HOMEBREW Digest #1263 Thu 04 November 1993

Digest #1262 Digest #1264


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


Contents:
  Breweries & Pubs in Manchester UK (Al Marshall)
  malt powder (Jill Martz)
  Bottle labels (Dion Hollenbeck)
  PH malt / acid rest /  carboy storage (Lee=A.=Menegoni)
  Brewpubs in San Diego? (Jan Holloway)
  Re: Homebrew Club Gone Stale? Probably not. ("Roger Deschner  ")
  Re: Post-boil wort handling question. (korz)
  Evergreens in beer (kstiles)
  Re: Belgian Special B  (Matthew Rowley) (Spencer.W.Thomas)
  Basement Brewing (fjdobner)
  CNY Clubs (Barrett Peck)
  Wyeast Packages And Bursting (John DeCarlo                             )
  Hops FAQ, Postmortem (npyle)
  Beer Head/ Best Bitter Recipe/Pnts AAU Calcs? (COYOTE)
  Plumbing (npyle)
  Another immersion chiller ("Steven W. Smith")
  Keeping the club healthy (WESTEMEIER)
  The Two Millers (Phil Brushaber)
  California Common (John_D._Sullivan.wbst311)
  informal get together in San Diego Dec 7-10? (Robert Schultz)
  Re: Hops FAQ (Jim Busch)
  Oatmeal Stout results! (Jim Graham)
  Brass in the boil ("Palmer.John")
  one-pot brews (RONALD DWELLE)
  sterilization options/procedures (Y Y Zed)
  Frogs?/Cider/Scotch Ales (COYOTE)
  Counterflow chillers (Jim Cave)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1993 08:22:30 -0800 (PST) From: alm at ibeam.jf.intel.com (Al Marshall) Subject: Breweries & Pubs in Manchester UK If anyone could be of help suggesting breweries or pubs worthy of visit in the vicinity of Manchester, please reply to: ketans at ibeam.intel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1993 11:41:53 -0500 (EST) From: Jill Martz <SAL_MARTZ at sals.edu> Subject: malt powder We are relativey new at homebrewing and I was wondering if anyone could tell me about diastatic malt powder. Can it be used in homebrewing? What would be the effect? Reply to: SAL_MARTZ at SALS.EDU Thanks...Jill Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 08:42:42 PST From: megatek!hollen at uunet.UU.NET (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Bottle labels I would like to make some labels for my bottles, but a little more creatively than I currently make with WordPerfect. A friend has Corel Draw and that would be fine, but I do not have several hundred dollars to spend on software. Can anyone suggest software for DOS or Windows, (or even X for that matter) which would be suitable to make *really* nice bottle labels with? Must have lots of fonts available and it would be really nice to be able to fit text into any shape (like in a crescent shaped banner). thanks, dion Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 10:51:37 EST From: Lee=A.=Menegoni at nectech.com Subject: PH malt / acid rest / carboy storage RE: PH malt The poster claimed to have problems getting his Ph in the appropriate range even with the addition of a large amount of gypsum. I am no chemist but this sounds like a water chemistry problem. I don't know if the term "buffering" describes what is happening but something in the water is preventing the gypsum from lowering the Ph. Brewers I know of with similar, but not as severe, problems with their private well water do the following. Boil 7-8 gallons of water the night before brewing. Let it cool over nite and let the percipitate settle too. Siphon all but the last couple inches the next morning. They also use a gallon of distilled water in the mash and the rest from the preboiled and siphoned suply thus diluting the offending ingredients. Don't sparge to the limit, 1.010 temp adjusted, to limit tannin extraction. They have also had water analysis done and brew styles that are appropriate for the water chemistry. There are ways of getting the water analysis done for free or near free. Many plumbing supply stores provised this service if you are shopping for a water treatment system. Acid rest: This step is described by Noonan in Brewing Lagers, most texts provide this information for theoretical completeness, it is rarley done in commercial brewing. The recent beer styles book on Wheat Beers also includes a discussion of multiple steps of acid rest as important in producing certain compontents of a wheat beers flavor and aroma. These all involve ezymatic reactions resulting in the generation of specific acids. Carboy storage: After cleaning I cover the carboy opening with a sandwich bag held on with an elastic band. I cover the carboy with a second large bag and store it on an open shelf. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1993 12:20:29 -0500 From: holloway at ezmail2.ucs.indiana.edu (Jan Holloway) Subject: Brewpubs in San Diego? Greetings, brewfolk. I'm attending a conference in San Diego at the end of this week (though most of next) and would greatly appreciate your recommendations for brewpubs and microbreweries in the area. Thanks in advance! - --Jan Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1993 11:00:29 CST From: "Roger Deschner " <U52983%UICVM at UIC.EDU> Subject: Re: Homebrew Club Gone Stale? Probably not. Your club is probably doing just fine, as long as you keep everything in some kind of beery perspective. The Chicago Beer Society *STARTED* in 1977 as a beer drinking and socializing club, and wound up with a bunch of us weirdo homebrewers joining and taking over. We haven't taken over completely, and probably never will - the Chicago Beer Society continues to bill itself as a beer appreciation AND homebrewing club. The serious homebrewers operate as a committee within the club - with a lot of overlap with the aficionado segment. Is this an entirely peaceful arrangement? No. There are periodic disagreements about the future direction of the club, and the answer to the question: "Which way will it go?" is usually "Yes." And finally, are we the ideal model? Probably not. But we are quite comfortable with the fairly large number of Chicago Beer Society events which are not specifically related to homebrew, as long as things stay in balance. For instance, this month, November, we are having our annual homebrew competition, the AHA-sanctioned Spooky Brew Review, and we are also having our annual International Tasting. I'll be judging at one, and indulging at the other. I know I haven't answered your question; in fact, I may have made it more difficult to answer. Just another perspective, though. Roger Deschner, Member, Chicago Beer Society. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 11:26 CST From: korz at iepubj.att.com Subject: Re: Post-boil wort handling question. Michael writes: >I've been brewing (occasionally) for about three years now. Just about >every batch I've ever made has had an off taste (except for a particluarly >memorable batch of Bruce's Dogbolter during my "kit" days). I started >out with new equipment and have good cleaning practices...I sanitize >anything that touches the wort/beer. <snip> >After the boil, I let things settle for about 15 minutes. I then strain >the wort through cheescloth in a colander which is suspended over my >plastic bucket primary. The straining through the cheescloth takes a >long time since I usually use pelletized hops which combined with the >other solids quickly make up a semi-impermeable barrier. I then let >it cool overnight and pitch a starter in the morning. I transfer into >a carboy after the kreusening settles down. I usually bottle after >the bubbling through my airlock stops. <snip> It would help make it easier to assess the source your off-flavor if you had described it a bit more. In any event, I see two areas in your technique that could cause off-flavors: 1) Hot-Side Aeration (HSA) and 2) slow cooling. Both of these problems can be solved simply by building/buying a wort chiller. You should really avoid aeration of wort until you have cooled it below 80F (of course some oxidation still occurs, even at 80F, but 80F seems to be a generally accepted temperature). Oxidation of hot wort will give you off- flavors and darken the beer. The off-flavors associated with HSA are sherry-like and wet cardboard. The long time between the time that your wort stops boiling and the time that it drops below 140F is not good since DMS (a cooked-corn-like aroma) is being produced while the wort is between boiling and 140F. Finally, the long time between the wort dropping below 140F (or so) and the time that the yeast are really going is an invitation for infection. No matter how well you sanitize, you probably cannot sterilize your equipment (or the air around it) and something gets in. If you can have your cultured yeast eat up all the sugars and make some alcohol and lower the pH before the uninvited visitors get established, you can keep the off-flavors from nasties below the flavor threshold. A long, slow cooling of the wort is just an invitation for the nasties to get a jump on your yeast and to create enough off-flavors to be perceptable. Get a wort chiller. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 12:35:19 EST From: franc!kstiles at woomera.att.com Subject: Evergreens in beer There has been quite a bit of discussion about spruce beer lately, with comments about hemlock (the evergreen) tea, and most recently an interesting botany lesson from Edward F. Loewenstein <SNREDLOW at MIZZOU1.missouri.edu> on the Pinaceae family. Every year when I make my annual Spruce beer I wonder about other evergreens - pines, hemlock, and especially fir. I have some balsalm fir and Douglas fir, but since all references are to Spruce beer, I've confined my experiments to the picea genus - Blue, Norway, White and Black Spruces. I never tried the spruce extract that you can buy; maybe too much of that can give you a solvent taste, but it is virtually impossible to get anything like that with fresh sprigs. Most of the flavor seems to be extracted by the boil - I don't notice much affect from late kettle additions or "dry sprucing". You can definitely make a beer that's too sprucy, but it's not unlike making a beer that's too hoppy - a lot depends on the preference of the drinker, and in any case the solution to "too sprucy" is the same as for "too hoppy": dilution with a more conventional beer. Any insight on the use of evergreens besides spruce? Will I be forced to pilot brew a balsalm fir ale? What would Euell Gibbons have done? -Kevin Stiles Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 14:16:15 EST From: Spencer.W.Thomas at med.umich.edu Subject: Re: Belgian Special B (Matthew Rowley) Brian comments that Special B would probably make a good start on a Scotch Ale recipe. Well, I had the same thought recently. Tasting notes follow. Scottish 120/70 Made 3 gallons 120/- ("Wee Heavy") and 4.5 gallons 70/- 12 lbs Pale Ale Malt (Hugh Baird) 2 lbs Munich Malt (DeWolf-Cosyns) 1 lb Special B (DeWolf-Cosyns) Single temp infusion mash at 67C for 1 hour (1 quart H20/lb) 120/-: Sparge 4 gallons in two batches. I drained the mash tun once, then added a couple gallons of 77C water and drained it again. Boil 1 hour, adding 1 oz Goldings at beginning, and finishing with 1/2 oz Goldings (10 min). (Target IBUs 35) O.G. 1096. Force chill, pitch YeastLab Irish Ale yeast from 1qt starter. Fermented at about 55F. At 2 weeks, gravity was down to 1032, and I pitched the slurry from another quart starter of YeastLab London Ale yeast. Tasted nicely malty and alcoholic. I'll probably pitch new yeast at bottling time, as beer this alcoholic seems to have trouble carbonating. 70/-: Sparge 5.5 gallons (normal technique, keeping water about 1" above grain). Boil 1 hour, with 1 oz Goldings at start and 1/2 oz at finish. (Target IBUs 24) O.G. 1038. Fermented at "cellar temp" (65F?) for 2 weeks, then "mini-kegged" with gelatin finings, as it seemed to still be a little cloudy. Finished at 1010. Tasting notes: nice malty notes, with a medium-low hop bitterness (probably a little high for the style). Color medium amber. Easy to drink a lot of it. I served this at a party for a Scottish friend who is leaving town, and I was a little nervous about its reception. However, they thought it was pretty closely on target, although the color was light. I got compliments on the beer from all the Brits (Scottish and English) present. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 13:30 CST From: fjdobner at ihlpa.att.com Subject: Basement Brewing Mathew Harper asked for tips on planning an area in your basement for dedicated brewing. I do not have a dedicated area, but rather serves several purposes. One of the things I did put in was a range hood. I had heard from other homebrewers that they spend hours wiping down walss from all the moisture that is generated from the boil. The moisture is an open invitation for mildew and all types of creapy crawlers to take root in the floor joists. I went out looking for a range hood at a garage sale and found one for $10 at the first place I stopped. I suspended it from the ceiling with cables. I used a dryer vent package that includes the 4" hose and the actual vent itself that goes to the outside. I used it fro the first time two weeks ago. Works like a champ. I really recommend it. Write me if you want to know more. Frank Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 12:21:07 -0800 From: bpeck at ash.cisco.com (Barrett Peck) Subject: CNY Clubs Brewers - I am a relatively new brewer having made my first beer last month. I'd like to get more info and understand more of what I'm doing and what the beer is doing throughout the process. Is there a club in Syracuse, NY of Brewers? If so, please let me know. This appears to be something I'd like to get better at doing. - -- Barrett Peck -- bpeck at cisco.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 15:48:28 EST From: John DeCarlo <jdecarlo at homebrew.mitre.org> Subject: Wyeast Packages And Bursting Drew Lynch mentioned he would be curious to see if the Wyeast package would burst. Thus my story. I forgot about a package of Wyeast American Ale (don't ask me how, but I have small children). I ended up using some of my existing yeast stock on that batch. Two weeks ago, cleaning up around the computer (I keep them warm by wrapping in a towel and keeping near the computer until they get big), I found one that I had "burst" three and a half months earlier. "What the hey", I said, and pitched it into a starter anyway. The package was *less* puffed up than it would normally be at max--don't ask me why. The starter tasted and smelled fine and the beer tasted fine going into the secondary. I suspect the yeast suffered but pulled through like troopers. I *don't* think the current packages will explode under normal temperatures and pressures. John DeCarlo, MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA--My views are my own Fidonet: 1:109/131 Internet: jdecarlo at mitre.org If I were you, who would be reading this sentence? Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 14:01:35 MST From: npyle at n33.stortek.com Subject: Hops FAQ, Postmortem This is regarding the recently published Hops FAQ. I welcome all comments so that I may take one more shot at revising it before turning it over to the archives. Keep in mind, though, that it is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. The answers are generally available around the net, and were (mostly) NOT just dreamed up by me. I tried to present the "net.wisdom" side of most things, which doesn't imply, by any stretch of the imagination, that it is correct in every aspect. Most of the answers have been considered helpful my many, but in need of some discussion and changing. That is the purpose of active involvement in the HomeBrew Digest, not the purpose of the FAQ. Take it for what it is and discuss controversial topics on the HBD. I will be glad to discuss anything and everything in the FAQ, but I may or may not wish to make changes to it (editorial privilege?). I welcome anyone who wants to take it, once archived, and revise it to your heart's content. I realize it is not perfect; never will be. It is the best that my current time and resources allow and I am happy with it. Comments welcome, but see my side of it. As always we thank you for your support! I should mention that Glenn Tinseth from The Hop Source, unbeknownst (is that a word?) to me, wrote the bulk, if not all, of Part 1/5. He was not credited, but he will be in Rev. 3. Sorry, Glenn. My fault for not keeping better care of the sources of the info. I hope you don't feel too ripped off. In hindsight, separating the credits from each passage may not have been the best idea I've ever had. Cheers, Norm P.S. To anyone who may consider doing something like this: I learned as much about hops in the last 2 months as I did in the last 2 years. Lots of work but worth every minute. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1993 13:03:22 -0600 (MDT) From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu> Subject: Beer Head/ Best Bitter Recipe/Pnts AAU Calcs? ****************** Cisco (John Francisco)'s new sig.line says: >May your beer give you great head!!!! * Now that's kinky! I find it works better the other way around. * Question: Does "liquid male extract" increase head retention? ***************** Also- Thanks to the JOKER for offering such a splendid accounting of a typical workday in the life of Wyllie Coyote. I just hate it when I fall to the bottom of those canyons, especially when a big rock- or worse- LARGE pot of boiling wort- falls on my head. You think all that sounds bad- you should see what ACME has offered me to "smooth" my way through a brewday. Rocket powered Racking canes! ***************** Ok, but really. I Brewed a Best Bitter yesterday...following (roughly) a recipe for an IPA type bitter I posted the other day. for 12 gallons Best Bitter: 14# 2 Row Pale malt (only had american on hand.) 1.5# 60L Xtal .3 # Victory Malt .5 # Wheat malt BOIL: 2 oz Chinook (13% alpha) 2 oz Centennial (10%) 2 oz Cascade (7.3%) These were all flake hops stored in freezer ~ 2 months (or more) FINISH: 2 oz Cascade- homegrown. Smells YUMMY and fresh. Good xtal devpt. German Alt Yeast (dregs from previous ferements) OG 1.035. Temp 25 deg C. Question: In calculating points what grains are included, or do you just use the WHOLE grain bill? I can see wheat, and munich contributing fermentables, but what about things like chocolate which don't? Calculation: 35 sp.gr. x 12 gall. / 16.33 #'s = 25.72 pts/lb Is this right? It seems reasonable to me. That's within the range I expect from my cooler/lauter tun. But I'm not sure If I got the equation right. (I always get confused...maybe ACME has a kit...hmm...scratch chin) AAU's...(13 x 2 )+ 20 + 14.6 = 60.6 => 25.25 AAU (5 gallon conversion) QUESTION: Is this right? I need to dig up the HopsFaq and check. This is gonna be one bitter mo-fo. But ooooooh my house smelled delicious after the 1.5 hr boil! Everything is hoppily underway this morning. I think I need to try a RauchBier before I retire the BBQ&Smoker for the winter. Plus it seems a fitting celebration to my folks house surviving the Altadena fire last week. (what a nightmare!) That'll be MUCH stronger! /***********************************************************************\ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \* I finally got everything all together, then I forgot where I put it!*/ ********************************************************************* Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 14:31:58 MST From: npyle at n33.stortek.com Subject: Plumbing Well, it appears we have a real HBD plumbing problem on our hands. I scanned the HBDs for the last seven days and I was quite impressed. I expected to see at least 25% wasted space (wasted space defined as articles which apply not at all to homebrewing). The beer drinks thread qualifies (who would _really_ do any of this to your homebrew?), as do the complaints about people's .sig files. Those two topics were virtually all of the badness on the HBD recently. I expect that amounted to less than 10% of the total HBD bandwidth, a wonderful S/N ratio, IMHO. So, what do we do? Quit posting junk like this one? Maybe. Two-a-days are possible, although I don't know Rob's limitations nor inclinations. I did notice his change to Six-a-weeks. That is a good start and it may prove to be all that is necessary. It is the brewing season and that increases brewing questions, thus HBD traffic. I suggest no panics yet, use email whenever general interest is not served, and wait. I suppose we could ask everyone to use as much self-restraint as possible with things like "Are there any good pubs in XXX?", but as I said before the S/N ratio is still quite good. Long .sigs, orgasmic ones or not, should be avoided whenever possible. Other than that, I say, "Keep up the good work!". Old Lucifer update: OG 1085; SG 1035 after 6 weeks. I may rename it Old Energizer Bunny (keeps going, and going,...). Pitched dry frog yeast this weekend (I'm a jerk, I know). Anyone want 5 gallons of all-grain liquid candy with 6% alcohol? I want my carboy back! Norm Return to table of contents
Date: 01 Nov 1993 16:46:54 -0700 (MST) From: "Steven W. Smith" <SMITH_S at gc.maricopa.edu> Subject: Another immersion chiller I've been lurking for awhile, so I thought I'd finally break down and be sociable. I recently built my first immersion chiller, and it occurred to me that I may have done something marginally innovative (it could happen). The chillers I've seen for sale seem designed to sit in the bottom of a pot. Mine hangs over either side, so that the coil is suspended near the top - where it's hot. The idea being that the cooled wort will fall to the bottom and encourage circulation, giving faster cooling without stirring. I've only used it once, but it worked well (faster than a bathtub full o' icewater). For your viewing pleasure, I include the crudest possible ascii rendering of said chiller. It can be adjusted for different pot sizes by stretching or compressing the coils (refrigeration copper tubing). /\ /\ __/ \00000/ \__ _,_/| \o.O; Steven W. Smith, Programmer/Analyst =(___)= Glendale Community College, Glendale Az. USA U SMITH_S at GC.BITNET smith_s at gc.maricopa.edu Hoppy trails. (ouch) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1993 18:35:44 -0400 (EDT) From: WESTEMEIER at delphi.com Subject: Keeping the club healthy Andy Kligerman asked for input about keeping a homebrew club healthy. Our club is very healthy, if growth is a good measure. The Bloatarian Brewing League (of Cincinnati) was founded by Ray Spangler, 1987 Homebrewer of the Year. We are extraordinarily lucky to have the support of the Oldenberg microbrewery and Drawbridge Estate complex. They give us a meeting room each month at no charge, in return for putting on a couple of homebrew demonstrations each year for the Oldenberg Beer Camp. It seems to me that the best method for keeping a club from degenerating into a beer drinking club is to have a well planned program for every meeting. The socializing part is great, but there has to be more. We occasionaly do a "Dr. Beer" seminar to demonstrate specific off-flavors in beer, helping to educate members' taste buds. We also have an organized tasting each month, wherein members bring samples of their latest brews which are tasted by a panel of experts (and anyone else who cares to participate) with feedback provided as a distinct part of the meeting. That lets everyone in on the secrets of evaluating beers, provides a useful function to keep the experienced members from being bored, educates the newcomers, and keeps things fairly organized. We also invite local merchants to attend and give tastings of special beers, which is great advertising for them (and almost free) and a treat for us (as well as being educational). We have various members give presentations on equipment construction, describe specific beer styles, discuss yeast culturing, etc. Road trips are another great tool. We plan on a meeting place, then carpool to interesting brewpubs or other places of interest to homebrewers. These are very informal, lots of fun, and a nice supplement to meetings It's also important to have something planned for each meeting that involves beginners as well as for the more advanced members. That can be an activity related to identifying a specific problem in a beer or maybe something about equipment or ingredients. Make sure that your club leadership includes everyone in discussions, as beginners can be intimidated by a lot of the arcana that concern the more advanced brewers. Try to define highly technical terms the first time they are used at each meeting, at least when you have newcomers present. Don't criticize the efforts of beginners, but make them opportunities to suggest ways to improve. Finally, use the mails. We have an 8 page monthly newsletter that covers lots of ground, but you can do much the same thing with a single sheet of paper that describes what went on at the last meeting (for those who missed it) and what is planned for the next one. Many people need that kind of reminder between meetings. Ed Westemeier Cincinnati, Ohio westemeier at delphi.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 93 20:53:00 -0600 From: phil.brushaber at lunatic.metronet.com (Phil Brushaber) Subject: The Two Millers I have both of Dave Miller's books. He seems to have alternate grain bills for Dopplebock in the two books. In one he suggests 100% Munich as the main grain, in the other he suggests about 80% Lager/Pilsner malt and 20% Munich (about 3 lbs Munich). (and of course cara-pils and crystal). I've been going with the Pilsner/Munich mix. Has anyone brewed with 100% Munich? Flavor profile? Results? Warnings? ... All, known to his friends as Captain Capper! ___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.11 - ---- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | The Lunatic Fringe BBS * 214-235-5288 * 3 nodes * Richardson, TX * 24 hrs | | UseNet, ILink, RIME, FIDO, Annex, Intelec, LuciferNet, PlanoNet, and more!| - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 06:14:00 PST From: John_D._Sullivan.wbst311 at xerox.com Subject: California Common Hi all, I'm hoping someone has a good All-Grain recipe for St__m beer or California Common Beer. Private E-mail please. Thanks very much, John Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1993 08:24:09 -0600 (CST) From: Robert Schultz <Robert.Schultz at usask.ca> Subject: informal get together in San Diego Dec 7-10? Any of you folks out there planning to attend the CAUSE '93 conference in San Diego on December 7-10, 1993? If yes, email me and maybe we could get together for brew or two. The conference is being held at the Sheraton on Harbor Island. I have extracted the list of brew pubs in the San Diego area (circa 1991 ?). Any of you folks that are familiar with the area have any suggestions of must see/don't waste your time brew pubs???? Comments appreciated. Rob. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Robert.Schultz at usask.ca, University Studies Group, University of Saskatchewan~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ "I'm going off half-cocked? I'm going off half-cocked? ... ~ ~ Well, Mother was right - You can't argue with a shotgun." - Gary Larson ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 09:47:34 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: Re: Hops FAQ Since this Hops thing is a FAQ, I feel obliged to put on my Monty Python act and NIT, NIT.... > Subject: Hops FAQ, Part 5/5 > > Name: CASCADE > Grown: US > Profile: spicy, floral, citrus (esp. grapefruit) aroma > Typical use: bittering, finishing, dry hopping for American style ales > Example: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Old Foghorn > AA Range: 4.5 - 7% > Substitute: Centennial Centennial is a great hop, adn certainly similar in some respects to Cascade, but they are not really *substitutes*. Centennial is much spicier, and contributes a different citrous essence to the beer. I usually like to mix the two hops, and while Centennial is a pretty high alpha hop (~10%) it can still be used as a dry hop quite successfully. > > Name: CRYSTAL (CFJ-HALLERTAU) > Substitute: Imported Hallertau, Mount Hood, Liberty. "Imported Hallertau" does not mean much today. The region the hop variety is grown in is what counts, as "Hallertau" hops are grown all over Germany as are Tettanger, hence the names, Hersbrueker Hallertau, Hallertau Hallertau, Tettang Hallertau, Tettanger Tettanger, etc....I encourage brewers to use the correct terminology, as it is a real difference which hop a brewer uses in a given recipe. > > Name: EAST KENT GOLDINGS > Grown: UK > Profile: rounded, pungent aroma also "earthy" > Typical use: bittering, finishing, dry hopping for British style ales > Example: Young's Special London Ale, Samuel Smith's Pale Ale LaChouffe!! > AA Range: ??? 4-6% > Substitute: BC Goldings, English Fuggles There is none!! > Name: HALLERTAU HERSBRUCKER Reverse, HERSBRUCKER HALLERTAU > Grown: Germany > Profile: pleasant, mild aroma earthy, can be quite spicey, ummmmmm, and quite aromatic, Pils anyone?? > Typical use: finishing / dry hopping for German style lagers only "German style lagers" brewed in the US are dry hopped :-) BTW, most german lagers are finished at 15 minutes to end of boil, not at the very end as many of us do. This, in conjunction with the whirlpool, will add bitterness, and aroma to the beers. Many german brewers dislike the very late additions of this hop. > Example: ??? Pils. > AA Range: 3 - 5% sometimes less than 3, I currently have 2.3-2.6 > > Name: HALLERTAU MITTELFRUEH > Example: ??? Sam Adams > > Name: MT. HOOD > Grown: US > Profile: mild, clean aroma > Typical use: finishing / dry hopping for German style lagers > Example: ??? Mt Hood Ale?? > Name: NORTHERN BREWER > Grown: UK, US, Germany (called Hallertau NB), and other areas Now we got it right, Hallertau NB. NB grown in the Hallertau region of Germany. > (growing region affects profile greatly) Exactly!! > > Name: SPALT > Grown: Germany/US > Profile: mild, pleasant, slightly spicy > Typical use: aroma/finishing/flavoring Bittering too!! > Example: ??? Alt bier of course, thats the bittering hop commonly used. > Substitute: Saaz, Tettnanger. Saaz??? > > Name: STYRIAN GOLDINGS > Grown: Yugoslavia (Fuggles grown in Yugoslavia), also grown in US > Profile: similar to Fuggles > Typical use: bittering, aroma for a wide variety of beers, popular in Europe > Example: ??? Belgium ales, Rochefort, > > Name: CENTENNIAL > Grown: US > Profile: spicy, floral aroma, clean bittering hop (Super Cascade?) > Typical use: general purpose bittering, aroma, some dry hopping > Example: ??? Sierra Neveda Celebration ale, Old Crustaceon Barley Wine (Rogue), Jim Busch New American Ales :-) > Name: PERLE > Grown: Germany, US > Profile: pleasant aroma, almost minty bittering hop > Typical use: general purpose bittering for all lagers except pilsener > Example: ??? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale This is good info, just nitting around here, lots to know about hops..... Best, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1993 09:47:17 -0600 (CST) From: jim at n5ial.mythical.com (Jim Graham) Subject: Oatmeal Stout results! Ok, it's been a few weeks now since I brewed my oatmeal stout, and a bit longer since I asked the HBD for assistance in this area. Well, we now have some results...and they're very *GOOD* results. :-) Thanks to all who provided me with valuable information that led up to this batch. I also have a question regarding the sediment in the bottle, but I'll leave that to the end. I went with the following: 6 lbs Oatmeal Dark extract (from William's) 1 lb Dry American Dark extract (also from William's) 1/4 oz English Fuggles (60 minutes) 1 oz English Fuggles (30 minutes) 1 packet Burton Ale liquid yeast (William's) corn sugar for priming, as always.... The recipe called for 4 oz of Lactose (add during last 10 minutes of boil), but I didn't have that, so I skipped it. :-) This recipe was what the guy I talked to a William's said would be closest to Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout, so that's what I went with (he'd given me a slight variation of this over the phone---it included Hallertauer hops, which this doesn't). Result: I'll do a side-by-side comparison with Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout tonight, if I can find any (SS isn't easy to find, due to how expensive it is---the stores don't stock much, and they don't always stock it at all). But just from memory, I'd have to say that it is either a very close match, or is dead on. And it's very, very good. Yummmm.... It's also particularly appropriate now, since we just got hit with the first real signs of winter (about a month early, too), and actually went into the 30s last night. Yuck! But, in the evenings, I have a nice oatmeal stout (served at proper cellar temps, thanks to the fact that the apartment isn't approaching 800F) to warm me up. Ok, I mentioned a question.... This is the first time I've used liquid yeast. I've noticed that the sediment in the bottle seems to be a lot finer than normal (i.e., much smaller bits, and more of them). Is this a characteristic of the liquid yeast? Or is it just a characteristic of that particular liquid yeast? Just curious. Btw, I haven't really decided whether it makes pouring the beer easier or more difficult....but you certainly have to pay a lot more attention to where the sediment is when you pour (my first glass had a bunch of sediment at the bottom). Later, --jim - -- #include <std_disclaimer.h> 73 DE N5IAL (/4) - -------------------------< Running Linux 0.99 PL10 >-------------------------- INTERNET: jim at n5ial.mythical.com | j.graham at ieee.org ICBM: 30.23N 86.32W AMATEUR RADIO: (packet station temporarily offline) AMTOR SELCAL: NIAL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E-mail me for information about KAMterm (host mode for Kantronics TNCs). Return to table of contents
Date: 2 Nov 1993 08:20:27 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer#d#john at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Brass in the boil Hi Group, I noticed the Brass post today, and I can come up with an answer I think. First, are you noticing ANY corrosion? Any roughening of the surface? IF your fitting is an alloy containing Lead (unlikely) that would be a big problem. The leaded alloys are UNS # C3X000 series. These alloys are used when increased machinability is desired. Hopefully, the brass fitting alloy being used is Red Brass aka UNS # C23000 aka ASTM B43. That alloy is all Copper-Zinc and will pose no health hazard. The zinc is in solid solution for this alloy and is not subject to leaching. Other alloys such as Admirility Brass (copper zinc tin) may be in use and are acceptable. With Red Brass or Admirility Brass, any corrosion you may be seeing would not be toxic. Corrosion in this case may be the Brightening of the fitting during use, the same as your wort chillers. -John Palmer 600 laid off the Space Station last Friday, but fortunatly I made the cut. Invest in the Space Program, folks, tell your congressmen. It promotes good jobs through transfer of technology for a good future. It also inspires our children toward higher education. Keep America Strong. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 93 11:25:09 EST From: dweller at GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE) Subject: one-pot brews I just met an older fellow (80+) who's been brewing forever. Offered a nice lager (a bit cloudy) which is all he makes. Among other things, he said that he never uses two containers (primary and secondary fermenters) but instead puts the whole batch in 5 gallon carboy, airlocks it, and then waits till it's all done. He said that using two fermenters (I use a plastic bucket, then a carboy) was foolishness and the best chance to get contamination. Since all the procedure's I've heard about recommend two--a primary and secondary--this fellow's method seems peculiar. I wonder if anyone else has experience using only a single jug. Cheers, Ron Dwelle (dweller at gvsu.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1993 11:31:11 EST From: Y Y Zed <fini at bigvax.alfred.edu> Subject: sterilization options/procedures Hi all - I'd like to get some input on the methods you use for sterilizing/ disinfecting equipment and bottles. I've been told be a few people that bleach is to be avoided due to the risk of residual bleach solution killing off yeast. An alternative is B-Brite, but I don't know how effective it is at killing everything off compared to bleach, which is very strong. I'm relatively new at the game, and since I like to experiment I disinfected the bottles for my first and second batches with rubbing alcohol and then rinsed well. The first batch turned out well, but the second had a weird aftertaste (due to bacterial infection, I assume). What's the best method for sterilizing mass quantities of bottles? bleach solution in a bathtub? thanks - Paul Fini fini at bigvax.alfred.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1993 09:33:07 -0600 (MDT) From: COYOTE <SLK6P at cc.usu.edu> Subject: Frogs?/Cider/Scotch Ales Norm says: "...have to punt (i.e. pitch a frog yeast). And that's SG for the nitpicky coyote!:)" * Pardon my ignorance...What's a "frog yeast"? * Norm...sounds like you can use FG pretty soon! ************************* >You Don't want cider with sorbate. Find an orchard and get >the fresh pressed- unfiltered stuff. Much worth it! That's very good advice. * (but of course!!!! :) ) * I submit: I over-stated sorbate's effectiveness. * It inhibits yeast budding=reproduction. Bacteria don't bud. * A note on cider sources...and hg apples....There have been cases of E.coli infections from apples which had fallen, sat on the ground prior to pressing. E.coli may be a common component of the flora of your bowels...but it's better to keep it at that end, not at the other! The point here...it may be safer to campden your cider, then pitch. Rather than try to rely on the normal flora of yeast/bacteria/other bugs which might reside in fresh cider. I'll be starting up this years cyser pretty darn soon (payday!!! pant...groan...) Also: It's worth bugging your presser to inquire about the types of apples used. Many orchards will press what's on hand. That may vary from day to week. You might get a better deal if you: 1. Go in with friends and buy LOTS! We walk off with up to ~20gals! 2. Arrange to come in on pressing day. You get fresher cider, and you won't depleat their stock. Bargain and you might get a better deal. The best I've run into is $2.50 / gallon. ************************* Eric Urquhart (eurquhar at sfu.ca) Centre for Pest Management, * Sounds like you'd have your work cut RE: Noonan's Scotch Ale book * out to deal with the likes of me! * I was quite pleased with it. The history is interesting...ok so I found the water chapter kinda boring...and didn't feel like he gave a good explanation of the process of double mashing...just assumed we knew all about it! The book passed around a couple of friends and resulted in the finest products out of these brewers I've seen in quite some time. I made a 90 shilling first runnings, and continued to sparge a 2 penny. I didn't have the exact ingredients called for, but was pleased with the result. A strong- malty sweet, deep rich brew. I must try it again soon. I won't bother posting the recipe unless there is a call for it. (i did a recipe yesterday...) One thing I found intersting was that the dark malt flavors came from roasted malt, not crystal. I always assumed it would be a heavily xtal'd grain bill. Not so. Also...I would've assumed good 'ol greg would've promoted the Decoction- being a master of it himself...ok at least a previous author on the subject. I did find the book to be more clearly written than his Lager book. I think I still like Porter/Pale ale the best. Mr. Fix's Oktober etc. is also a very nicely written piece. I do find these books to inspire the desire to explore a style in greater detail. It also gives ideas on how to name your ferments...even if you drift away from the style a bit! /**************************************************************\ ~~~~~~~~~ John (The Coyote) Wyllie SLK6P at cc.usu.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~ \******************* Brew on you bums! *******************/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 8:36:29 -0800 (PST) From: Jim Cave <CAVE at PSC.ORG> Subject: Counterflow chillers There has been considerable debate recently on the relative merits of immersion vs. counterflow chillers. While I do not intend to try and convince others to switch to the counterflow design, it is the one that I use for the following reasons: 1) About 50% of the beers (all-grain) that I brew are lagers. I prefer very cold ferments to these beers (45 F). For much of the year, I can get my beer close to this temperature with this design. During the summer months I use an additional coil (after the counter current) which runs through an ice bath. This drops the beer an additional 10 F. This rapid drop in temperature makes for remarkable cold breaks. 2) Much of the trub falls out in the kettle. I have a hop-back and a second screen in at the outlet-valve to prevent the occassional errant hop from entering the chiller. I give the wort a quick stir to generate a whirl-pool. The counter-current flows into glass carboys. I then rack off the trub and into glass carboys (Yes I rack off the trub; the breweries I have talked to estimate that they remore 95% or more of their trub prior to ferment). 3) The unchilled beer remains well above 160F and is therefore sterile. Gravity checks can be rapidly made at the exit of the chiller and gently re- introduced to the boiler without fear of contamination. 4) When 2/3's of the wort remains in the kettle, I throw in hops for aroma (hot soak). This gives excellent aroma. A hop-back in-line with the chiller would be a better way to go but I have't come up with a rugged design yet. 5) With my boils, I always seem to end up with a gravity 4 or 5 points higher than target (and correspondingly less volume). I have recently come up with a gentle way of adjusting gravity. I fire up the sparge tank and boil water. This is introduced with a tube into the boiler with the beer (when the beer has nearly all gone through the chiller). This gently washes the hops and trub of fermentable extract. One disadvantage that I see with the counter current chiller is that the Irish moss addition is less effective, as it doesn't really enter the collecting carboys. Consequently, the beer in the collecting carboys takes longer to drop bright than it otherwise would in the boiler. However, as I mentioned, trub is also settled and filtered out in the boiler. I guess you pays your money and takes your chances!! Jim Cave 684-684-8081 "I brew.....I am" Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1263, 11/04/93