather that the brown foam
that oozed out of the blowoff vessel and onto the floor during high
kraeusen, HAD DRIED AND STILL RETAINED IT'S SHAPE TWO WEEKS AFTER IT
HAD FORMED! Do you follow me on this one? The blowoff filled the
gallon jug which was supposed to catch it all and foamed out of the
top of it, onto the floor. When this happened, I cleaned up most of
it but some was back between the carboy and jug. This weekend, that
stuff was solid and looked like brown styrofoam. Could this be some
of the small proteins and big dextrins that give you good head retention?
Could I have lost something useful, besides the quart and a half of beer?
Or are the proteins and dextrins distributed throughout the beer and I'll
just be able to do parlor tricks with this beer? [By the way, OG 1120,
FG 1050 (approximately 9.2% Alcohol by volume) -- more attenuative yeast
needed next time (very sweet).]
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 18:58:00 +0000
From: MOORE_ED/HP0800_01@mailhub.cs.itc.hp.com
Subject: All Grain technique questions
From: Ed Moore
Subject: All grain method?
I'm an extract brewer, interested in all grain. The logistics of all
grain (bigger pot, chiller, heating up 6 gallons of wort) have so far
kept me from trying all grain. My brother-in-law (Greg) told me of his
method this weekend and I'm posting this note to see if others have used
it (and with what success). FYI, Greg has been brewing for several
years and makes a good brew.
OK, this is what Greg does which I found interesting.
1) Prepare mash in a pot with 'warm' water.
2) Put pot with mash into the oven, with the oven set
to "warm". Leave it for an hour or two. (As Greg
says 'no fuss, no muss'.)
3) Transfer mash to lauter tun.
4) Run 2 or 3 gallons of hot (170F) water into lauter
to sparge.
5) Boil the wort (2-3 gallons) with hops.
6) Run 2-3 gallons of cold (tap) water into lauter to
complete sparge.
7) Combine cold sparge/wort with boiled wort to make a
complete batch AND to obtain cold break.
This is his tried and true technique. He does not seem to have any
contamination problems and as I have said, makes a good brew. Has
anyone else used this partial boil, cold sparge, method?
Ed Moore
egm@hpctdlb.col.hp.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 15:59:42 CDT
From: raudins@galt.b17d.ingr.com (Glenn Raudins)
Subject: Yeast Culture Kit & Lab Equip
Does anyone know of a mail order supply place that carries Dr. Schiller's
Yeast Culture Kit? (Jim? Do you know?)
I would like to second that request for Lab equip supply places. Also does
anyone have the number for Aldritch and know if they sell to individuals?
Glenn Raudins
raudins@galt.b17d.ingr.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 17:00:16 EST
From: eric@synchro.com (Eric Haas)
Subject: Bigfoot in NJ?
While we here in New England see most of Sierra Ne-
vada's fine products, for some reason two of their most
interesting brews--the Maibock and the Bigfoot Ale--
aren't distributed here. Rumor has it, though, that
they can be found in New Jersey, where I'm going in a
few weeks to visit the in-laws. Can some Garden State
reader of the Digest help me find them?
I'll be getting on the Parkway at its northern
terminus, right off the Tappan Zee, and driving it to
south of Asbury Park. While my wife does like beer and
is willing to put up with my interest in it, she
doesn't have much patience for driving around aimlessly
for very long, so I'd like to know of a store within a
few minute's drive off the Parkway.
Send me private e-mail (eric@synchro.com), or even call
me (old style: 617-536-9500 w; 617-965-0573 h).
Thanx.
--eric haas
- --
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 17:12:14 EST
From: eric@synchro.com (Eric Haas)
Subject: Color calibration
Jack:
The use of Michelob Dark in dilution to
test for color can be found in an
appendix of George Fix's "Vienna" book
- --
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 19:18:17 CDT
From: fahrner@milbrandt.wustl.edu (Tim Fahrner)
Subject: CAMRA Guide
Greetings HBD'ers
I know this info has been posted before, and I even wrote it down
in my HB notebook. Of course, I then proceeded to lose my notebook.
What I am looking for is how to get my hands on the CAMRA guide, since
I will be going to England, Whales, and Ireland in another month or so.
Any personal recommendations on real ale establishments would, of
course, also be appreciated. Please reply via private e-mail to avoid
clogging up the digest with responses to an FAQ like this (I usually
hate these kind of messages too, but I wasn't sure how else to get the
info).
Thanks in advance
Tim Fahrner
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1993 21:24:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas@med.umich.edu>
Subject: Oops, bottle bombs???
I recently made a batch of wheat ale (Wit style) with a new yeast
(supposed to be Hoegaarden strain). It started slow, but built up a big
krauesen -- needed a blow-off tube for a week. Eventually it slowed, and
3 weeks later was putting out one bubble every 45 seconds, roughly. I
figured it was time to bottle. Racked onto priming solution in a second
carboy, and took S.G. 1.020... Hmm... Initial gravity 1.040...
Hmm... Tastes ok... Not too sweet... Late night decision -- let's go for it.
Bottled 2 cases.
But then, I got worried. Talked to the friend who gave me the
yeast. He didn't think it should stop so soon. Talked to another friend who
had used the same yeast in a similar recipe. His went from 1.047 to
1.014. Hmm.... One major difference: my fermenter was in the cellar, at
56F, his was at 65F. Maybe this yeast doesn't like to be cold. Hmm...
Ok, brought a bottle up from the cellar, shook it well, and fitted a
fermentation lock. Couple days later, it's still going nicely. Hmm...
Haven't taken an S.G. on this one yet, but it's looking like I blew it,
and mistook a stuck fermentation for a finished fermentation.
Now, I could chill the he** out of these bottles, and drink them up
quickly, or I could try to relieve the pressure, or something. I'm not
wild about pouring 2 cases of bottles back into a carboy (not to mention
the inevitable aeration that would take place). I could see lifting and
resealing (or replacing) the caps a couple of times. Or, I could chill
the h*** out of it...
Any advice?
And, a hard scientific question: How many volumes of CO2 should I expect
to get from a .001 drop in S.G.? Haul out the old envelope. Let's say
that 3/4c corn sugar produces 2 volumes in 5 gal. That's 3/8 lb, at
40pts/lb/gal is 12/5 pts, so maybe I get 1 volume/gravity pt. So, if my
test bottle keeps going down to 1.014, I'm going to get about 6 volumes!
Bottle bombs for sure! But I could relieve the pressure a couple of times
(if I do it at the right time!) and be ok, ... maybe ... Hmm....
=Spencer W. Thomas | Info Tech and Networking, B1911 CFOB, 0704
"Genome Informatician" | Univ of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Spencer.W.Thomas@med.umich.edu | 313-764-8065, FAX 313-764-4133
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 10:13:21 PDT
From: grumpy!cr@uunet.UU.NET (C.R. Saikley)
Subject: Most Litigious Beer in the World
From: andrew@ftp.com (Andrew Lickly)
A while back, Andrew Lickly wrote about SA Triple Bock :
>During the tour, they bragged about being in the process of
>developing a "Triple Bock", apparently it is Jim Koch's goal
>to get the world record for the highest alcohol content in a
>commercialized "malt beverage".
Gee, he'd better be careful here. What if the brewers at Hurlimann
or EKU have trade marked the phrase "Strongest beer in the World" ?
Oh BTW, if you're listening Jim, I have a cousin named Sam who will
be contacting you soon. :+)
CR
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 23:26:41 CDT
From: atzeiner@iastate.edu
Subject: Cheap Carboys!!
I finally got around to looking for a 5 gal. carboy for a secondary and went
to talk to my lab professor in the Chem E. department and guess what!! I got
two 5 gallon carboys for $5. They were really dusty, but didnt smell like
any noxious chemicals and weren't stained or anything. So, if you have a
university you might want to check out the Chem E or Ag department to see if
there are any old carboys around.
BTW, one of the carboys is made of the old blue tinted glass and has the date
1932 stamped on the bottom!! I wonder if it's worth any money :-)
Andy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 09:40:43 +0300
From: Nir <LCNAVOT@WEIZMANN.WEIZMANN.AC.IL>
Subject: Siebel Institute ... in Chicago
Could anyone tell me anything about the Siebel Institute? I saw some HBD issues
ago a couple of lines concerning a two-week course on Brewing Technology given
there, and I'd like to know more, but don't have their address.
Thanks, Nir.
------------------------------
Date: 13 Apr 1993 08:09:08 GMT
From: "BRIAN A. AURAND" <E#AURAN@CWEMAIL.ceco>
Subject: Hello?
Hello,
Who is this? I'm very interested in the subject.
-Brian
------------------------------
Date: 13 Apr 1993 10:24:36 -0300
From: Ed Hitchcock <ECH@ac.dal.ca>
Subject: Wyeast Bohemian Lager yeast
In an effort to make a Pilsner Urquell type lager, I used the
Wyeast 2124, Bohemian Lager, as per recommendations on the net. A friend
also used the same strain, and his beer came out, well, bad. I chalked it
up to an infection or some such. But I tasted my lager yesterday (still in
secondary, clearing slowly) and it tastets the same as his. Quite
phenolic, a little estery, and lots of dry sulfury compounds. In short, it
tastes like a mediocre Lambik. Admitedly there was a long lag time when I
pitched the yeast (the pack hadn't quite swelled up, so it took about 3
days to get going). But the fact that I have not once had an infection
since my first batch (followed the instructions on the can on that one), and
that my friend has yet to have an infection, and both of us brew with 2124
and it tastes the same in each case seems to indicate that either 2124
isn't the yeast for making PU clones, or these packs were contaminated.
Anyone else out there with similar experiences?
ed
------------
Ed Hitchcock *-----------------------*
Dept of Anatomy and Neurobiology | |
Dalhousie University | JUST BREW IT |
Halifax, Nova Scotia | |
ech@ac.dal.ca *-----------------------*
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 09:37:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: yavo@ivy.Paramax.COM (Steve Yavorski)
Subject: Bottles (Europe/US) / Yeast Generations
JC Ferguson writes:
>
> At
> any rate, they've really got their s%t down in Europe. Most of the brew
> sold in bottles there comes in a standard 16oz bottle (I think it is 16oz?!).
> So, on the bottle input side of the bottling room at the Zipfer brewery,
> you'll see returned bottles in standard returnable crates (much like milk
> crates) from all sorts of breweries. They all use the _same_ standard bottle,
> they make it easy to return them to just about anyone, and just about any
> brewery can fill the bottles. Green ones, brown ones, etc. Being an
> environmentally concious person, I _really_ liked what I saw. The US of A
> is so caught up in making $$$ as quickly as possible that we'll probably
> never see anything like that...
Actually, all brown 12 oz. returnable bottles in the U.S. are a standard
shape and size. Any brewery can use these bottles no matter what
brewery previously used them. Open thine eyes and ye shall see.
*************************************
Dennis B. Lewis writes:
> One other point: one common thread I've noticed regarding yeast culturing is
> how many generations the yeast are good for. Since I'm only using one
> generation(?!?) for a couple batches... (N.B. I remove most of the trub so I
> don't think there is much of a problem with accumulated crud on the bottom of
> the fermenter.)
>
Each time a beer ferments out and the yeast is re-used for another
batch, this is considered a new generation. The multiple "life cycles"
and alcohol environment the yeast work in can cause mutations.
Steve
Stephen Yavorski internet - yavo@ivy.paramax.com
NEXRAD Integration phone - (215) 443 - 7500
Paramax Systems Corporation
Ivyland, Pennsylvania
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 09:44:54 EDT
From: curt@sundc.East.Sun.COM (Curt Harpold-Sun-Vienna VA-Systems Engineer)
Subject: CAMRA
STOREY@fender.msfc.nasa.gov (BadAssAstronomer) writes:
> Just back from England with a bunch of real ale under and around
> ...
> However, the CAMRA Guide to Good Beer impressed me so much, I was
> thinking of joining CAMRA. Anybody out there a member or
> ex-member? Any and all comments will be appreciated.
Scott,
I've been a member of CAMRA for several years, mostly just to get the
Good Beer Guide, but it also to help me in planning my trips to the UK.
Their newsletter is good, and keeps me up-to-date on the dates and locations
of Beer Festivals (to which CAMRA members are admitted free).
If you travel to the UK often, CAMRA membership is well worth the price.
While passing through an area, I can always rely on the pubs in the Guide
to give good service, beer, and usually food.
Keep in mind, however, that omission from the GBG does not imply a lower-
quality pub. Indeed, many of my favorites are not listed. If you're in
a town for more than a day, don't depend solely on the GBG - ask the locals
about good pubs.
Curt Harpold curt.harpold@east.sun.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 08:53:02 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Screen Tests
I received some e-mail from people asking for more detail regarding the
sieving tests to evaluate grain milling. Apparently there are a few people
who would like to build their own apparatus for doing this. I think this would
be a terrific project for a homebrew club.
The best model that comes to mind for getting ideas for designing a screen
sieving device is the Pfungstadt plansifter described by DeClerck (p.321,
Vol.2). Here the screens are in parallel, and placed in order of decreasing
screen width.
One will note that the device is not large. Indeed, it is traditional to do
tests on only 100 gram samples. This of course raises the practical problem
of avoiding sampling errors. The usual rules regarding small sample sizes
apply. It is often a good idea to run several tests on samples taken from a
particular crush to make sure the measured results are robust.
There is strong agitation during sieving. DeClerck reports that the screens
on the Pfungstadt plansifter are rotated ~300 times per minute for 5 minutes.
It has been my experience that this is ***very*** important. As Jim noted in
his post, the MM will leave over half of the kernels in a state where they
look as if they were not crushed. Without the proper agitation they will be
artificially captured on the coarser screens. This will result in very large
errors (up to a factor of 2) in the measured results. With proper agitation,
on the other hand, they will fall apart just as they do when we rub them in
our hands.
The major application of a sieving device is in the determination of the
proper roller spacing. This can be used not only for a MM, but for any
other mill, and indeed even a Corona. It has been my experience that the
best spacing will vary with the type of malt that is to be milled.
I hope that anyone who who starts a project along these lines will keep
me abreast of their progress. I bet the whole affair turns out to be a lot
of fun.
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: 13 Apr 93 04:43:38 EST
From: "Anderso_A" <Anderso_A%55W3.CCBRIDGE.SEAE.mrouter@seaa.navsea.navy.mil>
Subject: Fermentable sugars in honey
Message Creation Date was at 13-APR-1993 09:36:00
Greetings,
I was interested in using greater quantities of honey
in some of my "Speciality" ( or "Peculiar") Beers. In
my attempt to calculate how much hops to use as well as
body characteristics, I need to know how much fermentable
sugars are in a unit weight of honey. I realize that there
is no simple answer to this, given the fact that honeys can
vary greatly depending on the flower and the regional
conditions. However, that caveat being stated, any insight
would be greatly appreciated.
Andy A
Bitch's Brewery
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 10:31:30 EDT
From: cjh@diaspar.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Chip Hitchcock)
Subject: re measuring alpha acids with pH meter
One problem with the assumptions and one with the results:
Tannic "astringency" doesn't have much to do with pH. Examples: colas
are in the range of pH 2-3 (\very/ rough, but certainly more acid than your
tea---the acid in colas is as much a problem for your teeth as the sugar)
and nobody calls them astringent; typical vinegar at 5% acetic acid is
something like pH 3 (it's been a \long/ time since I had to work from Kdiss
to pH), ditto. There are many organic acids which have a very modest effect
on the pH of water. I don't know the mechanism of astringency but I would
guess it's some other reaction completely; try tanning leather with a
random acid and see where it doesn't get you....
pH is a log10 measurement. .3 decrease in pH is 2x acidity, .47 is 3x,
.6 is 4x, .7 is 5x. According to bc (UNIX calculator program), e ^ ( .4 *
ln(10) ) is 2.5, so your result actually doesn't agree with expectation---
EXCEPT that weak acids don't affect pH in proportion to their
concentration. Crudely put, the acid has to break into H+ and (remainder)-,
to change the pH; this is a balancing act in which the more acid you have,
the less of it actually dissociates. What's the average Kdiss for hop
acids? Damfino---George Fix or Steve Stroud might have numbers.
I also don't know how "utilization" (amount of acid extracted) varies
with acid content---I would expect the % utilization to be lower for the
same mass of high-alpha hops compared to low-alpha (since you're trying to
make a more concentrated solution) but have no figures on \how/ \much/ of a
difference this is. To eliminate this factor you might need a Soxhlet (sp?)
extractor, which is fun to watch but not cheap.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 07:57:05 pdt
From: Ted Manahan <tedm@hpcvcbp.cv.hp.com>
Subject: Oregon Homebrew Festival
Full-Name: Ted Manahan
ANNOUNCING
THE ELEVENTH ANNUAL
OREGON HOMEBREW COMPETITION AND FESTIVAL
On Saturday, May 8, 1993 at 12 noon.
Benton County Fairgrounds - 110 SW 53rd Street, Corvallis, Oregon.
The Capitol Brewers, Cascade Brewers Society, Heart of the Valley
Homebrewers, Mary's Peak Lagers, and the Oregon Brew Crew invite you to
participate in the ELEVENTH annual homebrew competition and festival,
the longest-running event of its kind in Oregon. The focus of the event
will be a judging of homebrewed beer sanctioned by the American
Homebrewer's Association (AHA). In addition, the Club will host a
festival to promote awareness and knowledge of various beer styles,
provide opportunities to share information about the homebrewing craft,
and encourage interaction of homebrewers in a social atmosphere.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPETITION:
Anyone 21 years of age or older may enter. All entries must be
personally homemade by the entrant. No entrant can enter more than two
entries in any one category. Entries must be registered for judging by
11 AM on Saturday May 8, 1993. Festival organizers will not assure
registration or judging of entries received after this time. To help
avoid a log jam of registrations the morning of the competition,
entrants are encouraged to send or bring their entries to: Oregon
Homebrew Competition and Festival, c/o Freshops, 36180 Kings Valley
Highway, Philomath, OR 97370 by 5 PM Friday, May 7th for entry
registration. All reasonable efforts will be made to transport, store,
and serve each entry in the best possible manner. Entries that are
mailed should be shipped via UPS as non-perishable food in appropriate
protective packaging. As shipping may resuspend sedimented material,
shipped entries should arrive with sufficient time for settling to allow
the best appearance.
Three bottles of at least 10 fluid ounces each are required for judging
(one each for first round judging, potential second round judging, and
potential best of show). Each entry (not bottle) must be accompanied by
a sheet of paper specifying the following information: Brewer's name and
address, category to be judged in (note: brewers should specify style
within category to assist judges in evaluation; e.g. Light Lager -
Continental Pilsner), recipe, and a $5.00 entry fee (checks must be made
payable to Ted Manahan, _not_ Heart of the Valley Homebrewers; the entry
fee is used to cover expenses for hall rental and ribbons). Efforts will
be made to allow entrants at the festival to reclaim unused entries and
empties; however, festival organizers makes no guarantees in this
regard.
Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of the event. Three
judges will evaluate and score each entry using the American
Homebrewer's Association (AHA) 50 point system. The average of the three
scores will rank each entry in its category. The Master of Ceremonies or
other qualified person will review elements of beer categories and
styles with each panel prior to judging. The Best of Show will be
determined by the best average score in a second judging of the highest
average scoring entry in each category. A club competition will also
result form the outcome of the judging. Brewers associated with any
homebrewing club will receive points for their winning entries credited
toward a club total. Club members should include their club name on
their entry form. Points scored in this competition count toward
NORTHWEST Homebrewer of the Year. The descriptions and standards used by
the AHA at the National Homebrew Festival and Competition will be used
in judging. Judging will be conducted in a controlled environment
(separate room) away from the hubris of the festival.
Entries will be received for judging in the seven following categories:
1) Light Lager (includes American and Continental styles)
2) Dark Lager (includes bock)
3) Stout and Porter
4) Light / Pale Ale (includes IPA)
5) Dark Ale (includes Brown Ale)
6) Specialty (includes wheat, fruit/herb beers, steam beer)
7) Strong Beer (includes dopplebocks, barleywines, and imperial stouts)
Festival organizers reserves the right to judge an entry in an alternate
category if, after registration is completed, it is found to be entered
in a category having fewer than four entries. Ribbons and prizes will be
awarded to First and Second place in each category as well as for Best
of Show.
We are looking forward to a highly enjoyable festival with a relaxing
atmosphere, several displays, food concessions, music, a raffle and the
opportunity to interact with masters and luminaries of the brewing
craft. Judging and award presentations should be completed by 5 PM.
Any questions regarding the festival can be directed to Ted Manahan at
503/926-6228, internet address tedm@hp-pcd.cv.hp.com
- ------------------------ CUT HERE ---------------------------
ENTRY FORM
Entrants must complete one form for each entry.
(Use either this form, or a form similar to that used in the AHA
national competition. )
Brewer's Information:
Name of Brewer____________________________ Phone______________
Address_______________________________________________________
City_____________________________ State/Province______________
Zip/Postal Code__________________ Country_____________________
Are you a member of a Registered Homebrew Club?__________(Y/N)
What is its name?_____________________________________________
Entry Information:
Name of Brew__________________________________________________
Category/Subcategory__________________________________________
Ingredients and procedures:
Number of gallons___________
Brand names and amounts of malt extracts used:
Type and amount of sugar used (if any):
Variety of hops used:
Boiling hops - weight and time________________________
Boiling hops - weight and time________________________
Aromatic hops - weight and time_______________________
Type of water treatment (minerals or salts) used:
Type of yeast used (liquid/dry) and brand:
Type and amount of adjuncts used (fruit, herbs):
How was beer carbonated? Indicate procedure and amount:
Original Gravity:___________________
Terminal Gravity:___________________
Duration of fermentation____________
Secondary fermentation used?________ How long?________________
Date of bottling____________________
Temperature of Fermentation_________
Any additional information such as temperature and length of mash or
sparging techniques:
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 08:05:41 PDT
From: Dimitri_Katsaros.Wbst139@xerox.com
Subject: Please point me in the right direction
Hi all,
I started reading this digest fairly recently and was wondering if you nice
people could give me a hand on getting some beginner info such as what stuff
I'll need, what is the process (books or ftpable texts would be cool) , what
are some good suppliers, etc. Also, if anyone is interested in moderating a
conference on my BBS on the subject, please have your modem dial 1-716-242-0440
(2400 baud) or 1-716-242-0441 (14.4K). The BBS is called Macsimizing BBS and
runs on First Class software... you can either call in via text comm packages,
or via the graphical interface that is available on both my BBS and info-mac
for download. Also, I keep on seeing the (presumably) magazine Zymurgy being
referred to..... could someone tell me how to obtain it? is it available on
some news stands?
Thanks for any and all help in advance
Dimitri Katsaros
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 10:26:02 CDT
From: atzeiner@iastate.edu
Subject: Re: Immersion chiller
>From yesterdays HBD:
>Date: Mon, 12 Apr 93 12:01:31 EDT
>From: eisen@kopf.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Carl West)
>Subject: Immersion Chiller Efficiency
>
>There seems to be a confusion in this discussion of IC efficiency
>between time, water, copper, and dollar efficiency.
>
>To Improve Time Efficiency:
>
>A larger, colder surface will cool the wort faster than a smaller,
>warmer one. Use as long a chiller as you can manage, and run lots of
>really cold water through it. The cooler the water exiting the chiller
>the faster the wort will be cooled. When cool water is exiting it
>indicates that there is an appreciable temperature differential between
>the cooling water and the wort for the entire length of the chiller
>tubing, therefor more heat energy is being extracted from the wort than
>if the exit water were warm or hot. Simply put: The more cold water you
>run through the chiller the cooler your wort will get, the faster you
>do it, the faster it will get cool. Especially if you stir the wort.
>Use the chiller to stir with.
This isn't really right...A larger colder surface will cool faster
because of more surface area and with a larger tube diameter you would want a
high flow rate so that there would be turbulent flow instead of laminar( If it
was laminar flow, there would be a warm boundary layer of water near the walls
of the coil and the water towards the middle would not be doing any cooling).
However, I think you would want the exiting water to be warmer for a given
length of tubing. The amount of heat removed from the wort should be:
(delta q) = m*Cp*(delta T)
where m=mass flow rate of water
Cp=heat capacity
(dealta T)=temperature difference=Tout-Tin
So, if the flow rate increases, the heat removed increases, and if the
temperature difference increases, the heat removed increases.
(I'm sure there is a bit more analysis of this that can be done...It's be a
couple years since I had heat transfer and I didn't like that class anyway:-)
Andy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 08:26:10 -0700
From: sherman@qualcomm.com (Sherman Gregory)
Subject: Re: more comments on bottles
It HBD #1118 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com> writes:
>I also agree that genuine bar bottles are the best for bottling. I've heard
>horror stories of Sam Adams (tm) bottles breaking during the capping phase
>after so many uses, although, I personally have not had this problem yet!
>Has anyone seen this yet?
I exclusively use Sam (tm) Adams (tm) Bottles (tm?). These seem to be good
bottles to me. I had one break on about my third batch, but that was a
homebrew virgin bottle (as opposed to many uses). I think that I was
getting overly aggressive with the capper, so I have never considered that
the bottles fault. But maybe I am wrong. I have had no other problems.
Has anyone else?
Sherman
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 9:38:33 MDT
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji@hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Re: My Belgian rock collection
> Mixed in with the malt is a strange collection of unidentified
> malted objects. Most are easy to figure out. A tangled clump of
> barley rootlets, an odd twig or a mangled piece of wire. But
> every now and then I'll find a rock. And while all of the
> objects warrant inspection, to me the rocks are keepers.
>
> To date my collection numbers four. They all appear to be
> similar in appearance. All are bluish-grey, flat and layered.
Why not add some English rocks to your collection? I buy large
quantities of Hugh Baird malt, and have noticed similar looking
rocks in my grain. I usually discover them when the handle of
my mill suddenly ceases to turn, so they're a little chipped
around the edges and are therefore probably not museum quality.
Does anybody know if these rocks serve some mysterious purpose in
the maltster's arcane art? Or are they merely slip-ups in the
quality control department somewhere?
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji@hpfcla.fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado
"Midnight shakes the memory as a madman shakes a dead geranium."
- T.S. Eliot
------------------------------
Date: 13 Apr 1993 10:46:10 GMT
From: "Tom Stolfi" <WAUTS@CWEMAIL.ceco>
Subject: Krausening/Mashing
Date: 04/13/93
From: Tom Stolfi WAUTS - CWE1IIN
Subject: Krausening/Mashing
KRAUSENING
I remember a recent thread regarding krausening and I am considering trying
it soon. My question is this - in order to achieve the same carbonation as
using 3/4 cup corn sugar I need to calculate the Degrees of Extract available
in the corn sugar. Then, based on the SG of the wort for krauseningadd enough
to create the same Degrees of Extract. Is the above statement correct.
MASHING
What is the proper mash temperature during sparging?? I would assume it to
be very close to mashout temp (170deg F). I have noticed that the temperature
of my runoff during sparging has been 150F. I typically heat my sparge
water to 170-175 about fifteen minutes before I start my sparging procedure.
Is this reducing my YIELD????????
Next time I will heat the sparge water to the proper temp. immediately
prior to using it.
Tom Stolfi wauts@cwemail.ceco.com
Waukegan, IL
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 12:27:40 -0400
From: ""Robert C. Santore"" <rsantore@mailbox.syr.edu>
Subject: RE: HOP ALPHA ACID
In HBD 1118, Jack Schmidling writes:
> A Proposed Method for Determining Hop Alpha Acid Content
> The following methodology is based on empirical measurement
> and experiments. It may be seriously flawed but as the end
> results seem to achieve the goal desired, it is worth
> further experiments by anyone who cares to replicate the
> results.
As well as further discussion! Jack, I heartily applaud your
experiments. I did have some comments on your interpretation
that seemed worth posting, but I think your efforts were worth-
while.
[stuff deleted]
> astringency of tea was a result of tanic acid. I also found
> that to test tap water accurately takes about 9 minutes to
> reach a stable value. Boiled tap water reaches stability
> within a few seconds. I presume it has something to do with
> dissolved gas.
Or another explanation involves the cantankerous nature of pH meters.
In general, they will respond much more rapidly if they are used to
measure similar samples consecutively. For example, if you calibrate
the meter using the commercial buffers, then put the electrode in a
solution with comparatively little dissolved solids (like water) it
may take the electrode a while to settle down in its new environment.
Once stabilized, the next water sample you measure should equilibrate
much more rapidly. Try it!
[stuff deleted]
> After cooling the teas to room temperature, the following pH
> measurements were obtained:
> Tea #1 Chinook pH 6.2
> Tea #2 Saaz pH 6.6
> The delta is .4 pH which I believe works out to a factor of
> 4 in the real world and nicely matches the delta of the AA
> in the hops.
Keep in mind the logarithmic nature of the pH scale. In the
'real world' this difference in pH amounts to:
(10^-6.2)/(10^-6.6) = 2.5 times the amount of free H in the Chinook tea
> Although, measuring at different times sometimes provided
> different numbers, the spread was always the same and I
> attributed the problem to lack of understanding of how to
> use the instrument.
The changes over time could be due to either temperature changes
(although not in this case since you waited for the samples to cool)
or they could be due to re-equilibration with atmospheric gasses
(most notably CO2) after the sample was degassed by boiling.
> The only significant anomaly was that on the third day, the
> pH of both teas dropped to 5.7. They had been left
> uncovered throughout the period but something significant
> happened overnight of the third day.
Distilled water in equilibrium with atmospheric CO2 has a pH of 5.6!
Microbial action is also a possibility if the pH change was sudden.
> In conclusion, if the results are the product of Alpha Acid
> in the hops then it should be possible to work out formulae
> to determine the approximate AA of hops or at least
> determine how much of an unknown hop is required to achieve
> the same pH of a known hop.
You may have something there, but I wonder what other types of
acids might be present in hops that produce no flavor components.
Ultimately we don't want to know the total acidity that the hops
can produce in our beers, but the specific quantities of a particular
class of acidic compounds.
Bob Santore
rsantore@mailbox.syr.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 12:30 EDT
From: HOWED@bcvax1.bc.edu
Subject: More on Immersion Chillers
After seeing all of the discussion on immersion wort chillers, I could
not resist thowing in my paltry 2 cents.
Before I started to brew, I saw a friend of mine do a batch. He had a
wort chiller, and so I thought it was a great idea. So, I went to the hardware
store, got 50' of 3/8 O.D.flexible copper tubing and a compression fitting.
The coil is fit so that there is about 2 inches of spance between the coil and
the side of the container for the wort. The outer coil just spirals down
from the compression fitting [where the water comes in], then I made a much
smaller coil inside the outer one which spirals up and out, where the water
flows out.
This chiller will cool wort which is fresh from the stove in about
15 mintues. Usually, I notice when the temp is at around 80 degrees [F],
walk into the next room to tell my partner that it's just about ready, toss
a dart or two, then come in to the 65 degree wort, all ready to pitch.
All I can say is I have no complaints. It works for me.
Dave
HOWED@BCVMS.BC.EDU
"If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking a beer, I bet it makes
beer shoot out your nose." -Jack Handey
"Homebrew is enlightenment in a bottle, and it doesn't come out of your _nose_"
-Anonymous
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 11:56:42 CDT
From: paulb%mist@juliet.ll.mit.edu (Paul Biron)
Subject: rotten egg smell
Last weekend I brewed up a batch of wheat beer using Alexander's 60/40
wheat extract, a 1.5 lb 100% wheat kicker, and various grains and hops.
I used Yeastlab Bavarian wheat liquid yeast. Prior to brewing I made up
a starter using 5 tbsp DME. After 24 hours in the starter there was quite a
bit of activity as well as a good deal of sediment but minimal kreusen.
I pitched into the primary and vigorous fermentation began within 18
hours. Once fermentation started, I began to notice a sour sulphur odor.
Now that fermentation has stopped and I've racked to the secondary, the
odor isn't as distinct but it's still there. Questions:
1: Has anyone had this experience using Yeastlab yeast. This is my first
experience with it. I've always used Wyeast befor this batch.
2: Will the odor disappear with time.
3: Is there a chance that I have a contaminated batch.
Any feedback will be appreciated
Thanks.
Paul Biron
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
DFW Airport
Dallas, TX
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 11:01:32 -0700
From: paul@melody.rational.com (Paul Jasper)
Subject: Re: camra
On 9 Apr, 11:56, BadAssAstronomer wrote:
> Subject: camra
>
> Just back from England with a bunch of real ale under and around
> my belt :) Man it was great, but I'll bore you with the details
> in some other post.
>
> However, the CAMRA Guide to Good Beer impressed me so much, I was
> thinking of joining CAMRA. Anybody out there a member or
> ex-member? Any and all comments will be appreciated.
>
>-- End of excerpt from BadAssAstronomer
I've been a member of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, since 1978. When
I moved to the US, I brought my membership with me, and I certainly find
it a good way to keep up with the UK beer, pub and brewing scene.
It costs 14 UK pounds (approx US$21) for "overseas membership". I believe
CAMRA will accept credit card orders over the phone (they will for book
orders, like for the Good Beer Guide). Their number is 011+44-727-867201.
They keep regular office hours, so remember to call early enough in the day
(before approx 12noon Eastern, 9am Pacific). Or write for details to CAMRA,
34 Alma Road, St Albans, England, AL1 3BW.
Membership includes a subscription to What's Brewing, their monthly
newspaper. This is 32 tabloid-format pages of news about British pubs,
breweries and beers, a column on homebrewing, a full page of beer hunting
from Michael Jackson (April issue: German Bocks and Doppelbocks), various
industry news (what's Anheuser Busch up to in Europe?), listings of beer
festivals, etc, etc.
- --
- -- Paul Jasper
- -- RATIONAL
- -- Object-Oriented Products
- --
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 93 12:13:49 EDT
From: "Jim L." <JLAUKAIT@ccvm.sunysb.edu>
Subject: growing hops
Hello fellow homebrewers,
I am a little new to this forum as well as homebrewing itself. I am sure this
has been talked about before, but I could use some information. I would like to
grow my own hops. It doesn't look too tough. I have a supply that can give me
rhizomes for Hallertau, Cascade, and one other I can't remember. The only
info I have is out of Papizanian's (sp?) book. Can anyone give me maybe a
little more insight, tips, etc.? Everything would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Jim
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1119, 04/14/93
*************************************
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