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HOMEBREW Digest #1687
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/03/23 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1687 Thu 23 March 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Stuck Mead Fermentation (Stephen Tinsley)
Yeast hulls (MrMike656)
WYEAST for Saison ("Drink up lad. There's no bones in it!")
Princeton area brewpub ("Skwarek, Brian")
Re: Dry Hop siphoning difficulties (Scott Barrett)
Wit (Spencer.W.Thomas)
More on kegs and brewery design (Jim Busch)
Wheat for Wits (Jeff Benjamin)
Re: professional brewing courses (BTEditor)
Internet Brewing Resources... (" Patrick G. Babcock")
Growing hops in the desert? ("Prior, Mark")
Unmalted Wheat for Wit (Jon Binkley)
dry-hemping (Hunter8439)
Cold box question (smtplink!guym)
Schofferhofer yeast info ("Dan deRegnier")
Road Trip! ("Richard Scotty")
supplies by mail order ("Robert McCabe")
RE: US Saaz, Slow Lager (Jim Dipalma)
Tax treatment of hard cider (David Hulse)
wheat beer (Eamonn McKernan)
Classic American Pilsner, essay and recipe (Jeff Renner)
aerating wort/minimizing yeast in bottles (Carl Etnier)
Free Keg Bar, Johns Lager (ELQ1)
Victoria Bitter (awalsh)
Very Long Fermentation Period (Chris Strickland)
Yeast Help! (Gary Flock)
large batch yeast build up (PGILLMAN)
Cooler spigot (PatrickM50)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 07:56:15 CST
From: a207613@sun278.dseg.ti.com (Stephen Tinsley)
Subject: Stuck Mead Fermentation
I know, I know, the meadlovers digest is where I should be posting this, but
it won't come out for another day or two, and well, I'm impatient! I brewed
my first mead about 3 weeks ago, and I think I've got a stuck fermentation.
It started off great, with lots of head, and the gravity falling from an
OG of about 1.090 to 1.050 in 4 or 5 days. I racked it to the secondary
after a week, and after another week, gravity fell to around 1.040. After
another week, I checked it, and the mead has completely cleared. You can
read the paper through the carboy, it's so clear. Well, I was naturally
encouraged by this, since everyone I talk to says that when the mead clears,
it's ready to bottle. So last night I took a sample, and it's only down
to 1.035, and you can really taste that honey sweetness! I used about
2 lbs of honey per gallon of water (3.5 gallon batch), and added a couple
of teaspoons of both yeast nutrient and acid blend. My sources tell me
that this type of mead should start out around 1.100, and end up around
1.000 or less. This, of course, tells me that there's still plenty of sugar
left. So, what do I do? Should I leave it, or should I try pitching new
yeast with some yeast hulls? (I used Red Star Champagne yeast, so it ought
to hold up to the alcohol) I just hope it's not going to be another 7 months
in the secondary, I'd like to brew something else! Private email responses
would be fine, thanks in advance!
- Steve Tinsley More wacky, less egghead.
stinsley@ti.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 09:10:11 -0500
From: MrMike656@aol.com
Subject: Yeast hulls
I've heard about the usage of yeast hulls as a nutrient. And while at my
local homebrew shop, someone mentioned that a good use for that dried yeast
you'd bought as a backup (and since forgotten about) was to toss it into the
boil, killing the yeast and leaving the hulls. I tried this with some starter
and a couple of Trappist ale cultures, a Yeastlab and one from a bottle of
Chimay. Its been almost three days and the yeasts have remained highly
inactive. Was the introduction of dead, dried yeast a no-no? I used about 6 -
7 grams of old Whitbread Ale in about 6 cups of starter, but about half of
that didn't make it into the starter bottles. Any ideas?
Mike
"As my daddy, used to tell me - Son, it's in the water. That's why it's
yellow!" Firesign Theatre
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 08:00:52 EST
From: "Drink up lad. There's no bones in it!" <johnm@giant.IntraNet.com>
Subject: WYEAST for Saison
Can anyone out there recommend a WYEAST strain for brewing a Saison ale?
Should I be looking at the belgian Abbey 1214? or the Belgain White beer
3944? Any other strains ? Anyone have a recipe(all grain) they would like to
share? Anyone have some notes on the flavor profile for this style? TIA.
John McCafferty
Chelmsford, MA
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 09:04:36 -0500
From: smtp2!bskwarek@develop2.attmail.com ("Skwarek, Brian")
Subject: Princeton area brewpub
Warning: Short local interest post ahead!
The Triumph brewery in Princeton, NJ has FINALLY opened this week (1
of only a handful of brepubs in NJ). I haven't checked it out yet,
but on Saturday night there was an hr wait to get it! It is located
on Nassau Street (Rt 27), Princeton.
Bye!
-Brian
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 09:28:17 -0500
From: scott@partech.com (Scott Barrett)
Subject: Re: Dry Hop siphoning difficulties
In HBD #1686, James Drago described difficulties siphoning a batch of IPA
containing pelletized hops. He used the usual technique of wrapping a
filter (nylon) around the input end of his siphon hose and had the common
problem of the siphon clogging repeatedly.
I've had some success putting the filter at the *output* end of the siphon
when racking between vessels. I keep a coarse filter (like a copper
scrubbie) at the input end just to keep big stuff away from the end of the
racking cane and use a piece of finer material (say a clean patch of old
BVDs) formed into a small bag held onto the output end of the racking hose.
The bag traps small bits that pass the coarse filter.
I still catch all the cruft but don't need to repeatedly restart the siphon
because the input filter is clogged. I've found it to work really well
with fruit. As always, the output end of the siphon must be below the
level of the racked liquid to eliminate chances for aeration. YMMV.
Yours in brewing,
Scott Barrett
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 10:56:09 EST
From: Spencer.W.Thomas@med.umich.edu
Subject: Wit
A few posts on this lately.
* Unmalted wheat makes a difference in the flavor & color. It's worth
the trouble (IMHO). Do a long protein rest (45 minutes). A 40C
mash-in is probably helpful, too. Use pilsner malt for diastatic
power and to keep the color as low as possible.
* Check your mash pH. Due to the large quantity of unmalted wheat, it
won't drop as far as with a more normal grain bill. I had to acidify
the mash & sparge water.
* Bitter orange peel is available from The Frozen Wort, PO Box 947,
Greenfield, MA 01302, (413) 773-5920. 4 oz is enough for close to a
dozen batches.
* The Wyeast "White" yeast is very temperature sensitive, and will not
work well below about 70F (Pierre Celis says of his yeast, "she goes
to sleep".)
* At the SOB, Celis said his beer has (for spices) bitter orange peel,
coriander, and sweet orange peel. Nothing else! This is apparently
the most definite he'd ever been on the topic. He refused to
elaborate on the souring, saying something like "that's the tricky
part." (I'm definitely paraphrasing here.)
My qualifications? Several batches, a couple of firsts in local
competitions (in the "specialty" category -- both times just missing
best of show) and 3rd at the Spirit of Belgium (with Dan McConnell).
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 11:45:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Jim Busch <busch@eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: More on kegs and brewery design
Kirk and Bradd write:
<All-stainless Sankey's are the only kind of A-B kegs *I have seen*.
There may be aluminum ones too.
>If I were to have a separate hot liquor tank would I be able to
>sufficiently mash/lauter 10 gal batches in a 1/4 keg then boil in
>a 1/2 keg? This means two false bottoms and two ball valves, but
>I want a separate mash/lautering vessel.
You still only need one false bottom. I mash in a separate vessal than
the lauter tun and I only use one bottom. I also use this as a hop
back in the kettle, added before the first hopping. A smaller mash
tun than kettle will work up to a point. You cannot brew full volume
high gravity batches, but normal 5% beers could be done. You need
two ball valves anyway. It is always better to over size and over
engineer a brewery, IMO.
<The most expensive and troublesome aspect of building a three-keg system
<for me was: getting fittings for the keg and getting them welded to the
<keg, cutting open the keg, and getting good false bottoms. Recommendation
<here is: hold out for a single 1/2 bbl keg for use as a mash/lauter unit.
Easy, get two 1/2 BBls. Get a cheapo aluminum hot liquor vessal/stock
pot. Use one 1/2 BBl for mash & lauter, the other for kettle. Fittings
should be 3/8"-3/4" SS ferrule with NPT for the ball valves. SS ball
valves are good, but I use brass. False bottoms are sold in many shops
now. Be sure to get perf sheet SS. If you dont mind transferring the
mash, it is more flexible to use separate mash and lauter tuns.
<I see no harm in having the chiller in the boil for the duration;
<kettles were once all-copper, after all. We have to reduce quite
<a bit of volume sometimes, from 12 gal down to 10 at our reduction
<rate of 1 gal/hr. So...we don't want to cover the kettle. Unless
<you plan to cover the kettle with a blown hood and run the fan all
<the time, you may find you get slower reductions than you really
<want. I make the trade-off in favor of lower boil-start volumes
<(closer to target final volume) and sacrifice the higher yields of
<a longer, more voluminous sparge.
You *never* want to cover the actual boil. You need to vent off the
volatiles. A chimny vent of some kind works fine. As long as it
is a vented/open flue, it will work fine. It is better to have a
longer more vigorous boil over a smaller reduction in volume. Lots
of important kettle reactions going on. Be sure to get a big enough
fire source to keep the boil high enough to boil off at least 10% per
hour.
Jim Busch
Colesville, Md.
busch@mews.gsfc.nasa.gov
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 10:04:58 MST
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji@hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Wheat for Wits
Bob Ledden pointed this out already, but I thought I'd reiterate for
those who missed his aside. Lots of people complain that unmalted wheat
is difficult to grind and mash, which causes headaches when trying to
brew an authentic wit beer.
Rather than use straight wheat, try using flaked wheat from your local
health-food store or wherever you buy bulk foods. Using the flaked
wheat takes care of two things. One, there is no need to grind it at
all. Two, it's already partly gelatinized from the flaking process, so
the starch is more readily available for conversion. You don't have to
do any other processing; just dump it into the mash.
My brewing partner has used large percentages of flaked hard red wheat
in several wit beers with excellent results. (And I must say, he keeps
his wits about him :-).
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji@fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado <-- rubbing it in :-)
"Think! It ain't illegal yet." -- George Clinton
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 12:24:04 -0500
From: BTEditor@aol.com
Subject: Re: professional brewing courses
In HBD #1686, Lenny Garfinkel wrote:
>Can anyone point me to training courses for professional
>brewmasters?
>Preferably in Europe, but US ok.
The March/April issue of BrewingTechniques magazine begins a series of
profiles of institutions for professional brewing education/training. The
goal is to have covered them all -- worldwide -- by the time the series is
finished. The first profile is of the International Centre for Brewing and
Distilling in Edinburgh, with a sidebar on the Institute of Brewing in
London.
For more information, contact BTcirc@aol.com
Stephen
BTEditor@aol.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 12:33:43 EST
From: " Patrick G. Babcock" <usfmchql@ibmmail.com>
Subject: Internet Brewing Resources...
Hello, all!
Is there a compilation of Internet locations dedicated to brewing? I've been
happily raiding stanford.edu/pub/clubs/homebrew/beer heartily via ftp since
discovering (how to access) it. But, as I gain its resources, I once again
look to the horizon in search of *MORE*!!!
If there is no faq file or compilation, I'll accept private e-mail information
and gleefully compile a faq for future upload to the digest archives. Course,
if it's pitifully puny, I'll just post a note here on the digest.
TIA!
'Let a good beer be the exclamation point at the end of your day as every
sentence requires proper punctuation.' - Me
Patrick (Pat) G. Babcock
usfmchql@ibmmail.com
(313)33-73657 (V)
(313)59-42328 (F)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 95 21:44:00 EST
From: "Prior, Mark" <PRIORM@imsint.com>
Subject: Growing hops in the desert?
I have recently relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and am considering planting a
few
hop rhizomes. Does anyone know if it is possible to grow hops in the
Phoenix area?
Will hops survive the extreme summer heat (120+ Fahrenheit)? Will hops
blossom
at 33 degrees latitude? Has anyone tried raising hops in a similar
environment?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Mark Prior
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 09:46:31 -0800
From: Jon Binkley <binkley@genome.Stanford.EDU>
Subject: Unmalted Wheat for Wit
Andy Patrick writes:
>One of the tougher things about this style is getting the wheat character
>right. Celis' grain bill contains a large fraction of UNmalted wheat.
>This stuff is a real PITA to work with, both in terms of grinding it and
>mashing it. Last time I made one of these, I did just used plain old DWC
>wheat malt, and the resulting beer turned out quite nicely.
I have used flaked wheat. This resembles oatmeal, and is available in
health/natural food stores. It may be added directly to the mash
without any further processing. It is sticky and lumpy like oatmeal,
and therefore could potentially cause sparging problems, but is much
less of a PITA than I imagine whole grain wheat would be.
Jon Binkley
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 12:55:05 -0500
From: Hunter8439@aol.com
Subject: dry-hemping
OK, I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the fact that hops and cannabis
are very closely related. And I'm also sure that it has occured to some of
you that it might be possible to substitute one for the other. I'm also
curious about the possibility and would appreciate any help from people who
have tried it. I have read that Micheal Jackson has tried a homebrew with
pot in it, so I know it's been done before. My questions specifically are:
(1) how much to use in a 5 gallon batch; and (2) should it be used in the
boil, or as a dry-hop. I've heard that the THC will not be extracted in the
boil, but that it is alcohol soluable, so that would indicated use in the
secondary. What are your experiences. It would be a fairly expensive
experiment, so I would prefer getting it right the first time. Thanks for any
and all help, and (obviously) private e'mail is fine. I'll create a FAQ from
the responses and provide it to any who request it.
Quick waste of BW: Has anyone else noticed the new Coors Artic Ice
commercials? Excuse me, but isn't the proper spelling ArCtic?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 10:50:15 MDT
From: exabyte!smtplink!guym@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Cold box question
I seem to recall reading an article by Byron Burch(?) somewhere regarding
his building a plywood extension for a refrigerator (or upright freezer) to
give him more space for fermenting, cold storage, kegs, etc. The problem
is, I can't remember where I read the article. I have now acquired two
upright freezers but, since the coils are in the shelves, I can't arrange
them to allow me to put kegs inside. If someone could point me to where
the article is (maybe in an issue of Zymurgy?) I'd appreciate it.
--
Guy McConnell | Exabyte Corp. | Huntersville, NC | guym@exabyte.com
"So barmaid bring a pitcher, another round of brew..."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 13:25:26 EST
From: "Dan deRegnier" <DDEREGNI@ALH01.FERRIS.EDU>
Subject: Schofferhofer yeast info
I was lucky enough to have a friend travel from Berlin and visit me
here in west Michigan. He brought several bottles of beer. He brought
several Schofferhofer. One was a dunkles hefeweizen. I would like to
culture the yeast. Does anyone have any particulars on this strain?
It was truly delicious. One bottle was not enough! Any information
would be greatly appreciated.
------------------------------
Date: 22 Mar 1995 11:53:19 U
From: "Richard Scotty" <richard_scotty@msmgate.mrg.uswest.com>
Subject: Road Trip!
I'll be in Sacramento and Atlanta in the next two weeks. Any info about
brewerys, brewpubs, resturants and other point of interest would be greatly
appreciated via private e-mail.
TIA,
Rich Scotty
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 12:31:31 EST
From: "Robert McCabe" <Robert_McCabe_at_RAY__REC__QTW01A01@CCGATE.UECI.COM>
Subject: supplies by mail order
I am a beginner home brewer in search of some economocal
mail order supply shops. If anyone could e-mail me the names
and phone numbers of any good supply shops it would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks
robert_McCabe@CCGATE.UECI.COM
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 14:54:46 EST
From: dipalma@sky.com (Jim Dipalma)
Subject: RE: US Saaz, Slow Lager
Hi All,
In HBD#1686, Chuck Mryglot writes about US Saaz hops:
>Recently I bought a pound of US Saaz whole leaf hops (ultimately
>from G.W. Kent Ann Arbor MI). The AA rating was 6.2% I have brewed
>with these a few times and this rating appears to be correct.
>
> Now, Czech Saaz hops are usually around 3%.
>
> Are the US versions of Saaz so drastically different?
I have a question on a related point. Several years ago when I first
started brewing, Czech Saaz typically ran 4% - 5.5% AA, closer to what the
US versions are now. For the last two years, every batch of Czech Saaz I've
bought has been ~3%, I even had some last year that was 2.6%. I'm curious
as to why the AA rating of this hop has dropped so drastically in the last
two years, mostly because brewing a nice, hoppy pilsner requires nearly
twice as much hops as it did a few years ago. Any hop gurus care to field
this one??
********************************************
John Montgomery writes about a slow lager fermentation:
>Day 14 - Racked to secondary (temp at 48F).
Two day Diacetyl rest at 53F.
>Day 16 - Began walking temp down to set point of 33 - 37F.
>Day 24 - Temp at Lagering temp (~35F).
>Day 45 - Beer has been lagering for 21 days.
>Day 66 - Airlock looks still. Attempt to bottle but upon moving
>fermenter from fridge to kitchen, airlock gets active and I notice
>bubbles rising. I abort and take gravity readings SG: 1.014, Balling:
>3.75
>Day 72 - Take gravity readings. SG: 1.013, Balling: 3.63
>
>So what's the deal. Is this thing taking too long?
I have no experience with the Wyeast Pilsen yeast, but I'm inclined to
think the beer is done. You had active fermentation in 36 hours, 14 days
in primary at 48F, diacetyl rest, then lagered for a total of 48 days, that
should do it. 1.013 looks like a reasonable FG for a pilsner to me. The
fact that it dropped only .001 in 6 days is a further sign that fermentation
is complete, the .001 is even within the range of measurement error. As to
the increased airlock activity when the fermenter is moved out of the fridge,
I'd say that CO2 is coming out of solution as the beer warms up. FWIW, I
think it's ready to bottle.
Cheers,
Jim dipalma@sky.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 15:54:07 EST
From: David Hulse <DSHULS00@UKCC.UKY.EDU>
Subject: Tax treatment of hard cider
I ran across the following item the other day and thought it might
be of interest to those of you who make cider:
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., has introduced S. 401, which would
clarify the excise tax treatment of hard apple cider.
I have not checked this out any further, but for those of you who
are interested and who have access to Lexis, the following citations
in the TNT file of the FEDTAX library should give you some more
information: 95 TNT 41-35 and 95 TNT 43-42. I hope this is of some
help to someone.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 16:57:55 EST
From: Eamonn McKernan <eamonn@rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca>
Subject: wheat beer
I keep hearing that cracking wheat is a real pain in a mill/grinder. I don't
see why crack it at all. Boil the stuff for 20 minutes, and the grain expands,
and gelatinizes, and is ready to be mashed. I thought that wheat had so
little enzymatic content, that de-naturing whatever proteins it does contain
is not going to make a significant difference. Is their a major flavour
inpact when boiling wheat? Tannin extraction? Maybe this is only acceptable
for certain styles? Please enlighten me O great "common wisdon out there".
Eamonn McKernan
eamonn@rainbow.physics.utoronto.ca
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 18:02:29 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner@umich.edu>
Subject: Classic American Pilsner, essay and recipe
***Great Success in Recreating Classic American Pilsner, a Shamefully
Neglected Style!***
Now that I have your attention, I hope you'll read this long article. I
think it will be worth it.
*Soapbox mounted*
Last fall I asked for help in recreating the taste of the beers I grew
up having tastes of in Cincinnati in the fifties. Part of the flavor I
remembered was certainly just the pungency of beer to a child's
sensitive palate. But part was certainly the greater hopping levels,
some DMS from the corn that was expected, especially by mid-western
palates, and just the greater flavor profile produced by brewing without
techniques designed to reduce flavors (N2 wort scrubbing, neutral
yeasts, minimal wort caramelization, etc.).
Starting with the Brewing Techniques's article on Pre-prohibition Lagers
by George Fix (May/June,'94) and the one on Bushwick Pilsners by Ben
Jankowski (Jan./Feb.'94), I formulated a 1.048 OG, 1.016 FG. 80%
six-row, 20% flaked maize, 25 IBU target beer fermented with New Ulm
yeast from Yeast Culture Kit Co. A good bit of the body/sweetness
profile was produced by the short, 15 minute rest at 60C with 45 minutes
at 70C, giving an apparent attenuation of 67%. If these times were
reversed, it would probably result in an apparent attenuation of close
to 80%, giving a drier, snappier, less satiating beer. This is not what
I wanted.
Because I was mostly brewing for historical curiosity, I brewed only
five gallons. I now wish I'd brewed my usual 1/4 barrel, because it
succeeded beyond my wildest expectations! Not only did I brew a
successful historical reproduction, THIS IS A GREAT STYLE BY ABSOLUTE,
WORLD-CLASS STANDARDS. American mega-breweries have to answer not only
for the sin of what they are producing today, but for having killed off
a great beer style. Steam beer is not our only indigenous beer style,
only our best known.
This isn't a continental pilsner, but it yields nothing to that style in
absolute terms. Fix and Jankowski were too stinting in their praise of
this style. I guess I thought of it as a pretty good job that American
brewers did making do with the materials available. It is far more.
This extinct beer is a WORLD CLASS STYLE. I'm not saying that my beer
is a world class beer, but it's pretty damn good. It has a beautiful,
full golden color with a long lasting, thick creamy head, full flavor
with modest maltiness bolstered by the subtle corny sweetness, balanced
by a clean hops bitterness and yeast character, with a long, clean
bitter finish.
We as homebrewers have helped revive other extinct styles (such as
porter), and I propose to this group that this should be next one. This
isn't lawnmower beer. This is the beer that our grandfathers paid a
nickel for and got a free lunch with. This is the beer that German
immigrants created when they arrived in the US, and that swept out the
ales in the lager revolution by its demonstrably better quality. This
is the beer of American steelworkers and shipbuilders. This is the beer
that built America! This is the bee.... Oops. Sorry. I got so
excited that I fell off my soapbox.
Now I know we are all fond of ales and despise American megaswill
lagers. We lament that ales were forced out of America by lagers. But
we are comparing today's commercial lagers with the ales we make or
microbrews. That switch would have been a tragedy, but a classic
American Pilsner is a different beer entirely, and ales of 150 years ago
were probably pretty rough.
We've always heard that corn and rice are nothing more than malt
stretchers. American six-row barley malt is too high in protein to make
stable beers, so corn was first used to dilute the protein. Cost
cutting was a bonus that got out of hand. But 20% corn is a delightful
flavor addition. Unfortunately, I know of no commercial examples that
still exist with that corn and malt expression, especially with decent
hopping levels.
The AHA guidelines are limiting on this. They allow a premium American
lager to have a maximum of 23 IBU, and say nothing about corny DMS -
this generally is considered a defect. (As a matter of fact, Fix
relates judges who liked his beer but found it "far out of category.")
But this flavor was expected, especially in mid-western beers. At the
Ann Arbor Brewers' Guild meeting last week, this beer got rave reviews
from all, including a number of highly ranked judges.
************
So here is the recipe for five gallons of "YOUR FATHER'S MUSTACHE," a
Classic American Pilsner.
Water:
9 gallons moderately (temp.) hard well water boiled to soften
and eliminate bicarbonate alkalinity, racked, treated
with 2 t. CaCl2(2H2O), target 60 ppm Ca.
Grain bill:
7 lbs. American six row malt (80%)
1.75 lbs. flaked maize (20%)
Mash schedule:
Doughed in 8.5 qts. 58C water to get -->
50C protein rest, 30 min., (pH 5.5), then infused w/ 3 qts.
boiling water to -->
60C sac. rest for 15 minutes, then boosted w/ burner to -->
70C sac. rest for 40 minutes, then boosted w/ burner to -->
76C mashoff for 10 min.
Lautered in insulated Zapap, collected 7 gal. @ 1.041 for 32.8 p/p/g.
Note - Beautifully clear wort with minimum recirculation, easy
sparge. This six-row is beautiful to work with.
Boil - 1 hr, beautiful hot break, like egg drop soup
Hopped to 25 IBU target:
25 g. Cluster hops pellets @7.5% - 1hr boil
1/4 oz. Styrian Goldings @5.2% - 10 min. boil plus
settling steep - 15 min.
1/4 oz. Styrian Goldings @5.2% - 15 min. settling
steep.
Counter current cooled to 64F, 4.75 gallons collected at 1.055, then
diluted to 5.5 gallons at 1.048 in 7 gallon carboy, force chilled in
snowbank to 50F. Pitched New Ulm yeast from bottom of 3 liter starter.
Fermented @ 50F - 52F 12 days, racked, lagered seven weeks @ 33F,
kegged, conditioned with 10 psi @ 38F, then dispensed at 42F-44F. The
flavor showed best at mid 40sF and when drawn to give a good head and
reduced carbonation. (Most beer shows best like this).
I hope I have encouraged some of you lager brewers to try this style.
It is naked brewing, as Dan McConnell commented. There isn't any place
to hide, so watch your techniques. Please let me know your results, and
lobby for this to be a recognized style. I propose two divisions:
Pre-prohibition, OG 1.150 - 1.060, 25 - 40 IBU; post prohibition, OG
1.044-1.049. 20 - 20 IBU. I suppose we could recognize rice rather than
corn, but rice really is a flavor/body diluent. Fix says that modern
American lagers grew out of pre-prohibition "Western Lager," a lower
gravity, lower hopped, rice adjunct beer that was held in "low esteem"
by Easterners.
Thanks to Martin Manning, Ed Westemeier and Lowell Hart for their ideas
on what made the beer I remembered from the 50's, and George Fix and Ben
Jankowski for their Brewing Techniques articles.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 00:16:12 +0100 (MET)
From: Carl Etnier <m9258@abc.se>
Subject: aerating wort/minimizing yeast in bottles
Frank Longmore's apparatus for aerating his wort with welding oxygen
reminded me of a discussion I read in December in back issues from
last April. In that discussion, a number of people claimed that one
cannot get water/wort more than 20% saturated with oxygen by bubbling
air in it, because air is only 20% oxygen.
This was not rebutted by anyone at the time, that I saw, but it is
not true. Time to get some correct information on that out there. It
is in fact possible and easy to saturate water with O2 by bubbling in
air. We do it all the time in our aquaria and our ecological sewage
treatment plant. It stands to reason, also. Saturation for O2 in
water at around room temperature is on the order of 10 ppm. The
concentration of O2 in air is about 200,000 ppm. No wonder O2 moves
from air into water until the water is saturated!
Speed is another question. It possible to very quickly saturate even
low O2/high BOD (biological oxygen demand) water with O2, given
vigorous aeration, as we do in our sewage treatment plant. But I have
never experimented with the time it takes one aquarium pump with an
oxygen stone to aerate a 5 gallon or (here) 25 liter batch of wort
that begins with little or no dissolved O2.
One other clue to understanding this process. This one I don't have a
good written reference for or my own measurements, but it comes from
a colleague who has worked with aquaria and fish culture for some 20
years. Unless you have very specialized equipment that produces very
small bubbles, most of the aeration from bubbling comes from the
movement of the water on the surface, not from diffusion from the
bubbles. They are too large and in the water too short a time for
much O2 to diffuse out. So bubble vigorously!
Actually, I do extract brews with about 10 l boiled water and 15
liters cold tap water. I just splash a lot when I throw in the cold
water and hope for the best. Fermentation almost always starts very
quickly. But it would be nice to remove that "almost"--I may start
aerating. If so, I'll come back with some measurements on time
needed.
- -----------------------------
In December I asked if I could reduce the yeast layer on the bottom
of my bottles by racking to a tertiary shortly before bottling. I
wondered 1) whether it would it work and 2) whether it would work too
well and not give me enough yeast left for carbonation in the
bottles. I got responses that varied from "Yes, I do it and it works
great" to "Don't bother; just put your carboy in a cold place several
days before bottling and most of the suspended yeast will precipitate
out."
I tried the tertiary (the carboy was already at about 10 C) and sent
letters of thanks to my benefactors with a report that it had worked.
Shortly after bottling, there was much less yeast on the bottom than
usual that long after bottling, and the beginnings of normal
carbonation. Since then I have been travelling and away from my
Internet account and HBD. Now that I am back, I can report that the
Rocky Raccoon's Crystal Honey Lager I tried this on has the normal
amount of yeast on the bottom. In the long run, the tertiary didn't
seem to make much difference.
On the other hand, this yeast sediment has almost no flavor--the last
cm I leave in the bottle tastes almost exactly the same as what I
pour in the glass--but I wonder whether this is due to the yeast
strain (forgot to record it, but probably Cooper's) and recipe, and
not the tertiary.
Could others who have experience with yeast and a tertiary report 1)
how much you have reduced your yeast layer in bottles and 2) whether
the yeast tastes any different/less than otherwise? If you email to
me, I can summarize the results and post them (more quickly this
time; I'm not going anywhere). TIA!
Carl Etnier
Trosa, Sweden
(Carl.Etnier@abc.se works fine)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 15:56:22 PST
From: ELQ1%Maint%HBPP@bangate.pge.com
Subject: Free Keg Bar, Johns Lager
Forwarded to: internet@pge@com[homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com]
cc:
Comments by: ELQ1@Maint@HBPP
-------------------------- [Original Message] -------------------------
Good Mourning![?] Brew folks,
This is a very regional post for N. Calif.- S. Ore. so other areas please
disregard, While attempting fishing during our last mini hurricane, I
discovered a small dump sight at one of the coastal lagoons, I found a keg
bar that looks to hold 4-5 kegs, with two dispensing holes in the top, the
top is all SS with a center drain, the refrigeration unit has been removed,
and the side has a small dent, all in all this looks like the cats critter
for a deluxe home kegging system. Any one interested can E-mail me for
location.
John Montgomery, your lager sounds fine, the bubbles releasing during
movement of you fermenter is normal, and sounds like you have one delicious
batch of lager to deal with, need help?
Ed Quier ELQ1@PGE.COM 707-444-0718 wk
Brewing Live! from behind the Redwood Curtain, Eureka! Ca.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 95 10:16:34
From: awalsh@ibm.net
Subject: Victoria Bitter
Tony McCauley has a friend named Pat who actually
likes Victoria Bitter. I wonder if Tony has ever
tried this stuff himself? I think Pat would find the
cost of importing a case prohibitive. He would also
have difficulty in finding a courier that accepts
alcohol shipments. His best bet is to ring around
freight consignment companies, or to have friends
returning from Australia willing to bring back a
case. Does he have any friends working for
international airlines that travel to Australia?
I believe Qantas may even serve this beer on their
flights, but do not know how easy (or legal) it
would be to get any off them.
A brief history on Victoria Bitter (or VB as it tends
to be called here). The president of our homebrew club
saw a chemical analysis of Carlton United Breweries'
(CUB-brewers of VB in Melbourne, also in the top 10
by volume in the world's breweries) 3 major beers,
VB, Fosters and Crown lager (their so-called "premium"
beer). All were almost identical except for the IBU
rating. He became a bit suspicious, and as he was also
doing a university course in brewing he asked around
what the story was (many professional brewers also do
this course). It turns out that all 3 beers are the same!
They actually brew one beer to meet Crown's specs.
Any that do not meet these specs are bottled as Fosters
or VB. They *do* add extra liquid hop bittering extract
(I've forgotten what you call it - we can't buy it
as homebrewers here) at bottling time to provide
slight variation between labels. So my suggestion is
to buy a can of Fosters, some bittering extract from
your homebrew shop, and add a bit to the can. Instant
VB! I do not know the exact IBU ratings of each
(my friend Dave says VB is 28 IBU), but I would
guess Crown and Fosters are each 20-24 IBU.
Or Pat or Tony could try their hands at making some.
This is how CUB do it (scaled down to 5 US gallons
brew size, but makes about 9 gallons as the beer
is high gravity brewed)
malt: 2 x 1.7kg cans Australian Cooper's light extract
(or if you insist on mashing, try for OG 1.055 in 5
gallons, with US 2 row lager malt - this is similar
to Australian malt)
cane sugar: 3 pounds cane sugar (yes you read this right)
hops: Pride of Ringwood, 28 IBU bittering only (ie.
no flavour or aroma)
yeast: Wyeyeast Danish lager (I believe the CUB
yeast is derived from the Carlsburg strain)
OG=1.077 - 1.082 in 5 gallons
ferment at 18C (65F) until fermented out (fermentation
should be very quick, and gravity should be down to
around 1.018)
transfer to secondary and add finings.
Do not lager! It is OK to drop the temperature to around
2C (36F), but *only* to drop the yeast out of suspension.
On *no* account let it stay at such low temperatures for
longer than a few days. We're not making German lager here,
we're making VB!
Add about 4 gallons dechlorinated water and bottle.
%alc about 4.7 by volume.
Result: don't blame me if it tastes like swill! I believe
this is a reasonably accurate rendition of common
Australian commercial "lager" techniques gleaned over
the years through conversations with various professional
brewers. (I've added the fining bit for homebrewers as they
generally do not have access to filtering systems).
Do yourself a favour and stick to commonly published techniques
and ingredients, and forget VB.
**************************
// Andy Walsh from Sydney.
// awalsh@ibm.net
// phone (02) 369 5711
**************************
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 20:56:47 -0500
From: cstrick@iu.net (Chris Strickland)
Subject: Very Long Fermentation Period
I'm starting to get worried now. My last batch of beer has been fermenting
for nearly 4 weeks (normally it's done in about 8 days). It's still
bubbling in the airlock about 4 times a minute. I normally bottle at 1-2
times per minute. Could there be something wrong with this batch that's
causing it to ferment longer than normal. I even used 1lb less of grain
this time. I'm using a London Ale yeast (which is what I normally use). Or
should I just open a homebrew and quit worrying (this is my 36th batch and
the only one that's gone past 8 days).
- --------------
Chris Strickland
cstrick@iu.net
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 00:38:51 -0500
From: garyf@idirect.com (Gary Flock)
Subject: Yeast Help!
I've been following this digest for some time and appreciate very much the
wealth of information provided by all. I am looking for a place to obtain
some "wyeast" in the Toronto area. I'm especially interested in a lager or
pilsener variety.
Also, can someone help me out with the archives of HBD. They are .Z
compressed and I can't find a utility to expand them (correctly). Sorry to
ask here but other attempts elsewhere have failed.
TIA
Gary R. Flock AKA Garth
garyf@idirect.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 22:17:31 -0800 (PST)
From: PGILLMAN@POMONA.EDU
Subject: large batch yeast build up
i have just begun fermenting 10-15 gallon batches and am wondering how often
i should rack the beer off of the sediment- so far i am just following
Dave Miller's rec. as if i had started with a large starter- ie when the
bubbling drops to @ every 30 seconds i rack- should i rack again? or
earlier?
TIA
phil- pgillman@pomona.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 01:44:53 -0500
From: PatrickM50@aol.com
Subject: Cooler spigot
Dan Sherman asks how to fit a spigot to a straight sided, insulated,
double-walled Rubbermaid cooler. Really simple and really easy, Dan. Using a
1-3/8" hole saw on a hand drill, drill through the outer shell about an inch
or so off the bottom and keep drilling through the insulation until the bit
just pokes through a flat section of the inner wall. But do not remove the
foam insulation and do not cut a hole through the wall yet! Now replace the
1-3/8" hole saw with a 1-1/8" hole saw. Using the drill hole from the first
drilling as a guide, drill through the insulation and through the inner wall.
Remove the plastic burrs and the remaining foam insulation in the hole. Now
mount a plastic spigot with a 1" OD threaded end to the single inner wall
only. I used a "Drum Tap" ($6.25) by Waddington and Duval, Ltd. (London).
It has a 1-1/4" stop collar that slips by the outer wall and snugs up
against the inner wall. It has a dial-type shutoff knob and will work if the
side of your cooler is 1" thick or less. It's hard to adjust once it heats
up with hot runnings however, and if you use a hose clamp to secure a 1/2" ID
hose to the nozzle, the nozzle will deform! You don't need the clamp anyway.
I'm going to replace my Drum Tap with a "Quick Serve" ($4.95) lever-action
tap made by the same company for the next batch. It looks like it may not
*stick* as much. Hope this helps - it worked for me and the cooler only cost
$1 at my recycling center :-)
Pat
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1687, 03/23/95
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