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HOMEBREW Digest #1428
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/05/20 00:34:28
HOMEBREW Digest #1428 Fri 20 May 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Beer as Food (Don Rudolph)
Wyeast 1338 and Miller/Shipping beer from Europe (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Malt aroma (Richard Nantel)
Yeast stuff--COMMON and a new faq (Patrick Weix)
Staplebrau/Low-T_Ale_ferments (David Draper)
Mead article - help (STROUD)
Different Fermentation Methods (Chris Strickland)
Thin Mash, was Heated Mash Tuns (David Hyde)
Re: Siphon hose (Jim Busch)
Re: AHA Conference in Denver (Jason Goldman)
Head on lighter beers & Re: Charlie Bashing (Mike Zentner)
Fermentation Temps ("Rich Scotty")
Glatt mills? (Jack Schmidling)
Fridge thermostats (BFRALEY)
Spaten Optimator ("Steven W. Smith")
Wormwood and Malta Goya ("CPT Goeres, Ross")
my 2 cents on advertising (Theriault Kenneth M.)
Bottling from a Keg (Haber Justin )
Wormwood Beer (Mark Worwetz)
Dispensing cask ales (Bob Jones)
Charlie's trip to NZ's Havill Meadery (Nancy.Renner)
Source of Root Beer Ingredients (Mike Dix)
Misc. (Jason Pastorius)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 18 May 94 18:51:36 EDT
From: Don Rudolph <76076.612@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Beer as Food
Does anyone out there have an analysis of a "typical" beer that includes
calories,
carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and fat? I would like some ammo to
debate those who claim beer has no nutritional value. (Actually I would like to
make a case to my wife to allow me to drink beer on my new Eating Lifestyle
Plan,
aka diet!*)
Thanks
Don Rudolph
76076.612@CompuServe.COM
Seattle, WA
*Should I have put an ASCII smiley face here?
------------------------------
Date: 18 May 94 22:55:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Wyeast 1338 and Miller/Shipping beer from Europe
Ulick writes:
>Someone called pubtools@ihpubj.att.com
>made a very sweeping and totally unsubstantiated statement about giving
>a wort a wild yeast, specifically lactobaccillus, by starting a siphon
>with the mouth. Good for a laugh, but the worst example of bad unsubstantiaed
>claims that appear in this medium.
That someone did sign the post "Al." Neither I nor anyone else here is going
to to validate everthing they post with a reference. Do you? Read again...
what I said was:
>have. Now, don't say, "Miller? A wild yeast infection?" Recall that in
>the same book, he suggests starting a siphon by sucking on it with your
>mouth. Although this is more an invitation for a lactobacillus infection,
^^^^
>it indicates that there was at least one weak link even in Dave Miller's
>process at the time. I'm quite sure that he uses pumps at the brewery now.
I still contend that the human mouth is a darn good source for hundreds of
bacteria, including lactobacillus. Perhaps you would like to provide a
reference to the contrary?
>Now this 'expert' who seems to work for that great biotechnology company,
>AT&T, is surely aware that lactobaccilus is a BACTERIUM, not a yeast.
>Assuming yeast, baterium, virus, paramecium, it's all the same (AT&T, Sprint,
>MCI), the claim of infection is quite serious, and as a decicated siphon
>sucker, one that I have never experienced. Therefore, I am quite
>intested in proper authoritive sources for this information. Are any
>forthcoming?
When did I say that lactobacillus is a yeast? I suggest if you are going
to criticize something in the HBD, you might do everyone a favor and quote
the post which you are flaming. That way, everyone can read for themselves
that you missed the point. Secondly, if you are a dedicated siphon sucker,
then I suggest that odds are that your beers are indeed infected. Perhaps
you drink them quickly and they don't have the opportunity for the infections
to become apparent or maybe you are not sensitive to sourness and the smell
of a lactobacillus infection... everyone's senses are different.
********
Jim asks about shipping beer from Europe.
I spoke to someone from the Duty section of US Customs in Washington DC
yesterday about limits regarding beer into the US. He said that exceeding
limits on other items (not alcohol... and perhaps tobacco, I would imagine)
is subject to duty. Alcholic beverages, on the other hand are different.
Unless you purchased the beverages in a US territory, you are limited to
1 liter of alcoholic beverages per adult. Period. Yes, he said that
US Customs people usually allow reasonable amounts of beer through, but
by law, anything over 1 liter was subject to seizure. I asked about
shipping it in and said that I heard of a guy who shipped six or seven
cases of beer as unaccompanied luggage on KLM. He said that the guy was
very lucky because it was certainly not legal.
Since I had planned to bring a lot of beer back from an upcoming trip,
I will be much more conservative on how much I will bank on the good will
of the US Customs officers.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 12:59:20 -0700
From: Don Put <dput@csulb.edu>
Subject: Mashtun Design
Hello, all:
I've recently been playing around with a motorized mash "folder" to try and
eliminate the temperature gradients that occur in the usual homebrewing mash
tun. (Note: RIMS users do not have this problem.) I have been reading a
few of the more complete books on brewing (the two-volume set _Mashing_and_
Brewing_Science_ and _The_Practical_Brewer_) and have seen references to
the mechanical mash mixing devices employed in large scale operations -- both
in the cereal cookers and in the mash tun. Now I know that what the "big
boys" do doesn't necessarily translate to our own small-scale brewing setups
(this disclaimer is for js, who likes to point this out occasionally :-), but
there are some things which translate very well (roller mills, like the
MALTMILL(tm) come immediately to mind ;-).
I have recently seen numerous posts from folks who have access to some
pretty accurate digital thermometers and they have made the important
observation as to the lack of uniformity in mash temps. So, being one to
tinker, I decided to see if in fact a more thorough and continuous mix would
have any effect on the outcome, i.e., the product. (Disclaimer: I know
this is completely anal and unnecessary for producing fine homebrew, so save
the BW and don't post/email about what a waste of time this is ;-).
What I attempted to do with this setup is to provide a "folding" action
that eliminates temperature gradients without introducing HSA, which seems
to the be newest bane to our existence. Because the paddle is well below
the surface of the mash (it is adjustable for different mash levels), the
only disturbance of the mash surface comes from the entry point of the
stainless steel shaft. I have experimented with my hand-held mash paddle
and found that by turning it between my palms I can acheive a nice bottom-
to-top movement of the mash, with very little disturbance of the air/mash
interface. (However, it gets pretty tiresome doing this.) Also, the keg is
pretty much sealed from the outside air by the foam insulation which fits
snugly between the bottom of the paddle support and the top of the keg.
The motor was purchased from American Science and Surplus and provides a
continuous 154 rpms with 30 inch lbs. of torque. (It's a GE "Minigear" motor
and it cost $19.95. The rest of the material, except the pillow blocks which
were $8.00/pair, I had lying around my shop, so I'm into this for relatively
little $$$$.) With the pulley arrangement I have, the paddle moves at ~35
rpms with a total torque of ~90 inch lbs. The pillow blocks have phosphour
bronze bushings and have wick-type lubrication, which prevents any of the
lubricant from finding its way down the shaft and into the mash. They are
flange-type and are mounted on either side of the angle iron support, flange
to flange. This provides more than enough stability for the shaft. The
whole arrangement is mounted to the keg with two 1/4" bolts, which pass
through the keg handles and the angle iron frame. It takes a couple
minutes to mount/dismount it.
Pulley Pulley
//////////------------////
Pillow || Blocks ____||_____ <----Angle iron frame for
__________[||]___________| /-||-\ mounting motor and paddle
|| |-------[||]-------| || | | assembly. It is adjustable
||-|-Foam-Insulation--|-|| | | on the motor side. Also, the
| || | ------ insulation is removeable w/o
| SS Keg || | Motor removing the paddle
| downtube || | assembly, thus enabling any
K | 3/4" dia.|| | type of mashing (i.e.,
E | || | decoction).
G | || |
| || |
| / || \ |
| / || \ ----|-| <-----Thermometer (3" Dual Scale)
| / \ |
| / SS Paddle \ |
| |__________________| |
|----------------------|
|| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ||
|| Heat Source ||
The maiden voyage for this beast is this weekend. Any suggestions or
comments (other than the fact that I am crazy!)? One other thing, while
perusing some of the older HBDs, I noticed a system that was marketed back
around 1990 that was called the Automash(tm) system. Does anyone out there
use one of these? Does anyone know anything about them?
TIA,
don
dput@csulb.edu
------------------------------
Date: 18 May 94 22:52:39 EDT
From: Richard Nantel <72704.3003@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Malt aroma
Dry hopping and late boil hop additions are well known methods of introducing a
hoppy aroma to a beer. Little information, however, seems to exist on getting a
strong malty aroma. If I withhold late hop or dry hop additions in my all grain
batches, I don't get a strong malt aroma, just a beer nose.
Miller explains in TCHOHB that dimethyl sulfide (DMS) contributes to a malty
aroma but then suggests ways of reducing DMS by improving sanitation, cooling
wort quickly, etc. I'd rather not chance poor sanitation to obtain my goal.
Do certain types of grains improve malt aroma? Is it influenced by different
mashing methods (decoction, etc.)? Mashing temperature? Ph? Any ideas?
TIA
Richard Nantel
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
email to: rnantel@cam.org
PS. I know Pilsner Urquell is renown for its Saaz hop aroma but to my humble
nose, it also has a heck of alot of malt aroma in there.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 21:24:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: weix@netcom.com (Patrick Weix)
Subject: Yeast stuff--COMMON and a new faq
It never rains but it pours---I've uploaded a new version of the yeast
faq to sierra. I corrected a few spelling errors, and I added an
appendix that describes the William's wyeast strains (William's
redistributes Wyeast yeast under their own label but changes the
numbering system and names). This appendix was given to me by Brian
Smithey, so thank Brian if it helps you.
If these changes are unimportant to you, don't bother to get the new version.
If you do want it and it hasn't shown up yet, breath deeply, have a
homebrew, and try again in a few days :-).
In response to the question about COMMON yeasts, you have a point, if
Sumerians could make beer in open vats, why do we worry about yeast
strains (or starting a siphon by mouth for that matter)? Well, it
depends a lot on what your tastes are, what style of beer you make,
etc, but the proper yeast *can* make a world of difference. Although
brewer's yeast and baker's yeast are both Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
the strain variation and selection between the two are very different.
Ever more worrisome to me is the quality control aspect. If the yeast
is rehydrated and mixed with flour for a few hours before being baked
in an oven, the risks of adverse outcome from bacterial contamination
is slight. Mixing your yeast with a giant vat of sugar water for a few
weeks, however, presents another class of problem entirely.
If you are put off by the cost or bother, I suggest that you try Red
Star's excellent dry ale yeast. You have little to lose and may learn
to appreciate the difference.
Patrick
- --
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away."
Tom Waits
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 19:50:27 +1000 (EST)
From: David Draper <ddraper@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au>
Subject: Staplebrau/Low-T_Ale_ferments
Whud id iz: I got some good info from respondents to my recent posts about
low-T ale fermentation, in true HBD style. I stupidly neglected to
mention my main concern of fermenting ale yeasts at 56-60F, which is
the possible flavor effects, rather than vigor of activity (things
seem to be cruising along with no problems). Thanks to Spencer Thomas, Andy
Donohue, Chip Hitchcock, and P Brooks. Any errors in my summary below of
their input are undoubtedly mine.
The consensus is that ales will definitely lose some of their fruitier
notes from fermentation at these temps., and be crisper and cleaner.
I.e., more lager-like and less ale-like. Although Chip suggested that
there should be little effect on malt and hop flavors, P Brooks'
experiences were that the less-active ferments produced less scrubbing of
hop aromatics, so the beers seemed more hopped than they actually were.
Bottom line: no ill effects, just some (subtle?) flavor differences.
Staples in beer: Alan of Austin brought up something I hadn't considered,
namely that staples have an adhesive on them. I examined a row of staples
from the box I am in the middle of, and could see nothing with the naked
eye. I took it to the lab and had a look under the microscope, and could
see a VERY thin bit of this plasticlike stuff, but ONLY on the corners of
the staples, not in an enveloping sheath. I would estimate that the
amount of this stuff in the batch of beer I brewed with the stapled bags
is a fraction of a milligram (I didn't peel it off and weigh it because it
was just too small). I am going to go ahead with this because I think it
is an acceptable risk--but good thinking, Alan!
Cheers, Dave in Sydney
- --
******************************************************************************
David S. Draper School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University
ddraper@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia
Fax: +61-2-805-8428 Voice: +61-2-805-8347
------------------------------
Date: 19 May 1994 08:07:06 -0500 (EST)
From: STROUD%GAIA@leia.polaroid.com
Subject: Mead article - help
Rick Zydenbos is looking for an article on the Havell Meadery in a past issue
of Zymurgy.
Rick, I remember the article, too - but it wasn't in the last year or two. It
was more like 1985 or 1986. I'll try to remind myself to go through the past
issues when I go home tonight and try to get a more definitive answer for you.
Cheers,
Steve
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 08:28:16 -0400
From: stricklandc@cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov (Chris Strickland)
Subject: Different Fermentation Methods
It seems like the more I learn the more confused I get. For my first 11
batches I've been using a primary fermenter for the first 3-4 days, then
racking to a secondary fermenter for another 5-7 days. I finally bought
a glass carboy (6.7 gallons), and started using the blowoff method (with a
nice 1" tube). I'm concerned with infection using this method, all the
blowup crap sitting around in a water bucket. I let it sit like this for
about 2 days (until it quit blowing off into bucket), then switched to a
regular airlock.
Questions:
1) Miller recommends using only 1 fermentor, but doesn't like blowoff method.
Though he states single closed fermentation, he says he racks off to another
carboy after fermentation is done. He cools this carboy and lets it sit
for a couple of days. (How's this really different from using two-stage
fermentation)?
2) How long can I let the beer sit on the yeast when using the blowoff method?
3) What about nasties traveling up the blowoff tube sitting in the bucket of
water (which blowoff crude goes into).
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Chris Strickland | Allin1: stricklandc |
| Systems Analyst/Statistician | Email : stricklandc@cocoa12.ksc.nasa.gov |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 09:22:22 -0400
From: dd853@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (David Hyde)
Subject: Thin Mash, was Heated Mash Tuns
Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com> wrote:
>As you noted, mash stiffness is not sacraficed when
>raising the temp using heat as opposed to using hot
>water in a cooler.
[snip]
>How thin is the mash going to be if you do this
>in a cooler?
I don't have any references handy, and don't recall
reading anything but warnings about this. What are the
effects of a thin mash? I mash in a 10 gal cooler, and
I've had pretty thin mashes for higher temp. rests. What
effect does this have on my beer? I don't have any complaints,
I'm just wondering what benefit a thicker mash would give me.
Thanks,
Dave Hyde
dd853@cleveland.freenet.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 09:47:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: Re: Siphon hose
john writes:
>
> There have been a couple of post recently about sucking on the end of
> siphoning tube in order to get it started. Yesterday, Jim mentioned
> placing your hand over the end of the tubing and sucking on your
> hand. I believe a better method is the following. Sanitize the
> small piece of plastic pipe you use connect your rubber stopper to
> your blow off tube (if you don't have one, cut a 3 inch section off
> of the top of a bottling cane). Insert this just barely (1/4 inch)
> into your siphoning tube. Suck on this and pinch the tube when the
> wort has made it to the end of the tube. Remove the piece of pipe
> and place the tube in the appropriate vessel.
I did this for my first 100 batches or so. Now I dont bother, doesnt
seem to matter for me. Filling the tube with water and diverting it
to another bucket until beer flows is another simple effective way to
do this without additional effort (assuming your water is treated with
chlorine).
Best,
Jim Busch
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 7:46:43 MDT
From: Jason Goldman <jason@bluestar.cnd.hp.com>
Subject: Re: AHA Conference in Denver
Norm Pyle wrote:
> Am I the only one who's had too many homebrews and can't figure out the AHA
> conference schedule? If a talk is not in the "General Session" how do figure
> out when it is? For example, if I want to go to Bob Jones' talk, how do I
> relate the little paragraph about it to a Session #? Either I'm missing some
> vital information, or the ad in Zymurgy is real lacking. I would appreciate
> someone helping me out, via email as I don't think this is of interest to
> even 10% of HBD members.
Norm, if I had the schedule, I'd agree that this is not of major
interest, but since you've hit one of my hot buttons, I decided to post
instead.
When I saw the AHA conference information in Zymurgy, I thought that it
would be nice to go since it's so close to me. I noticed the same thing
that you did: there is no schedule of when each presentation will be
given. There was a number to call for more information. When I called
them, they told me that they'd send me out the schedule right away.
What I received (three weeks later) was the same information in Zymurgy
(i.e. no schedule). I needed to know the schedule because I wasn't
interested in all the presentations and I can't afford to take the whole
time off. Later, at the first round judging for the Nationals, I ran
into Karen Barela. I told her about this and gave her feedback about
how frustrating this was. She told me that they can't publish the
schedule in Zymurgy because of the long lead times. Fine, but why can't
you mail the schedule out when people ask. She told me that I should
have been sent the schedule. Everyone else I know got the same mailing
I did, so I'm not sure what the deal is. Later, a friend of mine called
her and asked about the schedule. She told him that she didn't have a
copy to mail or fax him, but she did read it over the phone to him.
Given that they've known at least part of the schedule since January
(Jeff Lebesch said that his presentation has been scheduled since then),
you'd think that they could have it together. I've decided that it's
just not worth it.
Sorry for venting.
Jason
jason@bluestar.cnd.hp.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 08:50:43 -0500
From: Mike Zentner <zentner@ecn.purdue.edu>
Subject: Head on lighter beers & Re: Charlie Bashing
Well, I inadvertently brewed a very light beer a few months back and decided
I liked it anyway. I basically undershot the amount of grain I needed and
overshot the sparge water, and just didn't wait to boil it away. Now that
I've tried it, I'm incredibly pleased with the result except for one thing.
How does one get these lighter beers to keep the beautiful head (it really
looks nice upon pouring, but just plain disappears in minutes). Anyone
care to share techniques for this?
Small informative bit: I discovered the perfect tool for all-grain brewing.
I now use my Black & Decker workmate for sparging and chilling. It's just
the right hight, and plenty sturdy...
And, richard childers wrote:
>And Mike Zenter [sic] replies :
>
>"I was not. In fact, I'll go you one further. There are a few people
> on the digest who only want to see the things they want to see, and
> berate the rest of the world when they see something they don't want to
> see, claiming it wastes their precious time."
>
>Au contraire. I have nothing against Papazian,
>[........]
>Any more insubstantial conclusions that anyone wishes to draw ?
Sorry if I implied to anyone that richard had anything against charlie, but
in fact, if you read my note, you'd realize there was no such implication.
The only "conclusion" in the post was possibly through the deductive process
that richard was whining, and even then not obnoxiously in comparison to
what I've seen of others in the past. Y'all really need to lighten up.
Mike Zentner
^
------------------------------
Date: 19 May 1994 08:03:07 U
From: "Rich Scotty" <rscotty@denitqm.ecte.uswc.uswest.com>
Subject: Fermentation Temps
Subject: Time: 7:57 AM
OFFICE MEMO Fermentation Temps Date: 5/19/94
I am getting ready to brew a batch of Red Ale this weekend and now that summer
is here I'm becomming concerned about fermentation temperatures.
During the winter, I always do my fermentations in the corner of the kitchen
with nome nifty home made insulated jackets over the carboys for temperature
stability and light blockage.
Well, now my kitchen is up to 75 degrees in the day and I'm concerned that temp
is too high. My basement is 66 degrees and that may be too low for Wyeast
American Ale yeast. What is the collective wisdom of the digest? I do have an
area on the landing of the basement stairs that is 70 degrees, but it would be
a bit crowded with 2 carboys perking away.
Any insights are greatly appreciated.
Rich Scotty
"Under the most carefully controlled conditions, yeast will do as it damn well
pleases."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 09:10 CDT
From: arf@mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Glatt mills?
Hope I don't sound ungrateful for the information, after all, I did ask for
it but there are a few comments worth making here...
>From: Allen Ford <allen@darwin.sfbr.org>
> Compared to the earlier version of the Maltmill with longitudinally-grooved
rollers, the Glatt mill thruput and crush is superior. According to
competent sources, compared with the newer knurled-roller Maltmill, there is
no noticeable difference.
The two are not even in the same ballpark as far as throughput is concerned.
The MM puts out 300 lbs per hour and the Glatt with its plastic gears can't
even be kept running that long without having to replace broken gears.
Aside from reliability, the most recent published data on the Glatt puts it
at about 60 lbs per hr.
I will concede that there is probably little practical difference in the
crush as that is the reason people use rollers mills but to say the Glatt is
superior is not backed by any tests I know of.
> For me the major selling points of the Glatt mill were: 1)both rollers
are gear driven so no slippage of a passive roller can occur,
Until one of the plastic gears breaks.
The unique design of the MM makes gears unnecessary.
> 2)the gap between the rollers is adjustable on both ends, allowing the
rollers to remain parallel at all settings,
That is more perception than a real advantage in actual practice. The fixed
MM rollers are parallel and produce an excellent crush on any grain out
there. The adjustable can produce any sort of alternative crush desirable
using its unique non-parallel design.
> and 3)the price was ~$40 cheaper than it nearest competitor, the Maltmill.
Not sure where $40 comes from but the MM sells for $99 and will do everything
the Glatt will do, much faster and forever.
>I am currently setting up to motorize the Glatt. Although the
manufacturer states that motorizing the mill will void the warranty,
he claims that I should be able to run it at or below 300 rpm.
But did he say he would honor the warranty? And isn't it only 90 days
anyway? With plastic gears and plastic bearings, the limited warranty is
totally understandable.
> How does this compare to the warranty and recommended speeds for the
Maltmill?
The MM has a lifetime guarantee and can be run at any speed you wish.
I have known people who run them at 1725 rpm and another person had the
pullies reversed and was running around 5000. Needless to say, neither of
these are very good ways of running them but the mills didn't self destruct.
I think the most efficient speed is between 300 and 500 but with short,
skinny rollers like the Glatt, you would probably have to run it much slower
to get it to feed properly.
>From: Bob Fawcett <bobf@gulfaero.com>
>I got a MaltMill yesterday and the enclosed literature has a similar
warranty disclaimer.
I think if you read it again, you will find that it not similar at all. It
is only a disclaimer of JSP liability for personal injury if you motorize it.
If the mill breaks while chewing up your hand, a replacement (mill) will be
cheerfully sent but call a doctor for your hand and not a lawyer.
> There was no mention of a recommended speed since Jack doesn't recommend
motorizing the mill.
Again, it's not a question of recommending, it a question of liability for
injury if you do motorize it.
>The crush of the new knurled rollers is great.
I would be interested in knowing how the new knurled rollers on the Glatt
mill relate to the following.....
..........
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 1994 08:48:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Griggers <brew@devine.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM>
Subject: Glatt malt mill
I would like to get in touch with people that have bought or
used the Glatt malt mill. I am having trouble with grain
feeding properly, and was wondering if this was a universal
problem. The first mills shipped had wide horizontal
grooves. Glatt changed this to a knurled pattern, which
supposedly had a higher throughput. When my mill was new it
worked great, but now grain will not feed unless I apply
pressure on the grain in the feed hopper.
Jim
................
I don't know if Jim heard from anyone but nothing showed up on the Digest.
>From: Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com>
>...as far as I knew all standard MMs use Orings to drive the passive roller.
The current design seems to run as well without the orings as it does with.
I still put one in because it facilitates assembly and checkout but I have
been telling customers not to bother replacing it if it wears out and to let
me know if there is a problem. It's been almost a year since I changed the
roller design and I have yet to hear from anyone that the oring helps.
This of course leads to....
>Thats why I forked out the extra money for the gear drive, esp. since I knew
I would motorize it and drive about 7 times the "normal" malt quantities
through it.
One might ask, if the oring is not needed, why the gears? The answer is
that I seem to have outdone myself and obsoleted a nice option. I am unable
to measure any difference in the time it takes to crush with and without the
gears on my mill. As I never do more than 14 lbs, however, I have no way of
knowing if there is any difference on large batches. I have asked several
high volume users with new mills to run for awhile without the gears and let
me know what the learn. I have not heard from anyone yet so I am still
offering the gears as sort of insurance but not at all sure they are useful
anymore.
>From: hollen@megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck)
> Why Greg has voided a warranty due to motorization is that if something
should wedge the rollers, the gears will strip since they are just plastic.
It seems as though this risk occurs everytime one starts up with a full
hopper, the modus operandi of hand cranked mills. This is the time of
maximum torque and the only difference between motor and hands is one might
stop if he knows what crunching gear sounds like. Granted, with small
rollers, the Glatt take less torque but if a stone or other foreign body (or
even Carapils for that matter) gets in, it is a potential disaster.
>To solve this problem, I mounted the motor.....
This "problem" says more about why not to buy a Glatt than all the literature
I have published to date. If I were the customer, I would demand that the
manufacturer solve the problem.
js
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 10:31 CDT
From: BFRALEY@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu
Subject: Fridge thermostats
I just recently aquired a beer fridge for my garage (non-frost free) and
I want to add a temperature control. Has anyone used the thermostats that
you plug the fridge into (instead of the ones where you replace the existing
thermostat) and use a probe to determine the interior temperature? I have
found a couple that are cheap and I am not the best electrician anyway.
However, I don't want to spend 30-40 dollars now and just end up spending
the 70-80 bucks later. I appreciate the feedback.
Brad Raley
University of Oklahoma "Beer: Nature's Perfect Food!"
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 09:02:28 -0700 (MST)
From: "Steven W. Smith" <SMITH_S@gc.maricopa.edu>
Subject: Spaten Optimator
I'm planning for my first all-grain extravaganza (after summer abates) and
I'd like to find a recipe approximating Spaten Optimator*. Checked the Cat's
Meow, of course - nada... Hep me! Hep me pleeease!
On another note, I've tried Irish Moss in 2 batches now; both cleared nicely.
Deity or not, IM smells NASTY and it pains me to pour it into my wort. A well-
known oracle suggests gelatine instead, but I'm lacking some data. My
understanding of the process is this: after secondary fermentation, pasteurize
the gelatine in solution, pitch it, wait a couple days for the wort to clear.
Is it then (A) wise, (B) necessary, (C) stoopid to re-pitch yeast at bottling
time?
FWIW: Suckin' those siphon hoses? Shame, shame, shame! <<end Gomer Pyle mode>>
I attach the hose to my racking cane, hold both ends over the sink and fill
the hose/cane with bottled water. Hold a finger over the end of the hose,
insert cane into carboy, remove finger and Let The Siphon Begin.
_,_/|
\o.O; Steven W. Smith, Programmer/Analyst
=(___)= Glendale Community College, Glendale Az. USA
U smith_s@gc.maricopa.edu
* Spaten: them folks can brew!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 18:01:23 CET
From: "CPT Goeres, Ross" <4atf-4@pirmasens-emh1.army.mil>
Subject: Wormwood and Malta Goya
Re: wormwood posts
The recent postings regarding wormwood have shared a remarkable property: the
ability to express strong opinions independently of any facts. As far as
health dangers are concerned: ANYTHING (including necessities such as water,
oxygen, etc.) in sufficient quantity can KILL you--the key is moderation.
It's hard to be moderate with absinthe. The toxicity of wormwood notwith-
standing, the bottle of Hill's Absinth I bought in the Czech Republic is 70%
by volume (140 proof). The homemade version I tried in Dayton (from a recipe
modified from _Henley's Formulas_--an older version with the standardized
chemical names of the ingredients) used neutral grain spirits of approximately
75% by volume. The alchemist in question has done PhD work in toxicology and
has tried using wormwood as a bittering agent for beer. His advice: unless
you've got access to the proper laboratory equipment, you're probably going to
make it too bitter. When asked as to exactly how bitter wormwood was, rather
than reply quantitatively, he put it in qualitative terms everyone in the room
readily grasped: "It will make your mouth pucker up like a butthole."[or was
that "buttonhole"?] I believe him as he has the educational background to
make such an assessment and first-hand experience in working with it.
Re: Malta Goya uses:
Guerrilla brewers in the Magic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia found Barbican (another
malt beverage) extremely useful as prepackaged wort. It's odd how good it can
taste when it's the only beer available anywhere.
- --Raw Scores
4atf-4@pirmasens-emh1.army.mil
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 12:10:20 EDT
From: theriaul@sde.mdso.vf.ge.com (Theriault Kenneth M.)
Subject: my 2 cents on advertising
Rich Scotty:
>I agree with some additional guidlines. Product and event announcements are
>fine *ONE* time. I don't want to see advertising along the lines of "Buy this
>great beer widget" every day or week. Keep the announcements short to conserve
>space on the digest. Requests for additional information should be handled via
>private email.
I agree, a little advertising is good, it keeps me informed. But to those
who think that advertising has no place on the HBD, then maybe a compromise.
Charge (donate or whatever) for advertising. Someone has to pay for
the equipment/services that organize the HBD.
my 2 cents
Ken Theriault
// --------------------------------------------------
// -- Kenneth M. Theriault --
// -- theriaul@sde.mdso.vf.ge.com --
// --------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 08:26:01 -0400
From: Haber Justin <Justin.Haber@gtegsc3.sprint.com>
Subject: Bottling from a Keg
Dear Keg Users:
This question is for my brother, who is not an HBD subscriber,
but has e-mail access. He recently made two 5 gallon kegs for a
party, and consumed 1 3/4's of them. He wishes, due to space
constraints, to bottle the remainder, but does not own, nor wish to
purchase, a counter pressure filler. Is there a practical means to do
this, or should he bite the bullet and buy/fabricate a counter
pressure filler? Please reply via private e-mail (if possible) to
grahamh63@aol.com. TIA,
Justin Haber
justin.haber@gtegsc3.sprint.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 10:36:56 -0600 (MDT)
From: Mark_Worwetz@Novell.COM (Mark Worwetz)
Subject: Wormwood Beer
Howdy all from Zion!
I have just finished consuming my first batch of pale ale made with wormwood
and I just wanted to say it's GREAT! I got so excited by the results, I
decided to paint my body so that I would look like a parrot. I have also
had an epiphany in my brewery! A small god shaped like a Yak told me I
should cut off my Big toe and make a truly butt-kicking Poison Ivy Stout.
What a GREAT idea!! I really need to make another batch of wormwood beer
and give some to my neighbors. They have all turned against me and I can
feel them pressing up against my house, and moaning, and scratching at my
windows and MY VERY SOUL! AGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Oops! Sorry about that, just another halucination! Never mind!
Mark "Parrothead" Worwetz
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 1994 09:38:38 +0900
From: bjones@novax.llnl.gov (Bob Jones)
Subject: Dispensing cask ales
Hi All,
As some of you might remember, I sort of fell in love with those cask
conditioned ales on my recent pub crawl through England, Scotland & Wales.
After coming home and trying to make one of these cask ales I quickly
discovered that a large part of the character is developed when the beer is
dispensed via the hand pump. The action of forcing the beer through the
sparkler into the glass whips air into the beer. The air really is required
for authentic low carbonation ales. The whiping action generates a great
head that is an integral part of a good hand pulled beer.
I built a gadget that attached to the end of a hose that simulated the
effect of the sparkler. It consisted of a piece of tubing and a cap on the
end with several really small holes in it. Worked great, dazzeled all.
The next generation I developed is a tap style for my frig. draft system. It
replaces the standard bar type tap and has a knob on the side that opens and
adjusts the flow rate. The output stream of beer is directed down into the
glass. The whole gadjet really works well. I have discovered that it is
possible to keep about 3-5 psi on the keg all the time for dispensing and
this pressure is high enough to push the beer with addequate velocity to
generate a good head via the sparkler without building the CO2 up in the
beer over time.
Now for the big question. I have one, and it works great. Would anyone else
like one? I have a friend who has machine shop and could build them up for
us. A lucky few of you could become the beta testers for this gadget. I
would guess the cost of the tap would be under $50. If there is enough
interest, I would continue to have them made and sell them. OK so what do
you all think?
I would be interested in hearing what your collective wisdom is on the
commercial viablity of such a gadget. I would guess the homebrew market
might be small and the pub market would be larger. The ability to serve cask
ales on several taps without spending $1000 on a hand pump seems like a good
idea to me. Then of course there is the beauty of those cool hand pumps and
the ritual of the pull that may also play an important role in the
acceptance of the final beer.
Thanks for any comments,
Bob Jones
bjones@novax.llnl.gov
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 12:51:42 EDT
From: Nancy.Renner@um.cc.umich.edu
Subject: Charlie's trip to NZ's Havill Meadery
>From *Jeff* Renner
Rick
My direct mail bounced:
"Message 35499625 was not delivered to the following 1 recipient.
This recipient was rejected by VOGON.INVERMAY.CRI.NZ:
<zydenbsor@invermay.cri.nz> because
"unknown or illegal user: zydenbsor@INVERMAY.CRI.NZ" (553)"
Original message:
I found the *original* article in zymurgy, but it was a while back, Winter,
1984, pp. 25-30. Charlie had come back from a trip to the Pacific, during
which he hitch-hiked around NZ. He also reported on homebrewing in NZ in
the Summer, 1984 issue. Things were tough for homebrewing Kiwis then -
ingredients very hard to come by. One guy used grapefruit for hops.
Anyway, this trip apparently is what turned Charlie onto meads. Leon Havill
had some secret process that allowed him to make meads in a short time - 4
to 6 weeks. I suspect it was acid blend and yeast nutrients and energizer.
There may have been a more recent article, but this is what I remembered.
If you want a copy, send me your address and I'll mail you a Xerox (tm!)
copy.
P.S. NZ is small, I know. Ever meet a guy named Colin McKenzie with the
Ministry of Forestry(?). He'd be around 50. I knew him at the Univ. of
Michigan in the mid 60's.
Jeff
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 10:06:20 PDT"
From: Mike Dix <mdix@dcssc.sj.hp.com>
Subject: Source of Root Beer Ingredients
For fifteen years my wife and I have been buying spices and dried herbs,
both in person and through mail order, from Rafal Spice Company, 2521
Russell, Detroit, Mich, 48207. (313) 259-6373. I checked their current
mail order catalog, and they carry many of the root beer ingredients
mentioned in a recent post. They carry a wide variety of spices, coffees,
and teas. Some of the spices have been decreed by the FDA to be not for
human consumption, or for consumption in alcoholic beverages only (e.g.
galangal root.) This is noted in the catalog.
The store is worth visiting. It is located in Detroit's Eastern Market
district, around the corner from the (demolished) Stroh's Brewery, which
is across the street from the (long-closed) Goebel Brewery. Local farmers
(some from Ontario) drive to the roofed-over market in season and sell
their produce (including chickens, eggs and rabbits, as well as fruits,
vegetables, etc.) Non-local produce can also be bought at very good
prices on market days. Nearby stores have sausage, cheese, and fresh meat
at very good prices, as well as nuts, wines, and "gourmet" specialities.
Available? Ingredient from root beer posting
===========================================================================
DRIED
-----
yes burdock root
yes sarsaparilla root
no spikenard root
yes yellow dock root
yes,root bark* sassafras root
yes ginger root
yes juniper berries
yes, raw dandelion root
yes, root bark* sassafras bark
no, have herb wintergreen bark
yes allspice
yes coriander seed
yes wild cherry bark
no spicewood
no guaiacum
yes birch bark
no prickly ash bark
*Not for human consumption per the FDA.
They also have woodruff herb (to be consumed only in alcoholic beverages),
and wormwood herb(not for human consumption)
OILS
--------
no sassafras
yes anise
yes lemon
yes,(real?)* wintergreen (artificial)
*not food grade
Hope this was of general interest.
Mike Dix
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 May 94 12:49:14 EDT
From: Jason Pastorius <ST201811@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>
Subject: Misc.
I've built up some questions for the HBD:
1) I'm living in Providence RI this summer (dont laugh) and would like to know
any and everything about brewing etc in this area. Boston, too, since its so c
lose.
2) Any hints on making a good Trappist Ale? I know I should find a bottle of C
himay, but anything else? I basing my recipe on the partial mash recipe in Mil
ler, but am eager to experiment.
3) Besides Papazian and Miller, are there any brewing books that people have fo
und very valuable?
4) I recently noticed excitedly that hops is a member of the cannabis family.
I should have known - the fact that it's so central to many peoples lives, the
wonderful smell - fitting of a plant bearing the title "cannabis". Naturally m
y mind thought of another cannabis plant and its potential for homebrewers. Do
es anyone have any experience with the _MAGIC_ herb and hombrew (ingredient wis
e, not consumption)? Any HBDers in my-all-time-favorite-city Amsterdam who hav
e brewed a Northern Lights #2 Lager or a Haze Skunk Trappist Ale?
Private email preferred(st201811@brownvm.brown.edu). Will summarize and post an
y and all responses.
Peace, love, and have a homebrew on me,
- -----Jason Pastorius
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1428, 05/20/94
*************************************
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