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HOMEBREW Digest #1936
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/01/16 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1936 Tue 16 January 1996
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Red Ale Recipe (John W. Braue, III)
Metabolism Simplified (Tom Messenger)
Re: Open Fermentation (Philip Hofstrand)
To Saudi Brewers -- Why Not Mead? (KennyEddy)
Crabtree Effect - amplified... (THE SHECKONATOR)
Re:Metabolism Simplified (shelby & gary)
Steeping grains - Thanks. Now how do you make a grain bag? (Gilad Barak)
killing yeast (bean)
Carbonation query ("David C. Rinker")
Activated Carbon Filters ("David N. Pflanzer")
O2 penetration of plastic carboys? (Lynn Ashley)
Re: 5 liter mini kegs (Fredrik Stahl)
Re: flat beer in mini-kegs (Fredrik Stahl)
MISC COMMENTS (Wayne Hocking)
MISC COMMENTS (Wayne Hocking)
MISC COMMENTS (Wayne Hocking)
MISC COMMENTS (Wayne Hocking)
Should I get 5 or 6 gallon carboy? (Eugene Sonn)
New Wyeast - 1272 American Ale (DEBOLT BRUCE)
Low Alcohol Beer via Freeze and Drain Method (DEBOLT BRUCE)
berries in fermenter & RIMS heater pipe (C.D. Pritchard)
Spore formers (igelman)
Re: Candied Camera, Great shop (hollen)
Candy sugar (Pierre Jelenc)
5 Liter Minikeg Sanitation (Steven Seaney)
Re: Wyeast's Scottish Ale yeast temperature range? (Steven Seaney)
Bees (THaby)
Yeast/Distilled Water (Bob McCowan)
how to GET diacetyl (SPEAKER.CURTIS)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 12:28:17
From: braue@ratsnest.win.net (John W. Braue, III)
Subject: Red Ale Recipe
egans@cadvision.com writes:
>I've made three or four batches of Red Ale, and most have been quite good,
>but I know they could be better. Does anyone have a favorite recipe they
>would like to share? High in carbonation would be a plus!!!
Here is a simple extract-based recipe for a red ale:
6 lb amber syrup (I use Stome Brewery)
1 lb crystal malt
2 oz roasted barley
1 1/2 - 2 oz Cascade hops for bittering (depending on taste)
1/4 oz Cascade hops for flavor
1/4 oz Cascade hops for aroma
115 g dry ale yeast
Steep the speciality malts in 1 1/2 gal water,
remove grains, add syrup to liquor, and boil 60 minutes with
bittering hops Add flavor hops 10 min before end of boil, add
aroma hops end of boil and steep for 5 min Add 3 1/2 gal cold
water and pitch at suitable temperature OG 1.050, FG 1.017 - 1.020
This is very lightly hopped; it was contrived to match my wife's
tastes (she does not like bitter or hoppy beers). Fermentation
time will be about one week; bottle aging time minimum of one
month. I've got some left over from last August which I intend to
check out this weekend.
- --
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: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 10:03:12 -0800
From: Tom Messenger <kmesseng@slonet.org>
Subject: Metabolism Simplified
A.J. deLange wrote about yeast metabolism. Although we don't need much of
this sort of thing to make good beer, it is refreshing to see a simple down
to earth explanation like this to get a feeling of what is going on in the
fermentation tank. From one who enjoys discussions grounded in science as
opposed to annecdotes and urban legends, thanks.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Messenger, Los Osos, California, USA *** kmesseng@slonet.org
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 10:47:08 -0800
From: philiph@u.washington.edu (Philip Hofstrand)
Subject: Re: Open Fermentation
In HBD 1934, Jim Busch writes:
>Commercially, most open fermenters are never covered. Some are housed
>in positive pressure rooms, others are not. Ive never seen a positive
>pressure room in Belgium but they probably exist somewhere. For homebrewing
>I like to cover it at times when it is least active. Its just a good idea.
I've been toying with the idea of fermenting my next batch in an open
vessel, but as I currently have four fur-bearing, curious mammals residing
in my house (not to mention the occasional curious guest), I'm a bit
concerned about the brewing environment. There's also a fair amount of
traffic, vacuuming, etc. through the room, which I assume doesn't occur
commercially...
One solution I've come up with, and IMHO a workable and simple one, is
to take the aquarium pump + inline filter I use for wort aeration, and
attach the exit hose to the lid of my fermentation vessel. I'm guessing
I'll prop the lid open about 1/2" all around. This should provide good
positive clean airflow out of the fermenter at a steady slow rate, and
prevent any airborne particles from entering the vessel. Easy.
If I find open fermentation works well with my system, I wouldn't mind
moving away from a plastic primary to something more sophisticated. Has
anyone tried or seen a ~7gal ceramic crock that would be usable, or are
they prohibitively expensive?
- --
Philip Hofstrand (philiph@u.washington.edu), Seattle, WA
In taberna quando sumus, non curamus quid sit humus
When we are in the tavern, we spare no thought for the grave
--Carl Orff, "Carmina Burana"
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 15:33:52 -0500
From: KennyEddy@aol.com
Subject: To Saudi Brewers -- Why Not Mead?
I've seen several articles now about people in Saudi (and I presume many
"dry" countries) wishing to make beer discretely for personal use (or
whatever). While mead and beer are certainly not the same thing, I would
think it would be trivially easy to make a drinkable alcoholic concoction
along the lines of mead, rather than going through all the gyrations
associated with re-fermenting NA beer or using wierd grains.
Kids -- don't try this at home. Perhaps a curious industrious alcoholic in
Saudi might pioneer the trail along these lines (I haven't tested this so
you're on your own). In an empty gallon glass jug, pour 1-1/2 pounds of
honey, a splash of lemon juice, and water to fill about 3/4. Toss in some
baker's yeast (or brewer's yeast if you can find it). If you're really lucky
and can scrounge champagne yeast, double the honey and use the champagne
yeast. Attach a blowoff tube, large balloon, or surgical glove as an airlock
& ferement. When still, top off with clean water. Decant to serve or
(better) rack to a new container. Should make an approximately 5% a.b.v.
beverage. Refinements of this recipe include (recommended) 15-minute boiling
of the honey-water to kill wild yeast & bacteria; also, use of champagne
yeast (and more honey).
If it's alcohol you're after this should be simple enough. If it's beer
you're after, never mind.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 16:56:42 -0500 (EST)
From: THE SHECKONATOR <BSHECK@NIMUE.HOOD.EDU>
Subject: Crabtree Effect - amplified...
I just know it.
Homebrewers fooling around with yeast-cycles will make
_the_ scientific break-through of the century: The ultimate
power source! A carboy-sized wort powered fuel cell capable of
generating massive (for it's size and weight) amounts of
electricity, and have the side-benefit of being completely
(aside from a modicum of trub) recyclable through direct
ingestion in one pint measures!
This device will completely change the socio-economic
make-up of the world. The Transportation Industry will re-tool
to take advantage of this new power-source:
Hop in, we'll go for a spin in my _car_boy.
I can get 34 miles per glug.
She really has a _hopped_ up vehicle!
Imagine all the hype advertising wonks will generate.
Something along the lines of "850 draught-horse powered 1996
lager-mobile" - or some such drivel...
Legal advocates will have to ponder new ways to describe
the charge of 'driving with an open container'.
Temperance folks will be relegated to the ranks of
modern-day Luddites; imagine them trying to dis-assemble this
new power source and still get their point across. Pretty
sobering thought.
The B.A.T.F. will have to take over the Department of
Motor Vehicles. The Society of Automotive Engineers will have
to include the Association of Brewers.
Jim Koch's legal department will go into melt-down with
the overload created by trying to copyright all the new
applications.
Anheuser-Busch and the other megabrewers will distribute
in oil tankers made obsolete in this new development. Future
headlines: "Environmental Damage significant in the Budweiser-
Valdez Wreck"
Animal Rights loonies will be writhing in pain over all
the yeastie-abuse.
Charlie Papazian will be Time Magazine's 'Man of the
Year'
Jack Schmidling's quitely retired living off the healthy
residuals of his most excellent malt-mill.
. . . . .
Ok, I've been snowed in here in Germantown, MD since last
Saturday night (got plenty of Home-brewed fermenteds around
though, so I _will_ survive! Better go check my Carbon-
monoxide detectors...
Hats off to Craig Amundson, RE: Crabtree in HBD 1929 & A.J.
deLange, Steve Alexander et al., for stimulating this zany
bandwidth abuse... Feel free to add to this thread. It _may_
have great possibilities! Copyright waived!
Relax, Don't Worry, Drive a Homebrew.
- --> Nuclear Families _DO_ Glow in the Dark! BSHECK, ME-SHECK, abendigo!
BSHECK@NIMUE.HOOD.EDU >>>-------==The Sheckinator==------<<< (301) 696-3928
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.- Groucho Marx
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 02:21:21 -0500
From: shelby & gary <gjgibson@ioa.com>
Subject: Re:Metabolism Simplified
Howdy folks. Yes, I am a newby to posting on HBD.
A quick comment on A.J. deLange's discussion on metabolism in HBD#1934. =
Good job. It takes some work to give explanation on metabolism in few =
words and no diagrams, but this is a very complex subject, and to =
simplify it would mean leaving out important details. This subject =
cannot be discused by text alone, so my advice to those interested is to =
find a friend with chemistry software tools to post the reactions of =
glycolysis, kreb's cycle, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, electron =
tranport chain, etc. directly to the digest. A picture is worth a =
thousand words, so find a biochem or microbiology book and look it up if =
you have too. It really will help.
Now on to a cultural question. That would be people culture. I am a =
twenty-four year old just graduating from college about six months ago. =
As a present, my parents sent me over to europe to soak up some culture, =
sew my wild oats, and to sample many a great beer. In all the German =
restuarants and pubs I visited, there was little variety in the beer =
department. Only the local ( I should say somewhat local) pilsner and =
maybe a brown. The waiters would get mad if you asked for anything else. =
Why so little variety in the restuarants and pubs? Too much local pride =
( or monopoly) to allow any others, I guess. Lastly, Germany does have =
its share of bad beer. Much to my surprise the beer served at the =
octoberfest festival in Munich was about the quality of a draft =
Budweiser. Of course, with the quantities being served were =
immeasurable and most could care less because it was simply a drunkfest. =
Good beer, bad beer. It did not really matter at the festival. I had =
a blast, and I am making plans to go back within the next couple of =
years.
Shelby, Asheville NC
gjgibson@ioa.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 09:58:22 +0200
From: gilad@Orbotech.Co.IL (Gilad Barak)
Subject: Steeping grains - Thanks. Now how do you make a grain bag?
Hi,
Thank you to all the people who responded by mail or on this forum to my
question about steeping grains.
To summarize - two methods appear to be popular.
The one that appeared most - put the grains in a grain bag (nylon mesh bag or
mouslin bag). put water in the brew pot (quantities vary - 1-2 galons). throw
the bag in and heat the water. remove when water gets to 160-170 F (some
suggested turning off the fire and letting this sit for 20 minutes). Most
people said not to allow the grains remain in temperatures higher than 170F.
Remove the grains and continue as usual with the extract.
The second method - heat in a separate pot 2-3 quarts of water to 170F.
Put in the grains. Leave for 20 minutes. Meanwhile heat more water to 170F.
Drain the water through a sieve. rinse the grains with more heated water to
extract as much as possible.
Crushing is not so important in both methods.
To me the first option seems simple and efficient. Since I have no grain
bag (can't get one here in Israel), I went with the second method.
What are the specs for a grain bag. is the nylon mesh used for windows good
enough (I guess it can withstand the temperature, but is the size right?).
I would like to get suggestion as to how I can make one myself (material, size
etc.).
Thanks,
Gilad
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gilad Barak - Israel
gilad@orbotech.co.il
or
gilad.barak@Orbotech.Co.Il
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 10:25:00 PST
From: bean@seattle.email.net
Subject: killing yeast
I have been brewing beer for a little while now and although this question is
not exactly appropriate for here......here goes
I recently started brewing mead and have run in to a problem when trying to
brew sweet mead. How do I kill the yeast before all of the sugars are
fermented away?? I don't have enough room in the refridgerator for the wole
batch, but know no other way to stop the fermentation process. I tried just
going ahead and bottling...and ended up with mead grenades.......and I tried
waiting until all the sugars had been fermented and the concoction tasted
more like moonshine than the light hioney flavor I was looking for....any
suggestions
TIA
Sabine Grinstein
Bean@seattle.email.net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 17:25:57 -0500 (EST)
From: "David C. Rinker" <dcrink@widomaker.com>
Subject: Carbonation query
Hello all,
What follows is a question which has been bugging me lately and which I have
not seen addressed here or elsewhere.
I have always bottled my beers, priming with either DMS, dextros, or
wort. I have NEVER achieved the mythical "fine bead" carbonation of
commercial beers. Furthermore (and perhaps related) I have never gotten
the constant stream of bubbles typical of these commercial beers--while
my carbonation levels feel perfect (occasionaly even too high) the CO2
does not appear to be leaving solution as readily (same glassware and
washing procediures). Are my beers missing some sort of "seeding"
material, about which the CO2 can form or have I just had four years of
bad luck??
I brew ales, most clear and tranparent, from both extract and all
grain recipies, and have allowed some of these beers to age for over one
year.
Any suggestions?
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 19:52:08 -0500
From: "David N. Pflanzer" <pflanzer@gate.net>
Subject: Activated Carbon Filters
>Brad Fabbri (bjfabbri@ccmail.monsanto.com)
> I'm interested in purchasing an effective carbon filter to remove chlorine,
> et.al. from my tap water. Anyone have good luck with inexpensive units? <snip>
I went to my local Home Depot and found a granular activated carbon filter
(model TC2) for $12 from a company called 'OmniFilter'. It is listed as a
replacement filter cartridge for one of their under the sink models but has
standard pipe thread fittings on each end. The filter is good for 500 gallons
at .5/gal/min flow rate. I mounted it inline between the kitchen faucet and my
sparge and mash tuns using 1/2" hose.
David;
------------------------------
Date: 14 Jan 96 22:18:35 EST
From: Lynn Ashley <73744.3234@compuserve.com>
Subject: O2 penetration of plastic carboys?
To: INTERNET:homebrew@hpfcmgw.fc.hp.com
I've only been getting the HBD for about 2 months and I'm overwhelmed
at the wealth of info here. Thanks to you all.
I have a supply of plastic 5 gal carboys and recently used one for
primary fermentation. The beer turned out fine. But I've been concerned
as to whether they are sufficiently porous to O2 to cause oxidation
problems if used for any length of time.
I would like to use these carboys for lagering. A thread late last
November indicated that thin-walled polyethylene bottles quickly allow
O2 saturation of their liquid contents. I do not know of what kind of
plastic these clear-blue-tinted-bottled-water carboys are made. Their
wall thickness appears to be about 0.050".
Can anyone shed light on the suitability of plastic carboys for brewing?
Thanks Lynn.
|-------------------------------------------------------------|
| Lynn Ashley (lajiao ren) Arlington, Virginia, USA |
| 73744.3234@compuserve.com 38.904N 77.120W 105mAMSL |
| -->> Third all-grain batch now in primary. <<-- |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 10:57:45 +0100
From: fredriks@abel.math.umu.se (Fredrik Stahl)
Subject: Re: 5 liter mini kegs
Shane Lofland (sslofl@ccmail.monsanto.com) writes in HBD #1935 about
carbonation problems with 5 liter mini-kegs.
I've used mini-kegs for about a year with good results. (I have the metal
"Party Star" tap.) I usually get a lot of foam in the first two or three
pours but after that it works fine. Do you keep the pressure on from the
start? In case you do, try shutting off the pressure except when the beer
starts flowing slowly. Give it a burst to restore pressure and continue.
What temperature do you keep the keg at? I brew mostly British ales and I
find that I have to be a bit careful not to get _too much_ carbonation!
(I.e. I have too take care keeping the temperature around 12 degC.) If you
brew lager, for example, the temperature should be around 8 degC, allowing
more CO2 to dissolve.
Not opening the valve fully can also generate foam - almost like a sparkler
on a beer engine. I sometimes use this when I want the beer served in that
way. Try opening the valve completely (without overpouring), let the glass
stand for a while and top up.
You don't mention how much priming sugar you use. I use around 15 grams/keg
of glucose for British ales. Maybe about 25 grams would be good for lager
beers.
Good luck!
/Fredrik Stahl, fredriks@abel.math.umu.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 11:11:23 +0100
From: fredriks@abel.math.umu.se (Fredrik Stahl)
Subject: Re: flat beer in mini-kegs
Daniel T. Hedberg (dhedberg@ix.netcom.com) writes in HBD #1935:
.... (unlike the Mini kegs which I'm told beer gets flat if not
consumed within a week or so) ....
I've had no problem with that. Last summer I left a mini-keg with the tap
connected for at least three months without losing any CO2. I've heard that
some have had problems with leaky taps but I think that can be fixed. I use
the metal "Party Star" tap but I don't know anything about the cheaper
plastic ones. Maybe the Party Star is worth the extra cost - comments
anyone?
/Fredrik Stahl, fredriks@abel.math.umu.se
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:01:36 +0200
From: ruwh@lockmtn.dom.EG.net (Wayne Hocking)
Subject: MISC COMMENTS
Over the past half year there has been allot of talk
about what one would drink if they were to find
themselves in BF Egypt. Well, as one who is almost
always in BF Egypt, I can attest that almost any
megabrewer product will be slurpped up pretty fast.
The local beer is not quite up to U.S. standards on
quality, but even that is better than nothing. I
personally draw the line at Bud, which I don't like in
BF Egypt any more than in New York. All sane people,
of which I may still be one, are interested in
Homebrewing.
On another thread, I believe concerns about Bleach are
not founded in fact. I use a solution of one TSP of
bleach per gallon, as recommended in a Zymurgy
article, to prepare all my bottles. They drain upside
down for an hour, and have never had a contamination
problem or left a noticable residue.
Some books talk about much higher levels, which I
found left residue, and had to be rinsed. I am
interested in cutting down on bottle handling, as I
suspect everyone is, so I was an easy convert. For new
or dirty bottles, we soak them full of a solution of
about 4 tbs per gallon of water, for a few days. Then
refill with the lesser solution for a day. Works well.
I use Idopor for everything else, as it can be reused
and stored in PET bottles for a week if the caps are
put on tight. I don't use Idopor for bottles as I
don't want a brown ring in my tub. I use everything
after draining for about 15 minutes. No off tastes,
and the fermenters take off just fine thank you.
Looking for a 10 gallon GOTT cooler, I decided to go
to Rubbermaid directly for a source. As it turns out
they have their own direct mail outfit called,
Everything Rubbermaid. 216-264-7119. The price for a
cooler is $44 and change, with delivery in a couple of
weeks. Might be useful for some other products later.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request a few
months ago for Scotch Ale recipes.
Wayne Hocking
El Nil Brewers, Cairo
ruwh@lockmtn.dom.eg.net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:01:40 +0200
From: ruwh@lockmtn.dom.EG.net (Wayne Hocking)
Subject: MISC COMMENTS
Over the past half year there has been allot of talk
about what one would drink if they were to find
themselves in BF Egypt. Well, as one who is almost
always in BF Egypt, I can attest that almost any
megabrewer product will be slurpped up pretty fast.
The local beer is not quite up to U.S. standards on
quality, but even that is better than nothing. I
personally draw the line at Bud, which I don't like in
BF Egypt any more than in New York. All sane people,
of which I may still be one, are interested in
Homebrewing.
On another thread, I believe concerns about Bleach are
not founded in fact. I use a solution of one TSP of
bleach per gallon, as recommended in a Zymurgy
article, to prepare all my bottles. They drain upside
down for an hour, and have never had a contamination
problem or left a noticable residue.
Some books talk about much higher levels, which I
found left residue, and had to be rinsed. I am
interested in cutting down on bottle handling, as I
suspect everyone is, so I was an easy convert. For new
or dirty bottles, we soak them full of a solution of
about 4 tbs per gallon of water, for a few days. Then
refill with the lesser solution for a day. Works well.
I use Idopor for everything else, as it can be reused
and stored in PET bottles for a week if the caps are
put on tight. I don't use Idopor for bottles as I
don't want a brown ring in my tub. I use everything
after draining for about 15 minutes. No off tastes,
and the fermenters take off just fine thank you.
Looking for a 10 gallon GOTT cooler, I decided to go
to Rubbermaid directly for a source. As it turns out
they have their own direct mail outfit called,
Everything Rubbermaid. 216-264-7119. The price for a
cooler is $44 and change, with delivery in a couple of
weeks. Might be useful for some other products later.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request a few
months ago for Scotch Ale recipes.
Wayne Hocking
El Nil Brewers, Cairo
ruwh@lockmtn.dom.eg.net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:01:44 +0200
From: ruwh@lockmtn.dom.EG.net (Wayne Hocking)
Subject: MISC COMMENTS
Over the past half year there has been allot of talk
about what one would drink if they were to find
themselves in BF Egypt. Well, as one who is almost
always in BF Egypt, I can attest that almost any
megabrewer product will be slurpped up pretty fast.
The local beer is not quite up to U.S. standards on
quality, but even that is better than nothing. I
personally draw the line at Bud, which I don't like in
BF Egypt any more than in New York. All sane people,
of which I may still be one, are interested in
Homebrewing.
On another thread, I believe concerns about Bleach are
not founded in fact. I use a solution of one TSP of
bleach per gallon, as recommended in a Zymurgy
article, to prepare all my bottles. They drain upside
down for an hour, and have never had a contamination
problem or left a noticable residue.
Some books talk about much higher levels, which I
found left residue, and had to be rinsed. I am
interested in cutting down on bottle handling, as I
suspect everyone is, so I was an easy convert. For new
or dirty bottles, we soak them full of a solution of
about 4 tbs per gallon of water, for a few days. Then
refill with the lesser solution for a day. Works well.
I use Idopor for everything else, as it can be reused
and stored in PET bottles for a week if the caps are
put on tight. I don't use Idopor for bottles as I
don't want a brown ring in my tub. I use everything
after draining for about 15 minutes. No off tastes,
and the fermenters take off just fine thank you.
Looking for a 10 gallon GOTT cooler, I decided to go
to Rubbermaid directly for a source. As it turns out
they have their own direct mail outfit called,
Everything Rubbermaid. 216-264-7119. The price for a
cooler is $44 and change, with delivery in a couple of
weeks. Might be useful for some other products later.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request a few
months ago for Scotch Ale recipes.
Wayne Hocking
El Nil Brewers, Cairo
ruwh@lockmtn.dom.eg.net
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 1996 15:01:32 +0200
From: ruwh@lockmtn.dom.EG.net (Wayne Hocking)
Subject: MISC COMMENTS
Over the past half year there has been allot of talk
about what one would drink if they were to find
themselves in BF Egypt. Well, as one who is almost
always in BF Egypt, I can attest that almost any
megabrewer product will be slurpped up pretty fast.
The local beer is not quite up to U.S. standards on
quality, but even that is better than nothing. I
personally draw the line at Bud, which I don't like in
BF Egypt any more than in New York. All sane people,
of which I may still be one, are interested in
Homebrewing.
On another thread, I believe concerns about Bleach are
not founded in fact. I use a solution of one TSP of
bleach per gallon, as recommended in a Zymurgy
article, to prepare all my bottles. They drain upside
down for an hour, and have never had a contamination
problem or left a noticable residue.
Some books talk about much higher levels, which I
found left residue, and had to be rinsed. I am
interested in cutting down on bottle handling, as I
suspect everyone is, so I was an easy convert. For new
or dirty bottles, we soak them full of a solution of
about 4 tbs per gallon of water, for a few days. Then
refill with the lesser solution for a day. Works well.
I use Idopor for everything else, as it can be reused
and stored in PET bottles for a week if the caps are
put on tight. I don't use Idopor for bottles as I
don't want a brown ring in my tub. I use everything
after draining for about 15 minutes. No off tastes,
and the fermenters take off just fine thank you.
Looking for a 10 gallon GOTT cooler, I decided to go
to Rubbermaid directly for a source. As it turns out
they have their own direct mail outfit called,
Everything Rubbermaid. 216-264-7119. The price for a
cooler is $44 and change, with delivery in a couple of
weeks. Might be useful for some other products later.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my request a few
months ago for Scotch Ale recipes.
Wayne Hocking
El Nil Brewers, Cairo
ruwh@lockmtn.dom.eg.net
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 09:20:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Eugene Sonn <sonn@oswego.Oswego.EDU>
Subject: Should I get 5 or 6 gallon carboy?
This question may border on the metaphysical, but I'll ask the HBD
anyway. I'm going to buy my first carboy. After four years of
brewing, I'm finally ready to start 2-stage fermentations and am going
to buy a carboy. I found a cheap source in my area, but wonder
if a 5 or 6 gallon carboy would be better for 5 gallon beer
batches. Other than price, what are the pro's and con's of the
different sizes?
Thanks in advance,
Eugene
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 08:32:45 -0600
From: DEBOLT BRUCE <bdebolt@dow.com>
Subject: New Wyeast - 1272 American Ale
Subject: New Wyeast - 1272 American Ale
There have been some inquiries about the new Wyeast strains. This post
summarizes two recent cream ale batches made with #1272 American Ale. The
only information I had prior to fermentation was a sentence which said it
was more flocculant and fruity than their other American Ale yeast, #1056.
I wanted to compare this directly to #1056 in a split batch but my #1056
starter didn't cooperate in time.
Details:
(Both batches used = Tb rehydrated Irish Moss with 15 min. left in the
boil)
Batch 44
- - Grain bill 8 lb pale 2-row, 0.5 lb 10 Lov. crystal, 0.5 lb British
carapils, 0.5 lb malted wheat
- - Mash - 156F for one hour. No salts, pH 5.5
- - Sparge, 4.5 gal 172-162F, 45 min., < 1/8 tsp lactic acid, pH 5.7
- - Hops 60 min - Cascade pellet 4.3a 1.2 oz.
2 min - Cascade pellet 4.3a 0.4 oz
- - Temp - pitched at 70F, primary temperature 66-69 F for eight days in
glass
- - Starting/Final S.G. - 1.044 / 1.012
Batch 45 - pitched on top of dregs in primary from #44
- - Grain bill 8 lb pale 2-row, 1 lb Gambrinus Honey malt (25 Lov.), 0.5 lb
British carapils, 0.5 lb malted wheat
- - Mash - 156F for one hour. No salts
- - Sparge, 4.5 gal 172-164F, 50 min., < 1/8 tsp lactic acid, pH 5.7
- - Hops 60 min - Cascade pellet 4.3a 1.2 oz.
3 min - Tettnanger whole 4.1a 0.7 oz
- - Temp - pitched at 66F, primary temperature 69-72 F for 7 days in glass
- - Starting/Final S.G. - 1.044 / 1.010
The fermentation in #45 (pitched on yeast cake of #44) was very vigorous
the first two days. It bubbled into the airlock (but did not plug it) on
the day 1 and 2.
Beer characteristics:
- - Flavor - both batches are clean and slightly fruity.
- - Appearance - both have a chill haze, but are clear at room temperature.
Since I wasn't able to compare this directly to 1056 I can't say for sure
how it is different. It appeared to flocculate better, and shared the
characteristic of a clean background flavor.
Bruce DeBolt
Lake Jackson, TX
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 08:34:49 -0600
From: DEBOLT BRUCE <bdebolt@dow.com>
Subject: Low Alcohol Beer via Freeze and Drain Method
Subject: Low/No Alcohol Beer via Freeze and Drain Method
In late 1994 I did some experiments on making low alcohol beer by heating
finished beer on the stove. Bottom line was you had to drive off a
significant volume (>30%) of beer before the alcohol dropped below 0.5%.
Heating beer isn't the best way to preserve its flavor and I wondered if
there wasn't a better way to do this at home. Fortunately some kind brewer
sent me a detailed message on making no alcohol beer by freezing and
draining off the alcohol. I've lost the printout so can't give credit
where it is due.
I tried it recently but it didn't work as well as I hoped. The procedure:
- - pour beer into a PET bottle
- - freeze it upside down for at least 24 hours
- - SLOWLY crack the cap open and drain it upside down for 20 minutes (most
draining stopped after about 10 min.)
- - thaw and take sample for ethanol analysis.
- - to re-prime attach a Carbonator(TM) cap and pressurize with CO2, or add
yeast and sugar
The variables were two styles (stout and pale ale), different volumes in a
PET bottle, and different sizes of PET bottle. I measured the weight of
the full bottle before freezing and after draining. The ethanol was
measured on a gas chromatograph using standards of 5.0, 2.0. and 1.0 wt.%.
More points would have made a more accurate curve, but this was a quick
experiment and it turns out I didn't need anything below 1.0% anyway. I
used 500 ml PET bottles, except for PA 3, which was in a 2 liter bottle.
Stout 1 and PA 1 were half full bottles, Stout 2 and PA 2 were full
bottles.
Note on PA 2 - it did not drain like the others. I cracked the cap open
too far and a fair amount of frozen beer shot out in a solid tube. I
included the results anyway. This beer also had the liquid layer on top
(the bottom of an upside down bottle). I briefly ran hot water on the
outside to allow this liquid to drain down, then placed back in the freezer
for a day. It didn't seem to make much difference.
EtOH = ethanol, %Wt. Loss = wt of beer lost during draining vs. original
wt.
Orig. Final
Sample EtOH% %Wt. Loss Wt.% EtOH
Stout 1 4.7 4.6 4.3
Stout 2 4.7 14.5 2.0
PA 1 4.8 7.5 3.1
PA 2 4.8 30 2.2
PA 3 4.8 15 1.7
Comments
- - The technique works, but didn't get the alcohol below 0.5%, (whether you
measure volume% or weight%) which is considered "no alcohol" by some.
- - From the limited data I have it appears the freeze/drain method and the
heating method both require a fair amount of volume loss before ethanol is
significantly reduced.
- - I used up some favors getting the GC work done so I won't be doing any
follow-up work.
Anyone else had better results?
Bruce DeBolt
Lake Jackson, TX
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 31 Dec 95 09:59 EST
From: cdp@chattanooga.net (C.D. Pritchard)
Subject: berries in fermenter & RIMS heater pipe
uchima@fncrd8.fnal.gov (Mike Uchima) posted about a siphon tube clogging
while doing a cranberry brew.
I've never put fruit in my beers but I use a lot in my wines. For wines,
the fruit pulp (called "must") goes into a nylon mesh bag so that it can be
removed from the wine easily and the residual liquid can be easily extracted
from the must. Making a tea with the fruit may be another alternative...
Re: the brass sink drain tailpiece used as a RIMS heating element enclosure-
I received a couple of nice responses (thanks DonBrew@aol.com and Dion
Hollenbeck) cautioning about the possibility of metals from the tailpiece
leaching into the brew. Don noted the that the frequency of corroded sink
drains may be due to leechable metals in the brass alloy and said he used a
CPVC tailpiece for an enclosure (ensure the heating element doesn't touch
the plastic, do not run it dry and make sure it's CPVC and not plain PVC).
Methinks corroded drains are due to the use of drano. The one I used had no
plating on its interior and was definitely brass. OTHO, brass does contains
zinc and can contain up to 3% lead (to increase machinability). Brass can
also contain aluminum and nickel in lesser amounts. Dion opts for stainless
steel ($100) or the old standby, copper and wouldn't recommend either brass
or CPVC.
I'll be kegging "brass tailpiece" ale today and drinking it tommorrow, so,
if you see any crazy posts or no posts from me next year...
Hoppy New Year!
C.D. Pritchard cdp@chattanooga.net
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 10:21:02 EST
From: igelman@smtplink.mssm.edu
Subject: Spore formers
Only 2 major species of bacteria form spores: Bacillus and
Clostridia. Their spores are quite resistant to heat and alcohols,
and thus, one of the reasons you boil your wort for at least an hour
is to kill off these spores.
Irwin H. Gelman, Ph.D.
Dept. of Microbiology
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
igelman@smtplink.mssm.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 08:14:34 PST
From: hollen@vigra.com
Subject: Re: Candied Camera, Great shop
>>>>> "Russell" == Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com> writes:
Al> As for dark candi sugar, yes, just caramelize table sugar syrup
Al> and use that.
Russell> Any VOE? (Voice o' Experience) I'll definately try that in a
Russell> batch soon.
A friend of mine, made his own amber candi sugar for his Belgian
Strong Ale. 30 pounds of it since he is a professional brewerand was
making a 10 barrel batch. His Belgian Strong Ale got a Gold Medal at
the 1994 GABF. Good enough for you? B-}
Myself, I buy the amber from local homebrew shops. The trouble of
making my own is not worth it.
dion
- --
Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x119 Email: hollen@vigra.com
Senior Software Engineer Vigra, Inc. San Diego, California
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 11:20:57 EST
From: Pierre Jelenc <pcj1@columbia.edu>
Subject: Candy sugar
In Homebrew Digest #1935 Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com> says:
>
> Okay, the reason I initially asked was that someone was saying it's special
> because it's been crytallized, and that makes it super-pure. In fact, they
> specifically said not to use regular table sugar because it wasn't pure
> enough. This strikes me as, well, silly, now that I bother to think about it.
Candy sugar _used_ to be the purest sucrose available, before the
invention of modern white crystallized sugar. Today's crystallized sugar
is essentially "microcandy" sugar with one extra washing step.
In the 19th century, when most of the recipes/styles we are dealing with
were developped, "table" sugar was the now-obsolete sugar loaf, which was
not crystallized but instead cast into a mold; upon cooling the mass
solidified into an amorphous solid, trapping whatever impurities were left
from the processing.
Pierre
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 10:30:40
From: Steven Seaney <SSeaney@gnn.com>
Subject: 5 Liter Minikeg Sanitation
Hello,
What's the recommended sanitation method for 5 liter minikegs?
Thanks,
Steve
Steven P. Seaney
Alternate Email: seaneys@asme.org
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 10:30:41
From: Steven Seaney <SSeaney@gnn.com>
Subject: Re: Wyeast's Scottish Ale yeast temperature range?
> I'd like to know how cold is too cold for Wyeast's Scottish Ale yeast.
> I have a batch of "wee heavy" Scottish Ale (O.G. 1.076) that's been 3 or 4
> weeks in the secondary. All visible signs of fermentation have stopped,
> but I don't know if this is because it's done, or because the temperature
> in the brewing cupboard has dropped to 12-13 deg. C (53-55 deg. F). It
> fermented vigourously in the primary, but it was warmer in the cupboard
> then, about 16 or 17 deg. C, from which the temperature has dropped
> gradually.
Over Christmas vacation I did an export Scottish ale using Wyeast Scottish
Ale yeast. The fermentation temperature was limited by how cold my wife
could stand it -- we kept it between 63F and 75F. It was close to 65F most
of the time. I racked it to a secondary this weekend and took a gravity. The
OG was 1.049 and the FG was 1.014.
Before Christmas there was a brief discussion about Wyeast Scottish ale
yeast. I'm wondering if you missed the references -- there should be three
or four I think. I'll also append a text message from Marc Gaspard that
included some excellent information.
Oh yeah -- the scottish ale I made over Christmas tastes yummy!
Good Luck!
Steven P. Seaney
Alternate Email: seaneys@asme.org
Subj: Re: Scotch Ale yeast
Date: 95-12-26 23:01:02 EST
From: mgaspard@mailer.fsu.edu (Marc Gaspard)
To: SSeaney@aol.com
Steve,
I've been using Wyeast 1728/Scotch Ale yeast. I talked to a yeast tech
@ Wyeast & he said it's really McEwan's Export Scotch Ale yeast, & should
work up to 1.080 gravity. But I'll warn you, I've been having the damndest
time with it; either it ferments out real fast & then doesn't carbonate, or
like my most recent batch, it starts up again AFTER racking. I racked a
batch 12/24 after 8 days in the primary & bubbles in the airlock 10 seconds
apart, & now it's going like a bat out of hell! I had to put a blow off hose
in. (SEE: recent homebrew-digest, 12/25.) But it's real tasty, very malty.
Dr. Dave C. Harsh <dharsh@alpha.che.uc.edu> e-mailed me about his re-
cipe, & he does the caramalization, taking about a gallon of his first run-
ning & boiling it down to a pint or so. You might want to e-mail him re:
your question. I just mash 12 lbs 2oz of grain w/ 2 sparges & collect about
7-7.5 gallons that I add 3 lbs of light extract to & boil down to 5+ gals.
If you want the recipe, please let me know. I've trying to duplicate Tra-
quaiar House Ale & have modified a recipe from the Cat's Meow. But the
fermentations have all been real screwy. The yeast tech @ Wyeast said 1728
is about 75-78% attenuated, & needs a large starter, about 1/2 gallon.
Well, good luck, & if you do mail me some bottles, I'll mail you
some of mine.
Marc Gaspard
- ----------------------- Headers --------------------------------
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Date: Tue, 26 Dec 1995 23:00:49 -0500 (EST)
From: Marc Gaspard <mgaspard@mailer.fsu.edu>
To: SSeaney@aol.com
Subject: Re: Scotch Ale yeast
In-Reply-To: <951226210420_24362151@mail04.mail.aol.com>
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 96 8:29:14 CST
From: THaby@swri.edu
Subject: Bees
Hello all, while brewing outdoors this weekend, the honey bees came out of
the woodwork. Must have been the mid 70 degree weather here in South Texas.
Anyway they found my runoff while sparging, and then my homebrew glass! Not
bad though, they taste kinda like chicken.
Tim.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 12:12:51 -0500
From: Bob McCowan <bob.mccowan@cfrp.varian.com>
Subject: Yeast/Distilled Water
For long-term yeast storage in sterile water, is it necessary that the water
be distilled, or is sterile tap water OK. Seems like an electrolyte
solution more matching the internal composition of the yeast might be better
- That would reduce the osmotic pressure on the little guys. But I'm not a
microbiologist.
BTW a brewer friend mentioned to me that yeast could be stored for a long
time in a 10% glucose solution. He says the yeast "go to sleep". Anyone
heard of this?
Bob
Bob McCowan
bob.mccowan@cfrp.varian.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 11:20 EST
From: CSS2@OAS.PSU.EDU (SPEAKER.CURTIS)
Subject: how to GET diacetyl
No, I'm not crazy! I made a decent scotch ale a couple weeks back. A couple
cans of M&F amber syrup, 1 pound of crystal, an ounce of Goldings for
bittering, and Wyeasy #1084 (Irish ale - the Guiness strain). The beer
started at 1.065 and finished at 1.016...acceptable for me.
It has a nice malt profile, very little hop taste (okay so far), but it almost
seems to "need" some of that diacetyl "butteriness" that I have tasted in
MacEwans and other scotch ales.
So, my question is, how does one go about increasing the level of diacetyl in
beer on purpose? I know in most styles it is undesirable, but in this case I
think the beer needs it to complete the taste. I'll have to suffer through
this batch as it is, but in the future I'd like to try and boost the diacetyl
taste a little...any suggestions from the collective beer wisdom out there???
Private email is fine; if there's enough interest I'll post what I learn.
I do realize that this thread was kicked around a little while ago, but I
wasn't paying attention...sorry! I'll drink a Bud as punishment (no, I won't
! I wasn't that bad! :-) :-) :-)
Thanks
Curt Speaker
Penn State University - Environmental Health and Safety
css2@oas.psu.edu
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1936, 01/16/96
*************************************
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