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HOMEBREW Digest #1317
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/01/06 00:46:46
HOMEBREW Digest #1317 Thu 06 January 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
growing hops (nr706)
Sleepy liquid yeast (Paul Beard)
"aging" beers (how to store?) (perkins)
Amber aging (8-293-5810 or (914))" <huckfinn@vnet.IBM.COM>
Re: Using Lager Yeast at Ale temps (Josh Grosse)
Stein Trivia ("Pete Brauer 312/915-6157" )
water analysis (Chuck Wettergreen)
Counterflow Chiller Numbers (Earle M. Williams)
Boiling Hops in Water vs. the extract malt. (rprice)
Thermoelectric Igloo Cooler (Robert Milstead)
Rumours/Easymasher/Cold Ferment (npyle)
What is HSA (don sharp)
move to all grain (George Tempel)
Where are the FAQs? ("Austin, Andy")
Pump source? (Jeremy Ballard Bergsman)
Ovens and Bleach (GNT_TOX_)
terminal gravity thanks/PET bottle cooling (Jonathan G Knight)
Kettle Mashing (Jack Schmidling)
Brewpubs/Microbreweries in the Detroit area? (Steve Jones 412-337-2052)
Anchors aweigh (Jonathan G Knight)
Screw Top Bottles ("Jim Ellingson")
RE: screwtops (Bob Kosakowski)
Blueberry Melomel recipe (smtplink!guym)
re: big brewing (The Rider) (Michael Fetzer)
spruce beer (Mark Worwetz)
NEW! NEW! NEW! (chris campanelli)
opps! (Edwin Quier/TOOL CLERK : Humb Bay PP / 375-0718)
liquid b-brite storage (Russell Gelinas)
mead and stuff ("kim.paffenroth.1")
Idea for step-infusion ("John J. Magee")
cooling wort, heating bottles (Troy Howard)
Water treatment (korz)
Boiling hops in water/Re: slow ale fermentation (korz)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 94 05:35:34 EST
From: nr706@aol.com
Subject: growing hops
Several submissions lately have addressed the freshness of packaged hops sold
through common retail distribution systems.
As a relatively new homebrewer, who will be starting tomatoes, peppers &
other crops indoors within the next month or so, I'd be curious to know
what's involved in growing hops. What tempertatures/climates do they prefer?
Can they be home grown? Where are seed or plant sources (haven't seen much on
this in zymurgy, tho I haven't scanned every ad in depth). What's involved in
harvesting & using in beer? Are there any good reference books out there I
should check out?
Any/all help is appreciated.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 08:03:47 -0500
From: paul.beard@gatekeeper.mis.tridom.com (Paul Beard)
Subject: Sleepy liquid yeast
I wish I had known this before, but I pass it along. I made my second=
batch
Jan 1, a 6 gallon Munton's Gold extract kit with Yeast Lab London=
Ale
yeast. From pitching Sat afternoon, I saw no activity until Tues=
morning. I
even opened the fermenter Monday afternoon to see if there was anything
amiss. I saw a few yeast blooms on the surface, so I sealed it back=
up. If
I saw no action by Tuesday eve, I was going to chuck the dry yeast=
in
there.
I did make a starter with some DME, but not the day before; I just=
did that
while the wort was on the boil, and tossed it in when the temp was=
right.=20
OG of 1043, as specified, and some fairly active burping now (1 big=
bubble
every second or so, down from better than 1 or 2 per second yesterday.=
=20
I am relieved to read in this AM's HBD that some other brewer also=
made 6
gallon batches out of 5 gallon kits (my first one: ever had a Newcastle
Brown Lite? Don't bother ;-).
Cheers and happy brewing=8A
Paul Beard
AT&T Tridom, 840 Franklin Court, Marietta, GA 30067=20
404 514-3798 * FAX: 404 429-5419 * tridom!paul.beard/beardp@tridom.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 09:36:16 EST
From: perkins@zippy.ho.att.com
Subject: "aging" beers (how to store?)
Given the number of comments I've seen lately about the (sometimes
unexpectedly good) quality of holiday brews that are some years old, I have
a simple question. How should one store these? Is refrigeration
necessary, or is a "cool, dark place" (my basement) sufficient? My
motivation for asking is the unexpected arrival in my home of a case of
Anchor's Christmas Ale ('93-'94 issue).
Thanks,
- --
Mark E. Perkins Internet: perkins@zippy.ho.att.com
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Rm 3F-502 uucp: ...!att!zippy!perkins
101 Crawfords Corner Road Telephone: +1 908 949 5441
Holmdel, NJ 0733-3030 FAX: +1 908 949 1652
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 09:43:27 EST
From: "Paul Austin (8-293-5810 or (914))" <huckfinn@vnet.IBM.COM>
Subject: Amber aging
I made an amber recently from a kit. It was about 3/4 malt, 1/4 sugar,
cascade hops. It tasted OK, but a little weak (too much sugar). But
it had a weak head (didn't last long) and I probably did not let it
age long enough (I was too eager to open it for Christmas). What can
I do to get a better head (more malt)? And how long do other people
recommend I age my ambers?
Any amber recipes GLADLY accepted.
Thanks,
Paul A. Austin
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 06:55 PST
From: jdg00@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (Josh Grosse)
Subject: Re: Using Lager Yeast at Ale temps
Tim P McNerney asks:
>I understand why the opposite might pose problems (yeast going dormant, slow
>fermentation), but are there any reasons not to use lager yeasts at high
>temps (other than the fact that the finished beer wouldn't taste like a
>lager)? I know that this is the method used for Steam(TM) beers, but was
>curious as to why it isn't more generally used.
S. uvarum has a propensity for producing large amounts of higher molecular
alcohols when fermentation takes place at temperatures above the mid 50s.
These can produce their own off tastes, or combine with fatty acids to
produce too many esters. In most lager styles, fruity (estery) aromas
and flavors are considered to be flaws.
Last week, at a beer judging study group, I came across one commercial
European Pilsner with an extremely distinctive and strong "grass" aroma.
Spencer Thomas had along a copy of _Evaluating Beer_, which pointed to a
particular higher molecular alcohol. I can either blame the fermentation
temperature or the particular strain of yeast for that aroma. Whether
it was intentional or not is a different matter. :-)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Grosse jdg00@juts.ccc.amdahl.com
Amdahl Corp. joshua.grosse@amail.amdahl.com
Southfield, Michigan 810-348-4440
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 94 08:57 CST
From: "Pete Brauer 312/915-6157" <$W$PR42%LUCCPUA.BITNET@UICVM.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Stein Trivia
I came across an interesting note, I think it is a conbination of
"urban legend" and truth as to the reason why beer steins in England
have glass bottoms. Here are the two theories for those that care;
1. When the British Navy was in the habit of "pressing" or forcibly
recruiting citizens they would go into pubs and drop coins in peoples
glasses. If you drank you beer and found a coin in the bottom, then
you were a new recruit. The glass bottom, combined with the tradition
of raising a new glass in a toast to the buyer gave you a way to decide
whether or not you really needed that next beer.
2. The other reason that I heard was so that you did not have to take
your eyes off the person that you were drinking with when you raised
your stein to your lips. What a wonderful time to be alive, huh? Can't
even trust the bloke what buys you an ale.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 08:22:00 -0600
From: chuck.wettergreen@aquila.com (Chuck Wettergreen)
Subject: water analysis
In HBD 1316 npyle@n33.stortek.com (Norm Pyle) wrote about water
analysis:
NP> water has a lower pH and less alkalinity (not shown above). My
> pale beers are very good and my dark beers are not so good, so
> it is quite possible that the pH of my dark mashes drops too low
> (below 5). This is supported by the low carbonate levels
> (alkalinity), and low hardness levels (not much buffering
> capacity). Measure the pH of the darker mashes and adjust
> upward if necessary with calcium carbonate (chalk). This
> shouldn't be a problem since the calcium
I recently switched to using reverse osmosis purified water because
my city water was unusable (300 ppm calcium) for most brews. Monday
the PH of my robust porter mash was 4.9, before I added calcium
carbonate to raise it. I think you're on the right track, and I
think I'm going to start blending R/O water with city water based on
the amount of dark malts in my mash.
Chuck
* RM 1.2 00946 *
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 8:30:53 MST
From: Earle M. Williams <earlew@drc.usbm.gov>
Subject: Counterflow Chiller Numbers
Dave Suurballe <suurb@farallon.com> writes:
I brewed yesterday for the first time since the most recent outbreak of
counterflow vs immersion controversy, and I thought I would add fuel to the
fire by sharing yet another data point.
I chilled 10 gallons (39 liters, actually) of 1040 wort from boiling down to 65
degrees in 16 minutes. The cooling water entered the apparatus at 55.5 degrees
and exited at 101 degrees. I used 34 gallons of water.
It's a counterflow chiller with 3/8 copper inside of 40 feet of garden hose.
My intuition says that the product of the volume of chilled wort and its
temperature change should equal the product of the volume of coolant and its
temperature change, but that is not the case here. I don't know why.
Suurballe
If you have ten gallons going from boiling (212 F) to 65 F, that's a loss of
1470 gallons-F. Take your 34 gallons of coolant times its change and you get
1547 gallons-F. the difference is 77 gals-F, or 5.24%. Either you are
violating all the laws of thermodynamics (none of which I know well enough
to quote! ;->) or your measurements are less than 5% accurate. Considering
the accuracy of moost brewing equipment, I would say that's the case. So
your intuition seems to be spot on!
Earle
- --
Earle M. Williams
U.S. Bureau of Mines
Denver, Colorado USA
(Internet) earlew@drc.usbm.gov
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 10:22:34 -0500
From: rprice@CBMSE.NRL.NAVY.MIL
Subject: Boiling Hops in Water vs. the extract malt.
I a CAMRA brewing guide I found a reference to this technique. It stated
that the process needed to by "catalyzed" by metal salts
such as magnesium chloride or calcium sulfate. Most of us have Epsom
salts and Gypsum around and it might be worth the try.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 94 11:01:00 PST
From: Robert Milstead <rmilsted@Zellar.Vantage.GTE.COM>
Subject: Thermoelectric Igloo Cooler
There was a post about thermoelectric devices to cool a fridge
and it reminded me of a cooler a came across in a catalog while
Christmas shopping this year. The cooler runs off of 12 volt power
and an optional adater can be purchased to allow it to operate on
110V. The ad claimed that it would not only cool but heat as well!
Only $99.
Oh yeah, more POWER! M A S H O M A T I C !
Wrong! I ran right out to the catalog store and looked it over. The
first thing I noticed was that the top temperature was 140 degrees.
The real killer though was the notice that said, "Do not, under any
circumstances put liquid in this cooler". How dumb. Sigh. I wonder
if anyone out there has any information on the efficiency, top operating
temperature, etc. of these devices. Would they ever be practical for
application in mashing, if only for temperature control of an already
heated mash?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 8:37:09 MST
From: npyle@n33.stortek.com
Subject: Rumours/Easymasher/Cold Ferment
George R. Flentke writes:
>Well if we go for the rumer mill, I too have heard that Miller is producing
>a stout under the reserve label. I got this when I was visiting the folks
This is apparently not a rumour, as recent HBD postings indicate at least one
person has tried the stout.
> They also said that the Feds had come down hard on the makers of Grant's
>Cider. They declared that cider is a wine, and Grant's did not have the
>right permits! I know that Grant's also got in trouble for putting some
>statement of nutritional value on their products.
This is also true. Yet another case of the BATF run amok (remember Waco?).
Anyone who would put nutritional information on their beer bottles ought to be
shot! Clearly BATF has it out for Grant's for some reason. Lets hope they
survive the assault.
**
Bob Talkiewicz writes:
> My question - I've never seen one , so what is/how does an Easymasher work??
Its actually quite a misnomer, Bob. An easymasher is a piece of pipe with a SS
screen clamped on the end. It is installed in a kettle in order to use it for
mashing grains. The easymasher is really only a part of the mashing system,
but it provides a simple way to remove the liquor from the grain.
**
Ken Johnson writes:
>After about four days the initial fermentation started to die
>down a little, and I added the extra hops. Fermentation continued
>for three more weeks. The temperature in my house was probably
>around 50 F. A bit cold, but what do you expect from an Eichler?
>So was the fermentation time caused by cold temperatures, lazy
>yeast, or the beer gods?
Cold temperature. You are really pushing that yeast to ask it to perform
(quickly) at 50F. I'm sure the beer came out very clean tasting, but it will
take longer than normal at those temperatures. I think that closer to 60F is
ideal. What's an Eichler (sez the guy from Florida)?
Cheers,
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 11:52:00 -0500
From: dsharp@world.std.com (don sharp)
Subject: What is HSA
In HBD #1315 Steven W. Smith writes:
>Subject: How hot is uncool?
> Got more questions: how hot does wort have to be for HSA to occur? I
Here's my question: What the heck is HSA? I've scanned over some back
issues and discovered that it's discussed in a fine article by George Fix,
but what is it?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 11:45:23 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel@MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: move to all grain
move to all grain
In my preparations for moving to all grain, I'm still not real
clear (ie: more pre-worrying...better now then during the
brew process!) on the logistics of doing an all grain batch.
It's not so much the mashing methods (ie: temperature, etc),
but rather what gets put where in what step: sparging, lautering,
etc. Does one really dump the grains into something else
if not using a kettle mash? Has anyone used one of those
nylon sparging bags/grain bags? How is one used, and when
in the process?
Please send detailed information, and thanks in advance
george tempel
------------------------------
Date: 5 Jan 1994 11:07:02 -0800
From: "Austin, Andy" <austinaz@txpcap.hou.xwh.bp.com>
Subject: Where are the FAQs?
Folks,
Where do the FAQs for the beginners reside? I'm looking for a good starter
kit...
Thank you for your time and efforts.
Andy
================================================================
| Andy Austin Email: austinaz@txpcap.hou.xwh.bp.com |
| Room 1505 Voice: 713-560-8205 |
| BP Exploration, Inc., Fax: 713-560-6318 |
| 200 WestLake Park Blvd. |
| Houston, TX 77079 |
| The opinions expressed here are MINE and only MINE. |
| BPX is only providing me with a gateway to the world. |
================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 09:55:36 -0800 (PST)
From: Jeremy Ballard Bergsman <jeremybb@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Pump source?
Hi all,
I'm working on putting together my RIMS and I had seen a post here about
a pump (MDX-1/2) from C and H Sales for ~$50 that looked perfect. Sadly,
they are out now that I can afford it.
Does anyone have another source for an inexpensive FOOD GRADE pump that
can handle liquids in excess of 100C? It doesn't need to generate any
suction at the intake, and I'd like about 3 gal/min when pumping up
5 feet.
Thanks,
Jeremy Bergsman
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 13:04 EST
From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject: Ovens and Bleach
I'm writing this to respond to two questions:
On the use of Ovens to sterilize things. Damn good idea. When we
autoclave here at work and wrap the opening of a container with foil,
it pretty much stays sterile until the foil comes off. However,
repeated autoclaving weakens the glass. I don't know if the oven
would have the same effect.
Some people were worried about bleach sanitizing solution killing the
bacteria in their septic tanks. Walk into a pet store and buy some
chlorine neutralizer. Add a couple of drops, stir and add more and
stir until the bleach smell goes away. Then pour down the drain
Andrew Pastuszak
Philadelphia, PA
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 12:08:18 -0500 (cdt)
From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ@AC.GRIN.EDU>
Subject: terminal gravity thanks/PET bottle cooling
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 12:28 CST
From: arf@mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Kettle Mashing
>From: SWEENERB@memstvx1.memst.edu
>Subject: kettle mashing on a Cajun cooker/gelatin & yeast
>1. heat water in kettle to strike temp and add grains
There are a number of reasons why it is more practical to add the grain to
room temp water and heat the entire mash instead of just dumping the grain
into hot water.
The most obvious is that there is no guessing about "strike" temp. You
simply shut off the heat when you get there and add more as it cools to
maintain temp.
The more arguable is that if you are a believer in all the favorite "rest"
temps that get promoted in brewing circles, you can make the case that, as
the mash temp is climbing to sacchrification temp, it spends some finite time
at all those magic temps.
>2. mash for 90 min.
I know of no reason to mash for 90 minutes. Most grain fully converts iN 30
minutes or less. 45 mins should provide a reasonable guard band if you do
not do the iodine test.
>3. separate wort from grains (either use the EASYMASHER approach of putting
a drain in bottom of kettle or use a metal racking cane) and put in one of my
other pots
>4. add heated sparge water and collect more wort. This is what I am fuzzy
about; how do you heat sparge water and at the same time keep mash hot with
only one heat source?
Steps 3 and 4 normally are concurrent and continuous. After your mash is
complete, remove kettle from heat source and start heating sparge water.
The mash should be allowed to settle for 15 to 30 minutes during which time
you should get at least some water heated so you can start sparging. If you
use something like a coffee pot to heat it in you can sparge as fast as you
can heat the water. If you use two, it is even better.
If you want to get more sophisticated, you can make or buy an EASYSPARGER and
have an unlimited supply of sparge water that requires no preplanning. This
is nothing more than a small kettle with a hose going to a hot water tap and
an output port that dribbles into the mash tun.
The important thing is to understand that sparging is not normally a batch
process. You want to keep an inch of water over the grain at all times
during sparging until you are within a gallon or two of your required wort
volume. Then you can just let it run dry but you need to get a feel for how
much liquid is held in the grain and essentially lost.
js
P.S. This same article and my response appeared in r.c.b. and although I see
no harm in the redundancy, it does make followup a little precarious and
convoluted. As HBD is daily posted to r.c.b, it would make more sense just
to post the question to HBD if answers from both readerships are desired.
jjs
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 13:09 EST
From: Steve Jones 412-337-2052 <@hpfcla.fc.hp.com,@mrgate.al.alcoa.com:JONES3%A1@ALFIE>
Subject: Brewpubs/Microbreweries in the Detroit area?
I am planning a trip to Detroit this weekend for the auto show and was
wondering whether anyone out there knows of any brewpubs or microbreweries
or bars with good selections of beer? Thanks in advance for a quick
response 8-)
p.s. we know how to find Jason's ;-)
Steve
Jones3@al.alcoa.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 12:41:49 -0500 (cdt)
From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ@AC.GRIN.EDU>
Subject: Anchors aweigh
Does anybody else out there think that this year's Christmas Ale from Anchor
is awfully.... fortissimo?? I have enjoyed past vesions of this brew far
more than this one. What the hell did they put in it? Pine bark?
I bought a case of it. Ack. When I down a glass, I think (at least it's not
Bud... at least it's not Bud...)
Jonathan Knight
Grinnell, Iowa
"Just brew it."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 12:48:45 -0600
From: "Jim Ellingson" <jimme@pi28.arc.umn.edu>
Subject: Screw Top Bottles
Brewthren,
In hbd 1316, James (Tony) Abbott <TABBOTT@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
asks about using screw top bottles for homebrew. I've been
using clear 12-20 oz glass beverage bottles for about half of
each batch (about 40 batches to date.) since 1986 and
haven't had any trouble with them. I only use them once, since
the pressure of bottle conditioning tends to "dome up" the caps.
Don't boil the caps, or you'll warp the seals into uselessness.
Advantages:
Free and easy to obtain. No problem giving these away.
Easy to clean. Mineral water bottles are the best.
Clear glass.
Disadvantages:
Clear glass. No big whoop. I keep them in a box or bag.
Dorky labels are difficult to remove. I just leave them on.
Amusement:
Aside from the yeast on the bottom, a pint of stout or porter looks
just like a bottle of Coke, Diet Coke, etc.
They work for me, but your mileage may vary.
Cheers,
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Jim Ellingson jimme@arc.umn.edu *
* AHPCRC/University of Minnesota tel 612/626-8088 *
* 1100 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415 fax 612/626-1596 *
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 13:59:08 EST
From: Bob Kosakowski <bkos@hpwarf.wal.hp.com>
Subject: RE: screwtops
>> Date: Tue, 04 Jan 94 11:35:58 EST
>> From: "James (Tony) Abbott" <TABBOTT@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
>> Subject: screwtops?
>>
>> I may well take the naive question of the week award with this one, but
>> I've never heard an explanation to my satisfaction which addresses the
>> topic. Why exactly isn't it possible to use screw top bottles (not beer
>> bottle, I know they are troublesome), pop bottles, apple juice bottles etc.
>> Do they for some reason fail to hold pressure? Screw top Cokes seem to have
>> the capability.
I've been using plastic 2 liter (and 3 liter) Diet Pepsi bottles for years.
I decided to give it a try because I drink 3 or 4 of these a day and had about
20 or more in my office one day and didn't want to toss them.
They are great for taking my homebrew to parties since:
a) You don't have to worry about bringing empties home
b) They hold alot (67 and 100 oz) so you carry less.
c) If you brew a Porter with light brown foam, you can pretend it's
Dt. Pepsi and take it to places you'd not get away with taking
brew in bottles ;-) Not that I'd ever do that ;-)
They have never lost pressure (and I've kept a few highly carbonated brews
in them for up to 9 months).
They must however have the plastic screw-top with the liner in tact. This is
the key to the tight seal. I'm certain that the aluminum tops are to plyable
to hold the pressure once open (since they deform very easily).
13 - 2 liter bottles will handily hold any of my 7 gallon batches.
and you only have 13 units to fill not 70+.
In my mind, it's the next best thing to kegging.
- --
______________________________________________________
| | |
| Robert K. Kosakowski | hhhhhh hh ppppppp |
| Software Design Engineer |hhhhh hh pppppp|
| bkos@hpwarf.wal.hp.com |hhh hh pppp|
| |hhh hhhhh ppppp ppp|
| Hewlett-Packard Company |hh hh hh pp pp pp|
| Clinical Information Systems |hh hh hh pp pp pp|
| 3000 Minuteman Road |hhh hh hh ppppp ppp|
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| Phone: (508) 659 - 4808 |hhhhh pp pppppp|
| FAX: (508) 686 - 1258 | hhhhhh pp ppppppp |
|______________________________|_______________________|
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 94 11:59:05 MDT
From: exabyte!smtplink!guym@uunet.UU.NET
Subject: Blueberry Melomel recipe
Due to the number of requests, here is my recipe:
Jamaica Blue Mead (5 gallons)
6 lb. Cover Honey
1 lb. Orange Blossom Honey
1.5 lb. Corn Sugar
2 oz. Fresh, minced Ginger Root
3 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
3 tsp. Yeast Extract
1 gal. Fresh Blueberries
2 ea. Lemons, halved
WYeast #1214 Belgian Ale Yeast
0.5 cup Orange Blossom Honey (bottling)
Put honey, corn sugar, and yeast extract in brewpot with water. Simmer
for 10 minutes, skimming foam with kitchen strainer. Add ginger root and
simmer for 10 more minutes without skimming. Remove from heat, squeeze
in lemons, and throw into brewpot. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.
Strain out lemon halves and ginger, add blueberries, chill, pour mixture
(blueberries and all) into primary fermenter, and pitch yeast. After 7
days, rack off of fruit into secondary and age for 1 - 2 months. When
fermentation is complete, prepare a "tea" by simmering cinnamon and honey
in water for 15 minutes in a covered pot. Cool, add to bottling bucket,
and quietly siphon in must. Bottle and age for a couple of months or so.
This makes a nice, light, sparkling beverage that is a brilliantly clear
rose-purple color. The flavor is of blueberries kissed with cinnamon. A
wonderful change of pace for a summer drink at about 5% alcohol by weight.
Enjoy!
Guy McConnell -- guym@exabyte.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 11:45:07 -0800
From: mfetzer@UCSD.EDU (The Rider) (Michael Fetzer)
Subject: re: big brewing
>We filled 10 5 gallon carboys with beer, and pitched a different (ale)
>yeast into each. One is happily bubbling in my basement. The next
>fun comes in a month or so when we get together to taste them all!
Seems to me, you blew it here! One batch, one boil... but how are you going
to reconcile different yeasts *and* different ferment temps????
Violated that old scientific method: change only one thing at a time!
Your yeast, at 45F and your neighbors yeast at 55F are not the same in two
ways, at least!
I'm still looking forward to the results of this one, tho.
Michael
- --
Michael Fetzer pgp 2.2 key available on request
Internet: mfetzer@ucsd.edu uucp: ...!ucsd!mfetzer
Bitnet: FETZERM@SDSC
HEPnet/SPAN: SDSC::FETZERM or 27.1::FETZERM
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 13:40:34 -0700 (MST)
From: Mark_Worwetz@Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz)
Subject: spruce beer
In a recent digest, Michael Jorgensen asked about adding Spruce flavoring to
beer. I came up with an idea last fall that created a very powerful spruce
flavor. On my way out of a local canyon I happened upon a Pine Nut stand and,
feeling adventurous, picked up a pound of 'em for my standard amber ale
recipe. I lightly blended the nuts and added them to the wort for approx.
20 minutes of the boil. Since the shells are quite acidic, I eliminated
about half of the hops I normally use. The result was VERY interesting! The
pine scent and flavor was very strong (like licking a tree) for about a month,
but mellowed with age. I will try this one again next fall, but will
probably cut back to about 1/2 a pound per 5 gals.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_,_/|
\o.O; ACK, PHFFFT!
=(___)= "If I could save time in a bottle, I'd be drinking all the time!"
U Mark Worwetz
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 14:43 CST
From: akcs.chrisc@vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli)
Subject: NEW! NEW! NEW!
Hey Homebrewers!
Want your beers to be pastuerized without flavor loss?
Tired of sanitizing those pesky cord-spun filters?
Had enough gastrointestinal problems due to beer with live yeast?
Well then you need the Homebrewer's Irradiation Unit (tm) today!
A spinoff of food irradiation technology, this totally self-
contained, portable unit is a homebrewers dream! The scientists at
NukeBru have spent hundreds of manhours in design and development
in order to come up with this solution to all of your sanitation
needs.
It's fast and it's easy. Pass your carboy or cornelius of beer
through the Homebrewer's Irradiation Unit (tm) and zap those
brewing yeasts, bacteria, wild yeasts and other nasties with a
lethal dose of Gamma radiation. It's that simple.
No more chemicals. No more caustic solutions. Elminates wasting
water on mundane rinsing.
But wait there's more! The Homebrewer's Irradiation Unit (tm) is
versatile as well as lethal. It can be used to sterilize empty
bottles, kegs and fermenters. Use it to sterilize your yeast
culturing equipment as well as wort starters.
So act now!. Why settle for sanitized when you can have
sterilized. Be the first homebrewer in your club with a beer void
of all life. Order today. Call 1-555-NUKEBRU. Operators are
standing by.
And if you order before March 1st, we'll include, free of charge,
a personal radiation dosimeter. Our dosimeters are good for 90
days and with our inexpensive refills, your radiation dosage can be
monitored for up to a full year! Film holders come in two exciting
colors to choose from. Don't delay! Hurry and order your unit
today!
NukeBru Corporation
"Where no solution is too small"
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 12:52:24 PST
From: <ELQ1%Maint%HBPP@bangate.pge.com> (Edwin Quier/TOOL CLERK : Humb Bay PP / 375-0718)
Subject: opps!
Goodmorning/afternoon,
Just a little blurb on an OPPS! I have just experinced,
After reading about taking the trub from the secondary and storing it in
two quart jar, I decided that this is the ticket to stretch the yeast
dollars just a bit. I know that the "poster" stated that the yeast in the
jar would seperate and to pour off the liquid and pitch the yeast.
So I hurried a bit and did not let the yeast come to room temp and
set the jar in a pan of luke warm water, Opps! #1 the yeast started rising
violently and was soon mixed back in the liquid, my wife's idea was to go
ahead and pitch the entire amount. Opps! #2
Six hours after pitching the fermenter was perking away like a locomotive!
eighteen hours later it settled down to a mild rapid perk, however....
twentyfour hours later, it was bubbling... BUBBLING right over the top
of the airlock and down the fermenter. What a mess, I cleaned out my brew
locker/fridge and stored the fermenter and after 10 hours the foam had
settled and I replaced a clean airlock. My one question..
Can this batch be any good? Do I bottle or tar the driveway?
ELQ1@PGE.COM
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 16:22:07 -0500 (EST)
From: gelinas@ekman.unh.edu (Russell Gelinas)
Subject: liquid b-brite storage
>A word of warning. I'm not a chemist, but I ran this across one and I think
>I have this right: B-Brite and One-Step are primarily Sodium Percarbonate.
>When you mix Sodium Percarbonate with water, you get something that is like
>Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Sodium Carbonate (Washing Soda). It is the H2O2
>that is the sanitizing agent. After a short while (I don't know how long)
>the Hydrogen Peroxide loses all it's extra oxygen and becomes water. The
>slippery feeling is the Sodium Carbonate, which is moderately alkaline, and
>thus feels slippery. I've had problems with soaking bottles overnight in
>pure Sodium Carbonate solution (a white film formed on the glass, which I
>eventually got off with lemon juice solution, but any weak acid should work)
>so you may not want to soak things in B-Brite.
I agree with most of this, but I'd like to add a couple of comments. If
you leave the liquid B-Brite uncovered, the "extra" oxygen will evaporate
(probably the wrong term, I'm not a chemist either), and it will no longer
be capable of sanitizing. But if the bucket is kept tightly sealed, and
very full (no headspace for the O2 to evaporate into), most of the H2O2
should stay intact, in solution. Remember too that this is a saturated
solution, so much of the excess O2 could be evaporated with the solution
still remaining above the recommended sanitizing strength.
While I've never stored glass in the solution, I do store plastics and
rubber in it, and have never seen any indication of the white film. This
would indicate to me that the mildly acidic H2O2 is still in the solution.
As Al points out, the presence of "slipperiness" may not be a good indication
of the sanitizing ability of the solution; perhaps the presence of the
white film would be a better indicator that the sanitizing agent, the
H2O2, is no longer present. In any event, B-Brite is relatively cheap;
when in doubt, make a fresh solution.
Russ Gelinas
eos
unh
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 16:16:02 CST
From: "kim.paffenroth.1" <kim.paffenroth.1@nd.edu>
Subject: mead and stuff
All this talk about mead got me thinking:
I just started a batch and I was going to treat it like white wine: rack in
3 weeks and again in three months, bottle after that. (I do want a wine-like
product from this effort.) Or should I rack/bottle sooner? Now you've got me
worried, although hopeful that perhaps the process doesn't take as long as I
thought.
Kit beers: I've been satisfied so far with the taste, but not with the shelf
life. Okay after two weeks, good at four to six weeks, then over-carbonated
and increasingly bitter at two months+. Is it me?
Finally, someone mentioned mint wine. I'm intrigued. Tell me more. Is it
like parsley? The batch I made of that smelled vile at first, but seems to
have mellowed nicely.
Best wishes and many thanks -- K.P.
kim.paffenroth.1@nd.edu
------------------------------
Date-Warning: Date header was inserted by HELIX.MGH.HARVARD.EDU
From: "John J. Magee" <magee@HELIX.MGH.HARVARD.EDU>
Subject: Idea for step-infusion
I have done a few batches of single-temp infusions using British pale malt; last
night I thought I'd try a step-infusion with Klages 2-row just for the hell of
it. I believe in a thick mash; therefore I decided that the add-hot-water method
detailed by Papazian was bad. I didn't want to watch the temp in my kettle
continuously either. That's a pain and wastes heat. My only course of action, or
so I thought, was to build an insulated box. I did it. It worked fine, but I was
a bit frustrated when I thought of the following alternate method. It wouldn't
have required any extra equipment. I'm surprised this has never been brought up
before, or discussed in one of the standard texts:
1) Conduct the protein rest on the stove. Temps here can be a bit variable, so
watching the kettle isn't that intensive. The short time involved means that any
temp-maintenance heat used will be miniscule.
2) Boost the mash to saccharification temp. Nail it just right. Dump it into a
preheated picnic cooler set up. Proceed as with picnic-cooler single-temp
infusion.
The only drawback here is that you still can't do a mash-out. I think the
mash-out is the most debatable part of the process, though, and I've never done
it. No problems yet.
I'm an avid fan of the round picnic cooler mash/lauter set-up. Cheap, easy, and
perfectly insulated. I get 30 points extraction, so it's also fine for
efficiency. Those who have read Miller, who says it's impossible to do
step-infusion w/a cooler, fear not. I think the above method will work fine and
I'm going to do it next time. Anyone want an insulated box?
**************************************************
John J. Magee * magee@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
**************************************************
Research Assistant/Computer Systems
Mass. General Hospital
Neuropsychology
(617) 726 3669
**************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 14:02:27 PST
From: troy@scubed.scubed.com (Troy Howard)
Subject: cooling wort, heating bottles
Regarding cooling wort,
Dave Suurballe says:
"My intuition says that the product of the volume of chilled wort and its
temperature change should equal the product of the volume of coolant and its
temperature change, but that is not the case here. I don't know why."
You're close. Energy (in this case heat) is actually the conserved quantity.
So the product of the specific heat of the wort, the mass of the wort,
and its temperature change should equal the product of the specific heat
of the coolant, the mass of the coolant, and its temperature change.
Remember, heat equals heat capacity times temperature change: H=cT.
Regarding baking bottles:
True, foil caps are not air tight, as Chip Hitchcock correctly points out.
However, remember that for us homebrewers, it is only necessary to sanitize
equipment, not sterilize (the difference being that sanitizing equipment
significantly reduces the number of microorganisms and their viability,
while sterilizing equipment completely eliminates microorganisms).
On a personal note, since I have begun using this method (nine months to a
year ago) I have not had an infection.
To whomever related the story of a baked bottle breaking (try saying that
three times fast), perhaps you cooled the bottle down too quickly? The name
of the game here is to reduce thermal stresses by reducing thermal gradients.
If you cooled it too quickly you may have stressed the bottle. I typically
put the bottles in a cold oven, turn it on to ~350F, leave it for ~60 minutes,
then turn the oven off and let it cool down to ~room temp.
Troy
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 13:50 CST
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Water treatment
On the news a few days ago, here in Chicago, there was a story about
how the water department will be adding Phosphate to the water supply
in an effort to reduce lead contamination of water from old lead pipes.
They say it will not change the flavor or color of the water and that
it won't take very long for the remaining lead pipes to develop a
protective coating (Lead Phosphate, I assume) and then they will
discontinue the addition.
I don't suspect that there will be much difference for us Chicagoland
brewers (because there are phosphate compounds in grain), but I'm no
chemist/biologist. Is there any chance that the additional phosphates
might be a concern for brewing?
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 14:12 CST
From: korz@iepubj.att.com
Subject: Boiling hops in water/Re: slow ale fermentation
I wrote (quoting Chris):
>>Is it important to boil the hops with the malt?
>
>No.
and then later:
>I think you may be right about the better hop utilization, but then again,
A brewer who I respect highly, John Isenhour, wrote me privately, saying that
he believes that having some malt there while boiling the hops, may assist
in isomerization. I had not read anything about this and had tasted beers
that had additional bitterness added by adding some hop tea (boiled hops
just in water), so I went ahead with my response. I guess I may have jumped
the gun. Anyone else have information on this? References I could read?
Thanks.
******
Ken writes:
>10 lb pale malt
>3 oz Styrian Goldings flower for 90 min
>1 oz " for 1 min
>1 oz " dry hopped
>Sierra Nevada yeast
>After about four days the initial fermentation started to die
>down a little, and I added the extra hops. Fermentation continued
>for three more weeks. The temperature in my house was probably
>around 50 F. A bit cold, but what do you expect from an Eichler?
50F is much too cold for that yeast (Wyeast American Ale #1056, Siebel
BRY-96). I've noticed that #1056 really, really slows down at anything
below 62F and loses all of it's ale-like character (esters, etc.). On
that batch, the yeast took a long, long time doing their biz. I thought
they were done, but a few months later, they began to overcarbonate. I
had assumed that this was a bacterial infection (but no other beers brewed
around that time had this problem), but now that you mention it, I'll bet
the yeast went dormant a bit earlier than they would have if they had
fermented the batch at 68F instead of 60F.
Al.
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1317, 01/06/94
*************************************
-------
