HOMEBREW Digest #1159 Wed 09 June 1993

Digest #1158 Digest #1160


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


Contents:
  Keg experiences (was Re: Foam With Kegs; Forced Carbonation) (Bob Clark)
  William's Temperture Controller ("Joe Stone")
  Hop Boil and New Utilization Table (Mark Garetz)
  Malt and Hops (CHUCKM)
  Strawberry Ale (U-E68316-Scott Wisler)
  Recipe Request (WAUTS)
  FULL SAIL ALES (John Brooks)
  Foam with kegging (John Landreman X1786)
  RE: Stuck Run-off (James Dipalma)
  Microwave for sterilzation  (W.R.) Crick" <heybc at bnr.ca>
  Brewpub in Michigan. (John E. Greene)
  Re: Yucky Stovetops (Richard Stueven)
  Calculating Proper Dispensing Pressure (Cisco)
  Sanitizers (korz)
  Are stouts really thick? (Bryan Kornreich)
  "fermented" beans/american beer/headaches (Jonathan G Knight)
  Stratefied Homebrew (arne thormodsen)
  Dry Hopping 100 IBUs? (Mark Garetz)
  Re: Kegging Alternatives  (Drew Lynch)
  More on Black Beans (still no beer) (Jeff Frane)
  Miller reserve (Hi-keeba!)
  victory malt? (wayne_clark)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 10:23:50 PDT From: Bob.Clark at Eng.Sun.COM (Bob Clark) Subject: Keg experiences (was Re: Foam With Kegs; Forced Carbonation) My 3-tap fridge is based on 1/4" tubing, and ball lock cornelius kegs. Maximum liquid line length from disconnect to tap is about 4 feet. My artificial carbonation techique is to put the keg in the fridge, and hook up the CO2 at about 30 psi once a day. About half a week of this, and it's carbonated. I'm trying a new technique right now of keeping the keg continuously connected at 30 psi - don't know how quickly this will work. When carbonated, I just hook the keg up to my fridge CO2 supply, which is somewhere around 8-10 psi, continuously connected (if I don't have any leaks at the time!). Since I have individual check valves for each of the three potentially connected kegs, overpressure in one or more of the kegs is not a problem. I just start pouring, and live with the extra foam until everything reaches equilibrium, which doesn't take too many pints. If I have not sufficiently carbonated the beer, another week or so at my normal dispensing pressure is sufficient to carbonate it properly. As far as moldy taps go, I just disconnect the liquid line from the keg, and take the tap off. This is easy, since there is a knurled collar and thread system which connects the tap outside of the fridge to the beer shank , which is the pipe that runs through the sidewall of the fridge. I take apart the whole tap, and do a little boiling and a little rinsing to clean out the mold. I'll clean a tap if it's been a coupla weeks, or if there are some folks coming over. If I get a little lazy, I just never bring up the subject of mold with company, and they've never noticed anything ;-) Bob C. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 20:40:41 PDT From: "Joe Stone" <JSTONE at SJEVM5.VNET.IBM.COM> Subject: William's Temperture Controller Darren Evans-Young was happy with the temperature controller from William's. Does anyone else have any comments regarding this unit? Does this unit have a solid state sensor or the "capillary tube" sensor? Is the four degree differential too inaccurate or is this actually equivalent to the Hunter and Johnson? Joe Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 23:28:54 PDT From: Mark Garetz <mgaretz at hoptech.com> Subject: Hop Boil and New Utilization Table Someone, sorry but I can't find my note, asked about adding hops before or after the hot break: I think the most important thing is the boil time, not worrying about when the break occurs. Your utilization will be more affected by the boil time than any supposed break material coating the hops. Besides, it doesn't matter a whit what coats the petals (aka, but wrongly, leaves). It is the stuff in the little yellow lupulin glands that counts. I've never seen any stuff on the petals in my wort anyway. There is also the argument that having the petals and/or hop particles from pellets thrashing around in the boil is helpful in getting a good break to happen. Bob Jones commented about the work that Glenn Tinseth is up to taking a new cut at Rager's numbers: Glenn and I have corresponded on the subject relative to incorporting his results in my book. Until the results are in (which could take a while), I have taken a stab at modifying Rager's utilization chart. My revised figures are based on inputs from many brewers (thanks, BTW, to those from HBD that responded to my request for comments on Rager's numbers), reviews of the literature and my own estimates. The following should not be considered as an absolute (there aren't any in brewing) but more as a "work in progress". The chart is about to be published in my catalog, but in the spirit of Bob's note and the input HBDers have provided, I'm willing to share it with all. The chart lists Rager's original numbers, and three different columns of new numbers. The first column is Rager's, the second lists numbers for yeast with "average flocculation", the third column for yeast with fast flocculation and the last for yeast with slow flocculation. Besides the boil time and wort gravity, the effect of the yeast on the bitterness is probably the next most important factor and that is why I've included it. The reason for the three figures is that the faster the yeast settles, the less time it will be suspended (duh) and therefore has less opportunity to absorb alpha acids, so the utilization is adjusted upwards. It follows that yeast dropping out slowly will absorb more alpha acids and therefore the utilization should be adjusted downwards. Also, you can see that I've discounted any alpha utilization at low boil times. Boil Time Rager's Average Yeast Fast Yeast Slow Yeast Number Flocculation Flocculation Flocculation < 5 min 5% 0% 0% 0% 6-10 min 6% 0% 0% 0% 11-15 min 8% 1% 1% 1% 16-20 min 10.1% 4% 5% 3% 21-25 min 12.1% 6% 7% 5% 26-30 min 15.3% 11% 13% 9% 31-35 min 18.8% 13% 16% 11% 36-40 min 22.8% 16% 19% 13% 41-45 min 26.9% 19% 23% 15% 46-50 min 28.1% 20% 24% 16% > 50 min 30% 21% 25% 17% I'm sure that I don't have to ask for comments :-) and of course, YMMV. BTW, for those who don't know what we're referring to, we're talikng about a chart and formulas published in the Zymurgy special issue on hops. Also, the complete formula is published in both Glenn's and my catalogs. And for those that don't know, the original article had a formula error in the gravity adjustment. It should have read: GA= (Boil Gravity - 1.050)/0.2. Also, the example shown is wrong. It should be: GA= (1.096 - 1.050)/0.2 = 0.23. Mark from HopTech Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Jun 93 06:59:09 EDT From: CHUCKM at PBN73.CV.COM Subject: Malt and Hops Hello All.... 1. What is the difference between caramel and crystal malt. When would I use/not use them. 2. The lower leaves of my Centennial (and Mt. Hood to an extent) hop vines are turning a yellowish color. Can anyone help out here as to what is happening, is it bad, and how do I stop it. I live in the Boston area. Thanks for your help Chuck Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 8:23:49 EDT From: U-E68316-Scott Wisler <swisler at c0431.ae.ge.com> Subject: Strawberry Ale After reading all the articles on fruit beers over the past month, I decided to some strawberry ale. Fresh picked raspberries will have to wait for mid-summer. I had a 38 OG, 28 IBU pale ale in clearing in a secondary secondary fermenter. I bottled 4 gal, then added 1.5# of chopped and mashed up strawberries to one gallon remaining in my carboy. After about a week, I strained/racked off the beer with a grain steeping bag stretched over my racking tube. The beer, which was once very clear, now has the appearance of fresh-from-the-farm apple cider (golden brown and opaque). It is now in a one gallon glass secondary in the refridgerator 'clearing'. I have become curious about the absence of strawberrys in the previous HBD discussion, or any brewing literature for that matter. Strawberries are more pulpy than raspberries, but I really never expected the cloudy final product. If anyone else tried this, another data point would be nice. BTW, I aquired a 3 barrel SS 'vat', for lack of a better term, that overwhelms my small scale. (10 gal takes up 3" in the bottom). It is 36" high by 31" diameter. It has a drain in the bottom with a sanitary fitting, a lid with a slot for a mechanical stirrur, and is on a heavy duty 3 wheel stand. My eyes got a bit greedy before my brain realized just how big it was. Anybody close to Cincinnati interested can private email me. Scott Wisler swisler at c0431.ae.ge.com Return to table of contents
Date: 08 Jun 1993 09:52:09 GMT From: WAUTS at CWEMAIL.ceco.com Subject: Recipe Request Does anyone have a good recipe for a low gravity traditional bitter, similiar to that served in England. I don't have a cask but I will be using an authentic beer engine :-) . Please respond via private email if you can help me out. Thanks. Tom Stolfi wauts at cwemail.ceco.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 07:54:04 -0700 (PDT) From: John Brooks <jbrooks at u.washington.edu> Subject: FULL SAIL ALES I am a big fanof Full Sail (brewed in Oregon), especially their Amber Ale. Does anyone have any information about recipes for either their Amber or Golden Ales? [malt types, O.G., hop varieties, IBU's, etc.] Please post or reply to private e-mail. I will be glad to compile responses and post. John (jbrooks at carson.u.washington.edu) - ------------------------ "Don't Worry, Be Hoppy!" - ------------------------ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1993 09:00:42 MDT From: John Landreman X1786 <jlandrem at atmel.com> Subject: Foam with kegging In HBD #1158 Darren Evans-Young writes the following. > I had exactly your same problem. The main cause of foaming > is dispensing with too low a pressure. However, since a higher > dispensing pressure causes more agitation of your beer, it also causes > the CO2 to come out of solution and foam. So the trick here is > to increase dispensing pressure but slow down the flow. How do you > do that? Use a smaller diameter dispensing hose so that it takes > more pressure to push the beer through the smaller hose. I changed > all my tubing from 1/4" to 3/16". The out connector and the cobra > faucet take 1/4" hose, so you have to have short pieces for connection > plus 2 hose unions that change from 1/4" to 3/16". I have been able to attach both the cobra tap and disconnect to 3/16" hose by heating the end of the hose in hot water. This softens the hose enough to get it on the barbed fitting with out too much effort. John Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 11:30:24 EDT From: dipalma at banshee.sw.stratus.com (James Dipalma) Subject: RE: Stuck Run-off Hi All, In HBD#1158, Riccardo Cristadoro asks about using kegs as fermenters. Some time ago, I obtained some free pin-lock kegs from a friend who owns a restaurant. I had an existing ball-lock setup, bought some pin-lock hose barbs and used the new kegs for awhile, but eventually amassed enough ball-lock kegs that the pin-locks fell into disuse. Recently, I've been using them as secondary fermenters for lagers with great success. I removed the pickup tubes, and cut about 1/2" off the end. Prolonged secondary at 40F produces a fairly thick yeast sediment, shortening the tube allows me to transfer from these kegs without picking up the sediment. I put a ball-lock hose barb on one end of a short length of pressure tubing, and a pin-lock barb on the other, which allows me to connect a ball-lock keg directly to the pin-lock via the liquid out fittings. When the beer is ready, I put the CO2 tank on the gas in fitting on the pin-lock, and transfer the beer under pressure from the secondary to a ball-lock keg that has been purged of oxygen. The entire five gallon batch is transferred from one sealed, sanitized, oxygen-free container to another sealed, sanitized, oxygen-free container in about two minutes. No worries about starting a siphon, keeping my mouth off the siphon tube, no oxidation, no exposure to airborne micro-nasties. The best part is that pin-lock kegs take up much less space than carboys, I can fit three batches of lager in the same fridge that won't take two carboys at once. ************************************************************************* Also in HBD#1158, Riccardo writes about a stuck sparge: >My first wheat beer coincided with my first stuck run-off >during the sparge. . . >I should also mention that I used a infusion type mash w/o a mash >out. Do I need to mash out when I use that much wheat malt? Wheat contains a lot of high molecular weight proteins, sparging a wheat mash is somewhat more problematic than one that contains 100% barley. Stuck mashes are a fairly common occurence with wheat. You didn't mention whether or not you did a protein rest, but I would *strongly* advise using a protein rest in the future, particularly if you're not going to use decoction mashing. Eric Warner recommends a staggered protein rest in his Classic Style series book, that is, brief rests at 117F, 122F, and 126F. At each of those temperatures, a different class of peptidase (protein reducing enzyme) is activated. The point is to break down as much high molecular weight protein during the mash as possible, in order to reduce the chances of a stuck sparge later. >I'm >not even sure what could cause a stuck run-off except for too fine >of a crush on the grains. Lack of heat in the tun is another classic cause, and this relates to your question on mash-out. When mashing-out, the temperature of the mash is raised to ~170F, and held for 5-10 minutes. Adding heat to the mash not only stabilizes enzyme activity, it is very helpful in avoiding a stuck sparge. Highly recommended for wheat mashes. One other little pointer. When mashing barley, most brewers use a water to grist ratio of roughly 1 - 1.5 quarts/lb. When I brew a weizen, I use 1.5 qts/lb for the mash itself, as a thick mash protects protein reducing enzymes better than a thin one when the mash is heated. At mash out, I add quite a bit more water than I typically use for barley mashes. Since the mash is finished, enzyme activity is irrelevant, and the extra water thins the mash and helps keep it from setting during lautering. Cheers, Jim Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 11:59:00 +0000 From: "Bill (W.R.) Crick" <heybc at bnr.ca> Subject: Microwave for sterilzation Ralph Palmer asked about sterilizing in the mircowave. At a microwave cooking class that came with my microwave, they said DO NOT DO ANY CANNING<, JAMS, or PRESERVES IN THE MICROWAVE. They said stick to boing it on a canner on the stove. I don't know why, but suspect that there could be an issue with the microwave not sterilizing well enough? I have boiled wort in the microwave in a beer bottle, with a loose cap, and then capped it while hot, for yeast starters. It seemed to work OK, with no obvious growie things in the bottles after a few weeks in the fridge. The starter I made, and the beer seemed healthy Bill Crick Brewius, Ergo Sum PS: If you have temp probe microwave, you can easily mash a few pounds of grain in the microwave. Just program the temps, powers, and times you want, including a mash out, and go cut the lawn or something. It beeps when its time to sparge;-) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 09:07:23 PDT From: johng at adx.la.ca.us (John E. Greene) Subject: Brewpub in Michigan. >Date: 7 Jun 1993 13:36:01 -0500 >From: "Daniel F McConnell" <Daniel.F.McConnell at med.umich.edu> >Subject: brewpub opens in Michigan > >> Subject: Time:12:48 PM > OFFICE MEMO brewpub opens in Michigan Date:6/7/93 >GREAT NEWS FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN!!!! >> >Well folks, it's finally happened. Michigan's first brewpub, The >Eccentric Cafe, will open its doors at noon, Friday June 11, 1993. >Located in downtown Kalamazoo, the brewpub is adjacent to The >Kalamazoo Brewing Co. Congratulations and thanks to Larry Bell, president, >mover and shaker. > >Larry brews a fairly long and interesting, some would say eccentric >line of brews that range from the refreshing (Bell's Beer) to the >massive (Explorer Stout). I don't have a clue as far as which brews >will be offered in the pub. Some of us will be traveling from Ann >Arbor to Chicago this Friday for the national competition. Hummmmm >isn't Kalamazoo on the way? The usual report will follow.... > >DanMcC The last I heard (Jan, 93) it still isn't legal in Michigan to brew beer and serve it in the same place. Maybe I am just picking nits here but a brewpub it a pub where the brewery is part of the pub, no? Sounds to me like Larry Bell opened a pub ajacent to his brewery in which he will sell the beer brewed in his brewery. Not the same thing as a brewpub. So either the Law in Michigan has changed in the past 6 months and I don't know about it or what it being described here is not actually a brewpub. I would like to know because there is a lot of interest in opening one in Traverse City should this law ever be changed. :) -john (yoosed to be a yooper) greene Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 09:27:12 -0700 From: Richard Stueven <gak at wrs.com> Subject: Re: Yucky Stovetops >Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 09:43:02 -0700 >From: Bob Konigsberg <bobk at NSD.3Com.COM> > >2) Spills that get burned into place. >CURE: Clean up spills right away, even if you have to turn off the >heat and slide the pot to the side for a bit. They will never get >easier to clean up, only more difficult. Not at all! A wire brush attachment on your electric drill will do wonders cleaning up a burned-on mess. Of course, you'll have to forego your stove's enamel finish, but you'll end up with a nice burnished steel finish instead. have fun gak Richard Stueven, Castro Valley CA gak & gerry's garage, brewpub, hockey haven and pinball palace Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1993 08:56:16 -0700 (MST) From: Cisco <FRANCISCO at lan.ccit.arizona.edu> Subject: Calculating Proper Dispensing Pressure There has been enough talk about dispensing pressures for cornelius keg systems so I thought I'ld throw in some logic on how to calculate dispensing pressures. I have been kegging for over ten years and learned a lot by trial and error until I had the luck to run into the individual who sets up most of the draft systems here in Tucson. Believe it or not there is some logic to all this and your elevation from sea level must also be taken into consideration. Optimum dispensing pressure is 12 lbs. at 36 to 40 degrees. For every 2000 feet above sea level you must add 1 lb. Tucson resides at 2400 ft above sea level so I need to add 1 1/4 lbs to 12 lbs to get a total of approximately 14 lbs(13 1/4) total dispensing pressure. I have a chrome tower draft column which will offset 3lbs pressure, leaving me with 11 lbs(14-3=11) that must be taken up with hose. How much hose will I need to offset 11 lbs? That depends on the inside diameter. A hose of 1/4 id. has a 1 lb drop for every 18 inches, so I would need 198 inches or 16 1/2 feet. That's a lot of hose! A hose with 3/16 id has adrop of 1 lb for every 4 inches, so I would use 44 inches or 3 ft 8 in. This is what I use. After you have calculted and assembled your system you can fine tune the way your system pours a beer by adjusting the pressure no more than 1 lb above or below the calculated pressure. My CO2 pressure is set at 13 1/2 lbs and I get a beautiful creamy head about an inch thick. One last point is that you should keep your CO2 tank at room temperature - not in your cooler. If you keep the CO2 tank in the cooler the CO2 can not form a gas and remains in a liquid state feeding into your beer and eventually it will overcarbonate it. Read the dial that states internal tank pressure and when it is stored in a cooler you'll notice that the dial indicator is in the red zone, take it out and let it sit at room temperature and the dial will move above the red zone indicating that the CO2 is allowing gas to form from the liquid. My draft system is in an old freezer with a Johnson type controller. The Hunter airstat just couldn't get the temperatures I wanted. The new magazine Technical Brewer is great! Keep up the good work!! The short blurb on dispensing pressures was nice but it left out some of the fine points of calculating proper pressure. John Francisco Francisco at lan.ccit.arizona.edu May your homebrew always give you good head! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 11:37 CDT From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Sanitizers As an offshoot of the Bleach/Iodophor/SS discussion, Ulick and I have exchanged some private email, the last of which had a few points of general interest: U>I guess that is the best solution. I use bleach for U>sanitizing everything - but the only stainless I use U>is a spoon. It does corrode my wort chiller (Cu) and steel A>I have a copper immersion wort chiller and I don't use any A>sanitizer on it -- I wash it with water immediately after use, A>store it in a large plastic bag between uses and sanitize it A>by dunking it in boiling wort for a few minutes. U>spoons I use for skimming if I leave them soaking a while. U>I don`t see why anyone would want to use any chemical U>when stainless kegs can be boiled anyway. A>Yes, but the kegs I have, have rubber tops and bottoms, not to mention A>the rubber seals throughout the beer path (8 seals if you include the A>large one -- I just reconditioned two kegs... I know) which would probably A>survive several bouts with boiling, but would eventually lose elasticity A>and not seal anymore. Boiling water is a good sanitizer, but is also A>more dangerous. Bleach and Iodophor only harm you if you get them in A>your eyes or mouth -- boiling water will mess you up anywhere it hits A>you! Al. P.S. This last statement is probably of some general interest. Do you mind if I post the above email? Or you could just post it, I don't care. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 13:22:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Bryan Kornreich <bkornrei at pennsy.med.jhu.edu> Subject: Are stouts really thick? Hi All, In response to Paul Labrie's comment that his friends labelled his not-so-thick stout as a thick beverage, I think I may have an idea what's going on with them: When I first started drinking beer--not too long ago, since I'm only 22-- I also tended to call stouts "thick". And in fact, I still call that Guiness stuff in the bottle (though not so much the draught) "thick". I guess I can speak from a tiny bit of medical/physiological authority since I'm a medical student, but I don't know if that's necessary. I think the reason is threefold: 1. It has to do with the strong flavor and bitter aromas of a stout in comparison with a pilsner, or even an ale. The burnt chocolate malt and other strong/bitter flavored ingredients give a greater input into the bitter taste receptors of the tongue but especially to the olfactory receptors in the nose. Don't forget--all this burnt grain stimulus is in addition to the bitterness of the hops. And in an ale, the predominant odor is fragrant hop--in a stout, burnt grain/coffee/chocolate odors predominate--and these are bitter aromas. So even though your stout may not taste as bitter as some ales, the bitterness of the stout is multimodal (taste and smell), so it may seem to be more bitter overall. This bitterness may be manifest as a much more potent and "thicker" input to the brain. It's not at all unlike strong coffee (especially since stouts often have coffee-type aromas and flavors). A strong batch of coffee or expresso will seem thick, even though the liquid itself isn't syrupy--and indeed they are thick, with flavor. 2.The visual cues of a dark stout, (during the cerebral phase of digestion for those picky readers) prepare the mind and the gut for receiving a thick liquid. In nature, dark liquids (eg: mud, honey...) are often thick, so the brain associates dark liquids with thick/viscous liquids, and clear/light colored liquids (eg: water, salt water) with thin liquids. 3.Stouts typically have a thick creamy head, which will make one subconsciously think that the beverage beneath is itself thick and creamy--like a milkshake. Of course, as experienced beer drinkers, we all know that dark colored beers are not all thick, though some may be thick tasting. Just look at Michelob dark--Michelob with brown food coloring--or here in Baltimore, we have National Bohemian Dark, which is an even poorer imitation of Michelob Dark. I hope I haven't bored you to death, Cheers, Bryan Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 12:14:23 cdt From: Jonathan G Knight <KNIGHTJ at GRIN.EDU> Subject: "fermented" beans/american beer/headaches Thanks to Jeff Frane for the info re: "fermented" (not) "black" (not) beans. Seems like I'll either have to go to the Asian market in Des Moines or find someone who knows how to make the suckers. The postings in the latest HBD from George Fix and "thutt" re: American mega- brews reminded me of an interesting experience I had this weekend. A friend of mine (who appreciates my homebrew very much) offered me a Coors Extra Gold to try. So, I said, what the hell. I was actually pleasantly surprised - the stuff actually tasted like it had something to do with malt! So, I had another. Now, at this point I actually hadn't had a budmilloors in months. So I am wondering if other HBD reader concur with me that this is a slight cut above? I suppose I could be enterprising and give myself a blind tasting of megabrews to see if I could pick out the Extra Gold from among them, but hey, let's get real - when there's homebrew around, why should I torture myself? The other reason I don't want to do this - and the reason I stopped after two Extra Golds - was that I got something I don't remember getting in a long time: a headache! Now, I normally just have one homebrew a night. Helps me sleep well, and makes me get up on time when I have to go to the bathroom. On occasion I have indulged in two or more homebrews at a time, and I have gotten warm fuzzies, or even been a little drunk - but no headaches. (I don't think I can compare my experiences with really "good" commercial beer, because it tends to be so expensive I consider it a waste to overindulge in it - I hardly ever have more than one at a time). Does anyone else have experience comparable to this? Anyone get headaches from homebrew? Is my non-headachy homebrew due to my use of the blow-off method (that ought to be good for some lively dialogue!) or is it common for homebrew not to cause headaches anyway? Could I be allergic to the preservatives in commercial beer? At any rate, now I remember why back in my youth (creak) I had such a hard time getting drunk on beer. Two or three bumilloorses and that was about all I could stand. Of course, maybe even back then my palate was crying out, "no, not that swill, please -- get me some real beer you dolt!!" Jonathan Knight Grinnell, Iowa Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 10:37:12 -0700 From: arne thormodsen <arnet at kaibutsu.cup.hp.com> Subject: Stratefied Homebrew >Date: 7 Jun 1993 10:53:44 U >From: "Westemeier*, Ed" <westemeier at pharos-tech.com> >Subject: Wheat beer puzzle: 2 layers? > >One of our local club members reported a puzzling result from his >latest batch. Since no one here could positively identify what >happened, I thought the collective wisdom of the HBD could at least >offer some plausible theories. > >The situation: >A German wheat beer, about 60% wheat, mashed and boiled normally, >and pitched with Wyeast wheat yeast. Fermented at 75 to 80 degrees >Fahrenheit to get the most spiciness, and racked to a secondary >after 3 days. Fermentation stopped after 10 days, and when he >looked at it, it seemed to be in two layers. The top half of the >carboy was dark, and the lower half was much lighter. Thinking >that it was a case of the yeast simply taking a while to settle >out, he peered through the carboy, using a flashlight. No, the >top half was definitely much darker, and there was a distinct >dividing line in the middle, separating the layers. I had exactly the same thing happen with a steam beer. The only common element seems to be the high temp ferment. I never racked off, and after a couple of days I began to dump ice on the carboy because it was getting up to 90 in my apt. Within a few days of starting with the ice two distinct layers developed just as you described. I don't know what caused it, I eventually stirred up the whole mess and bottled it. A month later I flushed 50 bottles of beer down the toilet, which should speak for itself :-). I think you've had better luck. - --arne Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 12:06:43 PDT From: Mark Garetz <mgaretz at hoptech.com> Subject: Dry Hopping 100 IBUs? Peter Maxwell writes: >Summary: Hop pellet residue that got into my bottles seems to be making the beer progressively more bitter and undrinkable. >My first try at dry hopping resulted in some suspended pellet material getting into the bottles. At first the beer was delicious, with a lovely fresh hop aroma but 6 weeks later the beer is becoming undrinkable. Is this likely to be due to continued extraction of bitterness? I am under the impression that hops must be boiled to extract bitterness. Is an infection likely? There's no unpleasant taste, just this very bitter characteristic. I suspect what has happened is this: A significant amount of beta acids got into your beer either from the dry hopping or the boil. In the bottling, racking or some other process, you also introduced a lot of oxygen which has caused the beta acids to oxidize. Normally, the beta acids are not bitter, but when oxidized they become bitter. I would doubt that you have an infection. I would also doubt that the suspended hop particles are the actual culprit, unless we're talking about *lots* of them. If there are really a lot, you might now be extracting tannins, which you might be interpreting as bitterness. But this is highly unlikely. Usually you get this effect *first* and then it mellows into a nice hoppy aroma. Next time you should use a hop bag to get rid of the pellet particles and see what you can do about reducing O2 introduction. Mark from HopTech Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 08 Jun 93 16:13:16 -0700 From: Drew Lynch <drew at chronologic.com> Subject: Re: Kegging Alternatives > On page 6 of BREWING TECHNIQUES, there is an ad for a 5 liter Mini Keg Syste m. > I am not interested in 5 gallon Cornelius keg systems at this time, but ther e I currently "keg" in the 5 litre minikegs. Absolutely unbeatable for ease of use. Simply rinse them, pop them in the oven at about 250 for half an hour, rinse the outside to cool, fill and plug. I have two kinds of tap, a pump, and a CO2 cartridge type. The CO2 tap has a valve to shut off gas flow, and I have found that I can store the tap for two months without losing pressure, simply by turning off the valve. Each cartridge will dispense 1.5 5l cans. I use the hand pump when reasonably sure that the beer will get consumed rapidly. If you are ordering from the place in Pa, they have converted to the smaller US CO2 chargers. I don't know how long they will last. As I understand it, the outfit in Pa. has a limited supply, as they purchased the leftover stock of a defunct brewery. I am considering going into business selling cans and taps. My cost is about $5.50 a can, and $15-$20 for the tap depending on type. These prices would go down if I was able to order more from the importer. Supposedly, the original mfg of the cans was in the US, but is now exclusively in Germany. It would be great if we could get them made here again. Drew Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 10:08:00 -0700 (PDT) From: gummitch at techbook.com (Jeff Frane) Subject: More on Black Beans (still no beer) I checked on those fermented black beans last night. As I remembered, they're actually soybeans, and they are first innoculated with a special fungus, then dried, and occasionally salted. These are apparently the oldest form of what we now know as soy sauce (brown bean sauce is the intermediary step in soy sauce evolution). But, anyway, fermented they're not, at least in the sense that we use the term as brewers. - --Jeff Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 20:03:32 -0500 (CDT) From: Hi-keeba! <BIRMINGH at FNALV.FNAL.GOV> Subject: Miller reserve Prof. Fix says: >One final point. It is my belief that Miller Reserve is made exclusively >from malted barley, and in particular no raw barley is used. I would be >willing to bet that the phrase "100% Barley" was chosen by their marketing >people and not by their brewers. I may be able to shed a little light on that subject, actually. About two years ago, I took part in a marketing taste test, the product being Miller Reserve Amber Ale (let's just say that I couldn't avoid the guy with the clipboard in the mall, and when he offered me beer, I didn't want to.) Anyway, I was given several little cards with the names of beers on them, and told to rank them (I could stack cards to indicate that I thought certain beers were more or less interchangeable.) I forget the names of all the beers; Samuel Adams was one, the rest were undistinguished beers. I don't remember if there were any imports in the list, and I wouldn't have recognized most microbrewery products then. After I ranked the beers, I was given a sample of the ale, then told to insert it into my ranking. I put it between the 'premium' megas and Sammy's. The surveyor then asked several questions, and had me fill out a questionnaire. The word "barley" came up several times, but since I was not yet a homebrewer, the word "malt" did not. I knew about the Reinheitsgebot, however, and thought I should stress "barley good, corn and rice bad." I'm not saying that I skewed their statistics or anything, but considering that I liked the beer and therefore am one of the people they want to reach, my words might have been more heavily weighted. Also, it's conceivable that there were lots of other people who knew that barley malt makes good beer, but didn't know how important the difference between raw and malted barley can be. So, anyway, this is possibly part of the reason that the Miller marketing types use the phrase "Barley" and not "Barley Malt." Phillip Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 93 20:47:08 CDT From: wayne_clark at SEMATECH.ORG Subject: victory malt? From: NAME: Wayne Clark FUNC: 230 TEL: 512-356-3994 <CLARK.WAYNE at A1 at VAXEN> To: "homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com" at INTERNET Last week I was in the beer section of the n. Austin Whole Foods Market picking up some supplies for my next batch of homebrew. I came across a package of "victory malt" from St. Patricks. Can anyone tell me what this is, and what style of beer it would be used for? Just curious - Wayne wayne_clark at sematech.org Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1159, 06/09/93