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HOMEBREW Digest #2024
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/04/30 PDT
HOMEBREW Digest #2024 Tue 30 April 1996
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Digest is up for sale (Digest Janitor)
origin of "Blaufraenkisch" (Andreas Bauer)
Fruitiness of Wyeast #1968 (Mark Peacock)
The Grain Plunge (Wayne McCorkle)
Homebrew shop for sale (Rick Willoughby)
Stoudts'Micro Fest Tix (Bob Ledden)
filtering and moving kegs (John Taylor)
Dry Ice (Narvaez Ronald)
O-ring search (Eric Peters)
RE: Ready-To-Pitch Yeasts? I don't think so (Russ Brodeur)
RIMS and oversparge (Chuck Volle)
Pre-1909 history of American brewing (Mark Stevens)
Alcoholic beverages & nursing (Spencer W Thomas)
A really big beer: anything special to think about? (Woody Weaver)
Nat'l HB Day/autolysis/Carapils(r)/volcano protection (Algis R Korzonas)
Wyeast #1275 and No Alcohol HomeBrew (Dean Larson)
I have a few questions (James Todd Hoopes)
Latest Adventure! (Jim Nasiatka-Wylde)
Chicago Area Beer Tasting (Jim Nasiatka-Wylde)
spelt (Dutch)
NOTE NEW HOMEBREW ADDRESS hpfcmgw!
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rob Gardner (Digest Janitor)
Subject: Digest is up for sale
I am looking for a stable, responsible party to take over ownership of
the Homebrew Digest as soon as possible. I will provide all necessary
assistance with the transition. If interested please email me
immediately: rdg@fc.hp.com.
Rob
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 10:52:05 -0700
From: Andreas Bauer <a.bauer@htlwrn.ac.at>
Subject: origin of "Blaufraenkisch"
I want to know where the name "Blaufraenkisch" comes from.
It is also known under the name "Lemberger" in Germany and "Kekfrankos"
in Hungary.
====================================================================
Andreas Bauer
a.bauer@htlwrn.ac.at
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 06:39:06 -0400
From: Mark Peacock <mpeacock@oeonline.com>
Subject: Fruitiness of Wyeast #1968
> As I poured my first glass this afternoon (drum roll), I carefully
> examined the color (clear and appropriately deep amber), the aroma
> (Goldings loud and clear - no diacetyl as I was expecting), and the
> taste (um...what's this?...something I've never tasted in my ales..I
> guess it's..ah.. FRUITY...yes VERY FRUITY!).
Sharon -
I always use #1968 for my pale ales/English bitters and the fruity aroma
and taste is the characteristic that distinguishes #1968 from other yeasts.
About 2 years ago, I did a parallel brew of #1968 and Wyeast's British
Ale yeast in a pale ale recipe. In a blind tasting, the fruity aroma and
taste was an easy clue to which glass was the #1968. No one failed to pick
it out, and everyone preferred the #1968 to the British Ale beer.
Regards,
Mark Peacock
Birmingham, Michigan
mpeacock@oeonline.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 07:40:24 -0600
From: wmccorkl@jefferson.NMSU.Edu (Wayne McCorkle)
Subject: The Grain Plunge
I decided some time ago to take the all grain plunge. The past two or three
months have been spent reading, contemplating and collecting. I am going to
use the zappap lauter tun to begin with. I have two suitable five gallon food
grade buckets. However, each has labels on the outside. I have become con-
cerned that the paper and/or glue could produce some ill effects on the beer.
I tried to soak one bucket in a bleach water solution for a week, but that
did not seem to help. I was then going to use a fine grit sand paper and just
sand the glue off. But I got to thinking that might create a home for unwanted
bacteria. So, am I just worrying too much, should I leave the labels? If not,
any suggestions for getting them off? Thanks in advance.
R. Wayne McCorkle Mechanical Engineering Department
New Mexico State University
Voice: 505-646-5733 Fax: 505-646-6111
rmccorkl@nmsu.edu http://essex.nmsu.edu/~rmccorkl/
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 09:37:44 -0400
From: Rick Willoughby <rickw1@haven.ios.com>
Subject: Homebrew shop for sale
Homebrew shop for sale. Need owner operator for store in Colorado.
Expanding and want to open another store. Franchise type operation.
Private Email only please.
Rick
rickw1@haven.ios.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 09:46:35 -0400
From: bobl@chesco.com (Bob Ledden)
Subject: Stoudts'Micro Fest Tix
I have 3 tickets for Stoudts'Micro Brew Fest Sat. June 8th 7-11 pm that I
can't use. Anyone interested in them please E-mail me.
Bob Ledden
bobl@chesco.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 14:30:11 GMT
From: jltaylor@ix.netcom.com (John Taylor)
Subject: filtering and moving kegs
After moving, my mostly empty keg of Honey Red was stirred-up. So far
(4 days) the beer has not cleared up and has a really funky taste. My
friends and I finished as much of the beer before moving as we
possible could.
Does anyone have a way to filter the sediment out of the beer when
kegging, or a way to move a keg and not stir it up too bad.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 09:14:00 PDT
From: Narvaez Ronald <RNarvaez@phs.org>
Subject: Dry Ice
I have only been on the digest for a couple of day and have seen part of
a tread about using dry ice. I think the dry ice was being used to
carbonate the beer. I was wondering if anybody has tried using dry ice to
cool down their wort. I brew my beer in fifteen gallon batches and it is
very hard to get this wort to cool down quickly. I have been letting it
just cool outside but now that summer is coming I will not be able to get
it cool as quick. If using dry ice to cool down wort has been done please
let me know the results.
Ron Narvaez
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 12:09:24 EDT
From: Eric Peters <epeters@harris.com>
Subject: O-ring search
I have some ten gallon soda syrup kegs (ball-lock) and I am
having trouble finding replacement o-rings for the lids. Can
any of you offer any advice on good hunting grounds for o-rings?
These kegs have a two piece lid with a wing nut that when
tightened will bring the bottom plate closer to the top plate
which forces the o-ring between the two plates outward against
the sides of the keg mouth. Are any of you using these kegs?
The o-rings are a smaller diameter than what is used for the
typical 5 gallon keg, and appear to be fatter and spongier.
McMaster-Carr has a pretty good selection of o-rings, but I'm
not sure what material would be best (buna-n, viton, etc.) and
I don't need a pack of 100, just 12. Any help will be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks in Advance,
Eric Peters
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 12:17:49 -0400
From: r-brodeur@ds.mc.ti.com (Russ Brodeur)
Subject: RE: Ready-To-Pitch Yeasts? I don't think so
>Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 07:54:57 -0500
>From: pedwards@iquest.net (P. Edwards)
>Subject: Ready-to-Pitch Yeasts? I don't think so
>
>Did anybody see the new product announcement in the latest zymurgy from
>a company called Saccharomyces Supply Co? They've got liquid yeast that
>they claim don't need a starter culture. The announcement says that the each
>vial of yeast (sufficient for 5 gallons) contains 5 billion viable yeast cells.
Is this the same as RTP yeast??
<<snip>>
>So, if you used the RTP culture w/o a starter, you'd be under pitching by
>anywhere from about 7 to 60 times.
I have used RTP yeasts twice now (RTP Czech pils and altbier strains).
IMHO, regardless of the *number* of viable cells present in the centrifuged
slurry, they yeast is not necessarily "ready-to-pitch". I have noted on
both occasions lag times of 2+ days at room temp in 1/2 gal starters.
So, I second the opinion that a starter is required, but for different reasons.
TTFN --<-@
Russ Brodeur (r-brodeur@ds.mc.ti.com)
Franklin, MA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 13:07:35 -0400
From: cvolle@alpha.che.uc.edu (Chuck Volle)
Subject: RIMS and oversparge
The idea of recycling the infusion mash seems like a terrific 'hands off'
way of mashing, in theory.
In practice, do you have to be concerned about oversparging at any time?
With mashout temps would you expect to see an increase in tannins or other
nasties that are attributed to oversparging?
As a side discussion, there is a new book from CAMRA by Wheeler and Protz,
titled, _Brew Classic European Beers at Home. ISBN 1-85249-117-5.
In it they discuss the redundancy of classic decoction mashing since the
modern equivalent is the temperature-stepped infusion mash.
This would be extremely easy with a RIMS system. How do you RIMS brewers
feel about this?
Have we come away from the necessity for a decoct to increase maltiness in
your beers?
Inquiring minds want to know?
Thanks!
Chuck Volle cvolle@alpha.che.uc.edu
Owner/Brewer/Imagineer/Artitect
Creative Juices Brewery
Cincinnati, OH
Member of The Bloatarian Brewing League, Cincinnati, Ohio
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 14:30:33 EDT
From: Mark Stevens <stevens@stsci.edu>
Subject: Pre-1909 history of American brewing
If any of you folks are interested in brewing history, I've put
up on the Brewery server the complete text of a book titled
"American Beer: Glimpses of Its History and Description of
Its Manufacture" by G. Thomann, U.S. Brewers Association. This
was written in 1909 and has quite a bit of info on the colonial
era, with some production stats etc.
URL:
http://alpha.rollanet.org/library/ambeer/AB_00.html
Cheers!
- ---Mark
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 16:58:38 -0400
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Alcoholic beverages & nursing
A pediatrician friend pointed out that a nursing baby will be getting
alcohol at the blood-alcohol concentration. That is, unless the
mother is a real lush, less than 0.1 percent. Not really a cause for
concern.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer@umich.edu)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 14:29 PDT
From: Woody Weaver <woody@altair.stmarys-ca.edu>
Subject: A really big beer: anything special to think about?
Greetings all,
This weekend I brewed a really dense beer (OG 1.130) with the idea
of making a barleywine. I bittered with an ounce and a half of
Chinook (13.5AA) and added about a half ounce of Cascade to the
primary after cooling. I made about a 250 ml starter with OG 1.060
with a Belgian Abbey Wyeast, pitched at krausen. My plan is to let it
sit in the primary about two weeks, rack to the secondary and add
champagne yeast for about another two weeks before bottling.
Any comments on the plan? I'm assuming that it will remain fairly
sweet even with the champagne yeast, which is why I bittered heavily.
Will I get any carbonation in the bottle? I don't have a CO2
cylinder, so force carbonation isn't in the works. Anything else I
should think about? I've got plastic fermenters -- is autolysis or
oxygenation going to be a problem with a four week fermentation?
- --woody
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 14:47:47 CDT
From: korz@pubs.ih.att.com (Algis R Korzonas)
Subject: Nat'l HB Day/autolysis/Carapils(r)/volcano protection
Rick writes:
>Just curious what other clubs are doing for National Homebrewers Day
>(May 4th!...)
Oddly, on National Homebrew Day, I'm going to be discouraging people from
brewing. Yes, that's right. I've spoken to the AHA a half dozen times
about moving HB day to the Fall, but my pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
May is the ***END*** of the brewing season and ***NOT*** the time to be
introducing non-brewers to the hobby! I own a HB supply store and usually
get one or two calls about starting to homebrew *on* National HB Day, but
usually it takes most people a week or five to get off their duffs and
I end up fielding dozens of calls in June and July. I have to tell these
people that summer is not the time to brew and do call me in the fall.
A fraction of them call back.
The AHA would make life so much easier if they were to move Nat'l HB Day
to the fall so we could wholeheartedly encourage new brewers to join our
ranks when the chance of success is significantly higher. Perhaps if
I wasn't the only one complaining about this, they would listen?
***
Gregg asks about autoylsis.
I, personally, have noted autolysis in very few of my beers. I have a
bad habit of brewing a beer, siphoning off 2 liters to force-carbonate
for a competition and then leaving the rest of the beer in the primary
for three months. I think perhaps the crummy, weak, unrefrigerated dry
yeasts that Papazian and Miller first started brewing with were indeed
susceptible to autolysis. I believe that along with all other aspects
of yeast, the likelyhood of autolysis is strain-dependent. Furthermore,
yeast that has gotten plenty of oxygen and nutrients and has not been
tortured with high heat is much less prone to it. Mind you that these
are simply my guesses as to why I have had very few beers (despite
long times in the primary and virutally all my beers being bottle
conditioned) show the rubbery/sulfury smells of autolysis. Finally,
it is pronounced aw-TALL-a-sis.
***
Jim writes:
>German maltsters also sell
>a similar product, often called caraPils. I wonder if the Briess trademark
>is only valid in the US?
Briess used to put a trademark on "Carapils(r)" but has not in their
most recent literature. Carapils(r) is a registered trademark of
Mich. Weyermann Malzfabrik, yes, even in the US.
As for use and similarity to Crystal malts, I've used Briess Dextrine
just like a typical Crystal/Caramel malt and yes indeed it adds little
sweetness (taste malto-dextrin -- not very sweet either), some body and
some head retention. I've only used it a couple of times, in not very
large amounts (5 to 7% or so) and have not noticed it to be extremely
different from other crystal malts other than *not* having that typical
caramelly flavour. Perhaps in larger quanitities its character is more
noticeable and may not be desirable to all brewers.
***
Michael writes:
>As far as the airlock clogging, I always put my carboy inside of a couple of
>big black plastic bags. The bags block the light and helps prevent a blown off
>airlock/blow off tube from doing damage to the inside of the closet, carpet,
>etc.
Obviously your stopper was not forced very strongly into the carboy...
plastic bags are nothing to the force of an ejected blowoff hose when
the pressure builds up. I know from personal experience. The plastic
bags were torn up and found in the next room, and the stain on the ceiling
is a testament to the volcanic nature of clogged blowoff tubes (the carboy
was on the floor, the top of it was 6 1/2 feet below the bottom of the
ceiling). Now, I use only 1 1/4" OD plastic hoses for blowoff (no need for
a stopper either).
Al.
Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL
korz@pubs.att.com
Copyright 1996 Al Korzonas
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 16:44:56 -0700
From: Dean Larson <larson@chaos.cps.gonzaga.edu>
Subject: Wyeast #1275 and No Alcohol HomeBrew
I've never brewed with Wyeast #1275, but I tried their new American Ale II
strain (#1272) a few months ago. When I purchased this, my supplier was
kind enough to supply me with a copy of Wyeast's profile sheet for their new
strains. Included was:
1275 THAMES VALLEY ALE YEAST: Produces classic British bitters, rich,
complex flavor profile, clean, light malt character, low fruitiness, low
esters, well balanced, medium flocculation, apparent attenuation 72-76%.
If anyone is interested in the profiles of the other new strains, let me
know. The only one I've actually brewed with is #1272 (4 or 5 batches).
********************
Regarding no alcohol homebrew: There is an article by John Nalsezkiewicz in
the October, 1995 (Vol. 1 No. 4) issue of Brew Your Own magazine on this
very topic. A quick version of the technique explained in the article
follows:
Brew a normal batch, but use a recipe high in dextrin content to add body
(no sugar if you brew with extracts). Ferment out fully as usual. Get as
much as the yeast out as possible either through filtration or by racking
off the yeast after a long, cool secondary. Take the portion of the batch
you want to make no (or low) alcohol and heat it to the boiling point of
ethyl alcohol (173.3F). The article suggests heating in an oven (more even
heat than a stove top) at 180F for about 30 minutes. This should evaporate
the alcohol leaving a buzzless brew. The heating process will also drive
off most hop flavors and aromas. Cool the beer (with the usual attention to
sanitation associated with cooling wort), then bottle or keg. The resulting
brew can be forced carbonated or bottle conditioned. The heating process
will have killed all remaining yeast, so if bottle conditioned, the brew
needs to primed with the appropriate amount of sugar as well as some fresh
yeast. I've never tried this technique. Brewing is a labor of love and
performing more labor in order to remove some of my favorite components of
beer strikes me as a bad idea.
Dean Larson
larson@cps.gonzaga.edu
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 08:49:07 -0500
From: Hoopes@bscr.uga.edu (James Todd Hoopes)
Subject: I have a few questions
I've been all grain brewing for about two years. I have made many
fine beers and a few that missed the mark, but I have never been satisfied
when I try to brew a "hoppy" strong ale. by this I mean very obvious hop
flavor and aroma in a full bodied ale or any beer for that mater. I have
tried large amounts 3 oz of finishing hopes, dry hopping, and that hop tea
thing. However, the damn micro do it better. Is there any advice for me
out there.
Next subject. I recently purchased a brewing program. It will
calculate hop utilization based on any max. % you deem reasonable and boil
time, but it will only scale it through one hour. I was under the
impression that up to three hours and by all means two of boil time would
increase the percentage utilization with a max. of 25-35% depending on who
you talked to and which type you used IE. pellet plug or leaf. Am I wrong?
I have a couple of tables and no one cuts it off at 1 hour.
*********************************************************************
Do unto others.. for given a reversal of situation they would surely
do it unto you. J. Todd Hoopes <Hoopes@bscr.uga.edu>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 21:58:23 -0500
From: Jim Nasiatka-Wylde <Jwylde@interaccess.com>
Subject: Latest Adventure!
OK folks! Here's the results of the latest batch of brew:
PS - It seems we've solved our CO2/foaming problem - it was mostly
due to the pressure drop in the system. I butchered a ball lock to get
1/4" Swagelocks to fit on it, and put a 1/4" st stl ball valve at the
outlet of the keg, and then ran about 3' of tubing to use for filing
bottles. Opening the valve fully got good flow rates at 1-2psi, and
very little excess foam.
Thanks to all who helped!
Schizophrenia Espresso Porter
(Makes 5 gal.)
3.3# M&F Amber Malt extract
3.3# John Bull Dark Malt Extract
1# Black Patent Malt
1/4# Crystal Malt
1.5 oz Northern Brewers Hop Pellets - main boil
1 oz Tettnanger Hop Pellets - finish
1/2# Espresso - coarsely ground
proceedure:
steep grains while bringing water to a boil (50 minutes)
add extract return to boil
add hops and boil for 45 min.
reduce heat and add Espresso - steep for 10 minutes
return to boil and add finishing hops for 5 minutes
sparge, chill, and pitch
Fermentation time: 4 weeks
Sp. Gr. - initial: 1.060
final: 1.025
Notes on the beast:
The whole thing turned out pretty good - the beer itself seems to be
about the best we've done so far. It has a dark, bitter, funky flavor
from the coffee and the black patent malt. Color is very black almost
chunky, and has good thick head - kinda like Guiness in color and
consistancy.
All the money in the world is no match for hard work and ingenuity...
____
\ / Nothing is so strong as Gentleness; JWylde@interaccess.com
\/ nothing so gentle as real strength Nasiatka@anl.gov
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 22:01:56 -0500
From: Jim Nasiatka-Wylde <Jwylde@interaccess.com>
Subject: Chicago Area Beer Tasting
Hey y'all!
My Brew-Partner Robyn asked me to post this up here -
She's putting together a beer tasting to help raise money for
the Chicago-Minneapolis AIDS ride:
Where: LaPiazza
3845 North Broadway
(N.E. corner of Broadway and Sheridan)
Big Chicago
312.868.0998
When: May 17, 1996 7pm - 2am
Cost: $10
Featuring 21 beers from all around the place. It's set up kind of like
Chicago's Microbrew Octoberfest was - admission gets you 7 tickets for
for sampling your choice of the different beers available. I don't kow
what they are yet, but I'll pass it on to all interested folks as soon
as I do. One thing that probably will be there is one of *our* brews
(Homo Heights Brewery)
Proceeds go to sponsor two riders who are participating in the Chicago to
Minneapolis AIDS ride, and I *think* it's tax deductable, but I ain't sure.
All the money in the world is no match for hard work and ingenuity...
____
\ / Nothing is so strong as Gentleness; JWylde@interaccess.com
\/ nothing so gentle as real strength Nasiatka@anl.gov
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 23:28:37 -0400
From: leake.5@osu.edu (Dutch)
Subject: spelt
I visited a friend in Chicago recently who dose not drink ... often. I tried
to get her to try some of my home brew but she wasn't interested. So as
usual her boyfriend, my old brewing partner, an I drank a few to many we got
loud and she got mad. I tried to convince her if she just had a beer or two
she would relax and join in the comradery. So anyway she said if I brew a
spelt beer she'll try some.
I don't think I'll find any malted spelt so how should I go about mashing
with spelt. I have done one all grain batch and hope to do another befor I
see her again.
Should I do a decotion mash. If I do a decoction should i boil the spelt
before the mash. I am shure I need to crush the grain.
Should I do a step mash with a protien rest. (I am shure I will need a
protien rest no mater which mash I do)
BTW spelt is a primitive wheat species so info on unmalted wheat would hold
for spelt ... I think.
A recipe I was considering is as follows
6 lb pale (most likly kloges)
2 lb spelt
1 lb malted rye (for fun)
12 hbu of saaz and hallertauer
maybe perle, I have never used them before
Any help would be much appreciated.
Private E-mail is great. If there is alot of spelt intrest I will consoidate and
post.
Walter
leake.5@osu.edu
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #2024, 04/30/96
*************************************
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