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HOMEBREW Digest #1691
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/03/28 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1691 Tue 28 March 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Gelatin, Wheat (Jack Schmidling)
Competition Results (S.P.S. Beer Stuff)
Venturi vs. Bernoulli ("pratte")
Wit and Wheat (John DeCarlo )
Re: Valley Mill / Bernoulli vs. Venturi (Douglas O'Brien)
Phenolics (John DeCarlo )
Motorizing Coronas ("Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616")
RE: honey brews ("Harralson, Kirk")
BREW HISTORY: Evans Ale (mark evans)
Magic ingredients ("Harralson, Kirk")
Watered Down Taste (William Eric Hartnell)
Boil answers (Domenick Venezia)
DC Clarity (Domenick Venezia)
Re: aeration of wort (Steve Zabarnick)
honey flavor in beer ("Wuerstl, Matthew A.")
Grain bills (Craig Amundsen)
Zima, What is it? (jwolf)
Dundee's and RR Honey lagers/New Homebrew club in Muncie, IN (Brian Pickerill)
Cold box ANSWER! (smtplink!guym)
Celis orange peels (Alan P Van Dyke)
Bitter Orange Peel in Celis, Brewcap stand query (Daniel Hays)
Covered pots (Jim Busch)
Microbrewed Wheat Beer (Tom Lombardo)
testing for bacteria (Chuck Wettergreen)
hammerhead beer (James Bell)
Terminal Gravity Calculation (TMartyn)
re: Apricot beer (Keith Frank)
Ale vs Lager Yeasts in Bruce and Kays.... (Jeff Easter)
DeWolf-Cosyns Pale Ale Malt (George J Fix)
Beer in Austria (John W. Carpenter)
TRASH V COMPETITION (WALZENBREW)
Myrtle Beach... (Bob Bessette)
Movie recommendation for stout lovers (Jeff Renner)
Domestic roasted barley vs. British for stout (Jeff Renner)
Beer Festival Info Request (mike.keller)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 06:13 CST
From: arf@mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: Gelatin, Wheat
>From: jeff.guillet@lcabin.com (Jeff Guillet)
>I added one package of Knox unflavored gelatin to 1 cup of warm/hottish
water, dissolved it thoroughly, and poured it into my secondary.
I have been using gelatine for several years now and find it vastly superior
to anything else I have tried from .5u filtering to Irish Moss. However, you
probably do not need to use so much. I use 1 tsp (1/2 packet) in ten gallon
batches with excellent results.
>This leads me to the following conclusion: Irish Moss is dead,
*GELATIN* is God.
Gelatine is good. I am God and very much alive.
BTW, I am starting a batch of wheat beer (40% raw wheat) and it will be
interesting to see how the gelatine works on this stuff. I get the feeling
that people expect wheat beer to be cloudy and I would be interested in
hearing what experience folks have with gelatin in wheat beer.
js
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 05:46:07 -0700
From: SPSBEER@netins.net (S.P.S. Beer Stuff)
Subject: Competition Results
The CRAZY Homebrewers (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Hop Into Spring competition
results are in. You can find them at <URL:
http://www.netins.net/showcase/spsbeer/crazy/his.html>
<< Mike Snyder spsbeer@netins.net >>
<< S.P.S. Beer Stuff, Homebrew Supplies by Mail (319)393-1219 >>
<< on-line catalog--> http://www.netins.net/showcase/spsbeer/ >>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 07:54:15 EST
From: "pratte" <PRATTE@GG.csc.peachnet.edu>
Subject: Venturi vs. Bernoulli
For Geoff Scott:
I'm sorry that I missed the first part of this discussion, but from
what you describe, it sounds more like the Bernoulli effect than
Venturi. A Venturi tube is one in which flow cavitates (i.e. the
liquid turns back into vapor because of a reduction of pressure)
because of changes in the tubes diameter. If this is what is
happening in your tube, then no aeration is taking place since the
bubbles in the fluid are simply the fluid in a vapor state. However,
if you are getting aeration by having air sucked in through a small
hole, then a good explanation would be that the reduced pressure due
to the moving fluid (Bernoulli effect) is causing it. I hope this
helps.
John
________________________________________________________________
Dr. John M. Pratte pratte@gg.csc.peachnet.edu
Clayton State College Office (404)961-3674
Morrow, GA 30260 Fax (404)961-3700
________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 08:16:52 EST
From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo@homebrew.mitre.org>
Subject: Wit and Wheat
1) You can also buy cracked wheat at many grocery or health food stores. Save
your mill!
2) As many have said, the recipe does not call for cooking the raw wheat ahead
of time. Presumably the extended protein rests does what you want instead.
John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 08:15:13 -0500
From: douglas.obrien@ccrs.emr.ca (Douglas O'Brien)
Subject: Re: Valley Mill / Bernoulli vs. Venturi
>gscott@io.org (Geoff Scott) wrote:
>
>I'm considering buying the new Valley roller mill. Has anyone tried it and
>if so, how does it look?
I've got one (1st owner I believe!). It's a 2 roller, adjustable mill. The
rollers
are 9" long x 1" diameter knurled stainless steel with a direct drive handle
(i.e. no gears or pulleys). The hopper is large a is quickly attached to (or
dettached from) the mill with plastic/nylon screws. I've only used it nce
so far
so my report is brief - went quick, worked flawlessly, good crush.
Doug
- --
Douglas J. O'Brien douglas.obrien@ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca
Canada Centre for Remote Sensing tel: (613) 947-1287
588 Booth Street fax: (613) 947-1385
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0Y7
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 08:18:15 EST
From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo@homebrew.mitre.org>
Subject: Phenolics
Hey, there are *lots* of phenolics. My tastes lean towards liking the clove
and disliking the band-aid. Sounds like some people throw out the baby with
the bath water. I even like the phenolics in pumpkin pie!
John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own
Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo@mitre.org
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 8:54:06 EST
From: "Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616" <wagnecz@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Motorizing Coronas
I motorized a Coronna about a year (several hundred pounds of grain)
ago. I used a surplus motor from American Science and Surplus:
GE Minagear 30inch-pound gear motor, for $19.99. You'll need a d-drive
(like a car trans) for another 20.00 from Grainger too. All else from
the garage scrap pile for $0.
Glen
AmSci is at (708) 982-0870. Satisfied customer, nothing else (bla,bla, bla)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 09:28:36 EST
From: "Harralson, Kirk" <kwh@news.roadnet.ups.com>
Subject: RE: honey brews
Jim Graham writes:
<snip>
>love so much in the winter. One of the many store-bought brews that
>I've found lately is JW Dundee's Honey Brown lager. Now, it isn't
>brown, by any stretch of the imagination, but it has a wonderful
>honey flavor.
>I've brewed several honey brews before, and they've all been among my
>favorites, but this one has something that I've never gotten---the
>flavor of honey as it tastes *BEFORE* the sugar ferments away. Does
>anyone know what they're doing to get that flavor to remain? I'd
<snip>
I tried Honey Brown on draft for the first time at T.G.I. Fridays. I
don't think its an outstanding beer by any means, but I agree with Jim
that it has an incredible honey character. The honey aroma of this
beer was as pronounced (or more so) than any mead I have ever had. I
have also used honey several times in different beers, but I have
never had a *honey* character as a result, especially one this strong.
I'm not sure I would want this character in a beer, but I'm also very
curious how they did it.
Kirk Harralson
Bel Air, Maryland
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 08:32:09 -0600
From: evanms@lcac1.loras.edu (mark evans)
Subject: BREW HISTORY: Evans Ale
Okay east coast brew historians... what can you tell me about Evans Ale?
My sisters hubby came up with this brown beer bottle at an antique store
(really cool, sort of tapered in towards the bottom) that is embossed with
the words "Evans Ale" and around the other side "Hudson New York" or Hudson
Brewing company." Does this ring a bell with anyone? Seems umusual because
of the lack of ale brewing in this country (except for the recent boom in
the NW microbrew industry). Perhaps it is one of those cream ales like Red
Cap fron Natick, Mass. What ever... andy clues to this mystery would be
great. would be grand to find that some distant relation was a brewer way
back when!
brewfully...mark evans
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 09:46:17 EST
From: "Harralson, Kirk" <kwh@news.roadnet.ups.com>
Subject: Magic ingredients
Nic Herriges writes:
<snip>
>On an un-related topic. I've heard that adding very small amounts (grams
>per batch) of roasted barley (black) will benefit any style of beer. Once
>source says that it reduces oxidation, another (Charlie P.) says that it
>improves flavor by reducing polyphenols. Neither source cites any study.
>Can anyone verify/contradict these statements? Is this the new magic
>ingredient to replace coriander? TIA
I read this in Charlie's new book (he suggests it for reduction of chill haze),
and gave it a shot. I only added a couple of ounces in the mash out, but
the beer turned out slightly darker than I thought it should have. I saw
no difference in chill haze, but there are too many factors involved to
isolate a definitive cause and effect. The beer tasted great, so it
certainly didn't hurt.
The *LAST* thing I want to do is drag up the coriander thread, but I am
curious as to how it started. I read a few tongue-in-cheek posts in the
HBD, but I think they referenced other sources that I must have missed.
Can someone send me private mail on how all this got started? Just the
facts, Mam :-)
Kirk Harralson
Bel Air, Maryland
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 07:40:56 -0800 (PST)
From: William Eric Hartnell <whartnel@farad.elee.calpoly.edu>
Subject: Watered Down Taste
I've been having problems in the way may beer tastes. I have brew 6
batches of beer all of them seem to have this funny watered down
taste to them. In my last batch I attempted to go all out on this amber
ale by adding 6lbs. of alexanders malt and 3lbs. of the pale DME. Then I
used 2 oz. of Willamette for my starting and 1/2 oz. of Columbus (alpha
13.0) in my finishing hops. I had no problems with head retention,
clarity, carbonation, or aroma. In fact, I was very happy with them, but
when I drank it, I got a lot of hops and a bit of malt with a watered
down flavor. All of my previous batches have had a similar watery after
taste and all used different malts and hops. I also boil 3 gallons of
water and then add water to make five gallons before pitching my yeast.
All of my yeasts were Wyeast packages except for the first and second
batches and all were ale yeasts except my second batch which was a steam
beer. Any ideas on how to cure this problem?
Thanks,
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 07:57:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia@zgi.com>
Subject: Boil answers
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 12:28:51 -0500 From: PatrickM50@aol.com
>A. Muliply by 1.2 for extract and 1.3 for all-grain (60 minute boils).
>Multiply by 1.55 for 90 minute boils (all-grain assumed).
I generally start with 8.5 gallons, boil vigorously and uncovered for 90
minutes and get about 5 gallons. This is 1.7x. I use one of those
100,000+ BTU Cajun Cookers and when I boil I really rock! Throwing some
used caps into the boil to act as boiling stones will increase and even
out your boil vigor. Also being able to use a high starting volume like
8.5 gal increases your sparge efficiency.
>But are the negative consequences (not evaporating undesireable volatiles,
>etc) significant enough that I should buy a 150,000bu propane-fired burner?
>(I only need *one* more justification! ;-)
Especially if you use an immersion chiller (or a snow bank) it is
important to boil vigorously and probably uncovered to get rid of the
DMS precursors.
Well Pat here it is, BUY THE MONSTER! They're cheap (get a ring burner, not
the rocket tube), they boil wort and water very quickly, but DON'T use
them on unshielded linoleum (it melts). The burner and the 10 gal stainless
Volrath pot are my two items that most contribute to ease of brewing. One
more suggestion, get 2 20lb propane bottles. If one is always full, then
you never need worry if you have enough propane to finish the batch.
Domenick Venezia
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia@zgi.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 08:21:55 -0800 (PST)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia@zgi.com>
Subject: DC Clarity
Both Steve Zabarnick and Scott Barrett are having problems with DeWolf-Cosyns
Pale malt and wort/beer clarity.
Steve:
>mash at 150-155 F. The initial runnings from the sparge appear quite cloudy
>despite significant recirculation.
Scott:
>get-go. My procedures didn't differ from other beers, so I'm puzzled too.
>It's not a chill haze, as it occurs at room temp.
Starch haze? Unconverted starch being leached from the mash. Perhaps
your sparge water is too hot. Perhaps your grain should be crushed a bit
finer to encourage complete conversion.
OTOH Scott said that one beer was clear until dry-hopping and to me this
implies tannins (polyphenols) from the hops agglutinating with the protein
in the wort to create an insoluble haze. Try a protein rest or Irish
Moss in the boil.
Domenick Venezia
ZymoGenetics, Inc.
Seattle, WA
venezia@zgi.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 11:50:56 -0500
From: steve@snake.appl.wpafb.af.mil (Steve Zabarnick)
Subject: Re: aeration of wort
In HBD #1690 Carl Etnier <Carl.Etnier@abc.se> says:
>In any case, it doesn't really affect my main point, that saturation
>can be achieved in water (or an aqueous solution) with bubbled air.
>Pure 02 is not required.
No! We need to go back to our first year chemistry textbooks. Henry's law
states that the concentration of a dissolved gas is proportional to its
partial pressure in the vapor phase. Henry's law holds for dilute
solutions; oxygen or air at one atmosphere in wort or water is definitely a
dilute solution. Thus as air is 20.9% oxygen, a wort this is completely
aerated (i.e., in equilibrium) with air will contain 4.8 times less oxygen
that one that is in equilibrium with a 100% oxygen environment.
For water the solubility of oxygen is well known, at 25C (77F) it 40.89 ppm
(w/w), and due to the fact that air is 20.9% oxygen, completely aerated
water will contain 8.55 ppm oxygen.
Apparently, the presence of wort sugars effects oxygen solubility causing
it to decrease with increasing SG.
Steve Zabarnick
(Ph.D. in Chemistry, Penn State University, 1984)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 11:42:01 EST
From: "Wuerstl, Matthew A." <WUERSTL@WMAVM7.VNET.IBM.COM>
Subject: honey flavor in beer
jim@n5ial.mythical.com (Jim Graham) writes:
>I've brewed several honey brews before, and they've all been among my
>favorites, but this one has something that I've never gotten---the flavor
>of honey as it tastes *BEFORE* the sugar ferments away. Does anyone know
>what they're doing to get that flavor to remain? I'd guess that they're
>adding a lot of honey at bottling, but since the bottles don't explode,
>that doesn't seem too likely.
>I'm not looking to clone this beer, as such, but rather to add that flavor
>to my own honey brews...
The Brimstone Brewery from Baltimore has a Honey Red Ale which has this same
honey characteristic. I spoke with Marc the brewmaster/owner last Friday at
the Camden Yards beer fest. He said that they add 60+ lbs (per 60bbl batch)
of autoclaved honey after fermentation is complete and the beer has been
filtered to remove the yeast. The beer is then carbonated and sent on its way.
I don't know if this level of filtration is available at the homebrewer's level
but that seems to be the key to keeping the honey from fermenting.
Has anyone out there who filters their homebrews ever tried something like this?
Regards and Hoppy Brewing... Matt
P.S. Just returned from another wonderful visit to the Great Lakes Brewing Co.
in Cleveland this weekend. Good beers, good food... Got a peek at the new 30bbl
system in the adjacent building, very pretty. Six 3000 gal tanks just dying to
be filled with good beer, plus many other smaller (relatively) fermenters.
Hopefully, the quality will stay and the beers will make it to the east coast
so i don't have to smuggle it back in my suit case anymore...
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 11:06:30 -0600 (CST)
From: Craig Amundsen <amundsen@biosci.cbs.umn.edu>
Subject: Grain bills
Hi -
I have a question about adjusting the grain bill of a recipe in order to
reach the desired OG. I recently switched over to all grain brewing and am
now refining my technique to improve my extraction efficiency. This past
weekend I brewed up a stout. In order to get the gravity I wanted, I had to
increase the amount of pale malt by a certain amount, based on my previous
mashing events. I did not increase the amount of specialty grains, specifically
the roasted barley because it seemed, at the time, that I might
end up with too much flavor from the roasted barley. Finally, my question:
when scaling up a recipe to hit the called for OG, should all the grains be
increased by the same factor? Or to put it another way: is the contribution
to the flavor of the beer from specialty grains proportional to extraction of
sugar from the malt? I ask this because my stout doesn't look too stout and
if I had used more dark grain, it would have been darker.
On another topic, I was browsing CMIII and noticed that many of the extract
based oatmeal stout recipes feature a "steep the oatmeal" step. I was under
the impression that oatmeal is a source of convertable starch and needs to be
mashed.
- Craig in St Paul, MN amundsen@biosci.cbs.umn.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 12:39:43 EST
From: jwolf@penril.com
Subject: Zima, What is it?
I'm sure this question has been asked before, so please forgive the
waste of bandwidth, but, WHAT THE HELL IS ZIMA (nasty stuff). Is it
grain alcohol added to artificially citrus-flavored carbonated water?
OK, perhaps a more intelligent question...
I recently brewed a dark bitter using a half pound of black patent
malt, and roasted barley in addition to DME. It came out wonderful,
however, I taste Chocolate!! I added no chocolate malt, and since I
am still relatively new to brewing (this was my 5th batch), I wonder
if this is to be expected, or does it come from the patent malt (my
first time using specialty grains other than crystal malt).
Keep up the good work. As for brewing; I, for one, am having a ball
with this!
Jeff Wolf
jwolf@penril.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 13:11:23 -0600
From: 00bkpickeril@virgo.bsuvc.bsu.edu (Brian Pickerill)
Subject: Dundee's and RR Honey lagers/New Homebrew club in Muncie, IN
In HBD 1690, Jim Graham said:
>I've brewed several honey brews before, and they've all been among my
>favorites, but this one has something that I've never gotten---the flavor
>of honey as it tastes *BEFORE* the sugar ferments away. Does anyone know
>what they're doing to get that flavor to remain? I'd guess that they're
>adding a lot of honey at bottling, but since the bottles don't explode,
>that doesn't seem too likely.
Maybe they DO add a lot of honey at bottling, right after they filter out
or kill the yeast. That's the only thing I could think of. I guess I
kinda like a sweet beer sometimes. Some folks I know hate the sweetness
of Dundee's. My recent Roccy Racoon (TNCJOHB) started out kinda sweet
but has gotten quite dry. I liked it then and I like it now, but this
is one beer (RR honey lager) that I think has not improved with age as much
as most. It's changed a LOT, but most of my beers get more malty while
the RR has seemingly lost a lot of it's early character to higher alcohol
content. It's got quite a kick now, one month after bottling. Perhaps it's
mostly that I am more accustomed to ales that pretty much stop fermenting
after I refrigerate them, but my theory is that it's mostly the honey. I
guess I will figure it out because I plan to make good use of my brew fridge
this summer. I brewed RR with Wyeast Bavarian Lager yeast, and then I used
the yeast cake from the primary for a batch of "Dr. Bock." (My 3rd batch
from TNCJOHB)
Cheers,
- --Brian Pickerill <00bkpickeril@bsuvc.bsu.edu> Muncie, IN
PS. A couple of us are trying to start a new HB club here in Muncie. I
just thought I'd mention it on the off chance anyone is interested.
Probably not, but if so, email me.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 11:36:25 MDT
From: exabyte!smtplink!guym@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Cold box ANSWER!
I got a lot of replies and a lot of requests for the answers I received on
my question about the cold box article. There was some confusion over what
I wanted to do as several people thought I intended to turn my upright
freezer on its back and make it a chest freezer. What I actually wanted to
do was remove the door, build an insulated plywood box and attach it to the
front of the freezer, and attach the door to that. That would give me an
area to chill kegs and/or carboys in the box while using the shelves in the
original freezer part for bottles, etc. Many thanks to all respondents but
especially to Stan Gregory and Jeff Nielsen who pointed me to the exact
issue and page number of Zymurgy where Byron Burch's article appears. It
is called "Stalking the Wild Cold Box" and is in the 1992 Special issue of
Zymurgy, volume 15, No. 4 on page 22. Byron actually bought his unit, a
refrigerator with a box added to the front, from a customer. I intend to
turn my freezer sideways and attach the door to the side of the plywood box
to allow easier access to the shelves in the freezer compartment (the one
thing that Byron said he would change if he built one of his own - the unit
he bought has the door on the front). Anyway, this will allow me to chill
up to 18 kegs in the plywood box portion of the cold box and I would lay
another 6 to 8 on their sides inside the freezer itself. More than
adequate space for me! I also intend to ferment in it as well. Now, time
to buy that temperature controller...
--
Guy McConnell | Exabyte Corp. | Huntersville, NC | guym@exabyte.com
"All I need is a pint a day..."
------------------------------
Date: Monday, 27 March 95 12:50:50 CST
From: Alan P Van Dyke <llapv@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu>
Subject: Celis orange peels
Howdy,
I've been following the thread on Celis White & orange peels. I've been out
to the brewery a few times, & have only heard mention of bitter (or Curacao)
peels, but never sweet peels. So, if you want to make a Celis White clone,
use those. However, if you're trying to make your own Wit, do what you want.
I know that Pierre Celis revived the style, but I don't know what other
brewers of the past used before him.
BTW, P. Celis originally used a small amount of raw oats when he was brewing
Hoegaarden Wit. Has anyone tried this when making their own homebrew?
Alan Van Dyke Austin, TX llapv@utxdp.dp.utexas.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 13:12:42 -0600 (CST)
From: Daniel Hays <dhays@tenet.edu>
Subject: Bitter Orange Peel in Celis, Brewcap stand query
Jim Busch says:
I was shocked to hear Pierre say he
> used sweet orange in the Wit. Since I am brewing the AHA conference
> beer, and I am using sweet orange, I had a search to find it. I have
> this second-hand, but I have no reason to disbelieve it: Peter Camps
> said he only uses bitter orange. Can someone near Austin, or a
> Celis visitor confirm this?
My brother-in-law and I took the Celis tour this past Saturday and posed
the question of sweet or bitter orange peel usage in Celis White. While
this stumped our cheery young tour guide, a brewer was also present and he
told us they use *bitter* orange peel. Also, they have no immediate
plans to brew a "Wit Dog."
Eric Peters writes:
> My brother and I have fermented two hundred gallons in inverted
> carboys and have *never* racked our beer. Instead of removing
> your beer from the break/trub/sediment, remove the sediment
> primary and secondary ferments in one vessel, no racking, no
> siphoning, no worries. Our stand holds four carboys. Each
> carboy rests on a "Lazy Susan" bearing (this has been discussed
> at length recently by numerous people, including my brother, hope
> I'm not beating a dead horse.)
Eric, if I'm not mistaken, far from beating a dead horse, yours is
only the second post I've seen in response to the Fermentap review--
the horse isn't even comatose!
I'm beginning to think that the inverted carboy method is one I need to
adopt, since after a year-and-a-half of struggle I remain
siphon-impaired. Though it seems the big drawbacks might be the
inability to use those convenient hop pellets in either the boil or in
dry-hopping, I still think the minimal exposure of wort to air makes this
practice one best suited for me. I'd be interested in more specific
information--as may your fellow BrewCap users--about the stand you guys
built and how it incorporates the Lazy Susan bearings.
TIA,
Dan Hays,
The Harry Goat Pico de Gallo Brewery
Austin, Texas
(dhays@tenet.edu)
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Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 14:30:09 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch@eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: Covered pots
I knew there was something I forgot to cover (hunh, huh) last week....
Pat asks:
<Q. Do you cover or uncover the brewpot?
<A. Ah, some controversy at last! Three respondants keep it partially covered
<in order to reduce evaporation and maintain a vigorous boil. The other two
<completely uncover the pot(s) after reaching boil. Now if I (without asking)
<add Jim Busch's posted preference to boil uncovered (thanks Jim!), we have a
<50/50 split. I believe the use of puny electric stovetop burners is a big
<factor in needing to keep the pots partially covered in order to keep a boil.
< But are the negative consequences (not evaporating undesireable volatiles,
< etc) significant enough that I should buy a 150,000bu propane-fired burner?
< (I only need *one* more justification! ;-)
A partially covered pot is OK. I would try to situate it so that any
condensate will not end up back in the kettle, if possible. A partially
covered pot will still allow the desirable venting of the boiled off
volatiles. In the large copper onion dome kettles, there is a special
device in the chimney flue. This device traps the condensed vapors and
channels it into a drain, thereby preventing the vapors from returning
to the kettle. This is very desirable. My own advice is that if you have
to cover the pot to keep it boiling, then invest in a gas or propane brewing
stove. Probably the most versatile is the Superb, but the cheapest $/BTU
is likely the cajun cooker.
Jim Busch
Colesville, Md.
busch@mews.gsfc.nasa.gov
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:25:05 -0600 (CST)
From: favt3tl@rvcux1.RVC.CC.IL.US (Tom Lombardo)
Subject: Microbrewed Wheat Beer
Fellow Brewers,
I was in Milwaukee yesterday, and had lunch at the Water Street Brewery.
The food was good, but the Weiss Beer I ordered tasted "yeasty". I don't
mean a little yeasty... the predominant flavor was yeast! When he
brought it to the table, the aroma of yeast was obvious (even to my wife
who only has an occasional homebrew). It was not very clear either.
I decided to try a "professional" wheat beer to see if I liked it enough to
try a batch. My question: is that what wheat beer is supposed to taste
like, or did I happen to go there on a "bad brew day"?
BTW, even though my wife offered to drive home, I decided NOT to have another
(for obvious reasons). Thanks.
Homebrew - It's good for what ALES you!
Tom Lombardo (favt3tl@rvcux1.rvc.cc.il.us)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:53:00 -0600
From: chuckmw@mcs.com (Chuck Wettergreen)
Subject: testing for bacteria
Fellow HBD'ers,
Could someone direct me to a brewing laboratory which will perform specific
bacterial agent identification of contaminated beer samples. Assuming that
you know of one, any idea what it would cost? E-mail OK.
TIA
Chuck
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Chuck Wettergreen
chuckmw@mcs.com
Geneva, Il
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 15:57:04 -0600 (CST)
From: James Bell <jdbell@comp.uark.edu>
Subject: hammerhead beer
To all:
I am from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. I have
once tried the beer Hammerhead and enjoyed the brew very much. However,
no one in this area has ever heard of it, so I an unable to obtain any of it.
I thought that maybe one of the readers of Homebrew Digest would have
heard of it and might be able to suggest where I could find some. I
would also like to find out who makes it and where.
I would appreciate and help.
James Bell <jdbell@uark.comp.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 17:04:59 -0500
From: TMartyn@aol.com
Subject: Terminal Gravity Calculation
I've been all-grain brewing for over a year now, and I'm progressively
straying farther and farther from published recipes, and more and more into
developing my own. I'm now pretty consistent with my OG calculations, but
I'm still uncertain about how to calculate terminal gravities, specifically
with regards to the mix in the grain bill.
Yes, obviously there are a whole bunch of variables that will affect
attenuation - mash temp., yeast selection, fermentation management, etc. etc.
What I have not seen discussed anywhere is the effect on terminal gravity of
the grain bill. I would expect, for instance, that crystal malts would
exhibit a lower attenuation than 2-row pale malts, ie, lead to a higher
terminal gravity. But how much? Are there better rules of thumb than 75%
attenuation? What's the contribution of darker and roasted malts? How about
adjuncts? I would guess that corn sugar would attenuate by nearly 100%. On
the other side of the ledger, I would guess that dextrin powder would
attenuate somewhere around 0%.
I've tried deducing the answer from a wide range of recipes with published OG
& TGs, but haven't found anything like a consistent computation - not
surprising given all of the other variables.
I'm new to the Net so if this has been discussed elsewhere, please point me
there by private mail. Otherwise, let's have at it!
Tom Martyn
tmartyn@aol.com
Brattleboro, VT
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 16:15:26 -0600
From: keithfrank@dow.com (Keith Frank)
Subject: re: Apricot beer
****** from Bruce DeBolt ********
On 3-26-95 Michael Lloyd asks for ideas on apricot beer, trying to
duplicate Pyramid's version using extracts.
I don't have an answer but am thinking about making an apricot beer later
this year using this rough recipe: 6 lb 2-row, 1-2 lb malted wheat,
0.5-1 lb Carapils, 0.5-0.7 oz. medium alpha hop. For the fruit I was
planning on rehydrating non-sulfured dried apricots, mixing in a blender,
pasteurizing the mess, then adding directly to the secondary fermenter. I
also plan to do the same thing using frozen cranberries and split the
batches with Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) and 1333 (Alt) yeast. My question
is how much dried apricot to use for 2.5 gallons?
I haven't been satisfied with the flavor of the fruit extracts.
I've tried peach, pear, and cranberry. The cranberry was the most passable
but the rest didn't taste quite right. I'd be curios about the apricot.
Bruce DeBolt
c/o keithfrank@dow.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 17:27:43 -0500
From: jeaster@nr.infi.net (Jeff Easter)
Subject: Ale vs Lager Yeasts in Bruce and Kays....
Okay here it is, I am fairly new to homebrewing, and found a recipie for
Bruce and Kays Black Honey Spruce Lager. The recipie sounds great, but when
talking to my supplier, he said I should just use Ale yeast instad of Lager.
The recipie is as follows:
3.3 lbs John Bull plain dark malt extract syrup
2 lbs plain dried amber malt extract
2 lbs light honey
3/4 lbs crystal malt
1/3 lbs black patent malt
1&1/2 oz Cascade hops (Boiling)
1/2 oz Hallertauer Hops (finishing)
1 oz Spruce Essence
1 to 2 Packages lager yeast
3/4 cup corn sugar (Bottling)
So my situation. The instructions are kind of vague from there, and I need
to know what to do. How long to ferment initially, at what temp, does it
need secondary fermenter, how long there?
And of course the original question, Ale vs. Lager. I can put it an a
fridge I have handy I think, but I have no idea how to regulate the temp.
Anyway, I know this is alot, but any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, jeff
******************************************
* "Sometimes, I guess there just aren't *
* enough rocks..." *
* Forrest Gump *
******************************************
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Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 16:52:55 -0600
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: DeWolf-Cosyns Pale Ale Malt
Steve Zabarinck in HBD#1689 and Scott Barrett in HBD#1690 mention
clearing problems with the D-C Pale Ale malt. My recent experience
with this malt has been limited, so the following should be seen as
tentative.
It is abundantly clear from the malt analysis sheets that both the
D-C Pils and Pale Ale malts are quite different items than the
ones originally distributed by Siebels. The data and analysis in
my BT article are relevant only to the latter. I mentioned the attributes
of the new Pils malt in an earlier HBD post, and for the reasons cited
there I am no longer using this malt. Anecdotal evidence exits that
suggest the problems Steve and Scott cite with the Pale Ale malt
are not uncommon. I have heard of slow and turbid lautering, beers which
are very hard to filter, and related problems. Intuitively this
would seem to point to elevated wort beta-glucan levels, however
I have not seen data to support this. My recommendation is to change
malts. There is simply too much good malt out there, and thus no need to
suffer potential defects lightly.
The speciality of DeWolf-Cosyns has always been their color malts. These
IMHO are still the gems they always have been.
I have also had some e-mail from people complaining about the beer flavor
obtained from malt produced from Maris Otter barley. This comes as a
complete surprise for it has the reputation for being the UK's finest
(which is some feat!). I have not brewed with this malt for a couple of
years, and I would be interested to hear of some recent experiences.
Are these deficiences with the brewing material or is it "operator
error"?
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 17:46:20 EST
From: jwc@med.unc.edu (John W. Carpenter)
Subject: Beer in Austria
A friend of mine is going to Salzburg Austria soon, and I would like to
have her bring back some good beer. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are
any of them bottle conditioned so I can culture the yeast?
--
__________________________________________________________________________
| John W. Carpenter | |
| Department of Biochemistry | |
| UNC School of Medicine | Never trusts a brewer with an inseam |
| Chapel Hill, NC 27599 | larger than his waistline. |
| email - jwc@med.unc.edu | |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 17:49:26 -0500
From: WALZENBREW@aol.com
Subject: TRASH V COMPETITION
The Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers is proud to announce our
Fifth Annual All-Category Homebrew Competition, to be held in Pittsburgh, PA
on May 20, 1995.
This competition is sanctioned by both HWBTA and AHA and is open to all beer,
mead and cider categories as listed in the 1995 AHA National Competition
category descriptions. Please note that Sake entries will not be accepted.
If you are interested in an entry package, please call or e-mail me with your
postal address and we will send it out by US mail.
Last year's winners received 50 lb sacks of malt, 10 pound bags of hops, and
cases of canned malt extract, all donated by Pennsylvania extract
manufacturers and breweries. Best of Show also won a Samuel Adams neon sign,
generously donated by the Boston Beer Company. While we can't guarantee the
same prizes this year, they will be similar. All winners will also receive
ribbons.
You can enter using standard sanctioned competition recipe and bottle forms,
and the AHA 1995 National Competition category list (note - AHA list was
revised in 1995). Entries are $5.00 each - make checks payable to Mark
Benson, Registrar. The entry deadline is May 6, 1995. Note that you can
enter as many times as you wish in any category or subcategory.
UPS entries to: TRASH V c/o Country Wines
3333 Babcock Boulevard
Pittsburgh PA 15237
If you're a judge we need your help! Pittsburgh is centrally located, only a
few driving hours from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryl
and, most of New York, New Jersey and Ontario. Beds for judges, and rides
to/from the airport will be available. Judges may also pre-register entries
if they wish to bring their beers with them. We plan to have a banquet (free
to judges and stewards and their spouses) after the competition. And as we
are sanctioned both with AHA and HWBTA, your points can be recorded in the
program of your choice (or both). Last year we had 172 entries, and we
expect over 200 this year. Please e-mail or call me for more information.
Cheers,
Greg Walz, Organizer
(412) 331-5645 voice; (412) 331-5364 fax
WALZENBREW@aol.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 20:23:37 EST
From: Bob Bessette <bessette@hawk.uicc.com>
Subject: Myrtle Beach...
Fellow HBDers,
I tried recently asking the net if there were any Myrtle Beach brewpubs and I
came up with a big "Negative". Well, this time I'm wondering if there is a
liquor store in the Myrtle Beach area that has a WIDE variety of beer. I am
heading down there in 2 weeks and need to make some beer purchases. I welcome
any information anyone may have out there...
Bob Bessette (all-grainer and proud of it...)
bessette@uicc.com
Systems Analyst
Unitrode Integrated Circuits
Merrimack, NH 03087
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 21:30:40 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner@umich.edu>
Subject: Movie recommendation for stout lovers
I was going to brew a stout today anyway, but I was further inspired by
a movie my wife and I rented this weekend, and thought I'd recommend it
to HBD, since stout was featured prominently. It's called "The
Snapper." It is a refreshing, low budget Irish comedy, set in a working
class neighborhood in Ireland. It is about a 20 year old young women
who lives with her parents and five siblings in a small council flat.
She becomes pregnant and refuses to tell who the father is. The title
refers the "little snapper" she is carrying. There are many scenes in
the corner pub, and lots of stout with THICK heads. In one scene, a
freshly drawn stout is set before the father, and the anticipation he
shows waiting for it to settle so he can drink it is wonderful. The
language is authentically coarse, the kids get swatted around a little,
and there are a couple of mild sex scenes, so it isn't appropriate in
that respect for preteens (it's an "R"). Otherwise, it's endearingly
wholesome. We really enjoyed it.
Now back to beer.
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner@umich.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 95 21:39:44 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner@umich.edu>
Subject: Domestic roasted barley vs. British for stout
I want to second with details what Dave Sapsis posted here a few months
ago about American roasted barley. He cautioned that it is too light in
color to give authentic color to a dry stout. He recommended Baird.
I've done some checking. All the brewing books say that roast barley
has a color in the 500's. Our local stores carry Briess, and comparing
it to black patent malt (550L) and chocolate (350L) shows it to be much
closer to the chocolate. I've used it in stout @ 15% and didn't get the
appropriate opaque blackness or the smokey roasty stout flavor. I
requested a British one, and the store got M&F, which I brewed with @
10% today, with appropriate results. It is at least as dark as patent,
and should compare with Baird.
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner@umich.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 95 02:32:00 UTC
From: mike.keller@genie.geis.com
Subject: Beer Festival Info Request
One of our brewers here on GEnie is working on a beer book, and he is
searching for info about beer festivals. He knows about the GABF and the
GBBF, but he's looking for other festivals that folks on this digest list
might know about. If you have information about a festival (name, date,
location, specifics, history, whatever), please send it to him via Email to:
t.bedell3@genie.geis.com
Thanks for your help.
Mike Keller
Managing Sysop, Zymurgy RoundTable, GEnie
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1691, 03/28/95
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