HOMEBREW Digest #1545 Thu 06 October 1994

Digest #1544 Digest #1546


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


Contents:
  Glatt Mills (ANDY WALSH)
  Re: yeast head contact with air is good? (Tel +44 784 443167)
  Re: Cooling plate kept in 'fridge (djt2)
  Ann Arbor beer sources (Bill Slack)
  maple syrup (Jim Ancona)
  yeasty taste (SMG9871)
  Yeast Labs Irish Ale Yeast and an Infection ("Steve Veillette, WCSU Information Systems")
  Mailing beer ("William F. Cook")
  Re: High F.G., cider, and Scotland (wegeng.XKeys)
  antioxidants (Ed Hitchcock)
  Re: Zymurgy delivery (Edmund Hack)
  Re:The good 'ol USPS ("David Sapsis")
  .2 ucron filters and airstones (Jim Busch)
  A Suggestion for AHA Competitions (Ken Schroeder)
  Re: RIMS Temperature Control (Jeff Berton)
  bottles, wheat, Ol'Puke (uswlsrap)
  Subscription or Not? (npyle)
  Half batches ("DEV::SJK")
  ANNC: HOPS BOPS Homebrew Competition (Toast Conger)
  Converting a water heater (Chad Kirby)
  Sterile filtering pure O2 (Erik Speckman)
  open fermentation/mashout (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
  Yeast questions (Greg Niznik)
  Can I save my Belgian Ale? ("William F. Cook")
  No. Cal. BJCP Exam ("Rad Equipment")
  Recipe Reduction Help (SSDS - Denver) <top at denver.ssds.com>
  Caramelized Sugar (kr_roberson)
  Liquid vs dry yeast (John McCauley)
  RE: resolution of head retention problem (EKTSR)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 18:57:33 +1000 From: ANDY WALSH <awalsh at ozemail.com.au> Subject: Glatt Mills So the maltmill controversy rages once more... I was fortunate enough to pass through LA a couple of weeks ago and had the chance to pick up a maltmill (they are not available in Australia). After comparing the Maltmill with the Glattmill I decided to buy the Glatt as the quality looked a little better to my eyes. Well the first time I used it was on unmalted wheat on the closest roller spacing. So those infamous plastic gears stripped, didn't they! Fortunately a friend is a fitter and turner so I should be able to replace them with metal gears, but it is a big pain in the ..... Why do the Glatt people go to all the trouble of making such a nice product and go and put such crummy gears in them? Admitedly it was a pretty tough trial to put it through, but nowhere does it state not to try and crack unmalted wheat. I imagine most homebrewers would try this at some stage. In any case, normal use is bound to cause significant wear fairly quickly, I believe. So my advice to prospective mill purchasers is... GO FOR THE MALTMILL!!!! Sorry Jack, I promise I'll listen next time... Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 09:59:27 +0000 From: Brian Gowland <B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk> (Tel +44 784 443167) Subject: Re: yeast head contact with air is good? In HBD 1544, Chris Lyons <Chris.Lyons at analog.com> wrote: > > In yesterday's HBD Brian Gowland states: > > ... It can actually be detrimental to deprive the yeast > > head of contact with air. ... > Could anyone please explain why their is a benefit to having > the yeast head exposed to air? Curious brewers want to know. > The source I have for this statement is "Home Brewing - The CAMRA Guide" by Graham Wheeler. In various parts of the book, Graham states that, once a good yeast head has formed, the fermenting vessel should be uncovered - quoting "It is not necessary or desirable to fit the lid to the fermentation bin during fermentation. It is important that the fermentation be allowed to breathe". He does not explain in any great detail what the negative effects could be other than in a later part of the book he states that it is claimed that Yeast Bite can be caused by sealing a fermentation vessel tightly. There is another part in the book which I can't remember clearly, where I think he seems to indicate that allowing the gaseous fermentation by-products to stay in close contact with the yeast head is undesirable. I often brew on a Sunday and pitch my yeast Sunday evening - by Monday morning, the yeast head is normally becoming established but not usually ready to be uncovered (exposed patches of wort remaining). By the evening after work, I can remove the lid and I have noticed that the yeast head will grow almost visibly once it is uncovered to the air. Whilst I have no experience of detrimental effects of leaving the fermentation covered, I can say that I have not had any bad ferments when uncovered - the yeast seems to like it and thrives wonderfully. Cheers, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 12:11:50 -0400 From: djt2 at po.cwru.edu Subject: Re: Cooling plate kept in 'fridge >> I tucked the plate into the back of my fridge and ran a tube from >> a keg in the basement through the back of the fridge into it. That way I >> have cold beer on tap all the time, and it takes up only as much space as a >> phone book in the fridge. The mass of the plate is enough to chill 2-3 mugs >> at a time, though, so an ice bucket is needed for parties. >I'd love to try this, it sounds great. >Could you include what temp and pressure you keep your keg at in the basement? >I'm asking how using the cooling plate affects your carbonation. There are two considerations about using a remote keg and a cooling plate kept at the dispensing point, it seems to me. One is total carbonation, and the question above reflects the fact that warm beer will absorb less C02 than cool beer. The target should be in the total volume of C02 contained in the beer, depending on style the target seems to be 1.5 to 2.5 volumes of CO2. There is a chart of carbonation-versus-temperature in the archives on sierra, which I don't have here, but at basement temperature (ca 65f) I needed about 25# of CO2 pressure. Note that this is *waay* too high for normal dispensing. The other consideration is the pressure at the tap. I figured that with the long length of tubing from the basement to the tap (about 25 feet of 1/4" plastic tube, ?3 feet in the plate, and 4 feet more to the tap) that there was considerable resistance in the line, and that during flow the net pressure at the tap was much less than the 25# at the keg. I haven't measured pressure at the tap directly, but certainly it seems less than 25# during flow. Note that line resistance could be regulated by putting a constricting clamp on the line near the tap, maybe just as it enters the 'fridge. In the end, the optimal keg pressure is determined by trial and error, but this setup works for me. There is one problem, though. When there is *no flow*, or very little, the pressure at the tap builds to the full 25#. Thus, when the tap is pressed slightly there is a quick spray of beer. Pressing the tap fully yields a normal calm flow. Controlling this takes a bit of practice, and more than one guest has gotten beer shoes by trying to halt the rising head by reducing the flow from the tap. This causes a spray that actually makes more foam, not less. Another problem is that while I expected to take the plate out for parties, I find that it is enough trouble to disconnect and reconnect that I'd like to have a different cooling plate for that purpose. Overall, I am satisfied, and it took remarkably little fiddling. My wife is glad to have less 'fridge space devoted to my indulgence. She can put the milk for the kids back in now. Dennis Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 07:22:30 EDT From: hpfcla.fc.hp.com!wslack!wrs (Bill Slack) Subject: Ann Arbor beer sources My colleagues and I frequently find ourselves in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Could some knowledgeable person please post or email suitable places to find brewpub or microbrewery beer or at least a good beer bar in that fair city? Actually, we go to Chelsea but I assume Ann Arbor has more opportunities. We could bring Boston/NH/East Coast specialties to swap with locals if desired. Bill __ wrs at gozer.mv.com (Bill Slack) Return to table of contents
Date: 5 Oct 94 8:22:16 EDT From: Jim Ancona <Jim_Ancona.DBS at dbsnotes.dbsoftware.com> Subject: maple syrup In HBD 1544, Jim Emery <jimery at u.washington.edu> asks about using maple syrup in a brew. I made the Pale Maple Ale recipe in Cats Meow. That is an extract ale with 1/2 gallon (I think) of maple syrup added. It had a different, sort of 'woody' taste, but it certainly didn't bowl you over with maple flavor and aroma. My guess is that if you want an identifiable maple flavor, you would have to use a lot and perhaps add it very late in (or after) the boil to avoid boiling off all the aromatics. Good luck. I'd be interested in hearing about your results and in seeing a recipe if you're successful. Jim - -- Jim Ancona JANCO at dbsoftware.com Opinions expressed are my own, and not those of D&B Software. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 1994 08:38:49 -0500 (EST) From: SMG9871%SIENA.BITNET at VM.ITS.RPI.EDU Subject: yeasty taste I have been having a problem recently with my beer having a very strong yeasty taste to it as if the yeast is coming off the bottom no matter how carefull I am in trying to decant it(the beer) off. My regular procedure in making my beer is to primary ferment in plastic for a week and then transfer to my carboy for another week and then bottle. I know the quality of the bere is good if it just wouldn't have that yeast coming out into my glass. So I pose my question of what do you do when you get a yeast infection?! Mark Garwatoski Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 8:57:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "Steve Veillette, WCSU Information Systems" <VEILLETTE at WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU> Subject: Yeast Labs Irish Ale Yeast and an Infection Dear Good People, My recent batch of robust porter has become infected (oh the humanity!). I am trying to trace down the source of infection and would like some information regarding the yeast Irish Ale yeast I used. During primary fermentation (carried out in a 6 gal. carboy capped with an airlock) the krausen spewed out of the airlock and clogged it up. My question: Is the Irish Ale yeast normally this enthusiastic about fermentation, or was this enthusiasm a result of the infection. In other words, was the spewing a result or the cause of the infection? Many thanks in advance... -Steve - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Veillette Western Connecticut State University Assistant Director 181 White Street Information Systems Danbury, CT 06810 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to table of contents
Date: 05 Oct 94 09:00:09 EDT From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> Subject: Mailing beer In #1540 I asked for info regarding the legality of and procedures for mailing homebrew. I received responses from Caig Verver and Dion Hollenbeck, both of whom said pretty much the same thing. I will summarize by re-posting Craig's response, which included some legal info: >----- >Section 1: Can I mail beer to my friends? > >Yes and No. Intra-provincial mailing of beer is currently prohibited >in Canada. It's also technically illegal to mail or ship beer in the >US without a distributor's license, though enforcement seems spotty. > >If (hypothetically of course) one were to want to ship beer across >the US, that person should be prepared to spend the money to ensure >quick, safe delivery of the beer: If you're taking the time to send >beer to someone, it's well worth the extra few bucks to guarantee >them a fresh, well-cared for delivery. Wrap each bottle in newspaper >or bubble-wrap, fill the box with styrofoam peanuts or bubble-pack >and tape the box securely. > >Although arguably shipping services such as UPS are most secure and >reliable, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the most cost- >effective means of mailing beer (hypothetically). You can ship 12 >bottles priority (2-day) for ~$22 or surface (5-9 day) for ~$12. Be >prepared to pay a minimum of $11 for a cross-country shipment no >matter what carrier/agent you use. > >Finally, USPS doesn't typically require declaring the contents of >the package. Whatever carrier/agent you decide to use, don't mention >beer -- you're shipping yeast samples if anyone asks. >----- > >Craig. Thanx to both Craig and Dion Bill Cook HydroComp, Inc. Team Dennis Conner Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 06:34:30 PDT From: wegeng.XKeys at xerox.com Subject: Re: High F.G., cider, and Scotland In HBD #1544 Andy "Mac" Kligerman says: >I plan to make a dry hard cider this weekend with raw cider from the mountains >of Virginia. I will pitch with a dry London Ale yeast from Canada. Should I >either boil or heat the cider to 190 F (before pitching) to kill any bacteria or >wild yeast or will that risk setting the pectin? I`ve been making hard cider for a couple years, and within the last couple weeks have read two books on hard cider. I don`t recall any references to heating cider before pitching yeast. Instead it`s recommended to treat the cider with potassium metabisulfite, camden tablets, or a similar agent (reference a good wine making book for details about these treatments). The dosage will depend on the acidity of your cider, which varies depending on the varieties of apples that were used (the more acid in the cider, the less treatment you need). Alternatively, you can simply add your yeast without treatment, or not do anything and let the wild yeasts that are already present ferment (note that it may be very slow to start). The two books that I`ve read are "Sweet and hard cider: making it, using it, and enjoying it" by Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols (Garden Way, 1980) and "The american cider book; the story of america`s natural beverage" by Vrest Orton (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973). Many home brewing and wine making stores carry the Proulx book. The Orton book is probably out of print, but the local public library system has several copies so perhaps you can borrow a copy from your public library. Finally, cider makers may want to subscribe to the electronic mailing list devoted to this topic. Send a message to "Requests at X.Org" with the the following text in the body of the message "subscribe cider yourname at youraddress.domain". /Don dlw.xkeys at xerox.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 10:14:04 -0300 (ADT) From: Ed Hitchcock <ehitchcock at sparc.uccb.ns.ca> Subject: antioxidants The use of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant has been poopoohed by either Miller or Fix, I don't recall off hand which one. Basically, vitamin C works great for keeping apples from turning brown, but beer is a little more complex. I think it requires something like sulfite to help it as an antioxidant, and sulfites have no place in beer. The moral is, be careful when racking. PS. appologies to the Coyote for not including my address in my .sig --------------- | Ed Hitchcock | Meet mt two dogs. This is my dog Ma, | Biology Dept. | and this is my dog Earl. | UCCB, NS, Can | UCCB doesn't take my word for it, why should you? --------------- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 09:42:59 -0500 From: hack at l44c4-2.jsc.nasa.gov (Edmund Hack) Subject: Re: Zymurgy delivery In HBD 1544 10/5/94, David Allison <ALLISON.DAVID at A1GW.GENE.COM> sez: >Second... >I have contacted the AHA _twice_ about the delay in receiving Zymurgy a >month later than the local brew shops. They informed me that the >individual subscriptions go out in third class mail and the arrival of my >magazine is up to the US Mail (Oh No!!). Magazine/newsletter delivery is a major problem for smaller associations whose publications also appear retail. There is usually a two tier system for sending out magazines - subscriptions go Third Class and retail copies go UPS. Third Class can take up to one month for delivery, although 2 weeks seems about average for me. A number of factors can influence the time needed for delivery. For example, most magazines are bundled by zip code and the bigger the bundle, the faster the delivery. National magazines such as Time and Newsweek speed up delivery by dropping copies into the system at several bulk mail sites around the country, yet the newsstand copies arrive before home copies. >Don - I am sorry to upset you >also (I must have been having a bad mind day), but I am wondering why I >should pay essentially the same money for Zymurgy to be sent to me a month >later than I could get via the homebrew shop. But you get all the other benefits of AHA membership, too! > >Are there others out there with these same issues/concerns/problems? One option that AHA could offer is to send the magazine by First Class mail for an additional fee. You'd get it as fast as the shops that way. - --- Edmund Hack |"The great prince issues commands, hack at l44c4-2.jsc.nasa.gov | Founds states, vests families with fiefs. Lockheed ESC, Houston, TX | Inferior people should not be employed." Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 08:02:15 CST From: "David Sapsis" <dbsapsis at nature.Berkeley.EDU> Subject: Re:The good 'ol USPS In the fallout over the StoutBout lost/missing entry issue, some interesting discussion over ways of shipping beer has ensued. In HBD#1544, Martin states that "if the USPS guesses what it is, its gone." Well, I've been shipping Christmas beers to friends in Oregon for years via USPS and they have all made it through. This includes one shipment that arrived at its destination about 4 weeks late, surrounded in a plastic bag that had not been there when I sent it out. What apparently had happened was a bottle of Russian Stout had broken, and the contents seeped out of the box. The entire package was then routed to someplace in New Mexico, where they apparently decided to simply put it in a plastic bag and reship it. Maybe they couldn't guess what it was or they were fooled by my ploy. What I have always done (knowing fully that it is illegal to transport alcoholic beverages through the USPS) is write in bold letters: CANNED PICKLES -- FRAGILE! all over the package. Musta been that dark malt vinegar smell that had the postal service folks thinking: this person really deserves to get these homemade pickles--we gotta resend it. Anyway, just one datum. Incidentally, does anyone know of any instances of a homebrewer being convicted of said crime? Just wondering, but I got my plane ticket to Argentina ready. cheers, ********************************************************************** David Sapsis dbsapsis at nature.berkeley.edu Wildland Fire Research Laboratory Dept. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management U C Berkeley voice: (510)642-8053 fax:(510) 643-5438 "From fire everything is created, and in fire everything ends up." --Heracleitus (502 B.C.) ************************************************************************ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 11:30:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Jim Busch <busch at daacdev1.stx.com> Subject: .2 ucron filters and airstones Scott wrote: <> I called several welding shops and bought the cheapest new bottle of > welding O2. I use a .2 micron inline filter, the medical disk type. <I need a filter like this for an aquarium pump, but I cannot find such <a thing. Would you happen to have a source or two at hand? > I have used silica airstones > with good results, as well as SS scintered stones. <I've heard of the stainless steel 'airstones', but cannot find them <either. The folks in aquarium stores think it's pretty funny that I <think such a thing exists. I had my .2 micron filter given to me by a chemist type. It is a simple 2.5" plastic disc with in and out lines. I assume it is of the disposable medical type, I would check with chemist/medical supply places to see what can be found for a cheap price. Maybe Bob Jones knows where to get these? AS for the SS airstone, these are hard to find. I got mine at a surplus house and they are all gone. Bobs idea to make one sounds good, and certainly the silica aquarium airstones work fine, and are cheap enough to throw away every 10 batches or so, if you want to. Good brewing, Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 08:56:13 PDT From: kens at lan.nsc.com (Ken Schroeder) Subject: A Suggestion for AHA Competitions There seems to be a lot of speculation to what happened to David Allison's entry to the "Stout Bout". It seems, IMHO, that furnishing the results of an entry to an AHA event, or any organized competition, should be a minimum responsiblity for the organizers. This is not an overwhelming task, if organized. What if each entry was to be accompanied by a self addressed, stamped envelope. When the results are tabulated, the score sheet is copied, stuffed into the supplied envelope and mailed at the same time the orginal copy is sent to the AHA. This is a slight increase in the labor required for an event, but the reason for entering, for most of us, is to get feedback on our brews. Personally I think that David need not apologize to anyone, in fact, IMHO, it is the Stout Bout who should appologise to David, and all other entrants, for not being able to supply the reults of the judging in that event. How about it AHA: require a self addressed stamped envelope from the entants and require that the judging sheets be copied and mailed back in that envelope by the competition organizers? Ken Schroeder Sequoia Brewing - ----- End Included Message ----- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 12:19:59 -0400 (EDT) From: jeff344 at voodoo.lerc.nasa.gov (Jeff Berton) Subject: Re: RIMS Temperature Control Joe Stone writes: >I've been soliciting input regarding RIMS-like systems. And I've >received some wonderful responses. There seems to be two basic >approaches to temperature control in the recirculating path: one >is a "proportional" control by which the power delivered to the >heating element is varied between zero and some maximum value >(typically on the order of 1000 watts); the other approach seems to >rely simply on a relay (i.e. the heating element is either on or >off). Both approaches can be automated or manual. > > The proportional control must offer advantages over the relay-ed >approach. Less chance of scorching? Less chance of overshoot? >Longer element life? Are the advantages worth the added complexity? I've been in touch with Joe off-line on this subject, but I thought a description of my approach would be of general interest here. I'm not very familiar with SCR and chip circuit design, and even copying the thermostat circuit that Rodney Morris sketched in his Zymurgy RIMS article intimidated me. Indeed, some people here have mentioned they could not get Rodney's circuit to work at all. My approach to thermostatically controlling my RIMS is to just hook up a high-load dimmer switch to my immersion heater. My dimmer switch is rated to 1000 Watts, which matches the output of my heater. These specialty dimmer switches can be found in hardware stores for about $20. I've found that a 1000-Watt heater is sufficient to increase the temperature of the wort at about one degree Fahrenheit every minute, depending on how well heat losses are minimized. When increasing the wort temperature between rests, I operate both my heater and pump at full capacity. Pumping rates must be kept high when the heater is at maximum power or wort scorching, and possibly even heater burnout, may occur. I brew pale ales in my RIMS with no discernable scorching. Once the desired rest temperature is reached, I turn the dimmer switch down to a point where a relatively small amount of heat addition matches the relatively small heat loss of the system. I thought I would need a thermostat to automate this part of the process for me, but I've found this to be unnecessary. The part-power dimmer switch setting required to maintain a constant tun temperature is easy to find. After setting the dimmer properly, I can even walk away for fifteen minutes at a time without worrying about deviating from my desired rest temperature. Another alternative, as Joe mentions, would be to use a solid state time delay relay switch. C&H Sales (mail-order, no affiliation) has one that can be delayed from 1 to 180 seconds, rated at 10 amps, for $20. One could bypass it when full-power heating is desired, then enable it for thermostat duty during the mash temperature rest(s). The next step, if I decide I really need an automated thermostat, may be to hook up my immersion heater to an A/D board on my PC! - -- Jeff Berton, Aeropropulsion Analysis Office, NASA Lewis Research Center jeff344 at voodoo.lerc.nasa.gov Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 94 12:38:47 EDT From: uswlsrap at ibmmail.COM Subject: bottles, wheat, Ol'Puke - -------------------- Mail Item Text Follows ------------------ To: I1010141--IBMMAIL From: Bob Paolino Research Analyst Subject: bottles, wheat, Ol'Puke 1) RAISED LETTERING ON BOTTLES: It never occurred to me that there would be any question about the lettering down near the bottom of the bottle (various codes, "NO REFILL," 0.5l, 355 ml, et cetera). I would hope that there's not a competition organiser (AHA included) that would disqualify entries in those bottles. Most bottles seem to have _some_ kind of lettering/numbering down there. What the rules refer to (at least I hope that's the case) are distinctive things like a brandname or logo/trademark. There's good reason for excluding those bottles, as has already been discussed. Anyone who would disqualify an entry for the lettering at the bottom of the bottle would truly be anal retentive. 2) I got a few replies on my 100% WHEAT MALT question. Here were some of the suggestions. M&F DRY (don't know about the liquid) isn't 100% but it's fairly light, and if you can get by with a 55-45 proportion, that might work. ALEXANDER'S has a 60-40 that is said to be, like the regular stuff, very pale. The person who replied wasn't sure if they had a 100%. IRONMASTER UNHOPPED WHEAT appears to be 100% wheat, and comes in smaller cans (1.8kg), but I wasn't told about colour. The IREK'S was said to be very good, but I didn't hear about the colour. And, of course, it comes in that huge can that might be too much for a five gallon batch if you're going to use other malt also and want to keep your OG under 1.050 if that's what you need for the style :-) 3) Someone asked about Old Peculiar (or is that -er for the beer?) clones. I haven't tried one, but I got my ZYMURGY special issue the other day, and I recall seeing a recipe. Bob Paolino Disoriented in Badgerspace Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 10:43:55 MDT From: npyle at hp7013.ecae.StorTek.COM Subject: Subscription or Not? David "Stout Bout" Allison writes: >I have contacted the AHA _twice_ about the delay in receiving Zymurgy a >month later than the local brew shops. They informed me that the >individual subscriptions go out in third class mail and the arrival of my >magazine is up to the US Mail (Oh No!!). Don - I am sorry to upset you >also (I must have been having a bad mind day), but I am wondering why I >should pay essentially the same money for Zymurgy to be sent to me a month >later than I could get via the homebrew shop. > >Are there others out there with these same issues/concerns/problems? This happens with virtually every magazine subscription. Its pretty illogical to mistreat your subscribers (read: steady customers) this way, but the magazine business does it all the time. It seems you're paying for convenience; you don't have to go looking for the zine. Also, your subscription price makes you a "member" of AHA, with all the rights and privileges that come with it. As far as I can tell, the only thing *that* gets you is a free pass into the special "members only" afternoon tasting at the GABF (coming up in 2 weeks). Of course, to get this *free* pass, you have to buy a full-price pass to one of the evening sessions. And also of course, this is only of value if you live on the Front Range of Colorado, or travel here every October. A bad deal, you say? As Dave in Sydney sez: Life's a bitch, but at least there's homebrew! Cheers, Norm npyle at hp7013.ecae.stortek.com Return to table of contents
Date: 5 Oct 94 11:35:00 CST From: "DEV::SJK" <SJK%DEV.decnet at mdcgwy.mdc.com> Subject: Half batches Timothy Buck asks about "half" batches for variety's sake. I also do half, or 3 gallon batches (and smaller) fairly often. I must qualify anything I'm going say by stating that most of these are meads and that my experience with 3 gallon batches of beer is limited (5 or 6 batches?) For beers, I have found that simply scaling the ingredients down to a 3 gal batch size works fine. Just multiply all the ingredients for 5 gallons by 3/5. OGs should be the same. The only thing I can think of that might change with the smaller batch size would be IBUs due to the smaller amount of wort affecting utilization in some way, but I've not noticed any wild variations in expected bitterness. The biggest problem is headspace in the primary. Fermenting 3 gallons of beer in a 6 gallon plastic bucket (like I do) or even in a 5 gallon carboy leaves a lot of headspace. This can cause problems after vigorous fermentation slows down as even small changes in ambient temp can make the CO2 in the headspace expand and contract, thus sucking air and anything that may be floating in it into your primary. I deal with this problem by wrapping my primary in a sleeping bag after the first day or two of primary ferment to hopefully reduce temp swings. I also rack early, like a week after pitching, into a 3 gal glass carboy. Another thing you might do is visit a few doughnut shops. Most are happy to get rid of the containers their jellies and such come in. They'll often just give them to you, or charge you something nominal, like a buck. These are typically 4 gallons in size and are food grade HDPE (?) just like the 6 gal ones at the homebrew store. Pick one that doesn't smell too much of raspberry syrup, drill a hole in the lid and on you go. I have a buddy who uses these for primaries for small batches and he's happy with it. Yet another thing you might do if you don't mind a little blowoff is to cut the batch even further to 2.5 gal and primary in a 3 gal carboy. My homebrew store has these for about $12, I think. Scott Kaczorowski sjk at rc3a.mdc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 09:34:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Toast Conger <ktoast at netaxs.com> Subject: ANNC: HOPS BOPS Homebrew Competition * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Call for entries in the 11th Annual HOPS-BOPS 1994 The Homebrewers of Philadelphia and Suburbs Best of Philadelphia and Suburbs Competition HOPS is hosting its annual homebrew competition this November and is inviting entries from intrepid homebrewers everywhere. The contest will evaluate, judge and award prizes to the best of over 150 beer entries. HOPS is a non-profit organization to promote and encourage the fine art of homebrewing. It's members have won national and regional contests and include a number of judges sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program. If you would like to submit an entry, entry forms and more detailed information are finally available. <Note: Folks who have already contacted me, the entry forms were dropped in the mail October 4.> Entry Deadline: 11/3/94 Competition Judging: 11/6/94 If you are interested and would like more information and/or an entry form, send your snailmail address to: ktoast at netaxs.com Or write directly to: HOPS c/o Ted Briggs 15 Hilltop Road Levittown, PA 19056 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 10:40:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Chad Kirby <ckirby at u.washington.edu> Subject: Converting a water heater Charlie Papazian mentions in a couple of his books that a resourceful Home Brewer could convert a gas hot water heater into a propane burner for use in brewing. It so happens that I have an unused gas hot water heater, and I was wondering if anyone would know how to go about converting it. Many thanks... ck ckirby at u.washington.edu *** Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and it holds the universe together... Carl Zwanzig Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 11:22:32 -0700 From: especkma at reed.edu (Erik Speckman) Subject: Sterile filtering pure O2 >Jim> I called several welding shops and bought the cheapest new bottle of >Jim> welding O2. I use a .2 micron inline filter, the medical disk type. >Jim> It works very well. You may be able to get away without a filter, >Jim> bit it is a simple and cheap way to be sure. >Could you please say where you get these filters? I have been using >welding O2 with no filtering and am scared I am not practicing "safe >aeration". This would be a much easier solution than making some sort >of liquid based sanitizer in the O2 line. I wouldn't worry too much about filtering pure O2 gas of any grade. I think that exposure to pure O2 for a more than a few minutes will probably render any bacteria or yeast quite dead, too much of a good thing and all that. CO2 is another matter. ______________________________________________________________________ Erik A. Speckman Seattle, Washington Good Brain Doesn't Suck especkma at reed.edu especkma at halcyon.com Return to table of contents
Date: 5 Oct 94 18:24:00 GMT From: korz at iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583) Subject: open fermentation/mashout Bob writes, questioning Brian's yeast contact with air assertion: >How can this be detrimental? I always thought there was a CO2 blanket >over the beer while it was fermenting, during either open or closed >fermentation. Indeed! In fact, at Samuel Smith's Tadcaster Brewery, where they have some pretty famous open fermenters (Yorkshire Stone Squares), there are warnings on all the doors leading into the fermentation room (I saw at least 18 fermenters there and I think there are many more in other rooms) about asphyxiation and venting the room before entry. With all this Carbon Monoxide detector stuff in the news, perhaps we should be looking into Carbon DIOXIDE detectors in our breweries? No, seriously, none of our fermenters will make enough CO2 to kill us, but a big leak in a CO2 system in a sealed basement over a period of a week can be dangerous, not to mention knocking over a tank and snapping off the high-pressure gauge. Please take great care with CO2 tanks. **************** Andy writes: >In all the excitement over >tasting the sweetness of the mash after the starch rest, >my partner and I forgot to do the mash-out step. > >This was my first tinkering with all grain brewing, >and I'm curious what the effect of NOT conducting >the mashout could have on the brew. There are two reasons for doing mashout, one contraversial. The contraversial one is that it helps stop all enzyme activity and thus makes your recipe more consistent to reproduce (i.e. some remaining beta-amylase enzymes are still hard at work breaking your unfermentable dextrins down into fermentable glucose during the sparge). The pretty much universally accepted reason is that it makes your runnings "runnier" (less viscous), reduces the chances of a set mash and possibly increases extract efficiency a point or two. If you got a decent (mid-20's or better points/lb/gal) yield, didn't get a set mash and your sparge didn't take 2 hours, then you probably didn't lose a thing. Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 14:49:12 EDT From: Greg Niznik <GENIZN01 at ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU> Subject: Yeast questions Graduate Student Phone: 852-5756 Dear Brewers, I'm pretty new to homebrewing. I've just finished my second batch, a pale ale. It turned out O.K., but the F.G. was higher than I anticipated. I used one package of Edme ale yeast, rehydrated as per the package. It looked like it stopped working within four days, and on day 11, the S.G. was the same on day 4. SHould I have used more yeast? Would I have gotten a better result with a liquid yeast? One person suggested that I start the dry yeast a few days before pitching, like a liquid yeast. Also, does anyone know of a good way to presanitize your bottles before you need them - like a week or so before bottling. In our tissue culture lab, they routinely wash bottles with soap and water, rinse well, cover with tin foil and bake at 200 degrees for an hour or so. Is this OK for beer bottles? Can I do this in my oven at home? Any help is welcome Thanks in advance Greg Niznik GENIZN01 at ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU Return to table of contents
Date: 05 Oct 94 15:25:19 EDT From: "William F. Cook" <71533.2750 at compuserve.com> Subject: Can I save my Belgian Ale? A couple of days ago I posted a message regarding the performance of Wyeast #1214 Belgian Ale. A couple of messages from helpful digest readers and some analysis on my part lead to cleaning out the refrigerator, in which I discovered an unused smak-pak of Wyeast #1214 Belgian Abbey. It appears I've dumped another yeast into my precious 1.078 wort. I think it might be Wyeast #1007 German Ale. Ignoring the fact that this act makes it appear as if I haven't got a single living brain cell (or at least that I can't read), does anyone have any advice on what to do? Do I go ahead and pitch a small belgian yeast starter? Do I wait until I rack? Do I leave well enough alone and cry into this beer when it's done? Every time I walk past the bubbling airlock I get p*ssed. I can't help but feel as though I wasted 18# of Belgian grain on this thing. Any help would be *greatly* appreciated. Bill Cook HydroComp, Inc. Team Dennis Conner Return to table of contents
Date: 5 Oct 1994 14:00:25 U From: "Rad Equipment" <rad_equipment at rad-mac1.ucsf.edu> Subject: No. Cal. BJCP Exam Subject: No. Cal. BJCP Exam Time:1:08 PM Date:10/5/94 Finally a BJCP Exam has been scheduled for Northern California. After several false starts we have managed to arrange a site and proctor well enough in advance to give everyone in the northern state a chance to participate. This is the only exam scheduled in the area for the next six months or more. Folks from Arcata to Fresno are expected to attend. Saturday, January 7, 1995 1 - 4 PM St. Mary's Orthodox Church 95 Mountain View Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95407 Proctor: Byron Burch (707) 544-2520 Send a check MADE OUT TO BYRON BURCH, with "BCJP Exam" noted on the check to: The Beverage People 840 Piner Road, #14 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Fees are $55 for first time takers and $40 for retakers. This fee includes an assement to help defer the cost of the exam site. If excess funds are collected refunds will be made. Call Byron for more details and directions. Please register for this exam by December 7, 1994. Get those study groups organized and hit the beers, er books. RW... Russ Wigglesworth (INTERNET: Rad_Equipment at radmac1.ucsf.edu - CI$: 72300,61) UCSF Dept. of Radiology, San Francisco, CA (415) 476-3668 / Home (707) 769-0425 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 94 16:05:05 MDT From: Rory Porth (SSDS - Denver) <top at denver.ssds.com> Subject: Recipe Reduction Help I need help in the reduction of a recipe that builds 8 gallons of wort and such and brews to about 7 or so gallons.... I need to know how much of this this recipe needs to be reduced for a 5 gallon batch. My confusion comes since the recipe I ran across was published (with permission) in the Midwest Beer notes "brews-paper" and sounds rather good to me. It states that it has ingredients for 6.5 gallons, but in the writeup, calls for topping off to 8 gallons.......? the article states that the recipe appears on page 302 of the Home Brewer's Companion - reprinted with permission of the author. UNSPOKEN PASSION IMPERIAL STOUT Ingredients for 6.5 gallons: 6 lbs plain light dried malt extract 8 lbs Mountmellick brand Irish Stout Kit malt extract syrup or other stout kit 14 lbs crystal/caramel malt 3 lbs black roasted malt 4 lbs roasted barley 2 lbs chocolate roasted malt 3 oz Eroica hops (boiling ~:30 HBU) 2 oz Cascades hops (aroma) gypsum (if needed ) 11 lbs red raspberries (crushed, unsweetened) Ale Yeast corn sugar or DME for bottling The recipe says that this is for 6.5 gallons, but the writeup calls for addition of water to 8 gallons. Here's the portion of the writeup: "... Add 4 gallons of cold water to your sanitized fermenter(s). Add your hot wort, raspberries and finishing hops to the fermenter and top up with cold water to make a total volume of 8 gallons. " it goes on to say that a blow-off method cannot really be used with this, and you must have about 5 inches of head space for fermentation etc. Questions: 1) I need (no - I HAVE to reduce this to a 5 - gallon batch) What would be the reduction formula/algorythm/whatever? 2) has anyone built this brew? if so, how'd you like it? 3) Is the 8 gallons of volume increased because of the "preponderance" of raspberries..... any and all info will be appreciated thanks Rory Porth SSDS, Inc. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 1994 13:57 -0700 (PDT) From: kr_roberson at gate.pnl.gov Subject: Caramelized Sugar On Sunday, I made some dark candy sugar for a abbey-style dubbel I was brewing. Not sure if this is traditional, but here's what I did. I put in 2 cups of sugar and a tablespoon of water, as per Joy of Cooking instructions. Stir, Stir, never stop stirring. The water evaporated before the sugar melted. Oh well. Sugar slowly melted. As people have said, it is hot. MUCH hotter than boiling water. Plus if it gets on you, it traps steam next to your skin that really cooks you. Anyway, once it gets to the color you want (dark in my case) either mix in water to make syrup or do what I did. I lined a pan with foil and chilled it in the freezer. When the sugar got to the right color, I dumped it in the pan in a thin layer. Nice hard candy surgar. Later, during the boil, I fed it into the kettle over a minute or so. It mixed in fine without burning on the bottom or any other problem. Careful when you eat it, it has sharp splinters. Let it melt a little in your mouth. The wort had a nice red color. Some from the sugar, some from the Special B. Regards from the Northwest, Kyle Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 1994 20:56:36 From: john.mccauley at his.com (John McCauley) Subject: Liquid vs dry yeast After my first batch I bought into the party line about the superiority of liquid yeast (Wyeast) over dry and indeed I made some fine beers with it (especially the 1968 special). Yet here I am a year or so later and I find myself bored with making a starter on Wednesday so I can brew on Saturday. I really miss the simplicity (and low cost) of dry yeast and for my next batch am going back to Edme to see if I notice a difference. In the meantime could some of you experienced dry yeast users pipe up on your fave brands? The airwaves here on HBD are full of the praises of liquid, does dry really suck? BTW a friend and I began brewing at about the same time in 1993. The difference is I have access to HBD and he doesn't. Almost from the beginning my beers were superior to his and I credit HBD lurking for most of my success. Thanks to everyone who posts! john Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 94 21:30:21 EDT From: EKTSR at aol.com Subject: RE: resolution of head retention problem In a past HBD I had written for help with poor head retention and / or undercarbonation. Thanks For posts by Al, David Elm, Spencer Thomas, et al, making me A LOT more aware of the complexities of it. My salvation: not using the dishwasher (rinse agent) AND not using GLASSES that had been run thru the dishwasher without a through rinse/scrub with hot water. Spencer and Steve Robinson pointed out in private e-mail that, quite correctly, it does no good to have the rinse agent in the glass..... (image of me slapping the center of my forehead ...) My thanks to all Stan White, Ektsr at aol.com "the way to BE is to DO" Lau Tsu Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1545, 10/06/94