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HOMEBREW Digest #1503
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/08/17 00:41:26
HOMEBREW Digest #1503 Wed 17 August 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Brewing Belgian Beers (#3): Doubles ("Phillip Seitz")
Re: Berry Beer Recipe wanted (David_Arnone)
Beer King Kegs (Mark Montminy)
keg --> brew kettle (George Tempel)
gott vs ? ("Charles S. Jackson")
Re:Hydrometer readings (Jim Busch)
Lautering (George J Fix)
Book Review (George J Fix)
Forfeiture Law ("Upward, not Northward!")
Lab Service (Dion Hollenbeck)
Comments on keg fermenting (Rick Dante)
mash #29 ("Anton Verhulst")
yeast (CLAY)
BJCP PREP QUESTIONS (brew.hawaii)
Keg Fermenting (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Kegs from friend (Dan deRegnier)
Happy Holidays Homebrew Comp ("Ginger Wotring, Pharm/Phys")
boiling grains?? (mdemers)
Going to Germany, looking for things to do (Erik Mitchell)
bad sanitizing ??? (Chad Reiber)
Trip from DC to Stoudts Brewery ("CANNON_TOM")
Pilsner Urquell date code (ALKinchen)
Various items ("Harrington, Stephen J")
Tumbleweed (Chris Lovelace)
Water Heater Elements (Rich Larsen)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 09:14:33 -0400
From: "Phillip Seitz" <p00644@psilink.com>
Subject: Brewing Belgian Beers (#3): Doubles
Brewing Belgian Beers (#3): Doubles
Description:
1.060-1.070, 6-7.5% ABV, 18-25 IBU, 10-14 SRM
Dark amber to brown. Sweet malty aroma. Faint hop aroma ok. Medium
to full body. Malty, plum-like flavor. Very low bitterness, no hop
flavor. Medium to high carbonation. Low esters ok. No roasted flavors
or diacetyl.
This beer focusses on malt flavors, and doubles should be malty and
sweet with a noticeable plum character. Modest alchohol flavor is ok,
as are low levels of esters, but the malt flavors should predominate.
Doubles are usually full-bodied with fairly moussy carbonation that
produces a very nice head.
Brewing method:
As with all Belgian beers the base should be pilsner malt with various
amounts of caramel malts (Belgian varieties work especially well here,
including both Caramunich and Special B) and a portions of sugar to
control body (start with one pound per 5 gallons). Roasted malts can
also be used for coloring, but should not be tasted. Toasted Belgian
malts contribute a pleasantly nutty flavor, and these can be used in
fairly high quantity (+/- 2 lbs for a 5 gallon batch). However, their
use requires mashing. Yeast choice seems to offer some flexibility,
though strains with a smooth, fruity character complement the
raisin/plum flavors of the caramel malts better than yeasts yielding
spicy flavors.
Extract brewers will not be able to use the Belgian toasted malts, but
otherwise should be able to produce a nice, malty brew. Start with pale
extract and a hefty infusion of Belgian caramel malts, then add sugar to
the kettle.
Common problems:
1) Solvent/banana flavors. Fermentation defects due to high temperature
ferments or poor yeast health seem to be the most common problem.
Cooler ferments, higher pitching rates and more aeration should help.
2) No plum flavors. Needs more caramel malts, or a switch to Belgian
varieties. Belgian Munich and Special B may be especially helpful.
3) Excessive alchohol. Even a good double will often taste like malt with a
layer of alchohol over it, but this can be overdone. Fusels are
particularly unwelcome. Reduce fermentation temperature or the
quantity of adjuncts.
4) Inappropriate carbonation. Carbonation should be moussy, but should
not interfere with your ability to appreciate the flavors.
Adjustment in priming or longer bottle conditioning may be
needed.
Commerical examples:
Westmalle Dubbel (6.5% ABV), Affligem Double (7% ABV), Grimbergen
Double (6.2% ABV), Steenbrugge double (6.5% ABV)
Sample recipe:
Andy Anderson's Aaron's Abbey Ale (slightly revised)
ANDERSO_A@HQ.NAVSEA.NAVY.MIL
All grain recipe for five gallons:
9 lb Belgian pilsner malt
2 lb Belgian biscuit malt
1 lb Belgian aromatic malt
4 oz Special B
1 lb Dark candy sugar
1.4 oz Tettnang pellets (4.4%) boiled for 60 minutes (goal is 25 IBU)
0.5 oz Hallertau Hersbrucker plug (2.9%), boiled for 5 minutes
1 Tablespoon Irish Moss, boiled for 15 minutes
Fermented with 1 quart Chouffe yeast
Primed with 1 pint of Chouffe yeast and 4/5 cup dextrose
OG: 1.065
FG: ?
Process:
The malt bill assumes an extraction of 25 points/lb, so adjust to fit your
brewing setup. Mash schedule:
1. Protein rest for 30 minutes at 120F
2. Boost temp straight to 158F for saccrification. Hold until conversion
is complete.
3. Mashout at 170F for 10 minutes and sparge with 170F water.
Fermentation:
I started it at 58F but the Chouffe yeast was extremely sluggish. When
I increased the temp to 60F the fermentation took off. Keep the ferment
temp low or the fusel levels will greatly increase.
Bottling:
The Chouffe strain is not a highly flocculating yeast. [Phil's note: I
disagree, but this is Andy's recipe...] Either accept murkiness, do
multiple rackings, briefly lager the beer to drop the yeast, or use some
sort of finings. I used multipe rackings and finings. In any event,
when priming use a greater amount of sugar (4/5-1 cup dextrose) and
pitch some new and healthy chouffe.
Ageing:
Give this beer at least 1-2 months before drinking. I really needs time
to mature (just as we all do).
[Phil's notes: Looking at this recipe I'd probably substitute one pound
of caramunich for one pound of biscuit, but I can't really complain--I
was one of the judges that gave this beer first prize at the AHWBTA]
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 09:24:57 EDT
From: David_Arnone@Warren.MentorG.com
Subject: Re: Berry Beer Recipe wanted
Well,
I have a number of fruit beer recipes under my belt. Unfortunately,
I don't have any on hand. However, I can offer some observations.
In the berry catagory I've used strawberry, blueberry and raspberry.
Other fruits I've tried include apple and cherry. In my opinion, I
liked the contributions of raspberry and apple over the others. I
have found that cherry, blueberry and strawberry offer too much
of a sour. citrus-like tang, especially as they age. Of course,
it matters how much fruit you add as well. I don't like overpowering
my brews with fruit taste. With the raspberry I think I used 2 lbs
for 6 gallons.
There are several recipes in the Cat's Meow.
Dave Arnone
dja@warren.mentorg.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 9:42:25 EDT
From: Mark Montminy <markm@merlin.dev.cdx.mot.com>
Subject: Beer King Kegs
This is my first post to the digest, be gentle :)
I recently purchased a Beer King mini keg setup. For those unfamiliar
with these, they are the 1-1.5 gal "tin" kegs with a plastic (or
metal) tap that uses the small food grade CO2 cartridges for
dispensing.
I only kegged one keg of my first batch. I didn't want to waste an
entire batch if I messed something up, good thing :) At the advice of
the shop owner, I primed as usual (3/4 cup mixed in bottling bucket).
To compensate for the overpriming in the keg, we thought I should
leave minimul headspace in the keg. Did that. In case you're
wondering, the reason for the 3/4 cup was because the rest of the
batch was going into bottles.
The problem, after about a week in the keg, it all of the sudden
developed a nice "kink" in the top of the keg at the seam, presumably
due to pressure. I immediately tapped the keg to relieve the pressure
(and my wife's concern about cleaning the kitchen). As expected, the
first several glasses (without the aid of the CO2) were foam. After a
bit it calmed down. I screwed in the CO2, adjusted the valve until it
sounded like the keg was pressurized, and all seemed well. The next
few days I was able to draw a few glasses, then nothing, no pressure.
The CO2 was dead. I tossed in another, hoping to drain the keg and
figure out what went wrong later. I managed to get 2-3 more glasses
before it was spent as well.
I've got two possible theories. 1, my tap is hosed and has a gas
leak. It sounds like it does. 2, the "kink" in the keg is keeping
the tap from sealing against the bung. If this was the case though, I
would think the natural carbination would having leaked out over the
first night. It seemed to hold, it's just the added CO2 that seems to
leak right out.
I'm open to any suggestions as to how to determine where the problem
could be. I'll buy a new keg for my next one to be sure it isn't the
keg, but I'd also like to somehow test the tap. I'd also appreciate
any hints/tips others have on priming/cleaning/etc.
- --
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internet: | Fidonet:
markm@merlin.dev.cdx.mot.com | mark_montminy@bloomco.bilow.uu.ids.net
Motorola Codex (617)821-7187 | The Bloom Beacon BBS (508)399-7536
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 08:50:11 +0000 (U)
From: George Tempel <tempel@MONMOUTH-ETDL1.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: keg --> brew kettle
keg --> brew kettle
Hi all...
Has anyone posted directions on modifying a keg into a
brew kettle? I've got an AB-Bud keg (with the metal
handles up top, no rubberized plastic on top or bottom)
and would like to Sawzall the top dome out of it and
add a drain/false bottom to it.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
ty
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 94 19:53:22 CDT
From: "Charles S. Jackson" <sjackson@ftmcclln-amedd.army.mil>
Subject: gott vs ?
Fellows Brewers,
I am moving along the path to all-grain (walking slowly) and
collecting the needed items. I have brew kettle from BCI on the
way with the requisite nipple and gas cock in hand (thanks Steve
Kemp) ready to install.
Built my immersion chiller today (< $20.00 with tubing and
fittings) and already had a propane burner from a fish cooker
(175,000 BTU) I inherited.
My question, that I have grappled with since first beginning
to consider all-grain is which type of mash system. I know this
has been hashed and re-hashed but I never saw it presented like:
"I perfer this system because..." and "My thingy(tm) is better
than his because..." I am leaning toward the 10 gal gott but
wonder about all the hype regarding wierd chemicals leaching out
under the conditions (hot) that the plastic was not intended to
take. The mail order place that I get my stuff(tm) has a system
like phil's but all SS (read$$). I like the idea of a round
design because I like the looks of phil's sparger. I haven't
read any negative posts about it and the gentle action seems to
be just the thing. Private or post at your descretion.
And thanks to all you brewmeisters out there. Everybody
here is a brewmeister when talking to me.
Thanks to Rich for the info on Gott/Rubbermaid. While Rubbermaid may
*think* we can get cheaper locally, they are wrong. at least in my metropolitan
area of Alabama. I found the 10 gal'er at the local Ace Hardware for the all
time low price of 49.49. I'll save myself three bucks, wait a few days to get
it. With the three bucks I can buy 4 bottles of Bass Ale.
Steve
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Brewing beer is far more exciting when it both a hobby AND a felony!"
The Alabama Outlaw
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 11:29:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Busch <busch@daacdev1.stx.com>
Subject: Re:Hydrometer readings
> 1). Can I oversaturate the O2 content of the wort using pure O2?
IN theory, yes. IN practice at running times of an hour or less,
and not injecting, you will not achieve oversaturation.
>
> 2). Should I still put a bacterial filter in-line between the O2
> tank and wort?
Not a bad idea, but probably not needed. Be sure the O2 does not
have any anti_fungicide in it.
>
> 3. Always read at the bottom of the meiniscus : | | | |
> (the bottom of the u's --->) |\_/| |\_/|<-- tube wall
> | | | |
> |
> hydrometer
Usually this is true. Some hydrometers read from the top of the meiniscus,
check the hydrometers literature.
Good brewing,
Jim Busch
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 10:24:20 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Lautering
Chuck writes:
>From: cem@cadre.com (Chuck E. Mryglot)
>Subject: Sparging rate and George Fix
> Last night I was reading the article by George Fix in the latest issue of
>Zymurgy. It is an article on grain crushing and had some interesting statements
>about extraction and sparging. I'll try to paraphrase... George wrote that
>he gets much better malt flavor with a quicker rather than slower runoff.
>For his 13.3 gallon system this was 20 - 30 minutes... and evidently he does
>not suffer from poor extraction. (This would linearly extrapolate to about
>7 - 11 minutes for 5 gallons, my calculations). He recognized that many
>homebrewers sparge at 2 or 3 times this rate and attributed it to equipment
>and/or poor crush.
I do not believe optimal run off times scale well with respect to brew
volumes. A striking case in point is provided by the recent article
"Lautering: Back to the Basics" which appeared in MBAA Tech. Qr.
(Vol.30, No.3, 1993). The authors are senior brewers at Millers, and
they describe their lautering procedures in detail. There is much here
of conceptual interest, their intriguing mash up/vorlauf procedure being
a case in point. However, their flow rates, which range from 700-750 bbls./hr.
for the first wort to 900-1000 bbls./hr. during sparging, are of zero relevance
for us. Their batch size is 1100 bbls., and they collect 1200 bbls. of sweet
wort to get this. Counting up the times quoted their total time is near 120-130
mins.
I have a mash tun which has a working capacity of 15.5 gals. It also doubles
as a lauter tun. It has a ss false bottom similar to those found in Diversified
Metal Engr. systems. The slot width is .6mm = .025 inches. Assuming a reasonable
crush (say by a MM or whatever) I can achieve a maximal flow rate of 1 gal.
per min. Before I started doing test brews for my new book I was operating
it at 1 gal. per 6 mins. during sparging. This lead to run off times of
50-60 mins. after recirculation (vorlauf). I found as far as the malt flavor of
beer is concerned a rate near 1 gal per 3 mins. gave the best results.
I mentioned this in the Zymurgy article simply to put a bug in the ear of
those who enjoy playing around with such things. When optimizing flow rates
for one's own system do not rule out a priori shorter run off times. Try
different schemes and see what they give you in terms of finished beer flavors.
I should also say that the effect is marginal and not major. There are indeed
more important issues.
>Also, I got the impression that he measures extraction directly from the
>mash before runoff.
>If George is reading this, possibly he can elaborate... eg, his sparge times,
>equipment, extraction measurement techniques, his extraction rates...
I track the SG throughout the mash since this gives a clear indication of
how well grain carbohydrates are being dissolved. (A refractometer makes
such readings a piece of cake!). What is striking is how different temperature
programs give such dramatically different results. I will summarize my
findings in a post latter this week.
Cheers!
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 10:24:47 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: Book Review
I have just completed a review of the book "Beer and Wine Production"
published by the American Chemical Society. The complete review will
appear in an upcoming issue of Brewing Techniques. This book quite
simply is a gem. It follows a previous book "Chemistry of Wine Making"
which was published ACS in the 1970s, and now is regarded as a classic.
That beer now gets an equal footing shows how far our beloved libation
has grow in esteem during the last few decades!
Even the articles on wine making in this volume are of interest to brewers.
A striking example is the article on Bretts. There has been a serious
flame fest between selected academic types in or near Davis, Ca. and
selected wine makers (many of whom live in France) over the value of
the "Brettanomyces flavor" in wines. It make the flames seen on HBD seem like
child's play! In any case the article on Bretts in this volume is one the most
balanced and well documented ones I have seen in English. Brewers of
Belgian beers will find much of interest here.
The other major article is on beer oxidation, and was written by N.J. Huige
of Miller Brewing. This too is a balanced and well documented essay. Much
to my surprise my own work on HSA gets quoted. In spite of this defect the
author does a terrific job of linking up oxidative mechanisms with finished
beer flavors. Brewers and judges both will find much of value here.
There are other interesting articles, and the whole is going to make this
one a classic.
George Fix
P.S. I have just finished Darryl Richman's new book on Bock beer, and it too
is a gem. It is fortunate that it is possible to brew and read at the same time
for there is a lot of good stuff out there!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 11:28:02 -0500 (EST)
From: "Upward, not Northward!" <CULP1405@splava.cc.plattsburgh.edu>
Subject: Forfeiture Law
Greetings All, this is a short note from the fringe.
I don't know much about the law; but I have read an occasional issue of
"High Times" magazine-the one for.. whatever it is. These have featured horror
stories of people that really have lost their cars, houses, boats, and money
over pretty trifling violations of "THE LAW". One article featured a fellow
whose confiscated car was driven around by the police and damaged badly.
Another woman lost her house. More stuff that I don't remember offhand. Bad.
And
All this happens WITHOUT ANY CONVICTION WHATSOEVER.
I don't want to start a flaming over any tangental issues. Just to say that
it can be the case that bad things can happen. On the plus side, I don't
think that home-brewing is seen as being nearly as outrageous as growing
things. Those over-bearing penalties may not be applied.
Also if SOMEONE happens to have a mil. address please be aware of DISA. And
the possible penalties for using military property for personal purposes.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 09:15:54 PDT
From: hollen@megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck)
Subject: Lab Service
I saw an ad in Summer Zymurgy for Homebrewer's Lab Service and tried
to call them today, but the phone is no longer in service.
Does anyone know what happened to them, or if there is a lab to which
I can send a sample for analysis to determine what kind of infection
has been grown in my beer?
thanks,
dion
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 10:06:49 PDT
From: rdante@icogsci1.UCSD.EDU (Rick Dante)
Subject: Comments on keg fermenting
I also ferment in my kegs. Actually Dion is the one who showed it to me and
got me into it. Thanks Dion! :)
I have a few comments that might offer more encouragement because some of
Dion's methods might not be too encouraging for some of us who don't like to
fiddle with PHG (Pre-Hewn-Gadgets :) )
"A non-obvious trick is to use liquid dip tubes (these are the tubes
attached to the liquid "out" valves - the ones the beer actually flows
through when leaving the keg) which are shorter than
standard length so that when you rack, the trub is left behind. The
length to cut off will vary depending on how deep a sediment layer you
usually get. I use 1.75" shorter than normal for the tube in a
primary fermenter and .75" shorter for the tube used in a secondary
fermenter.
"
I never sacrificed a single liquid dip tube. My reasoning is that the yeast
will form a nice cake and the beer will make a channel leaving the main
cake alone. It seems reasonable enough to work for me. First I hook up a
faucet to drain the first bit of yeast when I transer. Then I hook up the
jumper hose between kegs. I sit ready at the end and try to slow the flow
down by careful control of the pressure differential between the kegs. When
the beer is all gone from the primary the yeast will start to flow. I pull
the liquid disconnect off of the seconday keg (it probably doesn't matter
which disconnect you pull). Just don't let the yeast transfer and don't
worry if a little does. Just try harder next time.
I think Dion's shortening of the dip tubes is a good idea. I also think
that slotting a dip tube at the bottom and putting a brass cap (an inch long
or so) is a good idea to create a "hard" channel (this was suggested some
time back in HBD). But if making these modifications would hold you back
from keg fermentation then just ignore them and use my method which is to
not modify the dip tube. My methods make good beer as Dion would probably
confirm. So pick yer method out of the three that have been presented and
put those kegs into fermentation duty!
"I use a blowoff tube on the primary fermenter which goes down into a
bucket with about 3" of sanitizer solution. It is attached to the gas
in valve body which has been modified by removing the inside poppet
valve. The poppet valve is the little round thing in the center of
the valve body. When you remove the valve body from the keg and look
inside, yoy see a triangle with a rivet through it and a spring. This
is the bottom of the poppet. To remove the poppet from the valve
body, remove the valve body from the keg, place it threaded end down
on the floor and use a pin punch to push gently down on the poppet.
It will drop down and out.Just get some vinyl hose to fit snugly over
the valve body. If you cannot get a tight fit, use a hose clamp, but
I have never needed one. The size tubing I use is 5/8", but your size
may vary due to the diameter of the valve body (I have pinlock kegs).
"
I remove my gas disconnect and the gas dip tube altogether. The 5/8" hose
fits nicely around my threads which I then use a hose clamp to keep tight.
It seems like some ball lock kegs have different sized threads (I have
ball lock kegs) but the 5/8" hose fits all the kegs I've tried.
I like my method because it's easier (just pull all the gas plumbing out
and clamp the gas hose to the threaded nipple), has a bigger blowoff diameter,
and the gas plumbing stays clean so that when I want to rack, I just plop
it all in boiling water then remove the hose and put it back together.
Two methods, both work, take yer pick.
"Replace the poppetless primary gas valve with a valve body with a
valve in it and pressure the primary to 10psi. Purge the secondary
with CO2 and seal it up and pressurize to 10psi. Weigh the primary on
a scale and take it off. Put the secondary on the scale and leave it
there so you will know when the transfer is almost complete.
"
I don't use a scale. I roll with the punches. I'm a renegade. Actually the
scale idea is a good one. I have a digital scale that take 10 seconds to
sample and display. Thus this technique is out of my grasp until I get a
new scale. Actually, I've tried to guestimate the beer volume by letting
the receiving keg pressurize. An empty keg filled half way has twice as
much pressure as when empty. Etc, etc. Actually I like Dion's method a
WHOLE lot better. But since I don't have an appropriate scale I just sort
of lift up the kegs gently (don't want to disturb the beasties) to gauge
the beer levels. Like I said, I'm a renegade.
Thanks Dion for the treatise. Thanks for getting me into keg fermenting oh
so many months ago. It keeps my eyes off my beer and the light outta my
beer! I still watch that stupid blowoff hose and container as the
fermentation is pumping away. Fermentation amazes me. I can't help but
watch every time. My girlfriend laughs at me. At least the yeasties work
in full darkness now.
Rick Dante
rdante@icogsci1.ucsd.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 13:14:02 -0400
From: "Anton Verhulst" <verhulst@zk3.dec.com>
Subject: mash #29
My 29th all grain effort was remarkable (to me :-) for 3 reasons. It was
my first wheat beer, my first decoction mash, and my first set mash.
I've just racked it into secondary and the first taste tests are very
encouraging. Here's what I learned about making wheat beer.
The grain bill called for 70 % wheat and 30% pale malt. I tried several
settings on my adjustable Maltmill but found that the setting for the best
wheat crush was the same as the setting for the best barley crush (don't
ya just hate it when Jack is right :-). Wheat is harder and crushing it
requires more arm or horse power, as the case may be. Having a home brew
near by to replace fluids lost due to the sweat generated by cranking the
mill is recommended :-).
When you add barley to the mash water it tends to float and you have to stir
it to get it to mix with the water. Not so with wheat. As soon as the wheat
hits the mash water it dives to the bottom of the tun and tends to stay there.
Despite all the hoopla, the decoction turned out to be no big deal at all.
After a 30 minute protein rest, I scooped out about 40% of the mash. The
decoction was pretty thick as I only used enough liquid to allow the
decoction to be stirred easily. The decoction was brought up to 158F, stirring
all the time, and held for 15 min. It was then brought to a boil and held
there for 30 min. at the end the decoction was slowly added to the main mash.
When finished, the whole mash was at my target temp of 148-150F for
sachrification.
The sparge was difficult. Wheat forms a much denser grain bed and at one point
the sparge actually stuck. After a bit of trial and error, I found that the
easiest way of getting the sparge going again was to put a little back pressure
(by blowing?) into the outlet. This cleared the slotted copper manifold and
loosened up the grain bed.
Fermentation was also interesting. Wheat beer has a much denser head and
so I also had my first unexpected blow off ( I use a 7 gallon plastic bucket)
and had to replace the air lock several times.
The batch was 10 gallons split into 2 five gallon ferments. One batch
was pitched with yeast cultured from a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale,
and the other with a Weihanstephan #68 culture (thanks Todd G.).
As expected, the beers are very different due to the phenols produced by the
#68. Both are very tasty and should turn out nicely with more aging.
The next wheat beer should be better still.
- --Tony Verhulst
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:25:54 -0500 (EST)
From: CLAY@prism.clemson.edu
Subject: yeast
Has anyone tried (and been successful) producing a pale ale at 75-80 F?
Suggestions and tales of past experiences are hereby solicited. I have one
carboy available, the other being full of my eternally-fermenting mead, so
would ideally like a quick-and-dirty one-container recipe (extract only)
with a yeast that won't go off on a phenol tangent. Otherwise I may
have to break down and buy an old 'fridge, a difficult proposition to get
past the Financial Management Department (see also She Who Must Be Obeyed...)
thanks.
C. C. Lay
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 10:35:46 -0700
From: Richard B. Webb <rbw1271@appenine.ca.boeing.com>
Subject: The beginners guide to advanced and all-grain brewing
Yet another installment of
The beginners guide to advanced and all-grain brewing
By Richard B. Webb, the Brews Brother's 1993 Homebrewer of the year
part 6
3. Water
What we call water is actually a rather complicated molecule formed
from hydrogen
and oxygen atoms. The structure of this molecule gives it some rather
unique and
interesting chemical properties. For our purposes, the most interesting
of these
properties is the way that water acts as a universal solvent for stripping
bits off of bigger
chunks and suspending the bits in solution. This type of reaction
happens at several
stages in the brewing process, and it is useful to understand how
to make this happen to
your advantage.
3.1. Salts
Before you get the water from your tap, the most common form of substance
suspended in your water are various types of salts. A salt is also
a molecule containing
various elements or compounds, held together by a weak electric bond.
In water, this
bond is broken, allowing the salt to be dissolved and the component
elements or
molecules to be held in solution. The most well known salt, which
is so famous that we
just call it 'salt', is a compound called Sodium Chloride. It is easily
dissolved in water,
separating into it's constituent elements of Na (sodium) and Cl (chlorine).
Other types of
salts use chemical compounds to make up one or another of these pieces.
Calcium
Carbonate, which is popularly known as Chalk, uses a molecule with
three oxygen atoms
and a carbon atom to form a Carbonate group, which binds to a Calcium
atom to form
the salt. The salt known as Gypsum (or in some British brewing books
as plaster of Paris)
also contains one atom of Calcium, but instead of a Carbonate, it
binds with a molecule
formed from four atoms of oxygen and one of Sulphur, called a Sulfate.
The last salt we
brewers must be concerned with is known as an Epsom salt. It uses
the same Sulfate
group as Gypsum, but it joins with a Magnesium atom instead of a Sulphur
atom.
Water chemistry is as simple as that. You don't even have to
know the names of the
different components of the salts. But you do need to do a little
bookkeeping if you wish
to keep track of the amounts of the various salt constituents in your
brew. This is what
you need to know:
Adding one teaspoon of table salt to a 5 gallon batch gives 110 ppm
Sodium.
Adding one teaspoon of table salt to a 5 gallon batch gives 170 ppm
Chlorine.
Adding one teaspoon of Gypsum to a 5 gallon batch gives 142 ppm Sulfate.
Adding one teaspoon of Epsom Salt to a 5 gallon batch gives 70 ppm
Sulfate.
Adding one teaspoon of Chalk to a 5 gallon batch gives 57 ppm Carbonate.
Adding one teaspoon of Gypsum to a 5 gallon batch gives 59 ppm Calcium.
Adding one teaspoon of Chalk to a 5 gallon batch gives 39 ppm Calcium.
Adding one teaspoon of Epsom Salt to a 5 gallon batch gives 18 ppm
Magnesium.
The abbreviation "ppm" stands for parts per million. It is a measure
of how much of
particulate matter is suspended in solution, whether it is salt in
water or smog in air.
It is often the desire of the brewer to match the mineral content
of the world's great
brewing centers in order to better match the world's great beers.
This is because the
source of water for say, Munich is unique, due to the various rock
and salt formations
that the ground water must flow through before it is used for brewing.
It is also important
to know the maximum allowable amount of these various salt components.
There are
other sources to tell you the mineral content of Munich, or Burton-on-Trent,
or
wherever, and how many ppm of various salts are required to match
the classic pale ale,
but here is my bit of advice for you that I picked up:
Do not exceed 200 ppm of Carbonate.
Do not exceed 150 ppm of Sulfate.
Now all you have to do is keep track of how many ppm of the various
salt constituents
to match the beer style you are trying to achieve. But there is another
method for getting
the minerals to match the style.
Learning as I go,
Rich Webb
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 07:24:53
From: brew.hawaii@hol.com
Subject: BJCP PREP QUESTIONS
Aloha! Here in Hawaii, we have loads of homebrewers, but no beer judges. We're
doing an ed course to prepare for the BJCP test and would like a copy of the
200-or so questions that are floating around. Much appreciated if you've got a
set. Mahalo. Hawaiian Homebrewers Association.
------------------------------
Date: 15 Aug 94 18:10:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Keg Fermenting
Just four words of advice to those contemplating fermenting in Cornelius
Kegs: "beware of clogged blowoff." By using a poppetless valvebody as
Dion suggests, you are hoping that the small hole (about 1/4" or so) in
the top of the valve body will not clog with hop bits. This can be a very
messy (and even dangerous -- if you don't have a overpressure relief valve
in the lid as some older kegs don't) proposition. Based on my own experience
with clogged blowoff tubes on glass fermenters it can happen quite easily
and is virtually guaranteed if you try to ferment fruit.
A possible (untried) solution would be to mount a large valve in the lid of
the keg and put a blowoff tube on that. When you want to transfer the beer,
you can close the valve and use the unmodified connectors to push the beer
out.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 14:17:49 EDT
From: Dan deRegnier <YC06@MUSIC.FERRIS.EDU>
Subject: Kegs from friend
Hello all--
I recently received 3 corny kegs from a friend. On top of that he also
gave me a 20 lb CO2 tank. Free! Man, do I know how to pick 'em. He
didn't use them for beer. He used his for, get this...dispensing soda
pop. Oh well. He didn't give me a regulator or tubing (the nerve of
him!) Anyway, I need to get a regulator. Any suggestions? I read that
I can still prime with dextrose or malt. Is this better, orshould I
force carbonate. Is there a difference in the taste? One lastquestion,
I don't have a frig with a tap through the door, although I dohave a
frig I can use to store a keg. Would it be worth while to store the keg
in the frig and remove it when I want to have a beer? I am assuming the
CO2 tank remains outside.
Thanks.
*********************************
Daniel P. deRegnier, MS, MT(ASCP)
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI 49307
yc06@music.ferris.edu
*********************************
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:29:25 -0600 (CST)
From: "Ginger Wotring, Pharm/Phys" <WOTRING@SLUVCA.SLU.EDU>
Subject: Happy Holidays Homebrew Comp
Date sent: 15-AUG-1994
The St Louis Brews are pleased to announce the return of our Happy Holidays
Homebrew Competition! This is an AHA sanctioned event, using the standards
and categories provided by the AHA, with the exception of one special beer
style, Christmas Brau. This is a winter warmer/kitchen sink type beer.
Entries are due by 5pm 29 Nov. Judging will be held on the afternoon
10 December, with a banquet and award ceremony following.
We welcome all entries, and urge everyone interested to come judge with
us! Please pass this information along to other brewers who may be
interested.
For additional information, contact me at wotring@sluvca.slu.edu,
or 314/773-7867.
- --
Ginger Wotring, HHHC coordinator
internet: wotring@sluvca.slu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 13:46:44 EST
From: mdemers@ccmailpc.ctron.com
Subject: boiling grains??
Fellow HBDers,
Yesterday, a brew buddy and I made up a batch of Octoberfest
brew. The recipe (extract) came from _Homebrew_Favorites_ by
Lutzen and Stevens (the spiced beer section). Anyway, the recipe
calls for 0.5 pounds of crystal malt and specifically says to leave
these grains in the kettle for the entire boil!!?? I usually take
the grains out of the kettle before the boil begins for fear of
extracting tannins from the grain husks. This is the only recipe
I have ever seen that called for this.
So, what's up with this recipe? Has anyone else done this and
with what results? Why would you want to leave the grains in for
the boil? Is this an Octoberfest thing or what? Am I needlessly
worrying or overanalyzing here?
confused,
md
P.S. We decided not to boil the grains. (too worried)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 15:05:57 EDT
From: Erik Mitchell <T400453@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU>
Subject: Going to Germany, looking for things to do
I have a friend who is going to Ramstein air force base in Germany
(Somewhere near the french border). He is going to have several days
to travel around Germany and is interested in gettting a good exposure
to German Beer. Also, I would appreciate anyone reccomending goot beers
for him to bring back from Germany.
I will be glad to post a summary of the posts if interst warrants.
Thanks in advance
Erik Mitchell <T400453@univscvm.scarolina.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 12:58:15 -0400
From: creiber@attmail.com (Chad Reiber)
Subject: bad sanitizing ???
Like most of us, I sanitize my potential beer bottles in a water and bleach
solution overnight, then rinse with my handy bottlewasher in the next day.
After a few minutes of drip drying, I begin to fill and cap.
This time I followed my usual procedure only to find a white powdery substance
on the bottles after they dried. What can this be ?, a bleach reaction to the
water ?. I rinsed a few more times and finally bottled my beer.
The final brew result was just not up to snuff. It tasted fine out of
secondary, I can only guess that the bottling caused some sort of off flavor.
Private E-mail okay.
Thanks,
Chad ...
------------------------------
Date: 15 Aug 94 15:15:00 EST
From: "CANNON_TOM" <CANNON_TOM@hq.navsea.navy.mil>
Subject: Trip from DC to Stoudts Brewery
Message Creation Date was at 15-AUG-1994 15:15:00
Anyone from outside the Washington DC metropolitan area
please ignore this post.
I apologize in advance for posting a regional piece of
information. The BANOVA homebrew club has organized a bus
trip to the Stoudts Brewery Bavarian Beer Festival this
Saturday, August 20. We will depart the area at 11:00 AM
and return about 10:00 PM. If anybody is interested, please
contact me at the above address. At this time (3:20, 8/15)
there is plenty of room.
If anyone is displeased at this regional only posting,
please feel free to flame me privately to preserve bandwith
that I am unfortuantely wasting.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 94 15:54:56 EDT
From: ALKinchen@aol.com
Subject: Pilsner Urquell date code
Does anybody know how to read the Pilsner Urquell four character date code.
Apparently, the last digit is year.
------------------------------
Date: 15 Aug 1994 11:50:49 -0800
From: "Harrington, Stephen J" <sharrington@msmail4.hac.com>
Subject: Various items
I have been asking some questions lately and received quite a few private
emails so I thought I would summarize:
Reusing yeast from Homebrew bottles
- -----------------------------------
Most everyone said it was doable. Most people said they had good results,
although this was not universal. Since there isn't much yeast in the bottom
you have to step it up. Doing it from bottles made from fresh yeast packages
is better (less chance of wild yeast strains). Others indicated that it is
just a much work as saving the yeast from a previous batch's fermentor (some
use primary, others use secondary), but you get a ton of yeast from the
fermentor and it is fresher. I even got some information on a thing called a
BrewCap (the last thing I need is more brewing gagdets 8*). I guess I will
try all of these methods and decide for myself which is easiest.
All-grain in a 5 gallon ss pot
- ------------------------------
I asked about a technique for modifying recipes by increasing the grain bill
to get the necessary fermentables in a wort volume which would fit in my 5
gallon stainless steel pot. Unfortunately I got no answers to this question.
People suggested I buy a enamel on steel pot (~$40), or split the wort into
two smaller pots. Another suggested I buy an Aluminum pot (~$55). I was
actually hoping to do the all-grain without buying any additional equipment.
I appreciate everone's input though. Unless someone out there HBDland can
answer the original question, I might have to bite the bullet and get the
bigger pot (which requires an outdoor burner and a wort chiller and
....AARRGGHH....Partial mashes are sounding better and better).
Mystery Marzen
- --------------
I made a Marzen which had an unreasonably high Original Gravity. My mistake
was not calibrating the reading from the 4 gallons of wort I had to the 5
gallons for which the value I was shooting for was meant to describe.
1.078 * 4/5 = 1.0624 -- Much more reasonable
Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my questions. I find the
HBD an invaluable source which enhances and improves my brewing.
Stephen Harrington
Manhattan Beach, CA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 16:31:09 -0500
From: lovelace@pop.nih.gov (Chris Lovelace)
Subject: Tumbleweed
I'm headed down to visit my parents in Winston-Salem, NC later this week
and I'm thinking about a side trip to Boone to check out the Tumbleweed
brewpub. Does anyone know where in Boone it is located? Does anyone know
if its possible to get a tour of their brewing facilities?
I'm also going to check out The Mill and Dilworth in Charlotte,
Greenshields in Raleigh, and the Stroh's brewery in Winston (hey, don't
laugh--there's something to be learned at every brewery...if you look hard
enough :-)
TIA,
Chris
_________________________________________________________________
Chris Lovelace LOVELACE@POP.NIH.GOV
National Institute of Mental Health,
Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology
Bethesda, Md U.S.A.
_________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 15:37:02 -0500 (CDT)
From: Rich Larsen <rlarsen@squeaky.free.org>
Subject: Water Heater Elements
Has anyone tried/used/succeded in using a water heater element inside a
keg to create an electric mash/sparge tun. I know it should work for a
hot liquor tank for heating sparge water, but I was wondering if y'all
thought it would scortch the hey-zoose out of the mash.
=> Rich Larsen
(New sig under construction)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 1994 13:38:39 -0700
From: Richard B. Webb <rbw1271@appenine.ca.boeing.com>
Subject: Modified guide
For all of you who have
A) already received the guide, or
B) have written to complain about the line width,
here is some welcome news. I have recompiled the text version of the document
to eliminate the (and I agree that they are) anoying lines of different
length. Which is to say that all of the line lengths are now 90-100 characters
long. Totally inappropriate for the HBD, as it limits the lines to 80
characters long. If you wish to get a complete copy, with all of the lines
of the same length, give me a buzz. If you can take such a copy and send
it back to me with all of the lines being less than 80 characters long, all
the better. I wouldn't have to continue submitting the funkified line lengths.
When I originally wrote this thing (sometime last summer), it was the summation
of most everything that I cared about knowing in brewing. My philosophy hasn't
changed, but my knowledge has. For instance, Algis Korzonas was completely
right in pointing out that the stuff removed from a decoction mash is indeed
the thick part, as it is the grains that are boiled. Last summer, I was
removing liquid and boiling that up. It's still a technique, but it's not
real appropriate to call that a decoction mash. (However, it will heat up
the mash when the hot liquid is returned to the mash. But the enzymes will
have been destroyed...)
In any case, I wrote it for my own ammusement, way before I ever discovered
the HBD. I thought that it might be entertaining/illuminating/educational
for me to publish it on the HBD, and see what brewers of experience much
and little thought of it. By this, I mean to expand the knowledge of
others (if what I've written can be of use), and also myself, when the
enevitable corrections begin to stream in. I agree that the format of what
makes it into the HBD stinks. If you could only see it in it's original
Interleaf WP format. There it is a thing of beauty... Of course the
content is still the same. I guess that what I'm after is for you (the
gentle and gentile reader) to try to look past the format, and concentrate
on the content.
Published, chagrined, and re-formatted,
Rich Webb
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1503, 08/17/94
*************************************
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