HOMEBREW Digest #1150 Thu 27 May 1993

Digest #1149 Digest #1151


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


Contents:
  Czech Budweiser (Desmond Mottram)
  Re : Racking off thee trub (Conn Copas)
  Guinness, Starter OG, wine acidity (Geoff Cooper)
  New Orleans brewpubs? ("Mary Dabney Wilson" )
  Re: Fermenting in Sankey kegs / caustic soda suppliers (man)
  Brewers Resource Dir/NYCY 2 ("Daniel F McConnell")
  An easy fix for soot on Stainless steel pot  (Michael_Genier.Wbst139)
  California Common Beer ("Anthony Johnston")
  Lambics - Is Belgium Unique ? (Richard Childers)
  Re: Galangale (Carl West)
  Cat's Meow I & II ("Steve Kurka - BMC West, Boise, ID")
  snpa revisited (Tony Babinec 312 329-3570)
  SN (Brian Bliss)
  Hoegaarden Replication ("Tom Childers")
  Cleaning stainless steel (Derrick Pohl)
  IBU Calculations (Mark Garetz)
  Yeast vs. Trub, Materials List, SNPA Hops (Mark Garetz)
  Wheat Beer (Riccardo Cristadoro)
  New Jersey Brewpub Bill (Gary S. Kuyat)
  Re-using yeast & commercial beer storage ("Anderso_A")
  soot: take 2 ("Anton Verhulst")
  cold break/starters/fermenter geometry/faucets/fruit sanitation & HSA (korz)
  RE: Fridge Question (Karen Jdsgeoac Hyrum GEOACOUSTIC)
  SO4 and hops (Scott Stihler (USGS analyst))
  More soot on pots... (Hugh R Bynum)
  Brewing Techniques address ("Spencer W. Thomas")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 May 93 10:17:11 BST From: des at pandora.swindon.ingr.com (Desmond Mottram) Subject: Czech Budweiser In HBD recently Richard Akerboom wrote about Czech Budweiser. This is IMHO one of the world's finest beers. Richard adds: > > If Anheuser-Busch were to import US Bud, they would have to change > the name, as the Czechs have the rights to the name in Europe. Not in all European countries. In many cases A-B got there first. Here in the UK _both_ companies can use the name. > At least until A-B buys them out, which I hope never happens. It will happen, make no mistake. A-B are out to get the Czech company. I believe they already own 30% and are continually on the look out for ways to increase their ownership. You can try lobbying A-B but do you really think you will get anywhere? They will mouth all kinds of platitudes, but when they get it they will kill the beer. So enjoy it while you can, it really is a SUPERB beer and it won't be here for ever. Rgds, Desmond Mottram des at pandora.swindon.ingr.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 10:19:54 BST From: Conn Copas <C.V.Copas at lut.ac.uk> Subject: Re : Racking off thee trub Yesterday, I wrote this: "However, my understanding of the chemistry is that many fermentation byproducts, such as fusel oil and esters, are produced during the yeast _respiration_ phase. At this point, the yeast requires oxygen to reproduce, most homebrewed worts contain suboptimal levels of dissolved oxygen, so it's a reasonable bet that the yeast will attempt to extract oxygen from the trub, and produce fusel oil in the process." This relied on memory and is inaccurate; apologies for the confusion. With further reading, _precursors_ to these byproducts are formed, during both the lag and respiration phases. Yeast does not extract oxygen from trub, it uses the unsaturated fatty acids as an alternative to oxygen for growth. The net effects of this alternative pathway remain controversial. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 14:11:26 +0000 From: G.A.Cooper at qmw.ac.uk (Geoff Cooper) Subject: Guinness, Starter OG, wine acidity Conn Copas <C.V.Copas at lut.ac.uk> writes: >I find (British) N. Brewer works great in stouts; it definitely provides >flavour as well as bitterness when boiled an hour, unlike Hallertauer. Better, >if you are partial to fruit stouts, consider some Bullion for their >blackcurrant character. Unfortunately, these are being phased out here, and I >don't know of a suitable replacement. I actually find that if I use enough of >our cruddy, local Goldings, I also get blackcurrant. Conclusion? I am either >being sold mislabelled Bullion (unlikely, as they have Goldings aroma), or the >two varieties have something in common. ... >... Unfortunately, I can detect lager malt in >even the most aggressive stout (sulphur?), which is why I don't follow >Miller's advice. Some wheat malt is well worth considering, however. Brian Bliss <bliss at pixel.convex.com> asks: >Does anybody know for sure exactly what Gunness is hopped with? Although Guinness might have used bullion in the past, bullion has not been produced commercially in the UK since the 1987 crop, and is no longer available (if someone in the UK sold you some recently they were old). As a data point: when I last enquired (two years ago) Guinness were using Target hops, a high alpha (10%-12% depending on season) hop which doesn't seem to give too much aggression with its bitterness. It has a respectable aroma also and is gaining popularity with many commercial breweries. The choice by Guinness is based on the price per unit of alpha acid - that is, it is cheaper to obtain their bittering by using that hop rather than others; If another hop were cheaper they would use it (assuming it didn't adversely affect the flavour). No altruism on their part. Further data: the 1992 UK hop crop, in Zentner, for some varieties was Target 47,396 Challenger 12,866 Northdown 11,977 Goldings 8,965 Fuggles 8,124 Northern Brewer was in 10th place with 347 Zentner, and the total production was 96,417 which is fairly typical (1991 was exceptional with 120,333) I also recall that Guinness use a high proportion of 'lager malt' in their grist for reasons of economy too (I can't find my notes confirming this so don't take that as gospel yet). It is simply that lager malt is cheaper than pale. In the small quantities that I purchase, lager malt costs 405.00 per tonne and pale costs 415.00 per tonne (crystal 425.00 per tonne, Roast Barley 385.00) - prices in pounds sterling. ********* On the subject of Guinness, I shall refer back to the discussion about their thingy in the bottom of the draught guinness in cans. Al K. finally scotched this momily but his description was not quite complete. In fact the plastic chamber, which has a little hole in it, is totally empty when it is put in the can. (No I don't meean a vacuum, I mean gas at atmospheric pressure OK?) The system works because the pressure in the can exceeds atmospheric pressure (remember the pssst when you pull the ring?). The can is filled with beer that is cold enough (0C to 1C) to retain sufficient condition and an oversize can (440ml beer in 500ml can, say) is used. They also "dose" the beer with extra nitrogen (less soluble and finer bubbles). Once the lid is on, (and the beer warms up) gas comes out of solution to create the pressure in the can. The pressure in the can and inside the chamber reach equilibrium forcing beer (and gas) into the device through its little hole. Once the can is opened, the resulting drop in pressure forces this beer back out of the chamber through the tiny hole. The shock of passing through this tight constriction creates small stable bubbles which rise through the liquid acting as centres where other bubbles form. Cleaver really. The last remaining problem was finding a way to purge oxygen from the whole system (hence, or otherwise, the nitrogen momily?). ******** Talking of momilies, Jack S. descibed me as 'a momily buster in the bud'. Now that we have been told what a momily is, I know what I was being accused of. But then again if Jack knew me better he probably wouldn't think of me as being 'in the bud'. The above happened when I asked about the rationale for using starters with SG 1.020, which appears to be the received wisdom on this digest. I agreed to summarise the responses, but unfortunately I have little to report. The most promising response was from Kinney Baughan (quoting Dave Logson as) saying that it is "necessary only from the point of view of efficiency of reproduction of the yeast." Perhaps I shall carry on looking at this one for a while, but lets have a few data points. In my descriptions for making culture media, only two values seem to appear; if you are to use (hopped) wort agar one uses SG 1.040 (hopped) wort with 1.5% agar; if you choose to use MYGP (or similar) broth/agar then (I calculate) the SG is about 1.005. ********* Bruce <NULL0TROOPER at delphi.com> writes >I've found that fermentation often lowers the acidity of a wine >must, though this should be less pronounced with beers and ales (I >haven't tried it, yet). On the contrary, under normal conditions fermentation increases the acidity (and lowers the pH) of wine must. This increase is typically of the order of 1 ppt (as Tartaric). The exceptions are when the must is extremely high in acid at the start (eg >12ppt), or if there is a high proportion of malic acid present and the particular strain of yeast being used can ferment malic acid. There are only a few of those strains available to the home brewer and it is very unlikely that one will be used (and then they only use about 20-25% of the available malic acid) As for beer, one might expect a pH drop from 5.5, say, to below 4.5 (after which the activity of a number of bacteria is inhibited - fortunately for us) ********* And finally, I was recently in central Florida and suffered the shock in the supermarkets of finding that they had yards and yards of chilled shelving all containing the same beer - they just had different names: Bud, Bud Dry, Bud Lite, Michelob, Michelob Dry, Miller, Miller Lite, Coors, Pabst ...etc. I was attempting to overcome the experience, when I spotted an oassis in the corner - there were a couple of six-packs of Carlsberg Elephant. A beer I know and I selected that one without hesitation - no choice really. If you haven't tried it I suggest you do, if you come across it. Regards Geoff Return to table of contents
Date: 26 May 93 08:34:46 CST From: "Mary Dabney Wilson" <WILSON at library.uta.edu> Subject: New Orleans brewpubs? I will be traveling to New Orleans and want to know if there are any good brewpubs. Any recommendations? Mary Dabney Wilson Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 09:03:44 EDT From: man at lcwdw1.att.com Subject: Re: Fermenting in Sankey kegs / caustic soda suppliers < 1) I have been doing some experiments fermenting in 5 gal glass carboys and < 5 gal SS soda kegs. I have found that the beers in the soda kegs all take < much longer to ferment out. I think it is do to the geometry. Has < anyone else noticed this? I have heard of some people fermenting in < Sankey (sp?) kegs. I dont know what a Sankey keg is, but I am guessing < that is is a regular beer keg. If so, how in the heck do you make < sure they are clean? I want to use SS especially since I can use pressure < to transfer the beer instead of syphons. And a standard beer keg has < a geometry similar to a carboyu. Anyone have any experience fermenting < in Sankey/beer kegs? I primary ferment in 1/2 barrel Sankey kegs exclusively. Cleaning them immediately after use is a must. I sanitize them with boiling water on a King Kooker. I have well water with no iron in it, so I'm not worried about that reaction. I use one of those orange caps to cover the tap opening. It fits perfectly. Anyone in NJ know where I can buy caustic soda? My previous supplier is out of business and I can't find anyone in the Somerville, NJ are that carries it. I use it periodically to make sure the fermenters are really clean. Mark Nevar Return to table of contents
Date: 26 May 1993 09:59:04 -0500 From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell at med.umich.edu> Subject: Brewers Resource Dir/NYCY 2 Subject: Time:9:53 AM OFFICE MEMO Brewers Resource Dir/NYCY 240 Date:5/26/93 Does anyone out there have access to The Brewers Resource Directory available from the Association of Brewers? I need to find some information, but am a little hesitant to shell out the $80. Also...does anyone know of a source for the yeast culture NYCY 240? This is (apparently) a highly flocculant English strain of great character that was once available from Intek (sp?) in Australia who has since gone out of business. Please send private e-mail. DanMcC Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 07:18:18 PDT From: Michael_Genier.Wbst139 at xerox.com Subject: An easy fix for soot on Stainless steel pot "soot forms on the bottom of my expensive new Stainless steel pot. " Dear Tony Verhulst This problem is best solved by a very simple method that I learned while a Boy Scout. The problem of soot and the burnt outsides of pots and pans is epidemic on a campfire. The method is to gingerly wipe on ordinary dish soap on the outside of your pot. On a camp fire may be half way up the pot, but in your case maybe just the bottom. The soap forms a non flammable barrier, that attracts the soot. When you clean your pot, the soot will come off with very minimal scrubbing. P.S. don't forget that the soap is on the bottom of the pot and set it on your counter space, in the woods it dosen't hurt the dirt. Good Luck --Michael Genier Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 9:25:27 CDT From: "Anthony Johnston" <anthony at chemsun.chem.umn.edu> Subject: California Common Beer I just bottled my first attempt at a California Common or "steam" beer yesterday and I noticed a definite DMSO odor in the beer (the cooked corn type odor). Will bottle conditioning help to reduce this over time or will I just have to get used to it. What causes this (I've heard that this is generally due to slow wort cooling, but as this was an extract recipe which normally is cooled rapidly as it is transferred to the carboy containing cold water, I doubt that the cooling is any different from my other extract recipes.) The effect is not extremely unpleasant, just unwanted. Thanks, Anthony Johnston P.S. In response to the current controversy of racking off of the trub, I have recently made two batches of beer (stout and steam) where I did rack mostly off the trub, but went ahead and pitched the gallon or so remaining with the trub to see if there would be a difference. All 4 beers are now in bottle, so I will report results in a few weeks. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 07:56:46 -0700 From: pascal at netcom.com (Richard Childers) Subject: Lambics - Is Belgium Unique ? Quoting a recent thread on lambic production ... "From: Mike Peckar 24-May-1993 1509 <m_peckar at cscma.enet.dec.com> Subject: Phenolic brews --> Lambics "The second one was much more interesting and produced a Lambic that is remarkably reminiscent of the real belgian stuff. I had left out a bottle of Cherry Juicy Juice for a while. This is a commercial juice from concentrate which is made up of Cherry, Apple, and White grape juices not neccessarily in that order. The bottle had autopitched from the ether, and fermented to a slightly carbonated state. By itself, it had a wonderful champagne mouth, and a creamy taste, with all three fruits prevalent, but cherry dominating. What I did was decant this into my bottling bucket and then I added about a dozen or so 16 oz bottles of my bad brew, leaving behind as much of the dormant/dead yeasts as possible and tasted until the proportions were o.k. I also added some unfermented Cherry Juicy Juice from a fresh container to spark off fermentation again. My hopes were the less dormant natural yeasts would overpower the longer-dormant ale yeasts. Also, I stirred the carbonated beer to release as much CO2 from solution as possible without excessively aeration. My guess is about the same ratio of beer to juice as I had done before (2-1)." "The results, after only four days were remarkable: A real good lambic without 6 months of conditioning, without messing with real fruit, and with wild yeasts!" "From: bliss at pixel.convex.com (Brian Bliss) Subject: defending my recipe ">Also, Brian, how do you introduce the lactic infection into the bottled >beers? "Nature care of that one for me. Save some of your next soured batch. Beware of exploding bottles, though. By the nature of the infection (sour but not rancid, appearing late in the fermentation, more attenuative that the brewing yeast) I assume that it was lactic." I am curious ... has anyone ever tried to induce a lambic in the Bay Area, or any other area which is known to harbor a particular type of yeast in the air ? Are 'lambic' bacteria distinct from 'lactic' bacteria, and if so, how ? The Bay Area, for instance, and California in general, was where sourdough was evolved, and I have been given to understand that the cause of sour- dough's sourness is lactobacillus acidophilis. So, making an intuitive leap here, I have to wonder ... has anyone tried this ? Where would I get a pure lactobacillus acidophilis culture to experiment with ? Is the sourdough made in Alaska different from that made in California ? Is there a potential for an explosion of lambics along the West Coast ? Comments, corrections, feedback, welcome, as always. - -- richard The silliest thing I ever read, richard childers, pascal at netcom.com Was someone saying "God is dead." The simple use of The Word Negates the second, and the third. ( Duke Ellington, _Sacred Concert_ ) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 10:50:43 EDT From: eisen at kopf.HQ.Ileaf.COM (Carl West) Subject: Re: Galangale There was a long discussion on rec.food.historic two or three months ago about galinga v. galingale, the upshot being (if I remember correctly [I didn't save it, I wasn't that interested]) that galingale is a different plant from galinga, some similarity in flavor, but galingale was of European origin whereas galinga was of some eastern origin. FWIW. Carl WISL,BM. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 08:50:29 MDT From: "Steve Kurka - BMC West, Boise, ID" <kurka at bmcw.com> Subject: Cat's Meow I & II This may be an FAQ, but where can I find the Cat's meow I & II? Or, If they cannot be found out on the net, could someone be kind enough to forward me a copy? Thanks... Steve - KURKA at BMCW.COM Boise, ID- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 10:12:20 -0500 (CDT) From: tony at spss.com (Tony Babinec 312 329-3570) Subject: snpa revisited Here is some info and speculation on Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and how one might try to clone it. SNPA is surely worth emulating, yet it has an elegance of flavor that is a bit elusive. I can't claim to have cloned it, but am iterating toward it! Note that Sierra Nevada Draught Ale is SG 1.048 while Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (bottled) is SG 1.052. The Draught also tastes a bit sweeter to me than the bottled. Malts used are U.S. 2-row, dextrin malt (U.S. cara-pils), and crystal malt. I don't know the proportions used at Chico, but it seems to me that you shouldn't be too heavy-handed with the crystal malt, as I don't find a pronounced caramel flavor in SNPA, in contrast to, say, Mendocino's Red Tail Ale. Hops are Perle for bittering and Cascade for flavor/aroma. Perles are a fine general-purpose medium-alpha bittering hop, while Cascades are signature hops in SNPA, Liberty Ale, and other American pale ales. Yeast is Wyeast "American" ale or bottle-cultured SNPA. An all-grain recipe for a 5-gallon batch goes as follows (your mileage may vary): 8 pounds U.S. 2-row pale malt 1 pound U.S. cara-pils 0.5 pounds crystal malt 80L 0.8 ounces Perle (alpha 6.5) at 60 minutes 0.5 ounces Cascade (alpha 6.3) at 30 minutes 0.5 ounces Cascade (alpha 6.3) at 2 minutes 0.5 ounces Cascade final addition (see below) yeast is Chico yeast In the mash, aim for a starch conversion temperature of 153 - 155 degrees F for some residual sweetness in the beer. As for the hop schedule, factors such as hop freshness and vigor of boil will affect the final beer. To my palate, SNPA is a medium-bitter beer, not high-bitter beer, so something like 35 IBUs seems to be a good target. Regarding that final hop addition, I believe that Chico runs the hot wort through a hopback with some fresh hops in it, so you might rig up a homebrewer's gadget equivalent of a hopback. Or, you might add the final addition at flame off and let the hot wort sit for 10 minutes with the lid on before chilling. Or, you might try dry-hopping. I'm not claiming that these will produce an equivalent effect, but they are all attempts to give the beer some of the requisite hop flavor and aroma. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 10:25:36 -0500 From: bliss at pixel.convex.com (Brian Bliss) Subject: SN There have been a few request for Sierra Nevada Recipes the past two days. I pulled this off the hbd last December - it's one of those articles worth saving. Jack Schmidling asked about elaborating on "american hop flavor". My advice is to go out and buy a 6 pack of assorted SN beers, and see if you can pick out the ones made with cascade finishing hops and/or dry-hopped: - ------------------------- Summerfest alcohol content: 3.5% by weight starting gravity: 11.5 plato (about 1.046) ending gravity: 2.7 plato yeast: lager bittering hops: perle finishing hops: hallertauer malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt Pale Bock alcohol content: 5.2% by weight starting gravity: 16 plato (about 1.064) ending gravity: 3.7 plato yeast: lager bittering hops: perle finishing hops: mt. hood malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt Pale Ale alcohol content: 4.4% by weight starting gravity: 13 plato (about 1.052) ending gravity: 2.8 plato yeast: ale yeast bittering hops: perle finishing hops: cascade malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt, caramel malt Porter alcohol content: 4.7% by weight starting gravity: 14.5 plato (about 1.058) ending gravity: 3.5 plato yeast: ale yeast bittering hops: nugget finishing hops: willamette malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt, caramel malt, chocolate malt, black malt Stout alcohol content: 4.8% by weight starting gravity: 16 plato (about 1.064) ending gravity: 4.5 plato yeast: ale yeast bittering hops: chinook finishing hops: cascade malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt, caramel malt, black malt Celebration Ale alcohol content: 5.1% by weight starting gravity: 16 plato (about 1.064) ending gravity: 3.9 plato yeast: ale yeast bittering hops: chinook finishing hops: cascade dry hops: centennial and cascade malts: 2-row barley malt, dextrin malt, caramel malt Bigfoot Ale alcohol content: 10.1% by weight starting gravity: 23 plato (1.092) ending gravity: 6 plato yeast: ale yeast bittering hops: nugget finishing hops: cascade dry hops: centennial and cascade malts: 2-row barley malt, caramel malt Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 08:57:33 PDT From: "Tom Childers" <TCHILDER at us.oracle.com> Subject: Hoegaarden Replication In HBD 1149, Steve Lovett asks about reproducing Hoegaarden Grand Cru with wheat malt. A few months ago, I posted a barley malt extract wit beer recipe, and promised to try the same with wheat malt. Well, the first wheat malt batch finished a couple of weeks ago, and my friends and I are quickly wiping out the results. The wheat "bite" is great. This beer has a somewhat higher FG than Hoegaarden Grand Cru, so you may want to cut back the malt and/or honey to try and emulate Hoegaarden accurately. Tamalpais Wit, v2.0 4-1/2 lb light dry wheat malt extract 2 lbs orange honey 1 oz Hallertauer/N. Brewer 7.5 HBU boiling hops 1 oz Hallertauer/Hersbrucker 3 HBU finishing hops 1-1/2 oz crushed coriander 1/2 oz dried orange peel Belgian Ale yeast (Wyeast 1214) Bring 5 gallons of water to a boil, then add first three ingredients. Boil 45 minutes, then add 3/4 oz. coriander. Boil 10 minutes, then add remaining coriander and orange peel. Boil 5 minutes, and add the finishing hops for a final 2 minutes. Chill immediately to 75 F, areate into 5 gallon carboy, and add yeast. Ferment using blow-off method, then prime with 3/4 cup corn sugar and bottle. The keys to making this beer are (1) use belgian ale yeast, (2) crush the coriander yourself, so it is nice and fresh, (3) use orange honey, and (4) use the best Hallertauer hops you can find. Papazian's basic recipe is very flexible; I've made 5 different beers so far by changing the malt combinations, and I've liked them all. I like this one the best so far. Tom Childers Mill Valley, CA Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 10:59:49 -0800 From: pohl at unixg.ubc.ca (Derrick Pohl) Subject: Cleaning stainless steel In HBD # 1147, Al (korz at iepubj.att.com) writes re cleaning stainless steel vessels: >Right. I don't even use soap on mine -- just a non-stick-safe scrubbing >pad (more gentle than a scouring pad) and elbow grease. The only things >in there are a little scortched malt and some Beerstone -- if it gets really >bad, maybe I'll use a bit of cola (for the acid) or if one of my batches of >pseudo-lambik goes super acetic on me, I'll use it for scrubbing the kettle >(that's what the lambik brewers do!). What about using a copper "Kurly Kate"-type scrubbing pad? If copper is softer than stainless steel (and I assume it is) then it shouldn't be a problem. Or is it? Also, how about baking soda? - ----- Derrick Pohl (pohl at unixg.ubc.ca) UBC Faculty of Graduate Studies, Vancouver, B.C. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 10:54:17 From: garetz at brahms.amd.com (Mark Garetz) Subject: IBU Calculations I'm working on the HopTech catalog, and I'm putting in a formula for calculating IBUs. I'm using Rager's formula (Zymurgy Hops Special Issue) as a base, but I think his utilization table is quite optimistic. I have worked up a preliminary set of numbers to replace his, but before I prejudice you with my estimates, what are yours? Do you feel his numbers are OK or too low (I know they're not too high)? If they're too low, what percentage should they be reduced? Final table will be posted back to HBD. TIA, Mark at HopTech Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 10:48:39 From: garetz at brahms.amd.com (Mark Garetz) Subject: Yeast vs. Trub, Materials List, SNPA Hops Con Copas talks about racking the wort off the cold break vs. yeast performance: Let me throw this in: A brewer friend (who also happens to be the winemaker at a major Napa Valley winery) ran some controlled experiments on the performance of yeast in wort where some of the break material had been left in the fermenter, and where the break material had been completely filtered out. His results showed that the yeast definitely needed something from the break material. The "pure wort" did not ferment well at all. Both were oxygenated, the yeast was pitched from a starter (lab cultured) and the tests were conducted in the mini-lab of this winery. Sorry I don't have the details on what he meant by "didn't ferment well at all" but it doesn't really matter. The point is not to worry about getting rid of all the trub before pitching. Al Corzona throws another chart into the ring.... After seeing Don's post, I was particularly concerned about the "severe effect on polypropolene" because HopTech is making a Hop Back out of polypropylene becuase of its excellent high temperature characteristics. I hauled out my Grainger's catalog and had a look at the list. Sure enough there it was polypro=severe effect with beer (with a note that beer is OK at less than 72F). Now a hopback really doesn't work with "beer" but wort. The list also contains "cane syrup" but it also got a severe rating with polypro. Anyway, I was concerned. Turns out Grainger's reprinted the list from the Little Giant Pump Co. (this reference is actually printed in the Grainger's catalog). So I called TLGPC. They didn't know squat about the list and told me it was provided by Phillips 66. So I called Phillips. After being bounced around to about 12 divisions, I finally found the one that deals with polypropylene (they make it). BTW, *no one* at Phillips ever heard of the list and they guess it must have been done a long time ago. Anyway, after a few minutes of begging that I should be connected to a materials engineer (not a sales "engineer") I got some helpful folks in one of their labs. Turns out the guy who knows the most about polypro is also a homebrewer! Well it was certainly a relief not to have to spend 1/2 hour explaining what a hop back, wort etc. were! Bottom line: The chart is wrong as regards to polypro. Beer won't hurt it or react with it (neither will wort). This guy said that polypro's barrier properties weren't that good and thought the chart might have been inferring that you wouldn't want to store carbonated beer in it for long periods because it would go flat. However, carbonated water is "OK" for polypro on the chart. We couldn't figure it out. Now I know why Grainger's has a disclaimer as to the chart's accuracy right up front. For what it's worth...YMMV. JC asks about the SNPA recipe: I'm not sure what they use for bittering (I think Galena but don't quote me). For finishing and aroma they use Cascade. Lots of it late in the boil. And then they run the wort through a hop back charged with even more Cascade. They do not dry hop this beer. If I were trying to get an SNPA, I would do something like this: 8 lbs Pale Malt .5-1 lb 40 degree Crystal Optionally a pound of carapils for more body. 40-45 IBUs of Galena, Cluster or Cascade, boiled 90 minutes 1 oz Cascade 10 minutes 1.5 oz Cascade 5 minutes 2 ozs Cascade in a hop back (or steeped if no hop back) SNPA yeast cultured from a bottle, or Wyeast Chico Ale Personally, I'd use a single infusion mash at 150-153 degrees. Mind you, this is off-the-cuff and merely a guess. Mark at HopTech coming soon! HopTech gets its own domain (hoptech.com).... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 11:16:19 PDT From: rcristad at weber.ucsd.edu (Riccardo Cristadoro) Subject: Wheat Beer I'm geting the ball rolling on my next brew---A Wheat Beer. I would appreciate tips and recipes for a real wheat bear with lots of clove aroma and taste. I would appreciate an all-grain (infusion) recipe. What hops should I use (Hallertau)? Also, I plan to use Bavarian Wheat #3056 yeast, what is the correct temp to ferment? Thanks in advance for all of the help. While I'm here, I would appreciate some suggestions on getting my transfer hose (plastic-type) clean and clear. It always seems to go cloudy. Thanks. STEVE BOXER Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 14:54:51 EDT" From: Gary S. Kuyat <gsk at sagan.bellcore.com> Subject: New Jersey Brewpub Bill Full-Name: Gary S. Kuyat Two bills are being "read" in the New Jersey State Legislature: #2354 in 2nd reading before Assembly #614 in 2nd reading before Senate Both are voted on June 10th of this year. These bills will allow "brewpub" establishments to operate in NJ. I have asked my Rep to send me more info. I will post details and the results of the vote after the 10th. - -- -Gary gsk at sagan.bellcore.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 14:10:37 CDT From: "Kirk Oseid [ mf11205 MechE ]" <oseid at s1.msi.umn.edu> Subject: BPubs in Cour d'Alene Fellow Brew Enthusiasts: My wife and I will be spending several days in Cour d'Alene in the middle of June. Can anyone direct us to BrewPubs in that area? TIA, Kirk Return to table of contents
Date: 26 May 93 09:59:05 EST From: "Anderso_A" <Anderso_A%55W3.CCBRIDGE.SEAE.mrouter at seaa.navsea.navy.mil> Subject: Re-using yeast & commercial beer storage Message Creation Date was at 26-MAY-1993 14:32:00 Greetings, I have some questions in two basic areas. Any insight would be appreciated. 1. I'm lazy. I would like to re-use my yeast as opposed to propagating multiple yeast colonies. I rack my beers to 2ndary fermentors and usually use polyclar on my lighter colored beers. Should the yeast cake I save come from my primary or secondary fermentor? I see problems with each: a. Primary will have more cold-break, dead yeast, and hop residue than secondary. b. Secondary will have plastic particles due to the polychlar. (Should I use isinglass, instead?) 2. I've a couple questions regarding the storage of commercial beer (You know - that stuff ridiculed in the HBD). Based upon the assumption that the vast majority of commercial beer is filtered and pasteurized is there any problem with storing the beer in an 80 degree dining room versus a 60 degree basement (assuming light is not a factor)? How about a 100 degree attic? Also, if I keep one 6-pack in my 65 degree basement as a control and then daily rotate a second 6-pack between my 35 degree refrigerator and my 80 degree laundry room will any differences in taste result? Will the rotated beer deteriorate more quickly? Will a commercial beer which is constantly changing in temperature by as much as a 50 degree delta deteriorate more quickly than beer constantly sitting in a warm room? Finally, how different would the test results be if I chose to also sacrifice (shudder!) a 6-pack of home-brew in this experiment? I appreciate the help & information. Andy A Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 15:24:01 EDT From: "Anton Verhulst" <verhulst at zk3.dec.com> Subject: soot: take 2 I'd like to thank all who responded to my cajun cooker soot problem. I was gratified at the response - 8 to 9 people sent me email with suggestions. First of all, I was a boy scout :-) and I know the soap trick. I was not clear in my posting - it's not the cleaning of soot from the pot that is my problem. The cleaning is easy. After chilling the wort, I put a large strainer over my primary and pour the wort directly from the 10 gallon brew kettle into the primary. This usually means that I get soot on my hands and clothes. THAT's my complaint. Two people wrote to me suggesting that a possible solution was to reduce the size of the hole in the gas jet from 5/64" to 1/16" (when will the U.S. move into the 20th century and use metric?). I did this and noticed an improvement in flame quality at low gas settings. I'm planning to brew a batch this weekend and see if the improvement is enough or if I'll be shopping for a new cooker. Drew Lynch sent me a nice summary of different types of propane cookers which I'm happy to include (with Drew's permission): "In my search, I found three types of burners. The "real" cajun cooker (what you have) has a single flame. It has the benefit of the highest total heat output(as high as 200,000BTU!), and the detriment of no real adjustability. They also are very inefficient gas-wise at the "simmer" setting. There is no mixture adjustability. This is the cause of your soot problems. The "stove" type burner has ~100 individual flames. It usually has the lowest output (~20,000-40,000 BTU) and the best adjustability. It is very gas efficient. The mixture need not be adjusted on these. The King Kooker company produces a hybrid of the two types(which I have). It has approximately 30 individual flames, 145,000 BTU and decent adjustability. The efficiency is in between the two listed above. To get an ideal burn, the mixture adjustment plate would be moved when you switch from "nuke" to "simmer". In practice, the wide open setting seems to work well enough all the time, and I get minimal soot marks on the bottom of my brewkettle. I am very happy with the model I have. For a given batch, I heat 5 gallons of mash water to 178F, 5 gallons of sparge water to 180F, heat the mash from 156F to 170F, and do 90 minute boils of 5-7 gallons. I get about 4-6 batches from a single propane tank (20lb?). I would return the burner you have, if you can, and try to procure the more adjustable version. I have a local (Los Altos, Ca.) source for the King Kooker of the "right" type: Fermentation Frenzy, (415)941-9289. Where are you located?" Thank you Drew. Tom Stolfi wrote that he has a _Camp Chef Cooker_ "stove type" burner with 35,000 BTUs that will boil 5 gallons of cool water in about 20 minutes and gets NO soot on his pot at all. He also mentions that the same company makes a 135,000 BTU unit. Well, that it folks. I wish I'd known the above info before I bought my cooker. I'll report the results of boiling with my modified King Kooker next week. Good brewing, Tony V. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 15:05 CDT From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: cold break/starters/fermenter geometry/faucets/fruit sanitation & HSA Raymond writes: >js writes (on cold break separation) > >>I also suspect the whole discussion is irrelevant to those of us using >> imersion chillers as the hot/cold break is conveniently left behind in the >> kettle when the chilled wort is drawn off. > >Actually, immersion chillers do not give a well-defined cold break due >to the more gradual temperature drop. I get a very well-defined cold break with my immersion chiller (50' x 1/4"), so much so, that it looks like French Onion soup till I stir gently. ****************** ROB writes: >I want to make a yeast starter for my next batch, the problem is that I >dont have any DME to make it with. Can I just use a corn sugar/water >solution. If so who much water and corn sugar. Also is it true the more >sugar the higher the yeast count. I use dry yeast, does this take longer to >start? How long do you leave the starter before pitching? I suggest you get some DME and then first re-hydrate the dry yeast in 104-110F sterile water for 15 to 30 minutes before adding it to a 1020 DME starter for a day or two. Starters made from corn sugar have proven to make for a sizable yeast mass, but that the yeast subsequently has difficulty fermenting mixed-sugar (glucose, fructose, maltose, etc.) wort. It's best to start on wort. There are arguments on whether it's better to start the yeast on a 1020 OG starter or on a starter that is more like the wort they will be fermenting. I use a 1020-1030 OG starter. I've found that the yeast starts faster in lower gravity starters (this is in-line with Wyeast Labs' findings and recommendations). I believe that the ideal situation would be stepped-gravity starters -- first 1020, tben 1030, then 1040, finally pitching into the wort, but I don't go through all that trouble. ******************** JC writes: >1) I have been doing some experiments fermenting in 5 gal glass carboys and > 5 gal SS soda kegs. I have found that the beers in the soda kegs all take > much longer to ferment out. I think it is do to the geometry. Has > anyone else noticed this? I have heard of some people fermenting in DeKlerk wrote that fermenter geometry is an important factor and says basically that a short, wide fermenter is better than a tall narrow one. I know that George Fix ferments in 1/4 barrel kegs partly for this very reason. *************** Paul writes: > In reference to fridges or freezers and the cold air falling out when >you open the door, I finally broke down and installed a stem tap through the >door of the keg fridge. It is the thrill of a lifetime, drilling a hole >through the fridge door! It was so much fun (and the tap looked so much more >professional than fumbling inside with the hoses) that I sprung for two more. >I justify the cost by the electric I will save during the 10 month Galveston >summer, not opening the door to draw a beer. I had considered this also, but backed-off when I read that some people have problems with mold in the faucet. I've found that if I don't drink from a particular keg for two weeks or so, a big glob of mold forms in the faucet. This, despite the fact that I have my faucets INSIDE the fridge at 54F. If you use the faucets every day, you shouldn't have any problems. ***************** Tom writes: >In HBD 1146, Bryan Kornreich asks > >> How on Earth do you press your fruity wort (to get the juice out of the pulp) >> with any hint of sterility. > >I keep my (large wooden) spoon and strainer in the pot during the end of the >boil to sterilize them. Since the Wheat Berry recipe used a partial boil, >you can just take the implements out, set the strainer on the funnel, and >start pouring the wort. When the strainer fills with hops and fruit, I >press it with the spoon to extract the last bit of fruit juice, then toss >the strainer contents and repeat the process until all of the wort is in >the carboy. Then I slap a clean cork in, let it sit for a few hours to get >to pitching temperature, and add about a quart of yeast starter. This implies that you pour hot wort through a strainer. If this is true, then you are aerating the hot wort (Hot-Side Aeration or HSA) which is causing a considerable amount of oxidation of the wort. George Fix has a great article in a recent Zymurgy on Hot-Side Aeration, which explains in detail the problems with HSA. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 16:43:09 EDT From: jdsgeoac at osg.saic.com (Karen Jdsgeoac Hyrum GEOACOUSTIC) Subject: RE: Fridge Question JC Ferguson asked a few days ago how to modify a double dorm fridge to fit 5 gallon kegs. I did this a few years ago as follows: The U shaped freezer was attached to the to of the fridge with 4 clips. Remove these clips. The freezer/cooling plate is now supported by the incoming freon line. I carefully pushed the U shaped freezer down and back so that the large part of the plate was parallel to the back of the fridge. This operation is tricky since there is some dange of crushing or splitting the freon line. I however had no problem , and the fridge has been working fine for about two years like this. Hyrum Laney Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 05:07:01 -0800 From: scott at fm.gi.alaska.edu (Scott Stihler (USGS analyst)) Subject: SO4 and hops Hello folks, I've been working on an article on hops for the Fairbanks homebrew club's newsletter and I've come across several references to the fact that SO4 somehow enhances hop bitters. However, I've never come across any explanation as to why this is the case. Does anybody out there have any comments in this regard? - Scott Stihler P.S. Should anybody in the unlikely event be in Fairbanks on June 19th, we're having our annual summer equinox meeting and you're invited. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 14:13:51 PST From: Hugh R Bynum <Hugh_R_Bynum at ccm.hf.intel.com> Subject: More soot on pots... A number of articles in HBD 1149 suggested the tried-and-true Boy Scout method for easily removing soot on SS pots. Keep in mind that if your propane cooker is burning with a yellow flame and making enough soot to be a problem, it's also generating some carbon monoxide. CO is generated when hydrocarbons (e.g., propane) don't burn completely due to insufficient oxygen. It's colorless, heavier than air, and highly poisonous. In nonlethal amounts, prolonged exposure can leave you with nausea and a splitting headache. If you want to solve the problem and not just the symptom, try adjusting the damper plate on the gas inlet to your cooker. On my "Superior"(tm) propane burner, it's a slotted disk that fits over the air intake on the cast iron part of the burner, just behind the gas inlet valve. Fully open, there's enough air to blow the flame off the jets; closed down, it burns bright yellow. With a few tweaks, I was able to get it adjusted for a clean blue flame through the full range between a simmer and full throttle. While the Superior burner is rated at 35,000 BTU, I would guess that the 200,000 BTU King Kooker is fairly adjustable through its full output range as well. Good luck! Hugh Bynum Portland, Oregon hugh at littlei.intel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 17:12:04 EDT From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu> Subject: Brewing Techniques address I figured this address had appeared enough times recently, but mail I got today has convinced me otherwise. Here it is, again: Brewing Techniques P. O. Box 3076 Eugene, OR 97403 A charter subscription is $24/6 issues (1 year). =S Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1150, 05/27/93