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HOMEBREW Digest #1802
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/08/08 PDT
HOMEBREW Digest #1802 Tue 08 August 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
revisiting SG (Sergio Escorza)
Re: Computers (Fredrik Stahl)
Dumplings (DONBREW)
Planispiral Chiller (Domenick Venezia)
2112: A Yeast Oddity` (Jeff Stampes)
Re: Wyeast 2112 (Jeff Frane)
B-Brite and bottles (Ray Gaffield)
Cancel Subscription (Greg Stoner )
Seattle brewpub update? ("mike spinelli")
Wheeler / Overnight (Jay Weissler)
off flavors (Benjamin T Drucker)
Prickle Pear Beer (Robin Hanson)
an observation : Acid and Protein (Rich Larsen)
CPBF (Jim Busch)
CP Fillers (George J Fix)
Re: California Lager Yeast (Jay Reeves)
Re: Sanitization (gravels)
NYC Trip (Heather M. Godsey)
Heat Exchanging (Tom_Williams_at_RAY__REC__ATLANTA)
Brewery History in Denver (Norman C. Pyle)
HB software for the Mac (Brian Pickerill)
Re: Computers (Wim Hielkema)
Maltose Syrup (Hmbrewbob)
Mac guys, fruit errors. (Russell Mast)
Wheat. (Russell Mast)
Things that smell and things that don't (CDP000)
Jack Schmidling Corn Beer (Roger Kohles)
Mystery of the low exraction solved!! ("Rick Gontarek, Ph.D." )
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 02:09:13 -0700
From: sescorza@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Sergio Escorza)
Subject: revisiting SG
While reading the part on specific gravity in de Clerck's "A Textbook of
Brewing", I ran across some things I think (how do I dare?) are wrong. In
several places in the book, he seems to equate specific gravity and density.
In my mind, this would only be true at 4 C, when water density is exactly 1.
Otherwise, SG is not density, but rather a ratio of this divided by the
density of water. He goes on to present (in page 16 of volume 2) a table of
SG of water at different temperatures (in the text he says "densities," then
the table title reads "specific gravities"). The values correspond in fact
to the densities of water at those temperatures. So, Am I missing something
here? Water SG must be 1 at any temp, unless the reference temp is different
of the "sample" water. And, if this is the case, then the value of SG 1
should be for the case when both are the same (usually 15.5 C, but not 4 C
as shown in the table).
The most troubling fact is that in the same page, he says "From the figures
given above, the difference in weight of 100 g. of water at 19 C and 20 C is
20 mg. In a pycnometer containing 50 g. of water this gives a difference of
1 mg. for a tenth of a degree rise in temperature." I'm assuming this must
be a typo (actually, 2 typos in a row), since it should be 100 ml and 50 ml,
but it is right below the mentioned table, which also doesn't make any sense
to me.Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergio Escorza Trevi~o |
Scripps Institution of Oceanography | Dormir de dia es a
University of California at San Diego | lo que mas aspira
e-mail: sescorza@sdcc3.ucsd.edu | un tipo como yo
www (bilingue): http://sdcc3.ucsd.edu/~sescorza
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 12:15:12 +0200
From: Fredrik.Stahl@mathdept.umu.se (Fredrik Stahl)
Subject: Re: Computers
In HBD #1801, Stephen Brown wrote:
>Am I the only homebrewer who uses a Mac? I have seen a number of software
>products available for brewers, but I have never seen anything available for
>Macintosh.
>
>Is there anyone out there who either knows of some Mac software, or who
>commiserates (sp?)?
Have a look at ftp.stanford.edu. There are a few spreadsheets for MS Excel
which works on the mac. The only stand-alone applications I have seen were
in ads in Zymurgy, but since they are commercial they will cost somewhere
around 30-40$. Excel is quite expensive so if you don't have access to it
already I wouldn't recommend it (unless you are going to use it for some
other purpose).
I have Excel at work on my mac and use a homemade spreadsheet to do all
calculations needed in my brewing, including easy conversion of units and
recipe design. It's not really finished yet, but when (if) it is I'll
probably upload it to ftp.stanford.edu.
Hope this helps,
Fredrik.Stahl@mathdept.umu.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 08:45:35 -0400
From: DONBREW@aol.com
Subject: Dumplings
Did we ever get a serious answer to the "dumpling" looking formations in
the fermenter? I suddenly noticed the same phenomenon, it started in the
very early stage, like an hour or so after pitching. I am slightly paranoid
about this because I tried something new and suspect that I may have ruined
10 gallons of brew.
So I guess I have to explain what I did. After I racked one batch to
secondary I used my sanitized baster to remove some of the slurry on the
bottom, then placed the slurry in a couple of sanitized miniature whiskey
bottles (50 ML), loosely capped the bottles and placed them in the coolest
part of the refridge. The slurry settled to about half of the volume and was
pitched 3-4 hours later. After only a couple of hours the "dumplings"
formed, a couple of hours later a nice head had formed. The "dumplings" seem
to have broken up into "micro-dumplings" and are merrily cavorting up and
down and around in the carboy. Smells rather like wet earth, I never noticed
this smell from other yeast I have used, I don't remember ever using 1056
before, the previous batch had a pronounced "bannana" smell even at 68F.
IMBR? Oh yeah, pitched at 80F then immediately placed in temp controlled box
at 67F.
IMBR,
Don
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 07:37:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Domenick Venezia <venezia@zgi.com>
Subject: Planispiral Chiller
The recent discussion of "to stir or not to stir" during immersion
chilling brings to mind Ed Hitchcock's planispiral immersion chiller
described by Ed here years ago and in BT (?) as well. This chiller
design obviates the need to stir. To refresh memories:
- ------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1993 08:07:22 -0400
From: Ed Hitchcock <ECH@ac.dal.ca>
Subject: Re: Another immersion chiller
Steven Smith mentioned his 'hang from the edge of the pot' chiller, which
sounds pretty cool. I would like to toot my horn once more and promote the
joys of the planispiral chiller. It's a flat coil (like an electric stove
burner) of 25' of 1/4" OD copper tubing, the last (outer) coil descends to
the bottom of the pot as a support, and the in/out tubes hang over the side
also for support. The disc/coil is suspended an inch or two below the
surface. The cooled wort drops to the bottom, warm wort rises up the
sides. I've never had to stir my wort to get it to chill properly, the
convection currents are sufficient.
____________
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 09:01:21 -0600
From: Jeff Stampes <jeff.stampes@Xilinx.COM>
Subject: 2112: A Yeast Oddity`
Scott Gruber opened up the 2112 can of worms by asking:
>2112 is supposed to work best at 58-68 degrees. Is the usual room
>temperature of my place (about 75 or so) going to ruin my beer?
Steve Dragon's experience:
>I made an 11 gal. batch on Memorial Day and fermented it in high 60s-low 70s
>using Wyeast California Lager.
>but at bottling a week after that where temps were consistently in
>the low 70s, I tasted a slight smokiness. A month later still there, but
>stronger. I have determined that it is not my RIM system burning the wort,
>but actually phenols from the yeast (probably due to autolization)! It takes
>a half bottle of thinking about rauche bier before the taste buds get used to
>this one!
>I would say it will ruin your beer. Stick to ales in this heat!
And Jim Dipalma agrees heartily!
Of course, i read all this the day AFTER we brewed a Steam beer that will
be fermenting in the 65-75F range. I know I used this yeast last time on
the exact same recipe, and fermentation ran anywhere from 65-72F, so I was
not anticipating a lot of problems this time around. Last batch was one of
my favorite brews I've made!
So I'll report back when this finishes up in a couple of weeks...so those
considering a warm-temp 2112, hang in there and I'll let you know how it
works on this recipe.
- -- Jeff Stampes -- Xilinx, Inc. -- Boulder, CO -- jeff.stampes@xilinx.com --
- -- Any fool can make bread out of grain...God intended it for beer! --
- -- "Keep your mind open and your mouth shut" - D. Emmitt --
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 1995 08:30:27 -0700
From: gummitch@teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Re: Wyeast 2112
Jim Dipalma wrote:
>
> Here's the info I have from the Wyeast spec sheet:
>
>WYeast 2112 California Lager Yeast
>Warm fermenting bottom cropping strain, ferments well to
>62 deg. F
>^^^^^^^^^
>
> The way I interpret this is that the yeast works well *up to* 62F, i.e.,
>62F is the *maximum* temperature at which this yeast should be used.
>
This isn't necessarily the case, and there is a lot of slop in Wyeast's
figures. In my own experience, this particular strain is more flexible. I
did a steam beer a couple of years ago, at 65F, and got *no* "steam"
character, just a very clean lager. Go figure.
- --Jeff Frane
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 10:57:15 -0500
From: ray_gaffield@il.us.swissbank.com (Ray Gaffield)
Subject: B-Brite and bottles
Hi,
I recently received a case of dirty returnable bottles. I
decided to soak them for a while in a powder cleaner I got from my
local supplier which I assume is similiar to B-Brite. Anyway, it
appears that the bottles have been etched by the cleaner - they have
a rough feel on the outside.
Should I disgard these bottles ? Is this a known problem with
these types of cleaners ? Private e-mail is fine.
Thanx,
RAY
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 1995 02:09:56 -0400
From: Greg Stoner <GSTONER@WPO.HCC.COM>
Subject: Cancel Subscription
CANCEL Subscription
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 12:20:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: "mike spinelli" <paa3983@dpsc.dla.mil>
Subject: Seattle brewpub update?
Brew dudes,
I'll be on business in Seattle for the 1st time on the 14th thru 16th of
Aug. I've already downloaded the publist outta FTP.Stanford so if ya'll
know of any updates or personal "must sees" I'd appreciate it. I'll be
staying downtown (wherever that is).
Thanks, Mike
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 11:27:17 -0500
From: jay_weissler@il.us.swissbank.com (Jay Weissler)
Subject: Wheeler / Overnight
Thanks to all who responded to my query about the Wheeler books. In
summary, Brew Your Own Real Ale at Home (BYORAH) appears to be mostly
recipes with some (sounds like enough) process. The other book is
more process and fewer recipes. BYORAH is the newer book. Both
received great praise.
I haven't been following the overnight brewing thread too closely, so
of course I feel qualified to comment. A buddy of mine has put
several beers in the national using Dave Line's overnight mashing
technique. Just raise your mash to strike temperature, let it mash
overnight, sparge in the am. Seems to work just fine for single step
infusions if your tun holds temperature. Gotts, etc. should. Mash
temperatures are near pasteurization so that's less of a worry.
jayw
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 1995 10:10:40 PDT
From: Benjamin T Drucker <benjamid@pogo.WV.TEK.COM>
Subject: off flavors
I have heard many terms bandied about concerning various
undesirable byproducts of yeast metabolic processes. I
would like to find a list of off flavors, the substance
that causes them, and the enviromnet that creates the
substance. Does ftp.stanford.edu have something like this?
ben
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 11:19:48 -0600
From: rhanson@nmsu.edu (Robin Hanson)
Subject: Prickle Pear Beer
In my garden I have several cactii covered with Prickle Pear fruit. When is
the best time to pick the fruit? They are currently red/green and about 1
1/2 inch tall and 1 inch wide.
Charlie Papizan has a recipe for Prickle Pear melomel in one of his books,
but does anyone have a recipe for a beer? How about a Prickle Pear Weiss beer?
thanks,
Robin Hanson
Rhanson@nmsu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 12:22:55 -0500
From: rlarsen@squeaky.free.org (Rich Larsen)
Subject: an observation : Acid and Protein
I was wondering about the chemistry of the ph and protein precipitation.
This came from watching a cooking show on poaching eggs. The addition of
some vinegar or lemon juice to the poaching liquid to make it acidic (lower
the ph) helps to keep the egg together during the cooking process. Without
the acid in the liquid, the egg will spread out rather than stay together in
a nice lump. Considering that egg albumin (white) is mainly protein and we
have an acidic bath here, I wonder if this would be some sort of indication
about the formation of break material. I have seen ealier posts about dark
beers giving a good break amd lighter one remaining cloudy. It is well known
that darker beer's usually have a low ph and require little adjustment.
What think you all?
=> Rich <rlarsen@squeaky.free.org>
________________________________________________________________________
Rich Larsen, Midlothian, IL. Also on HomeBrew University (708) 705-7263
Spice is the varity of life.
________________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 13:31:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Busch <busch@eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: CPBF
Micah writes:
<I have the same testing equipment for air and CO2 levels as G. Fix
<who did the tests for the reveiw. I have consistantly tested bottles with air
<levels below 0.5 ml. I feel that an operator who is familiar with
<a CPBF can do a much better job than the reveiwers.
Since the target for air levels in beer is below 1 ml/12 oz bottle, this
shows that Micah's filler is every bit as good as a professionally tuned
bottling line, provided its used correctly. Micah makes a fine filler, as
do many of the other manufactuers cited in Zymurgy. I can only guess as to
the response this will garner in the next Letters to the Editor.
Jim Busch
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 13:04:20 -0500
From: gjfix@utamat.uta.edu (George J Fix)
Subject: CP Fillers
Hi!
I want to second the comments by Micah and Jim Busch concerning the
results in the Zymurgy article on CP fillers. I too believe that operator
efficiency is the key.
Before Micah went into commercial brewing he sent me samples that he
filled with his CP filler (Benjamin Products) for air measurement, and
not a one came in over 1.0 ml/(1/3 liter). Moreover, the average was ~factor
of two lower. I personally bought a Zahm and Nagel CP filler in the
early eighties (when they were a good deal cheaper than they are now!), and
I know for certain that air levels in the range .25-.5 ml/(1/3 liter) can be
achieved with this filler if it is properly used.
The bottles Zymurgy sent to me were coded, and thus I was not aware of
which filler was used when doing the measurements for them. I was as surprised
as everyone else when the results were matched with the equipment. My
shock abated when I looked back over my own brewing logs of the early 1980s,
and found that during the first year I used the Z+N filler my air levels
were no better than what reported in Zymurgy. Thus I feel the results in the
article are typical of what first time users of the CP fillers could expect.
The four main areas that I found to be the most useful in lowering air
levels are the following:
(i) Hands on experience with the filler in question!
(ii) Pre-evacuation with CO2 - Kenny's comments about this are spot on.
This is also very much of an art. In fill sessions I still get a few
outliers (i.e., air levels above 1.0), and in the majority cases the
culprit is the failure to get a proper CO2 purge of the bottle. In
modern commercial fillers this is done automatically with a special
pre-evacuation step that precedes injection of CO2 and filling against
the CO2 counterpressure.
(iii) Proper CO2 counterpressure - I have found that this is very much
dependent on the equipment used. Commercial fillers operate around 12 psi,
however with the Z+N filler (which has a release value for CO2) I
get the best results around 15 psi. The key is to get a steady and
smooth laminar fill.
(iv) Foaming - Once the counterpressure is released there should be
a steady (but not wild) increase in the foam level. The ideal capping
time is when the foam just reaches the top of the bottle. Big foam
overs will greatly reduce the bottle air levels, but this should be
done with care. For example, the bottles associated with lowest air
levels in the Zymurgy article had very low fill levels (half were only
half full and the others were only marginally better). The CO2
levels in two of these samples were so low that Zymurgy deleted them
as data points when computing averages. The fill in these cases appeared
to remove most of the gas present, CO2 as well as air! Cold filling is
also a good way to avoid these sort of problems.
One point that I felt should have received greater emphasis in the article is
crucial role played by bottle storage temperature. Indeed I have found that
thermal abuse after filling is far more destructive than actual air levels.
To cite but just one case, a beer with .3 ml/ (1/3 liter) of air stored
at 30C (85F) stales faster than a beer at 3.0 ml/(1/3 liter) which is stored
at 10C (50F). For everyday homebrew, getting the air down to 2.0 appears
to be sufficient assuming the beer is properly stored. However, I have found
that as the bottle air levels increase the effects of high temperatures become
more severe. This is why in commercial work .25 ml/(1/3 liter) is often cited
as the upper limit for shipping beer.
In any case, I must say that the main thing I got out of this project was a
reinforcement of my belief that there is something fundamentally unnatural
about putting beer in tiny 12 oz. bottles!
George Fix
------------------------------
Date: 07 Aug 95 14:17:45 EDT
From: Jay Reeves <73362.600@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: California Lager Yeast
Jim Dipalma responds to Scott Gruber:
>Here's the info I have from the Wyeast spec sheet:
>WYeast 2112 California Lager Yeast
>Warm fermenting bottom cropping strain, ferments well to
>62 deg. F
The sheet I have sez:
"Retains lager characteristics at temperatures up to 65F.
(58-68F range)"
It doesn't contain the linet "Warm fermenting bottom
cropping strain" - obviously a different sheet. I realize
that's probably not enough to make a rats-ass, but could
they have changed or modified the yeast since the time
between the printing of Jim's sheet and the one I have?
Or was it likely that they just revised the data? I just got
these spec sheets about a month ago.
The reason I ask this is: I used their Witbier yeast (3944)
and when I took it down to 66F, it hung. Bring it back to
room temp (72-74) and it would start again. The specs
say 60-68F. Has anyone used this yeast between those
temps successfully lately? I wonder if the printed specs
on this yeast are correct? Or could it be another factor;
Would under-aeration change the optimum operating temp
of yeast? I may be guilty of that on this batch. I asked this
question about a week or 2 ago but got no response.
On another note: Can someone tell me the difference
between upward infusion and downward infusion?
-Jay Reeves
Huntsville, Alabama, USA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 95 09:40:17 EST
From: gravels@TRISMTP.npt.nuwc.navy.mil
Subject: Re: Sanitization
The following is an attached File item from cc:Mail. It contains
information that had to be encoded to ensure successful transmission
through various mail systems. To decode the file use the UUDECODE
program.
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end
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 14:54:07 -0400
From: heather@netaxs.com (Heather M. Godsey)
Subject: NYC Trip
For Philly area folks-
On Saturday September 16, 1995 HOPS (Homebrewers of Philly & Suburbs)
is doing a bus trip to visit Brooklyn, Zip City & Heartland brewpubs.
Cost is $65 for non HOPS members ($55 members) & includes roundtrip
bus transportation from Philly, lunch & snacks on the bus, one hour of
tasting at Zip City, dinner & tastings at Heartland. Vegetarian and
non drinking options are available.
Payment due by 9/8/95
Info/reservations- call Ted at 215-441-5304
or ljbtmb@aol.com
***************************************************************************
Heather M. Godsey
College of Information Studies What did the Dalai Lama say
Drexel University to the hot dog vendor?
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 895-2493 "Make me one with everything."
or (215) 885-3897
heather@netaxs.com
***************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 95 14:50:56 EST
From: Tom_Williams_at_RAY__REC__ATLANTA@ccmail.eo.ray.com
Subject: Heat Exchanging
In HBD #1799 Richard Stueven describes a clever method of hanging his
immersion chiller from the kettle lid. In HBD #1800 Doc comments on
the "thermochemistry" of immersion chillers.
Wiggling, stirring, or any other type of agitation of an immersion
chiller in hot wort will most definitely improve the heat transfer
rate. If there is no forced flow of wort over the tubes, then the
heat will be transferred by "free convection", which depends on the
change in density of the fluid as it cools to move the cool wort away
from the tubing and let more hot fluid take it's turn. If the heat
exchange surface is near the bottom of a pool of hot fluid being
*cooled* (as opposed to heated), then the problem is worse because the
cooled fluid, being more dense, won't readily move out of the way of
the hot fluid. Richard Stueven's technique of placing the chiller
coils near the *top* of the kettle addresses this problem.
Forced convection is always a more efficient mechanism of heat
transfer than free convection, GIVEN THE SAME SET OF FLUIDS,
TEMPERATURES, MATERIALS, AND DIMENSIONS. Moving the coils around in
the wort induces flow of wort over the tubes, resulting in forced
convection. Several people have observed here that if you put your
hand in the cooling water flow with the chiller at rest, and then move
the chiller around, you will detect an increase in cooling water
outlet temperature, proving that more heat is transferred from the
wort to the water when the chiller is in motion. Try this experiment
yourself. Also, increasing the velocity of either fluid increases the
heat transfer rate. In the case of wort cooling, however, the
advantages of increasing velocity are limited by the need to avoid
splashing.
We must take care in comparing wort chilling experiences and
performances to remember that fluid velocity is not the only variable
between chillers (or brewers), and may not even be the most
significant. Other variables which affect the relative performance of
chillers are tube material, tube diameter, tube wall thickness,
geometry of the coils, length of tubing in the coils, water
temperature, water velocity, kettle dimensions, and wort volume. I am
sure that there are others that I have overlooked. So, as usual,
YMMV.
Tom Williams Raytheon Engineers & Constructors
twilliams@ccgate.ueci.com Norcross, Georgia, USA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 95 15:30:25 MDT
From: Norman C. Pyle <npyle@hp7013.ecae.StorTek.COM>
Subject: Brewery History in Denver
I'm interested in some recent history (last 100-200 years) of brewing,
especially the local stuff. Can anyone point me to a good reference or two
on historical breweries in and around Denver, Colorado? Any breweriania
(can't pronounce it, how could I spell it?) folks out there? Private email
is probably best.
Thanks,
Norm
npyle@hp7013.ecae.stortek.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 1995 16:40:37 -0600
From: 00bkpickeril@bsuvc.bsu.edu (Brian Pickerill)
Subject: HB software for the Mac
>Am I the only homebrewer who uses a Mac? I have seen a number of software
>products available for brewers, but I have never seen anything available for
>Macintosh.
No, there are several of us. Most of us probably have computers, and
probably about 10 percent of those have Macs.
>Is there anyone out there who either knows of some Mac software, or who
>commiserates (sp?)?
I recently wrote to Rob Haiber after seeing his .sig on the HBD. He runs
the beer forum on eWorld (Mostly Macintosh online service which is a lot
like AOL). I wrote him about the software he uses and here is his reply.
(Thanks Rob.) (You can probably get a free sign on kit for eWorld that
would have plenty of download time to get a copy of this software.)
RobHaiber@eworld.com
>I use Homebrewer Helper, which a friend of mine wrote in FMPro. There is a
>disabled runtime v of it in our software library, along with just the FMPro
>file for those whom already have FMPro.
I've been using a hypercard stack to keep my brew notes. Unfortunately,
it's geared more toward wine making. It's called "Wine Maker's notebook"
and it's on the huge Mac shareware site, sumex-aim, and it's mirror sites.
I want to start using something better, but I haven't done it yet. It's OK
for recordkeeping, but it lacks almost alll of the conversions etc... that
SUDs and other software has. Also, Wine Maker's is really slow--I think
the stack isn't that well written, and, well, it's in HC. :-(
What should be the best Mac software is a package that is frequently
advertised in Zymurgy, and probably in some other publications. It's $50
though, and I really would rather have a case of extract. ;-) Sorry, I
forget the name of this. It's by the crafty fox or something like that--I
could be way off on the name--look for a smallish ad that is bordered by a
Macintosh style window with a fox in it. I wouild really like to hear from
anyone who uses this, whatever it's called.
If you have SoftPC/SoftWindows you can run SUDS on the Mac. SUDs doesn't
exactly strain your machine, and it runs plently fast enough in emulation.
Especially if you have a Power PC machine--Quadra level machines are good
enough to run SUDs, too, but it would be only about as fast as a slow 386.
I've been playing around with SUDs on my PowerMac and on a 486 notebook.
It has crashed a number of times on the 486, usually refusing to open it's
recipe file--but it's better than Wine Maker's notebook. Also, it's worked
fine so far on the PowerMac, and it runs almost as fast there as it is on
the 486 notebook. I'd really like something for my powerbook though.
- --Brian K. Pickerill <00bkpickeril@bsuvc.bsu.edu> Muncie, IN
- --24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Ever wonder why?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 23:43:38 +0100
From: betonh@xs4all.nl (Wim Hielkema)
Subject: Re: Computers
Hello All,
In HBD #1801 Stephen Brown wrote:
>I just have to ask this:
>
>Am I the only homebrewer who uses a Mac? I have seen a number of software
>products available for brewers, but I have never seen anything available for
>Macintosh.
>Is there anyone out there who either knows of some Mac software, or who
>commiserates (sp?)?
>Stephen Brown
Fortunately, your not entirely alone :-). I am also a Mac user and there is
indeed a great lack of software for the Mac brewer. The only software I've
seen around is a recipy editor written for Excel and a Hypercard stack
(Beerstax) with information on U.S. Breweries. Both are on
ftp.stanford.edu.
I've been writing a recipy editor/database for Filemaker Pro but the
arithmetic in FM Pro is very limited. It works reasonable but I'm not at
all satisfied with it. It *will* calculate O.G. EBC and IBU's. In all cases
you need a commercial program to run these things which may be a problem.
I've been playing with the idea to write a true recipe editor for the Mac
as a stand alone application but this will be a very time (and homebrew)
consuming task, as I'm not an experienced C-programmer. So is there anybody
out there who knows of more Mac brewing software (especially a recipe
editor) or who is currently working on such a project.
Greetings from Holland, Wim.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wim Hielkema, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Organic Chemist & Homebrewer.
betonh@xs4all.nl, http://www.xs4all.nl/~betonh/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
P.S. I do not commiserate with you because you are one of the few lucky
owners of a computer that actually works!!! :-) (... now putting on my
asbestos suit.)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 17:50:10 -0400
From: Hmbrewbob@aol.com
Subject: Maltose Syrup
Hello Everyone,
After reading Brian Gowlands posting on Real Ale books I picked up a copy
of "Brew your own Real Ale at home" by Wheeler and Protz. I've not had a
chance to read it thoughly but the recipe section looks great. There is one
problem that I can see with alot of the beers and that is that they use
maltose syrup. Does anyone know if maltose syrup is available in the US?
I've checked 4or 5 suppliers with no luck.
TIA,
Bob Ledden
Caln, Pa
HmbrewBob@aol.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 16:49:20 -0500
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Subject: Mac guys, fruit errors.
> From: Stephbrown@aol.com
> Subject: Computers
>
> Am I the only homebrewer who uses a Mac? I have seen a number of software
> products available for brewers, but I have never seen anything available for
> Macintosh.
I have a Macintosh. I've always just assumed that people sensible enough to
buy a Mac were sensible enough to realize that homebrewing software is a silly
thing to fuss with. I'm mostly kidding, but I guess I've never wanted
homebrewing software and I'm not sure what I'd do with it if I had it.
Does anyone who uses homebrewing software want to comment on its utility and/or
entertainment value? Is it primarily for recipe formulation?
> From: faye@plainfield.bypass.com (Drea )
> Subject: Guys/Exotic Fruit Beer
> Why so few gal-brewers? Hmmm? I'm interested to know what folks think.
Honestly - I think it's a rock-boring thread. My other two hobbies are also
mostly male, and it comes up there from time to time. As far as I'm concerned
we should make sure that "homebrewers aren't to women" is never one of the
reasons, and leave it at that. Maybe there's something to be learned from
discussing the topic at great length, but I'm not so sure.
> Anybody know of any recipes for beer made with exotic/unusual fruits?
I've used tangerines, mixed citrus, and pineapple with spices. I'll try to
bring the recipes in some time this week. I made a lime mead that is GREAT.
> and I'd love any recipes/leads/suggestions/anecdotes that y'all have to offer.
Suggestion : double the amount of fruit you were planning to add.
> From: MicahM1269@aol.com
> Subject: CPBF
>
> As many HBDers have read the Zymury review of the CPBFs. I would
> like to have my say. I am a partial owner in one companies that make CPBFs.
> The article was not as well done as I had expected. The inconsistancies in
> the air level and CO2 level are most likely the result of user error.
I don't mean to be rude, but often "user error" says to me that the device
was not as easy to use as it should be. (Part of the customer-always-right
philosophy.)
-R
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 16:59:25 -0500
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Subject: Wheat.
> From: jdickins@baste.magibox.net (Jim Dickinson)
> Subject: Wheat beer questions
> I have several questions concerning wheat beer mainly concerning Eric
> Warner's book.
Never read it, but I've brewed some good wheat beers and I imagine myself to
be an expert in almost everything.
> 1) When he says to pitch 3.5 oz of weissbeer yeast and .33 oz of lager yeast
> why are the volumes so low?
No clue. If your yeast is pure more == better.
> Especially the lager yeast volumes.
I've never used anything but Wyeast's Weihenstephan alone. I wouldn't use
any lager yeast, until someone reports excellent results with it. Anyone?
> 2) What will the bottle conditioning/lagering do to the final taste? I am
> going to do just this on my next batch.
Condition affects the flavor of any beer, including ales. I had some of my
most recent batch Saturday night, the first bottle in 3 weeks. It was pitched
probably 3 months ago or more. It has noticably improved in the last 3 weeks.
Maybe it's peaking, and it won't be very good in another three weeks.
> 3) In his book Warner mentions dark munich malt, but in all my hb catalogs I
> see no mention of a *dark* munich malt. Any ideas?
Maybe it's 20L vs. 10L. I've seen many ways of dividing "munich" malt into
two categories. 20 v. 10, hi v. lo enzyme, and "munich" vs. "aromatic munich."
Maybe that's what he means.
> 4) I have read that open primary fermentation will yield better results with
> the Weihenstephan yeast. Can I use a regular carboy without the stopper and
> in a sink?
I'm not sure what difference the sink makes. I've always done a closed
fermentation, but I will say that I used oversized carboys for primaries on
all of my batches. They had massive rocky heads and no blow-off, so maybe
that makes a difference. (My last two wheat beers have been really yummy.)
> 5) I had a wheat beer brought back from germany and the ones I make are close
> but they do not have the slightly sour aftertaste that the german one did. Do
> I need to use the lactic acid forming yeast?
I think they might use a little lactic bacteria. I'm not aware of any yeasts
that make lacto, but they might exist. You could try to sour your mash. It
might be related to the strain or handling of the wheat, too. Or the
proportion; I think wheat gives a little sourness, so maybe use more. ?
> 6) I am wondering if the hallertau mittelfrueh hops I received from jim koch
> are appropriate for this style? Used in the proper amounts, of course.
Yes, yes, yes. (As long as pronounce his name in some vulgar way.) I've
used hallertau hersbrucker for both of mine. Use much less than you would
for your regular beer. (I assume this book talks about hops...)
-R
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 18:53:29 -0400
From: CDP000@aol.com
Subject: Things that smell and things that don't
> Does anyone have numbers (in ppm) for danger levels of carbon
> monoxide and propane? I've come into a gas alarm that will alarm for
both...
The OSHA limit for CO is 25 ppm- timed-wieghted-averaged over 8 hours,
e.g. 50 ppm for 4 hours. Propane is hazardous due to it's flammability.
It's lower explosive limit (LEL) is around 3.5-4%. Normal practice is to
limit explosive gas concentrations to 25% of the LEL. Make sure you
have your life and home insurance paid up...
Some one else asked about setting the air/fuel mixture on his propane cooker
after blackening the bottoms of his pot. Close the air inlet down until the
flame
tip gets a bit yellow then back off a bit.
- ---c.d. cdp000@aol.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 20:52:49 -0500
From: Roger Kohles <rkohles@ltec.com>
Subject: Jack Schmidling Corn Beer
About 6 weeks ago Jack posted:
>Living in corn country where a bushel costs not much more than a pound of
>good malt has driven me to develop an easy and reliable method of making
>beer with it.
Actually it's generally free - if you know anyone at all in corn country
they will give it away for a friendly hello. Certainly a home brew would be
the only cost. (A six pack if you're generous and you want the farmer to get
a really good deal.) At 56 lbs per bushel, it should last a long time at 5
lbs/batch.
>1. Bring 5 gals of water to a boil in mash tun, turn off the heat and
>then add 5 lbs of crushed corn.
I used a Corona mill. Worked great - if a bit hard to crank.
>2. Dough this in carefully to eliminate starch balls and let it rest (with
>an occassional stir) until the temperature drops down to 170F. During
>this period, the corn starch is being gelatainized and by heating the
>water by itself and letting the mash rest, all scorching problems are
>totally eliminated. It adds about an hour to the brewing schedule but
>requires little or no attention.
>3. When the temp is 170F, dough in 9 lbs of your favorite pils type malt
>(I use D-K) and the temp should end up around 155F. Maintain this temp
>for 60 minutes and check for conversion. Mashout or proceed from here as
>in any other beer.
I tried this with 8 lbs of Shirer's 2-row and 1/2 lb of wheat flakes. This
for a 7 gallon batch. I let the temperature drop to 165 before adding the
corn/water mixture (using ice to speed the process). Mash was at 155
dropping to 147 after an hour. I used 1 1/2 oz perle for boiling and 1 oz
of tetnanger for finishing. I also use Superbrau dried yeast (without
rehydration - 50 cents). As Jack sez:
>It has a corn taste if you look for it and I like it a lot.
Actually I can't taste the corn even when I look for it. It has a very
light pale color and a nice white (with legs) head. I artificially
carbonated it in corny kegs (if that matters). $10 for 7 gal of beer is a
pretty good deal, and when it turns out as good as this - it's even better.
I'm going to serve this at a family gathering this weekend - and I'm sure
I'll convert a few more "lite" drinkers to the wonders of really good beer.
++--------------------------------------------------------++
Roger Kohles, P.E. | "Never let your sense of morality
Voice 402-436-5796 | prevent you from doing what's right"
rkohles@ltec.com | I. Asimov
++--------------------------------------------------------++
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Aug 1995 20:21:03 -0600
From: "Rick Gontarek, Ph.D." <gontarek@fcrfv1.ncifcrf.gov>
Subject: Mystery of the low exraction solved!!
Hello fellow brewers (men and women alike). For a while now, I have
posted to the digest to whine about my low extraction rates (avg 23-24
pts/lb/gallon). I am an all-grain brewer using a PhillMill to crush the
grain, and a gott cooler fitted with a Phalse bottom to function as a
mash/lauter tun. Using a variety of different mash regimes, I have been
able to get only around 23 pts/lb/gallon.I am grateful to many of you who
have taken the time out to give me some ideas as to why my extraction rates
are low. I recently moved to a new place, and my last batch had the worst
extraction ever, so I immediately suspected the water. After getting a water
analysis, I found out that my water was a bit hard, but not too bad for
brewing (as others in my area claim).
I checked my thermometers. It turns out that the scientific-grade stainless
steel thermometer I was using was about one degree C off. Because I was
mashing at the high end (69 degC), some of you thought it likely that I was
hitting too high of a temperature and trashing my enzymes. Local hot spots
in the mash would do that, too. I also did a mini experiment that suggested
that I was not crushing my grain enough (too coarse of a crush). So, armed
with an accurate thermometer and more finely crushed grain, I set out to brew
a Cherry Wheat this past weekend (I know, I know, this beer is becoming pase
rapidly). Instead of mashing at the high end, I did a protein rest at 50 degC,
and then I boosted to 65 degC for 60 minutes. I also added one gallon of
boiling water to the mash to effect a mashout prior to sparging. I sparged
nice and slowly (around one hour). Ta-da, I ended up getting 33 pts/lb/
gallon!!! Happy me! Now I can brew like Dave Miller :)
In my mind, the quality of the crush was most likely to blame, although better
temperature regulation may have also played a role. I thought that I finer
crush would result in more draff washing through during the sparge, but
after recirculating several quarts of wort, it remained crystal clear for
the remainder of the sparge.
For those of you who emailed me asking me to forward any advice I received,
I recommend that you a)check the reliability of your thermometer, b) check
the quality of your crush (don't be afraid to crush!), and c) closely monitor
the temp of the mash in several different locations. My water is probably
fine, because I did not treat it this time and I still wound up with
an excellent extraction.
Once again, my sincere thanks to many of you who struggled with me these
last months by providing me with excellent advice. I'd buy you all a brew
if I ever met you!
Rick Gontarek
Owner/Brewmaster of the Major Groove Picobrewery
Frederick, MD
gontarek@fcrfv1.ncifcrf.gov
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1802, 08/08/95
*************************************
-------
