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HOMEBREW Digest #3652
HOMEBREW Digest #3652 Wed 06 June 2001
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
Re: Aussie beer glasses ("Darren Robey")
H:W Tower of Babel ("Stephen Alexander")
re: H:W huh? More tower of babel ("Stephen Alexander")
Re: Oxygenation Methods (David Lamotte)
pH of Sparge Liquor (Ant Hayes)
Re: Strawberry Wheat (Steven)
Re Re. 101 Glass Carboy Questions (Steven)
Why yeast matters for the CAP experiment (Paul Shick)
metrification (Joe Yoder)
Lemon Grass Usage (Martin_Brungard)
Rims Pumps *Help* (Jonathan Peakall)
Fruit Beers (Phil Wilcox)
Plastic bucket fermenters (Jesse Stricker)
Yokohama or Tokyo ("H Stearns Laseur")
How To Brew website (John Palmer)
Good HB books and resources... (Troy Hager)
Stubbies/CF chillers/Benzene (AJ)
RE: Converting All-Grain Stout to Extract (LaBorde, Ronald)
Airstone sanitation ("Neil K")
wort chiller and brew flag ("David Craft")
Hot side aeration / how to best transfer with a 15 gal keg ("Gary Smith")
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Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 17:01:07 +1100
From: "Darren Robey" <drobey@awb.com.au>
Subject: Re: Aussie beer glasses
Ohh the good old Aussie beerglass terminology. Of course in New South Wales a
Schooner is a 425 ml glass not a 285ml glass. Being a Victorian who's done a
bit of travel in NSW, I was in South Australia one day a few years back and saw
a sing on the door of a pub
"$2.00 Schooners"
You bloody beauty I thought. You cant even get a pot in Victoria for that
outside happy hour these days.
So I wondered in side and said, "I'll have a schooner of coopers pale, thanks
mate". To my horror he pulled a pot. I said, "Sorry mate, I asked for a
schooner, not a pot or a middy." He just said, "It is a schooner you idiot, now
just sit down and drink your beer."
So all disappointed I went to a table and sat down to drink my schooner of pale.
Dam confusing place that South Australia, but at least the beers OK.
Darren
Barney Wrightson wrote:
I dont know about larger ones, but Cooper's Brewery (Home of the famous
Sparkling ale) has, In addition to various other merchandise, a 285ml glass
available on their web site (www.coopers.com.au) for A$5.50 - "Coopers 285ml
Brasserie Glass (#CC58)" which we refer to as a schooner in South Australia
as opposed to a pot in Victoria (It is always a nice surprise when I go to
Vic and ask for a schooner :) ).
HTH,
Barney Wrightson
* I am not affiliated with Coopers in any way except as a loyal consum
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 02:29:08 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: H:W Tower of Babel
Del writes ...
>>> Take away the 5gal Vol requirement
>>>(never part of the H:W argument) and it's easy.
>
>It very much was the start of the debate; George's published
>findings that a batch split into 2 fermenters, each 3/4 full, one
>with aspect of 2.5:1 and one with 1:1, have different fermentation
>characteristics.
But you said DeClerk's finding apply from liters on up to commercial tanks,
and Fix cites Unterstein in commercial tanks yet claims application for
small HB tanks. Size isn't part of it w/in brewing range fermenters.
>Also, the megabrewers' tank, by your own admission, do comply with the
effect.
No and stop making up things I supposedly said (that's Dave Harsh's job
;^) ). If you think I said H:W causes poor performance in a megabrewers'
tank you are very mistaken.
Great height no longer appear in commercial fermenter designs because it
impacts pressure so CO2 solubility and fermentation performance. This is
well known. Height is NOT H:W and they cannot be related. Lake Erie is a
poorly designed fermenter because of it's 60ft depth despite it's highly
favorable aspect ratio of 1:10000. I'd be perfectly happy to limit the
discussion to tanks under 2 meters in height. It's excessive to limit it to
5gal fermenters only..
>What we have yet to see is some publication where you've read that small
>fermenters don't comply with the effect.
The folks making the positive assertion must presenting the evidence. Mr.
Harsh tells us his copy of DeClerk is silent on the matter of H:W. What we
have yet to see is that there is any "effect " associated correctly with
H:W. I see no evidence Del, and unless YOU can point to a paper in a peer
reviewed journal testing aspect ratio I refuse to plan library trips to
disprove guesswork and conjecture. So where are the papers that H:W *does*
cause a performance deficit ?
>LaMarck wants me to point out yeast probably evolved as
>thin-film creatures. The shallow depth of grapes and
>other fruits fed their lust for oxygen and help release the CO2
>that so impedes their growth. Anything deeper than a inch or so may
>be too deep for natural yeast activity.
But unlike most yeasts our brewing S.cerevisiae ferment sugars never found
in fruit, have no lust for oxygen and even as a strategic advantage can
accomplish most of their life cycle without any O2 !! This last is a very
rare talent. This along with the crabtree effect it implies a competitive
strategy of first clearing all the glucose then the O2 in solution. Later
when the competition is thin they can enjoy the ethanol, and surface O2.
Yeast may not have developed with modern fermenters in mind, but the surface
of fruit was certainly not the environment either.
-S
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 02:43:51 -0400
From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: H:W huh? More tower of babel
Frank T writes ...
>No way would I use the term "surface" or "surface area" to describe
>Tom's SURF or Steve's S. Instead, this is the "cross-sectional area,"
>i.e., the area that results from cutting the cylinder parallel to it's
>base.
Tom this definition results from Nathaniel Lansings reasonable contention
that O2 from the headspace diffuses into beer impacting yeast performance.
The area of interest is the area of the wort in contact with air - not the
area definition you've suggested.
Obviously this thread is so long not even sensible readers follow it
anymore.
-S
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 19:37:10 +1000
From: David Lamotte <lamotted@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: Oxygenation Methods
Current scuttlebutt includes Wort Oxygenation amoungst the topics.
Like others, I use a stainless diffusion 'stone', but differ in that I use
it in a closed keg.
My fermenter is a 22 (US) gal corny keg and I have an additional gas port
welded in the lid. This dangles down inside the keg.
After assembly I insert it in the keg and half fill it with Idophor
solution. I turn it on its head for half the soak time before flipping it
over again to finish. The idophor is pushed out under gas pressure leaving
the keg and diffuser sanitised and untouched by human hands.
After filling with wort I gas it up with oxygen, but leave the pressure
release valve closed. I leave it under his oxygen blanket for at least 4
hours after which the fermentation is really starting to get under way. I
then remove the diffuser and tube from the lid and clip on a gas fitting
and short length of tube to bubble away in a jar of water.
There are photos to be seen at http://oz.craftbrewer.org/gear/DLgear.html
Hope this helps.
David
Visit the home of Australian Craft Brewing at http://oz.craftbrewer.org
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:26:39 +0200
From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes@FifthQuadrant.co.za>
Subject: pH of Sparge Liquor
I have a hot liquor tank which has its outlet above heating element
depth. It is a permanent installation - and thus difficult to drain. For
this reason, I do not drop the pH of my hot liquor - but adjust in the
mash tun. Further, I sparge with water at an average pH of 8.
On page 80 of Volume 1 of de Clerk's "A Textbook of Brewing", he
recommends "(using) untreated liquor for sparging" for similar reasons
of not wanting to corrode the hot liquor tank.
I have read elsewhere that sparge liquor should have a pH of less than 6
- to reduce tannin extraction.
What is the standard practice?
Ant Hayes
Gauteng
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 08:08:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: Steven <stevensl@mindspring.net>
Subject: Re: Strawberry Wheat
I made a raspberry wheat and a blueberry wheat awhile back with mixed
results. Overall I liked the style but here are some notes of mine.
- I used a mix of fresh and frozen fruit. This gets expensive and i could
not tell the difference so decide which gives the best bang for the buck
- I placed fruit in the secondary, which the raspberry gave a very nice
flavor and aroma, blueberry less so (but the blueberry's i had where not
great). I would probably do this again rather than boil since its even
more crap to strain out of the boil I would think.
- boil the fruit before putting it in the secondary. This is probably the
best reason to boil the fruit with the wort. I had mixed results with some
infection occuring, probably something wild on the fruit.
- rack to a third (clearing) vessel. I was surprised how much
pulp/skins/cruft occured in my beer. I tried to get strain it through a
filter into my bottling bucket but still had debris.
- try adding oatmeal! I used it and i was quite pleased compared to my
other (control) batch. I use oatmeal in almost everything now.
My raspberry came out tasting somewhat lambic in nature, i'll definatly
try it again using frozen raspberrys, fresh is just too expensive and
using more wheat. Try to do a lambic maybe?
Steven St.Laurent ::: stevensl@mindspring.net ::: 403forbidden.net
Democrats - Give a man a fish, feed him for a day
Republicans - Teach a man to fish, feed him for life
Libertarians - Screw him, I'm full from eating fish
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 08:12:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: Steven <stevensl@mindspring.net>
Subject: Re Re. 101 Glass Carboy Questions
"Jeffry D Luck" <Jeffry.D.Luck@aexp.com> said:
> Don't do it! Those plastic fermenting buckets
> are the best improvement to homebrewing since
> Charlie's much alligned book. The hassle of
> working with 40lb (full) slippery-when-wet glass
> is not worth the nominal, if any, improvement
> you will notice.
You know i find it very hard to disagree with this. Personally i've been
doing all glass for my last couple of batches and frankly a full 6.5-7
gallon carboy IS A PITA (pain in the arse). I'm going back to a bucket
primary until i can get the scratch for a conical!
Steven St.Laurent ::: stevensl@mindspring.net ::: 403forbidden.net
Democrats - Give a man a fish, feed him for a day
Republicans - Teach a man to fish, feed him for life
Libertarians - Screw him, I'm full from eating fish
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 08:49:42 -0400
From: Paul Shick <shick@jcu.edu>
Subject: Why yeast matters for the CAP experiment
Hello all,
I've been kind of surprised by the direction that
the Great CAP Experiment has been taking, and I thought I'd
make a pitch for building in a bit more control and structure
to the proceedings.
If you don't mind too much, I want to remind people
about the history here. I feel somewhat responsible for the
expenditure of bandwidth and energy, since the whole issue
arose from an off hand comment Steve Alexander made about my
use of a conical fermentor on a homebrew scale, in the midst of his
very thoughtful post on Zinc requirements for proper fermentation.
George Fix then posted some interesting data from his work,
comparing fermentations in (cooled) conicals with other fermentor
geometries. George noted three areas of difference:
1. Much faster fermentation in conicals;
2. More complete attenuation in conicals; and
3. Lower diacetyl levels in conicals.
Steve objected that these differences were likely due to other
factors than geometry, and the grand debate ensued. (These are
my impressions of the these posts, by the way, so please don't
flame George or Steve about them.) Note that George was posting
about fermentation behaviors with _his_ yeast propogation
methods, which no doubt involve adequate pitching rates of very
healthy yeast populations (judging from George's writings about
yeast, especially in AoBT.)
My concern about the currently proposed structure of the
CAPExp is that it looks like a lot of work to produce "data" which
probably won't address the three claimed differences very clearly.
If the CAPExp design doesn't carefully control the method of yeast
propogation/pitching, most of the data are likely to be collected
from fermentations involving underpitching and/or less-than-healthy
yeast populations. Also, none of the current suggested procedures
really looks at the speed of the fermentation, let alone diacetyl
levels. (Yes, AJ, I'm aware of the time/expense involved in
measuring diacetyl, and I'm not suggesting we include it in the
experiment.) The question, as it was originally posed, is
basically "Does fermentor geometry affect fermentations (involving
adequate pitchings of healthy yeast) at homebrew levels, in terms
of speed, attenuation and diacetyl?"
My main concern here is that underpitched fermentations,
or those involving stressed yeast populations, behave quite
differently than those involving large populations of healthy
yeast. It's quite possible that the effect of fermentor geometry
will be quite different in underpitched fermentations than it is
in "ideal" fermentations. If we don't build into the experiment
a way to guarantee that all participants are starting with good
yeast populations, any conclusions we draw will be pretty shaky.
My suggestion is that we should do everything possible
to set a level "playing field" for the CAPExp, especially where
the yeast are concerned. We're all aware of the likelihood of
underpitching if we use smack packs, "pitchable" tubes, etc.
without starters. Even if we all use starters of the same size,
we'll still be likely to have very different pitching rates and
yeast states, just because of (unavoidable) variation in conditions.
The only real solution I can see is that
1. We should all use dry lager yeast, preferably from the
same manufacturer's lot, following agreed upon rehydration
and aeration procedures.
2. We should take careful gravity readings at agreed upon
intervals to monitor the progress of the fermentation
in each vessel.
3. We should forget about diacetyl, so that AJ can sleep
at night.
I'm aware of the scarcity of good dry lager yeast. I've
heard pretty good reports about Saflager, although I haven't used
it myself. I'm hoping we'll hear from Jethro about some great
Lallemand strain.
Sorry about the length here. Pat, could you forward this to
the CAPExp list, if you think it's appropriate?
Paul Shick
Cleveland Hts, OH
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 08:06:11 -0500
From: Joe Yoder <headduck@swbell.net>
Subject: metrification
Bret Morrow wrote:
Matt was talking about about Australian beer "sizes", including a Darwin
stubbie (2 L). Lets see, 1 L equals 2.2 miles--God, that's a lot of
beer!
Once again showing our American (U.S.) stupidity when it comes to the
metric system. I am pretty sure that there are 2.2 L to the mile, so a
Darwin really isn't that much beer!! I am pretty sure our Australian,
Europeon and S. African Brewers (and other metrificated brewers) will
back me up on this!!
LOL,
Joe Yoder
Lawrence, KS
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 09:19:44 -0400
From: Martin_Brungard@urscorp.com
Subject: Lemon Grass Usage
I just finished researching the HBD archives for info on lemon grass usage.
There were several mentions of lemon grass, its effect, and pitfalls of
using too much. But no where did I find any advice on how much to use in a
specific volume of beer. I just planted a tuft of lemon grass and would
like to start incorporating it into some of my recipes. I just need to get
the amount and usage "in the ballpark" so I don't ruin a batch. I plan to
use a little lemon grass in a wit and I could use some advice on its usage.
Thanks for your help!
Martin Brungard
Tallahassee, FL
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 06:44:19 -0700
From: Jonathan Peakall <jpeakall@mcn.org>
Subject: Rims Pumps *Help*
Howdy All,
I have ruined another impeller/housing on my RIMS pump. This is the
second one that died, so I have to assume that the pump just isn't up to
the rigors of hot wort and sparge water. It is a Teel 180 deg. pump
from Moving Brews. When the last one blew, moving brews was kind enough
to send me a new one. I was supposed to send the dead one back, and
never did, as I went on a 2 month trip, and when I got back my brew
buddy had lost it.
Anyway, I need a pump that can take it. Since it is going to be a pain
in the a$$ to re-plumb the RIMS, I want to get a pump that will last.
Suggestions/sources for a tough as nails pump?
TIA,
Jonathan Peakall
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 10:04:27 -0400
From: Phil Wilcox <pjwilcox@cmsenergy.com>
Subject: Fruit Beers
Jeff--
For Starters 42 IBU is double to many IBUs for a wheat beer. and tripple
what you would want for Fruit wheat.
Secondly, 40/60 Wheat with no rice hulls makes you a very brave man.
Rinse with warm water a lb of rice hulls and you'll thank me for it
later...
Next. Willamette at 15min? Why? Do you want a hoppy smell strawberry
beer? yuck. The best fruit beers i've had are all belgian. They often
don't use any hops. You might want some for balance, but not more than
15-20 IBU for sure.
32 oz? Strawberries and watermellon are both real subtle flavors after
fermentation. If you plan on fermenting them better go with more than a
pound per gallon
Cleaned and Diced are good. No stems please.
Q1 Definitely don't boil them, you'll set the pectins, which in a wheat
beer, haze is a good thing--no? You'll also boil off all the aromatics.
If you ferment them, I would use the secondary, a big seconday, like a
bucket. But who says you have to ferment them? The best Sissy froo froo
fruit beer/Chick magnet beers I have made used a Mead technique.
I would mash my wheat beer with a 122 protien rest and then a high
sacrification rest to get the absolute lowest gravity I could squeeze
out of the beer. Pitch a big starter or commercial brewpub slurry and O2
like crazy. Ferment in 4-5 days hopefully. I would then rack into a
secondary (NOT A KEG) add some Potassium Sulfate (1/4 tsp/gal if I am
remembering this right) this will not kill the yeast, but will prevent
further fermentaion. If you have the time I would wait 24 hrs to add the
fruit. Last time I left the 2.5 gal of beer on 3 lbs of raspberries for
5 days. Then rack to a keg and force carbonated. I had Fuchia beer,
that was VERY BERRY and very PINK, and the chicks loved it at the party
I served it at the next day. It was a bit of overkill on the
raspberries, you couldnt taste the beer really. A little bit of wheat
character came out, but the gals around the billiard table would be
pouring thier CAP for this one! ;<) For a balanced Raspberry I would
try 3.5 lbs in 5 gal. For Strawberries I would stick with a lb per
gallon. The sugar from the berries makes up for the dryness of the
beer. And hopefully the wheat character is there to balance the
remaining sweetness.
Q2 No. See above
Q3 So long as cleaning includes removeing the stems, Yes. You could put
them in the freezer over night in order to burst open all their cells, I
usually use frozen fruit anyway...
Q4 Adequate? More like overkill. see above.
Fruit Beers are best fresh. The Rasp Wheat still placed for a 3rd at the
state fair 2 months after It was completed, and it had lost alot of
freshness by then. I Don't like most commerdcial fruit beers, We used
sam adams cherry wheat as a calibrator one year at the state fair. It
got a 22. The best I have had came from Seattle. it was Jet City 777
Apricot Rye Nectar. And it was sublime!! It was a big beer, with the
alcohol, rye and apricot all in perfect harmony. Too bad that one
doesn't exist anymore. New Glarus Belgian red is a great cherry beer,
with more cherry's than beer. and while in NYC I had a bottle of
Pinconing County Belg Red. that was also fabulous.
Phil Wilcox
Poison Frog Home Brewery and Bumblefrog Meadery
Jackson, Mi
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 10:06:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jesse Stricker <jds19@duke.edu>
Subject: Plastic bucket fermenters
In Digest #3651, Jeffry Luck writes:
> > I'm getting ready to make the jump from my Basic
> > Starter setup (two plastic fermenters...) to
> > fermenting in one or more glass carboys.
>
> Don't do it! Those plastic fermenting buckets
> are the best improvement to homebrewing since
> Charlie's much alligned book. The hassle of
> working with 40lb (full) slippery-when-wet glass
> is not worth the nominal, if any, improvement
> you will notice.
I brewed in a big seven-gallon bucket for a while, and then I
used a 6.5 gallon carboy as a primary for a while. A few months ago, I
went to brew some beer, but the primary carboy was in use. A friend of
mine rode in to the rescue with a big seven-gallon bucket and, well, I
haven't let him have it back since.
It's got a handle you can trust, it's easier to move, it protects
from the light, if I drop it it doesn't break, and it's about 4000 times
easier to clean. I still use a five-gallon carboy for secondary when
cleaning is easier and oxygen permeability might (or might not) be a
problem, but the difference between reaching into my fermenter and
gently scrubbing away yeasty crud or trying to hit that little speck of
stuff with a jet washer and a carboy brush is so great that I'm a
(re)convert to the joys of buckets.
Jesse
- --
Jesse Stricker jds19@acpub.duke.edu
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 09:43:39 -0500
From: "H Stearns Laseur" <h_stearns_laseur@email.mobil.com>
Subject: Yokohama or Tokyo
Ohio gozai mas,
Any brew stores in Yokohama or Tokyo? I'll be there two years and want to get a
hold of some grain, hops and extract. I can bring in my own extract and hops if
it comes to that, however, you can't beat freshly crushed grains.
Heeeellllppppp.
Stearns (for Glenn)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 09:20:21 -0700
From: John Palmer <jjpalmer@gte.net>
Subject: How To Brew website
Hi Group,
With the discussion of helpful books for all-grain brewing, I am pleased to
see people cite my book. Glad I could be of service.
But don't waste your time trying to download and print the whole thing. The
second edition of How To Brew will be available in July as a 6" x 9"
softcover. The second edition is much better, and will hopefully be
available from most brewshops as well as online. I will post a short note
in July when it is available. It is currently at the Printers and I expect
to review the blueline next week. So, save your shareware fees (only ever
received about 2 dozen), and wait for the hardcopy. The online first
edition will continue to be available, and I haven't decided whether to
update it or not. It would be another 6 months work, and we are expecting
our third child in August, so it may be a year before I get time to do that.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 22nd,
John
John Palmer
Monrovia, CA
homepage
http://www.realbeer.com/jjpalmer
How To Brew - the online book
http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 09:17:01 -0700
From: Troy Hager <thager@hcsd.k12.ca.us>
Subject: Good HB books and resources...
Along with the current thread on people's favorite HB books... now that
Brewing Techniques is gone, what HB periodicals do you guys subscribe to and
read? I really miss Brewing Techiques. The two other HB mags out there seem
to be Brew Your Own and Zymurgy. I used to subscribe to Zymurgy but found
that it was a little less technically oriented that what I needed (articles
about bottle openers and tap handles are of little interest to me) but that
was a few years ago. Has it changed in any way? The other mag BYO seems
really aimed at novice extract brewers from what I have seen.
I have heard mention of the New Brewer mag. aimed at micro and pub brewers
but at $85 for a subscription that is over my head. Is there anything else
out there for the experienced all grain brewer along the lines of what BT
used to be?
Thanks for your feedback!
Troy
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 14:27:13 -0400
From: AJ <ajdel@mindspring.com>
Subject: Stubbies/CF chillers/Benzene
"Stubbies" refers to bottles as compared to "tinnies". A tinnie is a
measure of distance as in "It's 6 tinnies from Erldunda to Aileron". A
Darwin Stubby was a 2L bottle of NT Lager or NT Draught - can't remember
which and they are now defunct. I think they were bought up by one of
the larger breweries. They used to sell a kit for the tourists
consisting of the stubby, 2 glasses and a bar towel.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There is no "best" speed for the wort to flow through the chiller.
Intuition should tell you that the faster the cooling water flows and
the slower the wort flows the closer to the cooling water inlet
temperature the ouput wort will be. Chillers have a sort of intrinsic
cooling capacity (in gallons per hour) which, other things being
constant, depends on the length of the chiller. If the wort flow is set
to this capacity and the cooling flow is 10 times this capacity or more
the exiting wort temperature will be within 3 degrees F of the coolant
temperature. This choice gives "efficient" cooling but uses lots of
cooling water. Other combinations of wort and coolant give less
efficiency but are more conserving. Experiment with boiling water to
find out what rates will give you what you want.
* * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * *
Benzene has been replaced by toluene in the current alpha/beta acid MOA
because of concerns over toxicity. Here's a summary of the new procedure
(from a post 26 AUg 2000). The wavelengths should be the same as for
benzene buy I don't have a copy of the old procedure to check against.
5 grams of freshly ground hops are extracted into 100 mL of toluene on a
wrist action shaker for 30 minutes. An aliquot from the extraction
bottle is centrifuged for 5 minutes and 5 mL of clarified extract
diluted to 100 mL with methanol. An aliquot of this dilution is then
diluted further with alkaline (0.2 mL 6N NaOH per 100 mL MeOH) methanol
to the extent that the absorbances at 325 and 355 nm fall within the
dynamic range of the instrument. Absorbances are then read at 325, 355
and 275 nm against a blank prepared by applying the same two dilutions
to 5 mL toluene. The three absorbtions are weighted by a set of
coefficients, summed, and scaled by the dilution factor. One set of
weights gives the alpha acid content and another the beta:
% = d(w1*A355 + w2*A325 + w3*A275)
for alpha, w1 = -51.56, w2 = 73.79, w3 = -19.07
for beta w1 = 55.57, w2 = -47.59, w3 = 5.10)
d = (mL first dilution)(mL second dil.)/[(500)(extract mL used to make
first dilution)(mL from first dilution used to make 2d dilution)]
There is a standard isohumulone mix sold by the ASBC for checking on
this and other methods. It is very expensive - I don't recall the price
but over $100 for the minimum quantity. You can get the details on how
to buy this stuff from ASBC (they have a web site).
- --
A.J. deLange
CT Project Manager
Zeta Associates
10302 Eaton Place
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 359 8696
855 0905
ajdel@mindspring.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 13:40:35 -0500
From: rlabor@lsuhsc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald)
Subject: RE: Converting All-Grain Stout to Extract
>From: "Peter Fantasia" <fantasiapeter@hotmail.com>
>Subject: RE: Converting All-Grain Stout to Extract
>
>>On May 21 Nils A. Hedglin asked about converting >an
>>all-grain stout recipe to an extract recipe
>A good rule of thumb is that a lb. of grain is eqivalent to .82 lb. of
>extract
No don't try it. I used some extract and man oh' man did it ever screw up my
maltmill. It musta took me 2 hours to clean it up!
Just could'nt resist - sorry to interrupt the H/W digest.
Ron La Borde
Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor@lsuhsc.edu
http://hbd.org/rlaborde
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 18:55:35 -0400
From: "Neil K" <neilk27@hotmail.com>
Subject: Airstone sanitation
Troy Hager writes:
I too use O2 to oxygenate my chilled wort. My procedure used to be with a
stainless difussion stone as well. I attached it to an old piece of racking
cane and some tubing to create a kind of aeration wand and after wort was
pumped to fermenter, I carefully take the stone out of the sanitizer, place
it on the wand, open the fermenter top (BBMB CC) and give it a couple blasts
with the O2. The procedure always bothered me somewhat - first of all I had
to grab the stone and place it on the wand careful not to touch anything
with it and I am sure my hands are not perfectly sanitized....
Why not attach the stone to the wand first and dump the entire assembly in
some no-rinse sanitizer? Grab the wand at the opposite end, the part that
doesn't touch any wort, and there's very little to worry about.
I recently bought a 36" window box (usually used for plants) for a couple of
dollars at a home depot place. It's long enough for my Fermtech siphon
starter, racking cases, tubing, etc. and it's shallow and narrow enough that
you don't need a lot of liquid to submerge items.
Small items like airlocks and bungs don't get lost, and some even come with
bottom drains to make it easy to reuse sanitizers.
My real question is about the airstones themselves: several posts have
recently mentioned problems with them clogging and I was wondering what the
general consensus is about them and their ease of use. I'd be hooking up an
aquarium pump, not an O2 cylinder.
Also, are the cheap disposible pet shop airstones considered food grade?
Several people have said they used them instead of stainless.
Private e-mails are fine. Thanks!
Neil K
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 20:12:17 -0400
From: "David Craft" <David-Craft@craftinsurance.com>
Subject: wort chiller and brew flag
Hello,
I am making an immersion wort chiller and cannot get the 90 degree bends I
am looking for in the ends. I am thinking about soldering (non lead) copper
couplings on to the coil. Is there downside to this, metallic contamination
to my wort, leaking caused by the temperature differential?
Second, my wife wants to buy me "brewing flag" that can be hung when I am
brewing. This would be similar to the many other seasonal and sporting flags
you see at people's houses. Any suggestions on who might carry these?
David B. Craft
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 22:49:21 -0500
From: "Gary Smith" <mandolinist@interlync.com>
Subject: Hot side aeration / how to best transfer with a 15 gal keg
How-d,
My first post here so hi to all.
I brewed this weekend and ran into several problems I need ideas
to help resolve these problems the next time I brew.
I have three 15 gal stainless kegs; two are fit with Easy Mashers
with a 3/8" stainless ball valve tap and the other has a copper pipe
at the bottom of the keg with no screen and the same ball valve heli-
arced to the side of the keg.
When I made them I thought to use one for sparge, one for
mashing & the other for boil. With the easy masher I've since found
it's no problem to mash/lauter in one kettle but the problem comes
in how to best get the mixture into the boil kettle which needs to be
high enough to drain through the chiller into the carboys.
If I were to have the 3 kegs on a ironwork step frame, each high
enough to allow complete draining of their contents, it'd be too tall
for my brew space. Besides, the ladder would be prohibitively
expensive for me.
I kept the mash tun on the Cajun Cooker which I had elevated on
blocks. After sparging I was able to jockey it onto a platform and
slide the now full boil kettle onto the cooker from the same table.
(The boil kettle was still high enough to drain into the carboy) and I
completed the brewing.
Since I make 10 gallons at a time & I'm no body builder, the boil
kettle is too heavy for me to lift once I've completed the sparging &
the same with the mash tun for they're too high to get a good grip
on. Someday soon I'm going to have an accident if I keep doing it
the way I just did.
So, I was brain storming with a friend about this trying to come up
with a better way to brew with these barrels. We were trying to
come up with a way to have the mash tun & boil kettle on the
same level (I have a wrought iron stand for a huge aquarium which
is just the right height) The idea of draining the mash into a
container on the ground & then using a peristaltic pump to fill the
boil kettle came up but finding such a pump isn't going to be easy
or cheap.
The idea of draining into a container & then scooping it up and
pouring into the boil kettle came up but with the run-off at 170
degrees, we weren't sure if that might be a problem with hot side
aeration.
If the Garage were heated I could put a winch from a boat trailer or
a pulley system in there to lift the kettles which would solve
everything but in the cold weather I can't use this garage so I have
to come up with a more realistic solution.
If I bought another Cajun Cooker so I'd have one under the mash
tun elevated 4 feet on cinder blocks & another cooker under the
boil pot yet elevated enough to drain through a cooler to a waiting
carboy, it would work fine but I don't want to buy a second cooker.
So, the three main questions:
At what temperature does hot side aeration become a factor and
would scooping the collected mash from say, a Coleman cooler &
then pouring it into the boil kettle be problematic in any way? If it's
not a problem, that's my easiest solution that I can figure. But... I
suspect the 170 degrees brings me into the HSA arena.
What do others with these converted kettles from kegs do to drain
from the mash tun to the boil kettle & still be high enough to drain
into the carboy after boiling?
Feel free to post to me directly if you'd prefer, I'd sure like some
sage advice.
>From beautiful downtown Highland, IN
Cheers,
Gary
Gary Smith
http://www.geocities.com/dawgmando/
If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous,
he will not bite you. This is the principal difference
between a dog and a man.
- Mark Twain -
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #3652, 06/06/01
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