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HOMEBREW Digest #5110
HOMEBREW Digest #5110 Tue 19 December 2006
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org
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Contents:
Jeff Renner's Ginger Ale ("Danny Williams")
Imperial Porter (Glyn)
Clone for Tennent with Green Label? (Robert Marshall)
What's The Temperature, Kenneth? (JSC-NS\)[AND]" <steven.j.daniel@nasa.gov>
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Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 09:15:45 -0500
From: "Danny Williams" <dbwill at gmail.com>
Subject: Jeff Renner's Ginger Ale
>From a 2001 HBD Jeff Renner post:
> If anybody makes this, please report back to HBD.
Well, OK!
I've made this recipe twice in the last couple of months and expect it
will now be my house recipe. At first taste of the first keg I thought
it was rather bland - not quite enough spice and not quite enough
sweet. When I mentioned making some more but boosting everything a
bit, my teenage daughter (who rarely has anything to say about the
beverages I make) jumped in with "Oh no Daddy, please make it just the
same as last time. That was soooo good and I have been dying for more
every since the keg ran out."
So I did as she asked and made it (mostly) the same, and now everyone
likes it. The only difference was that the second time I blended up
the ginger more finely in a food processor and let it steep longer on
the stove. That upped the spiciness just enough that now everyone
likes it, from the grown ups with the IPA-scalded tastebuds to the 3yo
who usually prefers Kool-aid.
Jeff's recipe follows, I'll note my differences.
Ingredients for 5 gallons (US), 19 liters:
> 1 4-ounce (115 g) jar of fresh (not dry) ground ginger (this is a new
> product around here, you could just peel and macerate fresh ginger
> root in a blender or food processor with a little water)
I used 120g of fresh ginger, frozen, peeled, sliced, and then pureed
to mush in a food processor with a little bit of water.
> juice of three lemons
> zest of one lemon, finely minced
I don't have a proper zester, but found my nutmeg grater does a better
job of zesting than a potato peeler.
> 1 tsp (5ml) freshly ground cardomom (don't buy it pre-ground)
I didn't have whole cardomom on hand, so used pre-ground.
> 3 lbs sugar (1350 g)
> 1/4 tsp. ascorbic acid
I did add this, but not sure what it is supposed to do. I've always
liked the tartness of ascorbic acid, so I added it anyway. I know it
is an antioxidant, but what oxygen is getting into a keg anyway?
> 2-1/4 tsp (12 ml) potassium sorbate
I skipped this, partly because I don't have any on hand and mostly
because I think it is there to retard any spontaneous fermentation. I
fill the keg with boiling water and seal, so I think it is pretty well
pasteurized from that and doesn't need anything else.
> 5 gallons (19 l) deionized water (or any good quality neutral water)
> Heat flavorings in 1 quart (liter) of water to near boiling, add
> sugar until dissolved, add to corny keg with rest of ingredients.
I heated the flavorings to near boiling, then covered and let steep at
very low heat for a couple of hours while I was off doing other
things. Then I strained out the chunks and set the liquid aside while
I dissolved the sugar in the keg with about a half-gallon of
almost-boiling water from my brew kettle. By the time I had the sugar
dissolved, some sludgy sediment had settled out of the flavor liquid,
so I decanted off that. As a result, I did not need to rack to another
keg as Jeff does (and I do with beer) -- the very first glass was
sediment free and ready to drink. I topped the keg with boiling water,
sealed, and applied CO2. I left the keg on the porch overnight with a
fan blowing over it, then put it in the fridge the next day.
It is lighter in color and hazier than store-bought ginger ale, but
taste of fresh ginger and is a nice balanced drink. It also blends
nicely with traditional mead!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 06:43:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Glyn <graininfuser at yahoo.com>
Subject: Imperial Porter
I know it is not a "true" style so say robust. I just find it
funny with all the "Imperial" beers coming out right now,
seems to be the current trendy thing.
So does any one want to share a great recipe?
Thanks,
Glyn in S. Mid. TN
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Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 11:34:20 -0800
From: Robert Marshall <robertjm at hockeyhockeyhockey.com>
Subject: Clone for Tennent with Green Label?
Hi all,
A co-worker loves Tennent, and was telling me about a Tennent that he
can't get here in the USA, only UK. It comes with a green label.
I tried Ratebeer.com, but only 1 of the multiple Tennent have labels and
that's not green.
Anyone know which beer that is? And if so, any ideas for a clone? He'd
love to get his hands on some of the beer and I'm looking to play around
with some different clone recipes right now.
Thanks in advance!
Robert
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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:47:39 -0600
From: "Daniel, Steven J. \(JSC-NS\)[AND]" <steven.j.daniel at nasa.gov>
Subject: What's The Temperature, Kenneth?
Merry Christmas everybody!
I have a question regarding refrigerator temperature control during
fermentation. My controller, like most others I've seen, monitors the
air temperature inside the refrigerator to determine cooling demand. I
would assume there must be some heat generated by the fermentation
process, and this would result in a delta between the controller
set-point and the actual temperature of the fermenting beer. So, if a
beer is actively fermenting in a refrigerator set at 50F, how much
hotter will the beer be than the air? Would the delta be greater for a
warmer ferment (i.e. ale fermenting at 65F) since the fermentation is
more vigorous? It seems that I would need to set the refrigerator at a
slightly lower temperature than I want the beer to be, but the question
is how much lower?
On another note, I have an observation related to digital temperature
probes that I'd like to pass along. File this under "learn from Steve's
mistake". I bought a Pyrex brand digital thermometer/timer so I could
readily monitor mash and fermentation temperatures without the dangers
associated with glass thermometers. The unit has a remote sensor probe
that is housed in a stainless tube about 8 inches long. Sensor wires
come out of the tube, and are wrapped in stainless steel braided
sheathing all the way to the plug end. The tube is crimp-sealed around
the braid with a plastic (Teflon?) sleeve between the two. I verified
that the unit was calibrated correctly at 32F and 212F (freezing/boiling
water) before first use. I decided that I'd like to monitor the
temperature of my fermenting wort, so I left the probe inside the
fermenter, immersed about 2 inches into the liquid (so about 6 inches of
tube was "dry"). Sometime during the week, I noticed that the
temperature of the beer was rising, and it eventually went 15F above the
refrigerator set point. Realizing something was amiss, I checked the
calibration and was surprised to discover that it was reading about 14F
too high. After pondering what could have happened, I determined that
moisture must have condensed inside the tube, causing a change in
resistance, and consequently a change in measured temperature. I passed
the stainless tube over a flame and noticed a small amount of steam
visibly escaping from the sealed end. The probe read accurately after I
did this. The bottom line is if you own a digital temperature probe of
this design, I would not recommend prolonged use in a high-moisture/low
temperature environment, or it may give false readings. I am
contemplating whether to attempt to grind off the crimp and pull the
innards out of the stainless tube, then pot the innards with silicone
sealant and reinsert. This may ruin the probe if I'm not careful, but
it may also make the probe more water resistant if I'm successful. Any
thoughts on this?
*** FYI - I think my temperature probe is similar to the unit sold by
BB&MB and possibly other homebrew shops, so I feel confident that I may
not be the only other person who could experience this issue. Be
careful! ***
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End of HOMEBREW Digest #5110, 12/19/06
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