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HOMEBREW Digest #4040
HOMEBREW Digest #4040 Fri 13 September 2002
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
RE: FermCap ("Rob Moline")
The Stanford brewer's archive ("Stephen E. Hansen")
Moosehead and Moosep**s (Alan McKay)
Re: advice on high-temp flexible tubing ("Fred L. Johnson")
Jake's Pondering Peristalsis ("Kevin Boyer")
Jake's Pondering Peristalsis II ("Kevin Boyer")
Ontario brewpubs/micros (Althelion)
Steve is WRONG!! Almost. Well- not really at all. (EFOUCH)
FW: Water Cooler Mash Tun ("Peter Beauregard")
Re: advice on high-temp flexible tubing (Kent Fletcher)
Re: Straffe Hendrik and Candi sugar (danielfox)
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Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 23:21:54 -0500
From: "Rob Moline" <jethrogump@mchsi.com>
Subject: RE: FermCap
Fred,
Call me Gump...or Rob...or Mr. Puke'n Barf.....Your formality is
exactly how I expect my children to address their elders....But, as we are
both HBD'rs...and I am still a pup learning...let's push it.....I'll call
you Fred....
FermCap is God's Gift to brewers.....if only this one.......I love
it.....YMMV..
I have a 7 bbl steam fired kettle...calandria in the bottom ..and on
the side...practice was...once boil was achieved, throttle back the side
calandria....and let the boil be gentle...
I use FermCap...and let the boil ROCK! Hell, even the crappy Specific
HE on top of the kettle seems to operate @ optimum when all valves are
open.....FermCap keeps it from over-boiling....yet I get better evaporation
numbers.....
They say that the use of FermCap in the boil may reduce hop
utilization.....And I agree! It MAY.......But I can't taste the
difference......and short of a test by Siebel, I doubt you can either.....
I use FC in my fermenters.....largely, as a result of not wanting to
lose gallons of krausen foam to the floor.....big beers make big foam!
(and not wanting to clean the mess up!) This was my initial intro to
FC....learning that I didn't have to clean up 40 gallons of krausen.......
The essential element in this is that the FC remains behind....stuck to
the boil line in the kettle........and stuck to the mercifully thin krausen
line in the fermenter...(1 inch versus up to 3+ feet......where do you think
your head retention proteins are landing?)
In my case, I think they are landing in the pint glass.....
But, I have also used FC to control foam in a starter situation...as
you described...and really rely on it to control krausen foam, rather than
aeration foam...for I can't be there every hour, and don't allow continuous
O2......nor do I expect that any degree of continuous oxygenation to be both
useful and practical.......I let it bleed till I "Scientifically Quantify"
what is useful...by watching.....
You state.."on the last few batches".....does this mean things have
changed recently...with standard procedures used? And by this that all was
well on prior batches?
More info is needed, but for my money, FC isn't the etiology of
deficient head......
Gump
"Mr. Puke'n Barf"
515-282-2739 CABCO
515-450-0243 cell
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred L. Johnson [mailto:fljohnson@portbridge.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 6:33 AM
> To: jethrogump@mchsi.com
> Subject: FermCap
> Dear Mr. Moline:
> I have frequently read your advocacy of FermCap to keep fermentations
> under control. Recently, I have been using FermCap in starters that
> I am preparing by constant infusion and aeration of dilute wort.
> I've using about two drops per liter wort to keep the foam manageable
> in these aerated starters. The wort with the FermCap added is
> prepared by boiling in 1 liter reagent bottles containing prior to
> storage in the refrigerator. When it's time to culture the starter,
> I simply remove the wort from the fridge and start pumping it into my
> culture with aeration. Even then, I have carefully control the
> aeration rate to keep the foam down.
>
> On the last few batches (a porter, a hefeweizen, and an English pale
> ale), the head retention has been poor to nil on the final beer.
> (Have you ever had a hefeweizen with NO HEAD! ARGH!!!) I strongly
> suspect FermCap is my problem. Any comments/suggestions? I can't
> understand how an agent intended to reduce head formation can be
> anything but detrimental to the head retention in the final product.
>
> If you wish to post a response (and my email) to HBD, please feel free.
> Fred L. Johnson
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 23:36:44 -0700
From: "Stephen E. Hansen" <hansen@Stanford.EDU>
Subject: The Stanford brewer's archive
Dear Homebrewers,
It has been a while. I checked recently and the Stanford Homebrew
archives have been in operation for just over a decade now. I took over
the HBD archives from Andrew Mossberg back in May of 92. In January
'93 John Dilley asked me to add the Mead Lover's Digest and Dick Dunn
contacted me about archiving the Cider Digest in January of 95.
Ten years ago, when I took over the HBD archives, there were no other
copies of the archives and they were in danger of being lost for good.
These days, the Stanford archives are no longer the only source for
these digests. Some of the other archives allow searching functions,
web access, threaded views, etc., but our old fashioned ftp archives are
still immensely popular as our usage statistics show. Unfortunately,
I recently left Stanford and Hops, the system that does the archiving,
is being turned to other uses. Once that happens the archiving of new
issues will cease. Access to the existing files will probably continue
for a while longer, until somebody notices that their sponsor is gone.
Given that alternatives exist, it's not as big a deal as when I took
over the HBD archives from Andrew, but I thought I would let you know
that this is coming. It's been fun.
Sincerely,
Stephen Hansen
Homebrewer, Archivist
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Stephen Hansen, homebrewer | The church is near, but the road is icy.
Stanford University | The bar is far away, but I will walk carefully.
hansen@Hops.Stanford.EDU | -- Russian Proverb
http://www.stanford.edu/~hansen
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 07:10:37 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay@neap.net>
Subject: Moosehead and Moosep**s
Joel,
This is extremely old news - Moosehead have been doing that
for at least 3 or 4 years now that I recall. But alas I doubt
they will have much success in light of the recent ruling against
Molson w.r.t. their "Export" name. Olands (Labatt/Interbrew)
want to introduce Oland Export into Ontario, and Molson tried
to sue them claiming the name "Export" was theirs. They
lost that case about 2 months ago, after a 7 year battle.
Thank goodness there is at least a bit of common sense ...
cheers,
-Alan
- --
http://www.bodensatz.com/
The Beer Site (tm)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 07:16:00 -0400
From: "Fred L. Johnson" <fljohnson@portbridge.com>
Subject: Re: advice on high-temp flexible tubing
Jake asks about tubing that will withstand high temperatures and are
suitable for peristaltic pumps. Cole Parmer carries a good selection
of peristaltic pump tubing. The following are available in many
sizes, are rated for higher temperatures, and are recommended for
Cole Parmer's Masterflex pump line.
PharMed - up to 135 C
Norprene - up to 135 C
Norprene food - up to 135 C
Viton - up to 205 C
FDA Viton - up to 205 C
- --
Fred L. Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 06:41:49 -0500
From: "Kevin Boyer" <kboyer@houston.rr.com>
Subject: Jake's Pondering Peristalsis
Jake -
Santoprene is likely the best tubing to use in a peristaltic pump. It has a
wide temperature tolerance and chemical resistance tolerance. It also has
enough strength to last, but enough flexibility to give in the pump head.
Norprene and Viton are also commonly used. Building your own peristaltic
pump, while I'm sure it can be done, will require a great deal of precision.
The rollers must be aligned perfectly with the tube housing or you'll wind
up with a very short tube life. You may want to consider looking in the
water treatment or commercial swimming pool industry for a castoff to
rebuild. You may want to try and buy a used commercially available pump
head/roller assembly and then attach your own motor. These types of pumps
are frequently used to pump bleach and acid. Many commercial swimming pool
dealers will have several lying around that you might be able to get cheap
(or trade for some beer). The units used in the pool industry tend to be a
bit less expensive and more heavy duty than those used in the medical field.
The most common manufacturer's are Stenner, Blue-White, Pulsafeeder, and
Rola-Chem. I've linked the websites below.
www.stenner.com
http://www.blue-white.com/Products/pumps.htm
http://www.pulsatron.com/pulsa/files/PRICING/Cmprc.pdf
http://www.rola-chem.com/peristaltic.html
Good Luck,
Kevin Boyer
Houston, TX
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 06:46:33 -0500
From: "Kevin Boyer" <kboyer@houston.rr.com>
Subject: Jake's Pondering Peristalsis II
Jake -
You'll also find several peristaltic pump heads for sale on Ebay right now
for $5-$10. Very cheap. They look to be the Masterflex lab style.
Good Luck,
Kevin Boyer
Houston, TX
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 10:01:00 EDT
From: Althelion@aol.com
Subject: Ontario brewpubs/micros
Gary:
If you're talking about Ontario, Canada, let me direct you to the website
www.bartowel.com which will give you all sorts of information about beer in
Ontario with a focus on Toronto.
My wife and I do an annual summer weekend to Toronto and always check out
several good pubs. We always hit C'est What on Front St. Al's cask
conditioned ale is superb. Wander down to The Esplanade from there and you'll
find 8 good places to check on the local (Canadian) and imported brew. Not a
lot of brewpubs in Toronto but, from my experience, it's a great beer town.
Al Pearlstein
Commerce Township, Michigan
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 11:10:00 -0400
From: EFOUCH@steelcase.com
Subject: Steve is WRONG!! Almost. Well- not really at all.
Regarding diacetyl formation in lagers, a few years back I was really drunk at
Founders Brewery, and the brewmaster pulled out his brewing book. I think it
was in fact, Kunze. He showed us a fermenting profile that is used by to
produce...Lienenkugel? Anyway, they were able to ferment to completion in 14
days with no diacetyl.
The idea is to not create the diacetyl in the first place. It goes like this
(as Steve partially alluded to in his post):
Pitch your yeast at fermentation temperatures. Increase the temperature of
fermentation 1 degree a day until you get to 56 degrees. At that point,
fermentation should be complete. You can do a diacetyl test by taking 2-3 oz
of beer from the fermenter, seal it as in a baby food jar and heat it up to
140F for an hour. Take of the lid, and smell it. No diacetyl, no problem, no
lagering.
I've used this method several times before (before I tasted The Kapn's Dunkel)
and it has worked very well. I grow up my yeast starter at room temp, crash
cool it to pitching temps, decant the spent wort, and add a quart of new wort
at pitching temps 24 hours before brewing, and pitch the yeast when the wort
is at pitching temps.
airrick147@registerednurses.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 13:24:46 -0400
From: "Peter Beauregard" <peterb@autoprof.com>
Subject: FW: Water Cooler Mash Tun
I'm thinking of getting one of those big plastic drinking water coolers
(frequently seen being dumped on the coach after a big win) and
converting it into a mash tun, however I have a few concerns. I've
read on the HBD that some people have experienced a plastic taste
in their beers after mashing in one of these. But I've also read that
some people have been brewing in these for years without any off
flavors. Anyone have any experience with these coolers? I have a
good idea as to how I'm going to convert one into mash tun, but I'd
appreciate any advice as well!
Thanks!
Peter Beauregard
Portsmouth, NH
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 17:01:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: advice on high-temp flexible tubing
Jake Isaacs wants to make a pump:
>I posted this in the forums, but didn't get a huge
>response. I'd like to try my hand at making a
>peristaltic pump and was wondering if anyone
>had advice on tubing that is safe at high temps
>(maybe up to boiling to be on the safe side),
>but is also "squishable" enough to function well
>in the pump.
Jake,
I like to tinker as much as, no MORE than the next
guy, but this might be a little too far. I don't know
of any tubing "squishable" enough to use in a
pristaltic pump which is rated to boiling temps. More
to the point, this is an extremely slow pumping
method. Designed for metering chemicals, so-called
high flow peristaltic deliver a pitiful 2.5 gph.
Trying to drive one faster with a drill motor would
most likely lead to premature failure, with a batch
lost and a big mess on your hands.
I've been using a Teel pump (Grainger #1P808) for a
year and a half now. It's only 1/50th HP, but
delivers 5 gpm at 5 ft head, not that I usually pump
at that flow rate. I use it to recirc through a HERMS
coil and also pump straight from kettle (at 200 or so
degrees) through CFC into the fermenter. When I
originally bought it I wanted a magnetic drive, but
they didn't have one in stock, so for $50 I gave this
one a try, and I haven't felt the need to replace it
yet. Just food for thought, you might want to give it
a try.
Kent Fletcher
Brewing in So Cal
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 19:55:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: danielfox@beer.com
Subject: Re: Straffe Hendrik and Candi sugar
I went on a brewery tour of De Halve Maan, the brewery that produces
Straffe Hendrik, back in May of this year. I remember the guide stating
that they use corn to lighten the body of the beer, so I don't believe
that they use sugar. If they do, they didn't mention it. Hope this helps,
Dan Fox
Hi all,
Have someone ever tried cloning the Belgium beer named Straffe
Hendrik ?
I am looking for a full grain recipe. Can someone help ?
Would appreciate fermenting temperature and mashing schedule info as
well.
What should I use for a replacement of the candi sugar that they use
in Belgium Beer ?
Best regards
Braam Greyling
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #4040, 09/13/02
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