HOMEBREW Digest #1424 Mon 16 May 1994

Digest #1423 Digest #1425


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


Contents:
  DIY hop bags? (David Draper)
  Homebrewing smells (BILL FUHRMANN)
  Yeast nutrient ( LARRY KELLY)
  Belgian Brewery tours/ transporting yeast (Troy Downing)
  Brewery Artwork Revisited (npyle)
  GCHC (Carlo Fusco)
  brewing experiments (Ron Hart)
  Micro/Pub Stops heading toward NH (TJWILLIA)
  RE:PUMPS (greg.demkowicz)
  Rumor: Big wreck on Info Superhighway (Nancy.Renner)
  Brewing with wormwood (Chuck E. Mryglot)
  Yes, I was wrong, but kegging questions remain... (Dan Wood)
  Brew Quebequois (Haber Justin )
  Spruce beer - Not! (berkun)
  Bad news, allergy to hops (W. Mark Witherspoon)
  Copper drain manifolds in mashtun/lautertun ("JAMES W. KEESLER")
  Low-T_ferments/FlakedMaize/VirtualPub/CrystalBalls? (David Draper)
  Phil's Lauter Tun ( LARRY KELLY)
  UGGGGH! ZIMA IS NOW IN CANZ!!!! (Bob Ambrose)
  Strange White Stuff ("Andrew C. Winner")
  Steel Cut Oats: It's the right thing to do (Brett Charbeneau)
  wheat malt/silcone/oats (Nick Zentena)
  Mead-o-Matic (Conan-the-Librarian)
  Ban On Advertising (Conan-the-Librarian)
  Combustion Air Requirements (Venter)
  For Real? (Jack Schmidling)
  Help with Brewers Digest ( LARRY KELLY)
  london hombrew shops (Craig Pepin)
  Homebrew Digest #1423 (Ma (Jim King)
  Pumps and filters (Jim King)
  oxidisation (Andy Walsh)
  quarter bock and others (Andy Walsh)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 18:23:51 +1000 (EST) From: David Draper <ddraper at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> Subject: DIY hop bags? Whud id iz: I am, as we speak, brewing an extract IPA. Here in the land of Oz, the brewstores charge about A$1.50 per hop bag, ridiculously overpriced. So I've been buying bulk cheesecloth and just tying up specialty grains for steeping and hops for boiling additions and dry-hopping. Well, the only cheesecloth the local fabric store had when I restocked yesterday was a closer weave than the typical hop-bag grade. So when I tried to tie up a bag, I found that it was just too thick to be able to tie the thing off securely. It then struck me to construct a much smaller pouch and simply staple my way around its edges. Checked the stapler--not enough staples. So I ended up using a fairly small square of cheesecloth and folding it in various ways (parents with their kids at diaper age probably could have sorted this out in a jiffy) till I found a geometry that kept everything inside with a minimum of staples (about 10 per pouch). When I was done, I looked at it and lo and behold it was a large-scale version of a Lipton Flow-Thru (tm?) teabag! Anyways, these things are boiling in the other room, and I am wondering if there is any reason to think that the metal staples will be a problem in boiling, and more importantly, dry-hopping. There's been a lot of metallurgy in the digest recently, so I thought it would be a good time to ask. I like this idea because 1) it's dead simple to make, 2) it minimizes the amount of cheesecloth I have to use per batch, 3) they are easy to handle, and 4) there is a lot of contact between hops and wort despite them being bagged. I am pretty sure the staples are steel, and lots of brew equipment is also steel...but stainless, no? I doubt very much that staples are stainless. Any comments on this are very welcome. (I tried at first to describe how I folded these pouches, but it was hopelessly unintelligible, so I'm leaving it out.) Thanks, Dave in Sydney - -- ****************************************************************************** David S. Draper School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University ddraper at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia Fax: +61-2-805-8428 Voice: +61-2-805-8347 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 23:42:00 GMT From: BILL.FUHRMANN at tstation.mn.org (BILL FUHRMANN) Subject: Homebrewing smells H|After several years, my nextdoor neighboor has decided that brewing beer H|in my kitchen produces noxious odors in the hallway between our units. It's H|always been my understanding that brewing is a form of cooking food, which H|can not be legislated or restriced if done in one's home. Would you complain if he started making a concoction that required boiling a mixture of cabbage, lutefisk, and limburger? A hazard of living in a compact community is that you have to take some care to not unnecessarily annoy the neighbors. As a known homebrewer, what ever you do reflects on the others. H|However, I believe he's trying to use his current position as vice-president H|of our condominium association to get it to impose restrictions or prevent What is his motivation? Power trip? Dislike for beer? Dislike of the smell? Have you tried to reduce the smell in the hallway? Maybe an exhaust fan with MORE POWER or a room fan in the window so that air flows from the hall into your unit while you are brewing. If you have done those things, you may have to enlist the aid of other neighbors to testify to the Board of Directors that this is not a particular problem. * QMPro 1.0 41-6621 * */ \* <- Jedi tribbles Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 10:40:31 EDT From: KMYH09A at prodigy.com ( LARRY KELLY) Subject: Yeast nutrient Does anyone see any harm to adding yeast nutrient to their brew during primary fermentation? I've been adding it to my last few batches, and have noticed a lower FG compared to the same brew without the nutrient. Just wondering if anyone else has anything to say, good or bad. Larry kmyh09a at prodigy.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 10:54:23 EDT From: downing at GRAPHICS.CS.NYU.EDU (Troy Downing) Subject: Belgian Brewery tours/ transporting yeast I'm planning a trip to Europe next week and would like to hear suggestions on some breweries to visit. I plan on spending time in Belgium, Germany, and possibly Austria. I am particularly interested in touring a few Belgian Breweries. So any pointers would be appreciated. On another note, I'm hoping to collect some yeast samples from those breweries that might accomodate. Does anyone know of restrictions regarding transporting yeast back to the US? I know there are certain restrictions about bringing live animals and certain fruits/vegs. etc. Just want to know if I might get in trouble trying to return with yeast. feel free to reply to me directly as I'm not sure who else might be interested in this... Thanks, -Troy +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Troy Downing, Research Scientist (212) 998-5753 (voice) | | New York University (212) 998-3384 (alt) | | Media Research Lab (212) 995-4122 (FAX) | | 715 Broadway, Rm 1214 | | New York, NY 10003 downing at cs.nyu.edu | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 9:03:44 MDT From: npyle at n33.ecae.stortek.com Subject: Brewery Artwork Revisited My brewery artwork has generated a lot of questions, but most of them have centered around the sight tube in the keg/hot water tank. It is made of a length of translucent plastic tubing, which I believe is polyethylene, but it might be polystyrene (I don't know my plastics). It is pretty stiff but flexible enough to straighten out and mount, and it has a slick, almost soapy feel to it. I mounted it against an aluminum backing plate with markings which correspond to half-gallon increments. It is held on with 3 u-bolts. The top of the tube is open but it has a loose cap on it to keep garage crud out. This tubing is 1/2" ID, which fits very snugly on 1/2" copper pipe (copper pipe is measured in OD). There is a drawback to having the sight tube on the same nipple as the output valve. When the valve is open the pressure drop causes the level in the sight tube to drop and it is impossible to tell how much water has been drained from the tank. I have to close the valve to check the level; this is a minor nuisance. The solution is to put the sight tube on another nipple maybe opposite from the output valve. This of course, requires another hole in the keg; I may or may not do this in the future. To measure the temperature in the keg, I draw off some of the water into a glass; this is not very accurate at all. In the near future, I plan to mount a thermometer on the front of the keg with a pipe fitting (another hole in the keg). This will improve the accuracy, but without stirring the water while the temperature is being measured, I don't see how it can be perfect. For mash water, I get in the ballpark and make adjustments. These will go away as I gain experience with this setup. For sparge water, I think anything between 160 and 175F is good enough; which is easily done. Cheers, Norm = npyle at n33.stortek.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 11:06:00 -0400 From: carlo.fusco at canrem.com (Carlo Fusco) Subject: GCHC ************************************************************************** The Canadian Amateur Brewers Association presents: The Tenth annual Great Canadian Homebrew Conference ************************************************************************** Where: The Royal Canadian Legion, Long Branch, Branch No. 101, 3850 Lakeshore Blvd. West, Etobicoke When: Friday June 3rd & Saturday June 4th, 1994 To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Great Canadian Homebrew Conference, CABA along with membership input, will be showcasing the theme of "The Stylish Brewer". This year's theme will be evident throughout the entire weekend as international beer styles are discussed and sampled. Gourmet cuisine and vast amounts of brewing information will highlight the occasion. The event will feature presentations by Canada's three foremost beer writers: Stephen Beaumont, Ian Bowering, and Jamie MacKinnon. On Friday, the BJCP exam will be offered in the afternoon. The evening will be highlighted with an opportunity for everyone to sample 6 beer styles brewed by award winning CABA members. These beers will be pre-judged and each brewer of the individual styles will make a short presentation followed by an opportunity for the audience to ask any questions. On Saturday, there will be presentations made by informed speakers on Beer styles that span the spectrum from Britain to Belgium. At noon an amazing lunch will be presented by Chef Matthew Flett. To accompany this meal John Maxwell will select and present various brews that will accentuate the complex culinary flavours and give new meaning to the term "gourmet." The awards dinner will feature a presentation by author Ian Bowering. Ian will speak about the history of styles in Canada from Ales to Lagers to Prohibition. The results of the Great Canadian Homebrew competition will also be announced. Awards will be presented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd for each represented style, along with the prizes for Best of Show honours. To cap off this fantastic weekend of great beer and company, Matthew Flett will again tantalize our palates with a wonderful dinner. **************************************************************** For more information write or phone CABA at: CABA 19 Cheshire Dr. Islington, Ontario M9B 2N7 Phone/Fax: 416-237-9130 Compuserve: 71601,3357 InterNet: carlo.fusco at canrem.com ligas at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca Fidonet: Carlo Fusco at 1:229/15 - --- * Freddie 1.2.5 * email: carlo.fusco at canrem.com Sharon,Ontario,Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 14:27:37 -0500 From: Hart at actin.rutgers.edu (Ron Hart) Subject: brewing experiments I'm going to be teaching a "Brewing for Biologists" course at Rutgers University in the fall, and I'm looking for ideas for experiments/projects. The point of the class will be to demonstrate the biochemistry, microbiology and botany of brewing. Naturally, we'll study yeast culturing, malting and mashing, fermentation biochemistry and hops horticulture, but I'm particularly interested in the idea of designing little tests of many of the basic concepts behind brewing. For example, we can scale down a mash in a beaker, control temperature with a water bath, and take samples at various times to measure sugars and proteins released from the grain. Doing this at various temperatures and comparing infusion vs. step mashing (for example) would demonstrate the efficiencies of mashing, and the qualities of the extraction. Another idea is to make extracts of hops and other bittering herbs to compare bacteriostatic action. We'd soak bits of paper in the extract, and drop them on a petri dish of some commonly contaminating bacteria (any suggestions?). If the extract was bacteriostatic, we'll see a region around the paper bit where no bacteria grows. This is pretty much all I've thought of, but I'm sure there are some better ideas. Please send suggestions to me by private e-mail. ***If I use your idea, I'll send you a free copy of the lab manual.*** Thanks!! Ron Hart Rutgers University Newark NJ hart at actin.rutgers.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 15:01:56 EDT From: <TJWILLIA%OCC.bitnet at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> Subject: Micro/Pub Stops heading toward NH Greetings: Can anyone here provide a list, or individual choice micros/pubs to seek out on my trip to New Hampshire? I'm leaving Michigan, heading towards Ontario, Canada, dropping back into New York state, and finishing up in Durham, NH. I may also take a side trip to the Boston area. Sounds like a thirsty travel. Any info would be appreciated. E-mail welcome. Thanks. Tom Williams Internet: tjwillia%bitnet at pucc.princeton.edu Bitnet: tjwillia at occ.bitnet Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 14:14:55 -0400 [EDT] From: greg.demkowicz at circellar.com Subject: RE:PUMPS One of the best types of food grade pumps is of the Peristaltic varitey. These are also called "tubing pumps" Some handle fluid temperatures up to 300 deg F. The best part about them is, only the tubing comes incontact with the fluid! Nothing else! I have used a 15 gal/hour Barnant pump Mod. # 900-0857. Works great for RIMS, Conterflow, and Sparging operations. Available from lab supply houses or from Barnant in Barrington, Illinois. They used to sell for about $100.00 You can also find other manufactures listed in the Thomas Register books, or surplus houses. Greg Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 15:42:12 EDT From: Nancy.Renner at um.cc.umich.edu Subject: Rumor: Big wreck on Info Superhighway >From *Jeff* Renner using my wife's account. Rumor - Big wreck on the Information Super highway. That's the way I hear it. The HBD is late and it's due to a smash-up on that long hill just out of Tulsa. Some jerk who probably can't even program a VCR was ***DWI*** in a Commodore 64 doing about 300 baud, all over the road, when a mainframe hauling a ton of FTP's out of Stanford lost his disk brakes and creamed him. It was ugly. Electrons all over the place. They say there was nothing left bigger than a byte for the next of kin to identify. The backup reached all the way to Amarillo. This is why we need Sen. Patrick Leahy's SB #040194 banning DWI on the information superhighway. Write your congressman! E-mail Clinton! Jeff Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 15:49:00 EDT From: cem at ri.cadre.com (Chuck E. Mryglot) Subject: Brewing with wormwood Brewers, Has anyone ever heard of brewing with wormwood (instead of hops). A friend has a few bushes and was interested. Thanks in advance.... chuck Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 15:04:27 CDT From: wood at ranger.rtsg.mot.com (Dan Wood) Subject: Yes, I was wrong, but kegging questions remain... Thanks to the thousands who shall remain nameless, for clearing up the question about dark weiss and Reinheitsgebot. I'm a lucky guy, never lacking for people to prove me wrong. :^] However, the replies to the kegging questions have been slow. Thanks to Dan Hall for his pressure gauge design, and to Kevin Cavanaugh for info on forced carbonation. However, the following questions remain: Is it recommended to also replace the middle-sized O-rings on the [outside of] keg poppets? If so, will standard parts from the hardware store work? What are the tradeoffs between natural (priming) and forced carbonation? Should the dip tube be shortened for natural carbonation? I'd rather not, dumping the first glass seems like a better choice. Sanitation. Do you need to sanitize the CO2 supply lines or fittings? Does the CO2 kill the microbeasts? What about the liquid out side? I can force sanitizer through the output side, but I'm at a loss about the supply side. I don't have a fridge for keg storage (yet). My basement has a crawlspace at one end that stays at about 65 F, usually lower, until late summer. Is this cold enough for forced carbonation? I thought about icing the keg in a 7 gallon bucket for serving, then putting it back in the crawlspace during idle periods. Will this temperature cycling hurt the beer? [New: can I do this with natural carbonation and scrape by without a second fridge?] Sparkling water. My setup plus the Carbonator caps have been a great hit for homemade, all natural, juice flavored sparkling water. My bride is impressed, and abuse over buying more HB equipment has been minimal. A tip for anyone out there trying to justify the cost. FYI, my basic setup was only $125, with a full CO2 cylinder, but without kegs and the extra (threaded ball-lock) fitting. Email if you'd like details on making sparkling water, kinda off the subject for the HBD. [New: I'm away from email next week, so you won't get responses from me until the 23rd]. Finally, long ago someone posted about having both 20 LB and 5 LB cylinders, and filling the 5 from the 20. Sounds pretty cool, and reduces the risk of being outa gas if the smaller system developed a leak. Dealing with 800 PSI of CO2 to charge the 5 from the 20 sounds pretty scary though. Any thoughts/tips/warnings? Sorry to use BW in reposting, if just one or two people will answer these I promise to behave hereafter. Dan Wood, president, chairman, bottle washer, FVHAA. wood at cig.mot.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 16:08:37 -0400 From: Haber Justin <Justin.Haber at gtegsc3.sprint.com> Subject: Brew Quebequois Brew Mavens of the Great White North: I will be travelling to Thetford Mines, PQ at the end of May, and would be interested in any local/provintial/Canadian brews and brewbubs that should not missed. Other non-brew related advice on the locallity would also be welcomed, TIA, Justin Haber justin.haber at gtegsc3.sprint.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 94 14:36:47 PDT From: berkun at decwet.enet.dec.com Subject: Spruce beer - Not! In reply to Pete Figura, to whom I could not send direct email, and who asks about making spruce beer: STOP STOP STOP I hope I caught you in time. I made a spruce beer last summer and can save you a lot of effort by simply mailing you the last 40 or so bottles of this stuff from my basement. I think, actually, it could be made pretty well, but with much much less spruce. I used 2 OZ (about 4 fluid oz.) of spruce tips. this is way way too much, unless you like drinking pinesol. try 1 oz. or less. have fun! ken b. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 18:26:38 +0500 From: mwithers at hannibal.atl.ge.com (W. Mark Witherspoon) Subject: Bad news, allergy to hops Bad news... I am allergic to hops. But I do not want to give up brewing. I had briefly read here in the Digest that there were in the past (before hops) other compounds used to bitter beer. Can anyone post/e-mail what they were. I have access to hundreds of herbs so that is not a problem. Mark Witherspoon mwithers at hannibal.atl.ge.com Return to table of contents
Date: 14 May 94 00:31:17 EDT From: "JAMES W. KEESLER" <74021.376 at CompuServe.COM> Subject: Copper drain manifolds in mashtun/lautertun Recently there has been some interesting correspondance on the use of a copper manifold in the mashtun/lautertun (read: water cooler/ice chest). This is something I would like to know more about, but I cannot find any reference in the literature available to me. Even the Zymurgy "Brewers and Their Gadgets" had nothing on this. I would appreciate any info I can get on this. E-mail OK, as well as any postings. Thanks. Regards, Jim Keesler Compuserve 74021,376 Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 21:57:45 +1000 (EST) From: David Draper <ddraper at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> Subject: Low-T_ferments/FlakedMaize/VirtualPub/CrystalBalls? Whud id iz: In the yeast.faq, there is included for most yeasts an optimum fermentation temperature. There have been lots of posts in the digest about what happens when certain yeasts are fermented above their optimum range. My question is, what can I expect in my ales that are brewing *below* the optimum temp? You all are entering spring/summer, down here it's cooling off--my brewroom is 58-60F and my place is unheated (like lots of apartments here--yup it's a warm climate all right!). Specifically, at the moment I've got an IPA (the one with staples from my last post) fermenting with Wyeast 1056 at the above temp. It's just blurping away merrily--a very fast start too, I had a P-gradient in my airlock within 2 hours of pitching. Flaked maize: in today's digest, Bob Jones and Al mention flaked maize, and both indicate it must be mashed; Al stated that starch haze would result otherwise. I'm puzzled by this because I have used a few ounces of flaked maize in several extract bitters for pressure barrel and bottle that came out great--no haze at all, brilliantly clear. The maize was just steeped along with the other specialty grains. The maize definitely did something, it was clear from the flavor when compared to the same recipes done without it. What am I missing? Did I just get lucky? Re the Virtual Pub: how does one get on to this WWW thingy? I'd like to check it out, but I couldn't hack my way in from my Unix account. Tips by email would be great. Finally, is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that on occasion, there will be a post in the digest, and then several posts later *in the same digest*, there will be a reply, complete with a quote from the original article! Do some of you all have crystal balls? (Can't wait to hear the responses to *that*...) Cheers, Dave in Sydney - -- ****************************************************************************** David S. Draper School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University ddraper at laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au NSW 2109 Sydney, Australia Fax: +61-2-805-8428 Voice: +61-2-805-8347 I want my....I want my....I want my H. B. D. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 10:47:02 EDT From: KMYH09A at prodigy.com ( LARRY KELLY) Subject: Phil's Lauter Tun Can anyone please give me some PRO's & CON's to "Phil's Lauter Tun" And what is Phil's Phalse Bottom? Is it just a bottom for a cooler type mashing system? larry kmyh09a at prodigy.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 12:21:49 -0400 From: ambroser at apollo.dml.georgetown.edu (Bob Ambrose) Subject: UGGGGH! ZIMA IS NOW IN CANZ!!!! Yes! It is now in cans. "MALT BEVERAGE WITH NATURAL FLAVORS" is the name. On the side of the can they have their familar tacky saying: Zomething different. Zo different you expect it to look and taste like zomething else. But juzt right when no other taste is quite. Which is exactly what Zima is, juzt right. But different. ==================== Yez, it iz different, and it tazte like zomething elze, but I can't zay it on the HBD. "But juzt right when no other tazte is quite" - Yeah, like maybe when I'm dying of thurzt, then maybe I'll have another one. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 16:22:08 -0400 From: "Andrew C. Winner" <acwinner at wam.umd.edu> Subject: Strange White Stuff Back with more questions from a relatively new homebrewer with a few brews under his belt. Some might remember me as the man who couldn't siphon straight. Thanks for all of the siphoning advice. It has worked well. My next question concerns my current brew. It is your basic bitter/pale ale. Currently, it is in a secondary fermenter (glasss), and it is quite quiet (been there for close to two weeks). I just inspected it have found (horrors) small round specks of white stuff floating on top (but not on the glass or clinging to the sides). I am hoping that it is not mold (trying not to worry). Is it possible that it is the gypsum that I tried to use in the brew? It looks very much like that teaspoon of stuff that didn't dissolve very well in the brewpot. Is the only hope to bottle and hope for the best? Thanks in advance. Private email is ok. Cheers, Drew (acwinner at wam.umd.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: 14 May 94 17:26:35 From: bwchar at mail.wm.edu (Brett Charbeneau) Subject: Steel Cut Oats: It's the right thing to do I recently found steel cut oats in a re-enacting catlog called 'Smoke and Fire'. A one-pound bag costs $2.00 and you can order it by calling 1-800-SMOKE/FIre. I have no connection with this company - I'm not even a satisfied customer.... Brett Charbeneau Beer Geek Wannabe in Williamsburg, Virginia Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 14 May 94 17:26:48 EDT From: zen at hophead.north.net (Nick Zentena) Subject: wheat malt/silcone/oats >From: EDGELL at uwmfe.neep.wisc.edu >Subject: A few Questions > >A few questions for the HBD sages.... > >1) Everyone knows that Wheat lacks the enzymes to convert itself. Does it also >lack the means to undergo a protein rest by itself? Does it need Malted Barley >for that step also? Who knows?-) If you mean wheat malt it will convert itself. I won't vouch for how easy the sparge would be in a 100% wheat mash. I think the main problem with wheat malt is the lack of husk material. >2) I have a chest cooler that I wish to use for mashing. I plan on shoving a >copper tube into the drain hole (3/8") to be attached to an easymasher type >thingie. What should I use to seal the pipe in the drain hole? Food grade silicone will do the trick. From: "Palmer.John" <palmer at ssdgwy.mdc.com> >OATS! I want to use oats, but where do you people who use them, get them? >Nobody has owned up to using Quaker, somebody used Irish Steel Cut (probably >obtained from a small Turkish deli), but my brew shop does not carry any. What >should I use if I am going to add them to the mash? I use normal "quickie" oats. They ain't Quaker but I doubt that outside of the packaging there is much difference. If you must have steel cut oats I've seen them listed on the price list for a bakery suppiler so maybe find someplace that handles that sort of stuff locally. IMHO alot of this stuff is available from normal shops cheaper then any homebrew shop. Nick - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I drink Beer I don't collect cute bottles! zen at hophead.north.net - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 1994 06:51:12 -0700 From: pascal at netcom.com (Conan-the-Librarian) Subject: Mead-o-Matic I've been brewing a lot of meads lately ... smaller batches, sweeter and stronger, more variety, less work, more fun overall. Most of the women I know like beer, but they _love_ mead ... it is the champagne of homebrew. Got me to thinking about ways to automate it. For instance, I've noticed that if I stir the protomead ( water and honey ) steadily, the foam on the top collects in the center, where it is easily skimmed off ( correcting a little for rotational acceleration as one pushes the clot of foam away from dead center ). ( I believe the foam is made up mostly of wax, and is actually lighter than anything else in the pot, which is why it floats and collects at the dead center of whirlpools. ) I can't help but think that an old coffee maker, with a rotating magnetic stirring stone inside it, and some sort of tube in the center that slowly slurps up the foam as it collects, could automate a great deal of the work that goes into making mead. Add a timer that controls temperature changes, a thermostat to keep the honey and water and fruit from getting too warm, maybe even an automatic subsystem that circulates cold water through the jacket to cool the mead, and then adds the yeast, a la a bread machine. Anyone else working on such an idea ? - -- richard Help ! I'm a lesbian trapped in a man's body !! richard childers san francisco, california pascal at netcom.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 1994 07:00:50 -0700 From: pascal at netcom.com (Conan-the-Librarian) Subject: Ban On Advertising > > Date: 12 May 94 13:04:24 EDT > From: Charlie Papazian/Boulder <72210.2754 at CompuServe.COM> > Subject: BEER DINNER IN CHICAGO > > < shameless blurb omitted in interests of good taste > > > . . . . > > IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US Tickets are $35 per person. Call 312 > 427-7800 and ask about the beer dinner. I'm looking forward to it. Hope > to see some of you beer folks out there > > Charlie Papazian > CIS 72210,2754 > Hey, Charlie. No advertising on the Home Brew Digest. This applies to Mark Garetz ... Jack Schmidling ... and Charlie Papazian. If you're having trouble selling your tickets and you get a piece of the action ... well, then, shell out some money and _buy_ your advertising. I mean, think about it. How many of us are going to fly to ! at #$ing Chicago to spend $35 to eat dinner with Charlie Papazian ? I'm 2000 miles away. This has been an unpaid public service announcement. - -- richard Help ! I'm a lesbian trapped in a man's body !! richard childers san francisco, california pascal at netcom.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 94 11:46:27 EDT From: Venter at aol.com Subject: Combustion Air Requirements At my day job, I routinely work developing improvements to the national Codes regarding gas installations. At the risk of destroying my career, let me try to comment on the discussion on how much air to provide to a large LP burner indoors. First of all, the subject appliances are meant to be used outdoors. They are not designed, tested, or "listed" for use inside. Therefore, the only professional advice I can give is DON'T DO IT! In a recent HBD, there was mention of 50 cu.ft. per 1000 BTU as a criteria. This is actually a definition of an "unconfined space". This is an old rule of thumb which basically presumes that a room larger than that (relative to a given input rate) is so large that natural infiltration will take care of the need to replenish air for combustion. And, that assumes you are in an older building. Modern buildings have greatly reduced infiltration rates. The additional problem here is that it is also assuming the appliance is listed for indoor installation. Such a listing means that the appliance produces carbon monoxide below a certain threshold. Lacking any hard data, I would guess that these large camp cookers produce much higher CO concentrations. The National Fuel Gas Code (NFPA54 - 1988) provides that, in an unconfined space, you should provide two openings to the out of doors each having an area equal to 1 sq. in. per 4000 BTU. The openings should be should be within 12" of the top and bottom of the enclosure. Please keep your camp cookers outside. You're all great brewers but, you'd make lousy statistics... Bob Borgeson; Program Manager - Residential Systems; American Gas Association Laboratories Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 94 11:34 CDT From: arf at mcs.com (Jack Schmidling) Subject: For Real? Someone posted a question to the group about the availibility of Glatt grain mill and the silence adds to the intrigue. Not hearing any response, I will offer what I have observed and ask again if Glatt is to be taken seriously. I have yet to talk to a dealer who has them in stock or even knows when he or she will have them. As I talk to dealers every day, from coast to coast, this would lead one to believe that they do not exist. The closest I came was one guy on the West coast who claimed he has orders for 12 of them but has no idea when he will receive them. Why someone would take orders for things he can't get and leave his customers hanging is beyond me but when he said the MM is a piece of junk, I concluded that anyone with that kind of attitude might do just about anything. I have written for literature several times, over several months, under a pseudoname and received none. It was introduced at the last AHA show and a few people on the net reported buying them and the same few people always resopond to questions about it but beyond that is a vacuum. js Return to table of contents
From: ulick at ulix.cheg.nd.edu id m0q2mzb-0006PCC; Sun, 15 May 94 15:40 EST Message-Id: <m0q2mzb-0006PCC at ulix> Date: Sun, 15 May 94 15:40 EST From: ulick at ulix.cheg.nd.edu (Ulick Stafford) To: homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com Subject: Sucking siphons Someone called pubtools at ihpubj.att.com made a very sweeping and totally unsubstantiated statement about giving a wort a wild yeast, specifically lactobaccillus, by starting a siphon with the mouth. Good for a laugh, but the worst example of bad unsubstantiaed claims that appear in this medium. Now this 'expert' who seems to work for that great biotechnology company, AT&T, is surely aware that lactobaccilus is a BACTERIUM, not a yeast. Assuming yeast, baterium, virus, paramecium, it's all the same (AT&T, Sprint, MCI), the claim of infection is quite serious, and as a decicated siphon sucker, one that I have never experienced. Therefore, I am quite intested in proper authoritive sources for this information. Are any forthcoming? The claim was only slightly less hilarious than the author's link of it as the reason why David Miller thought Weihenstephan #338 spicy enough for a weizen. If you ever drink the wheat at the St. Louis brewery, you would realise that Mr. Miller, who never claimed to be a weizen fan anyway, has a bland taste in wheat beers and for him 338 is probably phenolic enough. It can be amusing, though, how much emphasis beginners place on the most ridiculously contorted ways to start siphons, without having a clue about real sanitation questions. One friend of mine wnet to great length's to fill a siphon with preboiled water, but shortly afterward put his hand in to retrieve something from the wort ... RDWHAHB __________________________________________________________________________ 'Heineken!?! ... F#$% that s at &* ... | Ulick Stafford, Dept of Chem. Eng. Pabst Blue Ribbon!' | Notre Dame IN 46556 | ulick at darwin.cc.nd.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 1994 20:54:57 EDT From: KMYH09A at prodigy.com ( LARRY KELLY) Subject: Help with Brewers Digest Can someone tell me how to get back issues of Brewers Digest? I have FTP access, just can't figure the dam thing out. Larry Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 1994 22:13:40 -0400 (EDT) From: Craig Pepin <ckp at acpub.duke.edu> Subject: london hombrew shops elm I've been off the HBD for a while, but I have need of some HBD wisdom. I'm traveling to London in two weeks, and would like to check out some homebrew supply stores while I'm there. Can anybody give me the address of any particularly well-stocked stores there? Any other information, such as brewing related sights, brewery tours or important pubs would also be appreciated. Please respond via *private* email (to avoid wasting precious HBD space) to ckp at raphael.acpub.duke.edu Thanks in advance, Craig Pepin P.S., I'll be in Germany for 2 1/2 months, but I can find my way around there. I'll be studying for the BJCP exam (and learning a little German on the side) Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 94 15:40:00 -0800 From: jim.king at kandy.com (Jim King) Subject: Homebrew Digest #1423 (Ma Larry Kelly asks: H>Does anyone out there have any plans on how to make an Immersion Wort H>Chiller?? If so, please email me or post it the next HBD issue. It's actually quite easy. All you do is buy a whole bunch of copper tubing (about 30'?), bend it into a spiral that will fit in your pot with both ends going out over the pot edge. Then you attach some sort of tubing to that, one end of which should have an input connector of some sort (I used a common garden hose connector.) All these parts are available at any hardware store. I've changed over to a counterflow, so If you are in the Anaheim, CA area at all, I'd be happy to sell you my old immersion one. Jim King jim.king at kandy.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 15 May 94 16:43:00 -0800 From: jim.king at kandy.com (Jim King) Subject: Pumps and filters I've become very dissatisfied with the pump and filter that I currently have, and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions. My current filter is an under-sink style water filter, so I end up losing a large amount of beer because of what's left in the tank after the filter process. What I'd like to find is an in-line filter without a tank, which I can hook to my 3/8" tubing. My current pump is a penguin 550 PowerHead aquarium pump. The problem I have with it is just a paddle wheel (making it easy to sanitize, but also making it need priming.) I'd like to find a pump that actually creates some sort of suction, so that it will work starting from a dry hose. If anyone has seen pumps and filters that meet those needs, I would appreciate it if you would either post here, or Email me your suggestions. Jim King jim.king at kandy.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 16 May 94 14:49:14 EDT From: hpfcla.fc.hp.com!micromed!micromed (Andy Walsh) Subject: oxidisation There really does seem to be a lot of paranoia out there on oxidisation. Recently I made a Tripel with Wyeyeast German Ale (the Belgian yeast I find too phenolic) which started at 1080. I fermented in a plastic bucket and was dismayed to find fermentation stop at 1028 (too sweet). I followed the surprising advice of a commercial brewer who said they sometimes bubble air through their high gravity beers that "stick" to get them going again. So, using my trusty aquarium aerator (perfect for initial aeration too by the way), I bubbled some air through for 15 minutes (at 10 deg. celcius) left for one more week at about 15 deg. celcius (the German yeast is quite happy at this temperature) and, hey presto, the gravity crawled down to 1020. The beer spent the next 4 months in a plastic bucket in the fridge at about 10 deg. celcius before bottling with fresh yeast. According to popular thought, the beer would be terribly oxidised (just leaving it in plastic for a week oxidises it according to some!), but I thought it tasted pretty good so entered it in a local competition, which it won. None of the judges had any comments concerning oxidisation. A friend has left beer in the secondary for six months with no oxidisation evident after a further six months in the bottle (another strong Belgian ale). So my advice? Relax!! Footnote: I have had a couple of problems with hot-side oxidisation recently. This only took the form of darkening the beer a little. I could not detect any off-flavors nor further in-bottle oxidisation as proposed by George Fix et al. ___________________________________________ Andy Walsh ,-_|\ Micromedical Industries Ltd. / \ Sydney. AUSTRALIA. \_,.-._/ voice 61 2 3695711 v * Agony is blissful * ___________________________________________ Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 16 May 94 12:57:57 EDT From: hpfcla.fc.hp.com!micromed!micromed (Andy Walsh) Subject: quarter bock and others I know a brewer who works at one of the major Australian breweries. His boss used to be a brewer at Coors. Apparently all the major (re. commercial) Australian (and American?) beers are brewed with lager yeasts at high temperatures (18degrees celcius) and gravities (1080??) for commercial reasons (ie. it's cheaper as you ferment a greater volume of beer in a faster time), then diluted with water at bottling. This produces pretty bad beer as fusel alcohols etc. are produced in the fermentation process. We have blind tastings in our homebrew club and Aussie beers are unmistakeable with a pretty disgusting nose. American commercial beers tend to be lighter in body than Australian beers. Apparently the technique of "cold filtration" was first developed at Coors (according to my friend), which involves partially freezing the fermented beer, then filtering it to remove ice crystals to which some of the undesirable byproducts from the less than optimum fermentation adhere. ie. you remove flavour compounds (good and bad). This could help explain the light body associated with American beer. Australian breweries are now experimenting with similar techniques and producing beers with similar character. They are very popular commercially. Much of the above is conjecture on my part so look forward to any replies from those with greater knowledge of the commercial process. I think the fermentation process depicted above is not widely known. I have travelled quite a lot in the USA, hate the commercial styles, but have really enjoyed the microbrewed and speciality styles: I only wish we had such variety over here! ___________________________________________ Andy Walsh ,-_|\ Micromedical Industries Ltd. / \ Sydney. AUSTRALIA. \_,.-._/ voice 61 2 3695711 v * Agony is blissful * ___________________________________________ Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1424, 05/16/94