Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #4844
HOMEBREW Digest #4844 Sun 11 September 2005
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org
***************************************************************
THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Northern Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
Visit http://www.northernbrewer.com to show your appreciation!
Or call them at 1-800-681-2739
Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********
Contents:
Mt. Hood identification... ("Michael Eyre")
Dangers of boiling wort starter in flask.. ("Steve Laycock")
Re: XL Smack packs are not big enough for mead (Scott Alfter)
RE: Erlenmeyer Flasks - FAQ help please! (John Schnupp)
re: hose problems + trashed 12VDC pumps + foam stoppers ("C.D. Pritchard")
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* The HBD Logo Store is now open! *
* http://www.hbd.org/store.html *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Suppport this service: http://hbd.org/donate.shtml *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org
If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!!
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word
"subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL
ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!**
IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to
the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address
for the automation - that's your job.
HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at
http://hbd.org.
LOOKING TO BUY OR SELL USED EQUIPMENT? Please do not post about it here. Go
instead to http://homebrewfleamarket.com and post a free ad there.
The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright
HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK
before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content
cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit.
More information is available by sending the word "info" to
req@hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org.
JANITORs on duty: Pat Babcock (pbabcock at hbd dot org), Jason Henning,
and Spencer Thomas
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 07:19:58 -0700
From: "Michael Eyre" <meyre at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Mt. Hood identification...
Hey all..
Any home hop growers out there? I'm looking for someone with a Mt. Hood
plant. I was given a potted and growing rhizome a few weeks back which
is growing in the back yard now... I was told it's a Mt. Hood, but I'm
just not sure. I was hoping someone here had one of these of their own
to take some pictures of the leaves and cones, detailed shots, so I
could compare them to my plants to get a better idea if these are indeed
Mt. Hood or not.
Mike
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 11:10:49 -0700
From: "Steve Laycock" <slaycock at discoverynet.com>
Subject: Dangers of boiling wort starter in flask..
Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2005 19:29:56 -0700
From: "Rowan Williams" <rowan at canberrabrewers.org>
Subject: Erlenmeyer Flasks - FAQ help please!
I almost replied to this post a few days ago... My adventures with an
Erlenmeyer flask on the stove top was a disaster. I picked up a beautiful
3L flask off e-bay, this flask had a heavy flange on the opening and was my
pride and joy for about a week.
When I did my FIRST starter in this flask it was on a electric element
stove top (normal old style coil stove top element). I had a boil over & it
was fffast in rocking out of the top and flowing down the sides of the
flask. When the wort hit the stove element, it got between the flask bottom
and stove top. This heavy 3L flask (with wort in it) started dancing on the
burner surface (violently dancing) and just as quick tipped itself over, hit
the kitchen floor & aww shi--. It was a bad thing, lots of sticky liquid
mixed in with glass shards. All I had time to do was run from the stove, I
had no tongs or insulated gloves, wort was flowing out the opening and the
flask was jumping around, It was one of those moments that you instantly
knew there was no recovery, just get out of the way and dont get burned!
So the moral of the story.... be careful if your using coil elements or the
"hob" style elements would probably do the same thing. I'd doubt this could
happen on a gas burner however.
I dont boil in erlenmeyer flasks anymore, probably ought to try it again.
I'm back to boiling in a kettle, chilling it in ice bath and then
transferring into flask.
Steve in KC
Highwater Brew Haus
Pleasant Hill Mo
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 21:57:05 -0700
From: Scott Alfter <scott at alfter.us>
Subject: Re: XL Smack packs are not big enough for mead
Ted Manahan wrote:
> With the recent talk of the XL Smack Packs from Wyeast being pitchable, I
> was getting set up to try it. I just made a mead, and used the Wyeast sweet
> mead yeast. The package itself indicates that it is ready to pitch. So I
> did.
If their product is anything like the pitchable tubes sold by White Labs, they
should be considered directly pitchable only for normal-gravity (<1.070)
product. For a high-gravity beer, mead, or whatever, a starter is recommended
to get more yeast to pitch. This is on the label on each tube; I don't know if
Wyeast makes a similar recommendation on its packaging.
I use White Labs yeast most of the time, and even for normal-gravity beer, I'll
make a starter. It gets the fermentation off to a more rapid start. For a wee
heavy I made recently (OG 1.090), I put the starter through two steps--I
pitched the tube into a quart of starter solution (basically, sugar water with
yeast nutrients added), then I pitched that into another quart of starter
solution after two days.
_/_ Scott Alfter
/ v \ Visit the SNAFU website today!
(IIGS( http://snafu.alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 23:51:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Schnupp <johnschnupp at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Erlenmeyer Flasks - FAQ help please!
Bill Adams <badams1010 at yahoo.com> gives us the link
>Here is what one company claims their containers will withstand:
>http://www.indigo.com/glass/gphglass/beaker-solder.html
Just keep in mind that is a 100ml beaker. A lot of the strength of glass has
to do with shape and surface area. A small piece of glass is tougher than a
large piece.
I wonder how that beaker would have stood up if it was, say, 1000ml? Not
saying that it would have broke but the chances certainly would have been
better for breaking.
John Schnupp, N3CNL
(once in a) Blue Moon Hombrewery
[560.2, 68.6] Rennerian
Georgia, VT
95 XLH 1200
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 14:00:49
From: "C.D. Pritchard" <cdp at chattanooga.net>
Subject: re: hose problems + trashed 12VDC pumps + foam stoppers
Matt had two batches ruined by infection from a vinyl bottling hose and asked:
>1. Is it safe/advisable to boil regular vinyl tubing to sanitize it?
>Will it leach unsafe or untasty chemicals into my beer?
It's not recommended since it is not rated for temperature than high.
>2. Does anyone know a convenient/sanitary way to make 3/8" ID
>thermoplastic tubing seal tightly on a 3/8" acrylic racking cane?
Best bet is to switch to 5/16" ID tubing. Expand the end to greatly ease
slipping it over 3/8" OD stuff by submerging the end of the tubing and a
short piece of 3/8" copper or other metal tubing or rod in hot water- maybe
150F or so, mate the two (a bit a keg lube really helps) with about 5/8" of
overlap, resubmerge, removing from water, allow to cool slowly then remove
the metal tubing or rod which'll leave the end of the vinyl tubing expanded
to just the right size. on the joining surfaces really helps with this
process.
>3. Can anyone convincingly state a regimen for keeping standard vinyl
>hoses clean for more than a few batches?
I seldom bottle but have been using the same piece of 5/16" OD tubing for
most of my racking for at least 3 years. Immediately after using it, I
connect it to the hot water tap (~140 degF) and flush a a good clip for ~30
seconds then hang it up so to drain/drip-dry. Before using, I flush it
again, use it to rack idophor solution from its storage carboy to whatever
container I'm sanitizing and then rack the solution back to its storage
carboy. I never let the tubing drip-dry at this point- I just let the
Idophor drain out briefly. The tubing is pretty dark from idophor.
- - -
Someone posted awhile back about a trashed 12 VDC rec. vehicle type pump
via rusting of the pump's motor. The pump (a ShurFlo) on my HLT rusted-up
after many moons of use. With use, the shaft seal will leak and allow
water into the sealed motor housing. Drilling a drain hole through the
bottom of the plastic motor housing pretty much solves this problem.
- - -
John Peed posted that the Williams Brewing foam stoppers work well at
keeping nasties out of starters. I heartily second that. The worst-case
application I use them for is making starters in FoodSaver bags. The bags
allow much more air into them than a flask or other rigid container. I've
never detected a contaminated starter and a taste/smell test of an
unpitched starter after letting it sit 3 days indicates these things really
work.
c.d. pritchard cdp at chattanooga.net
http://chattanooga.net/~cdp/
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #4844, 09/11/05
*************************************
-------
