HOMEBREW Digest #1697 Tue 04 April 1995

Digest #1696 Digest #1698


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


Contents:
  Recovering Homebrew Equipment from Fire (wyatt)
  Norm Pyle where are you (Dion Hollenbeck)
  various (Jay Seigfreid)
  Floating yeast slime (Terence McGravey {91942})
  Posting of competition results (Jay Lonner)
  Water treatment & Yeast Culturing (XKCHRISTIAN)
  Wheat Gelatinization Temperatures (Don Put)
  Malt Extracts Created Equal? (Part 2) (MR ALAN F RICHTER)
  Malt Extracts Created Equal? (Part 1) (MR ALAN F RICHTER)
  Re: Priming with Honey (JOHNMAJ)
  All Grain Novice (Bob Sutton)
  Boil foam & other comments (PERSAND)
  RE: Stuck CO2 regulator (Kevin McEnhill)
  Priming with honey (Chris Cooper)
  New Canadian Beer (Craig Mcpherson)
  priming with honey (and sugar calc) (Dick Dunn)
  Fast Ferments/Kraeusen Solubility/ElectroFlocculator (Kirk R Fleming)
  Glass fermenters? (Jack Thompson)
  Re: Contaminated Batch (Chris Strickland)
  beer balls (PHIL RUSSO)
  Cornelius Kegging Questions ("Jim Fitzgerald")
  Best British Beers (Jim Cave)
  commercial american and belgian beers (Andy Walsh)
  Wit Stock (hkilpatr)
  Report from the Sandlot, Coors Field (Jeff Benjamin)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 31 Mar 95 19:12:26 pst From: wyatt at Latitude.COM Subject: Recovering Homebrew Equipment from Fire Hello All: This is a slightly different request than the normal for the HBD but here goes anyway. I recently had a fire at my apartment and lost most of my possessions but I was able to save at least some of my brew equipment. Unfortunately all the malt and hops I had are gone. My first question relates to a maltmill that I have. The base and hopper are a total loss from water damage but the roller assembly is okay except that the rollers are really rusted. It hasn't been that long since the fire (a few days and I am supprised at how fast the rust has progressed. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to remove the rust and prevent it from further rust without sacrificing the fuction of the mill. It has to of course be safe for milling malt. I know about navel jelly and similar products but I'm not sure if these are safe to use on a "food" grade product like a mill. I guess I could replace the rollers but money is going to be tight for a while and I need to save what I can. Also, if there are any other pitfalls to salvageing equipment from a house fire please let me know. I saw molten metal(possibly lead?) and all kind of weird looking stuff in the debris so I plan to scub everything thouroughly then wash with vinegar to remove the residues. I need all the help I can get. On a separate note, I've used DeWolf Cosign Pale Ale malt quite a bit in the past and never had any problems with clarity. I haven't been using it lately mainly because I have been brewing more lagers (until recently that is) and have been using german Pils malt instead (although I have found quite a few beans in it which my mill really didn't like). I wonder if the malt has changed. One last thing, I have been looking into RIMS systems and was wondering if these system are flexable enough to do a decoction. I realize that the decoction would have to done manually but can you remove the grist for the decoction then add it back into the mash to get that "german" flavor. It seems to me that this would be very plausable. The main reason I am thinking along these lines is to get absolute repeatablity but if it keeps me from experimenting then i don't want any part of it, after all, that's why I'm a homebrewer (aside from BETTER beer of course). TIA Wyatt Jones wyatt at latitude.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 95 19:44:31 PST From: hollen at megatek.com (Dion Hollenbeck) Subject: Norm Pyle where are you Sorry for the personal, but I tried Email already. Norm - Your Email address at stortek is no longer valid. Please reply so that I can get in touch with you. Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814 Email: hollen at megatek.com Staff Software Engineer Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 23:44:36 -0600 (CST) From: Jay Seigfreid <jays at earth.execpc.com> Subject: various I brew only extract and would love to hear from all you extract brewers. I would even go so far as to say that if you will send me your recipes I will compile them into a document. Brewing only extract is quite a challenge because the extract has already been cooked, it is not fresh, who knows about the condition of the hops (hopped extracts), and who knows what damage you do when you boil the extract more than it has already been boiled. However, because of time constraints, I work at least 80 hours a wweek -- and love what I do so I won't change, and hate rice and corn beer (Bud -- but ugly dog -- and Miller, etc) I need to brew quick, easy and generally fool proof beers. I am sure a lot of you are in the same boat for similar if not different reasons. I spent the summer of 1974 in Europe. Drank a lot of beer and loved it. Then in 1983 saw an add in the Rotarian, of all places, for a home brew kit. Because of this I now brew the beer I drink, usually -- in the American Airlines terminal in Chicago is a restaurant/bar that has a lot, and I mean a lot, of different beers - -- it's a great place for a layover, of course there are other bars and microbewerypub type places and micro brews around uhm, uhm good. The beer kit was an extract and my first batch was as good as most I drank in Europe, I was hooked -- isn't life great. Roasted barley has come up a few times here. I brewed a Black Rock Pilsner a while back and added a ounce or so roasted barley. Got very high marks from my friends. Bought the barley from the health food store and roasted it myself. Do this at home kids, but be careful -- burnt barley stinks -- but the wife was out and so she didn't get to appreciate my first attempt. She did appreciate the outcome and just about single handedly finished off the red ass Pilsner by her lonesome. I intend to do this again as it was very different and very good. What does TIA mean. Where Is the faq?, man. I keep seeing this but don't have a clue. Just because I am clueless here doesn't mean I am glueless but I won't have any of the white stuff -- is an interesting thread and I have been fascinated by it -- how would I do a Wit as an extract??? Have brewed several Mutons Nut Brown Ales. Seems the fermentation gets stuck around 1.02*. Just brewed a Mutons IPA and it fermented out to 1.008, as advertised. What's the deal? I even got out the fishtank aerator. Purchased the last from a different source and they have M&F yeast -- dry of course, (quit wincing). BTW -- cultured a Chimay red and used that yeast for one of the NBA -- don't try it -- I poured it down the drain it was sourish -- may have made a good marinade, had a lager ferment at about 90F in OK one summer that made an excellent marinade but was otherwise quite worthless. Anyway, they have been quite good, sweet but good -- I was trying for a Newcastle style -- used Charlies TNC...etc recipe for Naked Sunday -- Speaking of Chimay -- I am culturing a Grand Reserve. The yeast seems wispy in the bottom of the bottle not gooey as other cultures I have made --wispy as in when I swirl the bottle the yeast sediment wisps in the wort rather than staying put on the bottom or flowing in mass. Is this ok? I had a lager do this after several months in the bottle and those that did were sour (some bottles soured and some did not -- strange). The Grand Reserve was so good and I would like a recipe, extract of course, to duplicate the experience. Thanks. jay Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 08:18:50 -0500 From: Terence McGravey {91942} <tpm at swl.msd.ray.com> Subject: Floating yeast slime I just made a Golden Ale - the second one in a row and the spent yeast did not settle out. This was my first batch using a glass carboy as my primary fermenter. The last batch used the exact same ingredients and I racked to the secondary (5 gal glass carboy) after 2 days. All the yeast had fallen to the bottom of the primary (plastic bucket). The current batch has about 1/2 inch of spent yeast (dough like) floating on top. I'm going to rack it to the secondary anyway today. I brewed this batch on Monday and it is now Saturday. What might have caused this ? The same ingredients were used and the environmental conditions are the same. The only difference is the primary fermenter (now glass instead of plastic). I used M&F ale yeast - 14g - re-hydrated in 100 degree H2O for 15 minutes - same as last time. ANY CLUES ??? TIA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | _/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ _/_/ _/_/ WEST END PUB & PICOBREWERY | | _/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Methuen, Mass. | | _/_/ _/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ | | _/_/ _/ _/ _/ Terry McGravey | | _/_/ _/ _/ _/ Owner / Brewmaster | | _/_/ _/ _/ _/ | | tpm at swl.msd.ray.com | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 08:18:27 -0800 (PST) From: Jay Lonner <8635660 at NESSIE.CC.WWU.EDU> Subject: Posting of competition results Brewers, This is just a quick request/reminder to refrain from posting competition results in the HBD (we've been over this before). We were doing well there for a while, but in recent weeks there's been a flood of competition-related postings that can only be of local/regional interest. Perhaps the people who post these results could instead send a one-line message along the lines of "results are in, email me for a copy." That way interested parties could follow up on it, while the rest of us could just tune it out. Jay Lonner 8635660 at nessie.cc.wwu.edu Bellingham, WA - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Let be be the finale of seem/The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream." Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 08:51:30 -0800 (PST) From: XKCHRISTIAN at CCVAX.FULLERTON.EDU Subject: Water treatment & Yeast Culturing I am interested in switching over to RO water for brewing. Can anyone give me the recomended salts and at what amounts for pale ales vs. darker beers. Or would it be a better idea to stick to boiling the tap water and using that? My RO unit has a 5 micron prefilter and a carbon block post filter. I am also looking for advice on a good method of preparing yeast starters. I prepared a starter with some bottled wort from a batch a month or so ago and the starter didn't produce a good starter. I took a Wyeast 1056 popped it and let it swell, added a pint of bottled wort, let it ferment out, poured off the fermented beer and added another pint of wort. I tasted the fermented beer and it tasted like a wine rather than beer. Needless to say, I didn't brew that weekend. I went and picked up a 3 lb. of DME and decided to make fresh wort for my starters. Now I am interested in preparing a healthy starter in as little time without compromising the quality of it. I am thinking of taking 5 cups water boiling it and adding 1 cup DME chill and pitch in a large jar with air lock. It should be at high kr. the next day--BREW DAY. Oh ya, I'd also hop the starter with a few pelots. I'd appreciate comments on whether I should make step, wait until after high kr... TIA Keith xkchristian BTW I really like the discussion lately on the inverted fermentation techniques and the construction of the stands. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 09:11:59 -0800 (PST) From: Don Put <dput at cello.gina.calstate.edu> Subject: Wheat Gelatinization Temperatures >Al wrote responding to Jack's (I guess it's the *infamous* Jack now ;-) >question: >>Question? Does raw wheat need to be pre-boiled like corn to gelatinize it? >Yes. According to _Malting_and_Brewing_Science_, wheat gelatinizes at 52-64C (125.5-147F) so it seems pre-gelatinization wouldn't really be necessary. They also state that "refined starches or starch in flours of wheat, barley, malted barley, potato and triticale can be converted by malt enzymes during mashing, the purified starches (or grits) of maize, sorghum, rice, and oats all need to be gelatinized or precooked before adequate conversion will occur." [volume 1, pg. 225] Here's another interesting tidbit with regard to malt extraction: "Consequently, when malt is mashed, more than 90% of the extract can be recovered eventually at temperatures *below* the notional gelatinization temperature of its starch." [their emphasis] I know the wit beers I've brewed have always had excellent extration without pre-gelatinization of the raw wheat. Does anyone know if Celis has a cereal cooker? don (dput at cello.gina.calstate.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 14:11:27 EST From: YXPE55A at prodigy.com (MR ALAN F RICHTER) Subject: Malt Extracts Created Equal? (Part 2) (Note: Part 2 of a 2 part post) To confirm that Brands X & Y were different from the rest, I combined the other brands into one catagory, called Branded. I then repeated the ANOVA. The results showed conclusively (>99.9% confidence) that Brands X & Y were less fermentable than the rest. The results were: Extract # of batches Avg. % AA Branded 10 70.2 Brand X 3 49.0 Brand Y 3 55.8 The average of the branded extracts (70%) is much closer to that obtained from the Cats Meow data (72%), leading me to conclude that it was these unbranded extracts that were causing most, if not all, of my problems. Now, this still begs the question: Are there differences among the named brands? I have seen posts that indicate that Laaglander is high in unfermentables and that Munton & Fison is lower (this appears to be supported by my limited data). I would like to collect more data on batches made with extracts from different manufacturers so I can produce a ranking of fermentability. IMO, this would be helpful for deciding which extract to use for a particular style of beer. Is there anyone out there that would be interested in supplying data for this study? If so, let me know via e-mail. If there is enough interest, I can post what information I need for each batch in a future issue of HBD. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 14:08:50 EST From: YXPE55A at prodigy.com (MR ALAN F RICHTER) Subject: Malt Extracts Created Equal? (Part 1) (Note: This is Part 1 of 2 part post - thanks to Prodigy limit on email length) My purpose for posting this article is twofold. First, I wanted to share the results of a study, based on my own homebrewing experience, that others might find interesting or useful. Second, I want to expand the study beyond my limited experience by soliciting more data from HBD readers. The main question that I am trying to answer is this: Are there differences in the fermentability (as measured by % apparent attenuation, %AA) of malt extracts made by different manufacturers? My assumption going in was that the answer is yes. First, a little background: My education is in the areas of chemistry and statistics. In other words, I'm a scientist that knows a lot of ways to analize (some might say, "lie with") data. I have been a homebrewer (all extract) for 2 years and have brewed 20 batches. For quite a while, I was worried that my beer was not fermenting out as completely as it should. I had read that I should expect the F.G. to be about 1/3 to 1/4 of the O.G. That is, an AA of 67% to 75%. Five of my batches had an AA of less than 60%,the lowest being 48%. The overall average of my batches is 63.5%. Looking at my log book, I began to suspect that a good portion of the problem was coming from a couple of batches of malt extract. But, until now I didn't have enough data (batches) to really test my assumption. The study: The first thing I wanted to know was how my experience compared to others. I did this by collecting data from recipes in the Pale Ale and Lager chapters of Cats Meow II. I found 27 recipes with enough info (i.e. O.G. & F.G. given) to be useful. Nineteen of these were ales and 8 lagers, 12 were all-extract, 10 all-grain and 5 mixed (partial mash). The AA of these recipes ranged from 55.6% to 84.2% with an average of 72.1%. The average for the 12 all-extract recipes was 72.9%. Since my average was almost 9% lower, I was convinced that there was a problem with at least some of my batches. Next, I took the data from by logbook and catagorized the batches by the brand of malt extract used. Of the 7 brands I used, I knew the origin of 5 (Munton & Fison, Laaglander, Northwestern, Morgan, and Irek). The other 2 extracts were unbranded DME (I'll call them Brands X & Y). I excluded 4 of my batches because they contained honey or brown sugar in addition to extract. I looked for differences between the extract brands with a technique called ANOVA. The analysis showed that there were differences, and that Brands X & Y appeared lower than the others. There also seemed to be some differences between the named brands, but there is not enough data to make any conclusions. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 14:30:07 -0500 From: JOHNMAJ at aol.com Subject: Re: Priming with Honey I made a mead once, and in my inexperience decided to prime with honey to keep the mead 100% honey. The mead was bottled in 16oz returnable Genny bottles. The result of this was exploding bottles, and I do mean Dangerously exploding bottles. The mead was set on a shelf in a closet 4 rows deep. One of the bootles at the back exploded with such force that it blew 4 other bottles off the shelf, and about 1.5 feet away. For this reason I say CP you screwed it up again, as I only used 3/4 of a cup, and CP says to use 1 Cup. Bottle it that way July 1, and put in the back yard on the forth for an excellent show. Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 95 15:52 EST From: Bob Sutton <BSutton_+a_FDGV-03_+lBob_Sutton+r%Fluor_Daniel at mcimail.com> Subject: All Grain Novice " Robert Bloodworth ZFBTO - MT0054" <debaydr9 at ibmmail.com> wrote: >Did it last night, my first batch of real Reinheitsgebot homebrew. <snip> >Posts like this one describing the nuts and bolts of a batch were a big >help to me and I hope that you also feel that the extra bandwidth is >justified. As one who is contemplating going to all grain, I found your post very constructive. Right now I'm trying to assemble an economic starter system to yield 20 liter lots using infusion or decoction mashing. Any advice on pros/cons of infusion vs. decoction mashing would be appreciated. My local supplier is ready to sell me a set-up that is a bit exotic for my wallet. Although I've designed a number of biotech facilities, my homebrew skills are not yet up to electropolished stainless steel, tri-clamped fittings, PLC controls, etc. I brew mostly ales and porters :-) I find it difficult to believe that food grade plastic would transmit significant flavors between recipes. I'm planning to use a chest-type cooler for mashing, and a 7 gallon plastic bucket with a false bottom for sparging. Has anyone experienced batch to batch off flavors using plastic. Email is WELCOME BrewOn BSutton_+a_fdgv-03_+lBob_Sutton+r%Fluor_Daniel at mcimail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 16:52:45 -0500 From: PERSAND at aol.com Subject: Boil foam & other comments Although I've been brewing both all grain and extract for 5 years I just came up with this question: Should the foam that develops at the start of the boil be skimmed off? Would harm does the foam do to the final beer? Comments: The idea of adding a few bottle caps to the boil REALLY WORKS! I'm doing full boils in a 7 gallon canning-type pot and the addition of the caps really evens out the boil; tried it today and could not believe the difference. The use of a syringe to simulate a 'beer engine' is another great idea. It really changes the character, for the better, of a Belgian Ale that was intentionally low on carbonation. It's really creamy and even mellows some of the hop bitterness down (but not out!). Before trying this I have always been just a little dissapointed in low carbonated ales. Concerning the cloudiness of Weizens I have always found that the beer was clear in the bottle until the yeast was stirred up. I really don't think that chill-haze is that desireable or necessary in this type of beer. Lastly, I have always been a reader, not a contributer to the Digest and maybe I might give my $.02 more often even if I'm not much of an expert-just one who has made a lot of mistakes along the way to- IMHO-becoming a successful homebrewer. Thanks for the use of the BW Paul Rybak Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 01 Apr 1995 16:40:52 EST From: kevinm at rocdec.roc.wayne.edu (Kevin McEnhill) Subject: RE: Stuck CO2 regulator Howdy, A word of warning about fixing that regulator. BE CAREFUL!!!!! I had a regulator go free flow (no regulation) on me, so I closed the tank and took the regulator apart. What the hell, its broke already, what worse could I do? After cleaning it out I found that the regulating needle was bent. O.K. so I replaced it and put the whole thing back together. No problem, the thing worked like new ....... for about a day. The next day, I came in to work to hear all of the air quality alarms going off in the tank room. I looked in and found that the regulator that I rebuilt had blown itself to bits and drove the adjusting handle into a concrete wall. Thank the brewmasters on high that no one was in there! My point is, yes you can fix that regulator but take your time, talk to as many people that KNOW how to fix them as possible, and be carful when you first put pressure on it. Good luck! ********************************************************************** * * /|~~~~~| I was told by my wife that * * kevinm at rocdec.roc.wayne.edu * | | | if I brew one more batch * * * | | | of beer she would leave me!* * Kevin McEnhill * \| | * * * |_____| I'm going to miss her :-) * ********************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 21:34:03 -0500 From: Chris Cooper <ccooper at a2607cc.msr.hp.com> Subject: Priming with honey There have been several recent posts about priming with honey and here is my $.02 . I have brewed 5 batches in the last year using clover honey to prime. I used 1/2 cup of honey for priming and the carbonation was good in all 5 cases. Just one note, bottle conditioning did take longer (4-6 weeks). Chris Cooper , Commerce Michigan --> Where ever you go <-- ccooper at a2607.cc.msr.hp.com --> There you are <-- Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 21:04:03 -0500 (EST) From: Craig Mcpherson <craigm at helios.cae.ca> Subject: New Canadian Beer The Unibroue Brewery of Chambly, Quebec, Canada has just added a fourth beer to their line of brews. Named "Raftman", this beer bills itself as being brewed from "delicately smoked malt, (and) offers a subtle bouquet and a delicious lingering aftertaste." To quote from the back label of the bottle. I am sampling my first pint myself at this moment. The flavor is smokey and complex. I reserve further judgement. The beer is a 5.5 % by vol. ale (it would appear. Doesn't seem like a lager). Unibroue continues to impress me. They are one of the few North American microbreweries that out do the Europeans at their own brewing craft. Most impressive. I urge Canadians from outside the Province of Quebec to contact Unibroue and see if out of province shipping is possible. As for American beer lovers (sigh), you can do the same. But, alas, unless anyone out there knows of a way I can order any of Pete's Wicked Ale products (which aren't available in Quebec), I can only wish you all my best, unless you want to make a drive up and sample local microbrews. craigm at helios.cae.ca Return to table of contents
Date: 1 Apr 95 23:12:35 MST (Sat) From: rcd at raven.eklektix.com (Dick Dunn) Subject: priming with honey (and sugar calc) The subject of a few recent postings...Russell Mast <rmast at fnbc.com> notes: > Someone mentioned priming their beer with 3/4 cup of honey. I hope you've > got strong bottles. 3/4 cup of honey is a lot more sugar than 3/4 cup of > dry corn sugar. About 3 times as much, working off the top of my pointy > little head... Actually, it's closer to twice as much, but Russell's error is in the "safe" direction. If you want to do the calculations, here are some data to work with. Honey has a SG pretty close to 1.5; almost all of the stuff that's not water is sugars; essentially all of the sugar is fermentable. Interestingly, dry sugars that we might use for priming (incl corn sugar) effectively behave when dissolved as if they had SG of about 1.5. For ex- ample, if you dissolve 3 oz by weight of corn sugar in liquid, it will add about 2 oz to the volume. (In places which use 20th-century measurement systems, if you dissolve, say, 90 g of sugar in liquid, it will add about 60 ml to the volume.) Now, dry sugars vary a lot in density, both depending on how fine they are (finer sugar being less dense) and how they compact (a relatively fine sugar can compact almost 20% just by tapping the container)...this is an argument that you should weigh, not measure, priming sugar...but I digress. A very rough value for typical corn sugar from a homebrew supply shop will give about 4 oz weight for the old standard 3/4 cup dry sugar for priming. OK, now remember that this 4 oz weight is going to behave like it's got SG of 1.5 (meaning it's going to dissolve down to contribute a little over 2.5 oz of volume at effective 1.5 SG), and we're comparing this with 6 fl oz of honey, which is around 9 oz wt...thus honey contributes somewhat more than twice (9/4) as much sugar content per volume as dry corn sugar. If you want to prime with honey, use about 1/3 cup per 5 gallons. (I don't see the point in priming with honey...it's too small an amount to make much difference in the flavor, but it does interfere with final clearing in the bottle. Even when I'm making a mead, I prime with corn sugar.) It would be nice if someone could gather "sugar calculations" like the one above, organize them, and get them into a FAQ. We seem to revisit the questions about using/priming-with honey every few months. There's enough folklore, bad information, and incorrect inference drawn from cookbook hints, that the chance of a new brewer priming with honey and making glass grenades is just far too high. Also, Rick Gontarek <GONTAREK at FCRFV1.NCIFCRF.GOV> commented: > Papazian's new book says to use 1 cup of honey to prime, but I am wary of this > because of the info posted here... Which new book, and where? Just on a guess, I looked in TNCJoHB; the only suggestion I found was for 1/2 c honey per 5 gal (p. 174) for priming. The point here is that if Charlie's high by a factor of 2 in some recent book (significant because his priming is on the high side in most recipes to start with) it would be nice to know where, suggest that he fix it, and warn people. >...To the person who primed with honey (sorry > I forgot who it was), are you *sure* that the beer was done fermenting > completely? (ie, did you take hydrometer readings?) No offense, but maybe > the reason why the beer was overcarbonated was because it wan't fully > fermented out... Regardless of whether it was fermented out, priming with a full cup of honey will seriously overcarbonate, maybe make bombs. Using a cup of honey is like using *more* than 2 cups of dry sugar. - --- Dick Dunn rcd at talisman.com -or- raven!rcd Boulder, Colorado USA ...When did "ergonomic" become a synonym for "right-handed"? Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 00:16:11 -0700 From: flemingk at usa.net (Kirk R Fleming) Subject: Fast Ferments/Kraeusen Solubility/ElectroFlocculator Fast Ferments. My second open ferment, like the first, seems very fast compared to closed ferments with the same yeast and wort. Open ferments have gone 24 hours from start to post-high kraeusen, vs. over three days (and even 5) in the closed fermenter. Have other brewers noticed this? [These were both 2.5 gal batches, which would explain *some* reduction in time. Aspect ratio of the contained wort volume is very close to 1 in the open fermenter, compared to about 1.5 or higher in the carboys.] I thought my first open ferment was stuck and made a starter solution to wake things up. Just prior to pitching I checked the gravity and found it at 16 (OG = 56), so I concluded it really was done. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Kraeusen Solubility. I've been peeking in on the open ferment routinely, and skimming the greasy residue from the wort surface. I looked in about 2 hours after skimming and noticed a new build-up of the goo--a uniform and contiguous layer over one-half the surface. I decided to wait 'till the next morning to skim. When I looked again about 45 min later, all surface material was gone, including surface bubbles. Again, this is at less than 24 hours from pitching. Whoa! Question: The residue I'm removing from the wort surface seems only slightly soluble in water, if at all. This seems to be one of the reasons it surfaces in the first place. So how is it such a substantial amount can fall back into the wort and disappear without a trace? Has it in fact dissolved, or just precipitated? - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The ElectroFlocculator. Okay, I didn't get much of a bite on the cornball RIMS heat exchanger idea; maybe you thought the worst was over... In the production of low-alcohol beers, I understand a charged "grid" can be used to immobilize yeast. Would a polarized stainless screen immersed in the beer clear it? (A few kilovolts DC around lots of conductive beer and stainless tankage could be amusing.) Seriously...is electrostatic precipitation of yeast a viable idea, has anyone tried it, and why might you want to? Kirk R Fleming Colorado Springs flemingk at usa.net Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 23:56:43 -0800 (PST) From: Jack Thompson <jct at reed.edu> Subject: Glass fermenters? A friend is interested in starting a pico-brewery. He has most of the equipment and owns a commercial building. His question is whether or not glass-lined hot water heaters can be adapted to use as fermenters. What he has in mind are 50 to 100 gallon batches, and hot water heaters seem to be cheaper than stainless tanks. TIA for any thoughts/advice. Jack C. Thompson Portland, OR jct at Reed.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 12:13:10 -0400 From: cstrick at iu.net (Chris Strickland) Subject: Re: Contaminated Batch Well, after waiting four weeks for my beer to finish fermenting, when normally it takes 7-10 days. I bottled today (boy am I optimistic), the beer had that rotten vegetable smell. Maybe I'll luck out after it conditions in the bottle, but I doubt it. Question: Are two contaminated batches out of 36 high? - -------------- Chris Strickland cstrick at iu.net Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 1995 15:16:54 -0500 (EST) From: PHIL RUSSO <RUSS4036 at splava.cc.plattsburgh.edu> Subject: beer balls Date sent: 2-APR-1995 15:11:14 Hello All, Recently I purchased a beer ball and hand pump tap for 40 bucks. A cheap alternative to 250 dollar keg systems. I've got a batch of "Phil's" Wicked Red (I made my own recipe based on the Petes Wicked Red label) in my fermenting pail. Does anyone have any experience with this type of equipment???? The only thing I know is that you add a little less priming sugar to the ball. HELP Email or a public post would be fine RUSS4036 at SPLAVA.CC.PLATTSBURGH.EDU PHIL RUSSO Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 17:09:23 +0000 From: "Jim Fitzgerald" <jimfitz at netcom.com> Subject: Cornelius Kegging Questions Hello, I have a couple of "kegging" questions for all of you who are lazy like me and prefer kegging to bottling. I have been using Cornelius kegs for over two years now, I always try to have two beers on tap (since that's really all there is room for in the fridge, I have to share some of the space for food) and I was wondering if anyone out there has found a tried and true way to carbonate consistently, I'll list some of the problems that I have been having: 1.) When I prime the kegs using 3/4 cup of corn sugar per 5 gallons it seems to carbonate fine...but after I attach it to about 5-8 psi of CO2 it seems to lose it's carbonation through out a period of about 2 or 3 days. I also tried leaving the primed keg in the fridge for a couple of days before applying the pressure, but I still have the same problem. What I end up doing is increasing the pressure of the keg (12-15 psi) for a few days and that seems to get it to a drinkable state. Any advice on a method here to use with priming would be wonderful. 2.) The other method that I've been using lately is applying 25psi to the keg (no priming) for 2 days, or so. This works, but sometimes the carbonation is way too high, even after I reduce the pressure. Is there a chart or anything that can be used to help judge pressure/time for a given CO2 volume? All in all, kegging is great, but if I could get some sound advice from some of you kegging experts out there with several years of experience I would be able to enjoy my beers with much less frustration, and to me, that's important! TIA...Cheers! Jim - ------------------------- Jim Fitzgerald Los Gatos, CA jimfitz at netcom.com Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 19:34:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Cave <CAVE at PSC.ORG> Subject: Best British Beers I apologize for not remembering the fellow's name, but some- one asked about "best British beers" that could be brought over from England. This is somewhat problematic, since most of the best are cask ales! However, their are some tinned beers and a few bottle conditioned beers that are worth trying to find. Suggest that your friend go to "Oddbins" also, there are a few specialty shops around, but I never found them: Bottle conditioned beers: King and Barnes Festive Ale. Eldridge and Pope's Thomas Hardy country bitter, Courage's Russian Imperial Stout, Bass's Worthington White Shield, Gale's Prize Old Ale, Harvey's 1859 porter, Burton Bridge Porter, (I have not tasted the last 3, but they were recommended by the Camra Beer Guide. Tinned beers: The Camra types will poo-poo these but it's a second best way to get English beers. Adnam's Strong Suffolk ale in the tin is an excellent beer and an indication of an upper level hopped English beer. Hard to find. Bass in the tin--much better than the bottled stuff you get here. STAY AWAY FROM THE BLOOMING PROLIFERATION OF BEERS THAT DISPENSE THE BEER WITH THAT NITROGEN THINGAMAJIGGY IN THE BOTTOM OF THE TIN, E.G. BODDINGTONS!! Look for Belhaven Export. This is an excellent example of a Scottish heavy (i.e. not a scottish strong, or wee heavy but a 1.042 O.G. beer) and it is much better brought from the UK than purchased in the US or Canada. Also, try and get some of the Fuller's products in the bottle. London Pride and Chiswick bitter are quite good and taste much different than those you might have had from here. I don't know what else to say. When I was travelling in the UK, I always found and excuse to go to several pubs in the day When I bought beer at the super markets, it was usually Bass as I could count on the quality. I'm one of those odd guys who likes Bass in the UK--it is a lower hopped fruity beer, but I like the softness and complexity of it, and in some places, it may be the only beer available that isn't kegged. Good luck! Jim Cave Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 95 12:53:00 EDT From: awalsh at pop03.ca.us.ibm.net (Andy Walsh) Subject: commercial american and belgian beers Hello all. I have an American friend who has been living in Australia for a few years now. He is also brewer at a local pub-brewery, and is getting an Internet connection real soon. I have told him about the HBD and the collective wisdom, and he is interested, but unsure if it has adequate "focus" for him. He has a few questions, so lets see if we can answer them. -He brews mainly British style ales at his pub brewery. He really likes Anchor Liberty Ale and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (who doesn't?) and would like to try brewing something along those lines, so would like to know what goes into them. I brew this style quite a lot, but he doesn't seem to trust me as I have no hard evidence (this is fair enough too). So, can anyone answer this question? He is interested in IBU levels, hop varieties, yeast and malt types etc. So far, I have the following information: hops - Liberty 100% cascade (Garetz). Jackson says large amounts of finishing and dry Cascades in both. I have no data on IBU levels, but 40IBU comes to mind for SNPA and 50IBU for Liberty. OG- Jackson says Liberty is 1.057 and SNPA 1.052. yeast- SNPA is closest to Wyeast 1056 (debate on whether it is identical). Liberty yeast??? Is 1056 essential for the style or will another ale yeast do the job? grain- Jackson says some crystal is used. IMHO there cannot be much (from the colour and flavour) and it must be just about 100% 2 row? This is my conjecture only. - We had an argument about a few commercial Belgian ales too. Orval - Is orange peel used at all (he thinks it tastes orangey). Jackson makes no mention of this, but that doesn't mean everything. Is a strain of Brettanomyces used as a secondary yeast? Jackson makes no mention of this, but I recall that someone mentioned on the HBD some time ago that Bret. was responsible for the very dry, somewhat tart finish. Hoegaarden - Does Forbidden Fruit use Curacao orange peel or just coriander? So any responses would be welcome (please include references). It would be great (for me) if he could produce a decent American pale ale here in Sydney. I am sure Dave Draper (ex LA guy) would appreciate it too, as would the many Australians who have never had the pleasure of trying this style of beer. I am afraid the general impression here is that American lager is about all that is made there! So help us rectify this false impression! Are there any mailing lists or news groups on Internet more suitable than the HBD for commercial microbrewers? Thanks folks! ***************************** //// Andy Walsh from Sydney //// awalsh at ibm.net //// phone 61 2 369 5711 ***************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 23:08:36 -0400 (EDT) From: hkilpatr at osf1.gmu.edu Subject: Wit Stock I called the 800 number for the prospectus (or notice of IPO - whatever it is called) that Spring Street Brewery (I think that is the name - they make Wit) advertised almost two weeks ago. I haven't received it yet. Most people who want you to buy something are a bit more timely than this. A mutual fund, for example, has a prospectus in your hands almost as soon as you get off the phone. Has anyone received this IPO information? I'm wondering if it's a problem with the mail or if they are not really serious & just want some information on the prospective market. Buddy Kilpatrick Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 95 21:35:41 MDT From: Jeff Benjamin <benji at hpfcbug.fc.hp.com> Subject: Report from the Sandlot, Coors Field Well, the baseball boys may not be starting the regular season for a few more weeks, but I did go to see the Mockies and the Wankees play the firt ever game at Coors Field, and checked out the Sandlot, the first ever Coors-owned brewpub. For those who don't know, the Sandlot is in a building connected to the stadium. It's owned by Coors, but is independent as far as brewing goes, with its own brewmaster and brewers. The ballpark is incredible -- great views, great atmosphere; a joy to look at and be in. Our seats were right across the concourse from the brewpub, and you can get a beer inside and take it back to your seat. The brewing facilities are gorgeous, as you might expect of a brewpub with that much capital behind it. The equipment is all built by NSI: beautiful copper mash tuns and boilers, and fermenting vessels jacketed with copper as well. They were brewing on game day; everything is easily viewable from the pub. In the pub itself, they were serving three beers: Rockpile Ale, Squeeze Play Wheat, and Power Alley ESB. Outside at a stand on the concourse, they had Pinstripe Pale Ale and Right Field Red. (Note the baseball theme for the names -- how clever :-). Unfortunately, the beers did not live up to the standards of the rest of the ballpark. I started off with a Rockpile Ale. It was a dark amber/red color, had a very slight malty-sweet aroma, nice lingering bitterness, no hop flavor or aroma and no ale-ish esters. It tasted like a lager. I thought I might have accidentally been served a Killians Red (they were very busy), but no, a second try confirmed that it really was the Rockpile. Next up, the Squeeze Play Wheat. It was an amber/red color, just lighter than the Rockpile. Again, no hop flavor or aroma, some bitterness but some unpleasant astringency too. There was a bit of wheaty fruitiness in the aroma, but no other ale-ish esters... until it warmed up. Then I got hit in the face with very heavy diacetyl; buttery to a flaw. So how about the Power Alley ESB, where diacetyl is a little more acceptable? It was there again in spades, still too much for style. The ESB also had a slight DMS/corn flavor, although there's the possibility they actually did use some corn. And it was amber/red, almost the same color as the other two, with a lingering finish but no hop flavor or aroma. I didn't get to try the Pinstrip Pale Ale or Right Field Red as they ran out of beer by the bottom of the sixth. To sum up, the Sandlot was disappointing, but given the different market they're going for, perhaps not unexpected. Most Sandlot patrons, at least on game day, are of the Joe Six-pack school. Even so, the sameness and lack of character of the brews was inexcusable. I hope that this was just a matter of first-batch kinks and that things will improve, or I may spend a lot of this season at the "Beers of the World" concession buying Moosehead or Foster's. - -- Jeff Benjamin benji at fc.hp.com Hewlett Packard Co. Fort Collins, Colorado "Think! It ain't illegal yet." -- George Clinton Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1697, 04/04/95