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HOMEBREW Digest #1298
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 93/12/15 03:55:31
HOMEBREW Digest #1298 Wed 15 December 1993
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
LAUTER TUN DESIGN (Jack Schmidling)
River lagering (Richard Nantel)
WINE (aaron.banerjee)
Norm's Dream tun... (Wayde Nie)
Re : Simulating an English beer engine (Conn Copas)
Re: Cats Meow (Mark A. Stevens)
carta blanca? (George Tempel)
Re: O2 & casks (Jim Busch)
Why Bavarian beer mugs have lids (chris campanelli)
Rnage hoods, chopsticks--too complicated (esonn1)
AHA judging form (Chuck Wettergreen)
(RONALD DWELLE)
party pig? (George Tempel)
Answers to Mead Questions (Geoff Reeves)
Just what's hiding in those draftflow cans... (ENESTVED)
Pardon my line-interruption.... (ENESTVED)
Bavarian Mug Lids (Jack St Clair)
specialty boiling hell out of (Mark Bunster)
RIMS and HSA (Bob Getty)
Yeasty Taste, Gushers (Todd Jennings)
stein lids revealed (Mark Bunster)
AOL, HBD and Censorship (lanbrew)
Gym Locker Mead ("Mark T. Berard")
First Cider Attempt (Scott Majdecki)
Koch's address (John Edens)
maltiness, aluminium (Jeff Frane)
Specialty grain use/Oregon Nut Brown Ale (korz)
XMAS STOUT (CompuCom) <v-ccsl@microsoft.com>
Fruit Extracts (Tom Goetze)
What's wrong with Fuggles? (Chris Amley - 3M Telecommunications)
Munton & Fison Address (Patrick_Waara.WBST129)
SS Stock pot prices ("Anton Verhulst")
Hazelnut extract (Richard Nantel)
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For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen@novell.physics.umr.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 21:18 CST
From: arf@mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: LAUTER TUN DESIGN
>From: "Dennis Lewis" <DLEWIS%jscdo6@jesnic.jsc.nasa.gov>
>Subject: perf sheet
>I have a keg that I fitted with a SS screen false bottom and have a tap
coming out of the bottom of the keg as my sweet liquor outlet. The perf sheet
I have is 3/32" holes on 5/32" centers. (I got this size from the Brewer's
Warehouse sheets. They claim it's the standard microbrewery size. Can anyone
verify?)
We exchanged mail on this subject but you failed to mention the hole size of
the lauter tun false bottom. It looks to me like another classic example of
how scaling down commercial equipment to hombrew sized batches just does not
work very well. 3/32" holes are probably too large for the geometry of a
homebrew tun.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but all your problems will go away if
you build an easymasher for it and throw away the false bottom. The first
easy masher I made (long before it was called one) was simply back up for
what got through the false bottom. The f/b caused so much grief that I took
it out and never used it again. They simply are not necessary or useful in
homebrew lauter tuns.
js
------------------------------
Date: 13 Dec 93 23:15:31 EST
From: Richard Nantel <72704.3003@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: River lagering
Regarding Greg Pyle's query about lagering under the ice of an Ontario
river.
As an avid homebrewer and flyfisherman, the idea would seem to present two
problems:
1. CO2 would slowly build up within the sealed glass carboy (no airlock)
and could explode;
2. The carboy could be swept away during spring runoff. (Even the most
tranquil summer stream can become a raging torrent after a couple of warm
afternoons.)
Nevertheless, I wish my fellow Canadian good luck with the idea and will
keep an eye open this spring for either a carboy drifting past the island
of Montreal or some not-too-sober trout migrating upstream towards free
beer.
Richard Nantel
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 22:59:43
From: aaron.banerjee@his.com
Subject: WINE
The following is a recipie which I used as a college student. It doesn't
always produce the best tasting wine (depending on how good a winemaker you
are), but produces alcohol...
Banerjee's "Grocery Store" Wine
1. Buy a 1 gallon jug of apple juice or cider in a glass jar. Drink 3-4
cups of juice.
2. Bring 5-6 cups of the remaining juice to a boil with 3-4 cups sugar
to produce a sweet solution.
3. Add said sweet solution back to the juice.
4. Add 1 tsp dry yeast (wine yeast is preferrable, but any will do) Note
that baker's yeast imparts a taste on the wine, and produces less
alcohol, but it still works if you're desparate.
5. Seal the top with a stopper or puddy. the stopper or puddy (clay)
should have a hole as to allow a 1/4" vinyl tube to stick through, but
not allow any air to get into the juice except for through the tube.
The end of the tube that sticks through the puddy should not
extend all the way to the juice, but rather should end in the air space
between the puddy and the juice. The other end of the tube should be
immersed in water.
6. If you have a bubbler lock, use it and ignore step 5.
7. Keeping the mixture between 75 and 90 degrees F, wait 2 weeks. Note:
temperatures above about 100 F seems to kill most yeast. That is,
don't add the yeast to a really hot mixture.
8. If you feel like bottling the wine to allow you to start another
batch of wine, do so, otherwise, wait another 2 weeks.
9. Drink and be merry, for tomorrow the world may end.
10. The second time around, instead of buying another jug of apple juice,
make grape juice in the same jug using 2 cans of frozen grape juice
(preferrably a brand that doesn't contain vitamin C).
11. Hint: get a hole bunch of jugs going at the same time to get a
constant supply of wine.
Please direct any questions or comments to:
aaron.banerjee@his.com
- Aaron.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 04:33:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Wayde Nie <niew@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca>
Subject: Norm's Dream tun...
Hi Norm (and the HBD crowd!), I guess I'm a bit of a dreamer too...
I've been thinking of similar systems myself, have you considered a small
gas fired hot water heater for your hot liquor tank?
It seems to me that you have a closed, well insulated system here
which already has the plumbing to safely handle the gas, water and
combustion fumes. With the addition of the appropriate ball valves, safety
valve and an outlet on the top for your steam supply you have a dual
purpose hot liquor tank/steam generator. You might even fashion some sort
of door for water treatments (it would need to hold some modest pressure
for your steam generator). An added bonus is that the water will be
supplied under some presure so there is no need to elevate your tank to
7-8 feet.
Does anyone know if a standard hot water tank thermostat is
accurate enought or has the necessary range for this? Anyone think that
we're crazy and are looking for trouble?
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\|||/ | Wayde Nie |
<o.O> | Student Consultant | Real Programmers
( v ) Aack! | Computing and Information Services | use:
--"-"-- | McMaster University | "COPY CON PROG.EXE"
*Bill The Owl* | NIEW@McMail.CIS.McMaster.CA |
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ifyoucanreadthis,youspendtoomuchtimefiguringouttaglines.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 13:22:03 GMT
From: Conn Copas <C.V.Copas@lut.ac.uk>
Subject: Re : Simulating an English beer engine
Bob writes about adding a sparkler to the outlet of his kegging system to
achieve a creamy head. I get the same effect by using one of those
much-maligned plastic pressure barrels (Hambleton Bards's, FWIW). By trial and
error, I have found that the presence of an internal float system makes no
difference to performance, ie, the brew is still milky when served and clears
from the bottom up. Therefore, the most likely source of agitation is the
simple fact of opening the tap by a very small amount, combined with a
top pressure of up to 20 psi. I would imagine that this would be easy to
simulate in a kegging system without going to the trouble of building a
sparkler?
Now here's one for the engineers: I would like to add a sparkler to my
_bottled_ beers. I have tried simply pouring these through a perforated valve,
but the dispense pressure doesn't seem to be great enough to cause a milky
brew. I am now thinking in terms of adding a foot pump device to force the beer
out from a vertically standing bottle. Look out Guinness, your patented draught
beer-in-a-can system is under threat!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 08:46:22 EST
From: Mark A. Stevens <stevens@stsci.edu>
Subject: Re: Cats Meow
In Homebrew Digest #1297, Craig Hicks (chicks@nas.edu) asks
what the Cats Meow is.
The Cats Meow 2 is a collection of beer recipes compiled from
past issues of the Homebrew Digest. The current version contains
more than 400 recipes in various styles, including mead and
cider.
To get the Cats Meow, follow the instructions for accessing
the archives at sierra.stanford.edu via anonymous FTP.
Prosit!
===Mark Stevens
stevens@stsci.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 08:27:38 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel@MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: carta blanca?
carta blanca?
my wife very fondly remembers a brew called
carta blanca from a trip she took to mexico (before
we met). I have tried in vain to find it and cannot.
Does anyone know if it still exists, and if not, is
there a clone-recipe, for lack of a better term?
thanks in advance
george
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 09:40:02 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: Re: O2 & casks
> From: bjones@novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
> Subject: Oxygen for brewing
>
> Is there an inexpensive source for pure oxygen to use in wort oxygenation?
> Anyone out there using pure oxygen for wort oxygenation?
Sure! Despite reading that it is best to use FDA approved O2, I went
out and bought a tank of welding O2 (new). My local Phd/lab friend
assured me that nothing would "live" in the high pressure O2 environment,
but since the cleanliness of the oxygen is an issue, I push the O2
through a .2 micron filter, then through a silica airstone. I just
got a scintered SS stone, so that will be tested next brew. The O2 has
improved my ferments, especially the latest barleywine. I use a 2 hour
(approx) bubble period, then disconnect (I start the O2 as soon as wort
is hitting the fermenter, and turn it off about 1.5-2 hours later).
> From: bjones@novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
> Subject: Simulating an English beer engine
>
> I am considering either one of two ideas to make using this concept alittle
> easier to use. One would be to keep the keg at about 1psi and add a small
> pump to raise the pressure to push the beer through the sparkler. The other
> is to push the beer with nitrogen instead of CO2. This way I could leave the
> keg at 10psi and not pick up any carbonation. I have been threatening to go
> to a mixed gas system, this may be the push over the top. This post is
> getting long, I'll stop by sayng, give it a try, you may like it. My
> appologies to all the people in the UK on butchering the tradition of cask
> condition ales, but I think I have come up with a pretty good simulation.
I have found that the use of a Guinness slow pour tap (with flow rate
adjustment) can be effective in simulating the cask ale carbonation. It
works in much the same way as an engine, but using gas to push it through
the sparkler head. Unfortuneatly, I have heard that Rapids no longer sells
the adjustable model. This technique has the same problem as Bob's, the
pressure cannot be left on, or the beer will gain CO2. Its probably easiest
to just keep it at the level desired, and turn it on to dispense, shutting
off the carb after your done for the night.
>
> Fellow brewers, open your eyes, gased ales are not necessarly the best ales.
> With no gas, one can make a lower gravity beer and experience the malt and
> hop flavors MUCH better. I not saying I'm going to make all my beers now
> without CO2, I am saying it really adds another demension to beer.
>
Exactly.
> From: korz@iepubj.att.com
I usually wait till the airlock is bubbling less
> than once per minute, often waiting till it's less than once per two minutes.
If you have good experience with this method, fine. But if you are tweaking
variables all of the time, like I often do, please take a hydrometer reading
to determine when to keg/bottle. The 'ole bubbles per unit time can be
quite misleading. Now, anyone know where to buy a professional hydrometer
for under $125?? The bummer is you need two, one for OG, and one for FG,
and yet another for "high OG".
Best,
Jim Busch
DE HOPPEDUIVEL DRINKT MET ZWIER 'T GEZONDE BLOND HOPPEBIER!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 08:44 CST
From: akcs.chrisc@vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli)
Subject: Why Bavarian beer mugs have lids
The REAL reason why bavarian beer mugs have lids (pick one):
It keeps insects out of your beer.
It keeps your friends from wedging a kartoffelpuffer into the
opening of your mug while your not looking.
It pisses the French off.
People won't mistake your beer mug for a spitoon.
You can launch pretzels at the American tourists sitting at the
next table over.
For the same reason women wear swimsuits.
There aren't any pretzels floating in your beer after the polizei
break up the brawl.
Toilets have lids so what the heck.
Gives those gunsmiths something to do between wars.
Tourists will want to buy it.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 10:15:49 -0500
From: esonn1@cc.swarthmore.edu
Subject: Rnage hoods, chopsticks--too complicated
Hi,
A quick suggestion on how to get all the extracty out of poly bags
(or cans for that matter). Ladle a bit of the hot (recently boiled) water
into the bag and swish it around until the remaining extract has dissolved
in the water. Dump the water into your brewpot. If you're worried about
putting too hot water in the bag, you could even use a bit of hot tap water
and still not risk any infection since it's done before the boil. The
range hood and chopstick methods seem too complicated for me, but what do I
know, I'm just a college student.
Eugene
esonn1@cc.swarthmore.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 09:27:00 -0600
From: chuck.wettergreen@aquila.com (Chuck Wettergreen)
Subject: AHA judging form
All,
The AHA beer judging form starts off, after identification of the
style and the judge, with the category "bottle inspection". There
are no points awarded in this category, just comments. I have
several questions, such as:
What is the purpose of this section? Recently I received comments in
this section of "short fill" and "low fill line". I also received a
"nice bottle" comment. I see that this inspection could be
used to inspect for the ring that is supposed to be indicative of
certain types of bacterial infection. I also understand that low
fill *could* be indicative of potential oxidation, although oxygen
absorbing bottle caps *may* negate potential oxidation risk from air
in the bottle. However, if no points are awarded, what's it there
for?
Do oxygen absorbing bottle caps negate the potential for in-bottle
oxidation?
Does actual bottle condition, ie. scratched or sanded, have
anything to do with judging the beer?
TIA,
E-mail comments welcome
Chuck Wettergreen
* RM 1.2 00946 *
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 11:16:33 EST
From: dweller@GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE)
Subject:
Subject: RE: FTP-ing from sierra.stanford.edu
Don Said:
> I can't seem to be able to log onto the sierra machine.
I can>telnet to it get the login prompt, but no matter what
I try I>continually get an ''incorrect login'' error.<<<<<<<
/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\---a break in de message, see?
I too had a bitch trying to ftp or telnet sierra. I suspect
they lockout the aliens during working hours. I finally got
all I wanted by sending the "Get" command to "listserv."
I first sent: "GET PUB/HOMEBREW INDEX" (or maybe it was
just "GET INDEX" to listserv@sierra.stanford.edu at
Internet).
Then with the Index, I ordered everything I wanted. I just
send a message via Internet, addressed to
"listserv@sierra.stanford.edu" with a one-line message,
like: "GET pub/homebrew yeast.faq" (pub/homebrew is the
directory and "yeast.faq" is the text file.). If you send
anything except the single line, the messages gets squashed
and bounced back.
RE other question-- "Cat's Meow" is a zillion receipes.
I expect to finish trying them in the year 2319, just after
my 19th liver transplant.
Ron D(dweller@gvsu.edu at Internet)
"Yeast me up, Scotty"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 10:37:38 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel@MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: party pig?
party pig?
Has anyone out there tried the Party Pig? There was
a great review of it in the Winter issue of Zymurgy,
and I'm thinking of picking one up.
How does it compare to small CO2 systems? It looks
attractive in terms of size, capacity, and ease of
use. I really don't want to go around finding kegs,
and this might be a nice bottle minimizer/alternative.
Thanks in advance...
george
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 09:39:56 -0700
From: reeves@lanl.gov (Geoff Reeves)
Subject: Answers to Mead Questions
>
>My fiance asked me about three weks ago whether I had any plans to brew
>a mead for our honeymoon, and I thought the idea was great.
>So anyway, here are my questions for mead enthusiasts:
>@ racking, the fermentation seemed to have hurt the
>flavor, with an off flavor best described as like A & D Ointment! The
>"bouquet" seemed to have soured as well, offering a smell more like
>ripe yeasties (like when we clean our carboys after bottling). Is
>this normal and/or will these flavors mellow and balence within a few
>months? That's question #1.
>
>Question #2 is: After I racked to the secondary vessels and fixed them
>with fermentation locks, I brought these tanks to the basement storage
>area to ferment, settle and clarify for another month or so before
>I bottle. But there are hot water pipes that run through the storage
>roomand do give off some heat (I'd estimate that it's a steady 80F
>though I've not yet monitored the temperature). I don't think its
>too threatening to the brew, but just to be sure, what is an accept-
>able temperature range for meads in the secondary?
>
>John
I think your two questions are related. The medicinal smell is most likely
caused by phenols which are produced as a byproduct of fermentation. Higher
temperatures tend to increase the level of phenol production. What is "too
high a temperature" depends on your yeast. For most ale yeasts it is
recommended that the fermentation temperature be below 70 deg. For higher
gravity beers (and mead) my feeling is that you need to stay in the lower
range of 55-60 deg because the large amount of alcohol produced increases
the chance of having phenols above the flavor threshold. Sometimes these
compounds do mellow and disappear with time but not usually in a month or
two. Fortunately your mead will last much longer than that. The only thing
I can suggest for a possible quick fix is to leave your mead in the
secondary until you want to drink it (still mead is just as nice as
sparkling) and agitate it frequently. Phenols are volitile so the levels
may reduce some over the next few months.
Geoff
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A brewery is like a toothbrush, everyone should have their own. |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Geoff Reeves: NIS-2, Mail Stop D-436, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| reeves@lanl.gov (internet) or essdp2::reeves (span) |
| Phone (505) 665-3877 |
| Fax (505) 665-4414 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 11:50:47 -0400 (EDT)
From: ENESTVED@bcvax1.bc.edu
Subject: Just what's hiding in those draftflow cans...
Dear folks of the HBD:
A coupl eof frineds of mine and I got bored one day and decided
to find out just what makes those "draft-flow" cans work. Mind you, this
was in Reading, England a year ago, but I can't imagine that they've
changed since then. Anyway, we hacked off the top of a can-O-Murphy's and
discovered a two-piece setup of plastic. The top piece stretched from one
side of the can to the other, with round-ended arms to keep it from up-
ending and relaesing all the gas before the can is opened. The bottom
section slipped up into the top, and wasa sort of plug or mushroom-shaped
thing. We decided that openeing the can released the pressure sufficiently
for the bottom piece to slide out (down, that is) of the larger top piece
thereby shooting a dose of CO2 (or whatever they're using - could be
anything, for all I know) through the beer overhead. This ensured that all
the beer got gassed, and pretty thoroughly. I didn't like it quite as much
as a regular draft pint, but our can wasn't quite as cold as they said
it should be on the label. It sounds as if these are big hit - I may give
it another chance soon. It looked something like this:
Top: _____ Side: _____
/ / \ \ | |
| | | | | | | |
\ \ / / |_| |_|
____
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 12:00:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: ENESTVED@bcvax1.bc.edu
Subject: Pardon my line-interruption....
Um, sorry about the rather abrupt ending of that post I tried to send (our
network tends to implode during finals week here at B.C.) Anyway, the whole
plug looks like a poorly-machined capital letter "I" from the side, with
the top half fitting like a larger sleeve over the smaller, bottom half.
>From the top, the gas reservoir looks like a frisbee that's been chopped
off along its top and bottom edges. Anyway, I hope this might be of
interest to the engineering-minded out there. (And can you believe that
they outlawed homebrewing rigs on our campus as of last year? Boy, I didn't
think that this whole thing about repressive administrations was more than
a joke, but now I'm brewing in it....) Have fun.... Will
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 09:14:21 PST
From: Jack St Clair <Jack_St_Clair@ccm.hf.intel.com>
Subject: Bavarian Mug Lids
Text item: Text_1
In HBD#1297 Ed Hitchcock asked the question of: Why lids on Bavarian
Beer Mugs?
The custom goes back to the renaissance days and the lids prevented your
pal from putting a pellet of poison in your porter. Put that in your
pipe and puff.
Jack St.Clair
Jack_St_Clair@ccm.hf.intel.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 11:55:21 EST
From: Mark Bunster <mbunster@hibbs.vcu.edu>
Subject: specialty boiling hell out of
* >None of my homebrew info sources explain when/how to properly
* use specialty grains for an extract based brew.
* In the past I've just tossed my grains in at the beginning of the
* boil and boiled the hell outta them for an hour. Those batches
* were VERRRY bitter, though I'm not sure if it wasn't the Northern
* Brewer (2 oz, loose) which I was trying out at the same time.
* Should I not let the grains get more than 150 degrees F, as in
* mash conversion? Should I add them after the boil, below a certain
* temperature, and let them steep. What temps? What times?
* Thanks again,
*
>From personal experience, specialty grains give you all the flavor you need
in about 15 minutes at low boil, not an hour at hell temps. Get out as many
as you can (relax etc) and move on. The darker and more "roasty" your grains,
the stronger your preliminary tea, so the fun part there is how roasty you
want your beer--vary time by grains and pers pref.
- --
Mark Bunster |Exchange conversation if you dare--
Survey Research Lab--VCU |Share an empty thought or a laugh.
Richmond, VA 23220 |
mbunster@hibbs.vcu.edu |
(804) 367-8813/353-1731 | -edFROM
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 13:00:38 EST
From: Bob Getty <bgetty01@prog.c4.gmeds.com>
Subject: RIMS and HSA
I am planning on building a RIMS over Xmas and want to be clear
on the HSA danger(!?) involved with the system. Has HSA been a
problem with you RIMS users? I have read descriptions of foaming
and splashing at the output of the system, so it seems RIMS would
have an HSA problem.
What methods or tricks do people use to get the wort into the mash
tun from the RIMS output? Morris recommends laying a perforated
1/8'' plastic tray on the grain and piping the wort on top of it.
Any better ideas? Does anybody keep the wort level above the grain
bed and have the output pipe below the wort water line?
Thanks in advance,
Bob
------------------------------
Date: 14 Dec 93 13:19:26 EST
From: jennings@readmore.com (Todd Jennings)
Subject: Yeasty Taste, Gushers
- -- ------------------------------
Adrian Anderson recently posted the following:
>Brewers,
> I am new to the list and to homebrewing. Have one batch of
>Continental Light, made from a kit, to my credit. My product
>came out fine body and colorwise w/ good carbonation. The only
>problem is a very (ultra - mega) yeasty aftertaste.
One question I have is whether you racked to a secondary fermenter after
the krausen fell, or did you ferment all in one vessel? You may find
that racking to secondary will eliminate some of the yeasty taste to your
beer.
Also, how long did you allow for conditioning? You should allow a couple
of weeks in the bottle before drinking, at least. If you drank your beer
sooner than that, there may not have been enough time for the yeast to
settle out. Check the bottom of your bottles for the familiar white
yeast ring.
- ------------------------------------------
Matthew Bohne writes:
>Subject: BREW PROBLEM..
>WHEN I MOVED EVERYTHING TO THE FERMENT TANK I DIDN'T GET A BUBBLE FOR
THE 1ST
>DAY, HOWEVER 2 DAYS LATER IT WAS AT FULL CRANK. ON THE 6TH DAY IT BLEW
BEER
>THROUGH THE VAPOR LOCK SOME 9 FEET INTO THE AIR(RATHER FUN TO WATCH BUT
A MESS
>TO CLEAN..) THE HEAD PEEKED AND FELL BACK IN, I DRAINED IT TO THE SECOND
>FERMENT TANK AND WAITED.. IT BUBBLED SLIGHTLY ONCE AN HOUR, 2 DAYS
LATER, I
>BOTTLED. IT HAS BEEN 2 WEEKS AND I WENT DOWN TO THE CELLAR AND I NOTICED
A
>WHITE RING INSIDE OF ALL THE BOTTLES... WHAT IS THIS?? IT ALMOST LOOKS
LIKE A
>MINI HEAD BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO BE THICKENED FROTH... WILL IT GO AWAY??
SHOULD I
>JIGGLE THE BOTTLES AND GET IT TO DROP TO THE BOTTOM? I ALSO NOTICED A
THICKER
>SEDIMENT IN THE BOTTOM OF MY BOTTLES THAN USUAL. SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?
I
>OPENED ONE AND GOT THIS MAJOR GUSHER (I SEEM TO BE GETTING A LOT OF
THESE
>THESE DAYS BOTH WITH OLD AND NEW BEERS) -- SHOULD THEY BE CHILLED
LONGER? IS
>THERE ANYWAY TO COUNTERACT THIS?
IMHO, you definitely bottled to early. There may have been other
factors, but be sure your specific gravity has leveled off before
bottling next time.
This will help alot. As far as your froth at the TOP of your bottled
beer goes, it might be that heavy fermentation resumed after bottling,
and the froth might be krausen. Again, bottling at the right time might
do the trick.
Todd A. Jennings, A NYC apartment homebrewer 8^)
tjenning@readmore.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 13:50:50 EST
From: Mark Bunster <mbunster@hibbs.vcu.edu>
Subject: stein lids revealed
* Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 13:50:53 -0400
* From: Ed Hitchcock <ECH@ac.dal.ca>
* Subject: Trivia / Jade
*
* Here's a question for those breweriana afficianados: Why, specifically, do
* bavarian beer mugs have a lid? IS there a story or tradition behind this?
Specifically, to keep out air and flies.
Air (and heat) makes for flat beer, flies affect the protein level when they
fall in, destroying the careful balance of flavors. (ahem)
When you drink it a litre at a time, it can go warm on you quick. If you go
to a beer garden in Bavaria (or elsewhere) you'll often see people with the
drip mats over their glasses for the same reason.
I remember seeing a guy in a bar pour 9/10 of his beer, then roll the bottle
sideways back and forth for 10 minutes to build a good head to pour on top.
Everybody has a system.
* was a pale Flanders style ale from the north of France. Anyone have any
I didn't know Flanders brewed his own beer! No wonder Homer hates him--he
just likes Duff.
- --
Mark Bunster |Exchange conversation if you dare--
Survey Research Lab--VCU |Share an empty thought or a laugh.
Richmond, VA 23220 |
mbunster@hibbs.vcu.edu |
(804) 367-8813/353-1731 | -edFROM
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 14:01:46 EST
From: lanbrew@aol.com
Subject: AOL, HBD and Censorship
I would like to take this opportunity to voice my support of Andrew Patrick
in his quest for a more open-minded approach toward "offensive behavior" on
America Online's Beer and Brewing Forum.
It seems like our civilization in general and computer forums specifically
are getting more and more thin-skinned. Even in the HBD, which is probably
one of the better self-controlled forums I've seen, people are waiting to
bitch about signature lines, "offensive language", and almost anything Jack
Schmidling writes. I *like* the fact that some people have the courage to
express themselves in a genuine manner, even if (ESPECIALLY IF) it takes on a
more earthy tone. Do all of you people who run screaming from the words
"orgasm" or "pissed off" avoid such language in the outside world? Do you
ever interact in a more casual manner with other people?
A fair number of HBD regulars wish to hold the Digest up to some sort of
"professional standard" which dictates that common language be banned and
that we all speak with more rarified language. Don't you think that this is
more than a little pretentious? This is, after all, not a professional or
even an amateur publication, but a largely random forum in the format of a
huge ongoing conversation.
Perhaps I am far afield on this one, but when very few vocal or powerful
people have the ability to suppress or censor or in any way affect my freedom
to express myself as I see fit, that is clearly counter to the free exchange
of ideas and just plain wrong! In the case of AOL vs. Andrew Patrick, we
have a person arbitrarily discarding posts because of some perceived
violation of the bylaws. I do not feel that it is appropriate to hide under
the cover of "well, he signed up and agreed to the rules, so he got what he
deserved" . These kinds of rules are infinitely more offensive to me than
any language could ever be and I have a real problem with dim-witted
do-gooders who see nothing wrong with what AOL is doing.
All I ask is that some of you stop and think.
Lan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 13:16:42 EST
From: "Mark T. Berard" <mtberard@dow.com>
Subject: Gym Locker Mead
Smelly Mead question:
I have recently tried to make my first mead. I used 2.5 lb clover honey,
small amount gypsum, yeast nutrient, irish moss. Boiled in approx 0.5 gal.
water for 15 min and skimmed, ala TNCJHB. Topped off with water in 1 gallon
jug, pitched rehydrated wine yeast, capped with air lock. Vigorous ferment
by next evening, remained vigorous approx. 2 wks, now has slow ferment.
Started Nov 21, so it's been 3 weeks total so far. When I racked to the
secondary (@ 2 wks) it smelled awful. Kind of like dirty socks. I tasted a
little, also awful. Will this get better with age??? Is this just a byproduct
from the yeast ferment that will get scrubbed out by the CO2? What have I done
wrong (if anything)???
I mentioned to a friend that I was making mead (foolishly, before I had racked
to the secondary), and he got me a gallon of honey from his Dad's hives.
Mainly from Orange trees and basil(?), i.e. mixed flower. Now I'm in a bind,
because I'd like to make some mead for him to give to his Dad, but I don't want
to make a foul brew, and I don't want to wait a year to see if the mead I have
going will get better before I try another batch.
Help! Any suggestions, or recipes for Orange Blossom Honey based Meads would
be greatly appreciated. Melomel or Methaglyn recipes would be fine, too. TIA.
Mark SCIENCE! mtberard@dow.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 08:24:54 PST
From: scottm@hilbert.cypress (Scott Majdecki)
Subject: First Cider Attempt
This is my first attempt at Canadian style sparkling hard cider.
My problem/question is that after ~2 weeks in the primary
I racked to secondary and of course had to sample. It tasted like
a nice, very dry cider, but had an alcohol aftertaste. I'm wondering
what might be the problem, or if the aftertaste will mellow during
secondary.
I started with a simple recipe posted in this digest several
weeks ago:
4 gallons natural cider
add 4 crushed Campden tablets and let sit for 24 hrs
add 5 lbs clover honey diluted to 1 gallon w/ water (boiled 10 min)
add 2 pkgs dry Champagne yeast and yeast nutrient
ferment in primary at ~66F (Active for about 1 1/2 wks)
Rack to secondary.
I plan to leave it in the secondary for 1 week at about 58-60F,
re-rack, secondary 1 more week, prime w/ 3/4cup corn sugar boiled
in 1pt water and bottle.
Any explanation for the alcohol aftertaste.
Thanks ahead for any help.
- --
Scott Majdecki Email: sdm@cypress.com
Cypress Semiconductor Phone: (503)526-1888
8196 SW Hall Blvd., Ste 100 FAX: (503)626-6688
Beaverton, OR. 97005
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 12:32:54 -0600 (CST)
From: John Edens <johne@sa-htn.valmet.com>
Subject: Koch's address
Does anyone have an address for Koch so that people can
tell him that it isn't nice to tell lies in his advertising
or sue people who run businesses with names similar to his
company name?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 12:08:43 -0800 (PST)
From: gummitch@teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: maltiness, aluminium
Phil Brushaber wants to get more maltiness in his beer. Phil, the malts
you're talking about are wonderful and you shouldn't have any trouble
getting the desired results with them. If you aren't getting it: try
lowering your hopping rate and, more importantly, start examining your
water supply. The Munich water is directly responsible for bringing out
that effect; you should make adjustments to get the same water for your
brewing. Seems to me that Noonan had some relevant data on this in his
Lager Beer book. There is more elsewhere (Miller?).
The importance of the right water cannot be overstated.
=====
On the question of aluminium pots, I will confess to having mashed in an
aluminium pot now for nearly a year -- or maybe more, I forget...
Seriously, I don't know if I'm brain-damaged by this pot, but there have
been absolutely no, zero, none, bad affects on the flavor. My beer, in
fact, is better than ever.
Of course, the kettle isn't as beautiful as my stainless steel 15-gallon
pot, nor my stainless steel keg/kettle, but the beer is fine.
Jeff Frane (I think... aren't I?)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 13:40 CST
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Specialty grain use/Oregon Nut Brown Ale
George and Steve write about using specialty grains:
Steve>>None of my homebrew info sources explain when/how to properly
Steve>use specialty grains for an extract based brew.
Steve>In the past I've just tossed my grains in at the beginning of the
Steve>boil and boiled the hell outta them for an hour. Those batches
George>you not to boil the hell outta the speciality grains, as you'll
George>suck the tannins from the husks, contributing to quite a bitter
George>tang. Much like overbrewing a _dark_ tea, it's not something
George>you wanna do.
Indeed, George! pH is another important factor. If you have high-carbonate
water, you may want to add a teaspoon of Gypsum to a gallon of water and
boil it for 5 minutes or so. Then pour off the water away from the sediment
(Calcium Carbonate) and toss the sediment. If you have low-carbonate water,
you don't have to do this, you can just warm the tapwater up to 160-170F.
Now, cool the water down to about 160 to 170F, crush the grain, put it in
a grain bag (much easier than trying to remove the grain with a strainer
later), tie off the bag and steep the grains in the 160-170F water for 15
to 30 minutes. I used to heat the water from 50F with the grain bag in
the liquor, but last time I did this, the bag stuck to the bottom of the
kettle and I burnt a hole in it. Drat! I used to use the full 5 gallons
for steeping the grains, but that's not a good idea -- the pH will be way
too high (even with low-carbonate water) and thus you'll extract those
tannins even at 160F. Also, as Don mentioned, this method is useful for
crystal and the dark malts like Chocolate, Roasted Barley and Black Malt
(aka Roasted Malt). You would not want to do this with Pale, Pils, Biscuit,
Aromatic, Munich, etc. or flaked barley/oats/etc. since these need to be
mashed to convert their starches.
**************
Wally writes:
>After looking at the Winter Zymurgy I am intrigued by the
>Oregon Nut Brown Ale. Can anyone who attended the Conference
>comment on it.
Yes. I think it was the finest specialty beer I've tasted. Its flavor
was reminiscent of "Eat-it-all" cones! I plan to make some -- I've yet
to find a source for the Hazelnut extract. Wally -- I'll let you know
if I find it.
>The recipe calls for 3.3 lbs on Danish Unhopped malt syrup.
>Does anyone know whether this is Light, Amber, Dark?
I haven't looked at the recipe yet. The beer was perhaps 12-13 degrees L,
so I'd suspect either light or amber.
>Since the recipe call for 3.3 lbs for a 10 gallon batch I would
>replace with 1.5 lbs DME probably Laaglander for a 5 gallon
>batch.
3.3 lbs of syrup is probably equivalent to about 2.65 lbs of DME.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 12:24:20 PST
From: Scott Lord (CompuCom) <v-ccsl@microsoft.com>
Subject: XMAS STOUT
Made a Xmas beer last Sunday.
Here it is
Hop Along Xmas Stout
15 gallons
19 1/2 lbs Munton &Fison Dark extract
1/2 lb. Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb. Chocolate Malt
5 oz. RoastedBarley
5 oz. Dark Belgian Crystal 250L
2 - 1oz Sticks of Brewers Licorice
1 lb. Treacle black strap molasses
8 oz Cascade boil 90min
8 oz Cascade finish 15min
8 oz Cascade End 2min
3 packs of Windsor Dry Yeast made in to a starter.
This was a full boil with 15 gal.
Put all dark grains in cold water and raise to 180 F. then remove.
Put in Licorice when water boils 5 min.Then all dark extract goes in.
Boil for 10 min. then first hops goes in 8 oz. what a hop smell.
this was Boiled down to 12 1/2 gallons then the finish hops 8 oz. were added.
Tasted. Not to overly bitter.Put the remainder of the Hops in 8 more
oz. turned
heat and pump wort through counterFlow wort chiller.
what a hop nose.
Will let all you know how turns out
this is the most hops I have ever used.
Scott Lord
"WSHBSC | Beer it's not just for Breakfast any more.
v-ccsl@microsoft
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 13:15:55 -0800
From: goetze@cats.ucsc.edu (Tom Goetze)
Subject: Fruit Extracts
Matthew Evans asks about HopTech Fruit Extracts back on December 8, so
I like to share some related information. I have not used HopTech's
fruit extracts, but I have used a Blueberry Extract from the Beverage
People (Byron Burch and Nancy Vineyard's place in Santa Rosa). I don't
know where they get it (or if they make it themselves), but the person I
talked to on the phone told me that it is exactly the same stuff that
Marin Brewing Company uses in its Blueberry Ale (can you say '93 Gold
Medal in Fruit Beer). So it is possible to make good beer with it.
To get good results I would recommend staying below 15 IBU's.
The person from Beverage People told me that Marin Brewing Co. uses some
wheat in their ale--but I ventured for the use of rice instead (to be
precise I used 4 lbs Alexander's pale LME, 1.5 lbs dry rice extract and
about 14 IBU's (can't remember the hops)--then add 4oz of fruit extract
at bottling). I was very happy with this light, extremely drinkable,
blueberry concoction. I will admit that the blueberry was not tremendously
strong (i.e. could have been a little stronger). My best guess is that
by adding the fruit extract directly to the hot priming liquid, I may
have reduced the flavor and aroma of the blueberry extract. So I
suggest adding the extract to cool beer before bottling/kegging. But in
general, the beer was extememly well received--especially with my
friends who like the lighter beers.
For heavier beers, I would guess that you might need
substantially more than 4 oz. Good luck. tom
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 15:19:43 -0600
From: ccamley@mmm.com (Chris Amley - 3M Telecommunications)
Subject: What's wrong with Fuggles?
In his book on Pale Ale, Terry Foster includes a table of
hops varieties and suggested uses in Pale Ale. He
recommends Fuggles hops for aroma/finishing only, and not
for bittering. Aside from the modest AA content of
Fuggles, is there any other reason why I shouldn't have
used them last week?
Chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 13:29:00 PST
From: Patrick_Waara.WBST129@xerox.com
Subject: Munton & Fison Address
Can someone send me the address of Munton & Fison? I have a problem with one
of their products which needs to be brought to their attention.
~Pat
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 10:26:44 EST
From: "Anton Verhulst" <verhulst@zk3.dec.com>
Subject: SS Stock pot prices
>I would like to get a ten gallon stainless stock pot, but they cost about $175
new.
Well, that may be the retail price but you can do much better. I bought my 10
gallon stock pot mail order from Rapids Restaurant & Bar Supply for $125,
including lid and shipping.
BTW, stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat and can develop hot spots that
will scorch the wort. Better quality SS stock pots (Volrath) have aluminum
clad bottoms to help distribute the heat.
I can't recommend Rapids highly enough. When they they sent me a Polarware
stock pot (no aluminum clad) instead of the advertised Volrath, they sent me
the proper item right away AND arranged and paid for the UPS pick up to
return the incorrect pot. I have no connection with Rapids other than as
a satisfied customer.
- --Tony Verhulst
------------------------------
Date: 14 Dec 93 17:35:22 EST
From: Richard Nantel <72704.3003@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Hazelnut extract
Regarding John Walaszek's plans (HB1297) to use hazelnut extract in a nut
brown ale:
I tried that last year. The extract was the type used to make liqueurs (Tia
Maria, etc.) The resulting beer did taste nutty but had an awful `metallic'
aftertaste. Perhaps a hazelnut extract used in baking might be more
appropriate. Good luck. Keep us posted, John.
Richard Nantel
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1298, 12/15/93
*************************************
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