HOMEBREW Digest #1394 Sat 09 April 1994

Digest #1393 Digest #1395


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


Contents:
  Gott cooler mash tun (Dion Hollenbeck)
  Network Feuding (wyatt)
  Re: Raspberry Extract (Christepher A. McKenney )
  Galvanic Corrosion of Cu & CRES ("Palmer.John")
  Patial Mashing and Malt Extracts (GNT_TOX_)
  Re: Coffee Brew and Keg Parts (Dion Hollenbeck)
  OOPS! Racking Cane Sanitation (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
  All Saint's (RONALD DWELLE)
  Wyeast Belgian White (Brian R Seay )
  Jaded taste buds:  Zima and other fad beers (Ed Ditto)
  Re: Alcohol content (Jason Sloan)
  Titanium Brewpot (Saby Gordon)
  dry hopping (Tim Lawson)
  mashed coffee ("Dennis Lewis")
  pepper-like taste (Tim Lawson)
  Re: #2(2) Homebrew Digest #13... (iueyedoc)
  sierra nevada/priming Q/hops suggestion (jeclark)
  "Homebrew Thermostat" (Fred Salchli)
  The HBD needs asbestos lining (GNT_TOX_)
  flame on flames / wyeast american ale (Gregg Tennefoss)
  EXTRACT ! vs. Grain vs. Zima (rprice)
  Partial Mashing/Programs (Doug Lukasik)
  Agar (George Kavanagh O/o)
  coffee beer/response to JEBURNS (es76)
  Jack and Chill (John Lenz) jel3 at cornell.edu
  HomeBrew Recipe Book (Rnarvaez)
  blow off hose (Milstead Robert)
  Celis Bock (Richard Buckberg)
  Re: Kill Jack Schmidling? Nah.  Take it to r.c.b.p (Brian J Walter (Brewing Chemist))
  BW for my new Daughter's 21st bd (U-E68316-Scott Wisler)
  LAGER YEAST AT ROOM TEMP (DALLEN)
  Old 49er? (lucas)
  Extracts & executions (Jay Weissler)
  Lagering in Cornelius kegs (MCKSMI)
  federal and local brewing regs (Jonathan Peakall)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 08:54:12 PDT From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Gott cooler mash tun I have had so many requests for information on bulkhead fittings and Gott cooler mash tuns that I thought I would post this as being generally useful. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to make a mash/lauter tun out of a GOTT cooler What I use is a standard 10 gal Gott drink cooler. As opposed to other brands, the Gott is specifically made for hot and cold beverages and therefore stands up well to mashing temps. The procedures are very simple. 1) Remove the valve assembly 2) Buy a Phil's Phalse Bottom (the 10 gal size for about $25) 3) Add a bulkhead fitting to the cooler in place of the valve 4) Connect the false bottom to the bulkhead fitting You can figure out how to remove the valve and buy the false bottom yourself. If not, don't try this at home. Hire a professional. B-} BULKHEAD FITTING ================ A bulkhead fitting is a way of getting an attachment for plumbing on two sides of a plate (bulkhead). The simplest bulkhead fitting is made with a close nipple, two rubber washers, two stainless steel washers and two pipe thread nuts. Place the nipple through a hole in the plate. Slip over a rubber washer, a SS washer and then run on the nut. From the other side, do the same. Tighten the two nuts against each other to form a seal. If the bulkhead is curved like in a round cooler, you may need very soft rubber gaskets, but if it is flat, the rubber can be harder. O-rings sometimes work. If you cannot get pipe nuts, you can make them by buying reducer fittings. For a 1/2" pipe nut, buy a 3/4" to 1/2" reducer. Hold the 3/4" threaded portion in a vise and use a hacksaw to cut off the hex nut portion. These are available for sale from McMaster-Carr in brass or bronze, but I have only seen them in retail stores in pot metal which one would *not* want to use in brewing. For use with a false bottom, *USE* the reducer, not the pipe nut and *DO NOT* cut off the threaded portion. This will be used as an adapter for the hose from the false bottom. A 1/2" ballvalve on the outside of the bulkhead fitting can be used in place of the pipe nut, and you probably want a valve anyway. PHALSE BOTTOM MODS ================== A Phil's Phalse Bottom is a circle of 1/8" plastic, slightly domed and with gazillions of small holes in it. In the center is one 1/4" NPT threaded hole into which a plastic elbow has been screwed. The other end of the elbow is about a 1/4" hose barb. If you are using this for a RIMS system, I strongly suggest that you replace the elbow with a larger one, but for just a manual lauter tun, it will do fine as is. For a RIMS system drill out the hole in the false bottom and thread with 1/2" NPT and buy a 1/2" NPT to 1/2" hose barb nylon elbow. If non-RIMS, buy a 1/4" nylon hose barb to 1/2" Male NPT straight fitting, for RIMS, buy 1/2" NPT to 1/2" hose barb. Take this straight adapter and go to a grindstone or belt/disk sander and grind off the threads from the outside of the nylon adapter doing so in a manner to give you a truncated cone shape like a rubber stopper. This is so that it will fit snugly into the reducing bushing which is part of the bulkhead fitting. With either the 1/4" or the 1/2" version, you now have a false bottom sitting on the bottom with an elbow sticking up out of it, and a bulkhead fitting with a nylon adpater sticking out of it, both of which have hose barb ends. Now to connect them. Measure the distance between the shoulders of the two hose barbs and cut a piece of clear vinyl, internally braided reinforced hose about 1/8" longer than that distance. Remove the false bottom and the nylon adapter in the bulkhead fitting and insert them into the ends of the pieces of hose. You then angle the false bottom down into the bottom of the cooler so that the nylon adapter begins to enter the bulkhead fitting while the false bottom is still at an angle and not quite on the bottom of the cooler. By the time the false bottom gets to the bottom of the cooler, it should have firmly wedged the conically shaped adapter into the bulkhead fitting. The grain bed sitting on top of this will guarantee it does not move. SUGGESTIONS FOR RIMS IMPLEMENTATIONS ==================================== As previously mentioned, use 1/2" hose. The reduction of input to your pump will be too restrictive with only 1/4" hose and most magnetically driven pumps can be throttled on the output side, but do not like to be throttled on the input side. It is possible with heat and suction to collapse regular braided reinforced hose, so I used Teflon hose with Stainless Steel overbraid. This was probably overkill, but it will never collapse on you. You could probably get by with just Teflon. I used just the clear hose for a while and it worked, but with some collapsing causing partial blockage of the input to the pump. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com Staff Software Engineer Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 94 09:49:05 pst From: wyatt at Latitude.COM Subject: Network Feuding I don't know about everyone else but I think the "spitting contests" that have been going on are getting a little old. Instead of being a source of better brewing practices and other brewing information, much of the bandwidth is being used to vent animosity toward others who may have different philosophies about brewing. The All Grain VS Extract controversy is all well and good but lets not get all defensive about it. We all have a common goal - To brew better brew - so lets get on with it and forget about all this personal vendetta stuff. After all, even All Grain brewing isn't the whole process. Malting and even the process of growing grain and hops etc. are all part of the picture. I tune into HD to get and share helpful information - not to listen to a bunch of network brawls. The space for HD is limited so lets not waste it. If you don't agree with someone just mention it and go on, after all if someone is stuck in their opinion nobody is going to change it anyway. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu Apr 7 13:39:37 1994 From: <cam1 at nrc.gov> (Christepher A. McKenney ) Subject: Re: Raspberry Extract Andy, How exactly did you use your raspberry extract? I'm interested in making a raspberry wheat beer and want to use an extract if possible instead of the fruit. What exactly was the raspberry extract - was it the clear extract for winemaking? When do you add it to the brewing process? I tried a chocolate-raspberry porter in January and while the chocolate came through wonderfully, you can't detect the raspberry. I had added the raspberry near the end of boil so I think it boiled off. Chris Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Apr 1994 11:08:22 U From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Galvanic Corrosion of Cu & CRES Good Question, Young Jim. (Treasure Island- Long John Silver actually got his name from being a metallurgist) Copper and Stainless do indeed form a galvanic couple, though the stainless may or may not corrode depending on which is the more passive (cathodic) at the time. Chemically passivated stainless steel (Nitric acid dipped per QQ-A-35) is more passive than copper, especially clean copper. An electrolyte is always necessary for galvanic corrosion. The electrolyte can be either acidic or alkaline, with the corrosion rate being increased by the strength of the electrolyte. (strength can be defined as the difference in pH from 7, although there is more to it than that.) For Brewing, the acidic wort would result in the copper being anodic to the stainless and corroding. With Jim's proposed setup, a piece of copper inside a stainless vessel surrounded by hot acid might corrode brilliantly. The comment from the mfg company about leaching is true, but the result would be more of wholesale dissolution of the copper alloy than leaching. (Stop the Presses, Just had an Idea!) Okay, I just spoke with Jack Schmidling, proprietor of the EasyMasher(tm). The EM incorporates a stainless steel screen clamped around a copper tube attached to brass attached to a stainless steel pot. He dissassembled the components while we were on the phone and in response to my questions, discerned that there was no sign of pitting, or surface feature change in any of the parts, which have been in use for the past two years. The only sign of galvanic activity was that the stainless steel screen, where it contacted about 3/4 inch of the copper tube, was stained a copper color. This tells me that Copper ions are coming off the tube and depositing on the stainless steel (which I expected, typical of anodic/cathodic metal plating processes) but that the overall rate of corrosion is very low. If corrosion rate where high, I would expect to see a change in the tubing wall thickness and pitting at the points of contact. This was not the case. Summary: From this data, one can hypothesise that the boiling wort conditions of homebrewing do not result in significant corrosion of copper/stainless couples, in spite of the ASM Metals Handbook, Ninth Ed. Volume 13 - Corrosion, recommending against having copper in galvanic contact with large amount of stainless. (They actually have a chapter devoted to the Brewing Industry. :)) So, Young Jim, give it a whirl. And good luck trying to bend 1/2 inch stainless steel tubing. We use heavy machines to do that. John Palmer Metallurgist for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace- Space Station Div. palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 14:17 EST From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU> Subject: Patial Mashing and Malt Extracts One question and one request: 1- Is it possible to do a decoction partial mash? Anyone think it would benefit the brew in the end the way people now claim decoction mashes benefit all grain brewing 2- I'd love to compile a text file with your reviews of different brands of malt extracts and your recommended beer styles for each one. If anyone else likes this idea, please send me mail, and I'll begin compiling a list. Andy Pastuszak Philadelphia, PA INTERNET: GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU BITNET: GNT_TOX_ at ALLOY.BITNET Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 10:07:06 PDT From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Re: Coffee Brew and Keg Parts >>>>> "DAve" == JEBURNS <JEBURNS at ucs.indiana.edu> writes: DAve> Also, I would like an address for inexpensive keg parts and supplies. DAve> I had the address of a place in Texas, but they have gone out of business. DAve> I have two Cornelius kegs that I would like to start using.... DAve> Dave in Bloomington DAve> jeburns at ucs.indiana.edu Keg Parts: BrauKunst 1-800-972-2728 Foxx Equipment Co. (800) 821-2254 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com Staff Software Engineer Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Return to table of contents
Date: 7 Apr 94 18:28:00 GMT From: korz at iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583) Subject: OOPS! Racking Cane Sanitation I posted the following a while ago and Don pointed out a problem with my procedure (as I described it): >>The two questions ARE probably related. I sanitize my racking tube by soaking >>it in a carboy full of either Bleach+water or One-step+water. Think about it. >>When you put the racking tube in the carboy, you are actually wetting the >>entire length that has potential for contacting the beer or the neck of the >>carboy. The sour/yeasty smell and cloudy appearance is probably due to a wild >>yeast and possibly also a bacterial infection. Once the tube gets scratched >>up, just replace it. Is saving $2.00 on a racking cane worth blowing $20 on >>ingredients? Oops! Actually, what I meant was that I don't try to sanitize the OUTSIDE of the cane above the level of a full carboy. I siphon some of the sanitizer through the hose, shut off the hoseclamp, top up the carboy with sanitizer and let the whole siphon setup sit with the sanitizer sitting in it for 15 minutes. Indeed, if I did not actually siphon the sanitizer through the tubing/hose, the rest of it could be teaming with nasties. Sorry about any confusion. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 94 14:38:38 EST From: dweller at GVSU.EDU (RONALD DWELLE) Subject: All Saint's I got boo-coo responses to my earlier inquiry about the patron saint of home (or other) brewers. Results: St. Gambrinus -- 9 people said he was the one St. Anne -- 5 people said St. Andrew -- 4 people said St. Augustine (maybe ...of Hippo?) -- 3 people said St. Stephen -- 2 people said And I got nine other one-person-voting-for saints (not counting St. Pauli, since I didn't know if that was serious) Cheers, Ron Dwelle (dweller at gvsu.edu) While beer brings gladness, don't forget That water only makes you wet. (--H.L.Wilson) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 14:13:59 -0500 From: Brian R Seay </G=Brian/I=R/S=Seay/O=MAC/PRMD=ALCANET/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/ at alcatel.aud.alcatel.com> Subject: Wyeast Belgian White Subject: Time:12:35 PM OFFICE MEMO Wyeast Belgian White Date:4/7/94 Has anyone used the new Wyeast Belgian White? I'm attempting to make a Celis White clone; is this the optimum yeast to use? Is it doped with bacteria? Private e-mail please, any tips would be appreciated. I'll post the results when the beer is finished. TIA, Brian brian_r_seay at aud.alcatel.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 07:15:44 -0400 From: aa3396 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Ed Ditto) Subject: Jaded taste buds: Zima and other fad beers A quick word about Zima... Every so often national commercial brewers have to confront jaded taste buds, and products like Zima, Ice, Dry, Genuine Draft, and other such beermutations are the inevitible result. Why taste buds get jaded in the first place is the real issue, isn't it? How many bottles of Miller can one drink before it's time to move on? Well, about one. But the point is that anybody who wants new experiences can, in the time it would take them to drive to the store ten times for ten six-packs, brew up something really good in their own kitchen for half the price. Zima's not too bad...my girlfriend named her cat after it. - -- Ed Ditto TVA/Chattanooga aa3396 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 22:47:30 -0400 From: aa3625 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Jason Sloan) Subject: Re: Alcohol content Hi. I found this list in Men's Fitness Magazine (July 1991). I don't know how reliable the figures are but here we go: Rolling Rock 4.3% Bud Dry 4.8 Michelob Dry 4.8 Budweiser 4.8 Actually, all of the beers in the "regular" category are twixt 4.3 and 5.9 with the exception of Elephant Malt Liquor which is 7.1. The "light category runs from 3.8 to 4.3 with the exception of Pabst Extra Light at 2.5% alcohol. The nonalcoholic beers ranged from 0.04 to 0.05, pretty low. There are probably about 50 brews on this list, some of which are "malt liquors". Alcohol content was measured by volume. As a side note, calories ranged from 49 in the non-alcohol group to 212 in the regular (Elephant Malt Liquor again). I'm posting this only because I thought it was interesting, not because it should be used as a definitive guide. Mail me if you have any questions about the figures. Jason - -- Jason Sloan sloan01?jason at cc01.mssc.edu or aa3625 at freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu - ---Yo ho ho and a bucket of homebrew... Return to table of contents
Date: 07 Apr 1994 15:57:43 -0400 From: em28987 at pwc.utc.com (Saby Gordon) Subject: Titanium Brewpot A friend recently had a brewpot fabricated for me. It was supposed to be stainless steel, but when he arrived at my doorstep with the brewpot, he said "All I could find was titanium". The titanium is ASTMB 265 G2. It's a great pot, 12 gallon capacity, nice handles, etc etc, but I am not sure if it's safe. Does titanium react with beer wort? Am I brewing toxic titanium beer? I have not noticed any unusial flavors in any of the batches I have brewed in the pot. If the pot is safe for brewing, are there any cleaning agents that I should avoid? Any input would be appreciated. Gordon Saby sabygo at PWC.UTC.COM Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 94 19:57:04 EDT From: Tim Lawson <lawson at clcunix.msj.edu> Subject: dry hopping Dana Cummings asked about dry hopping. I usually dry hop by adding 1/2 to 1 ounce of hop pellets to the secondary prior to racking. I've found that it helps to mix the pellets with sterile, warm water first to break them up. You will find the almost all of the hops fall to the bottom of the secondary and you can easily rack the finished beer off them to your bottling bucket. Do not boil the hops for any length of time with the water because you will lose some of the aroma. Tim Lawson Behavioral Sciences Department College of Mount St. Joseph Cincinnati, Ohio 45233-1670 lawson at clcunix.msj.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 15:43:15 CDT From: "Dennis Lewis" <DLEWIS%jscdo6 at jesnic.jsc.nasa.gov> Subject: mashed coffee Dave in Bloomington writes: "I have been considering adding ground coffee beans to the grains during the sparging process, maybe some Jamaican Blue Mountain or other good bean. If anyone has a recipe that uses coffee and has turned out well send me a post, or if you have tried this and want to warn me...." I made a coffee stout by steeping coffee grounds in the already fermented beer. I added a Tbs for every 8 oz. which is way too much (tasted great after a year or so, though). I wouldn't add grounds to the mash--you'll boil out all the aromatics. Add them at the end of the boil or make a pot of very strong coffee and add it at bottling time. To steep, I'd use about 4 Tbs per gallon. That would make for weak coffee, but it will add enough flavor. I wouldn't add them to the fermenter again though. The grounds sort of settle out, but not really. That makes for very difficult racking. Don't waste good Blue Mtn on this though--use a strong dark roast like French Roast. Buy the beans whole and grind them very coarse. The fine particles make for disgusting floaties, even worse than hop leaves or yeast chunks. One thing you should be aware of: coffee contains a lot of oils. You can forget about any head retention. And the oils *could* make the beer go stale quicker (rancid, yuck), but that may be helped by making a beer with a lot of dark grains (chocolate, black, roasted, etc). My best advice is to make a batch of tried and true porter, then rack off a gallon and add a cup of very strong coffee and bottle it separately. Dennis Lewis <dlewis%jscdo6 at jesnic.jsc.nasa.gov> Bay Area Mashtronauts--Homebrew, The Final Frontier Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 18:12:48 EDT From: Tim Lawson <lawson at clcunix.msj.edu> Subject: pepper-like taste I recently brewed a bock beer (actually brewed as an ale) and it has developed a strange flavor the cause of which I cannot determine. I describe it, for lack of a better description, as a black pepper-like taste. I suspect that it came from the Hanbury hop plugs I used (Hallertau variety). I used a total of 1 oz of finishing hop plugs. I have made 25 batches and have never tasted anything like this. Anyone have any ideas on the cause? BTW, I used Northwestern malt extract, Bierkeller extract, crystal malt, chocolate malt, and Wyeast #1056 in addition to the 3 ounces of Hanbury hops (2 for bittering). This was the first time I used Hanbury hops--thus the suspicion. Tim Lawson Behavioral Sciences Department College of Mount St. Joseph Cincinnati, Ohio 45233-1670 lawson at clcunix.msj.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 94 18:47:48 EDT From: iueyedoc at aol.com Subject: Re: #2(2) Homebrew Digest #13... Please remove me from your mailing list. Thank you John Warren IUEYEDOC at AOL.Com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 16:00:48 -0700 From: jeclark at ucdavis.edu Subject: sierra nevada/priming Q/hops suggestion hi everybody, unfortunately i have not been able to read the hbd for the last few months (i wasn't even able to keep up with my reading assignments last quarter), so i am just going to stick my nose in long enough to say a few things. first: i went to sierra nevada over the weekend and i must say that that was the best meal and the best glass(es) of beer i have ever had. the beer tasted like it had _just_ been brewed (probably because it had) and thier food was simple but excellent. if you are withing three hours of chico, this is a must- do (oh, and get the chicken sandwich-it's incredible) second, i have a quick question: i brewed a pale ale with the following extract: 5 lbs light LME 2.5 lbs light DME i used wyeast #1056 (london) i want to have a fairly lightly carbonated beer after priming, but i don't want it to be flat. does anyone know how much dextrose to use for this? lastly i have a suggestion. please tell me if this is a bad idea: i remember back about three months ago someone was having a problem keeping the hops for dry-hopping at the bottom of the carboy. they kept putting weights in the bag but it kept floating to the surface. here's what i did: i stuffed the muslin bag filled with hops into the carboy and syphoned the wort onto them. i then obtained a piece of glass tubing and cut it so it just fit into the carboy with the top about 1/2 in. below the lip. i pushed the hops to the bottom of the carboy with this and then sealed it with my rubber stopper. the rod is held down by the stopper and in turn hold the hops at the bottom of the carboy. the stopper i use is fairly tight so i haven't had any problem with the rod forcing it off. i hope this helps the person who asked the question way back when. as far as i can tell there are no extra risks of infection (i sterilized the rod, of course) involved. happy brewing and drinking! - --james (jeclark at ucdavis.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 94 20:36:46 CDT From: fjs at dlogics.com (Fred Salchli) Subject: "Homebrew Thermostat" I have built a number of temperature controllers using a handful of parts from radio shack. They are not the most energy efficient way to control a refrigerator, but they do work. I built one for a friend who used it to very accurately control the temperature of his salt water aquarium. Radio Shack sells a digital thermometer which enables you sense the temperature (via an included probe) and has a comparator which will generate a logic level signal if a certain minimum or maximum temperature is sensed. All that is required is an optoisolator and a relay with sufficient capacity to handle the load. This a very basic configuration, but will work nicely. I can dig up the part numbers and prices if anyone is interested. Total cost (about 2 years ago) was less than $40. hope this helps. Also, please subscibe to hbd. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 94 08:38 EST From: <GNT_TOX_%ALLOY.BITNET at PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU> Subject: The HBD needs asbestos lining First off, I'd like to thank everyone for spelling my last name right. I'd also like to say, people will like Ice Beer, People will like Zima, and some homebrewers will like both. Everyone has their own opinion and their own tastes. I've met homebrewers that only make Pilsners, and I've met brewers that don't make any lagers and don't plan to. So, leave it alone. Since I'm here and I should ask a brewing question: What companies make malt anyway and what are the good brands. How do prices compare with extract brewing? Andy Pastuszak Philadelphia, PA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 09:16:39 -0400 (EDT) From: greggt at infi.net (Gregg Tennefoss) Subject: flame on flames / wyeast american ale Pardon me one moment as I pull on my fireproof suit, douse my computer with H2O and drink a gallon of malox. There, OK, Here goes. I think the "discussion" part of comparing all-grain to extract is good. It shows differences of the two and is educational. I think discussions of the differences of EM, RIMS, false bottoms, etc... is good. All this teaches most of us things and or enlightens us on techniques. What is not good is all the personal attacks - JS shooting at Tumbleweed, The masses shooting at JS, Coyote impailing PV because of a taste preference or using mini-kegs. Lets grow up folks. Why not shoot your neighbor because he likes wine not beer. Maybe we should limit the digest for constructive discussions and leave the personal insults and flames to private E-Mail. If you "listen" to some of the new post they have the tone of being scared to ask a question. Are we running away contributers and people wanting help with all the insults. I am not talking about dissagreeing here but am refering to the personal attacks. Oh well, just an opinion. Let the inferno begin. BREWING QUESTION: I have never had any problems starting a ferment except when using wyeast american ale. both time I have used it, it has taken a couple days to get a good start. I aways make a starter and wait until it is working good prior to pitching. It just seems this one strain does not like me. Has anyone else had similar problems ? Interestingly enough, the two beers produced with this slow start have come out quite well with no noticable contamination from the slow start. TIA & Cheers gregg tennefoss - greggt at infi.net Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 1994 09:30:18 -0500 From: rprice at cbmse.nrl.navy.mil Subject: EXTRACT ! vs. Grain vs. Zima In defense of Extracts, I started Hbrewing in the early 70's using Pioneer Blue Ribbon Hopped Malt from the baking section of our local Acme market, remember you couldn't find a local hb shop back then.. The recepie available by writing to these folks included putting the extract into cold water and using 5# of cane sugar. It was awfull !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Newer extracts have improved, I haven't used the stuff in the cans but have used the Pioneer Light and Amber extracts as well as the American Classic series. If you are in a hurry, brewing for a tank it down party or making lawnmower beer they really don't do a bad job. I have had awfull extract beers, and beers that I feel rival my all-grain beers. For all grain brewing, sure it is "better", you can still brew swill if you are not carefull. But lets face it, most of us do it for the personal self-satisfaction. All grain takes time, effort, money for equipment and a bit of knowledge that extract brewing doesn't. True beer snobs would home grow the malt by replacing their lawns with barley, doing their own malting, growing their own hops etc., most of us don't have the time although you can buy barley in our area for about $7.50 per 100#, and the cost of malting is almost nothing, it is easier to buy the malt for a bunch more money. Carry that further and let someone do the mash and you have extract. Perhaps it all comes down to time. As for Irish Moss, try using sodium alginate Kelco, Aero Drive, San Diego, Ca, or Terminal Drive, Clarke, N.J., use Kelco HV or LV. Great fining agent, and aids in head retention. Or call GAF and get a sample of K-90 Poly Vinyl Pyrollodone (PVP). Is Irish polysaccharide really better than domestic, or Scottish alginates after all they are both polysaccharides ??? Zema-- I like Zima, I've never tasted it, but a sweet young blonde in Lycra gave me a nice key chain/can/bottle openerwith Zima on it. Across the top front of the abbreviated outfit was Zima !!! What marketing !! When my heart rate dropped some I wandered home and had a homebrew, only stopping to reflect on the fact that I'd buy a considerable amount of additional supplies if at my HB shop the proprietor employed such tactics. Can anyone provide a reference (professional text), on malting barley ?? Wnen I have tried it in the past I had very mixed results. Most of the 6-row that I purchased direct from the farmers had husks that could bring a Corona to its knees. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 1994 10:11:40 -0500 (EST) From: Doug Lukasik <LUKASIK_D at sunybroome.edu> Subject: Partial Mashing/Programs Extract vs. All Grain.....woah......where do us PARTIAL MASHERS fit in?? Odd that I never hear from this content group. Is it that we are only somewhat lazy, only brew really good beer some of the time, or that we are partially in both camps so no one flames us??? Enough wasted band width. Everyone should brew to the level that they choose without others having a problem with that. Every person learns at a different pace and takes hobbies, jobs, lives to levels that are satisfying to them. Who cares if that is different than someone else's level....for that matter no one is forcing anyone else to drink their beer (although if your interested I would love to be forced ;^) On to real brewing questions. Since I made the switch to partial mashes from all extract I have been having what I would call explosive fermentations. The brews end up bubbling out of the airlock after about 12 hours and spewing krauesen all over the bathroom. I only had this happen once with the extract batches (9) but it has happens every time with the partial mashes (5). At the same time as I changed brewing procedures I also made a batch of sterile wort and began making and using 1 pint yeast starters. Any reason why the fermentation is so radically different? (Yeah, I know - start using a blow off tube.) An HBD or so ago there was some discussion of computer programs used for brewing that could be obtained through the NET at no cost. Of course, in my partially mashed (oops) state I deleted the HBD without obtaining the info for my records. Could someone out there please either repost or e-mail me the information on where and how to obtain these programs. TIA. Well having started brewing the first weekend in December 93, and having now completed 14 batches (yeah I couldn't keep up the once a week pace when I tore out the kitchen) I can truely say that it has been an interesting winter (next year I quit bowling and brew more ;^) with even more interesting brews to consume. Just though I'd say thanks for the help all you HBDers have given me and the enjoyable reading - gets even more enjoyable after a couple of homebrews. Doug. <lukasik_d at sunybroome.edu> Return to table of contents
Date: 8 Apr 1994 10:16:58 -0500 From: George Kavanagh O/o <George.Kavanagh at omail.wang.com> Subject: Agar I have had little trouble finding agar in several oriental (Cambodian & Chinese) food stores here in northeastern Mass. Its sold in smallish ( 3" x 4" or so ) packets, and is labelled in english as well as cambodian/chinese. I did find that when I asked for "agar" I got a blank stare, but when I asked for "agar-agar" the clerk was very helpful & pointed it right out to me. About $ 0.95 per pack. (which is good for several batches of slants). -gk Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Apr 94 14:36 EDT From: Eric_SARLIN at umail.umd.edu (es76) Subject: coffee beer/response to JEBURNS Fellow Zymurgists and J.E. Burns, Yes, I have tried brewing with coffee, and made a verrrrry strong stout that had the unpleasant taste of stale coffee. I consider the batch a complete failure, but from failure comes knowledge. I've since spoken to the coffee specialist at Sutton Place Gourmet (a yuppie grocery store in the Maryland area). He explained that coffee beans contain oils which become more and more tasteable as the brewed coffee gets old. This accounts for the stale coffee taste you get when a pot has been sitting around for a while. To avoid this stale coffee taste in home brew, the coffee guy told me not to put ground beans directly into the wort. Rather, make a pot of strong coffee (about 10 cups), and run it through clean paper filters (the kind used with drip coffee machines) at least twice. The filters help to remove the oils and will give you a better tasting beer in the long run. Add the coffee at the end of the boil, about when you add the finishing hops. You may want to reduce the amount of water you initially put in the pot so that there's plenty of room for the additional liquid. To me, stout with its roasted taste is an obvious choice for coffee brewing. I'd be interested in other ideas. Peace and good brewing, Eric Sarlin :-) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 06:22:24 -0400 From: (John Lenz) jel3 at cornell.edu Subject: Jack and Chill Greetings all, Jack seems to be getting a lot of attention again lately (and to think, I was wondering if he'd croaked or something when he wasn't around for a week or so earlier this year). Whether you love him or hate him, let's not forget, he did come up with MALTMILL, in my opinion this was and is a real service to all of us who used to smash our grain with a Corona (can't speak to the efficacy of the EasyMasher, as Al didn't throw one into the deal when I bought my MALTMILL). On the temperature controller subject, Williams, in California, still sells their controller for something in the neighborhood of $50. If I ever get my upright freezer modified, I think I'll order up a controller from them rather than trying to construct my own (some of the parts lists we've seen right here on the HBD recently look like they could easily run to $50 or more, and then you still have to put it together). Just thought I'd thank whoever it was that posted the modification on the King/Cajun K/Cooker last year (the 1/16" hole in the brass nut idea). Works like a charm, used mine last weekend for the first time since modifying it, and what little carbon there was on the bottom of the pot just sort of fell off when I touched it with a wet rag. Op uw gezondheid, John Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 1994 10:27:43 -0500 From: Rnarvaez at lan.mcl.bdm.com Subject: HomeBrew Recipe Book Does anybody out there in homebrew land know of a book that has beer recipes? I have a copy of the Cats Meow but would like to purchase a book that has detailed ingredients and brewing instructions. Thanks. Ronald Narvaez of Albuquerque New Mexico Quote for the day! DON'T TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY, IT ISN'T A PERMANENT THING. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 94 10:31:00 PDT From: Milstead Robert <rmilsted at Zellar.Vantage.GTE.COM> Subject: blow off hose Mike Hansen writes in HBD # >As the person who brewed the raspberry stout mentions, his 3/8" blowoff >tube became clogged with raspberry goo. 3/8" is way too small for a blowoff >tube. You should use a 1 1/4" blowoff tube that fits snugly inside the neck >of your carboy. After the brew is done spewing you can put the rubber >carboy cap on with an airlock. Of course, any serious brewer knows that 1 1/4" is *way* too small for a blowoff hose. I currently use a 4" fire hose, attached to the top of the carboy with EasyCoupler(TM). In order to be sure that the hose is sanitary, I boil it in a 300 gallon cauldron in the back yard of my townhouse over a ceder fire (Use only the new growth of ceder that comes in the spring). The other end of the hose is dropped into a 150 gallon aquarium, half full of sanitizing solution. For plans on the EasyCoupler(TM) send SASE (Self addressed, stamped EMail) to: Bob Milstead RMilsted at Zellar.Vantage.GTE.Com (Nobody would really do this would they?) Plans for a twelve inch model (arrgh, oh, yeah!) are on the drawing board. :-> Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 08:12:43 -0700 From: Richard Buckberg <buck at well.sf.ca.us> Subject: Celis Bock Had a sample of Celis Bock (from the Hill Country of Texas! (sic) ) last night. This seemed to be a much lower ETOH bock than most. It had a wonderful maltiness, spicy but subtle hops, and cleaner smoother flavor than the Sierra Nevada bock I tasted along side it, or the German dopplebocks as I remember them. Question is, Howdeedoodat? Anyone experiment with a recipe to match the style (preferably all-grain)? Anyone know Christine Celis? Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 09:16:37 -0700 (MDT) From: walter at lamar.ColoState.EDU (Brian J Walter (Brewing Chemist)) Subject: Re: Kill Jack Schmidling? Nah. Take it to r.c.b.p > > Glenn (GANDE at SLIMS.ATTMAIL.COM) writes: > > >Why does everyone jump all over Jack Schmidling? I've been reading and > .... <junk deleted> > When I first started reading HBD, I wondered about this as well. Now > that I've been reading for a few months, I think I do understand. > > The problem with Jack's posts is that they leave no room for > disagreement. Jack doesn't seem to understand that there is more than > one "right" way to do things. The tone of his posts says "I know the > .... <junk deleted> That's right take it to r.c.b.p. That is rec.crafts.brewing.psycho-analysis. Maybe someone can create the EasyShrink(tm) ;^> Good Day, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 94 11:52:11 EDT From: U-E68316-Scott Wisler <wisler_scott at ae.ge.com> Subject: BW for my new Daughter's 21st bd Alisha and I had a Daughter on Monday, April 4. Aubrey Leighton. All three of us are doing great and sleeping 4 hours at a time. Its really neat that a proud new papa can announce his new little girl to the world. Norm Pyle gave me a great suggestion: Brew up a barlywine for her 18th or 21st birthday, or perhaps a wedding. (THANKS) I'd like to solicit recipe ideas from all of you. I'm not particularly concerned about staying within style guidelines. This is, after all, a 1 shot deal. I'd also like to solicit ideas on storage. I could put it away in a keg, which is pretty easy. That would minimize oxidation and allow a better handle on carbonation. Or I could bottle it. Champagne bottles might be pretty good. I wonder about O2 getting through the caps over the years. Those of you that have been to Belgium, how are 20 year old beers stored there? Corked? Any special needs on bottle conditioned high OG ales to get the carbonation level right 20 years from now? I've been about a 3+ hour boil to give a nice amber color. Should drive off most of the DMS precursosrs, too. TIA scott Scott Wisler swisler at c0431.ae.ge.com GE Aircraft Engines Cincinnati, OH Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 12:32 EST From: DALLEN at LANDO.HNS.COM Subject: LAGER YEAST AT ROOM TEMP CAN SOMEONE SHARE WITH ME THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH USING LAGER YEAST AT ROOM TEMP? PAPAZIAN SAYS THAT GOOD BREW CAN BE PRODUCED IN THIS FASHION. I HAVE JUST TASTED MY FOURTH BATCH USING LAGER YEAST AT ROOM TEMP, TWO WERE EXTRACT AND TWO ALL GRAIN, THEY HAVE ALL HAD A SOUR/YEASTY/EARTHY BUT NOT SPOILED OFF FLAVOR. SHOULD I NOT BOTHER STICKING TO THE RECIPE AND USE ALE YEAST? THANKS, DAVE Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 94 09:37:19 PDT From: lucas at cup.portal.com Subject: Old 49er? Does anyone know of an English ale called Old 49er? I'm not sure if that is the exact name. A friend said that he had a wonderful beer a few years ago from England, "Something 49". I'd like to look around for a case of it for his birthday which is coming up soon. I've looked around in local stores but I can't find anything like it. Any info would be greatly appreciated..... lucas at cup.portal.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 94 11:37:35 -0500 From: jay_weissler at il.us.swissbank.com (Jay Weissler) Subject: Extracts & executions First the customary "mine's bigger than your's." I started homebrewing in 1976. Seems that you can't post here without first puffing out your chest. Next, the opportunities for creativity in homebrewing are infinite. This is true for both the grain and extract brewer. Your creative bend may be in hops, gadgets, fresh fruits, water, what ever. Anyone who claims that you have to work in a certain media to be creative or an artist is probably neither. If you like working in grains, cool. Extracts are cool too. Sometimes it's nice to have a 100% repeatable base like an extract to better experiment in hops, yeasts or water. Finally, someone mentioned Chicago water. It is excellent for brewing, but it is still pretty variable. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 1994 13:06:53 -0400 (EDT) From: MCKSMI at delphi.com Subject: Lagering in Cornelius kegs I am about to transfer a batch of Oktoberfest beer from my secondary to a Cornelius keg for lagering. Since this is my first try at this, I am wondering if I should force carbonate the beer before or after I lager it. My instinct is after. But, in his book on Oktoberfest styles, George Fix refers to tasting samples of beer during various stages of lagering. To me, this implies it was carbonated before lagering. Thanks in advance! McKee Smith Phone: (214) 721-1558 EMail: Mcksmi at Delphi.com Compuserv: 71660,2747 Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 1994 10:26:06 -0700 From: belew at netcom.com (Jonathan Peakall) Subject: federal and local brewing regs Firstly...Thanks to all for your help with my yeast problem. Several people have written me concerning the legalities of brewing large quantities of beer. I checked with the BATF, and they say the rules are: For households with 1 resident, you may brew 100 gals per calendar year. For households with 2 or more residents, you may brew 200 gals a year. Of course no selling of the brew is permitted. I also called the ABC of California, and after much difficulty, found someone smart enough to RTFM, and they concur with the Fed regs. Both seemed more concerned with the sale of the brew rather than the quantity. It seems to me that quantity enforcement would be problematic anyway, as long as you had less than 200 gals on hand. Perhaps they could trace the sale of fermentable items to you, but I would hope they would have to have suspicions you were selling the beer before they went that far. With the Feds, though, who knows? Anyway, I racked the beer into carboys today, and it tasted good. If nothing else, I have learned to test a yeast before committing it to a large batch. I'm also going to use the method suggest by several people, making a 5 gallon batch a few days in advance, and using the slurry from the primary to start the big batch. Thanks again to all! Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1394, 04/09/94