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HOMEBREW Digest #3489
HOMEBREW Digest #3489 Tue 28 November 2000
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
Fluid Flow Study of False Bottoms (John Palmer)
Russian Imperial Stout ("Thomas P. Smit")
The Winter of Our Discontent ("Dr. Pivo")
fermenter to ferment 10 gallons in? ("Mike O'Rourke")
Sparge Arms (Dan Listermann)
Beer Bars in Amsterdam ("Eric R. Theiner")
Cobalt (Blue) Barleywine Bottles (tgoodman)
Re: Anyone use mashmate? ("Vernon, Mark")
Pre-Announcement of the 7th Annual Boston Homebrew Competition (Timothy Holland - Hardware Program Manager)
Low Original Gravity Extract IPA - Why ??? ("Jeff Woods")
Texas Humor ("Jim Bermingham")
Drink out of what? (JGORMAN)
Re-pitching yeast (Ernie)
Re: Beer in D.C. ("Ross D. Potter")
Fermenters for 10 Gallon Batches (Mark Alfaro)
Re: Heating my fridge (Jay Pfaffman)
Mystery Ingredients ("Bret Mayden")
hop and extract amounts? ("Michael J. Leavitt")
*
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy!
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 20:55:22 -0800
From: John Palmer <jjpalmer@gte.net>
Subject: Fluid Flow Study of False Bottoms
Hi Group,
Background (Manifold Experiments)
Many of you are familiar with my fluid flow investigations using common food
coloring and corncob burnishing media. A couple years ago, I posted (
www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/fluidflow.html ) which detailed my initial
investigations into lautering flow to a manifold. Appendix D of my book
www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html summarizes those findings.
Earlier this year, I rigged up a glass bottomed aquarium with a manifold to
repeat the experiements. The difference was that this time I supported the
manifold about 2 inches off the bottom using stiff wires, and the manifold
only extended about 2/3 the length of the aquarium. The result was that the
grainbed was not rinsed anywhere below the horizontal manifold. The
euclidean fluid flow model had predicted that it would, whereas engineer's
intuition (or common sense, take your pick) said that it wouldn't. Common
sense won out. In the 1/3 of the tun beyond the manifold, the dye showed the
flow angling to the manifold, just like in the 2D euclidean model.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff1.jpg Initial
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff2.jpg Flow after 5 minutes.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff3.jpg After 15 minutes.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff4.jpg View from behind the pickup,
showing lack-of-flow region.
I then angled the manifold at 10 degrees to horizontal, and repeated the
experiment. This time, the grainbed was rinsed behind/under the manifold due
the horizontal component of the vectored manifold.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff5.jpg
The wort in fact flowed uphill thru the manifold. What this means is that
you can shape a manifold to fit a hemispherical bottom, and you can recover
wort from the lowest point.
The rules for using manifolds can be summarized by:
1. A deeper grainbed gives more uniform flow, all else being equal.
2. The manifold tubes should be spaced no more that 4 inches apart for most
uniform flow. 2 inches is about optimum.
3. Keep the outside tubes half of the spacing distance away from the wall to
discourage channeling (preferential flow) down the walls.
4. The more tubes covering the bottom of the tun, the better. The outlet
pickup does not need to be centered on the array. It can be off to one side
without affecting uniformity of flow.
False Bottom Experiments
After investigating the behavior of lautering flow to manifolds, I wanted to
do the same with false bottoms and watch to see how the dye moved into the
grainbed. Would it move evenly? Would it flow preferentially to the area
around the pickup? Would it channel down the sides? Would moving the pickup
off center have an affect?
First, let me thank Dan Listermann for graciously donating the false bottom,
specifically cut to fit my aquarium. That Phils Phalse Bottom material saved
me many hours of labor and tinkering to achieve an experimental setup that I
could have confidence in.
Experiment 1 - Pickup Centered
For the first experiment, the pickup was centered on the false bottom. The
pickup extended about a half inch below the false bottom, and the false
bottom was evenly supported off the bottom of the aquarium by 1 inch screws
(every 4 inches). The pickup tube and siphon was 3/8 inch ID and came up
over the side of the aquarium. The flow was controlled by a plastic
stopcock, which rested on the ground. There was about 2.2 feet of head
height.
As before, the corncob media grainbed was about 6 inches deep, and a 2 inch
water layer was maintained over it by a means of a sparging manifold. The
corncob media is uniform and about the same size as the coarser grist
particles from a 2 roller grain mill.
At time = 0, a whole bottle of food coloring is stirred into the water layer
above the grainbed, the sparge water is started and then the stopcock is
opened at what would be considered a fast flow rate for lautering. Previous
experiments have shown that a fast flow rate does not change the shape of
the gradient. If I was actually trying to extract something from the
corncobs, my extraction would suffer, but in this case I am just looking to
see how the water moves thru the grainbed.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff6.jpg
Result:
With the pickup centered, after about 2 minutes of flow, it was obvious that
the dye was flowing into all areas of the grainbed evenly. The dye front
followed the contour of the grainbed to an even depth as viewed on all sides
of the aquarium.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff7.jpg
As the flow progressed, I noticed that one corner of the aquarium was
flowing faster that the rest. This was a corner where I had not shimmed the
edges of the false bottom completely, leaving a tiny gap. The dye could be
seen to be angling down in that corner ahead of the dye front elsewhere in
the grainbed.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff8.jpg
Observing thru the glass bottom, the dye did not emerge uniformly from all
areas but instead emerged somewhat along the edge of one quadrant.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff9.jpg
Within a few minutes however, the dye had emerged from nearly all areas. In
a 9x20 inches area tank, with only 1 pickup in the center, that was
impressive!
I let the water run, to rinse the whole system of dye. At all times, the
concentration of dye below the false bottom seemed uniform.
Experiment 2 - Pickup Off-center
In the second experiment, the pickup was moved to where it was centered with
respect to the width, but was only 3 inches from the wall along the length.
The experiment was set up like the first and the flow was started.
Results:
Again the dye front was uniform as it descended into the grainbed. There
seemed to be no depth gradient along the length of the tank.
As flow progressed, faster flow was again observed in the corners, but the
volume of that flow was quite small compared with the rest of the false
bottom. (I had shimmed the false bottom pretty well.)
All in all, I could not discern a difference in uniformity of flow between
the two experiments.
Experiment 3 - Pickup Off-Center, Wide Open
I completely stirred and resettled the grainbed before starting the 3rd
experiment. As mentioned, the flow rate does not seem to change anything,
but I thought I would try it and see. Maybe I would compact an area of the
grainbed and be able to observe an effect. I ran the second experiment
again, but did it with the stopcock wide open.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff10.jpg
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff11.jpg
This time I observed more compaction effects. There seemed to be areas of
less color as the dye moved thru the grainbed. Observing thru the bottom,
the dye emerged along the sides first, but quickly spread out to cover most
of the area.
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff12.jpg compaction
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer/ff13.jpg bottom view (badly framed)
All in all, I could not determine any significant difference compared to the
other two trials, except that the observed compaction may imply poorer
extraction from that area versus the rest of the bed in real lauter.
Conclusions:
1. All other conditions being equal, false bottoms work better - they lauter
the grainbed more uniformly.
2. Based on my observations, it is very important to seal the edges of the
false bottom to prevent preferential flow down the sides. I think that if
you can design the false bottom so that the openings are, for example, a
half inch away from the wall, or make the false bottom domed but smaller
than actual width, you will avoid any channeling issues.
3. The pickup tube does not need to be centered. It can be off to one side
without significantly affecting the uniformity of flow.
4. Avoid lautering too fast, as you may compact portions of the bed and
cause lower extraction.
- --
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 17:38:48 +0930
From: "Thomas P. Smit" <tom@lunica-data.com.au>
Subject: Russian Imperial Stout
I made and kegged into 4x5l kegs a batch of RIS using Wyeast 1728. Once
fermentation had started properly I noticed it had formed a pathetic
little head that didn't even completely cover the wort. I then rocked
the fermenter gently a few times and a few hours later the yeast head
was nearly climbing out the fermenter. As I only use open fermentation
this is important to me. I racked the stout after 3 days, put an airlock
on and went away on holiday for 10 days (something to do with the BAS &
GST we now have in Oz) I then kegged it as described and tasted it.
Tasted like it was off. Talk about mouth puckering. I tasted a little
bit more a bit later and while still undrinkable I could discern this
time a beautiful undertone of licorice and a strong malt 'edge', a
little like that of a Coopers Stout (Adelaide brewery Coopers I mean)
The stout will stay in the kegs for 2 years before I will even think
about drinking it (as per G Wheeler, CAMRA Guide). I suppose this
undrinkableness will mellow over that time? My OG was 1100 and FG 1022.
I then made a batch (grain+extract) of Caledonian 80/- which was pitched
onto the cake from the Stout, despite earnest entreaties from my
excellent homebrew supplier, Grumpys Brewhaus. I have read in the HBD
that this is done all the time in the USA but not here in Oz. Anyway,
the Caledonian took of like a rocket, the smallish yeast head actually
pulsing and attenuated from 1048 to 1012 in the space of one day and 2
nights. Is that typical when pitching onto a cake from a previous brew?
A little OT, I can get non-homogenised and non-pasteurised milk from my
local organic store these days and just had a thought this would be
great for trying to make cheese and yogurt. Can someone steer me onto a
site that covers this?
Cheers
Tom
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:59:18 +0100
From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp@pivo.w.se>
Subject: The Winter of Our Discontent
Phil Yates has been pointed out as posting things "without content".
I think it's about time that someone brought this up, and I do hope that
we all get very concerned about this. These "content lacking" things
have been really getting my goat, and it's about time that someone
brought it to both, our attention, and my goat's attention.
Mr. Yates should be teaching us the finer technical aspects of making
beer, or at least asking the wiser of us (that's me), some supplicating
questions.
But what does he do instead? Does he give us technical advice? Has he
supplicated me even once? (well, he may have "supplicated" me once, but
I'm not quite sure, because I don't have my dictionary handy, and I'm
not really sure if what he did to me qualifies as a true "supplication")
Noooooo. What Mr. Yates does instead, is make the whole very serious
business of brewing beer seem like it's something "fun". In almost
EVERY SINGLE posting, he cannot desist from throwing in something
humorous, or pleasant, or sometimes just plain silly.
I am very seriously considering calling in the Colonel.
Just who does he think he is? Trying to spread this so called "fun".
I am warning each and every one of you, that without the proper
vigilance, this "fun" stuff can quickly spread like a cancer. Before
you know it, there will be mobs of people sprouting up everywhere
thinking that the brewing of beer is somehow a pleasant experience that
can promote comradery, and be mutually entertaining (I'll let you taste
one of mine, if I can taste one of yours.)
I am pretty sure that this is the way the "communists" got started, and
I for one still find them quite a big threat.
Well I have had about enough!
It is well past time for you to repent, Mr. Yates.
>From now on, I want you to start writing page, after page, after page of
self serving crap.
Be absolutely sure that it is buried in enough technical terminology
that very few will understand it, and the only ones that do will
immediately recognize it for what it is.... missguided, incorrect, and
definately not written by anybody with very much practical experience
actually "making" beer.
More importantly, once you have submitted your ideas, you should be
prepared to defend them to the death with circular reasoning and
tangential arguments for MANY weeks to come.
Now THAT'S what I call content! Do you think it's a coincidence that you
find the same word root in "discontent"? No, the prefix "dis-" comes
from the greek word for "maker of".
So let us rejoice that at least one "maker-of-content" has alerted us to
the dangers of Mr. Yate's idle "funness".
If we unite now, we can squash this attempted revolution like the
literary cockroach that it is... So:
"All ahead one third! Man the mains'l! Gusset the spigot!" (In the heat
of battle, the battle cries sometimes do get a bit muddled).......
...... oooooh. It feels like a relapse..... Jill, could you get me
another damp towel, please?.... ahhhh, that's much better.... hey, wait
a minute....wasn't that supposed to go on my FOREhead?
Dr. Pivo
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 07:00:07 -0600
From: "Mike O'Rourke" <morourke@easween.com>
Subject: fermenter to ferment 10 gallons in?
Wimpy48124@aol.com asked:
". . .any ideas for a single I had fermenter to ferment 10 gallons in?
planned to get some 10 gal. cornys but there aren't any out there anymore."
I recently started using 16 gal brewery kegs with the 'guts' removed. Just
pulled the retainer out of the neck and pulled out the dip tube. After
sanitizing (by rinsing then boiling) fill it up, add yeast, and stop it with
a huge rubber stopper with a hole drilled out and a piece of 1/2" Cu put in
the hole. Add a small piece of vinyl tubing to the Cu pipe and immerse in
a 1/2 gal growler for an air lock.
Several draw backs: very heavy to maneuver 12+ gal of brew, cannot see
what's happening inside, and it's hard to clean.
I tend to set everything up as to not have to move the fermenting beer.
Also, it actually wasn't hard to clean out the beast with a regular carboy
brush and water. Also, I figure if anything is left over, I'll just boil
the bugger prior to use anyway for sanitizing. Seems to work like a charm!!
One problem I hadn't considered before going this route is the length of my
racking cane. A little too short. I have since replaced it with a larger
stainless model from my local home-brew store. I think it is made by Phil,
it has a cool spring thing to keep it off the bottom and sucking up
yeast/trub. I really recommend using the 16 gal keg for fermenting, perfect
from a sanitation standpoint and ability to hold 12+ gal of wort in a closed
presurizeable stainless vessel for $10.00! Hope this helps. . .
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 08:15:32 -0500
From: Dan Listermann <72723.1707@compuserve.com>
Subject: Sparge Arms
<From: wewmrbeer@webtv.net (Warren Wangerin)
Subject: Spargers
Will the person who requested info on home made sparge arms please write
to me . I inadverdentaly deleted that issue & have lost his address . I
have made them successfully and are very simple .>
Which reminds me to announce that we will soon be producing 12" sparge arms
along with our current 10", 8.5" and 7" arms.
Check out our new E-tail site at www.listermann.com
Take a look at our anti telemarketer forum - it is my new hobby!
Dan Listermann dan@listermann.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 09:14:33 -0500
From: "Eric R. Theiner" <logic@skantech.com>
Subject: Beer Bars in Amsterdam
I have exceptionally fond memories of the Jan Primus Pub in Utrecht. If
you can make it over there, ask for Dirk the barman. He is a great guy
and on my visit shared his last bottle of an incredible abby beer-- he
told me that it came from the <unpronounceable> monastary and that it
was pretty tough to get it out.
You can remember me to him by telling him that I'm the guy who stiffed
him on the bar tab after he had been such a great host (I was drunk and
my cab had just arrived), but then paid it back by sending my division
VP over with a fifth of Jack Daniels to make it up.
But even if you don't make it over, just about any bar outside of the
red light district (which caters to tourists) should have some great
selections.
Rick Theiner
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:16:23 -0500
From: tgoodman@goodmanhome.net
Subject: Cobalt (Blue) Barleywine Bottles
Does anyone know a place to get cobalt (blue) barleywine bottles?
I've seen green barleywine bottles and cobalt 12oz, 16oz flip-top,
and 1 litre flip-top bottles.
Thanks,
Todd Goodman
Brewing in Westford, MA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:01:13 -0600
From: "Vernon, Mark" <VERNONMARK@phibred.com>
Subject: Re: Anyone use mashmate?
>
>Anyone out there using one of these :
>http://home.att.net/~JackSue/
>and would care to comment?
>
>Looks pretty interesting.
>
>cheers,
> -alan
Alan,
Yes I am using a Mashmate 1600...and it works exactly as advertised. It took
a little while to get it tuned to my RIMS system (I just filled it up with
water and played until comfortable) but now I can set the temp and walk away
knowing it will stay within +/-1deg. This is much easier and cheaper than
trying to wire my own pid controller.
Mark Vernon, MCSE, MCT
Sr. Network Engineer - LanTech
Pioneer Hi-Bred Int'l
vernonmark@phibred.com
(515)270-4188
> "On the mountain of truth you can never climb in vain:
> either you will reach a higher point today or you will be
> training to reach a higher point tomorrow." - Friedrich Nietzsche
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:02:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Timothy Holland - Hardware Program Manager <tholland@tunnel.East.Sun.COM>
Subject: Pre-Announcement of the 7th Annual Boston Homebrew Competition
Greetings to all!
The Boston Wort Processors are pleased to pre-announce the Seventh
Annual BOSTON HOMEBREW COMPETITION (BHC7) to be held on February 10,
2001 in Boston Mass. This competition organized and run by the Boston
Wort Processors. I wanted to get the word out there so people would
have plenty of time to get brewing!! Details will be posted here and
on our website (www.wort.org) once they are firmed up a bit more.
However, most data, forms etc from last years competition (which is
posted on our website) will still apply. The following are confirmed
as of 11/27/00:
o All BJCP styles will be judged including meads and ciders.
o The competition will be held at the Northeast Brewing Company
(same venue as last year). Competition date is confirmed as
2/10/01.
o Entry deadline will likely be set as 2/2/01 (this is a Friday).
o The competition will be part of the 2001 New England Homebrewer
of the Year competition circuit (http://mail.symuli.com/NEHBOTY)
o Help will be needed! Judges, stewards and competition assistance
etc. This is a registered BJCP competition and BJCP points are
available.
Start Brewing and Spread the word!! More info to follow but if you
have any questions feel free to contact me.
Cheers and Happy Brewing!!
Tim Holland
Organizer for the 2001 Boston Homebrew Competition (BHC7)
tim.holland@east.sun.com
781-442-2022 (w), 508-835-2686 (h)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:18:56 -0500
From: "Jeff Woods" <woodsj@us.ibm.com>
Subject: Low Original Gravity Extract IPA - Why ???
Here's one I can't remember being addressed in the archives.
Can the collective offer some input on the problem below.
My brother has just brewed an IPA that has an unbelievably low
original gravity of 1.015. He brewed a 2 gallon concentrated boil
using 5 lbs liquid extract and 2 lbs dry extract. After boiling he
diluted to get 5 gallons in the primary. He says he shook and
aerated the primary well. Why such a low OG ? My first thought
was the hydrometer was broken - he checked it against H2O and
it read 1.000. Another thought was that he was reading the Plato
scale on the hydrometer and 15 P would roughly equal 1.060.
Other thoughts are that the wort wasn't fully mixed and he tested
a sample that was mostly water. Assuming it wasn't one of the
obvious factors above and that the 1.015 was a true OG, what
could be the reason ? Can extract go bad and lose it's sugar
content ? Yeast was pitched 11/26 and is just showing signs of
activity. Can anything be done to fix it if the OG was truly 1.015
and fermentation has begun ?
Jeff Woods
Camp Hill, PA
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 12:35:00 -0600
From: "Jim Bermingham" <bermingham@antennaproducts.com>
Subject: Texas Humor
Howdy Yall,
Seems that I went on vacation when I should have been home reading the
Digest.
John Adsit seems to be able to see humor in Sean's posting putting down the
U.S. but not mine responding to Sean. John, you need to be in Florida
deciding the intent of the voters. I too saw humor in Sean's posting,
thought it was funny, and responded in kind. Glad you weren't with "Slick
Willie" during his trip to Nam. You would have apologized to them also.
John, you can apologize for yourself, your family and especially for being
from Colorado. There is no need to apologize for the whole U.S. of A and
certainly not for TEXAS and for me. Texas don't need no one apologizing for
it. TEXAS is TEXAS. Heck "partner" Texas pokes more fun at itself than the
rest of you possibility could. After all look at those silly boots, hats
and clothes Duh.. that's you people from Colorado on them thar ski slopes.
Our hats, boots and clothes look gooood!
Texas has to have a since of humor, have you ever tried Lone Star and Pearl
Beer. They are made in Texas and Texans actually drink the stuff. They
make Bud and Coors taste good. Of course Bubba will drink anything.
Speaking of drinking anything Graham must be drinking beer that his SWMBO
brewed. Everyone knows that a grasshopper from TEXAS would kill one of
those Roos just breeding it. Also, my Daddy can whip your Daddy with one
arm tied behind his back.
By the way, the slogan "Don't Mess With Texas" is a very successful
anti-liter campaign in Texas. We think it does better than the signs that
say "Please don't throw your trash on the highways." Also I have been to
Australia 11 times. Wouldn't have gone back if I didn't see something that
I liked.
Yeee Hawwww!!!!!!!
Jim Bermingham
Millsap Texas
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 08:52:00 -0500
From: JGORMAN@steelcase.com
Subject: Drink out of what?
I once found a web site that described what type of glass should be used when
drinking different styles of beers. Does anyone know where that site is?
Please respond directly to me.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:23:29 -0800 (PST)
From: erniebaker@webtv.net (Ernie)
Subject: Re-pitching yeast
I just racked 5 gallons of beer from the plastic primary to the glass
carboy. This is an SNPA using White Labs WLP001 pitchable yeast. Worked
very hard during primary.
When I racked to the secondary I had about 3/4 inch trub left in the
primary. I swirled this around good and poured it into (half filling)
two Mason quart jars. They are both in the fridge with about 1/2 inch
liquid on top.
What is the best way to pitch this stuff? Do I just pitch one jar into
my next brew, or do I wash this mixture and how is that done? In detail
please, I have never reused yeast before.
Ernie Baker
<erniebaker@webtv.net>
29 Palms, California, USA
Semper Fidelis
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 11:47:11 -0800
From: "Ross D. Potter" <rdpotter@bossig.com>
Subject: Re: Beer in D.C.
In response to:
> HOMEBREW Digest #3487 Sat 25 November 2000
> Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 07:02:57 -0800 (PST)
> From: "H. Dowda" <hdowda@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Beer in D.C.
My family and I did the tourista thing in D.C. early this summer and I (of
course) had to stop at the Capital City Brewery (I think that's the correct
name). It is just across the street from Union Station, so it is very close
to a convenient Metro stop. While I have to say that the beers they served
were just so-so (IMHO), the facility had good eye appeal, very tasty bar
nibblies, and, more importantly, great historical value. It is located in
the old postal building (now mostly office space and the Post Office
Museum), which is still owned by the feds. Thus, at least as far as I was
told, it is the only operating microbrewery on U.S. Government property.
And they had pretty nice coasters, too...
...ross
"The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep
our foot upon his neck." - William James
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 13:13:54 -0800
From: Mark Alfaro <malfaro@qcpi.com>
Subject: Fermenters for 10 Gallon Batches
In HBD #3488, Wimpy48124 asks about ideas for fermenters to handle 10
gallon batches. I use a couple of 15.5 gal Sankey Kegs as fermenters. I
purchased two Sankey kegs from a local scrap dealer and two of the "Rocket
Bottom" type ball lock cornies (the kind with no rubber at the top, just a
single removable handle). I took my two Sankey kegs and two Cornie kegs to
a welding shop and had the tops of the Cornie kegs cut off and TIG welded
to the tops of the Sankey kegs. The welder cut holes in the tops of the
Sankey kegs to accomodate the Cornie keg tops. The result is two 15.5 gal
fermenters with Ball Lock fittings that have ample access to the inside for
cleaning via the Cornelius lid. I have pressure tested these fermenters to
30psi with no leaks. Transferring the beer to secondary or serving keg is
easy using CO2 pressure to move the beer. The fermenters required quite a
bit of hand finishing to smooth out the welds on the inside, but the result
is well worth the effort. If you decide to do this, be sure to remove the
valve/pickup tube assemblies from the Sankey Kegs (after releasing all the
pressure first!) and ask the welder to fill the bottom of the fermenters
with water before cutting or welding to avoid having to grind away slag
from the inside of the fermenter. You will also have to shorten the Cornie
keg pickup tube to fit your new fermenter.
Mark Alfaro
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 15:39:08 -0600
From: Jay Pfaffman <pfaffman@relaxpc.com>
Subject: Re: Heating my fridge
I think fridge guy will tell you to unplug your fridge as running the
compressor when the temp is higher in the fridge than outside can do
bad things.
At a "unclaimed baggage" store the other day I saw a ceramic heater
that plugs in to a standard (in the US) light bulb socket. It was 60W
and has the benefit of not producing any light to foul your beer.
Apparently they're used for aquariums, so your nearest fish-store is
where to look. I have no need for one, but almost bought it anyway.
I think it was $6. I have no idea what they cost elsewhere.
On Fri, 24 Nov 2000 09:32:27 -0500, daniels@cerias.purdue.edu said:
> I just got my kegging/lagering fridge set up in my garage, but
> thanks to an early appearance by old man winter, the temperature
> in the fridge is heading down below freezing.
> I've thought of several approaches here, but I really am looking for
> something cheap and off the shelf. But, I can do it myself if necessary.
> 1. Rig it so the internal light bulb is always on or somehow
> thermostatically controlled.
> or
> 2. Electrim immersible heaters: This is a neat idea, just put it
> in a bucket of H20 in the fridge...problem is that I haven't
> found any info on the range of the thermostat on these.
> Can you set them at 35 deg F??? How many amps do they use on 110V?
> Other ideas?
> Thanks,
> Tom
- --
Jay Pfaffman pfaffman@relaxpc.com
+1-615-343-1720 (office) +1-615-460-9299 (home)
http://relax.ltc.vanderbilt.edu/~pfaffman/
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 18:00:53 -0600
From: "Bret Mayden" <brmayden@keytech.com>
Subject: Mystery Ingredients
I think I sent this to the wrong address the first time. Sorry.
Greetings to fellow brew experimenters.
I want to try making a colonial-era porter based on a recipe from Beer
in America: The Early Years -- 1587 - 1840 by Gregg Smith. For those
with a copy of the book, the recipe can be found on pages 228 - 229. My
problem is determining what some of the ingredients actually are. As a
test bed, so to speak (the OG is up there), I just brewed a batch of
porter that was heavy on the molasses (25% of fermentables, substituting
for treacle) as well as liberally spiced with ginger (1 tsp ground).
While I've used these extras before, never in such concentrations.
Mystery Ingredients:
capsicum
Spanish Liquorice
cocculus indicus
slacked lime
Bret Mayden
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 18:56:53 -0800
From: "Michael J. Leavitt" <ml65@mail.csuchico.edu>
Subject: hop and extract amounts?
I hope someone can help me with a question i have about the amount of hops
and extract to use. I have a recipe for Old Jock ale clone. I am making a
5 gal batch.
the recipe calls for 6.6 lb of John bull light malt syrup and 2.5 lb
M&F light DME. Is it ok to use only 9 lb of John bull malt syrup and omit
the DME? if so what effect would this change have?
The recipe calls for 1 oz east kent goldings at 5 HBU for bittering and
1/2 oz for aroma (I think this is 5AA for my 5 gal batch?) im using east
kent goldings at 5.7%AA how does this change the measurements? and what is
the formula that is used to find the change?
this is my second batch of beer, with your help im sure this one will
go as wll as the first
thank you
mike
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #3489, 11/28/00
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