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HOMEBREW Digest #2203
This file received at Hops.Stanford.EDU 1996/09/25 PDT
Homebrew Digest Wednesday, 25 September 1996 Number 2203
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!
Contents:
Re: The Definitive Oktoberfest (Bill Rust)
Re: Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy (Jacques Bourdouxhe)
Malt Liquor ((A. J. deLange))
40C rest / streamlined all-grain (Dave Whitman)
Re: Brewing Beer Like Those You By book ((Jacques Bourdouxhe))
Oktoberfest ("William D. Knudson")
Re: Scorching (Spencer W Thomas)
sanctioning ("Bryan L. Gros")
RE: Sammy Adams Homebrew comp. ((George De Piro))
No sparge mashing (John Wilkinson)
RE: They moved whilst you were at school, son... (AJN)
Classic American Pilsner (Jeff Frane)
Burlington Brew Pub Question (atlantis@vgernet.net)
beer brite etches glass? (DownAPint@aol.com)
malt liquor (Todd.Etzel@ccmail.eos.lmco.com)
Blue Moon Pumpkin Beer??? (shane@cais.cais.com)
Hoffa-brau ("Pat Babcock")
RIMS: pump control (Marty Purselley)
Converted Keg Strainer (Andy Dixon)
RIMS heating alternative - no scorching ? (Ian Smith)
California Common Yeast ? ((MR PAUL G KURJANSKI))
Re: Sammy Adams WHC (tm) (The Holders)
hop storage/priming and yeast/Biscuit malt/leaking keg ((Algis R Korzonas))
UUCP command execution failed (nuucp@ihig2.firewall.lucent.com)
Micro-unfriendly distributors ie, Anheuser-Busch ("Don Van Valkenburg")
Decoction Method (greg@chtree.com)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bill Rust <wrust@csc.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:16:48 -0400
Subject: Re: The Definitive Oktoberfest
Greeting Brewmeisters,
I had to come out of my pre-marital lurk mode to add my $0.02 on this one...
>From: Tom Lombardo <favt3tl@rvcux1.RVC.CC.IL.US>
>Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 18:40:52 -0500 (CDT)
>Subject: the definitive Oktoberfest?
>
>OK, I don't know much about the Oktoberfest style. I just picked up a six
>of Sam Adams Oktoberfest. I know Sam is usually an "Americanized"
>(watered down) version of most styles, so I'm asking, what commercial brew
>is to Oktoberfest what Guinness is to Stout?
I'd have to vote for Spaten's version. Nicely balanced, malty, appropriate
color, packs a punch. I just tried Pete's Wicked version. Not bad, but I
don't think it typifies the style.
Skol.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Research has shown that good yeast growth
Bill Rust | depends on certain fats in the wort. These
Master Brewer | can be produced by yeast if well aerated,
Jack Pine Savage Brewery | but one alternative was to sling in the
http://www.i1.net/~wrust | occasional vermin. - KEITH THOMAS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
From: Jacques Bourdouxhe <bourdouj@ERE.UMontreal.CA>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:33:16 -0400
Subject: Re: Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy
Re: Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy
MadAntBrew@aol.com wrote:
> My question is , are these outdated ingredients? Does brown sugar add some
>wanted character to these beers as opposed to being cidery.I can'timagine
>adding saccharin to beer, I know it won't ferment and will add residual
>sweetness but I think I'll stick to crystal or cara-pils. Any thoughts or
>experience with these recipes or ingredients?
I bought the book about 8 years ago. It was fun to read, and made me start to
brew and appreciate pale ale. The problem is not with the kind of
------------------------------
From: ajdel@interramp.com (A. J. deLange)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 17:49:39 -0500
Subject: Malt Liquor
All of the factors mentioned by Tom Brouns & Anne Daugherty & Zoe Brouns in
the post on beer/malt liquor pertain here in the US i.e. "malt liquor" is a
designation required by some states for any beer with alcohol content above
a certain level. In some states such a beer must be called an "ale". Other
examples of such foolishness abound. One sometimes sees a European import
labeled "Malt Liquor".
Foreign breweries do license domestic breweries to make and sell their
products in this country. The brewery saves the costs and degradation
problems (which are very real) of shiping across the pond but the products
are seldom anything like the European (or Australian) products with the
same label.
Finally, European breweries often produce beers especially for export.
These may be toned down in alcohol content to get around US labeling
regulations or modified to better suit perceived American market
preference. For example some German breweries use adjunct to lighten their
exported beer. This would not be acceptable to the majority of German
drinkers (and was, up to recently, a contravention of the
Biersteuergesetz.)
Also see Mike Spinelli's post in the same HBD.
A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore!
ajdel@interramp.com
------------------------------
From: Dave Whitman <dwhitman@rohmhaas.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:46:34 -0700
Subject: 40C rest / streamlined all-grain
40C Rest:
For about a year now, there has been intermittent discussion about
George Fix's 40/60/70 mash schedule. The low temp step is supposed to
raise yield, perhaps by allowing time for enzymes to get extracted at
low temperature, before enzyme deactivation can occur.
Just one more data point in support of the 40C rest. I've been
consistantly getting about 28 pt*gal/lb in recent batches, but adding a
30 minute/40C rest boosted my yield to 32 pt*gal/lb, a 14% improvement.
The batch is fermenting now; I'll report on fermentability and (more
importantly) taste when it's done.
Streamlined All Grain:
I've been working on ways to streamline my brew day, and I'd like to
share a small wrinkle that worked out well for me. (Hey, when trying to
simultaneously brew and mind a 2 year old, every little bit helps).
I normally collect 6.5 gallons of wort and boil down to 5 gallons
(maximum volume for my boil pot and carboy respectively). On my latest
batch, I adjusted my grain bill up so that I expected the same OG after
boiling down to 5.5 gallons. This shortened my boil time by 30 minutes,
and gave me an extra 1/2 gallon of wort I could discard.
Before branding me as a heretic for throwing out proto-beer, here's my
rationale: I'd been fussing for at least 15 minutes trying to get that
last bit of wort away from a mass of hops and hot/cold break, risking
infection by mucking about in cool wort. Now I can just swirl and
siphon off clean wort, and not worry about a little good stuff left
behind with the spooge.
Cost: 1 lb extra grain
Benefit: 45 minutes, less contamination risk and cleaner wort
The real kicker is that with the yield improvement I got using a 40C
rest, I didn't need the extra grain - my OG turned out higher than
expected. Of course, the 40C rest cost me 30 minutes of time...but that
way lies madness.
------------------------------
From: bourdouj@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Jacques Bourdouxhe)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 14:22:45 -0400
Subject: Re: Brewing Beer Like Those You By book
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the previous incomplete message about the subject.
I bought that book about 8 years ago and it was one of the few homebrewing
books available.It was fun to read, containing a lot of recipes and made me
want to start to brew Pale Ale.
The problem is not with the ingredients called by the recipes ( of course,
forget about saccharin ), some brown, demerara, inverted or turbinado sugar
can add some interesting flavour to an ale ( Old Peculier uses molasse ).
In my (humble) opinion, the problem is with the high amount of sugars used
in the recipes.
If you want a high final gravity, don't use saccharin but use a higher mash
temperature, or use dextrin powder (is it what they call malto-dextrin ?).
A more recent and similar book is published by the Campaign For Real Ale
(England) and the title is: Brew your own real ale at home.
Check if CAMRA has a web page.
I hope this help.
Jacques
From Montreal
------------------------------
From: "William D. Knudson" <71764.203@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 24 Sep 96 14:15:59 EDT
Subject: Oktoberfest
Tom asks about the quintessential commercial example of Oktoberfest.
You bet I have my opinions about Oktoberfest. Actually sometimes I think there
is no such thing.
If you go to Munich and ask for Festbier in September you get a strong beer the
color of which is Gold. If you go to Oktoberfest, no matter which brewer, the
beers are all in the same ballpark. It's a lighter color than the other and
lower in alchohol. I've shocked many with my description as being somewhere
between an export and typical american draft beer.
The stuff shipped here from germany bears no resemblence to the others I've
described. Although I'd have to say that Spaten is my favorite. I like to brew
with german malts: Vienna or Vienna/Munich combo using 20 to 30% two row base.
My point is that there is no broader class of lager that Oktoberfest, there is
no Guiness like example.
Bill
------------------------------
From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer@engin.umich.edu>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 14:19:00 -0400
Subject: Re: Scorching
>>>>> "Steve" == Steve Alexander <stevea@clv.mcd.mot.com> writes:
Steve> There was such an article with lab test in Brewing
Steve> Techniques, and the amount of Aluminum in the beer was
Steve> acceptably small IMO (YMMV).
The amount of aluminum in the beer was almost identical to the amount
of aluminum in the brewing water.
Steve> Why isn't everyone using it ? Because sankes are vitually
Steve> free.
Not if you get them legally. :-)
------------------------------
From: "Bryan L. Gros" <grosbl@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:29:09 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: sanctioning
Bill Giffin says:
>>>>Randy Reed asks:
>Finally, my question to the collective: If a competition breaks the
>rules set down by the sanctioning organization, whether AHA or BJCP, is
>anything ever done by the sanctioner to correct the situation? How are
>repeat problems identified and avoided in the future? Is there any
>policing
>of quality?
><<<
>
>$3 or $4 and a sanction from the AHA will get you a pint of beer. A
>sanction from the AHA has no policing or correction policies. Talk about
>a toothless tiger! Remember the AHA helped in the organization of the
>WHC as well as providing the sanction. Surprise, surprise!
The AHA also supplies forms (when they sanction) for judges to
"evaluate" the competition and for the organizer to "report" on
the competition. What happens to these forms when they are mailed
back to the AHA?
According to the instructions, part of the purpose of the organizer's
report is to list the judges and stewards so (their names can be
forwarded to the BJCP and) they can receive experience credit.
Another part is for advice to the organizer the following year--
are these comments actually sent back the following year?
Bill, is the BJCP sanctioning any different?
****
Thanks again to Shawn for all his work in "janitoring" this
digest. Good luck.
- Bryan
grosbl@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu
Nashville, TN
------------------------------
From: George_De_Piro@berlex.com (George De Piro)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 15:01:26 -0700
Subject: RE: Sammy Adams Homebrew comp.
Hello,
Michael Caprara writes to complain about the judging quality at the
BBC contest. While I agree that there were problems with the judging,
some of them were NOT the fault of the judges.
I judged specialty beers at that comp. MANY of the beers lacked
descriptions, making them VERY difficult to judge ("Here's a mystery
beer. Tell me what it is, and if it's any good."). At first I
thought this was the fault of the entrants, but when a friend of mine
received his score sheets back, he noted that there was no description
of his beer on the sheet(usually it will be written on the sheet by
the judge), even though he knew that he wrote a description on the
form!
It seems that the organizers did a bang-up job again this year (refer
to my earlier post about how they botched my entry last year).
My point is, don't blame the judges, and certainly don't insult them
unless you know for sure that it was their incompetence that resulted
in a poor score. The judges I worked with all seemed quite competent.
Also, don't enter that contest and think that you're going to win!
They are looking for MARKETABLE beers. The best beer (by far) that I
had that day was an Indian Spiced Brown ale. The spices were a tad
overdone, but it was a very good beer beneath it all. The second
round judges validated my feelings (they sent it to the "quarter final
round," judged by JK himself to chose the 9 finalists). Of course it
didn't win!
They picked a California Common beer that was quite mediocre, instead.
In fact, the four of us that judged it in the second round said,
"None of these deserve to go on, but we have to pick one. Oh hell,
what does it matter, it won't win anyway!" Boy, were we wrong!
Instead of complaining about poor judging quality, do what I'm doing
and become a judge. You'll be amazed at how sensitive your palate
will become and at what hard work it is!
Have Fun!
George De Piro (Nyack, NY)
------------------------------
From: John Wilkinson <jwilkins@imtn.tpd.dsccc.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 14:17:57 -0500
Subject: No sparge mashing
All this talk about no sparge mashing and how it contributes to a more malty
flavor, has me wondering. What in the malt contributes this flavor?
Whatever it is, it must be more soluble than the sugars, else why is it in
greater concentration in the first runnings? Since the sparge recovers more
of the sugars from the mash and reportedly diminishes the "maltiness" of the
wort, it would seem that the "maltiness" component(s) must be more completely
dissolved into the first runnings than the sugars are. Why is this?
Granted the first runnings will be higher gravity but much of this must come
from the higher concentration of sugars. If this high SG wort is diluted with
water to arrive at the same SG wort as with sparging but has more "maltiness"
than the wort from the sparged mash, I would assume that the "maltiness"
component in the sparged mash is diluted by the additional sugars and whatever
else is extracted by sparging and that no further "maltiness" components
are extracted by the sparge. Does this make sense? Can anyone tell me what
the "maltiness" component is and why it is extracted in the first runnings
and not by sparging when sugars are? Dextrins? If so, why do they diminish
more rapidly than the fermentable sugars?
I am puzzled by all of this.
John Wilkinson - Grapevine, Texas
------------------------------
From: AJN <neitzkea@frc.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 14:56:55 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: RE: They moved whilst you were at school, son...
Pat Babcock wrote:
>Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your psychologist...
>
>I was recently ruminating on the underlying feeling of hostility I now
>pick up from the digest - a feeling that started a few months before the
>digest transferred and has been growing ever since. The feeling of
>"family", or at least of "community" seems to be waning.
<SNIP>
>My intent is not to discount the contributions that some new "faces" have
>made to the digest. Just that it seems more like a a fire-fight than a
>community any more.
>
>Pat Babcock
>pbabcock@oeonline.com (Please, oh please use this address for replies)
>Pondering my navel in Canton, MI
Well... I went to a homebrew club meeting (my first) and sampled some
very nice brews. One of these brews was a "something-or-other", it was a
term that ment the whole club used one recipe, everyone brewed it, than
brought it to a club meeting to see the differance the brewing technic
had on the recipe.
Why don't we try this on a broader scale, it would be close to impossible
to sample each others brews, but reports may be good enough?
Any takers?
_________________________________________________________________________
Arnold J. Neitzke Internet Mail: neitzkea@frc.com
Brighton, Michigan
------------------------------
From: Jeff Frane <jfrane@teleport.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 10:42:54 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Classic American Pilsner
Jeff Renner writes glowingly of his pre-Prohibition pilsner, and I'd just
like to
add my plaudits. My own recipe is a little different from his, but from the
same
sources (primarily old articles by George Fix in the American Brewer and
Zymurgy), and some experimentation. My own blend was 70/30 malt/flaked
maize, with a significant hopping rate. Bittering hops were Northern Brewer
and the beer was finished with Mt Hood, 30 min. before end-boil.
Renner's recipe is more authentic, with 6-row, but 2-row works very well.
Neither of us, apparently, wanted to be really authentic, or we'd be using
Clusters in the boil <yuk>. I agree wholeheartedly, though, this is a lost
and wonderful beerstyle. America is ready, too, for a commercial
version but I doubt we'll see it done properly.
Yum and double yum.
- --Jeff Frane
------------------------------
From: atlantis@vgernet.net
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 17:41 EDT
Subject: Burlington Brew Pub Question
In response to Mark from Delaware, I've been to McMEILL's BREW PUB in
Brattleboro, Vt which isn't far from Burlington (if you like good beer).
Our brewclub went on a "pub crawl" there and all his beers were FABULOUS.
All the usual denials apply, Not associated with business, etc. I only got
to try his ESB, Dead Horse IPA, Big-Nosed Blond and because we were touring
with the club, a pilsner that was still in the fermenter! All were
excellent. I only wish I lived closer.
The owner and brewmaster is Ray McNeill and he was very helpful as well. He
sat with our club for nearly an hour and answered questions, etc.
From a very satisfied customer:
Henry Dondi
Dalton, Mass.
atlantis@vgernet.net
------------------------------
From: DownAPint@aol.com
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:33:51 -0400
Subject: beer brite etches glass?
I have been using Beer Brite (x?) for some time to clean my glass carboys.
After about three years of cleaning, I'm noticing large areas where the glass
has been etched or frosted. The frosted areas are usually on the top and
outside of the carboys. The shape that it leaves is similar to the shape of
liquid draining down from the top.
Has anyone ever heard of this before? Could it be due to the Beer Bright (I
know caustic can cause etching)? Or maybe its just little brewing elves
playing with my mind...
Thanks in advance.
Brent Smith
------------------------------
From: Todd.Etzel@ccmail.eos.lmco.com
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 16:28:07 PST
Subject: malt liquor
As far as what constitutes a malt liquor, my recollection is that any
beer that is greater than 6 percent alcohol, and uses the word "beer"
on the label must be called a malt liquor. If a beer is less than 6
percent, it doesn't have to be called a malt liquor, but there's
nothing saying it can't be labeled that way.
Beers like Bigfoot get around this by avoiding the word "beer" on the
label, instead using "Barleywine style ale".
Check with your local BATF office to be sure, but I'm pretty sure
that's the way the law reads.
Todd
------------------------------
From: shane@cais.cais.com
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:37:11 -0400
Subject: Blue Moon Pumpkin Beer???
I was on IRC & somebody had asked if we had tried Blue Moon Pumpkin Beer. I
never head of it. It must be seasonal, like egg nogg. But if any one has heard
of it, please let me know if it's in a Nat'l food
distributor, i.e. Giant, Safeway, ect. Thanks.
------------------------------
From: "Pat Babcock" <pbabcock@oeonline.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 20:09:49 +0500
Subject: Hoffa-brau
Greetings, Beerlings! Take me to your lager...
Ok, so the cat's out of the bag! Now you all must be dealt with! I
have installed a cornie at 30 psig on the moon. With 440,000 km of 3/16"
tubing, that's -4,330,678.6 psig at the faucet - enough, I'd venture,
to suck the ENTIRE EARTH into the tubing!
Ahahahahahahahahah!
(To be continued...)
See ya!
Pat Babcock in Canton, Michigan (Western Suburb of Detroit)
pbabcock@oeonline.com URL: http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/
Visit the HomeBrew Flea Market via my homepage!
URL: http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/
------------------------------
From: Marty Purselley <brewer@flash.net>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:32:03 -0500
Subject: RIMS: pump control
It sounds like then a combination of speed control and ball valve
restriction on the output should do the job. I had initially thought
that I would use the smaller Teel pump (PN 1p676 which lists gpm as 5.5
and rpm of 1700) as I didn't want to be continually cycling the pump on
and off. I note that the larger Teel is rated at 3450 RPM with 7.6 gpm
flow. Little giant offers a pump that is rated at 1/200th hp with 2.6
gpm and a note that they operate at 50 hz with 20% less capacity (PN
2p037 little giant model 1-AA-MD). The little giant pump is rated at
150 degrees while the Teel pump is rated at 180. I also note that the
Teel pumps have an automatic thermal reset circuit.
Marty
------------------------------
From: Andy Dixon <amdixon@erols.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 21:00:16 -0400
Subject: Converted Keg Strainer
I currently have a converted keg that I use for my copper and I have a
problem with hot break/hops clogging my counterflow chiller. When I
used the immersion chiller and emptied straight into the carbouy..no
problem, the tube seemed to strain the wort. The first time I used the
counterflow it worked perfectly (I have flushed it out well since--no
obstructions). Now it doesn't want to cooperate. Have tried several
things including the copper chore-boy to no avail. I have just made a
false bottom with 1/8" holes and about 1/2" clearance from the bottom of
the keg and am wondering if I stand to get serious carmelization. Has
anyone done this before and able to save me from weeks of cleaning if
there's going to be a problem.
Thanks
Andy
------------------------------
From: Ian Smith <rela!isrs@netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 19:28:34 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: RIMS heating alternative - no scorching ?
I plan on putting a 2000 W+ heating element in the hot water vessel above
the mash tun. Why not use an immersion chiller (coil of copper tube) in
the hot water. Now all you have to do is pump the wort through the INSIDE
of the immersion chiller tube. The wort will reach the temperature of the
hot water (122 F, 155F, 170 F etc.) and return to the mash tun.
Also after mashing the water in the hot water vessel is not wasted. When
you need to mash out at 170 F you would raise its temp from mash temp (152
F) to 170 F while still recirculating the wort through the copper tube.
The wort will pick up this heat and return to the mash tun at close to 170
F. When mash out is complete. Use the 170 F water to sparge with.
With this system you could really use a big electric heater since the
wort is not in contact with the heating element - the water is.
Comments/suggestions ?
Cheers !
Ian Smith
------------------------------
From: XXBX78A@prodigy.com (MR PAUL G KURJANSKI)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 22:38:54, -0500
Subject: California Common Yeast ?
I bottled a batch of California Common beer last night and was
surprised to see what little sediment there was in the secondary. I
used Wyeast 2112, primary fermentation for 7 days at 64 degrees and
secondary for 2 weeks at 64 degrees. This is the first time I have
used "lager" yeast. Is this normal ?
Paul Kurjanski
------------------------------
From: The Holders <zymie@sprynet.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 20:02:48 -0700
Subject: Re: Sammy Adams WHC (tm)
In digest #2202, Michael Caprara writes:
>I entered a light peat smoked scotch ale. IT was awesome! The judges
>tore my entry up because of phenolics and lack of sanitation. Can >those
>idiots read!!!??? I put on my entry that is was a peat smoked scotch >ale.
>Also, this year, I got my entry form in 3 days before the beer had to >be in
>Boston!! My homebrew club is boycotting the world homebrew
>competition until Jim Koch can afford to get some REAL judges and not
>some ignorant budweiser swillers who wouldn't know a good beer if it
>bit them in the ass!
Hmmmm, peat smoked Scotch Ale? I bet there's a market for that. Wonder
why they didn't like it?
My $0.02:
Why would someone need to trademark to slogan "World Homebrew Contest"?
Wayne Holder
Long Beach Ca
South of LA
North of San Diego
West of Phoenix
"Home of Long Beach Boston Beer" (take that Jim, your attorneys too!)
------------------------------
From: korzonas@lucent.com (Algis R Korzonas)
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 96 13:57:21 CDT
Subject: hop storage/priming and yeast/Biscuit malt/leaking keg
Sorry that some of these are rather dated questions, but I'm trying a new
technique. I'm letting a bunch of questions pile up and then answer only
the ones that have not been answered by others. Maybe this will cut down
on my bandwidth usage and on multiple replys to questions.
***
Ben writes:
Question 1: Can hops be stored in the freezer? This seems logical but I
commercial suppliers do not. They just refrigerate. Am I missing
something? I only use commercial (dried) hops but use pellets, plugs
and whole. BYW, anyone know where you can get oxygen impermeable
plastic bags (do Ziplock freezer bags work)?
The colder the better. Most suppliers don't store hops in the freezer because
of the cost. Freezers (especially ones that you open 50 times a day) will
use quite a bit more energy than just a fridge. You can get Oxygen-barrier
bags from Freshops (see Zymurgy or BT for the phone). Ziplock freezer bags
are nothing more than thick polyethylene which is notoriously oxygen-permeable.
Question 2: Whats the best way to store malted grains (crushed and whole).
Is it OK if I store crushed grain in a plastic bag at basement temp
(65F)? How long will it keep?
I've brewed with grain stored three years in sealed, thick polyethylene bags
(no need for oxygen-barrier here really). The beer turned out great. For
grains, cool, dry, and bug-free is what's important. Now I store my grains
in gasketted-lid, HDPE buckets.
***
Brian writes:
>does the type of yeast used affect priming in any way? For example,
>will a lower-attenuating yeast provide less carbonation than a higher-
>attenuating yeast if the same amount of dextrose is added at bottling?
I assume you mean that you are not adding more yeast at bottling time.
In that case, the attenuation of the yeast should have no effect on the
carbonation. Dextrose is 100% fermentable by all yeasts. Flocculation
could have an effect on the rate at which the beer carbonates, however.
More of a highly-flocculent yeast may settled out and therefore less may
carry over into the bottle for carbonation. I do think this is really
only a "how fast it carbonates" issue and not an issue of final carbonation
level.
On the other hand, if you are talking about adding a more-attenuative
yeast (than the main fermentation yeast) at bottling time, then you
could have higher carbonation than expected. Bigger, more-complex sugars
that the main yeast did not eat may be eaten by the priming yeast and
add a little more carbonation.
***
Paul writes:
>So does this mean that Biscuit should be avoided unless
>doing all-grain or partial mashes where you have pale malts to provide the
>enzymes needed?
Yes.
>For my next batch (a porter) I have a pound
>of biscuit (too much?) already mixed and cracked with a half pound of black
>patent. Since there are obviously no enzymes in the equation, should I get a
>pound of pale malt and do a partial mash ala Papazian(113-122 degrees F for
>30min., 150 degrees F for 10 min., 158 degrees F for 10-15 min.) or just steep
>what I have and get a hazy beer (I can think of worse problems)?
Yes, add a pound of pale malt and do a partial mash. I would just do 1.5
hours at 150F if you want a less-dextrinous, "lighter" beer OR 1 hour
at 158F if you want a more-dextrinous, "fuller" beer. The protein rest is
really pretty unnecessary for most malts. No, I don't think a pound of
Biscuit malt is too much for a Porter.
***
Laura writes:
>With the help of many of you, I have solved the leaking keg problem. It seems
>the new gaskets I used on the disconnects are too thin. They are black rubber
>and are obviously not the ones to use. White or clear seems to be the
>concensus...
I've never seen clear o-rings for these connectors, but I've seen white,
brown, red, blue, green, and black. Black o-rings are not necessarily
wrong... it seems that you just have the wrong black o-ring. The o-rings
I use are black and come in two sizes: one for ball-lock the other for
pin-lock. I don't recall which is smaller, but unless you put them side-by-
side, you really can't tell that they are different sizes. Also, I would
recommend buying your o-rings from a reputable HB supplier, not Ace hardware.
While you may be able to find the right size o-ring at Ace hardware, it
may not be food-grade rubber and may impart an off aroma to your beer.
Expect to pay about $.20 to $.30 for a proper o-ring. If none of your
local suppliers have them, I would go with Williams Brewing or Braukunst
(but that's just because I know they do kegging supplies and am familiar
with their level of quality). [No affiliation.]
Al.
Al Korzonas, Palos Hills, IL
korzonas@lucent.com
------------------------------
From: nuucp@ihig2.firewall.lucent.com
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 23:13:26 -0500
Subject: UUCP command execution failed
Your UUCP remote execution request 'igdAbd61' (9/24-23:13:25)
failed on system 'ihig2'.
Your request: rmail lucent.com!korzonas
Reason for failure: command exited with exit code 1
------------------------------
From: "Don Van Valkenburg" <DONVANV@msn.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 96 04:41:44 UT
Subject: Micro-unfriendly distributors ie, Anheuser-Busch
Spencer W Thomas brought up (HBD-2202 /Anheuser-Busch ends talks with Budvar)
one tip of a very large iceberg that has been throwing it't weight around for
the past few years.
The situation is stated very well in an article "This Bud (distributor) is NOT
for you" the June/July issue of Celebrator Beer News.
In Long Beach, Calif. a Bud distributor (Somerset) is apparently trying to
expand its territory (for bud) at the cost of the micro/craft brews. One of
their sales reps told me that a bargaining chip in the negotiations to acquire
more bud territory was an agreement to give up the craft brews. Anchor is one
of these brews.
Coincidentally I understand that this bud distributor is owned (at least in
part) by Frank Sinatra. From now on, I shall think of him as old brew eyes.
To make matters worse for craft beers, Long Beach lost a very micro-friendly
distributor recently. Shamrock distributors of Long Beach was bought out by
Wine Warehouse. The name of the new distributor is indicative of their
priorities
As an owner of a brewing supply store, I was buying glassware from Shamrock
before they were bought out by Wine Warehouse and now it seems that Wine
Warehouse does not want to do business with us without charging us 40% more
(than their catalog price) for glassware since we are not buying beer (is
this dual pricing or something?). It seems we are just a small fish among
their clients of supermarkets and larger volume buyers. I guess they haven't
heard of PR.
If you have a story about a micro-unfriendly distributor in your area, or a
situation where one of the large breweries is trying to thwart the competition
by lobbying efforts in the state capital I would like to hear about it.
Don Van Valkenburg
donvanv@msn.com
------------------------------
From: greg@chtree.com
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 00:51:44 -0700
Subject: Decoction Method
Hello Homebrewers:
Im planning a (simple) single decoction mash and thought Id run it by you
guys.
Im going to divide the grain into a 60% pile and a 40% pile. Im using 2
quarts water per lb of grain. I have an insulated ceramic mash tun with a
copper
manifold for lautering, various boiling kettles and a burner on the floor. Ill
put the
60% in 125 degree strike water in the mash tun. Itll settle to about 120 deg.
Ill
put the 40% in a boiler with strike water ranging from 155 to 165. Itll settle
at 148
to 158. First question: is this point similar to infusion mashes in that if you
achieve
a settled temp of 148, the effect will be a drier beer; and if you shoot for a
settled
temp of 158, the effects will be a fuller beer? I let the 40% sit for 15
minutes at
target temp and then raise to a boil over a span of about 15 minutes. I boil
for 15
minutes. Then I combine this slowly into the 60% (still at 120 deg) until it
reaches a
new target temp ranging once again from 148 to 158. Same question: what should
I shoot
for? Once the target temp is reached, any extra boiled mash I let cool to
target temp
before adding. I let this rest for 30 minutes (too much? too little?) in
mash/lauter
tun.
Time to mashout and lauter. With the tun on the counter and a burner on the
floor, I can lauter into heated wort. I want to combine the mashout process
with the
re-circulation process. Ill put a 4 gal stainless boiler on the burner and
start to
lauter into it with the heat off . I will also start the sparge to compensate
for the
draining wort. When the boiler level reaches about 8-10 inches I can shut off
the
sparge and turn on the boiler. Once the boiler gets to about 180, I gently
re-circulate
onto a ladle on top of the grain bed. (I plan to use a quart pyrex dish and
long oven
mitts.) Now the wort is heating up to mashout while the runnings are being
filtered (a
mini-RIMS of course but I dont want to automate.) I can occasionally divert
into a
clean glass to monitor clarification. Once reached, I check the temp of the
mashout.
If its close to 170 I can divert the clear runnings into my 8 gal aluminum
boiler and
finish re-circulating the 4 gal boiler, then re-start the sparge.
New Question: How slowly do I heat the boiler? If I start boiling during the
lauter, does it hurt the wort to go from the 170 degree tun into an
instantaneous
boiling sea? (I have 185,000 BTUs on the floor.) Should I be mellow with the
heat
until all the wort is lautered? Should I skim off the hot break? Do decoctions
give a
clearer beer? Whats the best sparge temp? Too many questions! (all in due time)
I like the simplicity of a this single decoction, but I would be willing to do
a double if I can be convinced of the benefits. And I am by no means committed
to my
current plan, modification and improvement are always sought. I know so much
yet I feel
so ignorantI kneel at the altar of the collective Homebrewing Gods
Greg
San Diego
------------------------------
End of Homebrew Digest #2203
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