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HOMEBREW Digest #1925
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/01/02 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1925 Tue 02 January 1996
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Astringence (sean franklin)
Using Phil Mills (FxBonz)
Any recent Wyeast 1056 problems? ("Mark E. Perkins")
Re: 520 nm? (tungsten light bulbs) (bob dougherty)
Stainless Steel Mesh Hop Cages (Stan Gregory)
Beer-induced beer thoughts (DANVATH)
A Starte4 Kit (THEROD733)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 31 Dec 1995 17:55:22 +0000
From: sean franklin <roosters@roosters.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Astringence
In article <sMikcCATuv4wEwMj@roosters.demon.co.uk>, sean franklin
<roosters@roosters.demon.co.uk> writes
>>HOMEBREW Digest #1917
>>
>>From: Don Rudolph <DON@nova.mhs.compuserve.com>
>>Subject: Astringency
>>
>snip
>>As we know, astringency is the result of polyphenols (tannins) in the
>>beer.
>snip
>>1. What can cause astringency in beer?
>Astringence. Caused by the interaction between tannins from the beer and
>the glycoproteins (which act as lubrication) of our saliva. This
>interaction robs the saliva of its lubrication properties. Silicates are
>also involved. So too are the balancing and reinforcing tastes ever
>present in beer.
>> a. Ingredients (malt husks, hops, ??)
>Yes and yes, and probably silicate based auxilliary finings (you may not
>use these in the US.) Malt husk tannin contents and degree of
>polymerisation (which controls the perceived astringence) will I guess
>vary from year to year and between varieties. Darker malts give higher
>perceived astringence than pale. Hops will vary the same. Year to year
>and between varieties. The actual astringence of the tannins is based on
>the degree of polymerisation of the tannin molecule. The molecules
>polymerise with age and become softer. But they arrive on the scene at
>varying degress of polymerisation so measurement of the total tannins
>may not give (even apart from the silicates) the whole picture.
>> b. Environmental conditions (mash pH, temp, salts/ions, ???)
>pH yes, temp yes, rest yes esp. water treatment. Apart from varying the
>tannin extraction some salts reinforce or subtract astringence
>perception tastewise ie more sulphate ion - 'drier' taste so astringence
>more evident.
>> c. Procedures (HSA, mash, sparge, decoction mash, boil, ???)
>Sorry, what's HSA.? Mash yes, more raking - more silicate + tannin
>extraction from the husks. How far the runoff is taken. 1005/6 seems to
>be the cut off point many brewers use. Sparge temp yes. Decoction I
>guess gives more astringence due to higher temps and more physical
>manipulation.
>>2. What precautions should be taken pre-fermentation?
>> a. Recipe
>Pale malt: If you could find low tannin malt would it do the rest of
>what you wanted ? You could use less malt of a higher colour to acheive
>the colour without the astringence, but the taste would differ. Hops are
>worth considering. I've noticed more initial astringence from hop
>pellets compared to the whole hop, but is this due to more available co-
>humulone or tannin in the pellets?
>> b. Mash (Infusion, Decoction)
>I'd go for infusion. Part of the lagering process may well be for the
>purpose of softening the astringence produced by the decoction mash. On
>the other hand it also refines other aspects of the beers character.
>> c. Sparge
>Don't go higher than 168 deg f.
>> d. Boil
>Complicated. Someone else better answer that.
>> e. Cooling, aeration
>Nothing clear here either. Cooler the beer is taken, the more protein
>and tannins are complexed and removed ?
>>3. What remedies are available post-fermentation?
>> a. Lagering
>Yes. Because the tannin/protein complexes will be removed. Ageing
>increases the polymerisation of the tannin molecule . The bigger they
>get, the less astringence is perceived.
>> b. Filtering
>Ice beers are smoother because the tannins are removed by cold
>filtration.
>> c. Additives, Gelatine will remove tannins.
> finings. Some Auxillary finings used in the UK to bolster the charge on
>the yeast are silicate based. So don't overfine.
>- Why not look at how tannins are naturally removed. We make several
>dark beers which start out with some astringence but these seem to
>quickly soften out to silkiness within a week or so.
>
>To those at HD Happy New Year and thanks for some interesting reading
>this last few months since I found rec.crafts. brewing
- --
sean franklin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 09:46:14 -0500
From: FxBonz@aol.com
Subject: Using Phil Mills
On Thu, 28 Dec 95 in HBD 1923 Todd Mansfield (2033006@mcimail.com) said:
TM>I haven't gotten fixed up with a larger hopper yet, but would like to hear
how other TM>digesters have done it.
I also have PhilsMill. I have replaced the plastic lid on a 3 gal plastic
pail with a woden lid. I then attached the mill to the wooden lid at the
very edge. I then cut a circular hole in the side of the pail near the top
to allow the "shaft" to fit through. The down side is that I must detach the
crank handle before removing the crushed grain. ( I supose that I could
fashion a hinged window to permit grain removal without disturbing the
assembled mechanism but haven't gotten to that yet.) I replaced the
standard handle with a Lil Nub (tm) that I attach my drill to but you still
have to disconnect the drill before getting into the collecting hopper. If
you brew really BIG beers then you could simply use a larger pail but 6-10
lbs of grain fit easily into the 3 gal pail.
Steve
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- -----------------------
Brewing beer is far more exciting when it is both a hobby and a felony!
The Alabama Outlaw
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jan 96 17:10:06 -0500
From: "Mark E. Perkins" <perkins@zippy.ho.att.com>
Subject: Any recent Wyeast 1056 problems?
In mid-October, someone posted about problems with a packet of Wyeast 1056.
The packet had a September production date. Has anyone had any problems with
packets of more recent vintage? On Fri (12/29), I smacked a packet w/
production date 11/15/95 (purchased Thanksgiving weekend), pitched it to a 1
pt. starter on 12/31. When I got ready to pitch the starter to my wort today
(1/1/96), the yeast starter smelled awful (more like bread than like beer, but
if I had been making bread that smelled like that, I would have tossed it).
For the record, I've used 1056 up to three months after production date w/ no
problems.
My questions:
1) any recent problems w/ 1056 that anyone can relate?
2) since I didn't have a back-up starter, I smacked new yeast (two packs,
actually, one 1056 w/ 12/20/95 date, and an ESB w/ 12/20 date to be safe). My
wort is air-locked in the carboy. Can I safely pitch a new starter in 2-3
days when the starter is ready? I guess this will be a chance to see just how
good my sanitation procedures are.... 8*{)
Lesson Learned: Check the starter before starting the boil.
Happy New Year,
Mark Perkins
perkins@zippy.ho.att.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 1996 16:41:49 -0800 (PST)
From: bob dougherty <wolfgang@cats.ucsc.edu>
Subject: Re: 520 nm? (tungsten light bulbs)
in HBD #1922 (12/29/95), Rob Lauriston asks:
>
> Greg Walz's post in HBD # 1917 about lightbulbs damaging beer made me
> wonder...
>
> Does anyone in the collective know the intensity of the various wavelengths
> of light given off by incandescent bulbs? I think blue-green is what we
> want to avoid and incandescent always seems more yellow-orange. They might
> be harmless. (Or they might be the duvel in disguise.)
Tungsten light bulbs do indeed produce more energy from the red end of
the spectrum. However, they do produce significant light energy at
520 nm (about half as much as the same intensity of sunlight).
Therefore, the light produced isn't quite as bad as sunlight of the
same intensity, but it's definitely _not_ harmless to our beer!
here's a very crude representation of the wavelength distribution of
regular tungsten light bulbs and sunlight:
200 | xxxx tungsten
| xx
| xxx
| xx
relative | xx
amount 100 | ooooooooooooooxxooo
of light | oo xxx oooooooooo sunlight
| oo xxxx
| xxxx
| xxxxx
| xx
0 ____________________________________
400 500 600 700
wavelength (nm)
I always keep my glass carboys covered with a dark towel or an inverted
cardboard box (like the one my carboy came in).
bob
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Robert F Dougherty Board of Psychology (408)459-4559 (office)
wolfgang@cats.ucsc.edu UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (408)469-0501 (message)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 96 19:40:09 EST
From: Stan Gregory <cn1428@coastalnet.com>
Subject: Stainless Steel Mesh Hop Cages
Hi Brewers,
I recently found some fairly heavy gage S.S. mesh at a scrap metal yard (35
cents per pound).
Used the mesh to build a cylinder to contain whole hops for dry-hopping in
corny kegs. Also built larger cylinders to contain whole hops during the
boil. The containers won't work with hop pellets.
These cages (my wife calls them cricket cages) seem to work well for both
boiling and dry-hopping. I like them better than nylon hop bags: less
wettable, easier to sanitize, clean, etc.
The cylinders were formed and secured into shape using annealed S.S. wire.
The mesh disk for the bottom was secured with the same wire. The disk for
the lid was hinged with S.S. wire. Have tried various methods to keep the
lid in a closed position but haven't yet worked out an ideal/convenient
method of closure.
For boiling, I use a cylinder measuring 4.25 x 7 inches to contain one ounce
of whole hops. Cages measuring 2.5 x 6 inches work well for 0.5 oz hop
additions, and for dry-hopping in the keg. A long length of S.S. wire
attached to the dry-hopping cage allows the cage to be easily removed from
the keg if needed. The end of the wire is curled so it rests just beneath
the keg pressure plate. So far, we have consumed the brew before needing to
remove the dry-hop cage.
This mesh is a bitch to cut. I used a Dremel moto-tool with fiberglass
reinforced cutting disk for cutting. Works fine, but requires several disks.
The mesh also makes a good screen for mash-lautering purposes, but I prefer
a circular-type copper manifold with slits in the bottom (10 gal Gott cooler).
Hope some of you find this information useful. Would appreciate any
feedback, pro or con. E-mail is fine.
Happy 1996, and many thanks for all the useful information you folks have
provided on the HBD.
Stan Gregory
cn1428@coastalnet.com
Jacksonville, NC
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 01 Jan 1996 21:20:43 -0500 (EST)
From: DANVATH@delphi.com
Subject: Beer-induced beer thoughts
Dear fellow beer nuts,
There are a couple of minor things I'd like to address that I haven't seen
mentioned as yet.
First of all, I've read here that the Phil's Phalse Bottom tends to float.
The first time I read this I thought "B.S." Then I experienced this with my
very next batch.
I don't believe "float" is exactly right, however. I believe what happens
is that when the mash water is added too fast, air is trapped underneath the
Phalse Bottom until it escapes as one big bubble. With this particular
mash, I added the entire three gallons or so all at once, and developed the
stuck mash from hell.
The next time, I'll add enough water to ensure that there's no air
underneath the Phalse Bottom before I add the grain, or leave the drain hose
open just long enough for the air to escape.
Live and learn! Now, if I can just live long enough _to_ learn!
Secondly, as winter is in full swing here in Michigan's upper peninsula
(read: Redneck-land [read: I'm _not_ from here]) and I keep my fermenter in
my kitchen (which is directly over the concrete foundation) keeping my
fermenting ales at a high enough temperature was a slight problem.
Until I dug out a small heating pad and placed it a few inches beneath the
carboy (I use the Fermentap setup, and love it).
Eureka! It raised the wort temperature about six degrees and added no
light to damage the beer.
Enough! Time for a friggin' beer!
Dan
****************************************************************************
Dan Vath | He who drinks beer sleeps well. He who sleeps well
78 Maple Grove Dr. | cannot sin. He who does not sin goes to heaven.
Kincheloe, MI 49788 | Amen. - an anonomous German monk
|
danvath@delphi.com | I'm in! - Dan
****************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 01:19:07 -0500
From: THEROD733@aol.com
Subject: A Starte4 Kit
I'd like to start brewing. What should I expect to pay for a good start up
kit? What's the range?
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1925, 01/02/96
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