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HOMEBREW Digest #2110
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/07/17 PDT
Homebrew Digest Wednesday, 17 July 1996 Number 2110
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!
Contents:
Heart of the Hops ("Thompson, Brian")
Gott cooler valves (Luke Farber)
MADE IN THE SHADE IV (Homebrew Competition) ((Jeff Handley & Gene Almquist))
Methanol and more (korz@pubs.ih.lucent.com)
a few comments (Jeremy Ballard Bergsman)
Blueberry ((biohazrd))
Concrete fermenters ((Mike Urseth))
(not by a) Longshot American Pale Ale Recipe (Steve Alexander)
Party Keg pressure. (Mark Polnasek)
Maltodextrin Substitution ((Nicholas Dahl))
Maltose/"Homebrew Today"/ Porter/Honeywell Controllers/Dry Yeast/Far from State of the Art Fermenters (Rob Moline)
Jethro Gump Report. part 2 (Rob Moline)
pH Meters - Care and Feeding (Esbitter@aol.com)
Refrigerators vs. Chest Freezers (Anthony Lucas)
UNIQUE WINES AUCTION/Loire Valley (France) (Pascal Nicolas)
Nova Scotia Brewpubs ((Gordon Mowat))
RE: Bulging Beer (Maxwell HBD2109) ((Michael A. Genito))
Mini Kegs... ("Bessette, Bob")
Re: Wit beer help (Spencer W Thomas)
RE:Lactic fermentations ((George De Piro))
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Thompson, Brian" <bthompson@mfi.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 96 12:20:57 PST
Subject: Heart of the Hops
Yes, more on this tired old thread...
My father tells me of a holiday beer he remembers from his childhood in
Cleveland... Old Frothingslosh was the name. The motto on the label: "Brewed
from the heart of the hippity hops." I have no idea which brewery produced it,
but perhaps someone should tell Miller that it was a joke in the 1930s and it's
still a joke today.
Brian Thompson
bthompson@mfi.com
------------------------------
From: Luke Farber <lfarber@swaps.ml.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 17:44:07 -0400
Subject: Gott cooler valves
I'm currently building a 3-tier system using a 10-gallon Gott cooler as my top
level hot liquor tank. I removed the plastic valve assembly and punched out
the button/spindle that's normally used to control water flow. I reattached
the valve assembly to the cooler and attached a hose and hose clamp to the
plastic spigot. What I can't seem to figure out is how to plug the hole left
by the button/spindle.
Has anyone gone through this drill?
Thanks in advance.
------------------------------
From: homebrew@infomagic.com (Jeff Handley & Gene Almquist)
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 15:34:34 -0700
Subject: MADE IN THE SHADE IV (Homebrew Competition)
Greetings to all:
On August 17, 1996 there will be an AHA sanctioned homebrew contest held
here in Flagstaff, AZ. If anyone would like to enter there prized homebrews
please E-Mail us directly: outpost@homebrewers.com and we will send via
e-mail all the necessary information. Entries must be sent between Aug
7th-Aug 14th. If you happen to be in Flagstaff or Arizona at that time you
may want to come to the festival. It's a real blast. Thanks, Jeff Handley
********************************************
* Jeff Handley***outpost@homebrewers.com *
* Homebrewers Outpost-Flagstaff, Arizona *
* http://www.homebrewers.com *
* *
* Homer: "Thanks for coming to my party. *
* Wow, you brought a whole beer keg!" *
* Barney: "Yeah. Where can I fill it up?" *
********************************************
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
From: korz@pubs.ih.lucent.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 96 18:18:38 CDT
Subject: Methanol and more
I'm not one usually to point to websites, but this one caught my
eye. It has to do with Nutrasweet. In the short article it points
out that Aspartame is 10% methanol and includes the EPA guideline
for methanol consumption.
The site is at: http://luff.latrobe.edu.au/~bhsjma/nutrasw.htm
Al.
------------------------------
From: Jeremy Ballard Bergsman <jeremybb@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:28:19 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: a few comments
Bill Ballhorn <optimg!ballhorn@insosf1.netins.net> asks about lactic
acid fermentation:
> 1. Can I leave the wort to ferment in my boiling kettle with the spent hops
> and hot break still on the bottom? I'm assuming this is not the best and
> therefore the procedure should be to rack to a carboy for the lactic acid
> ferment and then rack back to my boil kettle to boil and kill the bacteria?
I would suggest a brief boil of the wort with NO HOPS, cooling, and
racking into the carboy. While probably not a major consideration
with this style, you have less control over your hop additions if
they are added to the first boil. There is no reason to rack the
wort when hot, cool it first. After the lactic acid rest, pour
back into the kettle and boil as you normally would, adding the hops
and other goodies.
He also wonders about sanitation:
While pediococcus is known as a fairly tough one to kill, there is no
reason why normal sanitation methods won't work.
***************
I have my own question about making these beers: why does everyone add
the lactic acid all at the end of fermentation when it seems to be
true that you then need to age extensively to "blend" the lactate
flavor? If you are planning on adding, say, 15 mL of lactic acid,
why not add 12 at pitching time and the adjust at bottling. It
would seem to me that this would require less aging. How much
would this drop the pH? Is this the problem?
*******************
AJN <neitzkea@frc.com> asks about improving his beer:
> since June 96, it seams that I can improve my beer by:
>
> 1. Avoiding HSA
>
> 2. Using liquid yeast
>
> A. When cooling the wort, what should be the final tempature before adding
> it to the carboy?
If you are going to the trouble of cooling your wort (not that it's that
much trouble, everyone should do it) you might as well try to get the
wort down to pitching temp, say 65F. In terms of avoiding HSA, people
recommend avoiding aeration above ~80F (let's not have the sharp
cutoff argument again).
>
> B. Can I use dry yeast and hydrate it pryor to pitching, or do I have to
> buy "smack packs"?
You can do either, but the former is not using liquid yeast. There
are three main advantages to using liquid yeast IMHO:
1) More likely to be pure
2) More variety of strains
3) Strains haven't been selected for the ability to make beer after
being dried.
The only real disadvantage is the extra effort of culturing/making a
starter. (If you don't like too much effort in brewing may I suggest
the liquor store?) Some object to the cost, but this can easily be
mitigated by various methods (see the yeast FAQ). Besides, what's
the cost of a bad batch?
*****************
Al writes quoting Tom:
> >Main problem with wild hops is that they may contain male plants
> >which polinate the female plants used in brewing.
> >Polinated hops grow to seeds and are quite useless (at least I was told so).
> You were told wrong. Seeded hops have slightly lower lupulin content
> and therefore lower %AA, but are fine for brewing. Fuggle is a variety
> that I know is grown seeded in the UK (although some farms may grow them
> unseeded).
Just because they have seeds, does this mean they have been polinated?
My understanding was that male plants were to be avoided and that one
of the benefits of triploid strains like Willamette was that they
were sterile
****************
> From: rransom@msu.edu (Richard F. Ransom)
> ... my
> long training in microbiology, which has taught me that you should be as
> dirty as possible up to the point that you get contamination.
No microbiologist I know has ever said that!
> My other question concerns far-from-state-of-the-art fermenters. I would
> like to cast my own open fermenters out of reinforced concrete and then
> glaze the interior surfaces with some acid-resistant coating.
I seem to recall that Buffalo Bills here in Northern CA uses some
sort of tile-covered open fermenter.
*****************
Now my question:
This year my hops are doing well after 3 years of doing poorly (I've
been trying to find a sunny place they can grow tall in). One
difference I've noticed is that whereas side shoots were very rare
previously, now I get 2 from vitually every pair of leaves. I have
been cutting these off, but the high ones are getting hard to
reach. What is the consensus for whether to cut or not?
*****************
If anyone has had the patience and memory to still be waiting for more
info about the storage of slants under mineral oil at room temp (hi
Pierre), I'm sorry I haven't posted anything. I haven't forgotten, I
can't reach the guy from Davis who told me about it.
Jeremy Bergsman
jeremybb@leland.stanford.edu
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jeremybb/beerstuff/beerpage.html
------------------------------
From: biohazrd@graceba.net (biohazrd)
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 17:41:00 -0500
Subject: Blueberry
Blueberry beer is a tradition in our household, we pick the berries, and
craft the beer every summer. Our recipe is as follows:
Harvey's Blue Beer
5 1/2 lbs Hugh Baird Pale Malt
1/2 lb Crystal Malt
1 lb Wheat Malt
1/2 lb Corn Sugar
4 Cups Blueberries
1/2 oz Willamet Hops (boil)
1/4 oz Saaz Hops (10 minutes)
Yeast of your choice, Wyeast 1056 or Coopers Dry is preferred by us.
Mash in 9 qts 140 F. water, raise to 152 F and convert for 90 minutes.
Mash out 5 minutes at 168 F.
Sparge with 5 gal. of 168 F acidified sparge water. Boil 60 min to 90 min
or until volume adequately reduced.
Mash berries with potato masher in bowl with corn sugar untill a pulpy
mess. Add to hot wort when it has cooled to about 180 F and cover and let
sit around 20 minutes, then chill as normal (we use an imersion chiller,
berry bits could clog a counterflow) and ferment.
Beware, the addition of the fruit will send the gravity into orbit so
don't juke up the malt unless you want a barley blue beer. Fruit will
increase the bitter finish so go light on the bittering hops.
Produces a beer with a blue head and hue and a distinctive blueberry
flavor. Varies from season to season because of the quality and sweetness
of the berries. This is my wife's favorite brew.
Ron and Sharon
Biohazard Brewery
------------------------------
From: beernote@realbeer.com (Mike Urseth)
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 19:33:01 -0600
Subject: Concrete fermenters
>My other question concerns far-from-state-of-the-art fermenters. I would
>like to cast my own open fermenters out of reinforced concrete and then
>glaze the interior surfaces with some acid-resistant coating. I strongly
>suspect that raw concrete would be a poor surface for fermentation, carrying
>the high risk of culturing contaminants in crevices and leaching various
>non-food-grade substances into the acidic beer. Anyone with experience in
>the masonry trade familiar with a suitable low-temp glaze?
No personal experience, but I know that large brewers have used such
systems. The Stroh plant in St. Paul, MN has some concrete fermenters still
in service. They do have a higher maintenance cost than SS but it can work.
Mike Urseth
Editor & Publisher
Midwest Beer Notes
339 Sixth Avenue
Clayton, WI 54004
715-948-2990 ph.
715-948-2981 fax
e-mail: beernote@realbeer.com
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
From: Steve Alexander <stevea@clv.mcd.mot.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 20:45:31 -0400
Subject: (not by a) Longshot American Pale Ale Recipe
Dave Greenlee writes that ...
>Anyone interested in cloning Longshot American Pale Ale can find Jim
>Simpson's original recipe in the February, 96, newsletter of the Malted
>Barley Appreciation Society at
>
>http://www.nycbeer.org/mbas/0296.html
I few weeks ago I questioned whether this brew should be considered an
Americal Pale Ale at all since it obviously had a hefty dose of
toasty munich/vienna malt. As it turns out the original homebrew
recipe had only (in order of decreasing wght) Klages Malt, Pale Ale
Malt, Mild Ale Malt, Flaked Barley, Crystal(60L) Malt and Turbinado
Sugar.
When Boston Brewing was creating the commercial recipe, according to
Jim Simpson, they eliminated the turbinado sugar, the pale and mild
malts and wanted to eliminate the raw barley too (Doh!). BBC had to
hack the hops bill and yeast type as well. Jim Simpson goes on to
say, "They said that the right proportion of Klages, Victory and
Munich malts would produce the desired malt profile". It apparently
didn't. Doesn't taste like an APA to me. Not a bad beer, but not an
APA.
Sort of a 'win the HB contest and we'll name this other beer after
yours' deal - No ?
The original recipe, with 7 hop type/additions looks intriguing, very
much a conventional APA w/ a big cascades dry hopping.
Steve Alexander
BTW - this club has a great newsletter.
------------------------------
From: Mark Polnasek <dolt@mnsinc.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 22:12:09 -0400
Subject: Party Keg pressure.
To the collective,
I just discovered a nifty gaget.
We used to haul a 5 lb steel CO2 cyclinder and regulator around to
parties to show off our beers in 5 gallon kegs. The keg and CO2 gas had to
be moved by two people or via handtruck. What a pain. (We have a thermal
jacket that keeps the keg cool for hours. We tried aluminum cylinders and
they just save weight and not volume.)
Just received in the mail a "Mini-Regulator" from Stien Fillers in
Long Beach CA. (No affiliation blah, blah. Just a real happy customer.)
It's amazingly tiny! 2 inches tall and about an inch square. Built
like a Swiss Watch. Beautiful piece of gear. Works great too. I've had it
for awhile but just used it for a party tonite. I got the 74 gram CO2
cartriges with the unit. I understand that they can be acquired at dive
shops in the area. The 74 gram cartrige was just perfect for despensing a 5
gallon Coke keg. No waste at all. (Paint ball CO2 cannot be used with this
unit unfortunatly as it requires threaded cyclinders)
It's not cheap however. Over a C-Note. Worth it in my eyes though.
I'm real tired of hauling that 5 lb cyclinder around.
I'm not sure I should publicly post thier E-mail address. For more
info contact me I guess: dolt@mnsinc.com
I am one happy puppy. I have been looking for something like this
for a long time. I know there are hand air pumps out there, but sometimes,
God forbid, our kegs are not finished in one nite and I like to enjoy them
myself at a later time.
Mark P.
------------------------------
From: ndd3@psu.edu (Nicholas Dahl)
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 22:58:36 -0500
Subject: Maltodextrin Substitution
I've got a recipe that calls for a half-pound of maltodextrin. I'd like to
keep the recipe "all-grain," so, what should I substitute for the powder?
Also, the recipe calls for six pounds of light malt extract, and one pound
of dry malt extract. Given a 70% extraction average, how much 2-row would
I need to substitute to pull this off?
Truth in brewing,
Nick
------------------------------
From: Rob Moline <brewer@kansas.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 00:00:47 -0500
Subject: Maltose/"Homebrew Today"/ Porter/Honeywell Controllers/Dry Yeast/Far from State of the Art Fermenters
The Jethro Gump Report
Maltose-
This may well have been covered in the recent posts on maltose, but
it was one of those things I scrolled past...so if this is redundant, blame
it on the source...Jethro (Redundant) Gump...but one of the members of the
Little Apple Brew Crew...the local HB club...spent a few weeks recently in
the UK and brought back a couple of copies of a VERY well done homebrew
tabloid formatted paper..."The Homebrew Today"...304 Northridge Way, Hemel
Hempstead, Herts, HP 1, 2 DP, England... Subscription Service is at 4 Lytles
Close, Liverpool, L37,4 BT, UK...subs go for 5 pounds domestically, and 7.50
pounds for Overseas.. I am unable to tell how many issues are published per
year...the copies I borrowed were Issue No. 37 and 38...they appear to be
free to patrons of HB shops, and the focus is on the beginner, both in beer
and wine...Very nice job...glossy paper and nice colour photos....
In a letter to the Editor, Issue No. 37, there is a question on maltose as a
result of the writers use of the Wheeler -Protz book "Brew your own Real Ale
at Home." The editor replies:
" Unfortunately the prime supply of maltose syrup ceased just after
the Wheeler & Protz book was published, and I do not know where you can buy
it. Maltose syrup is used to add flavour and body" ......." but at
present I think it might only be found blended as an ingredient of some beer
kits."
The answer goes on to suggest "if the recipe says 500 g
maltose....you could substitute....320 g dextrose and 80 g dextrin."
Porters-
There was also a very nice piece on Porters in issue 38 ...by Graham
Wheeler...which talks about things I didn't know about before...but I will
go back to Foster's (?) book from the Beer Style series of AoB, before I
summarize the info for you....(there's always a prob, when the bulk of your
brewing library is at the brewery and your computer is at home!)... from my
memory, I have no recollection of the principle that porters were based on a
"stale" portion that had gone sour....the use of which was influenced by
taxation...and the financial speculation in such a 'stale' beer was
apparently such that todays arbitrage jockeys would find attractive....but
it makes a bunch of sense to me, when combined with the knowledge of the
sour portion that is inherent in Guinness, and of the etiology of stouts
being based in porter....I would also like to get permission to print more
than the wee bit I feel won't tick the writer or publisher off...(Insert
blatant commercial plug for the publisher here!...SUBSCRIBE to the "HOMEBREW
TODAY" !!!)
"The stale or sour component of porter is a hard concept for modern
people to come to terms with, and most historians and beer writers, when
they come across references to it in the literature, seize on this and fly
into diatribes about poor hygiene and unscrupulous landlords adulterating
their beer with spoilt slops, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The stale component was an essential ingredient, the secret ingredient,
which in fact cost twice the price of unsoured beer, and was the foundation
of the whole porter phenonmenon." Graham Wheeler.
Cheers!
Rob Moline
Little Apple Brewing Company
Manhattan, Kansas
"The more I know about beer, the more I realize I need to know more about
beer!"
------------------------------
From: Rob Moline <brewer@kansas.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 01:41:06 -0500
Subject: Jethro Gump Report. part 2
>Subject: Maltose/"Homebrew Today"/ Porter/Honeywell Controllers/Dry
> Yeast/Far from State of the Art Fermenters .."Gump Report..part 2."
(One of these days, I've got to get better software...this
thing sucks!)
Honeywell Controllers- Mike Ball asks....I use them on my ferms to control
heat...We use a spin-side Grundy, modified by a Canadian company
"Specialistes D'Acier Inoxydable TL", with a cylindro conical on the bottom.
Ferm heat is controlled by a large, maybe 24 - 30 inch, internal cooling
disk, hollow stainless and supported by 2 ..1/2 inch stainless tubes
running to the side wall and thence to a solenoid controlled by the
Honeywell. This in turn allows chilling fluid to run thru the disk and keep
temps down. ..(The system wasn't designed for adjusting heat up in the
winter, though and also is capable of creating stratification of temps, and
the tanks are not jacketed.) But the Honeywells are great...no
trouble...work well...set and forget, once calibrated. They also control my
chillers and cold rooms...there are better devices available...but for the
money? Possibly, but I will endorse these. They work.
Dry Yeast- Arnold Nietzke on dry yeast....Just rehydrate in 100 F H2O,
boiled then cooled, stir in yeast, wait 10 min, add equivalent amount of
wort, stir, wait 10/60, and pitch. All this can take place in a large coffee
cup for your typical 5 gallon batch. Jethro continues to be bemused by the
curt dismissal of dry yeasts, in deference to liquid yeasts. Once upon a
time there was every good reason for such an attitude, and I have seen
vastly superior beers made with liquid, on the same recipe, as a batch of
dry. But the manufacturers have come a long way, and drys don't have the QC
and bacterial prob's they were saddled with in the past. This is not to say
that all dry manufacturers have gotten the message that Homebrewers are more
sophisticated now, and demand a better grade of product, but to me thats the
reason that the better suppliers are now taking the time to get it right.
(One situation, poor product, led to the establishment of the Liquid yeast
fellows, and their quick success in the marketplace, at the expense of the
drys, forced the drys to get with the program or continue to lose share.)
Jethro's Big 12 Barleywine was made with Lallemand Nottingham, 500 grams dry
weight in 7 BBl, taking the beer to 10.5 ABV, and then 500 g Lallemand
EC-1118 wine yeast to carry it the rest of the way. This on a 23.9 Plato Og,
with a final ABV of 10.5 (I did think the champagne yeast would go a little
further than it did, though.) Could it have been a better beer with liquid?
Maybe....but people like it, as do I. I can't comment on the relative
strengths and deficiencies of the various dry yeasts made for the HB market
these days, cos I don't use them...but I will vouch for the ones I use...the
Lallemands...under pitching with a 5 or 7 gram pack in homebrews seems to be
the only real prob with them, and the use of a starter is always
beneficial...but you can achieve good results by using 2 or 3 sachets, and
rehydrating and attemperating as above.
While on the subject, Lallaemand is bringing out to the beta testing
phase, the only real lager yeast sold in dry form. According to Gordon
Specht, Lallaemand rep, they have never been able to successfully produce a
true lager in dry form without problems..apparently any dry labeled lager is
actually an ale that is able to work at low temps, but not really a lager
yeast. The trial samples are in 50 g sachets, but I haven't tried mine
yet... (Other fish to fry, right now.)
Far from State of the Art Fermenters--Richard Ransom asks---
See above...but these were 2500 $..... for less money, assuming they
still have some, Cactus Creek International and Four Peaks Brewing in Tempe,
Arizona has some Grundy's and Porter Lancastrians. 7 bbl P-L's for 1000 $
each, in a set of 4...(plus freight)...thats reasonable for the US
market...(they also had some 3 BBl tanks).... get clamp fittings welded on
them and butt weld a 1 1/2 inch clamp fitting to the side, for a racking arm
(1 inch stainless pipe welded to a 1 inch Definox butterfly, in my case,
straight for about 8 inches then bent to the height above the yeast bed that
you prefer)....these tanks could be used as ferms, (but are not as
desireable as a tank with a cylindro conical), conditioners and servers,
with an air-stone in the racking arm port for a server.
Spin side (or submarine door) grundy's are the pick of the litter,
in terms of P-L's and/ or top door grundy's, IMHO. They had some of these
for $ 1500, but may be out of them now. (Always insist on matching Serial
numbers on door and tank on these, sometimes the door wasn't made for the
tank you were sold, and may have to be 'fitted', an expensive job.) For that
reason, they seem to be in shorter supply, and are usually snatched up
first, when a load arrive from the UK. The main prob with them, for me, is
galling of the stainless threads on the door. I am going to try an
anti-seize compound on them, but am just using 'incidental food contact'
grade silicone spray for now. I have had momemnts that seizure has occurred,
and I have to work several guys asses off to turn it enough to push the
gasket back, and get the door out. Then a trip to the welders to cut off the
old threaded shaft and weld a new one to the door. ( A good relationship
with a welder is important for a small brewer!) John Palmer, comments?
Would cement work...you could probably get away with it, with the
right lining...hell...you could probably line it with a food grade form of a
swimming pool liner and get away with it....but concrete is often a great
place for bacteria, as porous as it may be....The cinder blocks that support
a couple of my ferms are definitely cultureable...(That's another story.)
All partial and limited use of copyrighted materials purely for
educational purposes, and were acknowledged in Part 1. All relationships
with commercial entities purely financial...I give them money and they
satisfy me with their products!!
(Gotta get better software....)
Jethro (Hophead) Gump
Cheers!
Rob Moline
Little Apple Brewing Company
Manhattan, Kansas
"The more I know about beer, the more I realize I need to know more about
beer!"
------------------------------
From: Esbitter@aol.com
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 07:36:29 -0400
Subject: pH Meters - Care and Feeding
Greetings fellow fermenters.
Having used the cheap pH papers in the past, and then moving up to a pH
Checker 1 (by Hanna), I only got about 6 months out of the electrode before
it went bad (technical term). I stored it in tap water (upright in a grolsch
bottle).
Can anyone recommend a better way to store a pH meter so that I get more than
6 months from the new electrode? Is 6 months only what I should expect? Do
any of you have better solutions to taking pH readings for brewing? (better
brands, better papers, better ways to care for the electrode...)
Private email is fine, if interesting, I will post the results.
Thanks
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homebrewers are like dogs teaching each other how to
chase cars. - Ann Reed
+-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-+
+ The Local Brewing Company +
+ ESBITTER@@AOL.COM +
+ Randy Reed +
+ South Shore Brew Club +
+ (Boston, MA Area - South) +
+-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-+
------------------------------
From: Anthony Lucas <alucas@senet.com.au>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 21:13:15 +0930
Subject: Refrigerators vs. Chest Freezers
I have decided that my fridge is just too small to keep my 5 gallon
>Corny kegs in anymore and intend to purchase a used fridge or freezer to
>keep my beer in and to lager.
>
>The Questions:
>Which is better, refrigerator or freezer? And if it's a freezer, do I
>go for upright of the other kind (coffin style)?
>
>Can anyone give me guidance on how to hook up taps and CO2 lines without
>disturbing any freon coils?
>
I use a 140 litre chest freezer which holds 2 * 18 litre kegs just nicely,
with a bit of room left for the odd 6-pack or some pre-boiled water to
quickly bring the temp of your next brew down to pitching temp.
The thermostat on the back can be adjusted using the coarse adjust screw
(you may have to pull the cover off the thermostat to get to it). This will
have to be a trial and error job using a digital thermometer - just keep
adjusting till you get it cutting off at about 3-5 deg C. When you've got
that set you use the fine adjust knob to give you a range of about -3 to +7
deg C. depending on whether you're carbonating or serving your beer - or for
serving different styles.
The beer and gas lines can be run though the lid safely because there are no
freon lines running through there - just leave a bit of slack on the gas
line for opening the lid. I have 2 lines for guns and one for a tap running
through a sleeve of poly-pipe (used in watering systems)which is siliconed
into the lid. This lets you pull the guns away from the freezer when serving
and the beer line can be retracted when not serving, stopping the beer in
the lines from getting warm.
Cheers, Anthony Lucas, Adelaide, South Australia.
Anthony Lucas, Glenelg, South Australia
------------------------------
From: Pascal Nicolas <Pascal.Nicolas@Univ-Angers.fr>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 14:23:15 +0200 (METDST)
Subject: UNIQUE WINES AUCTION/Loire Valley (France)
TO THE LOVERS OF EXCEPTIONAL WINES AND THE COLLECTORS
Dear Friends,
We are pleased to announce the Charity Auction of 12 " Old
Vintage " Anjou Wine bottles (Loire Valley).
=09
1892 (1), 1905 (1), 1919 (1), 1928 (1), 1937 (1),
1947 (2), 1949 (1), 1953 (1), 1955 (2), 1959 (1).
All these bottles, 37 to 104 years old, have been kept
perfectly intact. Year after year, the unique, mellow white wines have
gained a beautiful apricot color. All the aromas are still in force.
Before tasting an Old Anjou Wine, the " amateur " uncorks the
bottle about three hours in advance, and prepares his/her palate with
a young, dry white wine, very light and neutral (ex. Muscadet) to
stimulate the taste buds, and really get to appreciate this divine
nectar.
=09
This auction is organized to the benefit of the PERCE-NEIGE
Association, founded by the regretted French actor LINO VENTURA, for
the mentally challenged adults.
To get more information and participate in the auction , see=20
______________________________________________
/ / \
_________/ / \
| http://www.anjou.com/vins/encheres | |
|_________ | |
\ \ /
\____________________________________________\_/
You will find a form to fill, in order to send a fax "Purchase Order"
to Ma=EEtre Jean-Philippe COURTOIS, Auctioneer in ANGERS (France), who
conducts this auction.
Conclusion of the sale : Sunday July 21st at 3:00 PM GMT (or 5:00 PM
in France) at the Saint-Aubin-de-Luigne Vintage Wine Fair (Maine et
Loire).
Please register your Purchase Order as soon as possible, stating your
maximum bid and sending your fax as a Legal Form completed from the
site >>> http://www.anjou.com/vins/ench=E8res <<<
to : Ma=EEtre Jean-Philippe COURTOIS
Commissaire-Priseur
52 rue du Maine
49100 ANGERS (France)
Phone (33) 41.60.55.19=09=09=09Fax (33) 41.60.86.34
=09Yours truly,
*--------------------------------------------------*
| API-net |
| Association pour la Promotion de l'InterNET |
| http://www.univ-angers/apinet |
*--------------------------------------------------*
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
From: gcmowat@fox.nstn.ca (Gordon Mowat)
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:46:17 +0100
Subject: Nova Scotia Brewpubs
In Digest #2108, Robert Paolino (rpaolino@execpc.com) asks
>I have the same question as was asked recently, but about PEI and _Nova
>Scotia_ rather than New Brunswick. I know of the Granite, and if the
>original in Halifax is anywhere near as good as the one in Toronto, I'm
>loking forward to it. It seems that PEI is a beer wasteland, and I'll
>resign myself to that. Anything other than the Granite in NS?
Yes, referencing an article in The Newsletter (of the Canadian Amatuer
Brewers Assoc.) of October, 1995 the following brewpubs operate in Nova
Scotia
1. The Granite - Barrington Street, Halifax
- exceptional brewpub producing a good variety of both food and brew
- about to open a second location, also on Barrington Street, in
the heart of
downtown Halifax
2. Paddy's Pub and Brewery - Aberdeen Street, Kentville
- beyond exceptional, producing both ales and now cider for the
on-tap market
- located in the famous, Annapolis Valley
3. The Heather Hotel and Brewery - New Glasgow
- the article references this facility as an "extract brewery"
I have been to both the Granite and Paddy's (it is where I live, at least
it's in the same small town) and can vouch for their quality. I have never
been to the Heather.
Hope this answers your question.
Gordon Mowat
Kentville, Nova Scotia
gcmowat@fox.nstn.ca
------------------------------
From: genitom@nyslgti.gen.ny.us (Michael A. Genito)
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:03:04 -0400
Subject: RE: Bulging Beer (Maxwell HBD2109)
In HBD2109 Maxwell wrote: "The 6.5 gallon plastic bucket looked like an egg
on top. There was beer coming out of the airlock, the seam around the lid
of the bucket and the lidwas bulged out like nothing I'd ever seen before."
- ------------------------
This happened to me once when I made a Bock out of Bierkeller liquid malt,
using 6.6lbs. It also happened once with a standard all-grain pale ale which
was about 6 gals in the 6.5 gal bucket.
During my first experience, I rigged an emergency blow-off tube, which is a
3/8" piece of copper tubing about 12" long and bent in a U shape and to
which one end I attach the standard flexible plastic siphon tubing. I remove
the cap and inside cover of the 3 piece airlock, place one end of the copper
tube inside the plastic tube of the airlock, fill a 2 qt jar half full of
water, and place the plastic flexible tubing into the water. In essence, you
have an extended airlock, which will allow for as active a batch as you may
have without infection or explosion.
Seems to me either you have a very fermentable (high alcohol eventually)
wort, and/or the level of wort in the fermenter is greater than ~5.5 gals.
But pls do not pour it down the sink. In another posting where yours
appeared, someone dumped a batch of Weizen that just 8 mos later proved to
be a success. I've considered dumping batches for various reasons at times
in the past (over/under carbonated, harsh flavors, etc) only to find them
mellow to perfection months later.
- -MG
------------------------------
From: "Bessette, Bob" <bob.bessette@lamrc.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 96 06:28:00 PDT
Subject: Mini Kegs...
Fellow HBDers,
I recently purchased a new stainless steel tap for my Mini Kegs due to the
fact that I had a leakage problem with my plastic tap. Now it appears that I
have the same problem with this metal tap. I plan on bringing it back for a
new one. I have about 3/4 of a keg left so what I did was remove the tap and
put a new bung back in. I plan on getting a new tap and re-inserting it when
I do. Is this keg not worth saving at this point or will the re-introduction
of CO2 after I insert the new (and hopefully not faulty) tap save the beer?
I'd also be interested in anyone out there who had similar problems with the
metal taps leaking. I think bottles might be the way to go in the
future...Would appreciate private email to bob.bessette@lamrc.com
Cheers,
Bob
- ------------------------------
------------------------------
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:41:22 -0400
Subject: Re: Wit beer help
>>>>> "RUSt1d?" == RUSt1d? <RUSt1d> writes:
RUSt1d?> Unmalted wheat should be boiled for a couple of hours
RUSt1d?> prior to mashing, and it will take all your strength to
RUSt1d?> mill it!
It is not true that you must boil unmalted wheat. I have made several
wit beers without boiling the wheat, and have had good extraction
rates. You do want to do an extended protein rest, and it is a pain
to mill in a roller mill (the much-maligned Corona mill works great
for wheat, though). If you don't want to mill it, and *if* you have
never had a stuck sparge, you could try using whole-wheat pastry
flour, if you can find it. I did a batch with this once, and it
sparged very slowly.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer@umich.edu)
------------------------------
From: George_De_Piro@berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:52:29 -0700
Subject: RE:Lactic fermentations
Bill writes in to ask about souring his beer with a lactic
fermentation. I know a couple of good ways to do this, one done by
me, the other by a friend, so I know the results are good.
One way is to conduct your mash as usual, then let it sit overnight
before lautering. No need to add any fancy cultures, just a tad bit
of fresh grain to provide live bacteria.
The next morning, finish brewing as usual.
The other method, that I did by "accident" (out of necessity) is to
let the unboiled wort sit overnight (or longer, in my case) in the
boiler. No need to add anything, the airborne microbes will find it
and work their wonders. You can easily get an idea of the degree of
sourness because you can taste it without hop bitterness muddling your
perception.
When I did this, the wort was kept in the fridge for four days. The
sourness was quite apparent in the wort, but mellowed beautifully in
the finished beer (a 60% rye beer).
With both methods the temperature of the mash/wort (depending on
method) quickly gets down to ~120F, and the bacteria love it after
that!
The advantage of these two methods is that you're souring the wort
BEFORE the boil, so when you finish brewing you pasteurize the wort
without any additional steps.
These methods also don't expose equipment that is used on the "sterile
side" of the brewing process to normally unwelcome microbes.
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
------------------------------
End of Homebrew Digest #2110
****************************
