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HOMEBREW Digest #1917
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1995/12/23 PST
HOMEBREW Digest #1917 Sat 23 December 1995
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Quality Carbonation and Sam Adams ("Pat Babcock")
Growing Hops (Chris Strickland)
Beer Calendar (Ray Ownby)
Sankey Kegs (Tim Corcoran)
Braggot Recipe (fwd) (Waverly)" <kbooth@isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
Belgian Rock Candy (Todd Kirby)
RE: Carbonation and Saturation ("Pat Babcock")
mashing DWC pale malt (Tim Laatsch)
Kegging (Simonzip)
Doppel Bock Recipe ("Jeffrey W. Van Deusen")
re: First Wort Hopping/Hot Iodophor (PatrickM50)
Re: Idophur (Richard Gardner)
hydrometer conversion eqn. (GKING)
hydrometer conversion eqn. (GKING)
Brewing Equipment for sale (Ken Rea)
Re: Singha (Paul Sovcik)
Astringency (Don Rudolph)
Siphon Help-What's Going On? (Michael_Millstone-P26948)
The best Wit (My hands and feet are mangoes!)
Temp Controls: Homemade; Light Bulbs (WALZENBREW)
SA Competition Score Sheets (WALZENBREW)
Diacetyl rests ("Allan Rubinoff")
Columbus Hops ("Norman C. Pyle")
Cranberries and pectin (Rolland Everitt)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 20:08:17 +0500
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock@oeonline.com>
Subject: Quality Carbonation and Sam Adams
Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your Samuel Adams (TM) Boston Lager
(TM)!
My voice has been silenced - but no more!
Quality: This means different things to different people. Most agree
it relates to VALUE. Therefor, price is involved. And fitness to
purpose. And a nebulous thing known as "Goodness".
Per Taguchi, a Demming-spawned quality czar:
Ideal Quality: EVERY product produced delivers the target
performance each time the product is used, under all intended
operating conditions, and throughout its intended life with no
harmful side-effect. This is called 'zero-loss' quality.
Actual Quality: Quality is measured in terms of the total loss to
society due to functional variation and harmful side effects.
This is sometimes known as 'acceptable. quality.
And that's all I intend to say about it. Apply it as you like, or
throw it away at your leisure.
- ----------------------------------
On carbonation:
Yeast guys are little, single celled guys. I believe (correct me if
I'm wrong - Silly me! Of *course* you will!) they eat glucose one
molecule at a time. Thereby producing one molecule of alcohol, and
one molecule of CO2 - both of which are excreted by the cell into
the beer. OK so far?
Ok. Now lets look at dissolution of CO2 into the beer. When we force
carbonate our beer, we charge it with CO2, then shake the hell out of
it to increase the surface area of the CO2 bubbles exposed to the
beer, thereby enhancing the rate of solution. Or, the more
gadget-ready do so by passing CO2 through a carbonating stone to
make the bubbles as tiny as possible, thereby enhancing the rate of
solution.
Taking this second point *with* the first point, doesn't it kinda
make sense that the CO2 is going into solution in the *beer* and
passing to the headspace to equalize apparent pressures of CO2?
Saying that the CO2 leaves the beer raising the pressure in the
headspace only to return to the beer invalidates the two methods of
carbonation presented in Coherent Thought Number Two methods of
carbonation. It would be a far better thing we do to simply charge
the beer with the requisite pressure of CO2 and just Let It Sit.
Now, to screw up the combination of Coherent Thoughts Numbers One and
Two, Henry's Law states: "the concentration of a dissolved gas is
proportional to the _gas_pressure_above_the_solution, or C=kP(gas)
where the proportionality constant, k, depends on the units of C and
P." Perplexing, ain't it? This suggests that without the pressure
above the CO2 simply cannot dissolve. However, it also suggests that
an incremental increase of pressure above the beer should result in
the dissolution of some CO2 in the beer. Or is there time required
for the dissolution to occur, supporting Miller?
My guts say it is dynamic and occurs with the production of CO2 (that
incremental thing I talked about.).
And that's all I intend to say about it. Apply it as you like, or
throw it away at your leisure.
- ----------------------------------
Sam Adams (TM). Jim Koch (TM). An apparent reformulation or change
in brewing practice has made me recently "notice" Boston Lager (TM)
again (could Stroh's(TM) have had a hand in that?). I *like*(TM) it.
I *like*(TM) that Cranberry malt drink (TM), too.
The Cream Stout(TM), Honey Porter (TM - though I find absolutely no
honey signature to it _AT_ALL!), and even the Bahstin Ayul(TM)
acceptable. I haven't tried Olde Fuzzymug(TM) yet, but I have some
and promise to taste it (TM) as soon as I'm done laughing at it(TM).
I don't give a rat's posterior(TM) about little Jimmy (TM) and his
inability to play with others(TM). As long as I like his beers(TM),
I'll continue to drink(TM) them. Keep in mind, your drinking of those
brews is a tribute to the brewing ability of whoever actually came up
with those recipes, not the marketing/profiteering(TM) ability of little
Jimmy(TM). Somewhere behind the facade(TM) of Boston Brewing(TM)
slaves a real live brewer(TM) who's doing a fair job(TM) of
formulating(TM) some pretty good (TM) beers(TM).
And that's all I intend to say about it. Apply it as you like, or
throw it away at your leisure.
- ----------------------------------
AH! I feel MUCH better now!
See ya!
Pat Babcock in Canton, Michigan (Western Suburb of Detroit)
pbabcock@oeonline.com URL: http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/
Take advantage of the Drinkur Purdee document echo!
Send a note to pbabcock@oeonline.com with the word
help on the subject line to see what's on tap!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 21:04:46 -0500
From: Chris Strickland <cstrick@iu.net>
Subject: Growing Hops
I managed to grow a small amount of hops here in Central Florida this year.
I moved the hops from full sun to the side of my shed where they only get
the morning sun. They were dying in the full sun, but have grown like
gangbusters. My question is, since they have apparently produced all of the
hops they are going to this year, is there anything special I need to do to
encourage more growth next year? The plants are still nice and green, and I
doubt the weather will get cold enough to kill 'em them off.
- --------------
Chris Strickland
cstrick@iu.net
http://www.teg.saic.com/mote/people.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 18:59:54 -0800
From: rownby@televar.com (Ray Ownby)
Subject: Beer Calendar
Thought some of you might be interested in the free calender put out by the
Boston Beer Company. Here's the details:
The Samuel Adams Beer Essentials Calendar
Write to :
The Boston Beer Company
The Brewery
30 Germania Street
Boston, MA 02130
(617) 522-3400
Got mine yesterday and I like it. The price is right too. No affiliation,
blah blah blah, just happy with my free calendar :) Enjoy!
"Aye, aye, Bessy, never brew wi' bad malt upo' Michaelmas day, else you'll
have a poor tap."
-Mr. Tulliver From "The Mill on the Floss"
by George Eliot
rownby@televar.com
-Ray Ownby-
Moses Lake, WA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 00:38:26 -0600
From: tpc@interaccess.com (Tim Corcoran)
Subject: Sankey Kegs
I have a legal 1/4 barrel w/ a sankey tap. Is anyone out there using these
to age and serve their homebrew. If so, what do you do to clean and
sterilize it before racking your fermented beer to it. I have read a lot
about corny kegs but haven't seen too much on these (sankey tap) kegs. The
reason I would like to use this type of keg is that I have a beer fridge
with built-in tap and co2 and it came with a sankey tap. TIA for any advice
and Merry Christmas!
Tim
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 08:50:31 -0500 (EST)
From: "Kathy Booth (Waverly)" <kbooth@isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
Subject: Braggot Recipe (fwd)
- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 23:57:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Kathy Booth (Waverly) <kbooth@isd.ingham.k12.mi.us>
To: HBD <homebrew@hpfcmgw.fc.hp.com>
Subject: Braggot Recipe
>From "Making Mead" by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan, Argus Press (1984)
/G.W.Kent, Inc. Ann Arbor, MI
1lb Malt Extract
1 lb Heather Honey
7 pt water
boil above 15' skimming surface
add 1/4 oz citric acid and yeast nutrients cool and pitch ale yeast
mature 3 months and serve slightly chilled.
I've not tried this but British troops mutinied (sp?) when their ration
was weakened. It propably will be my next. Jim Booth Lansing, MI
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 10:03:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Todd Kirby <mkirby@bgsm.edu>
Subject: Belgian Rock Candy
Greetings HBDers
I came across some Belgian Rock Candy that our local homebrew shop just
started carrying. I asked the owner about it but he hasn't used it yet
in any of his brews. It comes in clumps on a string, which you have to
strain out after it dissolves. I've never seen it mentioned on
the digest or in recipes. Naturally, I knew where to ask for some advice.
I'm wondering which styles utilize each type (there's dark and light),
what qualities it gives to the beer, and which step of the process is it
added? This is probably of interest to other HBDers, so if someone has a
good summary could you post to the digest?
Happy Holidays!
Todd Kirby
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 10:22:16 +0500
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock@oeonline.com>
Subject: RE: Carbonation and Saturation
In HBD # 1914, Keith Royster <KRoyster@mro.enhr.statenc.us> gives a
good technical definition of saturation with CO2 and the outward
*perception* of carbonation. However...
Saturation with CO2 and carbonation are the same thing. The beer is
saturated with CO2 at a given pressure in a closed container. It is
in equilibrium, and the partial pressures of CO2 in both the
headspace and the beer are the same. The beer is carbonated - charged
with CO2, per the definition of carbonation.
When we open the bottle or tap, the beer is released from its high
pressure environment into our somewhat lower pressure environment.
Equilibrium is lost, and bubbles form. We get our outward perception
of carbonation.
See ya!
Pat Babcock in Canton, Michigan (Western Suburb of Detroit)
pbabcock@oeonline.com URL: http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/
Sysop: HomeBrew University - Motor City Campus
(313)397-7915 8,n,1, 24 hours daily. Immediate and
full access at initial logon!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:23:39 -0500 (EST)
From: Tim Laatsch <LAATSCH@kbs.msu.edu>
Subject: mashing DWC pale malt
Hello All,
I've recently been using DeWolf-Cosyn's pale malt as a base for all my ales.
When I switched to the DWC, I noticed a slight decrease in efficiency with a
single infusion mash. No big deal, just needed a little more malt. On a
whim, I decided to experiment with a 2-step infusion schedule (62/68 C, 20/70
min). My extraction rates went from 28 ppg to about 31 ppg and have remained
consistently high since going to this program. And this from an uninsulated
Zapap! Additionally, at about the same time, I started slightly decreasing
sparge water volume and increasing sparging rates---both of which should
counter efficiency gains, since I then dilute the sweet wort to a defined
pre-boil volume with brewing water. Would somebody please explain this
phenomenon? Anyone with similar results?
It seems to follow the logic presented in a previous post (10/26/94) by Pat
Anderson from some notes he took on a presentation by Dr. Michael Lewis,
"Getting the Most from American Malt". (see my Web page under "mashing")
Dr. Lewis advocated the use of a similar 2-step mash for optimizing
extraction and fermentability when using American pale malt. Are Belgian
pale malts more similar to American malts than to British malts? I'm
specifically *not* referring to the Belgian pils malt here.
In his now-classic 40/60/70 post, Dr. Fix seems to downplay the
benefits of a 2-step mash and strongly emphasizes the increases in efficiency
gained from the rest @ 40 C. Would I experience further improvement by
incorporating this rest? I've used that schedule in the past with seemingly
little effect. Hope this stimulates some conversation. Brew on,
Tim
************************************************************************
| Timothy P. Laatsch | laatsch@kbs.msu.edu |
| Microbial Ecology Grad | Head Brewer, Spruce Grove Nanobrewery |
| Michigan State Univ/KBS | Check out my homebrewing page on the Web! |
| Kalamazoo, MI | http://kbs.msu.edu/~laatsch/beerhome.html |
*************************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:35:32 -0500
From: Simonzip@aol.com
Subject: Kegging
I lurk no more. It seems my destiny will be to start kegging soon. I will go
for the 5 gal. corny setup. I've seen the ads in Zymurgy and other places
that will sell you used/reconditioned kegs along with CO2 canister, plumbing
and regulator for around $140-160; and the same with new kegs at and above
$200. I'm a believer that quality comes at a premium price. Should I drop 200
and go for the new keg and have no worries, or are the used/recons every bit
as dependable. Naturally I want to spend as little as possible and get great
stuff (who doesn't). I've gotten a recommendation to call the Foxx Equipment
Co. Anybody here ever deal with them? Will they sell to any old nut that
calls, or do they only sell to resellers. My wife has a tax id number for a
freelance business, would that be enough to deal with someone who only
wholesales? And one more question: when I start kegging, what's the deal with
conditioning. I have a great coffee stout recipe that I would love to have on
tap all the time, but it takes several months to mature. How do you handle
that when kegging. Do you just put it in the keg under pressure and forget
about it for a while the same as bottling? Thanks in advance, keep up the
good conversation, and a safe and hoppy holidays to all.
Darrin
(nothing witty to say today)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:50:09 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jeffrey W. Van Deusen" <VANDEUSEN001@WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU>
Subject: Doppel Bock Recipe
Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for a good doppel bock? Has
anyone had good success with one of the recipes from the Cat's Meow? I have
version II, so any references to that version would be the easiest since
I allready have the recipe. I've never made one before, and I'd like to get
it right the first time! Extract/specialty grains recipes only, please.
Reply here or private email is fine. Thanks a lot.
Jeffrey W. Van Deusen
Danbury, CT
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:52:29 -0500
From: PatrickM50@aol.com
Subject: re: First Wort Hopping/Hot Iodophor
In HBD # 1916 George Fix writes:
<<<There has been a growing interest in Germany in bringing back the old
practice
of "first wort hopping". Recent studies have shown that if noble European
varieties are used, this procedure can lead to an improved bitter and
(counter intuitively!) an improved aroma over what could be obtained by
late hopping. My own test brews show that there is definitely some merit in
these claims, and I have been struck by how well Ultras do with this
procedure.>>>
OK, I'll bite. What exactly is the "first wort hopping" procedure, George?
How does it differ from the first addition? If you could elucidate a bit or
point me to an appropriate written source I would appreciate it muchly.
************************
Also Pat Babcock mentions using "hot, slippery Iodophur solution". My quart
bottle of B-T-F Iodophor Sanitizer states "Add to cool or lukewarm water.
Never use hot water". Anybody out there know precisely why hot water is a
no-no?
Hoppy Holidays,
Pat Maloney
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:01:04 -0600
From: Richard Gardner <rgardner@monarch.papillion.ne.us>
Subject: Re: Idophur
Kurt Dschida wrote:
>Sanicide" (sp?) from
>Maintech ($9.49/Gal.) and "IrishBar rinse" ($7.99/Gal.). Has
>anybody heard of these? If so, are they OK for homebrew equipment
>use? I remember somebody mentioning they get Iodophur sanitizer for
>$20.00 a Gallon... BUT FROM WHERE?!?
The restaurant sanitizers may be suitable, but you need to look at the
ingredients carefully. Some contain anti-suds agents, which will wreck the
head on beer. Some have Phosphoric acid (as a cleanser?) which will be
stronger than you want (rubber gloves required!). I can get this unusable
stuff for $3/gal at the local surplus store.
Another source (depending on where you live), is bulk tank & dairy equipment
sanitizer, from farm stores. Here the bad ingredient is the addition of
lanolin. This is about $20-$25/gallon
Every gallon jug of these products that I have seen lists the ingredients.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 10:32:33 -0500 (EST)
From: GKING <GKING@ARSERRC.Gov>
Subject: hydrometer conversion eqn.
Apologies if this is a repeated posting (I didn't receive the usual
confirmation message when I posted this the first time).
In HBD #1915 ajdel@interramp.com (A. J. deLange) wrote:
>Robert Bush asked about conversion of the SG correction formula to Centigrade:
>
> 0.00045*( 23.9 - C) + Hydrometer reading
>
Actually, this should be:
0.00045 * (T - T_ref) + Hydrometer reading
where T is the measured temperature and T_ref is the temperature the
hydrometer was calibrated at (both in Celsius).
- --Greg King
gking@arserrc.gov
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 10:53:31 -0500 (EST)
From: GKING <GKING@ARSERRC.Gov>
Subject: hydrometer conversion eqn.
In HBD #1915 ajdel@interramp.com (A. J. deLange) wrote:
>Robert Bush asked about conversion of the SG correction formula to Centigrade:
>
> 0.00045*( 23.9 - C) + Hydrometer reading
>
Actually, this should be:
0.00045 * (T - T_ref) + Hydrometer reading
where T is the measured temperature and T_ref is the temperature the
hydrometer was calibrated at (both in Celsius).
- --Greg King
gking@arserrc.gov
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 11:30:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Ken Rea <wildcat@teleport.com>
Subject: Brewing Equipment for sale
Don't know if this is the place for this but I have 3 - 300 gallon
stainless insulated dairy troff tanks for sale. $2100 for all 3.
Ken Rea
wildcat@teleport.COM
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 95 13:15:49 CST
From: Paul Sovcik <U18183@UICVM.CC.UIC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Singha
Having returned from Thailand and having enjoyed sampling the local
pleasures ( well, the beer and the food, anyway), I found fresh Singha
to be an excellent beer - worthy of an attempted clone!
Michael Jackson, in one of his books, states that Singha is a lager
and is composed of 89% malt - the rest of the fermentables being
(gasp!) sugar.
It definitely has a nice hop character - as far as what hops they
are - I would have to guess tett or halletaur, and I believe that
Jackson states that Singha has 30 IBUs, with a nice full hop nose.
Jackson also gives the OG - I cant remember it off the top of my head,
but I think it was about 12 Plato (1.048?).
Hope this info helps. And BTW - it does NOT have formaldehyde!
-Paul
Paul Sovcik PJS@uic.edu
------------------------------
Date: 22 Dec 95 14:49:18 EST
From: Don Rudolph <DON@nova.mhs.compuserve.com>
Subject: Astringency
I recently racked a Pilsner to the secondary fermenter, and while tasting
the brew, I noticed a slight astringency, felt as a dryness on my cheeks
and tongue.
As we know, astringency is the result of polyphenols (tannins) in the
beer. Instead of getting into the specifics of my particular recipe and
brewhouse procedures, I would like to start a general discussion on the
causes of astringency and their possible remedies.
1. What can cause astringency in beer?
a. Ingredients (malt husks, hops, ??)
b. Environmental conditions (mash pH, temp, salts/ions, ???)
c. Procedures (HSA, mash, sparge, decoction mash, boil, ???)
2. What precautions should be taken pre-fermentation?
a. Recipe
b. Mash (Infusion, Decoction)
c. Sparge
d. Boil
e. Cooling, aeration
3. What remedies are available post-fermentation?
a. Lagering
b. Filtering
c. Additives, finings
Have a great holiday!
Don Rudolph
Seattle, WA
don@nova.mhs.compuserve.com
------------------------------
Date: 22 Dec 95 13:16:00 -0600
From: Michael_Millstone-P26948@email.mot.com
Subject: Siphon Help-What's Going On?
There must be an obvious solution, but my thick head keeps getting in the way.
I have brewed 20+ batches last year and when siphoning from primary to
secondary, secondary to bottling bucket, and bottling bucket to bottles, it
worked flawlessly. I used a racking cane about 24 inches long, straight, with
two holes in the side about 1/2 inch up (to keep the intake above the trub
level). Attached a flexible piece of hose to the output end with the hose
either going into the receiving receptacle or attached to a bottling stick and
off the siphon went, never a problem.
The cane broke.
Went to the brew store and all they had was a 24 or 30 inch racking cane both
with a small curve at the top and a black cover on one end.
Problem: Never had a problem with starting the siphon--up the cane, through the
curve, through the attached piece of hose, then whammo! The liquid seems to
stop flowing at this point and tons of bubbles appear. Soon thereafter (3-4
seconds) the siphon stops. Must have tried 50 times. Ended up filling 41
bottles (plus most of the crevices in my kitchen floor) by picking up my 5
gallon heavy carboy and pouring it through a funnel. Talk about oxidation!
Things I checked but didn't work:
Gravity - the receiving end was much lower than the source
Leaky or poor fitting where the hose extension connects with the racking cane
Didn't look bad, but I attached a hose clamp just to make sure.
Clogged intake flow - well, I removed that black cap and held the end of the
racking cane halfway in the wort (no visible hops or trub present) and the
flow still stopped.
Please oh collective, what is the obvious solution I can't see?
TIA,
Michael Millstone
Motorola Satellite Communications Division
Iridium Communications Program
Chandler, Arizona
dcwv23a@email.mot.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 16:16:19 -0500 (EST)
From: My hands and feet are mangoes! <STU_GJCARRIE@jmu.edu>
Subject: The best Wit
Hoegaarden is good. I had it in Belgium this summer. It's better than that
bland Blue Moon stuff at any rate. And yes it was around before Celis
was...except that Celis himself (Pierre) created Hoegaarden and then sold it,
opening the Celis micro in Texas. My feeling is that Pierre's American brew is
at present better than the Hoegaarden made in Belgium. It is DEFINITELY better
than import Hoegaarden if such stuff exists because it is much fresher. Pierre
has now opened another brewery in Belgium and the Wit he makes is considered
better than Hoegaarden by most. It tastes almost identical to the American
Celis White.
The problem is, Celis has hit the brakes in terms of distribution while they
expand. That's why I couldn't get a keg of it for my graduation party.
*sniff* Anyway, you people in Texas better appreciate what you and only you
seem to have right now...Celis beers!
Happy Holidays everybody!
Gregg Carrier
stu_gjcarrie@vax1.acs.jmu.edu
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 17:10:46 -0500
From: WALZENBREW@aol.com
Subject: Temp Controls: Homemade; Light Bulbs
Doug Kerfoot wrote on December 18:
>I've recently designed and built a temperature controller that can control
>either a refrigerator OR a heat source. It uses the Radio Shack Thermometer
>Module (part # 277-123) that some folks have inquired about in the past.
>Its range is -40 to +120 F so it won't work for a rims system. What it will
>do is allow you to keep your beer at the desired fermentation/serving temp
>regardless of the ambient temp. )
I designed a control using this module back in 1988 and built or helped
fellow TRASH club members build about eight of them. Took us a while to get
the bugs ironed out, as the 1.5 volt logic in the module is very
noise-sensitive. But once the noise problem was solved we had a controller
with an adjustable "deadband" (temp differential between turn-on and
turn-off), a record of the maximum and mimimum temperatures in the fridge
(no other controller anywhere does this), and by adding another SPDT switch
the ability to control a heater as well as a cooling compressor. You can
also switch it between Fahrenheit and celsius by adding another SPDT switch,
and can adjust the display update rate. No other unit available anywhere for
homebrew use does all of these things. The reason I stopped making them was
that #277-123 was apparently discontinued by Radio Shack about a year ago.
Wanted to make up a printed circuit card for the additional electronics
needed and sell kits. My plans are available too, but as I lack access to a
scanner I can't readily put them on line. If there's enough interest
(private E-mail), however, I'll try to do this.
The unit needs an intermediate memory unit (read "flip-flop") to hold the
turn-on/turn-off signal from the 277-123 unit. This drives a buffer
transistor then a relay coil. The relay actually controls the fridge.
>Right now it is keeping my beer from freezing in my garage refrigerator.
(I'm in >Michigan, the fridg is unplugged while a light bulb provides the
heat
Light bulbs are not a good way of heating because they give off damaging
light and also have a relatively short life because of all the turning on/off
that will happen. If the bulb has to turn on three times an hour (not
unreasonable), then during a 24 hour period a bulb used this way may turn
on/off 72 times. This is like 2 1/2 months wear on an ordinary bulb turned
on once a day. Better to go to an electronics surplus store, ham radio
festival, etc. and get a 100 ohm 225 watt ceramic power resistor (about 1
foot long - try Ohmite model 270-225P.46). Be sure to also get mounting
hardware. This can be connected directly across the 120 V ac line to act
like a heater generating about 144 watts. Not only does this solve the
burnout problem (lasts forever), but it also gives off no light at all.
Another option is to use a red light bulb or an infrared heat lamp and use
one of those thermistor bulb life extenders that drop in the socket before
you screw in the bulb. These limit the inrush current which is what burns out
the filament when the bulb turns on, so it'll last. The red color minimizes
any damage to your homebrew.
>You can build it with Radio Shack parts for between $30 and $55, depending
>on if you have any basic components laying around. It's not as cheap as we
>homebrewers would like, but Brewer's Resource sells a functional equivelent
>for $90. It will probably be 2-3 weeks before I can get the whole thing
>organized.
When I keyed my parts list to the Radio Shack catalog, however, I found that
my parts bill was more in the vicinity of $70 (the 277-123 unit itself sells
for about $20). If you have parts laying around (especially a metal box and
a 3-wire air conditioner extension cord you can cut up), however, you can get
the price down. If Radio Shack is selling these units again and you're handy
with electronics by all means consider making one of these. And the 277-123
unit, with the addition of a small box and three momentary pushbutton
switches, also makes a good max/min recording thermometer.
The Brewers Resource unit is OK (also have one of these), but it has nowhere
near the features and flexibility one of these homemade units has. And you
save money besides!
Prosit!
Greg Walz
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 17:11:20 -0500
From: WALZENBREW@aol.com
Subject: SA Competition Score Sheets
Got my hops, T-shirt and score sheets from the Sam Adams competition today.
The shirt is nice and fits, the hops smell fresh (love Goldings!), but the
score sheets I received are an abomination.
I received two score sheets for my entry. Both judges were "experienced"
(meaning they weren't in the BJCP). Comments? None at all on one sheet, and
only five words on the second sheet.
This is reminiscent of the days before the BJCP, when score sheets would come
back with just a number and were totally useless in terms of trying to figure
out WHY the beer got the score it did. My only consolation (besides the
shirt and hops) is that I didn't have to shell out an entry fee.
Should I just shut up and just be grateful for the shirt and hops? (I am, by
the way.) Unfortunately, I received too many score sheets like this 8-9
years ago to be satisfied with this kind of "evaluation". The fact that we
rarely get score sheets this bad anymore is due solely to the efforts of the
Beer Judge Certification Program over the years, and one of the best reasons
to continue to actively support it now.
If you're going to use score sheets and actually judge the entries to the 50
point scale instead of doing a semi-subjective "best-of-show" type of
elimination, it should be done right or not at all.
Anyone else out there get comment-less score sheets?
Cheers,
Greg Walz
National Judge, BJCP
Pittsburgh Pa
------------------------------
Date: 22 Dec 1995 17:20:35 -0500
From: "Allan Rubinoff" <allan_rubinoff@mathworks.com>
Subject: Diacetyl rests
In HBD #1916, raines@radonc.ucla.edu (Maribeth_Raines) writes:
> A German-trained brewer told me that contrary to the American practice of
> raising the temperature for reducing diacetyl, German brewers lower the
> temperature. I was quite surprised to hear this but can't remember off the
> top of my head the rationale behind it. So the difference in Noonan's
versus
> Miller appears to be German versus American brewing practices.
My understanding is that diacetyl reduction happens even at cold (lagering)
temperatures, but much more quickly at higher temperatures. American brewers
use a higher temperature "rest" to hasten the process. German brewers, on
the other hand, believe that the higher temperature has a detrimental effect
on lagers (presumably resulting in some ale characteristics), so instead they
keep the temperature down and just lager for longer periods.
Allan Rubinoff
rubinoff@mathworks.com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 16:04:39 -0700
From: "Norman C. Pyle" <hophead@ares.csd.net>
Subject: Columbus Hops
In HBD 1916, George Fix writes:
>Portland conference sponsored by Brewing Techniques in July. In one of the
>sessions Martin Lodahl lead a seminar devoted to Northwest beers having a
>high hop profile. Two of the beers selected by Martin were an experimental
>IPA brewed by Rogue which was dry hopped with Columbus, and another IPA
>from
>Star Brewing which used Columbus both as a dry and finishing hop. To make a
Martin got me interested, and Mark Kellums at Just Hops closed the deal
on Columbus for me a couple months ago. I made an IPA with them (combined
with EK Goldings) that was phenomenal.
>long story short, once the presentations ended and tasting began the kegs
>containing the IPAs emptied in very short order. It was not that the other
>ales present were not not excellent, but rather the fact that the IPAs were
>"... sinfully drinkable... ", to quote one participant. What I found in
My IPA had similar results. I had planned to bottle some for keeping,
but 10 gallons of it disappeared so quickly that I never had a chance.
>both
>ales was a huge flowery/floral aroma that was quintessentially Pacific
>Nothwest.
I noted some Cascades-like aroma, but a much more noble slant to the hops.
They smelled "classier" than Cascades.
>However, the big surprise was the hop bitter. I was expecting to be
>assaulted
>by astringency with an unpleasant "high alpha aftertaste". However, what
>came
>through was a remarkably rounded bitter, some achievement since the IBUs in
Agreed 100% with my Columbus IPA. I was looking and looking for that
sharp, disagreeable bitterness (this beer was estimated at 46 IBU) but it
just wasn't there, and these hops were something like 15% AA! Very smooth.
I came to find out later one or two of my favorite local microbrews is made
with Columbus. I went bragging to the local pros about this "great new hop"
and the reply was "Yes, this beer has been using Columbus for quite some
time". I guess I'm a little behind, but it's better than never getting
there at all.
Merry Christmas All,
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 22 Dec 1995 19:18:56 -0500
From: af509@osfn.rhilinet.gov (Rolland Everitt)
Subject: Cranberries and pectin
Mike Uchima asked about how to siphon beer that contains bits
of chopped cranberry. I would suggest not chopping the berries,
but crushing them. I recently made some cranberry cider with
crushed berries, and had no problem racking.
I had another problem with cranberries, though, namely pectin!
Pectin is a complex carbohydrate that is present in many fruits
and veggies. In the presence of sugar and acid, it tends to
form very stable colloidal suspensions. This is great if
you're making jelly, but not so great if you want clear cider.
Does anyone know if the ph and sugar content of wort result in
pectin haze when using cranberries to flavor beer? If so,
what can be done about it? In "Progressive Winemaking", by
Acton and Duncan (?), the authors discuss pectolytic enzymes
which can be used to clear wine when pectin is a problem. I
have never seen these offered in homebrew catalogs, and I
don't even know if they are available in the USA (the book is
British). Anybody have any suggestions?
Rolland Everitt
af509@osfn.rhilinet.gov
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1917, 12/23/95
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