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HOMEBREW Digest #4554
HOMEBREW Digest #4554 Sun 04 July 2004
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
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Contents:
How long to use yeast? (Thom Cannell)
What A Difference A few Months Make ("Graham L Sanders")
Pressure Cooker Gaskets ("Pete Calinski")
Doh, Kelvin math botch (Cold CO2 tanks) (Calvin Perilloux)
RE: Help with false bottom (Paul Shick)
Aged yeast (Calvin Perilloux)
2004 Topsfield Fair Homebrew Competition - Call for Judges and (Seth Goodman)
re: Question about yeast ("-S")
re:AHA Big Brew Baltic Porter Fermentation (Michael Owings)
Vigorous aeration and finishing hops ("May, Jeff")
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Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 22:40:13 -0400
From: Thom Cannell <t_cannell at compuserve.com>
Subject: How long to use yeast?
Dave Glowacki asks:
How long is too long to keep yeast (White Labs vials) in the fridge
before it is too old to use for brewing?
I had some White lab hefe yeast from - - the Michigan national HB
convention. Like two years old? In a 150 ml starter, it took almost a week
to grow. Made two great batches with it so far. Guess that old "if there is
one surviving yeast cell..." is true.
Thom Cannell
Lansing MI
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Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 20:08:44 +1000
From: "Graham L Sanders" <craftbrewer at bigpond.com>
Subject: What A Difference A few Months Make
Oh dear, typing my latest HBD post and I sent the previous one elsewhere.
Enjoy
G'Day All
You just got to hate doctors, in fact any medical staff. They prod and poke
you, (happily these days with my pants on), and then say, yep you are
better. Never mind it feels like there is a squash ball under one shoulder
blade, and I got a bit of a pain at the top of my chest. "dont worry Graham,
everything looks fine from where I sit." and then your flicked out of there
office. You just feel like sending them to a Iraq prison to see
"insensitivity".
But one does feel better doing yet another radio program. I was rusty, and
things didn't quite click, but it was good getting back into a routine.
Those who read the BYO magazine will be interested that the May program
is on the website, and I interview Phillipa Jarrott (who appeared
in the mag), who I call our "Bush Brewing Babe". Unlike Phil, who is pseudo
USA urban cowboy, Phillipa is a true blue dinky die bush brewer. I have bets
no-one brews like her. Junes Program has an interview with a local microbrew
brewer, so those interested to see how you can enter the business, can
listen to guy who got in without qualifications, but thru shear love of the
hobby.
Also those interested in a style of beer, the Australian Sparling Ale,
should also check January, February programs, where I give a history of the
style. Interesting my research indicates its this style that may have lead
to the USA style "Steam Beer". Trust you lot to take one of our styles and
make it your own. And if its not bad enough this program is on the net,
well it could be farmed out to other radio stations. People are approaching
me about running the same program nation wide. Scary stuff, especially those
who have seen me. But where to find the program.
oz.craftbrewer.org
Now Lets have words with young Mr Hurst. >>>>After a couple weeks I started
getting the shakes and eventually began
reading the Oz Craftbrewer list in an attempt to get the monkey off my back.
This was little help as most of the discussions there seem to be about
Salties and Graham Sanders.<<<<<<<
Now I have to say I'm a little embarrassed lately. The tourists are getting
taken, but the locals are. Incidents were coming in fast of locals bitten,
dragged in and crocs trying to jump into boats. One poor bloke was
castnetting on a popular swimming beach early morning and threw the cast net
right over one. Probably saved his life, as it was moving it fast for the
kill. Needless to say, no cast net, and his arm nicely pulled out of its
socket.
I guess its a case of small things amuse small minds. After all it was only
10 feet long, a baby.
Shout
Graham Sanders
oh
The software available today for editing things like radio program is damn
dangerous. Its soooo easy to use, you can change anything, even change what
some-one says by splicing in words. And you can make it seamless. Real scary
stuff. I called George Bush and told him I could put a positive spin on all
those
"naked guys". He hung up on me when I suggested I could change the reports
to say they were trying to save money by doing a bulk prostate examination.
Mind you, I would have no complaints if that girl in the photos did it. I
just wouldn't take her home to mum.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 09:44:23 -0400
From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net>
Subject: Pressure Cooker Gaskets
If yours is a Presto, see their website:
http://www.gopresto.com/?MCWT7gJn%3b%3b477
I bought a gasket and new pressure plug (they come as a kit) from them a
few years ago. No problem.
Pete Calinski
East Amherst NY
Near Buffalo NY
http://hbd.org/pcalinsk
***********************************************************
*My goal:
* Go through life and never drink the same beer twice.
* (As long as it doesn't mean I have to skip a beer.)
***********************************************************
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Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 06:56:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Calvin Perilloux <calvinperilloux at yahoo.com>
Subject: Doh, Kelvin math botch (Cold CO2 tanks)
Doh! From my last post on CO2 tanks in the fridge:
Now that's what I get for trying to think in English and
metric at the same time:
"Per Charles Law, 343 kelvin/373 Kelvin * 12 litres"
That was from my last post, detailing the pressure diff
between room temp CO2 and refrigerator CO2. What was
I thinking? Where on earth did I get those numbers?
Brains lapse. Doh! Boiling my beer??? Should be:
"Per Charles Law, 273 kelvin/298 Kelvin * 12 litres"
The end result, as some of my college professors would
have pointed out in the exam grading, is still pretty close,
but negative points for sloppiness! Sorry. Should have
put this one up for peer review, eh?
Calvin Perilloux
Middletown, Maryland, USA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 10:20:25 -0400
From: Paul Shick <shick at jcu.edu>
Subject: RE: Help with false bottom
Hi all,
Pat Reddy asks for help with finding a
replacement for his collapsing false bottom
in his converted keg mash tun. Pat, you can
probably get away without replacing the false
bottom if you rig up an appropriate support
for the center. Some people have used stainless
steel screws and bolts. My fix was even easier:
take a 1.5" diameter copper tube, exactly as long
as the distance from the center of the false
bottom to the bottom of the keg. The tube will
fit around the pickup tube, supporting the FB.
You'll need to cut some slots in the bottom of
the tube to let the wort flow to the pickup
tube. So to set up the mash tun, just drop in
the copper support tube, slotted side down; put
in the false bottom and drain tube, and you're
all set. I've used this with my setup for about
7 years, after suffering through several collapses
of a hinged false bottom. It's worked perfectly
since. Hope this helps.
Let me join the chorus of HBDers thanking Pat
for resurrecting our favorite part of cyberbrewing
from the ashes. Well done!
Paul Shick
Cleveland Hts, Ohio
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 07:28:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Calvin Perilloux <calvinperilloux at yahoo.com>
Subject: Aged yeast
Dave Glowacki asks about using White Labs yeast that's been
in the fridge since early April.
No problem, Dave, as long as you use a starter. I've used
White Labs yeast that's been much older than that, but I'd
never pitch it straight into the fermenter. Build one liter
starter first, and then you can even give a smell and taste
to the result to make sure it's good before pitching it.
By the way, what's the best yeast product for longevity?
My vote, based on years of use, is for the old-style
Wyeast smack-packs! Seriously. I've been able to build
some of those up with no ill effects after they've sat
more then 2 years in the fridge.
Calvin Perilloux
Middletown, Maryland, USA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 11:56:45 -0400
From: Seth Goodman <seth.goodman at comcast.net>
Subject: 2004 Topsfield Fair Homebrew Competition - Call for Judges and
The North Shore Brewers and the Topsfield Fair announce the 2004 Topsfield
Fair Homebrew Competition, to be held on Saturday, September 11, 2004 at
the Topsfield Fairgrounds, Topsfield, MA. This is a BJCP sanctioned
competition.
There are three drop-off locations in the Greater Boston Area. Entries can
also be dropped off at the Topsfield Fairgrounds September 1st - 3rd from 6
- 8 p.m., or shipped to us by the shipping service of your choice. Entries
are due by September 4, 2004.
Please visit the Topsfield Fair Homebrew Competition web site at:
<http://hbd.org/northshore/Topsfair.html>
We are in need of judges and stewards, and hope to see many of the people
back who have helped us in the past, along with lots of new faces. At the
website is a link for *on-line* judge and steward sign-up. The direct link
for judge and steward sign-up is:
<http://hbd.org/northshore/TFHC/TopsFair_Signup.html>
Thanks,
Seth Goodman
North Shore Brewers
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 15:47:43 -0400
From: "-S" <-s at adelphia.net>
Subject: re: Question about yeast
David Glowacki asks ...
> I have a quick question, and hopefully will get a quick answer:
> How long is too long to keep yeast (White Labs vials) in the fridge
> before it is too old to use for brewing? I've had some since early April
> - too long?
The quick and useless answer is MAYBE.
RTP yeast vendors stamp use-by dates on their product that imply a 3-6 month
useful life, but I think this is highly optomistic. You'll probably get a
tolerable ferment w/ a 3 month old RTP, but I wouldn't bet a batch of wort
on it. If kept in cool conditions that older RTP should make a fast &
vigorous starter pitching, and you can then pitch the starter into the whole
batch.
I can (and have) argued that RTPs even under best conditions do not have
enough viable cells for an ideal 5gal fermentation. My limited experience
is that the RTPs make a nice ale where the modest underpitching flavors
aren't out of place, but are too little for lagers. I prefer higher
pitching levels for both.
-S
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 15:08:26 -0500
From: Michael Owings <mikey at swampgas.com>
Subject: re:AHA Big Brew Baltic Porter Fermentation
Fred notes regarding WYeast 2278
==================================
"I suppose I've learned that 50 F is a little too low for this yeast,
but I'm more interested in understanding the reason for the 57-62 F
period for four weeks."
I've used this yeast on a number of beers down to 44-46F, with no
problems. Having said that, I've used it only on beers up to 1.065 --
nothing quite as high as the baltic porter.
I _have_ used Whitelabs WLP802, however, down to 42F on doppelbocks (up
to around 1.085) -- does anyone know if this is the same yeast as WYeast
2278?
In either case, I'd be surprised if the 50F fermentation temp alone was
really the problem .
Cheers - m
- --
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 08:33:35 -0400
From: "May, Jeff" <Jeff.May at uscellular.com>
Subject: Vigorous aeration and finishing hops
I originally posted this about the time the HBD went kaput.
Now that everyone is back on line, here it is again.
I have recently started
aerating my wort with a SS air stone during pitching. I am
now achieving the lowest FG I have ever experienced!
Needless to say, I'm hooked. However, I'm concerned that
vigorous aeration could drive off most or all of the precious
flavor and aroma from my finishing hops. Dave Miller talks
about how aeration can be effective in floating off a large
portion of the cold break material. The foamy scum is then
skimmed off. [Miller,Dave:Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide;
Storey Books; 1995 Pg.181]. I just wonder if this action is
scrubbing the volatile hop oils as well.
Jeff May
Mayzerbrau Nano Brewery
Wilmington, NC
AR [649.7, 148.6]
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #4554, 07/04/04
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