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HOMEBREW Digest #1331
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/01/22 00:48:21
HOMEBREW Digest #1331 Sat 22 January 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Shipping Alcohol via UPS: anecdote (Joseph Erhard-Hudson)
various ("John L. Isenhour")
Kolsh (Chris McDermott)
Why does my yeast quit? (Paul Beard)
Ipswich Brewing Company, Re: yeast (Jim Beauvais - CONTRACTOR HRIS)
Keg Airlocks (Glenn Raudins)
porters/spigots (Jonathan G Knight)
HWBTA styles: Altbier (R. Cushing Hamlen)
Re: SLC Homebrew Supply Shops (curt nickisch)
Brewing suppliers in NYC. ("Steven E. Matkoski")
Flamethrowers vs burners (Kyle R Roberson)
Scottish ale yeast (Jeff Frane)
HBD plumbing (npyle)
Toad Spit (Eugene Zimmerman)
Newcomer's questions; water and chillers (Karl Elvis MacRae)
Sierra Nevada Stout (Bob W Surratt)
innformation reequest (grady holloway)
information request (grady holloway)
S.G. temp correction (Pete Geib)
old tyme (RONALD DWELLE)
Microwave for Sterilization (Domenick Venezia)
Heat cotrol in basements; the backlog ("Bob DelFavero")
help with yeast problems (sean v. taylor)
Color for Romulan Ale ("McCaw, Mike")
HWBTA Entry Difficulties (Lowell Hart)
Re: Glucose test(er)s (dbell)
RE: Dry hopping in keg (Jim Dipalma)
keg airlock (Laura Conrad)
Flamable beer (Richard Kasperowski)
w34/70 (Chuck Mryglot X6024)
Re: wyeast belgian 3944 perf (George Tempel)
Keg parts supply source (Tom Lyons)
Modification of Charlie's method (COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L)
extract: dry or liquid? (TODD CARLSON)
Plastics (KLAY)
Homebrew suppliers in NE Pennsylvania (SFLYNN)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 17:05:23 -31802 (PST)
From: Joseph Erhard-Hudson <i9253209@wsuaix.csc.wsu.edu>
Subject: Shipping Alcohol via UPS: anecdote
A friend of mine once wanted to send his dad two bottles of particularly
nice wine he had gotten a good deal on via his buddy the wine merchant.
He shipped them via UPS, insured, and put down "wine" as the contents.
They took his money, took the box, and his dad got ... a box which had
been torn open. Empty box, no wine.
Friend went to UPS to complain. They said "Sorry, we don't ship alcohol."
"Yeah, but I said it was wine and you shipped and insured it," he said.
"OK, our mistake, we'll give you back the shipping costs."
"But you *insured* it! I want the value of the wine back!"
"Sorry, it says right here in miniscule print that we can't insure alcohol."
And the shipping costs were all he got. I don't know if he would have
had a decent case against them, I don't think it matters. The moral of
the story is: You don't have to lie, just tell the truth ("gift",
"fragile gift", "glassware", whatever) in such a way that some shmoe on a
busy UPS loading dock won't be tempted to keep the contents of your
box for himself.
FWIW. -- joe.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 20:46:44 CST
From: "John L. Isenhour" <isenhour@lambic.fnal.gov>
Subject: various
Gee, I finally have time to make some comments!
From: steevd@aol.com
>anyone know where I can get a stainless aeration stone? I've seen them
>mentioned in previous issues. I only have one requirement: they have to be
>cheap.i
American Science surplus sells an airstone they claim is SS for around a buck,
but if you scratch the SS sintered stuff with a file its brass underneath. It
autoclaves nicely, but has a little hole that needs plugging.
Al writes:
> Sedlmayr of the Spaten Braurei, *was* the first to brew Maerzen/Oktoberfest.
> Please note that it was modeled after Anton Dreher's Vienna style beer.
I'd bet you could get away with attributing the ultimate origins of the style
to Dreher, as I understand it he really developed the style when he introduced
the bottom fermenting yeast to Schwechat.
From: phil.brushaber@lunatic.com (Phil Brushaber)
>I want to conduct secondary fermentation in my stainless steel
>Cornelius Kegs (Ball type). Has someone out there come up with a
>nifty way to install an airlock?
I just hose clamp a peice of tubing to the out fitting and put the other end in
a mason jar 0.5 full of water with 25ppm chlorine.
From: 17-Jan-1994 1001 -0500 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com>
>I've used BCI in TN (800-284-9410) for keg parts. O-rings for poppets,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-rare!
I've used BCI before and one of the kegs arrived smelling like pesticide, part
of the order was screwed up too, and I even ended up having to take credit for
stuff I was overcharged for. I'm not knocking the guy too bad, he seems to be
trying to correct these things. The only caviat I have to offer is to MAKE
SURE THE KEGS ARE CLEAN. You dont know whats been in surplus kegs. They use a
batch process to clean them and there may be cross contamination. If you think
that O-rings that contain pop syrup are bad for beer, just try ones full of
anticholinesterase organophosphates!
From: Allan Rubinoff <rubinoff@BBN.COM>
>I've brewed 9 batches so far, and used a blow-off for the first 8. In
>every case the resulting beer had virtually no head retention.
Do you rinse the container used for the blow off really well? I've done
hundreds of batches each way and I've not noticed any change of head retention.
I usually dont fill the carboy or plastic bucket all the way to to the top.
This is interesting, anybody else noticed this?
From: Someone who wrote about microwaves not sterilizing because somehow they
knew that a microwave oven didnt kill flies and ants:
When doing brain chemistry research, you find that you need to measure levels
of neurochemicals that tend to be metabolized by enzymes in the brain cells
pretty quickly. A carefully focused microwave beam will tend to halt these
enzymes and is used for that purpose, so I dont think the idea of the size of
the organism (fly or ant size) is really valid, its probably the medium the
thing is contained in (like a jar of ants, flies and water would be pretty
lethal to the organisms involved:). Or the fact that microwaves may not be
spread around the inside of a household oven very evenly - this is valid from a
sterilzation standpoint because there may be spots missed by the microwaves. I
microwave my agar to blend it and store it in the fridge and it seems to keep
pretty well like that. I've studied various methods of sterlization (I'm the
only person I know to use glutaraldehyde <0.2%> to clean my fridge!) but I have
not run across microwaves used for this purpose - its not that easily done for
commercial purposes - gamma waves works so much better.
from: Someone also mentioned that they stored agar dishes of yeast in their
fridge and they thought it got infected.
If you swab the bottom of most home fridges and streak it out, you'd be agast,
so I'm not suprized that the sample went bad. You really have to seal petri
dishes well (I use parafilm) and I prefer liquid because I feel there is less
exposed area (like agar where there is no yeast growth) and liquids can be
sealed and transfered sterile more easily. My culture fridge is verboten for
any other storage. The guys at Sierra Nevada swab and culture the brewery at a
whole bunch of different points to check for contamination, so its probably not
coming in the bottle, but for real assurance when transfering a bottle culture
for propagation, clean the bottle and to the xfer in a hood. If you are using
the yeast only once, you can surely get away with less precaution. Take a
petri dish and let it sit open in your kitchen for a while and culture it.
I've learned to keep my kitchen like I kept my lab.
Please excuse the postmania,
john
home: john@hopduvel.chi.il.us
work: isenhour@lambic.fnal.gov
------------------------------
Date: 20 Jan 1994 08:45:15 -0500
From: Chris McDermott <Chris_McDermott@qmlink.draper.com>
Subject: Kolsh
Kolsh
Hi,
I'm looking for some information on Kolsh beers. It seems to be pretty lacking
in the standard literature. I found a bit in Miller and in the Beer Styles
special issue of Zymurgy. Miller has a recipe and Tony Babinic has one in the
Cat's Meow, but thats all I've been able to find.
Anybody have any first hand experience brewing this beer. Any and all pointers
are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
_
Christopher K. McDermott Internet: mcdermott@draper.com
C.S. Draper Laboratory, Inc. Voice: (617) 258-2362
555 Technology Square FAX: (617) 258-3939
Cambridge, MA 02139 (USA) => Send e-mail for PGP public key <=
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 09:35:20 -0500
From: paul.beard@gatekeeper.mis.tridom.com (Paul Beard)
Subject: Why does my yeast quit?
I am a veteran of two batches now but I have noted a common problem.=
My
yeast seems to quit on me before converting all the fermentables=
to
alcohol; I am getting alcohol levels in the 3% range. Not that I=
want to
brew a knockout brew, but something with more kick than Coke would=
be nice.
I used the dry yeast that came with the kit the first time, and then=
went
with Yeast Lab London Ale the second time. The culture gave a vigorous
fermentation but seems to have dropped off (OG 1.043/FG 1.010). By=
Uncle
Charlie's calculations, I have 3.5% beer.=20
Any suggestion? Nutrients? Ferment temp was about 65=B0 throughout.=
=20
E-mail or post replies.
Thanks
- --
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: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 09:41:56 +0500
From: Jim.Beauvais@East.Sun.COM (Jim Beauvais - CONTRACTOR HRIS)
Subject: Ipswich Brewing Company, Re: yeast
In Homebrew Digest #1329 (January 20, 1994) Kit Anderson reponse to Jim Grady
who is asking about Ipswich ale yeast is partly correct, let me align the
answer. Ipswich ale and Ipswich dark ale are brewed with Ipswich ale Yeast,
originally Wyeast #1028, due to our environment we do have certain house
charicteristics which can be quantified by comparing a batch which has a new
Wyeast pitch. We do also use Wyeast #1056 in Pilgrim ale marketed under
the Old Harbor Brewing Company name. This yeast produces a dryer finish and
is less fruity to give Pilgrim a distinct palate.
Also our dark ale was referred to as a porter, quote
"I liked their porter. I think they call it a "dark ale".
We call this dark ale because it is a highly hopped brew (35 IBU) which
does not truely fit the porter style.
Thanks for your interest in our products, thoughs of you who are located
near Ipswich are invited to come by for a tour Saturdays 1:00 and 3:00.
We give our yeast out so if you want to brew wih it you don't have to
scape the bottle for it just come by the brewery 4:00 any Saturday with
a container to carry the yeast in.
Thank you Jim Grady and Kit Anderson for your writings to HBD.
Jim
Brewmaster
Ipswich Brewing
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 09:16:41 -0800
From: raudins@elan2.coryphaeus.com (Glenn Raudins)
Subject: Keg Airlocks
In response to the recent thread on keg airlocks:
Brewer's Wharehouse in Seattle or Portland (in the catalog I have) offers a
pressure relief valve that you can set to a specific release pressure such
as 10 psi. It comes in ball and pin locks for about $15. I have not used
one but am considering getting one. I don't have the number on hand but
they usually have a full page ad in every Zymurgy.
Glenn
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 11:22:54 -0500 (cdt)
From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ@AC.GRIN.EDU>
Subject: porters/spigots
Regarding the recent discussion of Porters, I don't have my brewing notebook
handy, but one of the best beers I have ever made I called a porter because I
didn't know what else to call it. It was based on William's "Australian
Dark" liquid extract, which they no longer carry, but it featured black
patent malt quite prominently, and I fermented with Wyeast's California
Lager. It was also hopped incrementally throughout the boil with three or
four different varieties (which I don't remember offhand - I know, big help).
Anyway, the idea is about O.G. 1.042, plenty of black patent, an "interesting
combination" of hops, and California Wyeast. Try it, you'll like it! (Does
Anchor use their "Steam" yeast in their Porter?)
A question: I have a 6.5-gal. plastic bucket which came with my original
brew kit and has been retired to mostly function as the bottling bucket. I
bought a plastic spigot from the Home Brewery (no connection blah blah blah)
which I would like to install to make it a REAL bottling bucket so I won't
have to mess with turkey-baster siphoning any more. I thought I might be
able to cut a circular hole for this thing by hand using one of those
retractable razor blade thingies. I am not terribly handy myself, so I
thought I'd ask for input on this before I go and ruin the thing myself. Any
comments would be greatly appreciated.
Jonathan Knight
Grinnell, Iowa "Just brew it."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 12:04:21 -0600 (CST)
From: cush@msc.edu (R. Cushing Hamlen)
Subject: HWBTA styles: Altbier
The HWBTA wants to define an Alt as folows:
>18. GERMAN-STYLE ALE (award sponsored by CROSBY & BAKER, LTD.,
>WESTPORT, MA)
>
>a. ALTBIER DUSSELDORF-STYLE - Copper to dark brown. Medium to high
>bitterness. Very low hop flavor. No hop aroma. Light to medium
^^^^^^^^^^^^
>body. Low fruitiness and esters. Traditionally fermented warm but
>aged at cold temperatures. Very low diacetyl OK. OG 1.044-1.048
>IBU 25-35 SRM 11-19.
Now hold on! I was in Dusseldorf last summer and thoroughly "investigated"
this style :-) What I found was this: the bottled versions of Alt tended
to be lower on the bitterness scale, and had no hop aroma. HOWEVER, at
least two of the brewpubs in the Altstaat (sp?) section of Dusseldorf
(Zum Urege, and one other) had highly hopped beers, and PROMINENT hop
aroma. These two establishments were also noticeably the most popular
among the pubs in the section.
I would argue STRONGLY that hop aroma IS in the Alt style.
- --
> Cushing Hamlen | cush@msc.edu
> Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc. | 612/337-3505
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 10:43:18 -0700 (MST)
From: curt nickisch <curt.nickisch@m.cc.utah.edu>
Subject: Re: SLC Homebrew Supply Shops
Sorry to take up digest space, but I lost the private email
address for this request, so I have to benefit all with regional
information %^( .
Well, there exist three homebrew supply shops in SLC. I've been
frequenting Mountain Brew on about 2700 South State for the two years I've
been brewing, although I first got set up at Art's Brewing Supplies at
(I'm almost positive) 650 South Washington Street (250 West). Art's is a
little more expensive, but for a serious homebrewer, he is more experienced
and offers ambitious advice. His shop is also worth visiting even if it is
a little more expensive, the whole shop has quite an atmosphere.
Mountain Brew has a bigger collection of kits, and if you know exactly
what you want to get, you may as well buy it there and save a little.
Finally, Brewkraft just started about a year ago on about 200 East 4500
South, but is more expensive and the owners aren't very professional. I
hope your friend finds what's needed; you can also mention that Ebenezer's
Restaurant in Ogden brews their own, and also mention the Beer-Brewing
Festival in Deer Valley every summer where Utah's four microbreweries
(alas Utah's a desert, but it's not dry - Wasatch from Park City, Squatter's
from SLC, aforementioned Ebenezer's, and Eddie McStiff's from Moab) attend
and serve.
Curt Nickisch
curt.nickisch@m.cc.utah.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 12:36:18 -0500 (EST)
From: "Steven E. Matkoski" <sematkos@syr.edu>
Subject: Brewing suppliers in NYC.
Does anyone have a list of brewing suppliers in the NYC or northern NJ
area?
-steve.
Steven E. Matkoski Network Design and Development
sematkos@mailbox.syr.edu Syracuse University
(315)443-3536 217 Machinery Hall
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 10:27 PST
From: Kyle R Roberson <kr_roberson@pnlg.pnl.gov>
Subject: Flamethrowers vs burners
I've been monitoring the discussion on the "cajun cooker" type burners. These
things are rated at 130K to 170K BTUs. I don't think that these are completely
necessary, and if you have a stainless steel pot without an aluminum bottom or
other heat spreader you could make some things more difficult for yourself. I
use a burner that is only rated at 35K and it is shaped like a traditional gas
stove burner. That is it has small flames coming out in a circle with about a 6
inch diameter. This whole thing is in a sturdy metal box, which I put on a
concrete patio circle. In addition, I use a Volrath pot that has an inner core
to distribute the heat evenly. I get boils in my 10 gal pot (filled to 8 gal)
in a reasonable amount of time and no scorching. My propane tank lasts for
quite a while too, even though I tend to keep my rolling boils going for 90 to
120 minutes.
If I were boiling crabs in water in a big aluminum pot or galvanized washbasin,
I think it wouldn't matter so much. But when boiling sugar water, like we do, I
think you should consider even, uniform heat application over raw BTU output.
Like you care about my opinion!
Kyle
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 1994 10:48:09 -0800 (PST)
From: gummitch@teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Scottish ale yeast
Tom Goetze asks about the WYeast scottish ale strain. I just bottled a
batch brewed with it and am quite pleased with the beer. Of course, heh
heh, it's a great beer! <ahem>
At any rate, I fermented at 62, because that's what the basement is
these days and my aquarium heater broke. What can I say, it works. The
beer fermented out nicely, it's not very (any, really) fruity -- and it
flocculated very well.
I'm more interested, really, in the batch of ale I have fermenting with
WYeast's new Special London strain. This one shows great promise as
well - and the yeast pack will be used to start a barleywine on Sunday.
We'll see how it does with strong ales.
- --Jeff
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 10:05:29 MST
From: npyle@n33.stortek.com
Subject: HBD plumbing
Please use the FAQs. Some of us went to a LOT of trubble to put together the
FAQs, and one of the main purposes is to cut down on traffic on the HBD (and
r.c.b for that matter). There is a general HBD FAQ, a Yeast FAQ, and a Hops
FAQ. Soon there will be a Kegging FAQ. These resources are there for the
asking and the HBD header tells you every day how to access them. I don't mean
to come off as a brewing (and HBD) snob but lots of questions are asked more
than once (more than I can count!) and the FAQs are there for that reason.
One more thing: you can get a reply from the listserver *much* faster than you
can get an answer from the HBD when it is running this far behind.
I agree with recent post that competition announcements be short and sweet,
with an email address for more information. The HWBTA stuff is WAY too much
in times of major plumbing problems.
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 12:18:49 -0700
From: ezimmerm@master.uwyo.edu (Eugene Zimmerman)
Subject: Toad Spit
Salutations!
I saw Jay's post the other day asking about Toad Spit stout and thought
I'd mention this.
A friend made Toad Spit right from the book and didn't use gypsum at
all! He made it when living in Duluth, MN which gets it's water from
Lake Superior. I talked to the chemists at the water plant who told me
the lake's average temp of ~38F causes most everything to percipitate
out and is VERY soft. The ph is about what you mentioned. The beer
was GREAT! Irish yeast works well. Good luck!
Gene in Laramie
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 11:50:32 PST
From: Karl Elvis MacRae <batman@cisco.com>
Subject: Newcomer's questions; water and chillers
Ok, I'm getting ready to brew my first batch ever (If I can
ever find time out from caring for a new baby long enough =B^)),
and I have a couple of questions.
1) Water:
I have Arrowhead spring water in sealed containers.
Will I need to boil the water I use to top up my
fermenter? Or can I just sanitize the outside of my
bottles?
2) Chiller:
Someone just told me I *need* a wort chiller. How big a
deal is this really?
3) Temp for yeast:
There's noplace in my house that stays a consistant 80
degrees; but there are plenty that vary between 75 and
78 or so. Will this work to get my yeast (Wyeast liquid
ale yeast) started, or am I going to have trouble?
4) Rinsing:
Some of the instructions I have say a weak bleach
solution won't need to be rinsed from the fermenter.
Is this really true? Or will it do nasty things to
my beer?
Thanks....
-Karl
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Karl Elvis MacRae Software Release Support Cisco Systems
batman@cisco.com 415-688-8231 DoD#1999 93 Vulcan 88/1990 FJ1200 (For Sale)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 12:06:00 PST
From: Bob W Surratt <Bob_W_Surratt@ccm.hf.intel.com>
Subject: Sierra Nevada Stout
Text item: Text_1
Does anyone know what yeast Sierra Nevada uses in their Stout?
Thanks in advance,
Bob Surratt Orangevale, CA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 15:14:25 EST
From: ghh@aretha.jax.org (grady holloway)
Subject: innformation reequest
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 15:18:42 EST
From: ghh@aretha.jax.org (grady holloway)
Subject: information request
Please advise what's available here. Regards
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 15:50:46 -0500
From: Pete Geib <plg@ll.mit.edu>
Subject: S.G. temp correction
Hi all,
I measured S.G. last night. My IPA is stuck at 1.030 @ 75 F. My
question is, how do I correct for temperature? TCJOHB suggests that I
add about 0.005 (if I remember right). The sg_vs_temp file on
sierra.stanford.edu lists the correction factor of 2.06 @ 77 F.
Adding 0.005 seems reasonable. But what about the 2.06?
Also, to really be accurate (not that I usually care that much - just
curios), should'nt I also correct for altitude? I'm at about 5000 feet.
Thanks,
Pete
E-mail: plg@ll.mit.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 15:55:20 EST
From: dweller@GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE)
Subject: old tyme
Hi folks--
I ran across the following note on another digest....thought
you all might be interested:
Shakespeare Electronic Conference, Vol. 5, No. 0047.
Thursday, 20 January 1994.
From: William Godshalk <GODSHAWL@UCBEH>
Date: Wednesday, 19 Jan 1994 17:18:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: SHK 5.0043 Re: Sack, Ale, and Stout with
Some Questions
To Nate Johnson's question about beer, I gather that ale was
more popular than beer. Queen Elizabeth apparently couldn't
leave home without it. There are stories that she flew into
a dreadful rage when her ale became too sweet because of the
warm weather. When local brewers couldn't satisfy her taste,
she'd command that London brewers come out into the
provinces to brew her a barrel of the good stuff. And to
shift realities, Christopher Sly had a taste for small ale.
Eleanour Rummyng's tunning was apparently for the women of
her community, saith John Skelton, Laureate.
And I've drunk Falstaff beer, but I haven't seen it lately.
There was a picture of Santa Claus on the label - I think.
Yours, Bill Godshalk
From: Nancy W Miller
<nmiller@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Date: Wednesday, 19 Jan 94 18:26:11 EST
Subject: Re: SHK 5.0043 Re: Sack, Ale, and Stout with
Some Questions
Re: beer in Elizabethan England: Judging from 17th century
conduct books and household guides, brewing was a standard
domestic skill for the early modern housewife (along with
cooking, preserving, needlework, and physic). I can't speak
for commercial brewing, but certainly homebrewing was
widespread.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 18:49:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia@ZGI.COM>
Subject: Microwave for Sterilization
In 1328 Bill King stated:
> Unfortunately, microbes are in fact too small to couple (absorb) microwave
> energy. I'm not a physics person, but I do know that living objects below
> a certain size can happily mill about in a very strong microwave field,
> such as flys, ants and a the like (don't ask me how I know this), so
> certainly a microscopic pathogen would be practically invisible to such an
> energy field. It is almost analagous to a trying to receive a long wave
> radio signal with a stubby antenna, you simply do not have enough
> length/area to efficiently couple radio energy to your radio.
Now wait a minute. The primary mode of action of a microwave oven is that
it heats the water contained in the sample. A water molecule is pretty
small. In fact it's a lot smaller than a fly or an ant, and yet it can
absorb the microwave energy. And if you put a small drop of water on a
plate in the microwave, say a drop about the size of a fly or ant, it boils
like mad. What is a fly or an ant or a man for that matter, but a sack
of water?
Also the situation is NOT analogous to a stubby antenna. We are talking
about the absorption of energy quanta (photons) by water molecules not
about setting up an electric field in a wire.
I have used the microwave to sterilize/sanitize the overflow of bottles
from my oven. It may be simply luck, but no infections yet.
Domenick Venezia
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia@zgi.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 94 13:15:09
From: "Bob DelFavero" <delf@microrim.com>
Subject: Heat cotrol in basements; the backlog
Re: problems keeping the fermenter warm in a cool basements
I had a similar problem when the fermenter sat right on the basement floor.
I put a couple of wood blocks under the fermenter to cut the conduction loss
to the basement floor, and found that my fermentation proceeded vigorously
enough. Cutting the conduction losses would probably enhance any other
efforts to warm the fermenter. Also keep in mind that heat rises, and you
might be able to keep the fermenter warm enough by putting it on top of
that workbench in the corner.
Re: the backlog
I agree that going to two digests a day isn't the best solution. Many of us
get this at work, at the sufferance of our system admins, and increasing the
volume might be going over the line into unacceptable use of the mail system.
Remember that extra volume tends to beget extra volume.
On the other hand, a few special extra issues might be in order - maybe an
extra Digest every Friday night until the queue length is reasonable again.
One negative effect of the long queue is that we get multiple postings giving
the same opinion because we all see some provocative statement, don't see the
definitive response for a few days, and pitch our own answer into the queue
with all the similar ones that just haven't percolated through yet. If we all
saw a good response shortly after seeing the initial statement, we'd be less
likely to throw our own two cents in.
Things to think about:
-Cut down on long (>2 line) signatures and long quotes from previous articles.
-If you're posting something with reference value, send it to the archive and
post a short announcement to the Digest, rather than posting it to the Digest.
-If you're responding to a FAQ, use direct mail rather than posting.
-Before posting, ask youself, "Am I adding value to this discussion?"
Robert Del Favero, in Redmond, Washington
delf@microrim.com <<-- new address
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 94 19:32:38 EST
From: sean v. taylor <sean@chemres.tn.cornell.edu>
Subject: help with yeast problems
Greetings all,
This weekend I brewed an amber ale. I did a partial mash with
3 pounds of klages 2 row and 3.3 pounds M&F amber liquid malt extract.
My SG at 65 C was 1.042, or thereabouts.
I pitched Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast, which I had started the
day before by smooshing the bag. It had expanded to easily one inch in
twelve hours.
My problem is that the yeast has not done a thing in my wort.
There has been no activity at all, and I am considering adding some
good old Red Star ale yeast if nothing happens soon.
Anybody have any ideas what's wrong? It's in a 62 C room, which
I thought would be warm enough. Should I have used a wort starter instead
of just the Wyeast nutrient solution? Will unfermented wort in a closed
fermenter be okay if I don't pitch the Red Star for another day or two?
I am still somewhat relaxed, but I am worrying and it is causing me to
have too many homebrews.
Your help in this matter is most appreciated.
Thanks,
Sean V. Taylor
sean@chemres.tn.cornell.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 12:35:00 PST
From: "McCaw, Mike" <mccaw@wdni.com>
Subject: Color for Romulan Ale
JSDaws writes asking if it is possible to make a blue beverage (Romulan Ale)
starting with a yellow liquid. Sorry, the short answer is "nope".
The long anser, for those that are interested, has to do with the physics of
human vision. We have receptors that function along a yellow-blue axis and
ones that work on a red-green axis. This is why yellow and blue and red and
green always appear opposite one another on a color wheel (or color space
diagram). You can have a reddish blue, or a greenish blue, but a yellowish
blue will always be green. In the same way, you can have a bluish or
yellowish red, but not a greenish one.
It is possible that you could decolorize your base beer like some of the
truly insipid products I have recently seen in the supermarket, but a better
approach might be to simply use all rice syrup, or corn syrup (just ferment
sugar), and use hops oils and extracts and a very estery yeast for flavor.
Not speaking Romulan, KPLAH!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 19:13:41 PST
From: lhart@caticsuf.CSUFresno.EDU (Lowell Hart)
Subject: HWBTA Entry Difficulties
Thanks to Rick Garvin for the HWBTA contest info. As it happens, we were
discussing this very subject at the exec. meeting for the San Joaquin
WORThogs, locally world-reknown homebrew club. Our VP is a driver for
UPS, and says that there are many Eastern states without UPS and other
package delivery services due to all that white stuff on the ground
back there. Are there going to be any allowances for late arrivals
due to this sort of problem? Our entries are going out 21 Jan 94,
lots of lead time for the usual service, but with the weather it's
gonna be a crapshoot as to if it will meet the due date. I would
imagine this is a real problem for the snowbound types. Anybody
have any ideas? Is there an act-of-god clause?
Lowell Hart
Raketenflugplatz, Fresno
lhart@caticsuf.csufresno.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 20:59:11 PST
From: dbell@cup.portal.com
Subject: Re: Glucose test(er)s
Actually, it may well be worth looking around for promotional
bargains on the electronic glucose meters. A couple years ago
I picked one up for something like $30, along with a *$25*
rebate coupon! The manufacturer expects to make up the cost
in refill supplies - test strips and calibration solution/strips.
I never thought of using it for residual sugar testing - looks
like a great idea. Todd Carlson's comments settled the question
I had about the relative concentrations very nicely.
His point about measuring the 3/4 cup of sugar more accurately has
a few problems, though. First, as I understood the original posting,
the goal was to determine the sugar *already in the wort*, in order
to add the necessary amount for priming. Second, if you don't use
nice crystalline table sugar, measurement by volume is notoriously
inaccurate, anyway!
Dave
dbell@cup.portal.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 94 10:00:06 EST
From: dipalma@sky.com (Jim Dipalma)
Subject: RE: Dry hopping in keg
Hi All,
In HBD 1322 JC Ferguson writes:
> I want to dry-hop when I keg, and I'm wondering the appropriate amount
> of hops to use. This will be for 4-5 gals - not sure if I'm going to bottle
> I'm thinking of 1oz
> of kent goldings (plug) in a muslin bag. Too much? Too little?
I've found that 1/2 to 1 ounce of fresh leaf puts a very nice aroma
on a beer. Plugs work well too, if you take a knife and break them up a
bit first. I use a nylon hop bag, sanitized by a brief boil. Some have
suggested placing marbles in the bag to make it sink, but I don't think
that's necessary. I've tried it with and without the marbles, it doesn't
seem to make any difference.
Cheers,
Jim
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 10:42:25 EST
From: epochsys!lconrad@uunet.UU.NET (Laura Conrad)
Subject: keg airlock
I don't usually ferment in kegs, because I like to watch what's going
on. However, the couple of times I have tried it, I found that if I
took out the tube that goes down from the OUT stem, the gasket that
held that tube was the right size to just stick in my airlock.
Another strategy is to just use a regular in hose fitting and run a
short piece of tubing from the fitting to the airlock.
Both of these strategies are fine for secondary fermentation, but I
wouldn't trust them to deal with any serious blow-off.
Laura
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 94 11:09:22 EST
From: richk@icad.COM (Richard Kasperowski)
Subject: Flamable beer
Hopefully no one has posted this yet. I can give the emali
attribution if anyone is interested.
- --
January 1, 1994
TOKYO (AP) -- Here in the chic pubs of the Aoyama district, the latest fad
inspired by beer makers struggling through a sluggish economy is the flammable
suds of the new Hydrogen Beer. The latest craze among the environmentally
conscious crowd of twentysomethings, the "Suiso" beer made by the Asaka Beer
Corporation has been extremely popular at karaoke sing-along bars and
discotheques.
Hydrogen, like helium, is a gas lighter than air. Because hydrogen molecules
are lighter than air, sound waves are transmitted more rapidly; individuals
whose lungs are filled with the nontoxic gas can speak with an
uncharacteristically high voice.
Exploiting this quirk of physics, chic urbanites can now sing soprano parts
on karaoke sing-along machines after consuming a big gulp of Suiso beer.
The drink comes in a transparent hexagonal bottle imported from the maker of
the new American drink "Zima," according to Hideki Saito, marketing director of
Asaka Beer Corp. (ed. note: Coors?)
While the bottles are imported from Tennessee, the labels are made with a 100%
biodegradable polymer . The bottle caps are equipped with a safety
valve to prevent excess build-up of pressure in high temperatures.
The exotic new drink is reminiscent of dry ice sodas that were popular in the
1970's. However, owing to increased concern over the greenhouse effect,
hydrogen has been substituted for dry ice as the ideal nonpolluting
fuel. Hydrogen is made from the electrolysis of water; when burnt, it turns
back into water.
The flammable nature of hydrogen has also become another selling point, even
though Asaka has not acknowledged that this was a deliberate marketing ploy.
It has inspired a new fashion of blowing flames from one's mouth using a
cigarette as an ignition source. Many new karaoke videos feature singers
shooting blue flames in slow motion, while flame contests took place in pubs
everywhere in Tokyo on New Year's eve.
Although playing with fire can add a sparkle to night life, hydrogen burnt in
large quantities can trigger catastrophic explosions such as the Hindenburg
tragedy of 1937. The Hindenburg was a large airship
filled with hydrogen that crossed the Atlantic from Germany to New Jersey and
then exploded shortly before landing, due to accidental contact with
high-powered transmission lines. The scale of the Hindenburg incident,
involving 36 dead and hundreds injured, created a ruinous image of hydrogen
as a dangerous substance.
So far, Asaka beer has insisted that the quantities of hydrogen used in the
drinks is too low to create potential for bodily harm. In the factory, the
carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the beer is partially extracted and
replaced with hydrogen gas. Mr. Saito maintained that the remaining carbon
dioxide mixed with hydrogen prevents the rate of combustion from increasing
dramatically. Carbon dioxide is a nonflammable gas that is naturally
contained
in the exhaled breath of humans.
However, the company has hesitated from marketing the product in the US due
to legal complications.
Each bottle of Suiso beer sells for approximately 1,200 yen, or eleven US
dollars. The bottles are packed in special crates lined with concrete to
prevent chain explosions in the event of a fire.
"I think that in today's depressed economy, young people are looking for more
provocative entertainment," said Shigeaki Nakamatsu, a bartender in the
"Jigger" bar in Aoyama. "The job market for college graduates is quite grim,
so many students are frustrated."
- --
Rich Kasperowski richk@icad.com 617-868-2800x304
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 94 08:52:41 EST
From: cmryglot@disney.CV.COM (Chuck Mryglot X6024)
Subject: w34/70
Does anyone know the Wyeast equivalent of W34/70?
Is it exactly the same?
Also, Does anyone know what yeast strains the
big 6 of Munich use?
Regards,
ChuckM
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 08:56:06 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel@MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: wyeast belgian 3944 perf
Reply to: RE>wyeast belgian 3944 perf
thanks spencer...
Thanks for the help regarding the performance of the
wyeast belgian 3944 yeast.
My 22oz starter started bubbling nicely, so i brewed a batch
and pitched, keeping the fermenter in our den at 70*
(nice warm room in this deep freeze) at about 10pm. By
morning and since it has been bubbling at a rate of many
bubbles a second. Rather noisy, I might add, but I find it
a pleasing, happy sound; Tina finds it mildly annoying
when reading, but tolerates it.
My starting gravity was 1.052, for the record, and the recipe
is:
6.6# northwestern gold extract (LME)
3.3# northwestern wheat extract (LME)
1 oz hallertauer 4.4pct (60 min boil)
3/4 oz coriander (60 min boil)
1/2 oz hallertauer 4.4pct (30 min)
gratings from the peel of a whole orange (5 min)
cooled outside in the ice and snow (great cold
break in 0 degree weather in new jersey!)...just
for the masses, 2 or 3 clothespins work great to
hold the lid down tightly while cooling outside.
I'll let everyone know how the batch turns out...
george
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 06:24:19 -0800 (PST)
From: tlyons@netcom.com (Tom Lyons)
Subject: Keg parts supply source
II've seen several requests for info about keg parts and tap equipment.
Best source I know of is Braukunst. Cliff Tanner is the proprietor. He
sells nothing but keg-related stuff (including taps, valves, keg parts,
regulators, drains, filters, etc).
I don't have his phone number handy but he is active on Compu$erve. You
can send him email at 73507.2256@compuserve.com
As usual, I'm not connected with this gentleman in any way other than
being a very satisfied customer.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 09:41:34 -0500 (EST)
From: COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L@Lilly.com
Subject: Modification of Charlie's method
This may be terribly simplistic...
I don't always do full wort boils (my kettle is only 5 gal). In the past
I did the "dump the hot wort into 2 or 3 gal of chilled pre-boiled water
method". I never noticed oxidation problems. I now have a wort chiller.
My question is.... could you remove your boiling wort off the heat and
gently pour in the chilled pre-boiled water and not experience the HSA
that can occur? Not everyone has the budget or technical skills for the
purchase or fabrication of chillers.
Sandy C.
From: COCKERHAM SANDRA L (MCVAX0::RX31852)
To: VMS MAIL ADDRESSEE (IN::"homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com")
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 94 09:45:05 EST
From: carlsont@GVSU.EDU (TODD CARLSON)
Subject: extract: dry or liquid?
I was going through my mail order catalogues yesterday and
found on supplier state that their extract syrups were
prefered over their dry malt extract. Another catalogue
claimed exactly the opposite. In both cases, the extracts
were made from exacly the same wort. So, can anyone out
there on the information super highway tell me if DME or LME
will give better results? (assuming no other variables)
PS, I am aware that LME is about 20% water and would adjust
the recipes accordingly.
Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom
Todd
carlsont@gvsu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 9:48:36 -0500 (EST)
From: KLAY@ocean.aoml.erl.gov
Subject: Plastics
Hello Brewers!
Looking in the Cole-Parmer (R) catalog, I came across 2 cemical resistance
charts - with 'Beer' and 'Brewery Slop' listed. Polyetheylene (as in LDPE &
HDPE (the typical food-grade plastic buckets)) is listed as excellent to 120
degrees F. Polypropylene has severe effects form Clorox, but can be heat
sanitized to 275 F. Polycarbonate does not sound like a good choice. Some
excerpts: Do not use strong alkaline cleaning agents; will be weakened by
repeated washings in dishwasher; shows loss of strength after autoclaving;
is a less-resistant plastic (may be some surface attack with aggressive dis-
infectants.
O2 Permeability {cc-mm/sec-cm2-cm Hg} x .1
HDPE = 10
LDPE = 60
PP = 25
PC = 20
HDPE has a resistant, easy to clean nonwetting surface (DO NOT USE
ABRASIVES!), max temp of 248 F, and lower (relative) permeability. This is
what a plastic fermenter from a brew shop will be made of. Not glass, but...
A question: With hot Miami temperatures, I want a brew frig. Does anyone know
how I can regulate the temp at ~65 F easily?
KLAY@ocean.aoml.erl.gov Jonathan Klay
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 1994 10:02:41 -0500 (EST)
From: SFLYNN@MURRAY.FORDHAM.EDU
Subject: Homebrew suppliers in NE Pennsylvania
I know someone interested in starting to homebrew. He lives in north-east
Pennsylvania. Does anyone know of a supplier in the area or will he have
to rely on mail-order? Any help will be appreciated and can be sent
directly.
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1331, 01/22/94
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