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HOMEBREW Digest #2118
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/07/22 PDT
Homebrew Digest Monday, 22 July 1996 Number 2118
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!
Contents:
NOKO has to GO (Michael Caprara)
MORE Beta A ("David R. Burley")
mash temps (Rscholz@aol.com)
MORE Beta A ("David R. Burley")
Carbonation, vessels,beer in spaaace, etc. ("David R. Burley")
Harvest Fair (Norman Dickenson)
Wiesbrod & Hess Brewery? (Larry N. Lowe)
NOKOMARKEE (Russell Mast)
extraction pts and rectangular coolers (Keith Reding)
AOL contributor (Michael Mahler/Shiva Corporation)
NOKOMAREE (Dave Broughton - PICCO)
Wheeler's Porter, Haze ("David R. Burley")
Oktoberfest, decoction mashing ((George De Piro))
Subject: potatoes (Brian Bliss)
Iodophor Question (RANDY ERICKSON)
Gambrinus ESB malt... (Jim Cave)
thermostat element corrosion (M257876@sl1001.mdc.com (bayerospace@mac))
Professionalism (Carrick Legrismith)
Otter Creak Copper Ale ("Kris A. Kauper")
Re: Recipies on Cat's Meow (JOSEPH MAXIMILLIAN MURPHY)
Looking for cooling unit. ((Ed, Quantum PE (508) 770-2251))
Belgian Special B ("Gregory, Guy J.")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael Caprara <mcaprara@awwarf.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 08:33:09 -0600
Subject: NOKO has to GO
Hello all of you HBDers who actually use the HBD for information and
getting answers to your questions. Don't let this NOKO asshole make
you not want to post a beginner question. I love answering beginner
questions, and passing along the knowledge I have gained over 8 years
of brewing.
NOW THE IMPORTANT PART (Sorry for yelling, but this NOKO jerk is
irritating me). I want everyone out there to email shawn@aob.org and let
him know you do not want to hear anymore of NOKO's dribble.
Brewfully Deadicated
MC
(Michael Caprara)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Editor's Note: (Yea, well, you know)
When brought to my attention, I checked to see what other stuff had been
posted on this subject. Please don't send me e-mail. 3500+ e-mails would
probably be more than enough to prevent me from doing work for quite some
time. Please don't send the digest e-mail either, this would waste even
more of our collective time. As noted before, this is the type of "fame"
that this particular individual is looking for. I've asked for his AOL
account to be killed, but as noted before, all that will accomplish is
that he'll get another one, (yes I'm assuming male, most females don't
behave this way), and then he'll brag to his friends that he's been
kicked off of AOL.
If you really can't handle it and are into sadomasochism, go ahead and
send him e-mail yourself, assuming that he still has an AOL account.
Sorry about the interruption,
Shawn Steele
shawn@aob.org
Digest Janitor
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
------------------------------
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 96 10:32:55 EDT
Subject: MORE Beta A
Brewsters:
I'm trying a new method of sending a narrower pagewidth as some of you
have asked me to do and hope this doesn't get garbaged somehow by the
transmission as in the past.
DRB
------------------------------
From: Rscholz@aol.com
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 12:26:26 -0400
Subject: mash temps
brewsters,
I'm sure this a has been asked before but here goes nothing.
I'm brewing a yorkshire ale:
6lbs pale
2lbs crystal 60
1lbs wheat malt
fuggles & E. kent
The Question:
What do I gain by a multi-step infusion
(120/140/155/168) over a single step ( 155/168)
besides a extra couple of hours in front of the stove?
all degrees F. Times at each are (30/45/90/10) or (90/10) ?
Any and all comments are welcome here or email.
TIA
richard scholz
bklyn ny
------------------------------
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 96 10:33:01 EDT
Subject: MORE Beta A
DI a!? ayyyyyRyyyyyyyyyyNDe relationships and whether or not high temperature
brews will produce fermentable brews or not.. I made a simple suggestion to one
HBDer as one possible slight modification to his brewing technique ((based on
my experience) and you would think I was selling nude pictures of the Madonna!
My Papa always told me" never pick a fight, but if you think you are right,
never walk away." I followed his advice at the beginning using all the
information I had available that
showed that beta amylase definitely does have a lifetime at the high end of the
saccharification region but how long was ( very highly?) dependent on
time/temperature history, brewing liquor mineral content, mash thickness, malt
type, etc. I tried to establish that, using the only really *professional* text
I have, M&BS. I kept asking for data to support either case, but no meaningful
data ( i.e. the measured lifetime of beta amylase in various mashes and
conditions) was ever offered, just opinions and theoretical arguments.
When I realized that this subject had a high emotional content (people calling
me prejudicial names - I have no idea who Schmidling is, etc.), for some
HBDers, for reasons unknown to me I even went to the point of walking away from
this
ridiculous "how many angels on a pin" argument. I did this on more than one
occasion in hopes it would go away, but it just kept coming back. I am glad
Steve changed his mind about flaming me - Thanks! ( Why would you want to flame
me?)
The fact of the matter is for this discussion, only information gathered from
real mashes should be trusted, because beta amylase is longer lived in mashes
than in pure solution and alpha amylase is shorter lived in mashes than in pure
solution.
Steve, I didn't see anywhere you took the effect of the environment into
account in your theoretical discussion. Impressive as it was, it doesn't
account for the real facts. Presenting info based on pure solutions, or even
worse not specifying the conditions under which the information was gathered is
not very scientific and permits me to ignore it. As far as talking to yourself
goes, I am listening to you, are you listening to me?.
Steve, if you are going to prepare a brew which will somehow refute my actual
results, why not do a normal fermentation using a continental or american pale
malt that has been properly (according to all the books I read) treated by
holding at various protein rests before the saccharification steps. Why not use
a beer yeast (instead of a wine yeast) under normal ( not forced) fermentation
conditions, since that is what we are discussing. I thought you were arguing
that enzyme kinetics were abnormal with exceptional temperature coefficients,
why would you use normal kinetics to argue what happened to my brew? If you
really want to resolve this issue instead of just flame me, can we do it
privately and report back to the HBD?
Personally, I think we agree on about 99% of this stuff, both enjoy the art and
science of homebrewing, have no reason to be fussing and should be enjoying
each other's contributions to the HBD.
P.S., You can use big words like activation complex, Gibbs' free energy of
activation, enthalpy, entropy and even Brownian motion, if you want to, I
understand. Let's not talk billiard balls OK? I have a hard time following your
arguments when you do. I'll be e-ing you.
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
------------------------------
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 96 10:33:09 EDT
Subject: Carbonation, vessels,beer in spaaace, etc.
DI a!? ayyyyyRyyyyyyyyyyNDs up (i.e. less sharply curved), the strength of the
wall goes down. Also
the pressure differential of the bottles is positive on the concave side,
making the problem even worse. Think of a pane of glass as the infinite limit
and compare that to a bottle in terms of deformation due to pressure. Did you
ever think about why the bottom of a real champagne bottle is punted ( indented
inward)?
- ----------------------------------------------
On the subject of lactic acid fermentation, I do it separately and add to taste
after the fermentation. This method gives much better control. Some results, to
give you an idea on how to do this, are given below. Use whatever size batch
you care to, following these proportions. The parentheses show what I expect
you could do, but didn't in this particular batch.
A cup of crushed pale malt in a pint of water, hold at 135F for 30 min and 155F
for 30 min to mash. Cool to 100F add 2 tlb of unwashed barley and/(or) 1 tlb of
uncrushed ( or crushed) malt to provide a lactobacillus starter. Place in a
thermos or an oven (I do both) at about 100F. In about 24 hours it should smell
slightly of sauerkraut and have a pH = 3.3 and be about 0.1N in lactic acid.
That is one-tenth of MW of lactic acid in grams per liter of water.
This fermentation would also make a good starter for your whole brew
fermentation, but watch out, control the temperature and the time. Think about
trying the acid rest technique, in which a mash is allowed to stand until it is
acidified at the begining, i.e before your saccharification (normally used as a
way of correcting for hard water for the lighter brews). I don't know if this
would work. A starter should speed this up and I don't know what this would do
to the saccharification pH, maybe too low to get good extraction efficiencies
in your normal mashing/temp/time schedule. I would try it to find out. Doing
this before the boil and the saccharification means you wouldn't have to be so
worried about contamination. I'm guessing there will be enough sugars and other
carbohydrates around to provide you with lactic acid at these lower
temperatures.
For those skeptics among us, here is the titration curve data (plot it
yourself) using a pH meter and 0.1 N sodium hydroxide. Sample size was 10ml,
volume of NaOH is in ml EP = 9.3 ml
Vol pH vol pH vol pH vol pH
0 3.4 2 3.7 4 4.1 6 4.8
7 5.4 8 6.1 8.5 6.5 9 6.8
9.5 7.2 10 7.5 10.5 7.9 11 8.1
11.5 8.3 12 8.5 13 8.8 15 9.2
20 9.9
- ------------------------------------------------
AlK asks if my slowly-carbonating brews were sitting on the basement floor. The
answer is, Yep, but in a double grocery bag to keep out the light. However, so
were the mini-kegs and no covering. I will take your advice and move the
bottles to a warmer clime, or at least put it on a board or something. My
temperatures were measured at bottle level, with a thermometer I use to watch
the room temp during fermentation, placed on the paper bags. Putting them (
I'll do half) on a thermal insulator should help. Thanks for the suggestion. I
still don't understand why the kegs carbonated though and the bottles didn't.
- -------------------------------------------------
Father Barleywine asks about open fermentation in his upcoming brewery plans.
There are many coatings on the market to waterproof concrete. Most modern ones
are based on urethane, since it doesn't stick well to concrete and is very
flexible in thet cured state. This combination of characteristics will prevent
cracks in the concrete, which may develop after coating, from leaking. My only
concern is what effect urethane monomer, resulting from improper curing or
improper compounding will do to your beer.
I know that many peole will develop an allergy, given long enough and repeated
exposure to the monomer. Thus robotic painting in Detroit. I don't know if
ingeston is a problem (I suspect it is) and lots of other things about this. I
would ask your supplier. I would go to a food equipment or pharmaceutical
supplier and make sure the film is cured above room temperature with a heater
in the vessel. Like another HBDer suggests, I would strongly consider using
used
dairy or pharmaceutical equipment. There are plenty of suppliers.
- ------------------------------------------------
Michael Aesop asks about 10-25 gal plastic containers to use for fermentation
of wine.
Michael, I ferment grapes to make 500 bottles of wine per year ( I have lots of
friends to drink it). For the reds, I crush and destem into the Tupperware
storage containers approx 1.5'X2.5' X 1.5' deep. These covered with plastic
sheeting, fastened down with rubber bands looped together or elastic tied in a
loop, are nearly ideal and will hold about 2 lugs of crushed grapes. I think
the volume is about 10 gallons, but could be as much as 25 gals. I have about
twenty of these These can be easily handled and stirred and pushed down during
the extraction phase which lasts about a week to ten days. I then press and
transfer the wine to 5 gallon carboys under air lock for the malo lactic
fermentation to finish, clearing ,etc.. I think six weeks or so is too long to
keep any fermentation as open to the air as this type of vessel permits. In the
case of polyethylene vessels that are grey or white, I don't worry about food
grade quality, since the pigments used are generally reognized as safe, being
carbon black, and titanium dioxide. I realize this may appear to be a cavalier
attitude to others, and like them, I would recommend you use food grade
containers whenever possible. Also, if possible, check out the recycle symbol
on the bottom pf the vessel, it will tell you the composition of the vessel.
Your local sanitary commission will undoubtedly tell you the composition of the
vessel you choose. I recommend polyethylene for its inertness, no plasticizer,
no monomer content and general availability at a decent price and variety of
shapes.
- -----------------------------------------------
In the continuing beer in spaace saga, Dave Hinkle asks a number of questions
about yeast and foam behavior.
Why would gravity be necessary to bring about flocculation? As far as I know it
is dependent on the surface charge of the yeasts, nicht wahr? Settling down or
rising up is a different matter, of course. I guess since we depend on gravity
to deliver fresh wort to yeasts here on terra firma whether bottom or top
fermenting , in space it will be necessary to pump it around turbulently.
Yeast autolysis also isn't dependent on flocculation, but has to do with
nutrient supply, temperature, etc.
Your foam question is interesting, since the reason a bubble breaks is because
the film drains. Why would a film drain if not under the influence of gravity?
So, I guess a head would last forever unless the surface tension is broken by
greasy lips. Could this be the solution to getting a really good head on the
beer without putting up with chill haze?
- --------------------------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
------------------------------
From: Norman Dickenson <norman.dickenson@sonoma.edu>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 07:48:22 -0700
Subject: Harvest Fair
Subject: Time: 8:14 AM
OFFICE MEMO Harvest Fair Date: 7/15/96
The 15th Annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair Homebrew
Competition will be held on September 7, 1996 at the
Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California. All major styles
are represented in 11 judging classes. The entry deadline
is August 26, 1996 and it costs $5.00 per entry.
The Best of Show winner gets a really cool trophy and
other wonderful considerations. The 1995 winner was
George Fix of Arlington, Texas with a Vienna.
For entry materials, call or write the Sonoma County
Harvest Fair: (707) 545-4203;
Sonoma County Harvest Fair
Entry Office
Administration Building
Sonoma County Fairgrounds
1350 Bennett Valley Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
or...........if that's too long of an address for you to
write, send me an e-mail request with your name
and mailing address and I'll see that you get one.
norman.dickenson@sonoma.edu
------------------------------
From: Larry N. Lowe <lnl@awips1.abrfc.noaa.gov>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 10:19:42 CDT
Subject: Wiesbrod & Hess Brewery?
i collect about anything old and last year my wife bought me a calendar from
the year 1905. it's in great shape...anyway...the company on the calendar is
Wiesbrod and Hess brewery...it says something about oriental brewing(?) and
i believe it is from the northeast...could be wrong. anyone know anything about
this company, or is this just "more dumbness"?
- --
from: Larry N. Lowe, HAS Forecaster ?
lnl@apwk01g3.abrfc.noaa.gov \\\|///
http://info.abrfc.noaa.gov (o) (o)
Off: (918)832-4109 FAX: (918)832-4101 _____oOOO__(_)__OOOo_____
------------------------------
From: Russell Mast <rmast@fnbc.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 10:34:06 -0500
Subject: NOKOMARKEE
Alright, guys. Let's all fess up. We fell for it. Yes, he's some kind of
mid-life crisis sociapath with problems obtaining and maintaining an
erection, and he's decided to try to ease the pain by showing himself that
he's a big man, that he can influence other people.
Let's stop giving him the pleasure. No more posts in response to him, no
more posts ABOUT him, and no more posts ABOUT the posts ABOUT him.
And dammit, no more posts about the posts about the posts about him. Nor
about those posts - it's downright silly. And we're not silly here. Are we?
Sorry for being such a hypocrite lately - but this really is the first and
last mention I'll make of him publicly. Let's all start flaming each other
for paying any attention to him on the digest. Start with me, now. Tell
me I'm just encouraging him. Just for practice. And keep going with the
next guy that flames him. (Or with anyone who hits me publicly, because he'll
like that, too.)
But, seriously, there's a point where it's not funny anymore.
If we ignore him, he WILL go away. All trolls do.
You made a big splash, Noko, you're really famous and important. No go see
a doctor, there are lots of different therapies that will work for whatever
problem it is you're having. Leave us now, or we shall taunt you a second
time.
- -Russell Mast, rmast@fnbc.com
ps. Anyone who knows the reference he's making with his login name, please
let me know - privately.
------------------------------
From: Keith Reding <kreding@biotech.aphis.usda.gov>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 13:47:20 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: extraction pts and rectangular coolers
I have been an all-grain brewer for since 1991 and have brewed 98
different batches of beer. When I started, I brewed 5-gal batches on the
stove with the Phil's lauter-tun and mash-tun. This is the typical
5-gal bucket setup. I typically got 30 - 31
pts./lb/gal of extract with pale malt. For 10 lbs of grain, I would
typically mash in with about 2.5 gal of water and then lauter with about
5 - 6 gal of water at 80 C.
For about the last 20 batches, I switched to a 58 qt rectangular cooler
for the mash-tun/lauter-tun which has PVC pipes with slits cut 1/2-way
through the bottom of the tubing to collect the extract through the hole
in the cooler. With this I try to make 10 gal batches. I have kept the
amount of water in the same proportion as with the 5 gal system.
My problem is now the best efficiency I can get is 25 pts/lb/gal of
wort, no matter how much I sparge. I have tried to increase the
efficiency by increasing the amount of water for lautering and also doing
a decoction mash to get better conversion of the starches. None of this
has helped!
The only real difference is the shape of the lauter-tun -- cylindrical vs
rectangular.
Would going to a round, cylindrical cooler help? The beer still comes
out fine but this is bugging me!
Thanks,
keith
- ---------------------------
Keith Reding, Ph.D.
Biotechnologist
kreding@biotech.aphis.usda.gov
(301) 734-8365
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/bbep/bp/
------------------------------
From: Michael Mahler/Shiva Corporation
Date: 22 Jul 96 10:25:13 EDT
Subject: AOL contributor
What I found more enlightening than our abrasive visitor was the replies to his
well worded postings. I've seen everything from a "height-ist" to some very
defensive
to the core responses. When you consider the tolerance shown towards other
individuals
who participate here it really appears hypocritical.
I learn much from people in this group - my beer has improved greatly and I
kill a few lunch
minutes reading it - but get a grip people, if you are going to get all bent
out of shape from
a newcomer throwing some arrows but learn to tolerate outright bigotry, then
count me out.
------------------------------
From: Dave Broughton - PICCO <dave@picco.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 96 09:02:05 PDT
Subject: NOKOMAREE
I thought that NOKOMAREE has done a very good job of parodying the long winded
arguments going on in the HBD lately. Certain people hide their insults in
their rhetoric. At least NOKOMAREE is upfront about it.
dlb
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| David Broughton (206)927-6910 x30 |
| Puyallup Integrated Circuit Company (206)927-6673 Fax |
| 33838 Pacific Hwy S., Suite 211 dave@picco.com |
| Federal Way, WA 98003 http://www.picco.com |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------
From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 22 Jul 96 11:59:57 EDT
Subject: Wheeler's Porter, Haze
Brewsters:
The reader rejected this because it contained the word subscr*be buried
in another word. Once I send a message it is impossible to change without
forwarding it, because of the WinCIM message security. Sorry for this cr*p up
front.
- ------- Forwarded Message ----------
Brewsters:
Rob Moline's comments on Wheeler's Porter are excellent. Thanks!
- -------------------------------------------------
As far as NO KOME goes, don't de-subscr*be him (her , it?). use your down key
the way I do. Hopefully he-she-it will expend some of that mis-directed energy
harmlessly here and prevent some form of violence to others locally or to
he-she-it himself.
- -------------------------------------------------
Dave Hinkle didn't do a protein rest with a pale 2 row malt and now has what
appears to be a protein haze even at room temperature.
Does the haze go away when you warm it? If yes, it is likely it is a protein
haze, and if no it still may be a protein derived haze. Test it for starch
using
iodine. Failure to give a protein rest with a low modified malt doesn't always
allow the starch to be fully converted.
In any event, try this on a small amount of beer. I typically use beer bottles,
clear is better, fill them about half full ( 7 oz), put in varying amounts of
bentonite as indicated below. Put them in the fridge and determine the least
amount of bentonite you have to put in to get a clear beer. If you really want
to nail it down, do a repeat, splitting the difference between the one that
shows haze and the one that doesn't.. This will give you clear beer at fridge
temp. If you want to, warm them also to serving temperature in a water bath
adjusted to the proper temperature for about 30 min and check the clarity, this
will give you the minimum bentonite and maximum protein in solution to maximize
the mouthfeel and still have a clear beer at serving temperature ( but probably
cloudy in the fridge).
Two ways to detect cloudiness. 1) Dark room, look for a flashlight beam in the
beer (a penlite is best). beam = cloudy, no beam = clear 2) Place the bottles
on a black background and look through the mouth to get the maximum pathlength.
Sometimes a partially darkened room with lighting from one side is best for
this method. Clear bottles are best for this method.
Dave Miller ( Complete Handbook of Brewing p. 193) suggests the following
method
for bentonite preparation:
Boil 1 qt water, weigh out 2 oz of Bentonite ( I suggest boiling it for 5 min
to sterilize and expand it). When the water boils, fill your blender to the
three cup mark (with the boiling water), add the Bentonite , let it soak for a
few minutes and blend at medium speed until all the granules are dispersed.
Dilute to the four cup mark with the remaining boiled water. Two tablespoons
of this mixture will add 0.1 ppt to 5 gallons. The usual dose of bentonite is
0.1 to 0.5 ppt.
If you have 7 oz of beer in each bottle this represents 7/(128X5) =0.0109 of
the batch. Take 1 tsp of the above bentonite solution, dilute it with 11 tlb of
water.(dilution factor 33). 2 tsp (reduction factor of three from 2 tlb) of
this
solution will produce 0.1ppt bentonite in the 7 oz of beer. ( It is a LOT
easier
in the metric system). Now take a series of bottles which has 7 oz beer in
each, add 2 tsp to the first and shake, 4 to the second, etc. Cover the bottle
opening with plastic wrap and and a rubber band, place them in the fridge
overnight. ( you may be able to tell sooner that you need more bentonite if
they turn cloudy, but not if they are clear). The number of teaspoons of this
diluted bentonite solution you add to this bottle is the number of tablespoons
of the stock bentonite you add to your 5 gallon batch. See my comments above
about fine tuning.
Also, this is a good opportunity to feel the difference soluble protein makes
on
mouth feel. Pour off the beers from the bentonite and taste them in order.
Also, I suggest you combine a few and bottle and condition them to really see
this effect on head, bubble size and mouthfeel.
Please let me know how this works out.
- -------------------------------------------------------
Steve Cloutier wishes to know how to bottle a few bottles and keg the rest if
one doesn't have a counterpressure filler. I suggest the old fashioned way, for
a 12 oz bottle take a tsp of (sucrose or corn) sugar per bottle ( or 5X128 th
of
the priming sugar per oz per bottle for a 5 gal batch) and add it to a small
amount of water, boil to sterilize it and add the appropriate amount of syrup
to
each bottle, then the beer is added and capped and conditioned at about 65-70F.
- -------------------------------------------------------
Keep on brewin'
Dave Burley
------------------------------
From: George_De_Piro@berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 12:06:55 -0700
Subject: Oktoberfest, decoction mashing
Jason asks for my "Milo-Marzen #2" recipe. Well, it's a closely
guarded secret...just kidding, of course. I won't waste bandwidth
with it here. If you want it and can't wait for the Zymurgy special
issue, just ask and I'll send it to you.
Jim Busch's questions to the Brewing God that has recently graced us
with their presence actually made me think of a question: How many
people out there decoction mash? Do you know why? Do you think it
makes a difference? How about the pro's in the audience?
I decoction mash almost everything I brew because I like malty beers.
I've read about Maillard reactions and melanoidins,etc., and I think
it does make a difference. Heck, the decoct smells and tastes SUPER
malty while mashing, so I figure it must be doing something.
Even so, lately I've been wondering if it really is necessary to spend
10-14 hours brewing to achieve this. I know that in the days of
poorly modified malt it was sometimes important to decoct, but why do
brewers do it today? Has anybody out there done side-by-side
comparisons?
Just curious. Have fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
------------------------------
From: Brian Bliss <brianb@microware.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 96 11:05:19 CDT
Subject: Subject: potatoes
Do potatoes already contain an appreciable amount of amylase enzyme in
their "naturally" occurring state ("naturally", as in "how you find
them at the supermarket?).
I would assume that older ones, that have begun to sprout, are "malted",
in a sense.
In times past, if you wanted something to ferment to get ethanol, potatoes
were the food of choice, and I was wondering if this was the reason.
Has anybody here actually tried using them as an adjunct
(or as a non-adjunct, if they are considered "malted").
bb
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
From: RANDY ERICKSON <RANDYE@mid.org>
Date:
Subject: Iodophor Question
Hi Folks!
Like many of you I bet, I don't measure out absolutely everything I use in
my brewery (garage). A fine case in point is iodophor -- I usually just
dump in enough to get a color I like and let it go at that.
I think this got me into trouble though. From recent posts I developed the
opinion that iodophor doesn't need to be completely drip-dried, a good
shake is adequate. The last batch I kegged, I dumped out the solution, let
the keg drip upside down for a few minutes, then filled, sealed, and
force carbed as usual.
That was about a month ago. Now as much as I try to convince myself
that I'm just tasting the appropriate sharp goldings bitterness in a low
gravity bitter, I'm pretty sure that there's a distinct iodine taste as well.
Anyone else experienced something similar with iodophor? Any chance
it'll go away? If not, can I drink it anyway? ;-)
In 2117, Charlie S. is brilliantly on the mark, once again. He never
ceases to amaze me! Also, our Jack shows a sense of humor I'd not
given him credit for. I love this HBD!
Randy in Modesto
------------------------------
From: Jim Cave <CAVE@PSC.ORG>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 9:37:57 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Gambrinus ESB malt...
Gambrinus has a new malt out called ESB. It is an attempt at an
English pale malt. I made a batch of beer to O.G. 1.048 and 31 IBU's using
this malt only. Extract was about 30 pts/lb/U.S. gal--slightly better than
what I get with Hugh Baird malt on my system. Hopping was 24 IBU's using
Northern Brewers for 60 min and 7 IBU's at 10 minutes using British Columbia
Goldings. The beer was fermented with very sizeable pitching (250 mls) of
Wyeast 1968 yeast slurry to 40 litres of beer.
The resulting beer was quite good with a nutty maltiness. Hops were
unobtrusive, as I wanted to accent the malt. A residual sweetness was present,
although no crystal malt was used. I did not take a final gravity reading.
I felt that the resulting beer had a good British character. No DMS was
detected.
Generally I'm lukewarm to Gambrinus malts, althought the price is right
and it's readilly available so I use them. However, this malt is definatly
good and considerabley cheaper than Hugh Baird is right now (~$31 U.S. for
25 kgs). I'm not sure if Gambrinus is "blending" in darker malts to achieve
colour and flavour components however, as there are some dark kernels in the
mix. I'm not a huge fan of the regular pale malt, as I find it "trubby" and
a low extract (28 pts/lb/gal), relative to Canada malt 2 row (32 pts/lb/gal).
However the price is right at ~ $15 U.S. for 25 kgs. I'm not sure of the price
of the ESB malt, as I won a bag in the local competition.
Jim Cave
Vancouver B.C. Canada
------------------------------
From: M257876@sl1001.mdc.com (bayerospace@mac)
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 11:46 -0600
Subject: thermostat element corrosion
collective homebrew conscience:
i have a thermostat for my freezer, which i use for lagering/conditioning/
storage. there is an element that runs inside the freezer, and it is made
of copper.
it is green with corrosion, and this started when i put a couple of
fermenting carboys in the freezer.
any ideas? is my thermostat probe going to eventually disappear? it is
corroding so badly that pieces of the green corrosion have actually fallen
off the probe into the floor of the freezer.
i'd like to stop the corrosion. also, i'm curious to know what gas is
causing this. i thought CO2 was a fairly inert gas.
thanks in advance for the help; i really appreciate all the courteous,
knowledgable people that contribute to this forum. it really helps a lot
of people out.
i'm so glad everyone is so nice, helpful, and generous.
brew hard
mark bayer
------------------------------
From: Carrick Legrismith <hiscope@c4systm.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 12:53:36 -0700
Subject: Professionalism
Brewing is not for everyone. The digest isn't for everyone. For me HBD is
a wealth of collective knowledge on a multi-layered subject that at times
can be confusing. I agree that some of the questions asked are elementary
and could have been easily found by reading any beginning brewing manual.
Sometimes though it is just this kind of question that starts a thread
which really digs out the collective's good ideas or someone's insight
that we all can enjoy and use. Please let's leave the flaming to the King
Cooker, (tm) and work on the hobby instead of pissing each other off.
>Now a beer related question:
Why in a weisse brewing do they say: The sum of the pitching and the
fermentation temperatures should equal 30*C? Shouldn't the starter and
the wort be the same to prevent shock?
Carrick Legrismith
Posion Ivy Brewery, "Itch'n to have another"
hiscope@c4systm.com
------------------------------
From: "Kris A. Kauper" <kkauper@draper.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 13:08:32 -0400
Subject: Otter Creak Copper Ale
Has anyone tried Otter Creak's Copper Ale? I recently had it for the first
time and found it to be very unique. I've never heard of a beer style called
"copper" -- is this a recognized style or just a brand name? If anyone has a
recipe for this ale, I'd love to get my hands on it. Thanks.
Kris Kauper
C.S. Draper Laboratory
Cambridge, MA
kkauper@draper.com
617-258-1590
------------------------------
From: JOSEPH MAXIMILLIAN MURPHY <MURPHYJ@CUA.EDU>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 13:29:53 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Recipies on Cat's Meow
Mike Galvez asks about the inclusion of failed or untried recipes in the Cat's
Meow 3. As it happens, I seem to remember a post in rec.crafts.brewing about
the selections of recipies for Cat's Meow from Mark Stevens, the saint and
scholar who runs it. As I recall, the justification for publishing an
"undrinkable" recipe is the fact that we learn as much (or more!) from our
mistakes as our successes. You might save a lot of people a lot of time and
money by exposing your own follies. (Like the time I found out that there's a
world of difference between the "7%-8% AA hops" called for in a berry wheat
recipe and the 8.7% AA hops I used. That one took a while to mellow...)
Similarly, an "untried" recipe might at least shine some light on how some
other brewers have approached a particular style/question/idea, even if it's
only theoretically. (I recall a _lot_ of CM3 recipes that say "next time I
might try...", even when the beer turned out well.)
FWIW, Mark has a book out of selected recipes from the Cat's Meow. It might be
more up your alley if you're looking for a straight cookbook. I'll be darned
if I can remember its title, but I'll recommend it strictly on my personal
experience of CM3 and Mark Stevens. (He's given a lot to this community, and
if he's finally got a chance to get some payment for it, I say God bless 'im!)
- -Joe Murphy "Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but
murphyj@cua.edu unlike charity, it should end there."
-- Clare Boothe Luce
------------------------------
From: iaciofano@leds.enet.qntm.com (Ed, Quantum PE (508) 770-2251)
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 13:43:00 -0400
Subject: Looking for cooling unit.
Hi,
I'm looking for a small refridgeration unit for a "home project".
More specifically, I'm a brewer and also a mead maker. One of the
variables that I'm looking to finally get control over is fermentation
temperature. I don't have a brewing fridge (yet) and am sick of waiting
until the late fall to brew meads, I need fermentation temps in the low to
mid 60's (f). I'd like to try putting something together on my own. My
initial concept requires some sort of electric cooling unit. Does anybody
know where I can buy a compressor, complete with cooling coils? I only
need the compressor and coils, I'll tinker from there. I've looked so far
without any luck. I thought about ripping apart my dehumidifier but I'd
rather buy something specifically designed for what it'll be used for.
Thanks, if this works I'll post the plans.
OPRegards,
Ed_I
------------------------------
From: "Gregory, Guy J." <GGRE461@eroerm1.ecy.wa.gov>
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 96 11:11:00 PDT
Subject: Belgian Special B
In a fit of personal depression only solvable by shopping, I purchased a
pound of Belgian Special B Malt at my local Homebrew shop (Jim's Homebrew,
great shop, not involved, blah blah...). It smelled and tasted great.
I've got a pound of Belgian B, 7.5 lbs 6 row (U.S.), and 2 pounds of rye
to work with. Perhaps someone would give me an idea of what attributes
Belgian Special B will contribute to my beer? I suppose I could just mash
this whole mess up into a really nasty hunting season ale. Dux Deluxe Ale.
Private e-mail welcome, but a search of past HBDs through the new Brewery
HBD-spot (a great service for those of us who don't check email every day at
home or the occasional lurker) revealed no discussion of Belgian Special B.
Guy Gregory
GuyG4@aol.com
Lightning Ck. Brewing....No one's ever gone broke underestimating our
intelligence..
------------------------------
End of Homebrew Digest #2118
****************************
