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HOMEBREW Digest #1819
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/08/31 PDT
HOMEBREW Digest #1819 Thu 31 August 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
No Head - Filetered Water the Cause? (Michael A. Genito)
Re: Alt, Kolsh, and Barleywine (Spencer W Thomas)
Re: RTP yeasts (Ken Jucks, ph # 617-496-7580)
Sodom Who's Sane? (Russell Mast)
Aging beers. (Russell Mast)
re:RTP (Jim Liddil)
RE:airstone in kettle (Jim Busch)
replacement for push-button spigot (He's gone and nothin's gonna bring him back. 29-Aug-1995 1042 -0400)
Wild Hops ID ("Jim Webb")
Bathtubs, Pool Water, and Yeast Washing. (DocsBrew)
Re: Filtering out hops, break (Jeff Benjamin)
Re: Replacement spigot for Lauter Tun ("Roger Deschner ")
Chas, you tease! (kpnadai)
Yeast quality (Harralson, Kirk)
New Mexico/Colorado Travels (Wseliger)
Celis correction (Alan P. Van Dyke)
Chiller Bath Pumps Aren't $-ey ("Dave Bradley::IC742::6-2556")
Malic Acid ("Dave Bradley::IC742::6-2556")
Separating wort from hops (Steve Zabarnick)
MaltMill Research (Jeffrey B. Bonner)
In-line aeration filters (Harralson, Kirk)
Chilling conclusions ("Pat Babcock")
New system/AOL/bottle rack (MrMike656)
Aeration and break formation ("Allen L. Ford")
Nat. gas burner ==> propane conversion ("Christopher V. Sack")
RE: Chuck Mryglot's Spigot Question (TRoat)
Alt Recipe, et al (Gary McCarthy)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:36:47 -0400
From: genitom@nyslgti.gen.ny.us (Michael A. Genito)
Subject: No Head - Filetered Water the Cause?
I've been brewing for about five years, first with kits, then extracts, then
extract/grain, and now for the first time all grain. My most recent two
batches, one a malt extract "light beer" (4 lb Ironmaster American Light
with 1 lb dry malt) and the other my first all grain 2.5 gal batch (3.5 lbs
British 2 row lager) came out tasty but surprisingly, for the first time in
my brew career, with very poor head retention.
Unlike my other brews, which I must carefully pour down the side of a glass
to avoid a massive head, these must be poured fast to create a head. Again,
they taste fine, and the all grain appears to have a bit of a kick. I know
its not the glasses I'm using, caused I tested my other brews in the same
glasses with the usual great head. But I did notice one thing different
about these two latest batches - rather than using the usual tap water or
water from a local artesian well, I used the tap water filtered thru a Brita
water filter. I'm not sure if this contributed to the lack of head. Anyone
else with similar experiences? BTW, I've brewed even lighter beers than the
Ironmaster (a 3.75 lb can of Coopers Australian Draught with 2 cups dry
malt) and recd a great beer with good head.
Rather than experiment too much, I'm going to try my next batch with tap or
well water. It could be coincidence that the all grain and Ironmaster were
too light.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:58:39 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: Alt, Kolsh, and Barleywine
Here's a BW I made recently. It hasn't been entered in competition
because I think it's still too young, but friends who tasted it think
it's pretty good. This is my third or fourth try at this style with
this basic method. I haven't decided yet whether I like this one
better than the previous effort, but it's close, anyway.
10lbs DWC(DeWolf-Cosyns Belgian) Pilsener malt
8 lbs DWC Pale malt
1.5lbs DWC CaraVienne malt
0.1lbs Roasted Barley
0.5lbs DWC (Belgian) Munich malt
Mash schedule:
Mash-in with 10qts @ 42C for a strike temp of 39C
20 minute beta-glucan rest
Add 10 qts at 100C (boiling) to raise to 62C (aiming for 60C),
30 min. beta-amylase rest
Add 6 quarts @ 100C to raise to 67C (aiming for 70C)
1:15 alpha-amylase rest
Take first runnings (drain all liquid from mash tun without adding any
further sparge water(*)) to get about 4-4.5 gallons @ 1.080. Boiling
down to 3 gallons will give an OG of 1.105 - 1.120.
The hop schedule was
2 oz Northern Brewer pellets (9%) 60 min
1 oz BC Kent Goldings plugs (5%) 30 min
1/2oz BC Kent Goldings plug (5%) 15 min
1/2oz BC Kent Goldings plug (5%) 5 min
1/2oz Fuggles plug (4.3%) 5 min
Whirlpool, let settle for 15 minutes and siphon through counterflow
chiller with aerating cane on end.
Pitch yeast slurry from a previous batch of Mild (probably YeastLab
London Ale (it's a long story)). (By the way, this is my favorite way
to pitch *enough* yeast for a barleywine.) Fermentation was active in
2 hours. Primary was about 2 months @ 65-70F, and dropped from 1.105
to 1.038.
Rack into secondary and add 1 oz of EKG plugs for dry hopping.
Bottle about 1 month later. Added new yeast, but no priming sugar.
Final result has medium-low carbonation and a complex malt-hops nose.
The malty sweetness is balanced by the agressive hopping level, and
high hop flavor.
You could probably pump up the gravity of this another 8-10
points (and thus the alcohol by another 1% or so) by adding a pound of
sugar, with no deleterious flavor effects.
(*) You can (I did) add more hot water to the remaining mash, and
sparge out about 7 gallons more wort to make a Bitter at about 1.045.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer@umich.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:59:52 -0400
From: jucks@cfaft4.harvard.edu (Ken Jucks, ph # 617-496-7580)
Subject: Re: RTP yeasts
RTP yeasts are indeed produced in Massachussetts. The distribution of these
yeasts might expand over the next year. The man behind the yeasts (Seth,
the yeast God of the Boston Wort Processors; no religious thread intended)
is a talented bio-chemist who has been propogating yeasts for the brew club
for years, and is now making a small business where he is supplying yeast
for homebrewers and brewpubs. I have been using his yeasts (not in RTP
proportions, I make starters) for some time now with excellent results.
Disclaimer: I too am a member of the BWPs; some bias might apply.
Ken Jucks
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:30:03 -0500
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Subject: Sodom Who's Sane?
> From: Chris Eykamp <eykampc@metro.or.gov>
> Subject: Brewing in the Middle East
St. Patrick's in Austin, Texas brags that they ship homebrew supplies to
some brewers in Saudi Arabia, so you could always try going the mailorder
route.
btw, did you know that the word "alcohol" comes from an Arabic word?
-R
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 09:35:41 -0500
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Subject: Aging beers.
> Date: Mon, 28 Aug 95 10:31:13 EDT
> From: Steven W. Schultz <swschult@cbdcom.apgea.army.mil>
> Subject: Freshness Peaks in Beer
> I am noticing a definite pattern: my beers often taste very good
> after 2-3 weeks in the bottle, but after not much more than 4-5 weeks,
> they are in decline.
All of my beers follow this pattern, also, but not with the same timing.
In fact, the vast majority of my beers, IMO, peak at about 6 weeks, and
aren't "losing it" until 8 or 10. I do notice the hops starting to peter
out, but I'm not much of a hophead, so that may be some of the difference.
Also, I notice a wide variation in aging times with style. Generally, higher
gravity beers need longer aging, and are in peak for longer. My wheat beers
stay at peak for a very long time, even the low G ones. I've had a couple
batches that I had thought peaked at about 3-4 weeks, so I drank most of them,
and the few that I had set aside turned out much better at 8 weeks. So I
drank them all quickly, not wanting to know if they would get even better.
Some of this might be an extract/all-grain difference, too. I brew all-grain,
usually use hop plugs or whole hops, liquid yeast with big starters. Who
knows what other variables there are?
-R
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 7:41:00 -0700 (MST)
From: Jim Liddil <JLIDDIL@AZCC.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: re:RTP
% In HBD #1815, Jim Grady <grady@hpangrx.an.hp.com> writes:
%
% > I was in "Beer & Wine Hobby" in Woburn, Massachusetts yesterday to pick
% > up some liquid yeast. In addition to the usual Wyeast and Yeast Labs
% > yeasts, they had a newcomer (at least to me), RTP (tm). RTP stands for
% > "Ready to Pitch" and claims to be 5 billion cells, enough for a 5 gallon
% > batch without a starter. They claim to have the quality of liquid yeast
% > with the convenience of dried yeast. The yeast comes in a plastic vial
% > and the sediment seems less than what I get with a 1 qt starter but also
% > looked to be 3 to 5 times that in the Yeast Labs vial. I left my x-ray
% > glasses at home so I could not compare it to the Wyeast package.
So has anyone bought some of this stuff and done a viability test to see how
much of it is viable? Ready to Pitch where? :-)
Jim
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 10:55:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim Busch <busch@eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Subject: RE:airstone in kettle
>I would like to know if there is a benefit in dropping an
> air stone into the kettle (after the wort gets around 80F to encourage the
> proteins to drop out of solution and aerate the wort at the same time. I like
<Since the whole point of a rigorous boil (VS a slow boil) is that the
<mechanical agitation from the bubbles helps the proteins to flocculate, I
<would conclude that aeration in the kettle would also help protein
<flocculation (as well as aerate the wort).
Actually, pumping air through wort helps the trub to rise to the surface
in the same mechanical fashion that a floatation tank works. The trub
latches on to the air bubbles and rises to the top of the tank. Usually,
this is done inline as the cold wort is sent into the floatation tank,
then the bubbles rise to the top of the tank, pulling trub with them.
After a rest period of between 4 and 6 hours, the wort is pumped out from
under the trub and off to the fermenter. This is very typical in German
lager breweries.
Id also point out that the "whole point of a vigorous boil" is a lot more
than merely trub formation. There are a lot of kettle reactions that
occur during boiling and the cover should never be on the pot for the last
30 minutes of the boil (ideally one has a strong enough burner to leave
the lid off for the full 90 minute boil period).
<Next topic: Trub removal. I'm sure there are a million ways to do this, but
<I tried the whirlpool technique and lost about a full gallon of precious wort
<to a slug of trub and pellet hops.
The way that I like to do it is to only use whole hops, it is easier for
me to keep trub in the kettle when I brew abusively hopped ales. If you
use pellets in small amounts, a whirlpool works great. I use my perf
sheet lauter screen as a hop screen in the kettle. Put it in before you
add hops. Then, before transfer through the counterflow chiller I use
inline SS brillos in my 1.5" ferrule. I would assume that one can cut
up some kind of screen to line smaller ferrules or cut up some brillos
as a trap. The copper scrubby over the copper siphon tube works well too.
Good brewing!
Jim Busch
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 10:46:02 EDT
From: He's gone and nothin's gonna bring him back. 29-Aug-1995 1042 -0400 <ferguson@zendia.ENET.dec.com>
Subject: replacement for push-button spigot
>Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 08:01:07 -0400
>From: cem@cadre.com (Chuck E. Mryglot)
>Subject: replacement spigot for round, 10 gallon coolers
What i did was bring my GOTT to a hardware store after
i removed the push button spigot and i just started trying
different parts until i had something i thought would work.
this is by far, imo, the easiest way to deal. just keep
trying parts until you have something that works.
jc ferguson
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 15:42:19 -0400
From: "Jim Webb" <"webb_j%Organization=Mineral Sector Analysis Branch%Telephone=705-670-5889"@a1.torv05.umc>
Subject: Wild Hops ID
[This message is converted from WPS-PLUS to ASCII]
On an old estate across the road from me, whose grounds have been
let go wild, there is a HUGE area covered with wild hops (maybe
up to 1/4 acre in area). It's scarey to see how they cover over
trees, bushes etc. -- kinda makes we wonder what MY hops in the
backyard will look like in future years.
My hops are now nearly ripe - the first of the them should be
ready by early next week - and I thought it would be interesting
to harvest some of the wild ones (the price is right for sure).
The ones I've crushed have a very pleasant aroma, and definitely
very different from my Cascades.
Of course I have NO idea what variety they are, and am making an
appeal to the collective for some thoughts. A few things that
may help narrow the field:
- I am in Sudbury, which is not exactly Oregon climate-wise;
- The estate was vacated in 1952, so if they must have been
established - possibly as decorative arbor covering - well
before that date, so all recent hybrids can be eliminated from
the list.
Would I be off-base in assuming they are one of the 'noble' hops?
Which varieties are most likely? Since there is probably both
male & female plants and have probably been propagating, would
they no longer be a definable variety? Suggestions on how to
determine (very roughly) their bittering capabilities?
I have also noticed that areas of the plants have been chewed so
that all that's left of the leaves are the ribs. Any ideas what
the critters are (we have lots of earwigs..)? Should I be
concerned by my own hops, which are planted about 200 yards from
the extemity of this wild patch?
Many thanx in advance.
Jim Webb
Sudbury, Ontario
** Owner and operator of the Ramsey Road Picobrewery **
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 17:41:57 -0400
From: DocsBrew@aol.com
Subject: Bathtubs, Pool Water, and Yeast Washing.
Firstly, thanks to all who responded to my post re: bathtub brewing - the
consensus was that old-time brewers used the bathtub as an easy-to-clean
place to transfer and ferment, and not much more. I also got a lot of good
stuff about using my pool water as a heat-exchanger. Good ideas, and most of
'em sent private e-mail as well as a copy to the hbd.
I just spent many minutes downloading and printing the yeast.faq from
ftp.stanford. It discussed washing yeast in (cold) water, but wasn't there
some discussion about using an acid? And wasn't there some speculation about
using acetic acid (vinegar)? What did "we" ever decide?? Is water enough??
Is my yeast ruined??
I also want to second the cheers for Rob Gardner, our digest Janitor. He
does a great job, and *all* should appreciate him very much - especially in
these stressful times.
Doc.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 10:08:50 MDT
From: Jeff Benjamin <benji@hpfcbug.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Re: Filtering out hops, break
dmercer@path.org (David Mercer) asks about several methods of filtering
out the hops etc. after the boil:
1. Copper scrub pad
2. Copper tube with slits
3. Coffee filter
4. "Spice ball"
I use a combination of 1 & 2 and it works great. I have a short section
of 1/2" hard copper pipe with slits cut in it (about 1 per cm) that
attaches to my siphon apparatus; I then use a couple of rubber bands to
attach a copper Chore Boy(tm) scrubber over the slits. It does an
excellent job of filtering out any sort of hops (leaf, pellets, plugs)
and other scuz.
- --
Jeff Benjamin benji@fc.hp.com
Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado
"Think! It ain't illegal yet." -- George Clinton
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 11:04:07 CDT
From: "Roger Deschner " <U52983@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Replacement spigot for Lauter Tun
Go to your local hardware store and get a "sillcock", which is an
ordinary garden faucet, made of brass. You want the kind without the
flanges*, and which has a 1/2" (inside diameter, "standard trade size")
male connector on its rear end. Then you need a brass 1/2" size locknut,
also in the plumbing department. Find an o-ring that fits, to prevent
leaks; you may be able to reuse the o-ring or other washers from the
push-button valve.
This commonplace item should not be expensive: <$5.00; it's made of
brass, and it is approved for drinking water and/or hot water.
(*Can't picture the flanges? They are for bolting the faucet to the wall
from which it protrudes. They're in the way for this purpose, so you want
the kind without. Once you're in the hardware store, you should see both
kinds, and you'll know what I mean.)
If you're not a hardware store junkie like some of us, bring your cooler
in and let the guy there have a crack at it.
Then you can connect hoses and whatever to the threaded hose connector,
and turn it on and off with the faucet.
By the way, I found a "new use" for my 5-gal Igloo Lauter Tun this summer
during the heat wave. I cleaned it out and filled it with ice water, to
drink. Imagine that! ;)
Roger Deschner University of Illinois at Chicago rogerd@uic.edu
Aliases: u52983@uicvm.uic.edu U52983@UICVM.BITNET R.Deschner@uic.edu
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy." |
| --Benjamin Franklin |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 22:44:20 PDT
From: kpnadai@adsnet.com
Subject: Chas, you tease!
I don't think I am the only one who would like your recipe.
Congrats on making such an enjoyable brew!
Brew Bayou,
Kevin Nadai
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 12:56:51 EST
From: kwh@roadnet.ups.com (Harralson, Kirk)
Subject: Yeast quality
A few people have posted recently about shelf life of propagated
yeast. I follow the procedure for parallel yeast propagation as
outlined in the yeast faq, and have had fairly good results to date.
I have "revived" yeast that was bottled and in my fridge for at least
10 months. The last time I prepared the parallel cultures, I found
myself questioning some of my procedures: First, when I separate the
suspended yeast into bottles, there is almost inevitable oxidation. I
pour the liquid into the bottles, and there is considerable foaming (I
try to minimize contact with siphons, etc. for sanitation purposes).
Second, I would imagine letting this yeast sit literally for months
causes autolysis. Now, do these conditions which we normally try to
avoid like the plague affect, ruin or mutate the yeast, or do they
just cause off flavors, etc. in the resulting beer? If the beer only
is affected, I don't care because I discard all but just enough to
suspend the yeast to pour it. However, if the yeast themselves are
affected, and carry over these characteristics into the next batch, I
care a lot. Comments?
Kirk Harralson
Bel Air, Maryland
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 13:01:28 -0400
From: Wseliger@aol.com
Subject: New Mexico/Colorado Travels
My parents are travelling through Albequerque (sp?), Taos, Santa Fe, Colorado
Springs, Breckenridge and points between and betwixt.
Any recommendations for brewpubs/breweries/beery places would be greatly
appreciated.
Private email is fine and Thanks in Advance,
Bill Seliger
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 12:43:35 -0700
From: alan@mail.utexas.edu (Alan P. Van Dyke)
Subject: Celis correction
Howdy!
In HBD 1817, David Muzidal describes his very pleasant trip to Austin (yep,
I live here for a reason, y'know). In it, he says:
"I thought I would pass along some of the Celis info I can remember for the
brewing community:
Ingredients: Briess (sp?) pale malt
roasted caramel malt
corriander
dried orange peel
sazz hops (pellets)
cascade hops (pellets)
williamete hops (pellets)
That's it! I do not remember seeing any wheat malt, but I thought Celis
White was a wheat beer."
You must have been looking forward to the free tasting too much, David.
Celis uses unmalted winter wheat grown near Luckenbach, TX. They are very
proud of this fact. It's also used in the Celis Raspberry. Also, David
said:
"I was not able to find out anything about their yeasts except that they
maintain their own yeast cultures."
Few people seem to know that Pierre Celis is also known in the yeast
circles to be a master yeast rancher. He keeps his secrets well,
unfortunately for us homebrewers.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Alan P. Van Dyke No more bombs!
Austin, TX, US Boycott French made goods!
alan@mail.utexas.edu Stick to bread, guys.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 13:50:37 -0500 (EST)
From: "Dave Bradley::IC742::6-2556" <BRADLEY_DAVID_A@Lilly.com>
Subject: Chiller Bath Pumps Aren't $-ey
Here's another gadget for the stash. My tap water was +34 degrees
in February and is 77 now. As a result, cooling is l-o-n-g,
even with an ice bath around the kettle. Others use
recirculating cold water baths to avoid this problem. Resigned
that this would be too much expense/trouble, I avoided it.
Until now. This is quite feasible to do! I bought the key part,
a submersible pump for $30! Its a fountain pump, and there's a
variety of prices/hp units available. I got one w/enough (?)
head rise that I felt it would handle my immersion chiller
back pressure fine without blasting it to pieces. It sits in a
tub w/ ice water, recirculating cold water via the immersion
chiller through my wort.
No rocket science, just the take-away point that it can be fairly
cheap to go this route. The only question is how much
power these tiny pumps need to give a good flow rate
through the tubing...engineering, your thoughts on this?
These are wimpy pumps in general, but there are some which
have decent power...and there's always the utility pump,
<$50 often.
Dave in Indy
(Who's wife questions the fact that his brewing "crap" is displacing the
food from our pantry. Can you believe it?!?)
From: BRADLEY DAVID A (MCVAX0::RC65036)
To: VMS MAIL ADDRESSEE (IN::"homebrew@hpfcmgw.fc.hp.com")
cc: BRADLEY DAVID A (MCVAX0::RC65036)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 13:53:49 -0500 (EST)
From: "Dave Bradley::IC742::6-2556" <BRADLEY_DAVID_A@Lilly.com>
Subject: Malic Acid
Anyone use _malic acid_ to lower their sparge water pH? Comments?
Works fine, but I need side-by-side tests for any added
sourness it may impart. I'd prefer this over gypsum, but
with a source for food-grade HCl I'd take that instead.
Thanks for your observations!
Dave in Indy
From: BRADLEY DAVID A (MCVAX0::RC65036)
To: VMS MAIL ADDRESSEE (IN::"homebrew@hpfcmgw.fc.hp.com")
cc: BRADLEY DAVID A (MCVAX0::RC65036)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 15:11:21 -0500
From: steve@snake.appl.wpafb.af.mil (Steve Zabarnick)
Subject: Separating wort from hops
In my experience, the most frustrating part of brewing is separating the
cooled bitter wort from the hops. I use an immersion chiller with and
enamel-on-steel kettle and have tried many techniques but usually have wort
transfer problems and end up losing a significant quantity of bitter wort.
When using pellet hops, siphoning from above the hop trub sediment works,
but one can lose up to one gallon of a five/six gallon batch. I've even
tried the Kinney Baugham (sp?) trick of a copper choreboy in a hop bag tied
around the racking cane; this sometimes works, but often clogs.
When using whole leaf hops, the easymasher screen device sometimes works,
but also results in losing significant quantities of wort. I've found that
seeded hops (such as EK Goldings) tend to clog the screen and can also clog
siphon hoses.
Of heard people talk of the whirlpool technique, where the hot wort is
whirlpooled which results in the formation of a mound of hops/trub in the
center of the kettle, the wort is drawn off at the sides of the kettle.
Apparently, this technique is only usable for those with CF chillers.
I've also heard of people who have a perforated "false bottom" in their
kettle which holds back the trub and the break. Apparently one needs a
cut-off keg for these devices.
I'm frustrated! Do you have any tips for siphoning/draining the cooled
bitter wort from the spent hops and trub? I'm tired of restarting the
siphon multiple times and losing precious wort.
Steve Zabarnick
steve@snake.appl.wpafb.af.mil
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 95 10:11:56 PDT
From: Jeffrey B. Bonner <t3345@fel1.nfuel.com>
Subject: MaltMill Research
Ok digesters, I think I have the story on MaltMill speeds. Thanks to all who
wrote me back with data, there own experiences, catalogs for motors, etc.!
After a bunch of people wrote back and a phone call to Jack, it seems that
the optimum (sp?) speed is: 400 RPM. The following is some numbers on shaft
speed vs throughput (lbs/min):
RPM Throughput
60 2.0
100 3.3
120 4.0
150 5.0
200 6.7
Futher, one may extrapolate linerally to 400 RPM. After 400, the throughput
begins to decrease with shaftspeed (sorry, I don't have numbers after 400 RPM).
Jack, recommends that you use at least a .5 hp electric motor with the typical
shaft speed of 1700 RPM and reduce to 400 RPM via two pulleys.
I personally perfer to use a gear motor. One digester pointed me to Surplus
Center (sorry I don't have the 1-800 number now, but will post if there is
interest) where I purchased a gear motor running at 325 RPM for $29.95. This
way, I didn't have to mess with pulleys, idlers, etc.
I am still collecting info on high temperature pumps. Will post the results
soon!
IF anyone has any other questions please feel free to write me or post! Thanks
again to everyone who wrote to me and Jack for calling me back!
- --
Jeffrey B. Bonner - BWR Nuclear Engineering
SIEMENS POWER CORPORATION-NUCLEAR DIVISION
Engineering and Manufacturing Facility
2101 Horn Rapids Road, PO Box 130
Richland, WA 99352-0130
Office: (509)375-8741
Fax: (509)375-8006/8402
email: jbb@fred.nfuel.com (work)
nukebrewer@aol.com (home)
Current Project: KS1 Spent Fuel Pool Criticality Analysis
It often shows a fine command of language to say nothing.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 15:23:07 EST
From: kwh@roadnet.ups.com (Harralson, Kirk)
Subject: In-line aeration filters
I made the decision to buy an aeration system, and never shake another
carboy. I set out to buy an aquarium pump, tubing, an inline filter
and disposable air stones at my local Walmart. I know there are other
alternative setups, but I'm sold (in theory) on this one. I found
everything but the inline filter. I went to several other stores with
the same result. I looked through old issues of Zymurgy and Brewing
Techniques for ads, and found a how-to article on making a
"bubbler-type" inline filter (air is passed through a jar containing
sanitizing solution), but I have read warnings about those in this
digest before. Primarily, the thought is that the outer surface area
of the bubble is all that is sanitized, while small nasties could live
inside the bubble. This all makes sense, which is why I wanted a
filter that used sterile cotton, or some sort of paper filter element.
Can anyone suggest a store/supplier? If anyone has made their own
inline filter, and has suggestions, please pass them on. I will be
more than happy to compile suggestions and post results if anyone else
is interested.
TIA,
Kirk Harralson
Bel Air, Maryland
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 15:57:28 EDT
From: uscgc2r3@ibmmail.com
Subject: Bulk Grain
1) I'm looking to buy some malted grain and it occurs to me that I could
significantly reduce the cost by buying a pallet or so (I'm sure that this is
not news to anyone). Are there any HBDrs doing this near Greensboro, North
Carolina that I could go in with? Or that would be interested in getting a
purchase together?
2) Also, assuming we do get together, can anyone recommend a good malthouse that
you've been happy doing business with? TIA
PS - (unrelated topic) I wouldn't mention this obvious (to me) fix for the
Hunter thermostat units, but I've seen so many failure reports.......Why not
return them to the store? It's obviously not fit for the purpose for which it
was intended, the implied warrantee that goes with every consumer good sold in
this country. If mail order, or some other problem, then return them to Hunter.
Wallie Meisner
1800 334 9481 x-2410
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 16:10:18 +0500
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock@oeonline.com>
Subject: Chilling conclusions
> In HBD #1817, Steve Gravels asks for chilling conlusions...
Well, I had intended to let the reader draw his/her own conclusions
from the data presented.
Personally, my time is more important than obvious cold break (They
both form it. The particulate mass is larger with the immersion, but
both fermenters now have identical sediment layers...). To my
requirements, the CF chiller is superior. If your setup allows you to
easily separate the wort from the trub, and seeing cold break turns
you on: then the immersion chiller is for you.
As always, YMMV...
Patrick (Pat) G. Babcock | "Drink all you want - I'll brew more!"
President, Brew-Master |
and Chief Taste-Tester | "Let a good beer be the exclamation point
Drinkur Purdee pico Brewery | at the end of your day as every sentence
pbabcock@oeonline.com | requires proper punctuation." -PGB
SYSOP on The HomeBrew University - Motor City Campus BBS (313)397-9758
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 16:51:20 -0400
From: MrMike656@aol.com
Subject: New system/AOL/bottle rack
Fellow Brewers -
Nice to know that the lapse in Digests was the result of a computer
system change and not the work of the pesty robot.
The equipment changeover seems to have affected the delivery to AOL.
Previously, HBD was delivered in two pieces, which could be printed right out
of AOL. With the new system, HBD still comes in two pieces. But both parts
are the first half of the Digest. Each piece also comes with an attached text
file, which is the entire Digest. This must then be exported to a word
processor to read or print. So, we get the each Digest two and a half times.
What to do? No fair saying "Get a real online service".
But to beery things. The wife was complaining about my using the
dishrack as a bottle dryer. I would rinse my empties after consuming and
allow them to drip dry on the dishrack. Took up too much space. I wound
taking the lid of a 5 gallon plastic bucket (I have a bunch of pickle buckets
with lids - easily findable behind your favorite diner) and cutting holes in
it, allowing me stick the bottle neck through. Bottle drains into bucket, no
mess, and sufficent enough for normal consumption (my lid fits 9 bottles -
could probably fit 10).
Mike Maimone
"The only reason for time is that it keeps everything from happening at
once."
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 15:14:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Allen L. Ford" <allen@darwin.sfbr.org>
Subject: Aeration and break formation
A concerned brewer recently asked this forum for comments regarding the
effects of aerating chilled wort on cold break formation. I, too, had
an interest in this subject since I typically begin aeration late in the
cooling cycle, primarily as a time-saving measure.
While he doesn't address the effects on cold break directly, De Clerck,
in A Textbook of Brewing, does discuss the effect on hot break and, by
inference, a possible effect on cold break. Keep in mind that his comments
were made prior to 1948 and do not necessarily reflect current brewing
practices.
In Vol. 1, page 333, he states, "Wort is oxidized by oxygen at high
temperatures, which ... impairs the quality of the final beer. On the
other hand, oxidation of the wort assists in good coagulation of
proteinaceous matter. As a general rule, therefore, hot wort is left in
contact with air for a time, and below 40C (104F) undergoes scarcely any
further oxidation and merely absorbs oxygen."
Then on page 339, "It was shown by Pasteur that oxidation, which only
occurs at high temperatures, increases the colour of the wort, and at the
same time gives it a less bitter flavour and assists in the coagulation of
the hot break."
On page 338, he states, "The particles composing the cold break are in too
fine a state of division to settle rapidly. They can, however, be
completely eliminated by first chilling the wort in the flat cooler and
then agitating to bring the coarser particles into suspension. When the
coarse particles settle they carry down with them the finely divided cold
break by adsorption."
The question is, what the hell does all this mean for us as homebrewers?
The short answer is, probably not much. If I want to oxidize my hot wort
enough to facilitate a complete hot break, without a coolship such as
alluded to by De Clerck, how do I know how much oxygen is appropriate and
how much is too much such that I ruin my beer. I do not intend to attempt
to make such a determination.
However, it seems logical that, once the hot and cold breaks are formed,
the agitation caused by vigorous aeration would have the desirable effect
of bringing the large hot break particles into contact with the smaller
cold break ones. If the process works as described by De Clerck, such
contact should result in a more efficient removal of both types of break
particles assuming that the cooled wort is allowed to rest prior to
run-off and all the trub is left behind.
Is such aerated agitation likely to improve the quality of the finished
beer? From the standpoint of increased cold break removal, probably not
since a bit of cold break may well be beneficial to the ferment in certain
situations (a topic for another day). From the standpoint of increased
aeration however, almost certainly.
Comments?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Allen L. Ford <allen@darwin.sfbr.org> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-= Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research San Antonio, Texas =-=-=
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 16:57:50 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Christopher V. Sack" <cvsack@mailbox.syr.edu>
Subject: Nat. gas burner ==> propane conversion
I have read many posts about converting a natural gas burner scavanged
from a discarded hot water heater (hwh) to run on propane. Where is what
I have done.
I mounted my recycled hwh burner into the center of a homemade metal frame
that was sized to accept my 8 gal brew pot. I quickly learned that the
proper orifice diameter was important in minimizing soot build up. After
several attempts to resize the orifice to a smaller size, it occured to me
that there were jets which were already intended to be used with propane.
I am talking about the jets that are mounted in propane barbecues. (These
typically have an on/off/adjust knob attached to them and can be easily
removed from discarded bbq's using just a screwdriver.) I removed the nat.
gas jet/feed tube from the hwh burner and pushed the recycled barbecue burner
jet (with the on/off/adjust controller still atached, but plastic knob
removed) into the mounting hole of the hwh burner assembly. I attached
the propane feed line to the "gas in" connector of the controller/jet
assembly and connected the other end of the tube to a discarded pressure
regulator. I run the burner at about 15 - 20 psi with the bbq jet set and
left on "max". I get a nice blue flame that is about 6" tall all around
the burner ring. I was able to bring 6 gal of water to a boil in under 20
min., but then I was not trying to break any records.
The burner produces no soot and starts to sound like a jet engine at
higher pressures. The burner ring starts to glow cherry red indicating
that there is plenty of heat being produced, probably more that the
burner ring was designed for. As a result, I suspect that the burner
ring may have a relatively short life time, but then again, it is already
on a second life and there are always replacements available on the side
of the road.
One final note. Since the original nat. gas jet and the bbq jet are both
installed into the support bracket of the burner ring using a squeeze
fit, I did not spend much time positioning the bbq jet into the exact
center of the burner ring. This is because each time I twisted the bbq
jet, it got looser. When I replace the burner ring, I may try to attach
the jet using some sort of nut/comression fitting.
I just read in the recent HBD (8/29) that one of the readers was having a
problem getting his converted cooker to boil water. Since he hooked his
cooker up to his house propane, I suspect that the problem is low pressure
of the gas. The stove and hwh do not need to produce a great deal of
heat, so safety would indicate that the gas supply pressures would be kept
low. I don't know if the pressure regulator can (or should) be adjusted
to a higher pressure.
Chris
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 18:25:20 -0400
From: TRoat@aol.com
Subject: RE: Chuck Mryglot's Spigot Question
Chuck requested information on a replacement spigot for 10 gallon igloo
cooler. Igloo's Customer Service # is 1-800-364-5566 (I think part # 9590 at
$4 - double check with them to be sure). Hope that helps.
Todd W. Roat
TRoat@aol.com
"Beers are alot like women (insert 'men' for you lady brewers) ....They all
look good, they all taste good, and you'd walk over your own mother just to
get on!" - Homer Simpson
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 17:24:35 -0700
From: gmccarthy@dayna.com (Gary McCarthy)
Subject: Alt Recipe, et al
Jerry Cunningham (ESMPD)" <gcunning@Census.GOV> would like an all-grain
Altbier recipe. Got one for ya, Jerry!!! Taken right from Miller's book.
>>>>Side-trip>>>> Three books all home all-grain brewers should own: 1)
Charlie P's book MJOHB 2) Miller's book 3) Micheal Jackson's Beers of the
World <<<<<<<
Altbier
3 lbs Vienna Malt
4 lbs Barley
4 oz Crystal (120 or so)
1/2 oz chocolate malt
Didn't write down the AAUs but I used 2 oz Hallertau and 1 oz of
Tettnager(sp?)
Yeast - Brewers Choice - Belgian Ale
Mash-in 10 qt at 136.F. Protein rest 30 min at 132.F. Raise to 145. - 153. F
for at least 90 min. Mash-out 5 min at 168.F. Sparge, boil to reduce. Added
1 oz Hallertau at 1 hr before end, 1 oz Tettnager at 30 min, 1 oz Hallertau at
5 min.
Makes an excellent tasting beer!
Bessette, Bob" <bessette@msmailgw.uicc.com> says he wonders about a Mash
Jacket - Well, Bob, it sometimes gets real cold on the porch while brewing .,
but you needn't buy a special jacket!!!
gravels@TRISMTP.npt.nuwc.navy.mil asked about the Cats Meow 3. I'm pretty
sure it is only accessible through the Web at
http://alpha.rollanet.org/cm3/CatsMeow3.html. If you have internet access,
can't you just get Netscrape and be on the Web??? I think you should be able
to do that. Get Netscape 1.1N at ftp2.netscape.com. BTW, set-up your
home-page as http://www.umich.edu/~spencer/beer/beer-others.html.
Steven W. Schultz <swschult@cbdcom.apgea.army.mil> says his beer peaks out at
about 5 weeks!! My beers improve consistently with age and I keep them in the
unheated(and uncooled!) garage. Your basement at 60. ought to be just fine.
But, according to Miller, he has never noticed any degradation of the flavor
of his beers because they are in an unregulated space. I go along with that.
Well, I guess thats about all.
Gary McCarthy
gmccarthy@dayna.com
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1819, 08/31/95
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