Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #1627
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/01/10 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1627 Tue 10 January 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Scotch Ales, Newbie info, Champagne bottles ("Lee Bussy")
Water Treatment Spreadsheet (Evan Kraus)
Cats Meow for $$$ ??? (STAUFFER ERIC B)
ALL GRAIN (Schwab_Bryan)
Re: Champagne Bottle & Capping (Matthew J. Harper)
Upcoming Beer Tasting (volfie)
Beer software (Ed Hitchcock)
Cornelius poppets (Lee Bollard)
Cajun Kooker HELP ("Steve P. Biggins")
RE: water chemistry (Jim Dipalma)
How about Macintosh Brewers software (Mark Evans)
cleaning kegs (How come the future takes such a long time to come when you're waiting for a miracle 09-Jan-1995 1111 -0500)
Brewers of South Suburbia Competition (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Re: "Microwave" (Greg Owen {gowen})
no fermentation (chc2)
BrewSacks (EDGELL)
churchkey? (Jeanne Reil STEAP-IMIS 5320)
HBD QUALITY (mdemers)
Potassium Sorbate (spencert)
5th Dukes of Ale Spring Thing Beer Comp (sysop)
Boiling Water & microwaves (Rich Larsen)
2 liter Pop bottles, Chili peppers, and miscellany (dbrigham)
oven use/yeast test/private posting (RONALD DWELLE)
Need recipe for Malta... (Joe Pearl)
Cold Ferment (M.Marshburn/D202)
Temporary & Permanent hardness (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Re: Keg Crimes (hopefully, the final word) (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Yet another water question (MHANSEN)
The Beer Basics (Shawn Steele)
RE:mashing/Gott cooler (Jim Busch)
******************************************************************
* NEW POLICY NOTE: Due to the incredible volume of bouncing mail,
* I am going to have to start removing addresses from the list
* that cause ongoing problems. In particular, if your mailbox
* is full or your account over quota, and this results in bounced
* mail, your address will be removed from the list after a few days.
*
* If you use a 'vacation' program, please be sure that it only
* sends a automated reply to homebrew-request *once*. If I get
* more than one, then I'll delete your address from the list.
******************************************************************
Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
(Articles are published in the order they are received.)
Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc.,
to homebrew-request@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if
you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L@UA1VM.UA.EDU),
then you MUST unsubscribe the same way!
If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first.
FAQs, archives and other files are available via anonymous ftp from
sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via
mail from listserv@sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a
message to that address to receive listserver instructions.)
Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored.
For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen@novell.physics.umr.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 05:29:10 +0000
From: "Lee Bussy" <leeb@southwind.net>
Subject: Scotch Ales, Newbie info, Champagne bottles
Tim Laatsch asks about a foul smell from his 1728:
I have used this strain for some of my scotch ales and have noticed a
tendency towards phenolics when fermented warm (>70 deg F). These
could be described as smokey perhaps.
Maybe you could decant the fermented starter and allow it to settle
in the fridge for a few days and see if the flavor/odor subsides. It
may be just a part of the fermentation.
=============
Cheryl Bann asks about beginner's info:
Cherryl, check the archives at ee.stanford.edu, there is more
info in there than I or anyone else can relate to you in the way of
an answer. Also look for Charlie Papazian's "The New Complete Joy of
Home Brewing" published by (I think) Avon. Should be available just
about everywhere.
===================
Tom Puskar asks about regular caps fitting Champagne bottles:
Tom, you will probably need to use a bench style capper for the
reasons you found. I don't know of a brand of champagne bottles that
will work with a twin-lever type (there may be some).
Also, some european bottles will not accept a regular cap. I think
they are larger (?).
- --
-Lee Bussy | The 4 Basic Foodgroups.... |
leeb@southwind.net | Salt, Fat, Beer & Women! |
Wichita, Kansas | http://www.southwind.net/~leeb |
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 7:57:21 EST
From: Evan Kraus <ejk@bselab.BLS.COM>
Subject: Water Treatment Spreadsheet
In an article by Karl King in the Sept/Oct issue of Brewing Techniques
he gave the information needed to construct a spreadsheet to modify
brewing water based on the existing compounds in your water.
After several trys to make the sheet work in Excel and not getting the
proper results even after duplicating the exact data in the article
I emailed the editor of BT who returned mail to me telling me that the
author would get back to me.
Well after a year I havent heard from him.
Has anyone sucessfully made the spreadsheet work ?????
If you have please email it to me.
Thanks Evan
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 1995 13:27:57 +0000 (GMT)
From: STAUFFER ERIC B <STAUFFER_ERIC_B@Lilly.com>
Subject: Cats Meow for $$$ ???
Not to be a stodge who thinks the net should be only for people to share info
freely but...
I was browsing through the Wine/Beer forum on Compu$erve and noticed that
someone had created a searchable database from the Cats Meow and was charging
$25.00 for it. Although I haven't brewed in a while I thought I remembered
seeing in the preface that you couldn't charge $$ for the CM. Am I mistaken?
For the free disemination of info,
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 08:03:00 CST
From: Schwab_Bryan@lanmail.ncsc.navy.mil
Subject: ALL GRAIN
Well HBR's I did it and it wasn't all bad either. For those newbies out
there who are still entertaining the idea to convert to All Grain, go
ahead and take the plunge, it is not as bad as what you may read or
hear. I did my frist All Grain yesterday and to my amazement, it was
actually quite easy and interesting. Sure the allotted time is abit
more, but you could use that time to really appreciate your past
pleasure in the extract or partial grain world and put them to rest,
respectfully, ( I did it with C.P. Rocky Road Honey Lager) and take
pleasure knowing that "Change is Good", in order to develop, one must
grow. So.... I made a German Bock from a Grain Kit that my supplier
"The Brew Shack" out of Tampa Fl put together for me ( no affliation)
and just went at it. Total time of process, from heating the H20
through cool down took just over 4hrs, but the process was worth it, the
pleasure in watching the conversions taking place and using Wyeast
cultures are interesting as well (if it takes, that will be even more
interesting!). Gravity was at 1.064 at the end of the process prior to
going into the primary, and the auxillary refrigerator was set at 58
degrees, so now it is a waiting game.
If anyone want the specifics as to the recipe E-mail me at;
{SCHWAB_Bryan@LANMAIL.NCSC.NAVY.MIL}:DDN:NAVY
Bryan
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 09:18:06 EST
From: matth@bedford.progress.COM (Matthew J. Harper)
Subject: Re: Champagne Bottle & Capping
In digest 1626 Tom Puskar relates his woes in trying to cap the biggies with
his dual lever capper.
Bad ness for you Tom, in general it won't work.
What *will* work though is a good old bench capper. Having been fortunate to
been given an old work horse of this type a number of years ago I can tell
you I have yet to find a cappable bottle that I cannot cap with it.
Your problem is not new. I believ (from everything I have seen written on
the issue) that the neck of most champagne bottles are to thick or tall
between the top of the bottle and where the grippers in your level model
grab the bottle to squeeze the cap on tight.
As for what champagne bottles to use, if the top looks like it will take a
cap, chances are it will. Korbel bottles work great!
-Matth
- --
Matthew J. Harper | Quality Architect | {disclaimer.i}
Progress Software Corp.| DoD #1149 | EGfc #0xed
God created heaven and earth to grow barley and hops. Now he homebrews.
The most damaging phrase in the language is "We've always done it this way".
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 09:48:23 -0500
From: volfie@echonyc.com
Subject: Upcoming Beer Tasting
<<MESSAGE from>> Mermaid 09-JAN-95 9:48
volfie@echonyc
The Vacamas/TOP Council is a group of young professionals who raise money
and support the programs of Camp Vacamas Association, a non-profit agency
serving at-risk and underprivileged kids.
We are holding our second annual Beer Tasting in late April at the Puck
Building in New York City. I will post information on attending as it
becomes available.
Meanwhile, we are looking for just a few homebrewers (maybe 3 or 4) to
bring a couple of gallons each to supplement the standard fare of
microbrewery products.
Anyone interested? You can reach me at volfie@echonyc.com for further
details. Or you can come to our next meeting, which will be held at the
offices of Beatie, King & Abate 599 Lexington Avenue, 13th Floor (at 53rd
St.), on January 17 at 7:00 pm.
We are a very fun group of people working for a great cause and we could
use some help.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 11:25:51 -0400 (AST)
From: Ed Hitchcock <ehitchcock@sparc.uccb.ns.ca>
Subject: Beer software
While the beer software thread is going around again, I will
mention that the file recipe-edit.zip at the archive site is a DOS freeware
recipe editor. It will save recipes to disk, and is fairly intuitive to
use. It will run on an XT with CGA (was in fact programmed on such a
beast) and works best with a mouse. The hop utilization takes account of
whether you are using plugs, pellets, or whole hops.
----------------
Ed Hitchcock, now on the right side of the student/staff division
ehitchcock@sparc.uccb.ns.ca
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 7:38:44 PST
From: Lee Bollard <bollard@spk.hp.com>
Subject: Cornelius poppets
I have 3 Cornelius (brand) kegs with leaky poppets. These are
standard kegs with the black handle (not the "full" rubber top). They
are ball-lock, Pepsi-style kegs.
I bought replacement poppets for these kegs, but after installing them my
sockets would "bottom-out" before locking in place. It felt like the sockets
needed to travel 1/16" farther onto the shell for the locking ring to pop into
the locked position. Wrong poppets?
I hear that there is only one poppet style for Cornelius brand kegs. If
this is true, what course of action should I take to resolve this problem?
- ---
Regards,
Lee Bollard
bollard@spk.hp.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 10:42:41 EST
From: "Steve P. Biggins" <spb@tfn.com>
Subject: Cajun Kooker HELP
Hello Brewers,
I am planning on making the move to an all-grain brewing. I have
two sankey Kegs and was hoping to get any suggestion about Propane
cookers. I know that there are things called cajun kooker,
and King Kookers etc... I just want to know:
1) What is best for the Sankey Kegs.
2) Were can I get them.
TIA,
Steve B.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 10:53:58 EST
From: dipalma@sky.com (Jim Dipalma)
Subject: RE: water chemistry
Hi All,
In HBD#1623, I wrote:
>>My understanding is that the number for total hardness is comprised of the
>>temporary hardness and permanent hardness. The former is that which is caused
>>by the presence of carbonates and can be removed by boiling, whereas permanent
>>hardness is due to the presence of sulfate and cannot be removed by boiling.
To which Al K. responded:
>Not quite. My knowledge of water chemistry is not as strong as I would
>like it to be, but there are some things of which I'm quite sure. Permanent
>hardness is primarily from the calcium and the magnesium in the water.
Permanent hardness is the calcium and magnesium that remains in solution
with the sulfate ion. If the calcium and magnesium precipitates out with
the bicarbonates after boiling, the hardness is temporary. Here's what
Noonan has to say on this subject, "Brewing Lager Beer", p. 47:
"That part of the calcium and magnesium in solution that precipitates out
with the bicarbonates during boiling cannot be calculated to support
yeast activity. This is know as temporary or carbonate hardness of water.
After boiling, the calcium and magnesium ions that remain in solution
with the sulfate ion form permanent or noncarbonate hardness."
>My
>understanding is also that carbonates have a very strong ability to lower
>the pH
Actually, carbonates provide a strong alkalinity buffer that *resists* drops
in pH. This is one reason why many dark beer styles originated in cities
with highly carbonate water, such as Dublin and Munich. The carbonate
buffers the mash, and prevents over acidification from dark malts.
>>Here I must disagree. My first few attempts at pale ales using this type of
>>water had a horribly harsh bitterness. I eventually traced the problem to
>>high carbonate levels and hopping levels that were appropriately high for
>>the style (30-35 IBUs).
>Are you sure Jim? Consider that Dublin water is very, very high in carbonates
>and that Guinness is quite highly hopped (50 IBUs comes to mind, but don't
>quote me on this) and is certainly not harshly bitter. I believe that the
>flavour effect of carbonates in beer is to reduce the sourness that can occur
>with dark malts.
Yes, I'm quite sure. My first few attempts at brewing all-grain pale ale were
not exactly stunning successes. I had a lot of trouble getting the mash pH
right, and the beers had a harsh bitterness that rendered them nearly
undrinkable. Pre-boiling the mash and sparge water and allowing the
bicarbonate to precipitate out overnight solved both problems.
While it's true that Guinness is highly hopped, and it's bitterness is not
harsh, I'm not sure it's a valid counterexample. It's a stout, the grain bill
has a high percentage of roasted barley and dark roasted malts, whereas a
pale ale has neither.
My personal experience aside, the undesirable effects of brewing pale, highly
hopped beers with high carbonate water is fairly well documented.
Noonan, "Brewing Lager Beer", p. 52:
"It contributes a harsh, bitter flavor overwhelming in delicate lagers, and
carbonate in excess of 200 ppm (which my water has - Jim) is tolerable only
when a dark roasted malt is used to buffer its excessive acidity.
Preferably, carbonate should be less than 50 ppm when pale malt or infusion
mashing is used."
Darryl Richman, "Bock", p. 39:
"The bitter character of even the finest noble hops rapidly becomes harsh
in very carbonate water."
"Also, a high hopping rate would be exaggerated by the carbonate induced
harshness,"
Darryl Richman, "Bock", p. 68:
"Carbonate waters have been called 'hop savers', but in fact, they emphasize
the strong bitterness of the hops, and tend to hide the finer flavors. High
alpha acid hops are particularly affected by this, and yield very rough,
coarse flavors that quickly become unpleasant."
>>The hardness in the water at Burton-on-Trent, home
>>of the pale ale style, is due to high *sulfate* content. The sulfate content
>>of the water emphasizes hop bitterness and flavor in a clean, pleasant manner.
>Hmmm? Again, I'm not sure I agree. The hardness in the water of Burton-
>on-Trent is due to the calcium and, since this apparently comes from
>Gypsum in the ground, the sulphate levels are correspondingly high.
This was a rather ugly mis-statement on my part, though it's also somewhat
out of context. The original poster cited a figure of only 14 ppm sulfate
in his water, the point I was trying to make was the high level of sulfate in
the water at Burton-on-Trent (over 500 ppm if memory serves, don't quote me)
and the effect this has on hop bitterness and flavor. I then recommended the
addition of 1/2 teaspoon of gypsum directly to the kettle at the start of
the boil to boost the sulfate content. I don't think it's necessarily
desirable to emulate specific water profiles, and it may not even be possible,
but I do think a little judicious tinkering can help.
Cheers,
Jim dipalma@sky.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 10:29:25 -0600
From: evanms@lcac1.loras.edu (Mark Evans)
Subject: How about Macintosh Brewers software
Once again all this talk about brewers software has my interest piqued.
The last time I fished around for shareware (e.g. from Sierra) I found
everything uncompatible with the mac system (or you had to run Excel or
something). What about it? anybody know of any brew/recipe formulation
shareware/software for mac systems? Seems like Hypercard would be a good
engine for something like this. ('Course, what would I know? I am NOT a
programmer).
mark
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 11:13:18 EST
From: How come the future takes such a long time to come when you're waiting for a miracle 09-Jan-1995 1111 -0500 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: cleaning kegs
>Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 07:35:43 -0800 (PST)
>From: sag@atreides.ca.boeing.com (Stuart Galt)
>Subject: Quick Sanke questions
>
>Hello,
>
>How can one scrub/clean any residue out of the keg? With a soda keg you just
>reach in there and scrub, but I can't get my hand in the little hole on a
>sankey keg. Is there some cleaning solution that I should be using? and if
>so where does one acquire it?
use a water and TSP solution. this will work very well. basically, mix up
a TSP solution concentrate, put it in the keg, then fill the keg to the top.
shake it up and let it sit for 2-3 days. then, rinse it. becareful using
TSP, it is nasty stuff. also, be sure to get non-cloronated TSP.
jc
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 95 17:30:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Brewers of South Suburbia Competition
The registration packets are ready, so if you want more information
on the Brewers of South Suburbia Homebrew Competition, please send
me your USnail address or call me at 708-430-HOPS. The competition
will be judged March 25th in a southwestern suburb of Chicago and
has been sponsored with over $600 in prizes.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 09:38:49 PST
From: gowen@xis.xerox.com (Greg Owen {gowen})
Subject: Re: "Microwave"
molloy@cpcs3.dnet.etn.com writes:
> So what does this have to do with Beer? I use the quick clean methods
> of sterilization so any easy extra methods I can do, help. After a quick
> bleach wash I use the microwave to sanitize hard to clean parts like
> spickets, hoses, hose ends, etc...
Just a quick warning -- I'd advise against doing this with
anything glass. I tried to microwave-sanitize a glass bottle once and
after I took it out, it touched some room-temp water and BOOM!
Greg Owen { gowen@cs.tufts.edu,@xis.xerox.com } http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~gowen/
"I've been trussed up inside, haystack/Like that/Proverbial needle/
Looking for itself" -- Katell Keineg
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 13:22:08 -0500
From: chc2@acpub.duke.edu
Subject: no fermentation
Hey folks,
I have a question for all you beer sleuths out there. I've been brewing
for a while, quite happily, without any problems so far, but my latest
batch has been languishing in the primary fermentor, completely inactive
after nearly a week. I've repitched it but still nothing. It's a dark
beer (s.g. 1.065) and I used unsulphured blackstrap molasses in it. I
initially pitched it with Edme dry yeast and then again with Manchester dry
yeast. Every time I have used Edme, it has been a very vigorous yeast and
that is what I was hoping for this time. The only thing that is different
was my sanitation procedure. When I first started brewing, I used a
diluted bleach solution and never had any infection problems but then I
changed to iodine which is generally fine but lately when I brew a heavier
brew, there has been a slight trace of infection which actually mellows
nicely if you leave it in cool storage for a long time but I wanted to make
sure this brew wouldn't get infected, so I decided to switch back to
bleach. The only thing that I can think of is maybe my bleach was not
diluted enough and now nothing will grow in my wort. This seems a little
hard for me to believe because it doesn't reek of bleach and I used the
same strength I always did. Well, that's about all I can think of. Any
suggestions. Personal email would be preferable.
TIA for your help. And I have enjoyed reading the digest, when I can find
the time. I've gotten lots of helpful hints in the past. Take it easy,
Chuck
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 12:24:05 -0600 (CST)
From: EDGELL@uwmfe.neep.wisc.edu
Subject: BrewSacks
Doland Cheung asked about BrewSacks,
I had a friend who had the unfortunate experience of spending 6 months (over
both Thanksgiving and Christmas) in a very small tent camp in Antarctica
without any beer. Even in the "big" base at McMurto (sp?) the beer they had was
5 year old Bud that had been frozen a few times.
I sent my friend 2 brewSacks to help relieve his situation. From a review of
the BrewSack I knew they have some sugar in them and produce a beer that is a
bit thin and bland for the average homebrewer. Thus I also sent along some
specialty grains and some hop extract. Apparrently, the beer turned out pretty
well and my friend was the most popular guy in camp for a while.
Bottom Line: When heating the water to add to the sack, steep a pound of
crystal malt in it. Remove the malt when the water starts to boil. Then add
an ounce or so of hops to the water and boil them for an hour. (make sure you
use enough water to have the proper volume after the hour boil). You can use
hop extract to eliminate the hour boil if you are trying to keep it simple.
I think BrewSacks are an excellent way to make homebrew if you don't have any
equipment for fermenting/bottling/dispensing, such as when you are in the
middle of Antarctica. They are also nice to give to someone to start them out
homebrewing. Unfortunately, they are too expensive to continue to use and you
need to add specialty malts and hops to make really good beer with them.
Also if you clean them well after use, you can reuse them with your own malt
extract recipe.
Hope I have been of some help,
Dana Edgell
edgell@uwmfe.neep.wisc.edu
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 13:29:07 EST
From: Jeanne Reil STEAP-IMIS 5320 <jreil@APG-9.APG.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: churchkey?
Hey gang...
just a quick question. does anyone out there know why a bottle opener
is called a churchkey? does anyone know what i'm talking about??
private email welcome.
thanks for the wisdom...
jeanne
jreil@apg-9.apg.army.mil
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 95 13:27:51 EST
From: mdemers@ccmailpc.ctron.com
Subject: HBD QUALITY
Please, lets not resurrect this keg crimes thread. It was already
beaten to death by all of the lawyer wannabe types already. Take it
to alt.useless.legal.debates. Were here to talk about BREWING BEER!
Thank you.
Mike Demers
In Beer I trust.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 13:35:33 -0500 (EST)
From: spencert@justice.usdoj.gov
Subject: Potassium Sorbate
A quick question on hard cider follows. I know it's not beer
related, but I've seen cider discussed previously here. I
usually brew beer, but this weekend I got the urge to try cider.
A major dilemma quickly ensued - no fresh cider! Having missed
the fresh cider season in the fall, I discovered that all of the
"fresh" cider as stores contained a preservative, spicifically
"less than 1/10 of one percent potassium sorbate for freshness".
My gut instinct told me that if this was enough to do in
bacteria, then ale yeast likely would not stand a chance. Does
anyon[Ce know what this stuff is? Has anyone had experience with
it? Any and all suggestions, techniques (recipes also) are
welcome! Private e-mail is fine, but I believe others would be
interested, so please post public if possible.
Thanks!
Tim Spencer
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 95 11:42:17 EST
From: sysop@abq-ros.com
Subject: 5th Dukes of Ale Spring Thing Beer Comp
The 5th Annual Spring Thing Beer Competition is to be held in
Albuquerque, NM on March 31. Entry deadline is March 25th. Two bottles
per entry are required and the cost is $3. Any AHA designated style of
beer can be entered. For entry forms call Guy at (505) 294-0302 or
email me at guyruth@abq-ros.com.
========================= !!! Automated Notice !!! =======================
E-mail replies to this user should have the following on the first line
of message text: TO: Guy Ruth
==========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 14:05:59 -0600 (CST)
From: Rich Larsen <rlarsen@free.org>
Subject: Boiling Water & microwaves
THE SHECKONATOR <BSHECK@nimue.hood.edu> Writes :
>The microwave oven heats by inducing the water
>molecules to vibrate at a higher rate, creating
>friction which raises their temperature. This creates
>steam, BTW, and heat. The heat is what sterilizes. I
>could be wrong, but I suspect that _not that many_
>microbes are zapped from the microwaves but from the
>heat created by the waves juicing up the water.
>
>So to prevent over-heating of your utensils in a
>microwave oven, put them in a bowl of water; the heat
>of boiling will kill the nasties, but keep the utensil
>around 212 degrees F.
It is possible that you can super heat water in the microwave.
I have experienced this myself. You can heat water so much that it
will just about explode when something is added to it to give
a nucleation point for steam bubbles to form.
I don't know if the water is actually hotter than 212 (I can't
see how that's possible, but I'm no physicist) but it will violently
boil over when the vessel is disturbed.
I've tried putting a themometer in the water right after the
microwave is turned off, but the themometer cooled off the water, so
I didn't get a good reading. Next time, I'll have the themometer in
boiling water ready to dunk in the 'nuked water and see if the temp
goes up. I don't have the guts to put the thermometer IN the microwave
while heating.
BTW I routinely use the microwave to sanitize objects as well as bottles.
=> Rich (rlarsen@squeaky.free.org)
________________________________________________________________________
Rich Larsen, Midlothian, IL * Also on HomeBrew University (708) 705-7263
"Spice is the variety of life." ... Me
________________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 95 14:45:03 EST
From: dbrigham@nsf.gov
Subject: 2 liter Pop bottles, Chili peppers, and miscellany
- man, only finished my second ferment and this bottling is
for the birds! what's the current concensus on using 2 liter pop
bottles for beer that will be consumed with 1 month of bottling?
Procedures? Caveats?
- I plan on making a medium flavored/medium bodied Ale with
some kind of hot-pepper adjunct for 'tweaking' the flavor. I
don't want to overpower the drinker with the pepper flavor
(probably a mix of jalepeno and haberno peppers) - I am leaning
towards making a pepper 'tea' and adding the liquid just prior to
bottling. I am assuming that adding the peppers to the boil would
impart too much pepper heat to the brew - correct me if I am wrong
and inundate me with hints.
- well, now that I have started I must say that brewing is fun
(and I haven't even had one of my beers yet!) and that a major
part of it is the company a home brewer must keep - you netfolk,
the local supply folks and the (for now) anxious friends and
relatives who want to drink the result! Keep on keepin' on....
Dana Brigham - dbrigham@nsf.gov
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 95 15:37:08 EST
From: dweller@GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE)
Subject: oven use/yeast test/private posting
Ian asked about baked beer. I found the oven useless for raising mash
temperature--no good way to tell where to set the oven thermostat to
increase the temperature in the kettle (and also verrrry slow). What
the oven works well for is maintaining the mash temp. I kettle mash,
raising the temperature to where I want it on a burner. Then, I stick
the kettle in the pre-heated oven (usually at my oven's lowest
setting, 170 f) and hold it there for however long I want. Then I pull
the kettle, put it back on the burner, to increase mash temp again. I
usually use the low/high temp mash procedure for American 2-row, and
this oven-holding method works super.
Another subject: A crude little yeast experiment, to see what worked
at my basement's winter temperature (about 52 to 62 degrees, depending
on the outside weather). I splurged and bought brand new: American Ale
yeast from both Wyeast and Yeast Lab, London Ale from both Wyeast and
Yeast Lab, and California lager, from Yeast Lab. Made identical
starters, then pitched in 5 one-gallon jugs of identical wort (a
pale-ale type), side-by-side in my normal basement brewspot. The clear
winner: both London Ales. Started faster, went to full kreusen faster,
fermented out much faster (4 days). The California lager was next,
slower, but okay. Both versions of American Ale are still fermenting
after 18 days in the jug, and a sniff test shows some peculiar
"fruity" smell in both. It'll be a while before I can do serious taste
test, but I'm going to be using mostly London Ale yeast for winter ale
brewing. (The Yeast Lab # is A04, but I can't remember the Wyeast #. I
think it was called "London (Whitbread)" or something weird like
that.)
On the subject of posting to the HBD or doing individual e-mail, I
much prefer posts to the net, PROVIDING people put in reasonable
"subject" descriptions, so you can skip over what you don't want. It's
a pain reading through long posts when you discover there's little of
interest at the moment.
BTW, Hoppy New Year all.....
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 95 15:57:43 -0500
From: Joe Pearl <joep@informix.com>
Subject: Need recipe for Malta...
Hi.
Does anyone have a recipe for making Malta (extract please)? I'm trying
to duplicate it for my wife.
thx,
joe.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Joe Pearl
Informix Software Voice: 813-971-0010
8675 Hidden River Parkway Fax: 813-632-9582
Tampa, FL 33637 Email: joep@informix.com
PGP'd email preferred - for key: send me email w/subject "send me pgp key"
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 95 15:17:18 EST
From: M.Marshburn/D202@cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil
Subject: Cold Ferment
Dec 24th I put together 5lbs 2 row, 1lb 10l crystal, 1lb carapils and 6.6lbs
NW Gold LME, Eroica and homegrown Tettnang. No I didn't get Sg, hydro fell
and broke. Primary until 31 Dec, racked to secondary, attached blowoff hose
till 4 Jan, attached airlock. Beer has been in garage covered with brown
paper to ward off sunlight. The temp in the garage has never been above 40F
and for the last 10 days has been between 25-35F. I am still getting about
6-8 bubbles a minute from the airlock and the beer has not frozen, even
though the water bucket has. I used a quart starter of Wyeast Pilsen cultured
from a previous lager made in Sept. Is this kind of yeast activity normal for
these temps? I'm not worried, just amazed everytime I check the airlock
activity. I've seen posts about diacetal(sp) rest temps, need I concern
myself? The Pilsen yeast produced a putrid sulphur smell in primary in both
beers, but the lager, IMHO, has turned into an excellent all grain beer.
Private email or posting is OK.
Mike Marshburn
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 95 21:48:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Temporary & Permanent hardness
David writes:
>Dear Friends, in #1624 Al K. commented on what constitutes temporary and
>permanent hardness, and averred that permanent hardness has more to do
>with Ca and Mg than whether things are carbonates or sulphates. Well, yes
>and no. All I know is that alkaline-earth bicarbonates will form
>(carbonate) precipitates upon boiling and sulphates will not. So if your
>analysis shows, for example, the bulk of your Ca as carbonate, you will
>eliminate that proportion by preboiling and racking off the residue. If
>the bulk of the Ca is as sulphate, you're stuck with it unless you resort
>to much more involved procedures. So although I do not dispute Al's
>remarks about the role of Mg and Ca in ale brewing waters, I think it
>should be pointed out that carbonates are removable and sulphates ain't.
>Do any of you brew historians know when and/or by whom the terms
>"temporary" and "permanent" were first applied?
David is correct in saying that carbonates will precipitate and that
sulphates will not. I think this is the origin of temporary and
permanent hardness. It is not correct to say "if your analysis
shows, for example, the bulk of your Ca as carbonate" -- your analysis
simply shows concentrations of ions, not of salts. The solubility of
Calcium Carbonate is quite low and if you boil your water and drive off
all the CO2, the carbonates will go and latch on to the magnesium and
calcium ions and whatever is over the solubility of the resulting CaCO3
and MgCO3 will fall out of solution. The solubility of MgCO3 is quite
a bit higher than that of CaCO3, so if you have a lot of magnesium in
your water, you cannot remove as much CO3 (HCO3 or H2CO3) as you could
if you had low magnesium.
The solubility of Calcium Sulphate is also quite high, which is why you
can't precipitate out CaSO4. Analysis will often say "as CO3" or, for
example, "acidity as lactic acid." This does not neccessarily mean that
there is any lactic acid, but rather the acidity is "as if there were
X ppm of lactic acid in solution."
Also, boiling your water will not help if you don't have enough Ca to
form CaCO3. In this case, you would have to add Ca (most will add it
as CaSO4, gypsum, but as I've said before, it's better to use Ca2Cl if
you can, unless you are making a Burton Ale) and then boil to precipitate
the CaCO3.
This much I think I have straight (correct me if I'm wrong) but the part
that I don't understand, despite having read that part of George Fix's
book at least ten times, is how the balance of the CO3 <-> HCO3 <-> H2CO3
works. I know it has to do with the pH and that when the CO2 comes out
of solution during the boil (which means, effectively, that the carbonic
acid that *is* CO2 dissolved in water, turns to water) the pH of the water
rises. What I'm missing is how the pH creates this balance of different
types of ions. If someone could explain this, I think I could put all the
pieces of this puzzle together. TIA.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: 9 Jan 95 22:39:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Re: Keg Crimes (hopefully, the final word)
WIRESULTS writes:
>Many Moons ago, the thread on Keg ownership was hotly debated with one
>Louis Bonham making some good arguments on the side of keeping kegs for
>the deposit. I was (potentialy) professionaly curious but with no funds
<snip>
>by Miller Brewing Co.) Today I received a letter from one Kristin A Kaplan,
>Senoir Counsel at Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee. She Writes thusly:
>"This letter is in response to mail regarding beer keg crimes sent by
>Louis L Bonham. According to Mr. Bonham, the entire point of the
>inquiry is whether "the transaction [is] a rental of the keg or a
>purchase/repurchase contract with a liquidated damages clause?"
<snip>
Let's not forget that this is the Homebrew Digest and not the Law Digest.
Debating this issue should be done elsewhere. I'd just like to point out
what, to me, appears to be the bottom line on this issue:
Ask yourself, "Is it 'right' to forfeit $15 and keep a $100+ keg?"
To heck with all the "well, it's used and beat up..." arguments, in the
end, I think that the answer for every honest person is "no." Personally,
I despise what Miller and A-B and Coors have done to the average American
beer drinker's taste and would love to punish them for that, but stealing
from them is against my nature. I plan to continue to "punish" them by
spending my commercial beer dollars on products from Sierra Nevada, Anchor,
Rogue, Moortgat, Cantillon, Goose Island, Kalamazoo, Fullers, Dominion,
Youngs... and by spreading the word about "good" beer.
This post has reminded me that I have a keg at home that I never returned
and planned, initially, to use for homebrewing. Next time I'm going past
the store from which the keg was *borrowed*, I will return it.
If you need a keg, buy a legal one from BCI or SABCO.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 1995 16:46:36 -0600
From: MHANSEN@ctdmc.pmeh.uiowa.edu
Subject: Yet another water question
Fellow brewers,
While we are on the subject of water analysis/treatment I have a simple
question (sorry Lee! :-)). I have checked many books on the subject and
can't find the answer. Exactly what compounds go into the stuff
homebrew shops sell and simply call Burton Water Salts and, more
importantly, *what are the proportions of each*? I use deionized, reverse
osmosis, and everything-else-you-can-do-to-get-the-crud-out water and
am only concerned about putting things INTO my water and not worried
about taking them OUT.
Now that I think about it, I do have a pointer to give (redeeming myself,
Lee! :-)). If you have a receiving tube/hose on the spigot of whatever
kind of lauter tun you have, make sure the damn thing is secure. Mine
popped off yesterday and my lauter tun delivered about a pint of wort
onto the dining room carpet!
TIA and brew on my friends,
Mike (michael-d-hansen@uiowa.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 11:49:27 -0700
From: Shawn Steele <shawn@aob.org>
Subject: The Beer Basics
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 7 Jan 95 06:24:10 -0500
> From: "Cheryl Bann" <bannx001@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
> Subject: brewing
>
> I want to find out where and what to get to begin brewing my own brew. what
> suggestions do you have? cheryl
>
> ------------------------------
"The Beer Basics," a quick how-to-brew sheet, is available by sending
e-mail to "info@aob.org" containing the key word "HOWTOBREW" (this can appear
anywhere in the text.) This service is automated and other information is
available as well. This is also a fairly new service and will expand in the
future, to include a Homebrew Club List and other interesting stuff.
- shawn
- ---------------------------------
Shawn Steele
Information Systems Administrator
Association of Brewers (303) 447-0816 x 118 (voice)
736 Pearl Street (303) 447-2825 (fax)
PO Box 1679 shawn@aob.org (e-mail)
Boulder, CO 80306-1679 info@aob.org (aob info)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 17:52:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch@eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: RE:mashing/Gott cooler
Rick laments:
< I then sprinkled 75degC water on top, and opened the outflow tube.
<I sparged with a total of about 4 gallons, and it took me about 25 minutes
<or so. The sparge trickled to a near stop, then I tilted the cooler to get
<a little bit more out. I then boiled, added hops, etc, and used my new
<wort chiller to chill the wort to yeast pitching temp (I loved the wort
<chiller very much!!). To my surprise (and disappointed), after measuring the
<o.g., I calculated a rather low extraction rate (about 22pts/lb/gallon).
<Boy, was I bummed!! I got at least 26 with my uninsulated two-buckets
<tun system, and the reason I wanted a cooler was so that I could improve
<my efficiency. What was I doing wrong? Should I have mashed longer
<(like for two hours)? Did I sparge too quickly? I would appreciate
<any advice from experienced users of the Gott-tun system. BTW, the grain
<was crushed with a Phil Mill.
Either you didnt convert the malt carbohydrates very well, and/or you
had a poor lauter. Depending on the type of malt and your water chemistry,
a rest in the 140s may help to ensure adequate maltose production prior
to the saccharification in the 150s. Some stirring during these rests
can help, but I dont do a lot of this, but then I mash a lot more at a
time. If all of your past experience had acceptable yields, then certainly
the lauter process is the place to look. 25 minutes is a very, very fast
lauter. I would look to be sure you recirculate for reasonable clarity,
then aim for a 45-60 minute lauter. Knife'ing the lauter bed may be
in order too, this is what rakes do in the big tuns. Basically, you
need to optimize the even flow of the sparge liquor through the tun,
avoiding any channeling that can occur.
Kevin asks about Milwaukee water:
<I brew ales for the most part (everything from Weiss to Stout=),
<however, I will be brewing Lagers soon. My beer is mainly extract with some
<grain added.
For extract brewing, forget about the water analysis, it wont matter that
much. For lagers, I would try the water without any additions, the key
factor is calcium and at 96 ppm you've got plenty of that. If you are
starting to go all grain, try a simple ale first, it is a lot more forgiving.
Thanks to Bob Hall for an excellent concise summary of mash acidification/
reactions!
Jim Busch
busch@mews.gsfc.nasa.gov
"DE HOPPEDUIVEL DRINKT MET ZWIER 'T GEZONDE BLOND HOPPEBIER!"
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1627, 01/10/95
*************************************
-------
