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HOMEBREW Digest #1877
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/11/07 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1877 Tue 07 November 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
RE another GOTT conversion technique (Tim Fields)
Yeast Lab facts (Jeff Renner)
Dream Pillow (IHomeBrew)
re: open fermenters (Tirebiterz)
re: Subject: Burnt Crud (Tirebiterz)
Bleach Cost (WALZENBREW)
Food Grade Plastic Q (novices)
I love my Bruheat! (Douglas Kerfoot)
Kettle Oil Baths, etc (Kirk R Fleming)
MW of nat.gas, propane, & air / Web pages / Glatt mill ("Keith Royster")
remove burnt crud ("Keith Royster")
Freezing starters? ("William G. Rucker")
Propane Indoors (Frank J Dobner +1 +1 708 979 5124)
Wheat beer question (Jim Dickinson)
Re: Homebrewing in Japan (Chris Green)
Relative molecular weights (John W. Braue, III)
Results - 1995 CDO HC (Fred Hardy)
Storing Wort ("James Hojel")
re ph test strips ("Sharon A. Ritter")
Irish Moss (BrianE)
counter pressure bottling (Andy Walsh)
Wohlgemuth Units (Andy Walsh)
RE: Burnt Crud (Greg Geiger)
Kits (Sascha Kaplan)
airlock fluid (dludwig)
RE airlock advice (tfields)
re: Storing Wort for Yeast Starters (Al Stevens)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 04 Nov 95 11:42:56 EST
From: Tim Fields <74247.551@compuserve.com>
Subject: RE another GOTT conversion technique
Subject: RE another Gott conversion technique
Sent: 11/4/95 9:52 AM
To: czesz@nadn.navy.mil
HBD Posting Adress, homebrew@hpfcmgw.fc.hp.com
Hello All,
Posters are asking about converting Gott coolers. Following are two posts
from LT Alan D Czeszynski <czesz@nadn.navy.mil> Dated Sept 20 and 18,
1995 that I saved. The first is a followup post to his original that
contains a slight design modification. The second is the original.
Since Alan hasnt posted, I hope his design didnt fall apart ;-)
++ Alan: how's your Gott working?
Subject: Gott Cooler Conversion - Bung Design Follow-Up
I was reminded by fellow HBD reader Joe Passante that the
flexible tube I was originally
going to run from the elbow to the bung gets very pliable
when hot, and chances are it would collapse under the weight
of the mash. So I've re-engineered my design to include a
hard plastic tube between the elbow and the bung. Since the
elbow is about 1/3 inch higher than the bung opening, I had
to ensure some compliance at each end of the hard tube. I
felt that if I straight-lined the hard tube through the
bung, the offset would cause bung deformation, increasing
the potential for leak-by. The specifics of the modified
design follow:
1. Materials:
(1) 12 inch Phalse bottom
(2) 1-1/2 inch long sections of 3/8 in OD Flex tube
(1) 5-1/4 inch long section of hard plastic racking cane
tube
(3) 2-1/2 inch long section of hard plastic racking cane
tube (clear if possible)
(1) Fass Frisch 5 liter keg bung
(1) In-line ball valve with barbed fittings for 3/8 inch
tubing
2. Set-up procedure:
a. Slide one end of the 5-1/2 inch racking cane tube about
1/3 of an inch into one of the 1-1/2 inch long flex tube
pieces. Attach the other end of the flex tube to the barbed
elbow connection, leaving about a 1/8 inch gap between the
end of the hard tube and the elbow (this is on of the
compliant joints). Set this assembly aside.
b. Remove the hard plastic insert from the bung (save this
important piece for later use when just using the cooler as
a cooler, or when washing the cooler!). Insert the second
1-1/2 inch flex tube into the opening in the bung, ensure at
least 1/2 inch projects out of the wide end of the bung (the
side that will be on the inside of the cooler).
c. Insert the bung assembly into the cooler.
d. Insert the 2-1/2 inch long piece of clear racking tube
into the bung assembly from the outside until the inside end
just reaches the end of the bung. About 2 inches will
project out from the cooler. I recommend using clear tubing
here because this is a great place to check for clarity of
wort run-off using a bright light and a white paper
background.
e. Place the assembly from step (a) into the cooler,
attaching the free end of the hard plastic tube to the flex
tube projecting from the bung. Ensure there is a 1/8 inch
gap between the two ends of the hard plastic tubes. This is
the second compliant joint.
f. Attach the ball vale to the hard plastic tubing
projecting out from the bung using the remaining short
length of flex tube.
I op-tested this rig last night with 8 gallons of water at
150 deg. There were no leaks after 10 hours. The seal is
sufficiently tight that there is no need for any adhesives
or other sealing compounds. The apparatus can be easily
removed for cleaning, or to convert your cooler back to its
original function. You can also remove everything but the
bung and re-insert the hard plastic plug that came with it
for easy washing.
A few people have asked where I got the bung and the valve,
here is the info for all (standard no promo disclaimer
applies):
The valve is pretty common at homebrew stores. One mail
order source I know of is HopTech, p 19 of the summer
catalog, for $2.25. 1-800-DRY-HOPS
The bung should be sold anywhere the 5 liter kegs are sold.
I bought mine from the Brew Pot in Bowie, MD (301) 805-6799.
- -------
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 1995 10:15:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: LT Alan D Czeszynski <czesz@nadn.navy.mil>
Subject: 10 Gallon Gott cooler spigot conversion - THE ANSWER !
To all of those homebrewers with a 10 gallon Gott Mash/Lauter tun -
I spent the weekend searching for a good answer to the spigot replacement
problem. I plan on using the Phil's Phalse bottom with the cooler, and
spent Friday at the hardware warehouse piecing together valves, nipples,
adapters, etc to meet my needs. The device was getting pretty ugly, so I
decided to just go with a rubber stopper with flexible tubing through
it.
So on Saturday I went to my local homebrew store and picked out a
stopper, and started buying some other stuff (who can spend only $0.65 at
a homebrew store?), when the owner brought out a bin full of "bungs".
One look and I knew I had found the Holy Grail. These bungs are designed
for the German Fass/Frisch 5 liter mini-kegs so you can transport/store
beer in the keg without pressurizing it. It is really a bung within a
bung, because when you are ready to tap the keg, you remove a hard
plastic insert from the bung and insert the tap/charging device.
Well it just so happens that this bung fits into the hole left by
removing the spigot from the 10 gallon Gott perfectly (see graphics)!!
| | <----- inner cooler wall
|_|
_ _<------- bevel that inner wall of cooler fits into
| |_| |_ (just like the original gasket/O-ring)
inside | \ <------ soft rubber bung
cooler | \
| \
|______________\ ____________|
| | <-------- hard plastic insert
______________ |____________|
| / |
| /
| /
| _ _ /
|_| |_|
_
| |
| |
3/8 inch OD flexible tubing fits snugly into the gap left when the
plastic insert is removed. The tubing is connected to the barbed elbow
coming out of the false bottom, and I put a plastic ball valve in-line
external to the cooler to control sparge flow rates.
I op-tested the integrity of the system over the weekend when I soaked
the cooler in ~9 gallons of warm water with baking soda (to get rid of
the plastic smell). Result - not a drop leaked by!
IMHO, this is by far the easiest, cleanest solution to the cooler
conversion problem. I hope this info helps.
Alan
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
LT Alan Czeszynski, USN | czesz@greatlakes.nadn.navy.mil
|
Department of Naval Architecture, |
Ocean and Marine Engineering | voice: 410-293-6436
| fax: 410-293-2219
U. S. Naval Academy Annapolis, MD | DSN: 281-6436
"Reeb!" Tim Fields ... Fairfax, VA
timf@relay.com (non-brewing time)
74247.551@compuserve.com (weekends)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 95 13:48:45 -0500
From: Jeff Renner <nerenner@umich.edu>
Subject: Yeast Lab facts
In HBD 1874, "Craig Rode" <craig.rode@sdrc.com> wrote
>Nonetheless, both here and in rec.crafts.brewing, Wyeast is by far
more
>popular. I have been using the Yeastlab A04 for pale ales with
excellent
>results. Does anyone here have any comment on the relative quality of
the two
>companies, and the reasons for the seeming greater popularity of
Wyeast?
Wyeast's greater popularity is undoubtedly due to their size and
availability. Although not the first (MeV takes that distinction), it
has been active far longer than Yeast Lab, and has wider distribution
because Yeast Lab is exclusively distributed by GW Kent (Yeast Lab is
actually a trademark owned by GWK, not a company). Yeast Lab can be
perceived as being more difficult to use, because the packaging
instructs you to make a starter. Not a bad thing IMHO.
Yeast Lab cultures are produced by The Yeast Culture Kit Company. YCKC
is owned and operated by Dan McConnell, who is a PhD and has a day job
as Research Scientist at the University of Michigan. He is an
incredibly energetic guy, and very anal (good trait in a person you are
buying your yeast from). He published the Yeast Lab Quality Assurance
procedures last March on Lambic Digest (available via archives on
Spencer's Beer Page - http://www-personal.umich.edu/~spencer/beer/).
They are impressive. While it is a one man operation, it is a
sophisticated lab with modern, high quality production equipment.
Randy Reichwage, owner of GW Kent, and Dan are both friends of mine,
which is how I know this stuff, but I have no interest in either company
other than
seeing friends succeed and brewers have access to high quality yeast
(and Dan supplies me with yeast, usually old stuff for QA testing, but,
"I can't be bought for a mere $3.50," as Dave Draper's sig. line often
quotes me).
BTW, Dan, Randy, and Spencer, as well as Mike O'Brien and Dave West of
pico-Brewing Systems, are members of Ann Arbor Brewers' Guild. Do we
have
a killer club or what?
Dan posted the YeastLab IDs to HBD a few months ago. They are (W =
Weihenstephan):
A01 Australian Cooper
A02 American Chico
A03 London Whiteshield
A04 British Whitbread
A05 Irish Guinness
A06 Dusseldorf W164
A07 Canadian Molson
A08 Belgian Brigand
A09 English Ringwood
L31 Pilsner W34/70
L32 Bavarian W206
L33 Munich W308
L34 St Louis A/B
L35 California Anchor
W51 Bavarian Wheat W66
W52 Belgian Wheat Bruge
M61 Dry mead Pasteur champagne
M62 Sweet mead Steinberger
3200 Brettanomyces Cantillion
3220 Pediococcus Cantillion
- --
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner@umich.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 14:55:46 -0500
From: IHomeBrew@aol.com
Subject: Dream Pillow
Has anyone out there made the "Dream Pillow" that Papazian referrs to on
pages 59-60 of _The_Home_Brewer's_Companion_? It is supposed to induce vivid
dreams through the aromatic combination of various herbs, including hops. I
am asking because I recently made one and want to hear if anyone has had any
similar experiences.
Clark, Tacoma, WA
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 15:03:00 -0500
From: Tirebiterz@aol.com
Subject: re: open fermenters
Mark Thompson wrote:
<<Now i'm in the market for a sutible vessil for open fermentation.>>
Try looking in your local yellow pages under "Drums & Barrels". Here in
Denver I found a mom & pop packaging distributer that carries (or can get)
every size & shape of plastic FDA container imaginable, at about half the
price of HB shops. They did have a $25 minimum, but finding someone to pool
with was simple.
Gregg Howard
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 15:03:00 -0500
From: Tirebiterz@aol.com
Subject: re: Subject: Burnt Crud
Randy Erickson wrote:
<<Question: How do I get rid of this stuff?>>
I had the same experience and tried everything, including boiling a strong
solution of dishwasher powder in the pot (not recommended!). I finally tried
leaving about a quart of vinegar in the pot for a couple of days and heating
it up when I thought of it. That seemed to loosen the crud enough to allow
it to be scrubbed out with steel wool. I can't catagorically state that the
vinegar was the one thing that did the job, but nothing I used before seemed
to touch the carbonized gunk. It was also the first acidic solution I tried;
maybe that made the difference.
Gregg Howard
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 16:33:39 -0500
From: WALZENBREW@aol.com
Subject: Bleach Cost
>>In HBD #1870, I compared iodophor and bleach, and stated:
>>(with Iodaphors you can air-dry without rinsing, but
>>Iodaphor is about six times as expensive as bleach)
Dan Sherman writes in HBD #1873:
>I disagree. If you use 3/4 cup of bleach per 5 gallons, you can make
>about 110 gal. of sanitizer per gallon of bleach (about $3). From many
>homebrew shops, you can buy 1L of iodophor for about $10. Using a
>concentration of 25ppm, you can make about 350 gal. of sanitizer (for
>$10). That seems about equivalent to me.
Dan, your cost of living must be pretty high if bleach where you live
costs $3 per gallon - I've never paid more than about a buck and a
quarter for a gallon of 5.25% chlorine bleach - and you sometimes can
get the white label kind (still 5.25%) for a buck or less a gallon.
Assuming $1.25 a gallon, this comes to a little over a penny an ounce.
3/4 cup is six ounces, so you can make my extra-strong (yes, I know it's
overkill at this strength) 5 gallon solution for about 6.5 cents worth
of bleach.
The price for Iodaphors at my local homebrew shop is 50 cents an ounce.
If you use 2 tablespoons to get the recommended 25 ppm strength, that's
one ounce (1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce). Thus bleach is 50/6.5, or 7.7
times cheaper even at my 3/4 ounce use level. Even at $10/liter (70.4
ounces), which is an extremely good price for Iodaphors, that's about 14
cents an ounce, or 14/6.5 or about twice as expensive.
All figures aside, the point is that bleach is cheap and easy to find
and kills everything. That's why I continue to use it - and will
continue to use it in the future. What works best for a brewery or
micro is not necessarily the best for us homebrewers. And as far as
what happens when it goes down the drain: I let my local sewage
authority worry about that. They've been handling bleach for
generations and aren't complaining. That's what my taxes and sewage
bills pay for.
Prosit!
Greg Walz
WALZENBREW@aol.com
Pittsburgh, PA
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 13:44:16 -0800 (PST)
From: novices <novices@poniecki.haas.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Food Grade Plastic Q
Thanks to all you who answered my questions re the quality of Oakland
water (good for brewing from the tap, boiled) and using oatmeal in stouts
(most said to mix it in with other grains). I have another question
arising out of economics...
The question: Can anyone tell me how to tell if a plastic bucket is
of food-grade quality suitable for making a lauter tun? Specifically, I
noted that the laundry detergent here comes in white 5-gallon buckets, which
look to be the right size for making my own lauter tun. Would these white
plastic buckets be safe for pouring hot grains into without danger of
chemicals or flavors leaching out? The detergent brand is Clout, on the
bottom of the bucket it has HDPE #2 (re recycling quality), and it looks
like to me the bucket manuafacturer would be a company named HUISH. Just
wondering if maybe I have a free, in-house source for basic materials here.
Thanks in advance!
Br. James Thompson - novices@poniecki.haas.berkeley.edu
St. Albert's Priory, Novitiate
Order of Friars Preachers
Oakland, California
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 16:46:05 -0500
From: dkerfoot@freenet.macatawa.org (Douglas Kerfoot)
Subject: I love my Bruheat!
>Date: Tue, 31 Oct 1995 10:26:21 -0600
>From: Danny Mastre <dmastre@bcbsnd.com>
>Subject: Bruheat
>
>
>I have seen a Mash/Tun-Boiler called a Bruheat. Was wondering if anyone
>has used this or seen it used before. It looked kind of interesting.
> tia danny
>Danny Mastre dmastre@bcbsnd.com
>Blue Cross Blue Shield of ND
>701-277-2436
I love my Bruheat! I have been using it for over a year and would recommend
it to anyone. If you are going mash in it, be sure to buy the special
grain-bag for it. This keeps the grains from sticking to and burning on the
heating element. Most of the complaints I have heard from people are caused
by this.
The temperature controller works, but sometimes the temperature can run away
from you if you're not careful. What I do most of the time now is heat
water in the bruheat, mash and sparge in a gott cooler, and then boil in the
bruheat. I still do extra high gravity batches in the bruheat because of
it's 6 gallon (5 Imperial) capacity. Lets me stuff more grain in there.
I don't think that you can get the 110 volt models anymore. If you can
DON'T. The 220v model boils water perfectly. Not real fast, but a
beautiful roiling boil (yes, roiling). Once the initial foaming has
subsided, you can leave a full 6 gallons boiling with no fear of boilover.
Someone is sure to tell you that it will carmelize your wort and that you
can't brew a very light, delicate beer in a Bruheat. Even Charlie Papazian,
who I normally agree with, is dead wrong on this matter. It's kind of
funny, he praised the Bruheat in his first book, then slams it in his
second. Rumor has it that he and Kinney Baughman (SP?), owner of BrewCo had
a little falling out.
I've got a friend.. well, I work with a guy.. um, let's just say I know
someone who uses a bruheat and ended up with a batch of American lager that
is just as anemic looking as Bud Light. He is wondering how he can add some
color, ANY color to it.
Used properly, the Bruheat will not carmelize your wort, nor will it darken
your beer.
For under $100.00 you can get a five (actually 6) gallon boiler/mash tun
with a built in heat source. It even has a grommeted hole on its very tight
fitting lid so that you could put an airlock in it and use it as a primary
fermenter(I don't recommend this). Another option would be to insert a tube
into this hole to capture the vapors that evaporate from a liquid being
heated to a precise temperature in the Bruheat. Now why would anyone want
to do that? Perhaps Kinney's neighbors in Boone, N.C. know of some
potential use for this.
Did I mention that I love my Bruheat?
I am not affiliated with BrewCo in any way, but if Kinney sends me $5.00 or
free beer I will accept it.
Doug Kerfoot (I like beer)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 14:30:04 -0700
From: flemingk@usa.net (Kirk R Fleming)
Subject: Kettle Oil Baths, etc
David Hill in #1875 asks for opinions regarding his idea of an oil
bath "buffer" for heating a kettle. I think the idea is not too
bad, but I'd recommend against using oil as the "working fluid".
Without getting everone's shorts in a twist with an unfounded
overreaction, it's safe to say that *you could* get called away
from the unit and find the oil at it's flash point, with a consequent
disaster of Biblical magnitude. Even an accidental spill in the
presence of an open burner might prove rather incediary.
Consider instead a glycol solution--I have no idea what the boiling
point can be brought up to using a glycol-water mix, but I'd think
250F might be possible. Just an idea. A mercury bath would be
pretty cool, too--I believe the Binford ToxiTherm 4000 uses this
technology.
Another solution might be to take the portion of the keg that was
removed to make it a kettle and fastening that portion to the bottom
outside surface of the keg (with a steel retainer) you might get
improved heat distribution. Obviously this idea stinks if you didn't
both make your own kettle AND save the scrap, if for no other reason.
KRF Colorado Springs
- ------------------------------------------------------
"We can help the cause of pale ale both by drinking it
and brewing it as much as possible." Terry Foster
- ------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 19:51:30 +0500 ET
From: "Keith Royster" <N1EA471@mro.ehnr.state.nc.us>
Subject: MW of nat.gas, propane, & air / Web pages / Glatt mill
<HARLEN BAUER QUOTE>
> I'm sorry, but I simply can't let a half-truth go unchallenged.
> Although it is true that Propane is heavier than air and therefore pools
> on the ground, so does Natural Gas. Both gasses are heavier than air,
> and both have the potential to pool.
</HARLEN BAUER QUOTE>
Not according to my NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards, which has
propane's MW listed as 44.1 and natural gas (Methane) as 16.04. The
average MW of air is 28.9 (according to the Engineer-In-Training
Reference Manual). So apparently methane *is* lighter than air and will
not pool. But then again this won't really help you brew indoors unless
you have explosion proof light fixtures ;-) But seriously folx, I think
the main concern with either of these gases being used indoors is adequate
ventilation for the products of combustion, not the fuels themselves.
#####
On another topic, I recently explained to our brewclub members how I was
working on a Web page for the club (http://149.168.19.21/brewmast.htm) and
requested ideas from them for things to add to the page. One of the ideas
I already had (not original) was to include monthly club activities
such as brew sessions and beer tastings along with instructions on when
and where to meet. Several of the members expressed concern with this
idea stating that they didn't want Mr. Neoprohibitionist Cop finding out
on the web where & when to stake out these meetings so he can then pull
people over when they try to leave for drinking and driving. Now my
initial reaction is that this is a bit extreme. They might as well just
not belong to the club (the cop could get our newsletter from the local
brew stores too). But maybe I'm being a bit naive (sp?). I guess I could
just leave out the details on the page and instruct visitors to contact a
member for this info. Whaddaz the collective think about this? If you
respond, let me know where you live. I'm curious if this us just a
southern/babble-belt thing.
And one last question. I was planning on asking for a Glatt Grain Mill
for my birthday, but am now obviously concerned since they are going out
of business that the warrently wouldn't be worth much. It was my
understanding that this was *the* mill to have. So what would the
experienced all-grainers recommend? Buy the Glatt and cross the fingers,
or is there a close second placer?
Keith Royster - NC DEHNR - Mooresville, NC, USA
Voice: (704) 663-1699 x252
Fax: (704) 663-6040
email: KRoyster@mro.ehnr.state.nc.us
etalk: KRoyster@ws21.mro.ehnr.state.nc.us
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 1995 20:04:00 +0500 ET
From: "Keith Royster" <N1EA471@mro.ehnr.state.nc.us>
Subject: remove burnt crud
Randy Erickson is wondering how to remove the burnt/scorched crud from
the inside of his 15gal boiler. Assuming its a SS boiler, I use a spray
on oven cleaner and let sit for a few minutes. Works wonderfully! Don't
use this on aluminum though.
And while I'm here again, I'd like to apologize for any confusion I may
have caused with a recent post regarding yeast slants VS stabs. The
method I described was neither, but was (I think) a good description of
yeast *plating*. Again, sorry for any confusion.
Keith Royster - NC DEHNR - Mooresville, NC, USA
Voice: (704) 663-1699 x252
Fax: (704) 663-6040
email: KRoyster@mro.ehnr.state.nc.us
etalk: KRoyster@ws21.mro.ehnr.state.nc.us
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 Nov 95 23:05:14 EST
From: "William G. Rucker" <ruckewg@naesco.com>
Subject: Freezing starters?
I have a curious question for those who make up starters for their
yeast. Has anyone frozen fresh starter wort with any success? I have
made starters for the past year or so and enjoy the better start times
on fermentaton but the small amount of starter wort can take a
substantial amount of time to prepare. This is especially true of
building from cultures.
One quick word on airlocks. I get the impression that some people are
filling their airlocks to full with whatever solution they use. I have
always filled mine (S style) with water and with enough volume to keep
the nasties out but without enough to get sucked back through. The
airlock should work the other way too, right? Just a thought.
Bill Rucker
Senior Computer Technician - Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant
ruckewg@naesco.com (work)
brewzer@peanut.mv.com (home)
------------------------------
Date: 1 Nov 95 19:50:00 -0600
From: fjdobner@intgp1.att.com (Frank J Dobner +1 +1 708 979 5124)
Subject: Propane Indoors
Honestly, the subject of propane use indoors is one that I am glad
occurs many times per year on the HBD. Quite selfishly, it helps me to
remember to treat propane with a lot of respect. I also use propane
indoors and I think I do all the right things. If you get sick of the
propane posts, just think of them as a "wake-up call."
Frank Dobner
Aurora, Illinois
"It takes a very careful brewer to be extremely dangerous."
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 1995 09:50:33 GMT
From: jdickins@baste.magibox.net (Jim Dickinson)
Subject: Wheat beer question
hey all,
I have brewed several all grain wheat beers following eric warners directions
to the tee and they all turned out tasting like tea does when you steep the
teabag too long, BITTER. I am wondering why this might be. I've double
checked everything I can think of and can come up with nothing. None of my
other all grains turn out like this. The ONLY way I deviate from e.w. is my
use of 1# more grain. My gut feeling is this decoction crap, I just knew the
grains were never meant to be boiled.
If anyone has any suggestions, I am open to them. As it stands now my wheat
beer efforts will be put on hold, though I may try a non-decoction wheat
beer, such as a belgain wit.
thanks,
jim
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 05 Nov 1995 20:43:31 +0900
From: Chris Green <chris@gol.com>
Subject: Re: Homebrewing in Japan
Chris Pittock writes:
> This converts to around US$36.50 and US$30.50!
>
> >Added to all this, I have found out that it is strictly illegal to make
> >your own beer with more than 1% alcohol in it! Guess there wont be any
> >>Japanese Indian Pale Ales!
>
> Anyone scared?!
Not that *I'd* ever brew anything with more than 1% ABV, but let's just
say the word "strictly" is, um, open to interpretation. And we have our
sources.... :-)
Even the figures quoted by Chris lose some of their scariness when you
consider that a 10-liter case of the local megaswill can't be had for
less than US$60. Remember, this is the country where Schaefer sells for
$1.20 a can.
_______________________________________________________________________
Chris Green Tokyo, Japan
<chris@gol.com> "I wish I was a Cadillac on a northbound train"
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 04 Nov 1995 09:54:26
From: braue@ratsnest.win.net (John W. Braue, III)
Subject: Relative molecular weights
blacksab@siu.edu (Harlan Bauer) asks :
>I'm sorry, but I simply can't let a half-truth go unchallenged. Although it
>is true that Propane is heavier than air and therefore pools on the ground,
>so does Natural Gas. Both gasses are heavier than air, and both have the
>potential to pool.
>
>Could someone familiar with the relative molecular weights post the
>densities of air, propane, and natural gas. Is propane really that much
>heavier than natural gas?
>
Natural gas is predominantly methane (CH[4]), which has a molecular
weight of 16. Propane is C[3]H[8], giving it a molecular weight
of 44.
Air, of course, doesn't have a "molecular weight" as such, since it
is not a pure gas, but a mixture thereof. As a good first
approximation, however, we can consider air to be 80% nitrogen
(N[2]), molecular weight 28, and 20% oxygen (O[2]), molecular
weight 32. Thus the average molecular weight of air is
(.8*28)+(.2*32) = 28.8.
As I dimly remember from my chemistry courses, all gases, at any
given temperature and pressure, have the same number of molecules
per unit volume, and therefore their densities are solely
dependent on their molecule weights. Taking the density of air as
1.000, therefore, natural gas should have a density of 0.556, and
propane a density of 1.523.
I would be surprised if natural gas had any tendency to "pool" _per
se_; I'd want to see the evidence. Of course, let us remember that
the "pooling" effect will occur only if there are no convection
currents, etc., to mix the gases (and all gases are miscible in all
proportions). Carbon dioxide, with the same molecular weight (and
therefore density) as propane, can and does "pool" under the
proper circumstances, but is usually found well-mixed with the
other components of the atmosphere.
A non-pooling gas will not necessarily be safer, either. A "pool"
of pure gas will only burn along its boundary with fresh air (need
oxygen for burning, yes?), at least until the convection currents
produced by the burning break up the pool. OTOH, a combustible gas
welll-mixed with the air will produce a nicely explosive mixture, a
la the mixture of gasoline vapor and air in an I/C engine cylinder.
Conclusion: whether your cooker set-up burns propane, natural gas,
acetylene, hydrogen, or nitromethane, be sure that the area is
well-ventilated, to carry off combusition by-products and fuel
leaks.
- --
John W. Braue, III braue@ratsnest.win.net
I prefer both my beer and my coffee to be dark and bitter; that way,
they fit in so well with the rest of my life.
I've decided that I must be the Messiah; people expect me to work
miracles, and when I don't, I get crucified.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 11:21:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Fred Hardy <fcmbh@access.digex.net>
Subject: Results - 1995 CDO HC
RESULTS OF THE 1995 CAPITOL DISTRICT OPEN
Washington, DC November 4, 1995
My thanks to Wayne Gisiger, Judge Coordinator, and Kevin
Anderson, Assistant Organizer, for their help in making this
year's competition a success. Thanks, also, to the judges,
stewards and entrants, and particularly our Best of Show judges:
Scott Bickham, David Houseman, Mike Lelivelt and Craig Pepin.
There were 216 entries. Winners are:
STRONG ALE:
1st Eng. Old/Strong Ale Nir Navot
2nd Imperial Stout Rex Saffer
3rd Eng. Old/Strong Ale Nir Navot
BELGIAN STYLE:
1st Sour Cherry Lambic George Griffith
2nd Belgian Strong Ale Robert Waddell
3rd Belgian Tripel David Houseman
BRITISH MIXED ALE
1st English Bitter John Dickman
2nd English Brown Paul Vezzetti
3rd Scottish Light Rock Roberts
ENGLISH-STYLE PALE ALE
1st Extra Special Bitter Gerard Filicko
2nd English Pale Ale Mike Lelivelt
3rd English Pale Ale Terry Rowell
AMERICAN ALE
1st American Brown Rick Gontarek
2nd American Brown Gerald Palombi
3rd American Brown David Kimball
AMERICAN MIXED
1st American Pale Lager Martin Stokes
2nd American Pale Lager Martin Stokes
3rd American Pale Lager Terry Sanderson
DARK ALES (PORTER & STOUT)
1st Robust Porter Mark Marson
2nd Classic Dry Stout Wendell Ose
3rd Brown Porter Kevin Anderson
PALE CONTINENTAL BEERS
1st German Pilsner Dan Litwin
2nd Bohemian Pilsner Tom Gaworski
3rd German Pilsner Rhett Rebold
VIENNA/OKTOBERFEST
1st Oktoberfest/Maerzen Chris Hamilton
2nd Oktoberfest/Maerzen George Fix
3rd Oktoberfest/Maerzen Craig Pepin
DARK GERMAN BEERS
1st Munich Dunkel Dan Litwin
2nd Doppelbock Rich Rosowski
3rd Munich Dunkel Mah Zaccheo
GERMAN-STYLE WHEAT BEERS
1st Ger-style Weizen Paul Harwig
2nd Weizenbock Rex Saffer
3rd Dunkelweizen Rex Saffer
NOVELTY BEERS
1st Herb Beer - Xmas Spices Mah Zaccheo
2nd Herb Beer - Jalepena Mike Westman
3rd Herb Beer - Ginger Nir Navot
SPECIALTY BEERS
1st Classic Specialty Rich Rosowski
2nd Specialty Beer Wayne Gisiger
3rd Specialty Beer Rhett Rebold
NON-BEERS - MEADS AND CIDERS
Best of Show - Traditional Mead Ed Iaciofano
2nd Herb Mead John Carlson
3rd Traditional Mead Fred Hardy
BEST OF SHOW:
Paul Harwig with a German-style Weizen
Congratulations to all of the winners!
Cheers, Fred
==============================================================================
We must invent the future, else it will | <Fred Hardy>
happen to us and we will not like it. |
[Stafford Beer, "Platform for Change"] | email: fcmbh@access.digex.net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 95 21:30:20 UT
From: "James Hojel" <JTroy@msn.com>
Subject: Storing Wort
Thank you for all your responses on storing wort. The following are a few of
the suggestions and ideas.
- -------
1) With regards to storing wort for yeast starters, the real issue is
maintaining
sterility. Despite boiling of the wort and transfer into sanitized bottles,
it is not sterile and therefore long-term storage can be problematic. Aside
from actually autoclaving the wort after brewing, the other alternative is to
use a procedure called Tyndallyzation or fractional sterilization. This
technique is used to sterilize liquids which decompose upon autoclaving.
What you want to do is add wort to sanitized bottle on brew day then 1-2 days
after bottling place the bottle (slightly loosened lid; I'd cover the lid
with
aluminum foil just in case of boilover, etc). in boiling water. Heat for
about 30 minutes and cool. Repeat this one more time a couple days later.
How this works is that the repeated heating cycles will kill any spores that
may have survived and been activated after the first or second boil. The
actual process is much like canning and does not require a pressure cooker.
BTW this procedure is very similar to that used by some of the big brewery
labs.
2) Canning wort via pressure cooker.
Thanks you.
------------------------------
Date: 05 Nov 95 17:17:37 EST
From: "Sharon A. Ritter" <102446.3717@compuserve.com>
Subject: re ph test strips
Harlan: >Anyone have any experience with Color pHast?<
I've been using these strips for the past year after a brief and frustrating
experience with the cheap ones. They work really well (as well as pH test strips
can be expected) and can be rinsed. I have my eyes on a digital pH probe but
the $50 price tag is scary. However, the ColorpHast strips cost $15...
As for your complaint about hb shop selection, I'd suggest looking into HopTech
or Brewer's Resource for those hard to find items. I receive my orders in 3-4
days.
The usual disclaimers apply - I'm just a satisfied customer.
Dan Ritter in Grangeville, Idaho
102446.3717@compuserve.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 95 16:30 CST
From: BrianE@anesthesia-po.anesth.uiowa.edu
Subject: Irish Moss
Should I be worried that re-hydrated Irish Moss always smells like
fish to me? Or should seaweed always smell like fish? Does
the aroma somehow reflect the quality of the product?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 10:11:42 +1100 (EST)
From: awalsh@crl.com.au (Andy Walsh)
Subject: counter pressure bottling
I seem to have a lot of trouble with my Benjamin Machine Products counter
pressure bottler. It works OK after you get the hang of it (low foaming); I
get nice clear beer that tastes just like the keg it came out of. The
trouble is that the shelf life, even when stored in the fridge, is about a
month, after which time it gets stale (oxidised). I theorise that this is
due to the lack of yeast sediment in the bottles, failing to take out the
small amount of O2 introduced in the bottling process (yes I purge the
bottle first, 3 times). Has anybody else had this problem with
counter-pressure bottling?
******************************************
Andy Walsh from Sydney
Ph. (02) 212 6333 email awalsh@crl.com.au
******************************************
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 10:55:57 +1100 (EST)
From: awalsh@crl.com.au (Andy Walsh)
Subject: Wohlgemuth Units
I have just had an unusual request which I cannot answer. Maybe someone here
can:
**********
The sentens he refers is like this:"To prepare a typical small batch of
mash, 327,5 kg of the ground corn, 1007 L of tap water ...and 2.04 x 10^7
units of carbohydrase(modified Wohlgemuth units of Bacillus
licheniformis)".
I work in the field of fermentation but I dont know the term
"Wohlgemuth".
I gess he have got the rescription from some beer source.
Do You know this term or any who might ?
**********
Anyone who can answer this question will receive this week's Homebrew Digest
Egghead of the Week virtual award.
******************************************
Andy "Wohlgemuth" Walsh from Sydney
Ph. (02) 212 6333 email awalsh@crl.com.au
******************************************
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 21:02:10 -0500
From: Greg Geiger <geiger@grove.ufl.edu>
Subject: RE: Burnt Crud
ON Thu, 2 Nov 1995 RANDY ERICKSON <RANDYE@mid.org> Wrote:
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::After fifty or so batches (extract based) I had a strange experience on
::my last batch. A nice black ring of burnt crud (sugars) on the bottom of
::my 15 gal keg boiler. Reminiscent of the last time the SO let the water
::boil out of a pot of beans -- and that was _my_ fault too somehow, BTW.
::
::Question: How do I get rid of this stuff?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Try this out (I learned it from having to clean out metal coffee pots in a
restaraunt():
Take the pot and put ICE (that frozen water stuff) in it. Swish it around
and then use a scouring pad to scrape the crud off. This may take a little work,
but it is easier than doing it with pure synovial fluid (elbow grease.)
The crud contracts differently than the metal does when it freezes so it loses
its bond.
Greg Geiger
geiger@grove.ufl.edu
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 22:47:02 -0500 (EST)
From: Sascha Kaplan <kaplan@panther.middlebury.edu>
Subject: Kits
Hi.
I wanted to thank everybody who wrote me concerning my carbonation problems.
Also, I'll pass on the info to the other novices out there:
1. If you use the kits, don't use their instructions.
2. If you do use their instructions change the following things:
a. boil the extract in several gallons of water instead of just
the 1/2 gallon that the kit might recommend. Add the wort to the
remaing cold water in the recipe.
b. Be patient. Wait until there have been no bubbles in the
airlock for several days, or you're hydrometer readings have been stable for
several days in a row, before you bottle.
c. boil your priming sugar in a cup and half of water before
adding to the siphoned bucket of beer before bottling.
d. It should take at least two weeks before the beer gets
carbonated, but try a bottle every several days until the carbonation is
right. Then chill the bottles. (It has been exactly two weeks, and my
batch is just getting it's first bubbles)
e. Most importantly, remember to taste everything! If it tastes
all right, then things are going well...I learned the hard way, I threw
out a perfectly good wort because it didn't ferment. If I had tasted it,
I could have just added more yeast.
"Relax, have a homebrew"
-Sascha
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 5 Nov 1995 22:45:58 -0500
From: dludwig@ameritel.net
Subject: airlock fluid
>I strongly recommend against putting bleach in the airlock. Sometimes, your
>airlock will suck in the airlock fluid, especially early in the fermentation
>when the temperature is fluctuating. Just a tiny bit of bleach in your beer
>can make your beer taste like powdered steel. Algae, on the other hand, can't
>do a whole lot, and a touch of vodka in your beer isn't going to hurt anything.
I've seen this suckback problem mentioned before in the digest but have
never experienced it myself. In fact I never see the levels in the airlock
indicate anything other than zero to positive differential pressure. What
causes this? Only thing I can think of is pitching to warm wort then cooling
the wort rapidly to fermentation temp such that as the wort/airspace cools,
a delta P in the wrong direction forms. Not good. You need to get your
yeasts off to the races as fast as possible so they are pumping CO2 and
pushing the bubbles in the right direction. In my opinion, any suck back
problem draws contaminated outside air into the fermenter and should be
avoided completely.
Dave Ludwig
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 Nov 95 10:52:54 EST
From: tfields@relay.com
Subject: RE airlock advice
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 09:45:11 -0600
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Subject: Airlock blowoff and Trappist Gypsum.
In #1874, Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com (aka the -R Dude) offers advice
to Eugene Sonn <sonn@oswego.Oswego.EDU re a kraeusen-clogged airlock:
>You should either use a blowoff or a larger carboy or
>a smaller batch size.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Russell! For shame!! This is not the Russell I know ;-)
"reeb!" Tim Fields ... Fairfax, VA
timf@relay.com (non-brewing time)
timfields@aol.com (weekends)
74247.551@compuserve.com (weekends)
------------------------------
Date: 06 Nov 95 05:11:50 EST
From: Al Stevens <72704.743@compuserve.com>
Subject: re: Storing Wort for Yeast Starters
>1) I'm getting very tiered of paying a couple of bucks every time I want to
>make a yeast starter (DME). Question: can I collect some left-over runnings
>from my Mash and save it for later use? Maybe freezing it and boiling it
>when needed? How long will frozen Wort last; what affects does freezing Wort
>have on the quality (chemical structure etc.)? Basically, what is the most
>efficient and quality way of saving some Wort for later use?
I use those small juice bottles, (you know, they sell them at the lunch counter)
for
storing sterile wort. When I need to make some, I brew up a standard pale ale,
and same enough wort to fill as many bottle as I have.
The proceedure:
Sterilize the bottles.
make some wort
fill the bottles 2/3 full
set the bottle in a canning pot, sitting on the rack, with enough water to cover
the bottles halfway up. put the caps in the pot as well.
boil the bejesus out of them! ( a hard boil for about 30 minutes).
remove each bottle with canning tongs, fish out a cap, and tighten it down.
When cool, store in the pantry along with the tomato paste, beans, wort etc.
These bottles take a standard #7 stopper. I put the contents of my yeast
source, (vial, wack-pack, slant) into one of these and fit with an airlock.
When the activity
is present, I put this and another sterile into a larger bottle ( 1 quart milk
bottle).
This gives me a good quantity of active starter.
Al Stevens
72704.743@compuserve.com
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1877, 11/07/95
*************************************
-------
