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HOMEBREW Digest #4041
HOMEBREW Digest #4041 Sat 14 September 2002
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
freezer problems (EdgeAle)
Beer Goggles (John Maylone)
Fwd: RE: FermCap ("Fred L. Johnson")
water cooler (Alan McKay)
Cheers to 1st Annual Mead Day! ("Monica Tall")
Water Cooler Mash Tun (LJ Vitt)
Scotch Ale Recipes ("Matthew M. Benzing")
re: Steve is WRONG!! Almost. Well- not really at all. ("Steve Alexander")
Now cold side aeration is bad?!!! (Brian Lundeen)
Faucet drip trays (Dion Hollenbeck)
RE: Water Cooler Mash Tun ("Dan Gross")
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Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 00:44:25 EDT
From: EdgeAle@cs.com
Subject: freezer problems
HBD,
The freezer I keep my hops in is having problems. It is set to its coldest
setting and is
normally quite cold but occasionally it warms up to ~45F.
I suspect that the limit switch for the defrosting heaters are bad. Does this
sound right to
those of you with practical experience with freezers? Any suggestions on
testing this
hypothosis/fixing the problems?
Forrest are you still out there?
TIA,
Dana
- ------------------------------------------
Dana Edgell
Edge Ale Brewery, Oceanside CA
http://ourworld.cs.com/EdgeAle
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 22:30:28 -0700
From: John Maylone <mrkoala@netptc.net>
Subject: Beer Goggles
I think we all could have guessed the result of this one, but this is
one psych professor who KNOWS how to encourage student
participation................hmmmmmmmm drinking beer and looking at
babes..................sounds like a winner!
John in Tollhouse
David Houseman, shared this with us:
Subject: Beer goggles
Study proves drinking makes members of opposite sex look more attractive
Students at Glasgow University were shown color photographs of 120 male
and
female St. Andrews University students aged 18 to 26. Participants were
asked to rate their aesthetic properties on a scale of between one --
highly
unattractive -- to seven -- highly attractive.
Half of the students had drunk up to four units of alcohol, equivalent to
two pints of beer or two-and-a-half glasses of wine. The 40 who had been
drinking rated the people in the photographs as broadly more attractive
than those
not drinking.
" we wanted to measure once and for all whether a moderate amount of
alcohol increases the judgment of
facial attractiveness," said Prof. Barry Jone of Glasgow University
psychology department.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 08:05:13 -0400
From: "Fred L. Johnson" <fljohnson@portbridge.com>
Subject: Fwd: RE: FermCap
Rob Moline and I have been corresponding off-line regarding the use
of FermCap. Rob posted our conversation to the HBD and has prompted
me to send to the HBD what may be a revelation regarding the
successful/unsuccessful use of this product.
Below is my last transmission to Rob, and I'd like to bring this
online for everyone's comments. Please see the HBD issue #4040 for
the context. Basically, Rob loves this stuff and I've had problems.
From our conversation, I may have found out why our experiences are
so different with this product.
Fred Johnson
>Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 07:03:30 -0400
>To: "Rob Moline" <jethrogump@mchsi.com>
>From: "Fred L. Johnson" <fljohnson@portbridge.com>
>Subject: RE: FermCap
>Cc:
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments:
>
>Thanks, Rob, for your thoughtful reply to my questions. You asked:
>
> 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?
>
>Well, I haven't been very careful to take good notes about when I've
>used the FermCap in my starters and when I haven't because it has
>not been a real problem. However, I've had some annoying aeration
>"foam-overs" so I've become more liberal with the use of the
>FermCap. It fixes my foam-overs in my starter, but this head
>retention problem has arisen.
>
>You said something very informative--that you believe the FermCap is
>remaining behind in your vessels as a ring at the top. Perhaps that
>is the key! If one can successfully keep the "ring" at the top of
>the kettle or the fermentor, then the FermCap isn't getting
>transferred into the next container (which is why you may need to
>add it to your fermentor in addtion to your kettle--what do you
>think?)
>
>With my starters, there is no "racking", just pouring, and before I
>transfer, I make every attempt to get every bit of yeast at the ring
>down into the liquid phase to transfer (by pouring) into my fresh
>wort. I think you've done it, Rob! Voila!
>
>Perhaps all of this enlightenment calls for an experiment to prove it!
>
>--
>
>Fred L. Johnson
>Apex, North Carolina, USA
- --
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 09:02:08 -0400
From: Alan McKay <amckay@neap.net>
Subject: water cooler
The coolers from Gott/Rubbermaid are safe at mash temps and
you should get no flavours. Igloo says their coolers are not
food grade at these temperatures, and although some folks use
them with success, I would not recommend it.
Visit my site and search on "igloo" for details.
cheers,
-Alan
- --
http://www.bodensatz.com/
The Beer Site (tm)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 09:35:31 -0600
From: "Monica Tall" <monica@aob.org>
Subject: Cheers to 1st Annual Mead Day!
The American Homebrewers Association wants to thank all participants
and supporters of the AHA's first annual Mead Day Aug. 3, 2002.
Mead Day Results?
*38 registered sites
*370.75 gallons of Mead made
AHA's Mead Day is an event to help increase camaraderie
among homebrewers and meadmakers and introduce or
reintroduce the meadmaking hobby to people. Mead Day is
held the first Saturday in August.
"The first brew I ever made myself was mead,"
says Mead Day participant and homebrewer Dan Schettler,
"But I hadn't revisited mead for ten years. Mead Day provided
the spark to get me to make this wonderful beverage once again.
I see mead and Mead Day as a growth opportunity for
homebrewing."
Cheers to the meadmakers and homebrewers that made this
first event successful!
We look forward to next year's Mead Day!
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 08:43:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4@yahoo.com>
Subject: Water Cooler Mash Tun
In HBD#4040, Peter asked about using water cooler for 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!
I use a rubbermade brand cooler for mashing. I do not get plastic
flavors and never had any comments about it from judges in competitions.
The maker of the cooler might make a difference.
Look at the March/April 2002 issue of Zymurgy ideas on how to set up
you mash tun.
=====
Leo Vitt
Rochester MN
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 11:56:41 -0400
From: "Matthew M. Benzing" <benzim@rpi.edu>
Subject: Scotch Ale Recipes
Hi,
I'm going in with my neighbor on a scotch ale batch and am looking for a
good recipe. I don't like McEwan's at all, although I love Old Jock and it
seemed like I really liked MacAndrews (although iou think I might like?t's
been a few years since I had one). I always thought Sam Adams Scotch Ale
was pretty good too. Any recipes that follow those taste guidelines?
Matt
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 15:30:38 -0400
From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: re: Steve is WRONG!! Almost. Well- not really at all.
A long missing HBD contributor Eric Fouch notes ...
>Steve is WRONG!!
You've been talking to my wife, haven't you ?
>The idea is to not create the diacetyl in the first place.
...
>ferment to completion in 14 days with no diacetyl.
...
>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.
It sounds like an ever warming fermentation transitioning smoothly into a
diacetyl rest to me. Atttenuation shouldn't take 14 days. It's likely
that
high diacetyl levels appear at mid-fermentation. Still a good schedule I
think.
>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.
Excellent suggestion Eric. The acetohydroxy acids that the yeast excrete
are
oxidatively decarboxylated to VDKs spontaneously - no yeast intervention
required. The process is fastest at low pH (~4.3), w/ oxygen uptake, and
at higher temperatures. Beer pH is pretty close but adding some air and
heat should make the problem evident.
Before Pivo iterates the point ... many continental lagers do have
noticeable
levels of diacetyl. As a deep background flavor it can add a certain
roundness & fullness - a matter of taste. Some people dislike it at any
level.
At high levels it's always unacceptable.
-S
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 14:33:07 -0500
From: Brian Lundeen <BLundeen@rrc.mb.ca>
Subject: Now cold side aeration is bad?!!!
This tidbit found its way into rcb and I think needs some discussion. It
seems to imply that even our normal aeration procedures for yeast growth
might be detrimental to our beers. It is however, maddeningly simplified and
incomplete, not to mention over two years old. I realize those of you that
reject the notion of HSA will undoubtedly be doubled over in mirth at this
point, but I would still like to hear what others make of this. Here's the
link (not sure how this will appear in the Digest, might take some cutting
and pasting to get it all):
http://znetprime.znetsolutions.com/desbrew.nsf/70e0a5dd600961e6882566b00028f
918/2c53e98a5b0613588825692d0071749a?OpenDocument
Cheers
Brian Lundeen
Brewing at [314,829] aka Winnipeg
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 15:25:55 -0700
From: Dion Hollenbeck <hollen@woodsprite.com>
Subject: Faucet drip trays
I have a 3" diameter faucet tower with 4 faucets on it. Two faucets are
one one level, and the other two are about 2" higher, and rotated slightly
so that they pour between the lower faucets. Each pair of faucets on a
single level are seperated by about 45 degrees of angle.
I would like to obtain a sort of kidney bean shaped drip tray, but the only
ones I have seen for sale are $150 and up. YIKES!! Does anyone know of
cheaper ones, or some other substitute that is not necessarily meant as a
drip tray but will do the job?
thanks,
dion
- --
Dion Hollenbeck Email: hollen@woodsprite.com
Home Page: http://www.woodsprite.com
Brewing Page: http://hbd.org/hollen [1359.5,263.7] Rennerarian
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 21:44:14 -0400
From: "Dan Gross" <degross@starpower.net>
Subject: RE: Water Cooler Mash Tun
Peter,
I have been using a 10 gallon water cooler as mash tun for about a year and
it works fine. I have never tasted anything like plastic in the finished
beer.
To convert it to a mash tun I removed the spigot that it came with and
replaced it with the plastic spigot sold at brewshops. In order to fit the
new spigot, I had to enlarge the hole a little bit with a file.
I use a plastic false bottom also purchased at the brewshop. The trick was
to get the outlet on the false bottom to connect with the spigot. Using
flexible plastic tube that pushes over the barbed outlet on the false bottom
that connects to smaller hard plastic tube which in turn fits neatly into a
drilled rubber stopper that jams into the spigot, I am able to get the wort
out without any leaks. (Did you follow that?)
Anyway, you will probably figure out how to connect the false bottom with
the spigot if you go to the hardware store and stare at the hose and tubing
for a while, like I did.
Dan Gross
Olney, Md
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #4041, 09/14/02
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