HOMEBREW Digest #1073 Tue 09 February 1993

Digest #1072 Digest #1074


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Calculating IBU's with the Utilization Function (Alan Edwards)
  Extract and Proud ("Knight,Jonathan G")
  RE: soda kegs on tap (James Dipalma)
  Hops Cultivation (Brian Spence)
  Wet Dream, FAQ (Jack Schmidling)
  Bud % alcohol / Ridding oil from plastics (Tom Colvin)
  Re: chimay yeast/recipe idea (Drew Lawson)
  Recirculating Infusion Mashing System (RIMS) (M. Umehara)
  Re: All-grain Snobs (Drew Lawson)
  Re: Killian's Irish Red (Drew Lawson)
  Re: How Long Is Too Long ("John DeCarlo")
  Re: wine making (kstiles)
  Spiced Ale ("Knight,Jonathan G")
  Leaf Hops? ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  BAA (BadAssAstronomer)
  Diacetyl ? (Lee Menegon)
  Re: dry VS syrup extract (korz)
  Re: skimming/blowoff/HSA (korz)
  Digest Submission (Tom Clark)
  culturing Paulaner yeast (ng570)
  Crushed grain, etc. (Joseph Nathan Hall)
  Toasted Flaked Barley (John Walaszek)
  Corona flour stones (chris campanelli)
  PROTECT FROM FROST ? (John Pedlow)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 09:22:27 PST From: rush at xanadu.llnl.gov (Alan Edwards) Subject: Calculating IBU's with the Utilization Function Here's an example of how to use the hop utilization function in my previous article, using the calculations in Jackie Rager's Zymurgy article: UTILIZATION = 18.109069 + 13.862039 * hyptan[(MINUTES - 31.322749) / 18.267743] (Of course, you can drop a lot of those significant figures.) If the gravity of the boil exceeds 1.050: ADJUSTMENT = (BOIL_GRAVITY - 1.050) / 0.2 otherwise, ADJUSTMENT = 0 IBU_PER_OZ = UTILIZATION * ALPHA * 74.62 / (VOLUME * (1 + ADJUSTMENT)); ALPHA is the percent alpha acids (eg. 5.2--don't devide by 100) VOLUME is the final number of gallons in the batch (usually 5). To calculate IBU's if you know the number of ounces of hops to be used: IBU = OUNCES * IBU_PER_OZ To predict the number of ounces needed to hit a targed IBU: OUNCES = IBU / IBU_PER_OZ I've packaged those formulae into a nifty calculator for those of you who are on a Unix machine, or a PC that has Perl installed. (If there is a demand, I can convert it to a C-shell script or a C program.) It will calculate IBU's (International Bittering Units), given only: - amount of hops - alpha acid rating - length of boil - gravity of boil (if over 1.050) It basically does what that mess of calculations in the Zymurgy article does (but you don't have to think about it). It will also do the inverse--return the amount of hops required to reach a target IBU level. If I typed: ibu 1.5 8 45 The output would be: 1.50 ounces of hops with 8.0% alpha acid, boiled for 45 minutes will produce 48.2 IBU's. In the "inverse" mode: ibu -i 49 8 60 would produce this output: 1.33 ounces of hops with 8.0% alpha acid, boiled for 60 minutes will be required to produce 49.0 IBU's. Here's the Perl script (called "ibu"): ___________________________________________________________________________ #!/usr/bin/perl require "getopts.pl"; # set option variable defaults $boil_gravity = 1.050; $volume = 5; # read command line if ((!&Getopts('iv:g:')) || ($#ARGV != 2)) { printf STDERR qq/ Usage: ibu [-v volume] [-g boil_gravity] ounces percent_alpha minutes -v Final volume in gallons. The default is 5. -g Gravity of boil if over 1.050. or ibu -i [-v volume] [-g boil_gravity] target_ibu percent_alpha minutes -i Inverse. Return number of ounces required to hit target IBU's. Example: ibu -g 1.082 1.5 8.3 30 /; exit 1; } $inverse = $opt_i; $boil_gravity = $opt_g if ($opt_g); $volume = $opt_v if ($opt_v); $ounces = $ARGV[0]; $ibu = $ARGV[0]; $alpha = $ARGV[1]; $minutes = $ARGV[2]; if ($boil_gravity > 1.050) {$adjustment = ($boil_gravity - 1.050) / 0.2;} else {$adjustment = 0;} # calculate utilization from exponential equivalent of hyperbolic tangent $exp = ($minutes - 31.322749) / 18.267743; $utilization = 0.18109069 + 0.13862039 * (exp($exp) - exp(-$exp)) / (exp($exp) + exp(-$exp)); $ibu_per_oz = $utilization * $alpha * 74.62 / ($volume * (1 + $adjustment)); unless ($inverse) {$ibu = $ounces * $ibu_per_oz;} else {$ounces = $ibu / $ibu_per_oz;} printf("%.2f ounces of hops with %.1f%% alpha acid, boiled for %d minutes", $ounces, $alpha, $minutes); printf(" in %.3f wort", $boil_gravity) if ($opt_g); printf("\nwill"); printf(" be required to") if ($inverse); printf(" produce %.1f IBU's.\n", $ibu); ____________________________________________________________________________ Have Fun! -Alan (Overkill) Edwards .------------------------------------. A thousand years have come and gone | Alan Edwards: rush at xanadu.llnl.gov | But Time has passed me by | or: alan-edwards at llnl.gov | Stars stopped in the sky `------------------------------------' Frozen in an everlasting view Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 11:40:09 cdt From: "Knight,Jonathan G" <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU> Subject: Extract and Proud As one who has gotten a great deal of information out of HBD, and who finds it a great way to forget about work for twenty minutes a day, I really hate it when it degenerates into silly stuff like Pub-Info-Request-Wars and Extract-vs.-Grain wars. PLEASE LET'S NOT LET THIS GET OUT OF HAND, PEOPLE! I have thought about doing the all-grain route, but frankly my present financial condition prevents me from investing in the additional equipment, and the fact that I have three children under the age of six lurking around my house makes the extra time involved impractical for me. I also suspect that if I didn't know all-grain methods were available to the homebrewer, I would continue to drink my extract brews in complete bliss (o.k., and ignorance too). Most of us extracters have very good reasons for staying with our present methods. My inquiries regarding extract brewing have always been received gracefully and enthusiastically by readers of the HBD. I would say that if there really ARE extract brewers who are intimidated by the level of discussion by all- grainers, yeast-culturers, etc., they should do as I have done: ask anyway! It's your right. If someone actually does respond "snobbishly," then flame the idiot by private e-mail and go on asking your questions publicly. Relax, don't worry -- have an extract brew. Jonathan Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 12:43:47 EST From: dipalma at banshee.sw.stratus.com (James Dipalma) Subject: RE: soda kegs on tap Hi All, From HBD #1071: >Anybody have advice on how (and how long) to keep soda kegs on tap? I have >not tried it for more than about two weeks, and there was a noticable >change in the beer at the end. I did not take stringent measures against >leaks, so I presume the deterioration was due to air getting into the keg. I'd say your presumption is probably correct. I've kept beers in soda kegs for over two months with absolutely no ill effects, the last pint tastes as good or better than the first. Sealed in a keg at a constant 45F, protected from heat, light and air, beer should keep for quite some time, certainly longer than two weeks. The poster didn't mention whether or not the kegs were kept refridgerated, but I'm not sure this is a critical point. Keeping them in a reasonably cool place like a basement should be OK. I believe the problem is the kegs were not well sealed, allowing air to get in. Try keeping a maintainence pressure of 12-15 psi on the keg when not dispensing. This will help provide a tighter seal along the large O-ring. Also, disconnect the CO2 tank and the cobra tap when not in use. Leaving the hose barbs installed keeps the check valves in the fitting open. The only remaining seal is the small rubber gasket between the hose barb and the fitting, which I would not trust to keep the keg airtight over an extended period. Cheers, Jim Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 09:57:57-080 From: brian at bio.cor2.epa.gov (Brian Spence) Subject: Hops Cultivation Short time listener, first time caller. When my spouse and I purchased our home, we had the good fortune of inheriting a rather prolific hops plant. Now that I've begun brewing, the plant is no longer just and attractive ornamental, but offers practical benefits as well. The Problem: I have no idea as to what variety these hops might be. We live in the infamous Willamette Valley, so I at least have the obvious first guess. Does anyone out there know of a good reference book that would allow me to key out this beast. Perhaps a "Peterson's Field Guide to Hops and Grains." Other Questions: Papazian suggests that the soil for growing hops should be loamy and kept continually moist during the growing season. We have excruciatingly high clay content in our soils and have never watered at all. Nevertheless the plant has done quite well. Will the quality of the hops be affected by my lack of care? Or should I follow the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Also, how much will AAU vary with time of harvest, amount of watering, etc. And lastly, is there any moderately low-tech way of determining AAU of homegrown hops? A good reference book on this subject would satisfy my needs, should you not wish to clutter the e-waves. Thanks in advance. Spence. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 08:56 CST From: arf at ddsw1.mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: Wet Dream, FAQ >From: Paul Matulonis <paulm at sci.ccny.cuny.edu> >Subject: WL media (extracted from the Difco Manual) >Bacto WL Differential Medium has the same formula as Bacto WL Nutrient Medium, with the addition of 0.004 g of Actidione per liter. This inhibits the development of yeasts without interfering with the development of bacteria generally encountered in beers. A most enlightening article. However, if this is in response to the discussion about a medium that rejects or encourages "wild yeast", it seems to confirm my opinion that such a medium is a wet dream. The two described here simply control yeast and/or bacteria. >From: Chris McDermott <mcdermott at draper.com> >Subject: FAQ/RFC on Recirculation. >Since many topics come up in cyclical manner it would be nice if they could be answered in a FAQ format. And since some topics have more than one accepted answer the FAQs should try to show all sides of an issue. A couple of points here. Many of us barely literate computer users have no idea of how to access a FAQ, if indeed it is something we can get at will. Compuserve stores just about everything of any value in library files that are easily accessible but cost an arm and a leg to retrieve or even find out what's there. I have not read the header lately, but if such a things exists for HBD readers, instructions on accessing it should be part of the HBD header and in terms even I can understand. ..... >Recirculation is a practice employed in the lautering of mashed grains where the turbid sweet wort is collected, as it is runoff, and recirculated through the grain bed until the runoff becomes clear. >Please consider this FAQ as a kind of HbD Request For Comment (RFC). Please feel free to make any additions or corrections. My comment is that there exists a commercially available product for mashing (name and availibity upon request) that runs clear in something less than one cup and the whole discussion becomes academic. ......... Having said that, the RFC aspect for a FAQ library is important and seems to be lacking in the current system. For example, I have badgered the person who maintains the FAQ to include videos in his list of sources and the request has been ignored for several years. >From: Chuck Coronella <CORONELLRJDS at CHE.UTAH.EDU> >Subject: A survey of the readership >I wonder how many questions have not even been asked because the author is afraid of being labelled "not a REAL brewer" by more advanced brewers. (Remember that discussion a while back about _real_ brewers?) How could I forget? I suppose my more objective posting yesterday will also be interpreted by some as intimidation but that was not my intent. I simply think it's time to call a spade, a spade and get on with brewing. How one reacts to someone else's opinions, views and statements is his own responsibility. If one chooses to run away because some windbag uses big words, I guess that's life. I would like to point out that before stumbling upon the HBD, I had spent over twenty years (off and on) making barely drinkable (and mostly not) rubbish. And now look at me... the World's Greatest Brewer! If I can glean what is needed out of this forum, so can anyone else and I have little sympathy for people who claim to be intimidated. >I suspect that the readership consists of more beginners than are represented by the questions posed in the HBD. And I think that, if beginners realized that they make up a substantial part of the HBD community, they would be more likely to pose "lower level" questions, and therefore, improve their comprehension and brewing. That is a good point but I think it is already happening at a reasonable level. Compuserve deals with this problem by dividing the forum into Basic and Tehnical message groups but that can't be done on the Digest so one just has to wade through the stuff they are not interested in but fortunately it's "free" here. Someone could start up a beginners' digest but I think it would be counter-productive. I don't doubt that some people may be intimidated but there are enough that are not, to get out the questions and keep the discussions going. Back to spades.... "real brewers" was a poor choice of words and perhaps trying to come up with a more appropriate one will still offend some but pushing it under the rug doesn't help either. I still contend that mashing whole grains is another step up the ladder to becoming the "complete brewer". If many/most opt out, so be it. We opt out of many steps in the process but there is no reason to get paranoid about any particular one of them. Nor is there any reason to criticize those who crusade for or against, any or all of them. >From: Richard Cox <rcox at hsc.usc.edu> >Subject: Dry Malt Extract vs. Syrup Malt Extract >One of my homebrew suppliers strongly maintains that dry malt extract provides better flavor and less extract "tang" than the syrup variety. He has encouraged me to use all DME in my recipes whenever possible. I can't offer anything other than intuitive reasoning. Wort is converted to extract by evaporating the water. In the case of dry extract almost all and in the case of liquid much less. Is seems that whatever they do to the wort to get rid of the water has nothing to do with what we do to wort to make beer and therefore, less is better. js Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 11:26:18 -0700 From: colvin at hayduke.cs.utah.edu (Tom Colvin) Subject: Bud % alcohol / Ridding oil from plastics After reading the posts of Ulick Stafford and Bill Szymczak, I realized that Bud % alcohol must vary greatly from region to region even in the US. In this "wonderful" state of Utah it is law that beer exceeding 3.2% alcohol by volume must be sold in liquor stores. However, Bud is available in any grocery store around here. Our brewing club recently brewed a beer with chocolate in it. Does anyone have any idea on cleaning the oil out of the plastic tubing and buckets easily? We were trying to avoid using dish washing detergent since they normally leave behind stuff for anti-spotting and who knows what else. We also were trying to avoid using a lot of water since we going through a major drought in the area. thanks for any advice in advance, Tom Colvin colvin at cs.utah.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 10:49:46 PST From: lawson at acuson.com (Drew Lawson) Subject: Re: chimay yeast/recipe idea > From tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec) > > At this point, you have a choice. You can either brew > a beer and pitch your starter culture, or you can plate out the > yeast, isolate a single cell, build it up, and then brew the beer. I've been absent for a while, so I don't know what the last time was that this was discussed. The yeast in Chimay is not a single strain. It is either 3 or 5. I forget which, but I think it is 3. If you plate it and isolate a single cell for building a culture, you will only get one of the three. Of course, you also avoid any other nasties that snuck into the bottle in small numbers. Drew Lawson If you're not part of the solution, lawson at acuson.com you're part of the precipitate Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 14:28:39 EST From: umehara at NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (M. Umehara) Subject: Recirculating Infusion Mashing System (RIMS) Thanks for your response to my RIMS questions on the HBD. I have decided to build one and have several more questions for you. - What is your method for sparging? - What are your approximate flow rates during the different stages? - How quickly does your heater cycle on and off? - Which is higher, the liquid level or the grain level and should it matter? - Where does the diffuser go? Does it float on top of the grain/wort? I really appreciate any help I can get. I'm a gadget freak, but unfortunately a klutz. Mike umehara at NADC.NAVY.MIL Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 11:05:15 PST From: lawson at acuson.com (Drew Lawson) Subject: Re: All-grain Snobs > Keeping in mind that lots of people stick with extract because they are lazy, > paranoid or il-informed [etc., deleted] > Having said that, I suggest it is the extract brewers' insecurity, > sensitivity and paranoia that creates the image that all-grain brewers are > snobs. Gee, Jack. It's nice to know that I use extract because I am lazy (partially true) and that I read your posting as arrogant and snobbish because I am insecure. I would otherwise have thought it was because you post like the proverbial bull in a china shop. I'd also like to thank you for not charging me $100/hour for this analysis. Drew Lawson If you're not part of the solution, lawson at acuson.com you're part of the precipitate Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 11:23:10 PST From: lawson at acuson.com (Drew Lawson) Subject: Re: Killian's Irish Red > Just a clarification on which category Killian's falls into - the last time > I had one(last night) I read the label and it says that it is a "LAGER". > > I, too, was suprised as I thought that it was an ale also. > > Craig Vandeventer It _was_ an ale. When Coors started making it (1978?) it was an ale. Somewhere along the way, they started making the lager. When I first was drinking it ~1986, it was an ale and I liked it. I stopped buying it for a while (shifting to Bass), and when I bought it again, I didn't like it much. I later noticed that it was (in tiny print) "lager" now. Drew Lawson If you're not part of the solution, lawson at acuson.com you're part of the precipitate Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 15:06:32 EST From: "John DeCarlo" <jad at pegasus.mitre.org> Subject: Re: How Long Is Too Long >From: pointon at m2c.org (Joel Pointon at staff) >Greetings fellow brewers. Being a fairly new convert to HB, I >have a question that I realize most of you WON'T be able to relate to. >Although I enjoy my HB, I'm not a big drinker, so subsequently I >have a stockpile building up of my brewing efforts. The beer cellar >presently contains the following extract brewed product: Porter, >(3 months), Pilsner (2 months) and English Bitter (1 month old). >The cellar is approximately 55 degrees F at this time of year and >will increase to about 65 by the beginning of summer. How long >can one expect to keep each of these before the flavor falls off? Well, there are at least some of us out there who don't drink much beer. I probably drink about 2 or 3 beers a week. There are at least 12 cases of homebrew in my basement. Like yours, my basement doesn't get below 50F during the winter nor much above 60F or so in the summer. Also, I store all my beer in cardboard boxes with covers, so there is no exposure to light. I brought a three-year-old holiday ale to a December homebrewer meeting. It had been seriously overhopped originally and now tasted like an OK ale-- none of the spice character was left, and only a normal amount of hop bitterness could be detected. It wasn't oxidized, either. I recently uncovered a two-year-old raspberry ale six pack. Figured it would have none of the overpowering raspberry aroma and flavor of the original brew. Boy, was I wrong! Still smelled and tasted great! I *would* say that it was past it's prime, though. For that matter, I still have some 1990 Anchor holiday ale down there and it is starting to get a little worse but is still just fine. What general rules or conlusions do I have? 1) Most beers will keep fine for at least a year under such conditions. Many will keep for two or three just fine. 2) Invite friends over to help you drink it if you like to brew as much as I do. Everyone is happy this way. Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 15:16:33 EST From: kstiles at aluxpo.att.com Subject: Re: wine making in HOMEBREW Digest #1071 connell at vax.cord.edu asks: > I have noted with curiosity that ... there is almost no discussion > of homemade wines ... Is wine making discussed here so seldom > because the process is uninterestingly straightforward or because > the results are so inferior to commercial wines or both? The charters of the Digest and rec.crafts.brewing exclude wine making for some reason. As both brewer and wine maker, I will risk flamage to comment here on wine making. As far as wine kits go, I can't comment; I tend to avoid anything that looks like a recipe. I don't see why you can't make a decent wine from kits, though. I make fruit wines, which can't really be compared to commercial (grape) wines. For example, I tend to like dry wines ("Hey, Stiles, you call this good wine? I call it gagging in the Sahara."), but fruit wines generally exhibit their fruit character better if they have some residual sweetness. Wine making skills/equipment overlap considerably with those of brewing, but there are differences. Also, the time scale is a lot different (I don't have TIME for instant gratification, dammit!). Get a good book on wine making. A browse through the library is a good start. ObBrewing: No takers on my question about flavor/aroma properties of Chinook hops, huh? Do any commercial brews use them? Kevin Stiles Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 14:52:46 cdt From: "Knight,Jonathan G" <KNIGHTJ at AC.GRIN.EDU> Subject: Spiced Ale Now, here's a question that could be answered by extract brewers and all grain brewers alike. There was a *thin* thread (not quite overwhelmed by all the philosophizing and speculation about snobbishnes) recently about spiced ales. Part of the discussion prompts me to wonder: has anyone tried BOTH the technique of adding whole spices at some point to the boil AND adding powdered spices at the end of the boil? (Obviously, in different batches.) I made my first spiced ale this year and boiled orange zest, ginger root, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves for about the last thirty minutes. It has a bit more bite than I intended, although the beer does taste quite good. I am wondering whether I boiled the stuff too long and whether powdered spices at the end of the boil would produce a "kinder, gentler" brew. If anyone has a response of general interest, please post. I would also be happy to summarize and post e-mail responses. Not Worrying, and Having a Spiced Extract Ale With a Little Too Much Bite, Jonathan Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 16:27:42 EST From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu> Subject: Leaf Hops? I have to agree about the freshness and general wonderfullness of hops plugs. I bought some recently (imported by Crosby & Baker, according to the package) at Brew 'N' Grow (same as Alternative Garden Supply, but in Detroit instead of Chicago). I made a Bock with Hallertau & a little Saaz. What an aroma! This was the first time I really understood what is meant by the "spicy" aroma of Saaz. Wow! And the hops looked beautiful after I drained the wort. Full cones that half-filled my brewpot. The beer is still lagering, so I can't report on the taste, yet. =Spencer W. Thomas | Info Tech and Networking, B1911 CFOB, 0704 "Genome Informatician" | Univ of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu | 313-764-8065, FAX 313-764-4133 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 15:44:38 -0600 (CST) From: STOREY at fender.msfc.nasa.gov (BadAssAstronomer) Subject: BAA Hi yall Well well well! There are quite a few of you out there with opinions on Beer Across America. I tried to reply to each of you to thank you for your time in replying to my query. But jeez, I got better response than I ever anticipated. So, I'll waste everyone's bandwidth and just do a global THANKS. :) I just gotta be careful what I ask for, I just might get it ;) I think I'm gonna join this thing, at least for a little while. Spencer had a good suggestion about "sharing" the cost. I may do that with a friend or 2 to help defray some of the expense. But we-uns here in the southland don't got much other choice. Maybe some day. Oh yeah, Michael G., thanks for the fax, I guess that means you're my sponsor. Only one more for a free 6er :):) Think maybe you could send ME a bottle? :) scott Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 17:38:06 EST From: Lee Menegon <necis!lmenegon at transfer.stratus.com> Subject: Diacetyl ? I have recently begun brewing all grain batches, 5 or 6. A constant comment about my beers is that they contain noticable levels of diacetyl. I have done some research in the Zymurgy trouble shooting issue and in Miller's CHOB and found: 1) Diacetyl is a by product of the early stage of fermentation when oxygen is available to the yeast. 2) Its level of production is directly related to wort temperature, i.e. warmer = more diacetyl. 3)Yeast will eventually reduce the diacetyl in the later stages of fermentation. I discussed my brewing process with an experienced all grain brewer who too was having this problem with his beers. We decide that since the yeast strains we were using 1056 and 1098 are not noted for high levels of diacetyl in their flavor profile that the following could be flaws in our brewing process: 1) Pitching into wort that was much warmer than the target fermentation temperature. We did this to reduce lag time. 2) Adding finings immediatley after racking to the secondary. We did this to induce CO2 generation to purge the head space. This would cause the yeast to prematurely fall out of suspension thus reducing the quantity and the time in which the yeast was reducing diacetyl. 3) Since we artifically carbonate our beer in soda kegs we would not bolster the yeast population which could reduce diacetyl in the conditioning phase. What besides pitching to wort at fermentation temperatue and finning after the yeast has settled or not at all what can we do to reduce the production of diacetyl and increase its reduction later? I still plan to artificially carbonate it seems to make for clearer beer and I can drink it sooner, 3 days after kegging. What can I do to produce high levels of diacetyl and minimize its reduction if I want to brew something with a Samuel Smith profile? Is a warm ferment with a yeast strain noted for diacetyl production and fining immediatley after primary fermentation the way to go ? - -- Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 15:48 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Re: dry VS syrup extract Richard writes: >One of my homebrew suppliers strongly maintains that dry malt >extract provides better flavor and less extract "tang" than the >syrup variety. He has encouraged me to use all DME in my recipes >whenever possible. I know that the two most popular dry malt extracts, Munton & Fison and Laaglander, are both made from 100% malt (note that the Laaglander is a bit less fermentable, so use that to your advantage). Many syrups contain all kinds of other sugars, like corn and even sucrose. I certainly would not want to simply dismiss all syrups -- there are a great many that appear to be of very high quality. I've narrowed my use of extracts to a few that I feel are good (Northwestern, Munton & Fison, John Bull, Alexander's, Coopers, Ireks and a few others) and my extract batches have been par with my (and other's) all-grain batches. >I'm too new to homebrewing to have an objective opinion on this, >although my last batch -- using all DME -- does taste *much* >better than my first, which was made with syrup extract. There >may have been other factors at work in that case, though. I have >wondered whether or not the syrup cans impart any detectable >metal taste to the extract. I have not noticed this. >Does anyone have any advice? Yes, to everyone, not just Richard: Taste your homebrew supplier's homebrewed beers -- if they are worse than yours, don't take their advice. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 16:05 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Re: skimming/blowoff/HSA Jack writes: > Another example of his misinformation is on page 53, also underscored and > burnt into my early data base on brewing. > > "If you look into the fermenter, you will see a rich foamy head bubbling on > top. This head is composed mainly of resins from the hops, which are forced > up ty the carbon dioxide bubbles. Some books advocate skimming off the head > but this should never be done because it contains all the oils and resins > that will give the beer its body, aroma and characteristic beer taste." > > Certainly, there is a legitimate debate on the importance of skimming the > foam but no one but Beagle argues the merits of leaving it there. I've done empirical analysis of two batches of beer split into blowoff and non-blowoff (non-skimming, also) sub-batches. Beagle is partly right about the hop resins, but is dead wrong in saying that: 1. *all* of them are in the foam, and 2. the oils and resins give the beer its body. > >From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> > >Subject: re: reusing yeast & open fermenters > > >I am most likely in the minority of homebrewers in that I am currently > utilizing open fermentation techniques. > > You're in good company. The only thing you need to do to complete your joy > is to add a spigot on the bottom so you can take QC samples on a regular > basis to determine how it is progressing before sending it to the secondary. > > I find that for some strange reason, the primary fermentation seems to take > much longer this way and I always seem to come up about a half a gallon > short:) > > I am sure you have also figured out how simple it is to sterilize with a bit > of water boiling in the bottom. > > I also suspect that you, like the rest of the enlightened ones, simply yawn > at all the discussions about "blow-off" tubes and related mess. Part of the result of my blowoff/non-blowoff experiments was to determine that I may lose some hop bitterness and a bit of hop flavor by using blowoff, but I don't really want a lot most of what gets blown-off in my beer. The blowoff sub-batch was smoother, cleaner, less astringent and a bit less bitter (note that I'm not a lupulophobe -- my last IPA had 80 IBU and I thought it was a bit underhopped). I urge you to try the blowoff method for a beer or two and compare. > >From: korz at iepubj.att.com > >Subject: Spraying the grist > > >Both Jim and Donald mentioned the spraying of water on the grist > as it enters the mash tun. I suspect that this has the addional > benefit of reducing grain dust which is explosive. > > I suspect that it might have a negative effect if Fix's hypothesis on HSA is > correct. What say George? Oops. I think there's some miscommunication here, Jack -- the mash isn't hot at this time so Hot-side Aeration (HSA) is not an issue. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 19:36:50 -0800 From: Tom Clark <tclark at apple.com> Subject: Digest Submission This is being submitted for its author: Gary Henry, ghenry at apple.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feb. 3, 1993 John Harvard Brew House 33 Dunster Street Cambridge, MA 02138 617-868-3585 Timothy Morse Mark Palmer Ray Kall Master Brewer Manager and tour guide Bartender, Waiter, Homebrewer The first impression of this place might be oops I've stumbled into Cheers. It's down stairs under the THE GARAGE building at 33 Dunster Street, Just a half block from Harvard Square and one block East of J.F. Kennedy Dr. It used to be a restaurant called 33 Dunster Street. The first thing you notice is the long bar with the stainless steal serving tanks enclosed in glass behind it. The bar has three sets of four towers, each having two taps. One hand pulled pump for either the casked Stout or the J.H. Pale Ale. They seemed to alternate between the two brews. Lots of back lit stained glass against the back wall which was left in place from when it was 33 Dunster Street. At the same end of the building and enclose behind the glass is a big copper mash-tun and fermentor from The Pub Brewing Company. They get their pre-crushed malt from England and Hops from California, mashing with 700 pound of malt at 165 degrees. Gypsum is added to Cambridge's soft water. Extract is generally 430 gallons. The wort is counterflo chilled and then fermented for three to five days. The secondary is then racked to stainless steal cellar tanks for 10 to 21 days at 50 degrees. Some of their ales are dry hopped with whole hops. When aging is done they drop the temp to 36 degrees and run it through a DE filter and then to the serving tanks behind the bar. They use Krausing for carbonation and no CO2. They brew 14 barrels every three days. The dining area is large and comfortable. I first arrived there Sat. night at 11pm and the place was so packed I had to squeeze into the hostess stand to get a Nut Brown Ale. The next morning I came back for Sunday brunch. It was great! I had an Omelet that was stuffed with made-on-the-premise pork sausage in a BBQ sauce and a little jack cheese. Served with home fries that were quartered new potatoes sauted in a garlic & onion sauce. Also served was a basket of baked goods from a local bakery, hot and wrapped in linen with a generous scoop of raspberry jam. This brew house started nine months ago and has only been open about six months. Timothy Morse, Master Brewer who started out at Anchor Brewing, then went to Hope, WI and on to Commonwealth Brewing before starting at John Harvard's Brew House, has yet to pour his own brew here. It's been done under contract at Massachusetts Bay Brewing (Harpoon) due to hassles with the city of Cambridge over the zoning. Apparently Cambridge viewed brewing as a fire hazard. Tim finally got to do his first brew Sat. Jan. 30,1993. O-K now for the good stuff. Ray Kall the bartender, who is also a home brewer was very helpful, informative and friendly. In fact the entire staff here is well trained and friendly. He said that once Tim gets going with his own brew there should be some improvements. He hopes to brew traditional British (Burton on Trent) style. I had a five brew sampler. 1. Was a nut brown ale: Color was very good. I didn't get much aroma. It was drinkable but not exceptional. Not a Samuel Smith by any means. 2. Was a Highland Ale-a scotch: My first taste of Scotch Ale so I can't comment other that the FG (final gravity) seemed high but maybe normal for the style? 3. Was NEW TOWN LIGHT ALE: Light golden color. Well carbonated. Good Fuggles hopping. My wife would love this one. 4. Was JOHN HARVARD'S PALE ALE: Nice copper color and hoppy. Served either 'cold draught style' or 'cask conditioned and hand pulled' in the British manner and the Brew House's biggest seller. Had a nice sweet aftertaste. 5. Was an IRISH EXPORT STOUT: This also was poured in two ways. Draft and cask. The cask was hand pulled and served warmer and less carbonated. Both were dark, malty, with a rich roasted flavor. True to style. A full bodied, but less bitter version of the famous Dublin Ale. This was my favorite. The bill of fare for this very memorable Sunday brunch and the five brew sampler was $12.50. I went back one more time for dinner and the food was again excellent. I highly recommend the John Harvard Brew House. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------ Thanks, Tom Clark tclark at apple.com - ------ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 22:49:24 PST From: ng570 at andechs.pnl.gov Subject: culturing Paulaner yeast In #1070 Greg Wolodkin writes about perhaps having problems culturing yeast from the dregs of a bottle of Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. According to Eric Warner's wheat beer book, the Paulaner Weizen that is shipped overseas is first pasteurized! I doubt that this is very good for the bottling yeast. Maybe Spaten is a better bet, but I haven't seen it around my area. good luck! Kirk Peterson Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 93 22:00:19 EDT From: joseph at joebloe.maple-shade.nj.us (Joseph Nathan Hall) Subject: Crushed grain, etc. Danny says: > Wasn't it Rob B. who had some remarks about all-grain snobs? Well said, > Rob! I recently made the switch to all-grain -- I will admit that I was > always a bit apologetic about being an extract brewer. The insight into the brewing process and the complete flexibility in recipe formulation are what do it for me. You can bake fine cake from mixes and buy top-notch frozen puff pastry, but until you make your own from scratch you are not fully educated. Similarly, a complete education in homebrewing must include lots of all-grain beer .... > The best situation is for extract brewers to be able to dabble in all grain > without purchasing the equipment (which may or may not cost a fortune). Really, it's not too expensive. The beer is much cheaper (1/2 or less), too. I have spent much more on books and things like autoclaves and culture tubes than I have on the equipment just needed to make all-grain brews. All you must have is a big pot (even the 20 qt Revereware is ok, though a little small) and a lautering system. <$100. > I personally believe working with an experienced person is the best way > to manage all aspects of brewing though. Don't be shy. There is no need to brew from extract before working with all grain. When you get down to it, the process *is* forgiving. The only thing it isn't is, er, quick. .. > >The cellar is approximately 55 degrees F at this time of year and > >will increase to about 65 by the beginning of summer. How long > >can one expect to keep each of these before the flavor falls off? At that temperature, well-made pale or amber beer will keep at least a year. Two or three, or more, wouldn't surprise me. I don't recall the last time I had a staled pale or amber brew, and I tend to keep a few of almost every batch for 6-18 months. Dark beers will eventually start to stale quite suddenly. Room temperature storage is OK for most homebrew, too. Again, I've kept bottles for over a year at room temperature with no problems. ... Jack says: > Keeping in mind that lots of people stick with extract because they are lazy, > paranoid or il-informed [...], it is worth > noting that some extract beers are excellent beers, so I am told. There weren't many extract-based first place winners in the Nationals this year, but they keep on coming .... > Having said that, I suggest it is the extract brewers' insecurity, > sensitivity and paranoia that creates the image that all-grain brewers are > snobs. Jack, Jack, Jack! It's the fact that some of us all-grain brewers ARE elitist snobs with a superiority complex. Furthermore, we know we are, and we love it. We demonstrate our affluent, care-free lifestyle by spending 4-8 hours tending a process that saves us all of $10 per 2 cases of heer. We buy grain by the 50lb/25kg sack and smile while grunting past the open-mouthed folks carrying 1lb bags of crystal malt. The process is longer and harder and more rewarding TO US. I really don't believe, though, that it is much more likely to produce a prize- winning beer than extract brewing is in the hands of someone sufficiently skilled ... or lucky. I personally wouldn't have it any other way. :-) :-) ... connell says: > I have never read about > or experimented with homemade wines, but I have the idea that people > just dump concentrate and water in a carboy and add yeast. Oh, my. <asbestos clothing at ready> .... And finally, Jim Bayer says: > I'm just beginning to mash and I have a question about the practical shelf > life of CRUSHED grain. > [...] If for some reason all of my ingrediants arrive for brewin' > on Saturday but something happens and I can't get to it, how long can I store > the grain and still have fresh grain and how should I store it? A very long time. So long as nothing is moving around inside it, it is still OK. I've heard people say it goes stale after a while, but I've not noticed this in some fairly old precrushed grain I've gotten from a friend. It WILL pick up moisture from the environment if the humidity is high enough. I think that this is responsible for the apparent loss of yield seen by brewers who have let crushed grain sit for a day or two. The effect is on the order of 10%. (Now, I once made a fine stout from a grain bill that accidentally included a pound of flaked barley infested with weevils. So even a few bugs won't hurt you.) > So far someone told me to freeze it, but that sounds wrong to me. Works fine. > BTW, I'm thinking of weeks for storage, not days. I know it's best if I don't > have to store the grain, but I like to have my bases covered. Use a reasonably airtight enclosure (tub or tightly folded bag is fine) and everything will work out swell. ================O Fortuna, velut Luna, statu variabilis================ uunet!joebloe!joseph (609) 273-8200 day joseph%joebloe at uunet.uu.net 2102 Ryan's Run East Rt 38 & 41 Maple Shade NJ 08052 Copyright 1993 by Joseph N. Hall. Permission granted to copy and redistribute freely over USENET and by email. Commercial use prohibited. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 93 11:02 CST From: akcs.wally at vpnet.chi.il.us (John Walaszek) Subject: Toasted Flaked Barley I have recently purchased some toasted flaked barley and intend to use about 4-6 ounces in a pale ale infusion mash. Has anybody used this grain. I am concerned that it might affect clarity. I also wonder if it should be run through the grain mill. It really doesn't look like flaked barley it looks more like flattened barley that's been toasted. Any input would be helpful. Thanks. Wally Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 93 09:53 CST From: akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli) Subject: Corona flour stones I'm looking for the stone plate attachments for the Corona mill. I wish to grind some flour. Any sources? Thanks in advance. Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 93 14:50:06 EST From: John Pedlow <TKSJOHN at UBVM.CC.BUFFALO.EDU> Subject: PROTECT FROM FROST ? I'm a newcomer to this group; an apology if this has been covered. As I was about to enjoy a Guinness Stout last evening I noticed verbage accross the top of the case: PROTECT FROM FROST. Why does it say such a thing? What does it mean? Does it alter the brew in some fashion if the temperature gets too low? Thanks to whoever is kind enough to enlighten me. Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1073, 02/09/93