HOMEBREW Digest #1700 Fri 07 April 1995

Digest #1699 Digest #1701


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


Contents:
  "The Beer Machine" (Rob Green) (RGREEN)
  How I lost my zymur-ginity (Paul W. Shallbetter)
  Secondary; Slow Ferments; Competition Results ("Thomas Aylesworth")
  RE: Covered boils (Jim Dipalma)
  Re: Wheat Beer Question (spencer)
  counterflow chillers and straining (Rob Emenecker)
  created a monster (Timothy L. Burger)
  Ah, Bock! / Big carboys / Honey ("Harralson, Kirk")
  TIA/Wits/Chimay cultures/Hoegaarden (Aaron Shaw)
  All-grain costs, Star trek, etc. (Russell Mast)
  Redundancy & "O2, Brute'?" (MnMGuy)
  My second post and Honey Wheat (MnMGuy)
  AOB E-mail outage. (Shawn Steele)
  indoor use of propane (chris campanelli)
  Contacts in Munich? ("Bardsley, Phil")
  Announcing UK Homebrew email list (Tel +44 784 443167)
  Re: Is lager still good (Eric Schauber)
  Single infusion & Mash out (LPCALC)
  Fermentation: All-grain vs. Extract ("Crake_Kurtis_LT")
  More Qwerstions (Gordon.Mckeever)
  Siphon solution (?) (claytonj)
  Ingredients for Belgian White ("Crake_Kurtis_LT")
  Indoor cookers & broken e-mail (Christopher P. Weirup)

****************************************************************** * NEW POLICY NOTE: Due to the incredible volume of bouncing mail, * I am going to have to start removing addresses from the list * that cause ongoing problems. In particular, if your mailbox * is full or your account over quota, and this results in bounced * mail, your address will be removed from the list after a few days. * * If you use a 'vacation' program, please be sure that it only * sends a automated reply to homebrew-request *once*. If I get * more than one, then I'll delete your address from the list. ****************************************************************** Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com (Articles are published in the order they are received.) Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc., to homebrew-request@ hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L at UA1VM.UA.EDU), then you MUST unsubscribe the same way! If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first. Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored. For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen at novell.physics.umr.edu ARCHIVES: An archive of previous issues of this digest, as well as other beer related information can be accessed via anonymous ftp at ftp.stanford.edu. Use ftp to log in as anonymous and give your full e-mail address as the password, look under the directory /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer directory. AFS users can find it under /afs/ir.stanford.edu/ftp/pub/clubs/homebrew/beer. If you do not have ftp capability you may access the files via e-mail using the ftpmail service at gatekeeper.dec.com. For information about this service, send an e-mail message to ftpmail at gatekeeper.dec.com with the word "help" (without the quotes) in the body of the message.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 9:15:22 -0400 (EDT) From: RGREEN at gic.GI.COM Subject: "The Beer Machine" (Rob Green) Peter Balstrup <PBalstru at VITGCOM1.TELECOM.com.au> asks about "The Beer Machine" I like them, with qualifications. First the bad news. I've got two. One works consistently well, the second consistently leaks. The company was helpful, and sent a new main seal (the canister has two halves which contrasts with the "Party Pig" which is one unit with a single *small* gasket around the mouth). Even with the new *large* main seal it leaked. So I had to improvise clamps to evenly press the two halves together (I used binder clips). (Anyone else in cyberspace with the problem, the company suggests putting the gasket in warm water for a few minutes and then laying it flat in the fridge.) The good news is the convenience. You can put together an extract recipe in no time at all. No bottle washing, the unit itself is easy to clean, and you don't need to move the batch to a secondary fermenter because of the design. One observation is the CO2 cartridges can become an expensive habit. Past HBDs have some suggestions on this. So check the archives. What I'm going to try is have a batch brewing and a batch on tap. The batch brewing will supply the CO2 pressure to the batch drinking. I'll replace the cartridge holders with a fitting and attach a pressure line between the two (seems low risk since the inlets are well above the fluid level (can you say "fire hose")). They only hold 2.5 gallons, and most recipes are for 5 gallons, which is why I bought 2. You'll have to adjust recipes otherwise, or end up bottling the remainder. Do what I did, and compare bottle finished beer versus plastic. I'd like to hear your observations ;-) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 08:48:47 -0500 From: pshallbe at faribault.polaristel.net (Paul W. Shallbetter) Subject: How I lost my zymur-ginity I write this in hope that other subscribers, more experienced than I, can critique my brewing technique. I'm a beginning brewer, and I want to be sure that I'm doing everything "right." I started with a couple very basic "kit ales." The routine is essentially the same, boil, hop, and cool the wort, hydrate and pitch the yeast, ferment a week... but here's where it gets sticky. I've transferred the wort from primary to secondary (carboy) not by "racking" per se, but simply by attaching a hose to a stopcock in the primary and slowly draining the beer into the carboy. I then affix an airlock to the top of the carboy, and let the ale continue a slow (almost un-noticeable ferment for another week or so. I transfer the ale into a secondary for two reasons: First, I need the primary fermenter for racking, priming and bottling. Second, I'm concerned about leaving autolyzed yeast in the brew. Do I need to rack (siphon) the ale into the secondary, or is it okay for me to continue doing as I have been, to allow gravity to do the work? Also, my first two batches (generic amber ale and a more ambitious English honey porter) don't have much carbonation, even after nearly two months after bottling. Yes, the caps are tight. Yes, I primed according to directions (3/4 cup corn sugar for the amber ale, 1-1/2 cups amber DME for the honey porter). In fact, it seems that I had more head transferring the porter between fermenter and carboy than I ended up with in the bottle! I'm neither too shy nor proud to admit my mistakes and learn from them once I know what they are. Granted, I'm not doing anything really tough or esoteric here...in fact all this talk of oxygenation, tuns and outdoor propane mash liquor-cookers is making my head spin...but I count on your wise counsel. Reply to me e-mail, please, unless you feel that your advice would benefit other novice brewers. And we are many.... One day I shall stand proudly with all of you braumeisteren, raise a tankard and let the cry "I brewed this myself" escape my lips. Between sips. Paul Shallbetter pshallbe at faribault.polaristel.net Musician, writer, brew-novice, carouser, womanizer. Okay, Mrs. Shallbetter, I was just kidding about the carousing and womanizing part....Really... Honey, put that racking cane down...that's not what it's for............ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 95 10:02:40 -0500 From: "Thomas Aylesworth" <t_aylesworth at lfs.loral.com> Subject: Secondary; Slow Ferments; Competition Results Bob Hall responds to my note on racking off trub: > > However, even when I did extract brews and left the fermenting > >beer on the break material, I didn't notice any significant off-flavors > >I would attribute to this. This could be just because I was not as > >experienced a brewer/beer taster. > > What type of beers do you brew? If I make fruity, hoppy pale ales or dark > ales, I tend not to notice if I leave any break material in the carboy, > perhaps because the flavor profile of these beers is already dominated by > esters and the like. Yep. Sorry if I didn't make it clear that I brew only ales (and usually pretty hardy ones at that). This whole thing started when I was commenting on a question about brewing an ale and the usefulness of a secondary for that. Rob Emenecker, who started the above thread, writes: > I did end up racking off to a secondary. The reason for this was that the > fermentation was slowing down and I would not have the opportunity to > bottle over the next 3-4 days. Well, actually, after giving that advice, I ended up racking an ale of mine to a secondary last night as well -- for somewhat the same reason. It is an ESB, very similar to one I made in January. The fermentation started off great (as usual), but for the past week and a half has been bubbling at a constant rate of about 1 per 30 seconds. It just won't slow down or stop! Since it's been in the primary for two and a half weeks now, I decided to rack it to secondary, hoping that would rouse the yeast a bit and it would finish. I suspect the problem (long, slow, ferment) is due to underpitching (I pitched a one pint starter rather than my usual one quart) or inadequate aeration (although I used the same technique as I always do). Any other ideas? Most of the fermentation was done in my basement at 60F, as are all of my beers, but a few days ago I moved it upstairs to my kitchen which is a good 5-10 degrees warmer, thinking that would help. I noticed no change. Anyway, as part of racking I took a gravity reading, and it was down to 1.009. The one I made in January went down to 1.008, so I thought it was pretty close to finished, and this morning I noticed no airlock activity. Also, it tasted and smelled great (just like the last batch) so I think it will be fine and I plan to bottle it this week-end. Jim Busch responds to Jay's request not to post competition results in the HBD: > I like it. Skip over it if you dont. Theres lots of stuff in the HBD > that wont appeal to everyone. Its not of only local interest in these > days where people enter all over the country. I agree. I frequently see lots of names I recognize, many from my local homebrew club, BURP. I also like the postings that give the actual scores -- it gives me an idea of how others are doing in these competitions compared to my own beers. - ------------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas Aylesworth | t_aylesworth at lfs.loral.com Space Processor Software Engineering | Loral Federal Systems, Manassas, VA | (703) 367-6171 Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 10:08:24 EDT From: dipalma at sky.com (Jim Dipalma) Subject: RE: Covered boils Hi All, In HBD#1698, Aidan Heerdegen writes about mashing out in a cooler: >I have been thinking about mashout (a bit of a problem for a >single infusion man like myself >I drew off >approx 4L of the mash liquor into my kettle and brought it to the >boil and then added it back into the mash >Can anyone see any problems with this? There is a potential problem here. It's related to a somewhat controversial procedure used during decoction mashing, wherein a thin decoction is used to achieve mashout. The procedure is to pull a thin decoction (remove mash liquid, versus a thick decoction where mostly grain is pulled), boil it, then add back to the main mash to boost the mash temperature to mashout. This is obviously very similar to what Aidan is doing. The danger is that if any grain is pulled along with the liquid, unconverted starch will be leeched into the wort when the decoction is boiled. If the mash temperature rises to typical mashout range of 165F-170F when the decoction is returned to the main mash, the amylase enzymes will be denatured in a matter of minutes, before the newly liberated starch can be converted. The result is a starch haze in the finished beer. So, I have two bits of advice if this procedure is used. First, make absolutely certain that conversion is complete before pulling the mash liquid and boiling it. The liquid portion is rich in amylase enzymes, once it is boiled the enzymes are history. Second, make sure that no grain is pulled along with the mash liquid. It doesn't have to be crystal clear, but I suggest recirculating for a few minutes until the runoff is free of grain chunks, then start collecting liquid for the decoction. If you pay attention to those two points, you'll be fine, I've done a lot of decoction mashes this way. Cheers, Jim dipalma at sky.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 10:40:41 EDT From: spencer at med.umich.edu Subject: Re: Wheat Beer Question great at atw.fullfeed.com wrote about Wheat Beer Question: > I am Looking For a Recipe for a Wheat Beer made from a Wheat Extract. Partially tongue in cheek: 6 lbs wheat malt extract (M&F, Northwestern, etc. 6.6 lbs is ok, too :-) 8 HBUs hops (e.g. 2 oz Cascade pellets at 4% alpha) ale yeast Dissolve the malt extract in 2 gallons of water and bring to a boil. Add the hops and boil for 45 minutes. Add to 3 gallons of cold water in fermenter. Let cool further if necessary, until no warmer than 80F. Pitch yeast. OG should be about 1.043, FG 1.010-1.014. This will give you an approximation to an "American Wheat Ale." Relatively low hopping rate, no hop "nose". Good "lawnmower" beer. If you want a German Weizen style, then you need to use the right yeast. I recommend the YeastLab Weizen (W51) or Wyeast 3068. The rest of the recipe won't change much. =Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 09:45:23 PDT From: Rob Emenecker <robe at cadmus.com> Subject: counterflow chillers and straining I am contemplating constructing a counterflow wort chiller (because I intend to start doing full volume boils soon) and had several concerns that I felt the collective intelligence could respond to... My brews are still partial boils using extracts. A typical boil is 3.5 gallons to start for 60-75 minutes which yields about 2.5 gallons. I have tried with limited success straining the hort wort into my carboys (it seems that I always end up with a layer of gunk settling to the bottom of my carboys within the first few hours). Excuse my stupidity, but sometimes I miss the definitions of terms in homebrewing. Is the stuff settling in my carboy considered the cold break, hot break, what? It has never caused me any problems other than frustrations from trying to strain it out of the hot or cooled wort? Up to now I have always used hop pellets which I felt were the bulk of that gunk, is that assumption correct? I have heard several different methods of straining, i.e. the copper scrungies, plastic funnels with fitted nylon screens, cheese cloth, etc. What are some of you extract brewers practical experiences with straining wort? .. anyway back to the wort chiller... I am cringing at the thought of building myself a wort chiller and having all of that garbage flowing through it. God what a cleaning mess. Normally I don't give the garbage any second thoughts because I usually soak any encrusted equipment in a bleach solution which always loosens it up. Unfortunately I can not soak copper in bleach for any extended lengths of time). So, before I build and then trash a nifty home-made counterflow chiller, how can I improve strain- ing my wort, and what is the best method for sanitizing the chiller (without boiling it or using bleach)? +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ : "There are only two things in life that oooooo : : we can ever be certain of... _oooooooo : : ...taxes and beer!" /_| oooooo : : Cheers, // | ooo : : Rob Emenecker \\_| oo | : : remenecker at cadmus.com (Rob Emenecker) \_| o| : : Cadmus Journal Services, Inc. |______| : +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 9:55:01 CDT From: Timothy L. Burger <burger at calshp.cals.wisc.edu> Subject: created a monster Full-Name: Timothy L. Burger I need some advice. Last saturday morning I cooked up a bit of wort to use as a starter for a vial of Yeast Lab's American Ale liquid yeast. I boiled the wort up, cooled it down (covered, outside), and pitched the room temp yeast culture to the cooled wort in a carefully sanitized 20 oz. beer bottle and attached an airlock. The instructions mentioned that vigorous activity should not be expected for 12 to 24 hours. Plans for Sunday's activities were set in motion. Equipment was cleaned and ingredients were measured. This had all of the makings of one of the most organized brew days of my short (7 batch) brewmaster career. Sunday morning I checked the starter expecting to see the airlock bubbling away but was shocked to see nothing. :( The water level in the lock was even. So, I waited in hopes of a late night brew session. No dice. Thirty six hours after pitching the yeast to the starter wort, still nothing. Tuesday morning - finally signs of activity, a bit of foam on the surface and some sediment at the bottom of the bottle but the airlock was silent. Now it it is Wednesday and the meager foaming continues. With all of this said: Is this normal? Should I pitch this starter to the drain gods or risk it and pitch this invidious liquid to my next batch? Have I created a monster? I realize that this is an elementary and potentially stupid question but the sucess or failure of my next batch of liquid gold is on the line. Thanks smart guys, - -- ________________________________________________________________________________ Timothy Burger "What manner of man are you that can Department of Forestry conjure up fire without flint or tinder?" University of Wisconsin-Madison burger at calshp.cals.wisc.edu "There are some who call me ...Tim." -Monty P. ________________________________________________________________________________ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 95 10:30:15 EST From: "Harralson, Kirk" <kwh at news.roadnet.ups.com> Subject: Ah, Bock! / Big carboys / Honey Stephen Meredith writes: >I just tried Sam Adams Double Bock. I liked it, but is this beer >true-to-style? I'd like to make a double bock. There are a few recipes in >Cats Meow. Can anybody recommend one of those, or have a better one (extract)? All Koch bashing aside, I think this is a great beer. It's a lot like being a devout Cowboys fan, even though Switzer is their coach. I liked this beer a lot more before I tasted Paulaner Salvatore, which I strongly recommend tasting before you finalize your recipe. There is a recipe in Papazian's new book called Jah Mon! Dopplebock (or something like that) that he says is close to SA Double Bock, but more tasty. I based a Blueberry Bock on this recipe, but cut back on hops and dark malts to let the fruit flavor come through. This information was given to me by another HBDer some time back. Good Luck!! ******************************* Samuel Adams Double Bock ------------------------- Malt: 2-row Klages/Harrington, Caramel 60 Hops: Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger Yeast: Bottom Fermenting Lager Yeast Avail: Mid February History of Recipe: Double first wort mash developed 1988 First Brewed: 1988 Starting Gravity: 1.081 ******************************** Tom Puskar writes: >This may be of local interest to NJ-NY-PA-DE brewers due to shipping costs. > A guy in central Jersey has about 50 *large* glass carboys, 13.5 gallon (snip) >His prices are negotiable and start around $30-$40. I picked up one--boy >they are big--didn't look that big when sitting on his front lawn! They We used to get supplies from Mayer's Cider Mill in upstate New York, and they regularly carried 15 gallon demi-johns (sp?), complete with a "basket" to carry them with. I can't brew more than 6 gallons at a time anyway; but if I could, I would probably use two smaller carboys. Anyway, I think they were less than $40 new. - ------------------------------------- After reading the recent discussion on how to get more of a honey character and flavor in beer, I realized that if I could do this with honey, I would much rather do it with malt. Just a preference, but I would take a big, malty brew over a honey character anytime :-) Kirk Harralson Bel Air, Maryland Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 11:05:32 -0400 From: ar568 at freenet.carleton.ca (Aaron Shaw) Subject: TIA/Wits/Chimay cultures/Hoegaarden > From: Jay Seigfreid <jays at earth.execpc.com> >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??? TIA = Thanks In Advance For a Wit extract you might want to try the Brewferm Wit Bier kit, and I would recommend not using the dry yeast that comes with it. Use the Wyeast Belgian White yeast or try culturing some yeast from a bottle of Blanche de Bruges. If you want that authentic Witbier taste, adding some coriander, curacao bitter orange peel, and some lactic acid would probally help. >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 -- I have made various styles of ales from cultured Chimay Red with great success. In my opinion, my best beers have been made from the dregs of Chimay, not with liquid yeasts that I have purchased. In fact, I made an all- grain Belgian White beer with the yeast from a bottle of Chimay Red and I think that it was my best homebrew yet. >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. Not to discourage you from trying, and I am no expert on extract recipes, but I think that it is going to be fairly difficult to duplicate the splendid complexity of Chimay Grande Reserve with an extract recipe. If you succeed, please send me your recipe if you are not too busy accepting your Homebrewer of the Year award for accomplishing such a feat. - ---- >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 I think that posting Competition results on the HBD is an asset to the readers. Often the winners of these competitions are contributors to the HBD and it lends credibility to their comments and if I have a question about a certain style, who better to ask than someone who has won a competition with a beer in that particular style. After all, they are homebrew competitions and this is the Homebrewers Digest. - ------ <snip> Sorry, I lost the name of who posted this one. > Hoegaarden - > Does Forbidden Fruit use Curacao orange peel or just coriander? When I toured the De Kluis Brouwerij (Hoegaarden) in Nov. '94, they stated that there was no Curacao, or fruit for that matter, in Forbidden Fruit. - -- "Come my lad, and drink some beer!" Aaron Shaw Ottawa, Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 10:44:38 -0500 From: Russell Mast <rmast at fnbc.com> Subject: All-grain costs, Star trek, etc. Spencer Thomas of Ann Arbor: > Russell Mast wrote about unmalted adjuncts in extract, etc: > > Well, if you think you're time is worth less than $1.25 an hour, > > it's worth it. > > My "hobby" time is worth $0/hr, essentially. That is, if I wasn't > brewing, I still wouldn't get paid. At least I'm doing something I > enjoy. Yeah, I should have been more clear. Unless you brew on a massive scale, or are highly impoverished, cost is not, IMO, a good reason to brew full mash beers. Mashing is fun, but at the same time takes big time commitment, and can be a big PITA. Also, when you factor in equipment and so forth, the savings aren't real big. The main reason I brew full mash is the taste and variety you can't get with extract, the other reason is that it's fun. The main reason I stuck with extracts for two years, and the best reason, IMO, to stick to extracts for any amount of time, is the time and trouble involved in mashing. I think saving $5-20 on a batch of beer is pretty small potatoes. I've never brewed with potatoes of any size, but I have brewed with other unmalted adjuncts. Chris Geden : > We are like the Borg; our collective wisdom goes >considerably beyond its most visible manifestations. I was wondering why I had these weird tubes in my helmet. Tom Puskar : > Well, it has finally happened! After about a dozen batches, I have succeeded > in making my first batch of contaminated gushers. I'm glad I got it over > with early in my career! My question is, what went wrong? > 1. The beer doesn't really taste that bad--is it safe to drink or should I > dump it, scrub the hell out of the bottles and move on? It might not be a contamination, it could be that your yeast took a nap on you and fooled you into bottling before it was fully fermented. Jim says: > Jay says: > > <This is just a quick request/reminder to refrain from posting competition > <results in the HBD (we've been over this before). > > I like it. Skip over it if you dont. I agree with Jim and not Jay. > Since he is a paid brewer, why should we give away recipes on some hard > to make styles, so he can make money on em? If I'm drinking my beers faster than I'm brewing/bottling, I appreciate being able to find good commercial beers. Of course, if he gave free beer in exchange for good recipes, well, nobody should complain then. > Shouldnt a pro brewer who wants this have to pay something for it? Certainly if they're big, faceless corporations, but I don't think helping a "little guy" out for free is necessarily bad. Maybe. -R Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 11:46:07 -0400 From: MnMGuy at aol.com Subject: Redundancy & "O2, Brute'?" >Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com > blah blah blah > blah blah blah. >Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently >ignored. Isn't "silently ignored" redundant? I have followed closely the discussion regarding bubbling O2 in wort to increase the amount of oxygen for pitched yeast. What's the benefit to such an extreme? Yeast count? Why not just pitch a HUGE starter? Charlie mentions in his "Companion" book that too much oxygen is a detriment. Does anyone have specific information on this? > Although it would >be impossible to measure, I would bet that each issue of HBD generates >at least > twice as much additional information that is passed privately. > Chris Geden > Brewer, Listener, Entomologist > Gainesville, FL This is true. As a newbie, I am pretty reluctant to post but I sent at least one private e-mail comment every day to someone about something in the digest. Just my $.02. Happy brewing! Kevin Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 11:50:56 -0400 From: MnMGuy at aol.com Subject: My second post and Honey Wheat >Applying a little common sense to the numbers, I'd throw out all of >the >contributors who've only posted once so far this year - someone who >posts >once every three months probably isn't carrying much of the >information load >of the digest. This is my second post, so you can't throw me out now, so NYEAH! :-P I read the HBD daily with my first cup of coffee, word for word. As a newbie, I hesitate to give any information due to my inexperience. I have about a dozen batches done now, and never used any finings except for two kits which came with irish moss. I only brew ales and I do not use a secondary. I use a carboy as a fermenter. I travel often, and my ales often sit in primary up to three weeks. Every brew has been ------> Crystal <-------- clear up to now. I took a stab at making a VERY light honey wheat beer using 3# of wheat DME (60% wheat, M&F brand, I think) and 2# of honey added at the end of the boil. I pitched about 1/2L of british ale yeast starter and fermention went fine. The beer began to settle, the top two inches cleared and then that was it! Ten days later, still no settling. No bubbles, either. I wanted to get the beer off the trub (coming up on three weeks) but did not want to rack without active fermentation. So I tried gelatin for the first time... GREAT STUFF! I dissolved one small packet (about 2g, I would guess) of Knox from the supermarket in warm water and tossed it in. Dramatic improvement in 12 hours and two days later the carboy is BLACK with very clear beer. She goes into mini kegs tonight. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 09:43:52 -0600 From: Shawn Steele <shawn at aob.org> Subject: AOB E-mail outage. If you have been trying to contact the AOB via e-mail and your mail vanished without a trace, please try again now. Our Internet access provider claims that the problem has been fixed. - shawn Shawn Steele Information Systems Administrator Association of Brewers (303) 447-0816 x 118 (voice) 736 Pearl Street (303) 447-2825 (fax) PO Box 1679 shawn at aob.org (e-mail) Boulder, CO 80306-1679 info at aob.org (aob info) U.S.A. http://www.aob.org/aob (web) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 10:00 CDT From: akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us (chris campanelli) Subject: indoor use of propane > will travel to the lowest part of the house. If you have a sump > pump for example, it will find it and sit there. Now, let's say that > you brew once a week: a small leak (say 0.5 cuft) per brew. Four > weeks later it rains heavily, sump pump turns on and BOOM > house is gone! Huh? My sump is completely submersed at both the beginning and end of cycle. In the remote chance that the sump were exposed to air, just how does a sealed electric motor ignite a combustible gas? I think a more probable ignition point would be a water heater or furnace. But anyway. Since it appears that we're steering towards the Straits of Momily, a testimonial is required. I've been brewing indoors with two 35,000 BTU propane burners for 8 years now. I haven't been overtaken by monoxide fumes nor has my house blown up. When needed I open a window for ventilation. Long-term propane tank storage is outdoors. The last time I looked the Bible didnt have anything to say about the indoor use of propane. In other words, when using any highly combustible material indoors the liberal application of caution and common sense is required. chris campanelli akcs.chrisc at vpnet.chi.il.us Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 95 12:08:19 -0400 From: "Bardsley, Phil" <phil.cpc at mhs.unc.edu> Subject: Contacts in Munich? A German friend of mine is moving to Munich later this month. She's never brewed, but I've convinced her to give it a try. She'd like to meet brewers and find out where to get supplies. Please reply privately to: phil_bardsley at unc.edu Thanks. (Phil Bardsley, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 16:59:06 +0000 From: Brian Gowland <B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk> (Tel +44 784 443167) Subject: Announcing UK Homebrew email list This posting is to announce the creation of a UK-oriented Homebrew discussion list. This list was created after various UK Homebrewers had expressed concern that r.c.b and HBD were difficult forums to use when seeking help, advice and information on UK-specific aspects of Homebrewing. The number of UK Homebrewers that have Internet access is relatively small and it was found that it was often difficult to find anybody that could help on UK-specific matters. As a result, I have created an Email discussion list that is dedicated to UK issues. The list is open to all those interested in UK Homebrewing whether they are UK residents or not. It is not meant as an area for discussion of general Homebrewing issues - r.c.b or HBD are accepted as being the established areas for this and should continue to be so. To subscribe to the list, send a message to... uk-homebrew-request@ rhbnc.ac.uk ...with the word SUBSCRIBE in the message BODY. No subject heading is needed. Your subscription should be handled automatically by our List Server and you should be informed of a successful (or unsuccessful) subscription. Once subscribed you should start receiving any list messages as they arrive. To submit messages to the list, address them to... uk-homebrew at rhbnc.ac.uk ...(please note NO "-request" on the end). When the List Server receives a message it is automatically copied to all subscribers immediately and not compiled into digest form as with HBD. PLEASE NOTE - our site does NOT provide List Server services as a general rule - please don't hassle us about this sort of service - thanks. If anybody has any problems with subscribing or would like further information on the list then I can be contacted at... B.Gowland at rhbnc.ac.uk Cheers, Brian Gowland Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 09:55:44 -0700 From: schaubee at ucs.orst.edu (Eric Schauber) Subject: Re: Is lager still good >Gary J. Dubovik writes: > >Date: 04 Apr 1995 09:18:17 -0500 (EST) >From: DUBOVIK at hsdwl.utc.com >Subject: Is lager still good? > >I brewed a lager (extract) with Wyeast liquid least. After about a week >of very nice fermenting in the primary (at about 65 deg F), I transfered >it over to the secondary (at about 50 deg F). Well, due to work, and >projects (all the wife's) around the house, over 2 months has passed >and it's still in there. Is it still good ("Lagering" at 50 deg) for 2 >months, or is it tree fertilizer. If it's still good, should I get my ass >in gear and bottle now (and do I need to add more yeast). I suspect that your brew will be fine and that you probably won't need to add more yeast. Many lager brewers let theirs sit for considerably longer than 2 months. However, your fermentation temperature makes this brew a Steam Beer, not a Lager. I like 'em both, and pay less attention to style than to my own enjoyment. Bottle it and savor it after each around-the-house project! Eric Schauber "It felt sacreligious to watch an Irish Band at a pub that didn't serve Guiness" - My sister Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 13:05:22 -0400 From: LPCALC at aol.com Subject: Single infusion & Mash out This is my first post to HBD, but of course, I've been reading and absorbing the info for sometime. I use a 10 gallon cylindrical "Gatoraid" cooler fitted with copper tubing and a ball valve for a mash and lauter tun. In order to raise the temp to mash out (ususally 168F), I usually remove about 1-1.5 gallons of water from the sparge water tank, bring it to a boil and add it to the mash tun to raise the temp. I then recirculate untill clear about 3-10 minutes. then sparge with treated 168F water. I'm I dilluting the mash too much by this procedure? Is the mash out really neccesary? Is there a better way to achieve mash out with this (picnic cooler) type of setup Cheers Larry Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 95 12:39:49 EST From: "Crake_Kurtis_LT" <Crake_Kurtis_LT at hq.navsea.navy.mil> Subject: Fermentation: All-grain vs. Extract I've recently transitioned from extract brewing to all-grain, and now find that I have a couple of questions that I can't find answers for in the standard references. First, the krausen resulting from fermenting my all-grain beers seems to be larger (i.e., more volume), and longer lasting than extract beers I've made with similar O.G.'s. I take this to be a positive sign, and due to starting with a wort that is richer in yeast nutrients (FAN, phospolipids, etc), dextrins, head-retaining proteins (whether they are being "used up" or not), and probably more cold trub in the fermenter being lifted to the top by CO2 evolution. Or it could be my imagination. Is it typical to have noticibly improved ferments from all-grain worts? Second, both all-grain batches I've made have developed a sticky, gooey sort of layer on top of the krausen foam after about the third day of fermentation. This layer has a different color than the original krausen, and literally sits on top of it. I noticed this with my first all-grain batch, did some reading, and concluded that I had gotten an infection of either Pediococcus or Lactobacillus. It was painful, but I dumped my first all-grain batch, and then sanitized the bejeezus out of everything that wort, yeast or beer had touched. Now, my second batch has developed the same look, even though I sanitized thoroughly and used a different yeast. This morning, I skimmed off the goop, noted again that it was sitting on top of regular looking foam, and racked the beer to a secondary from under the remaining foam/goop. I took a s.g. reading, and it's only at 1.010 from an OG of 1.050, so there's work yet to be done. It did not smell "yeasty" like it had during the most active fermentation, but it didn't smell like cooked vegetables, either. I tasted the sample after measuring the s.g., and there was no obvious problem, but I don't claim to be a calibrated taster of half-finished fermenting wort. These indications do not match what I consider to be "normal" based on my extract-brewing experience, but I'm not sure what to make of them. Is this an infection? If it is, how did it "overtake" the fermentation after three days? In either case, I'm not dumping this batch. It was intended to be a weizen, so if I've gotten a lactic infection, I'll see how it turns out, and tell everyone it's a wit if necessary :) ! Brewfully, and perhaps ruefully, Kurt Crake Return to table of contents
Date: 05 Apr 95 09:24:00 -0000 From: Gordon.Mckeever at jpl.nasa.gov Subject: More Qwerstions - --JPLxxxccMailxxxSMTPxxxID3206gc46x Content-Type: Text/Plain; CharSet=US-ASCII Content-Description: Text_1 Hello Beer People: I have heard references to magazines called 'Zymurgy' and 'Brewing Techniques(?)'. How good are these mags? Which is better? What is the frequency of publication? How much is a subscription and what are phone numbers to call for subscription? whew, and I wrote all that without taking a breath. Also, a couple quick questions about using gelatin instead of Irish Moss. When do you put it in? During the boil? After the boil? And if a person was using a Fermentap rig, wouldn't the yeast jello gunk up the trub tube? Thanks to everybody who offered suggestions and comforting words on my stuck fermentation. I bottled it Monday and it didn't taste too wretched (considering it was warm and flat). But if you see an 'unsubscribe' message from me in the next couple of weeks you can deduce that it was truly awful and I will have a bunch of brewing stuff for sale cheap. Gordo - --JPLxxxccMailxxxSMTPxxxID3206gc46x-- Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 13:13:36 -0400 From: claytonj at cc.tacom.army.mil Subject: Siphon solution (?) Howdy all, Dan Pack <danpack at grape-ape.che.caltech.edu> and others have been having trouble with keeping the siphon going while siphoning form the kettle to the primary. I have been trying the siphon method to help eliminate trub in the primary and chill haze from my beers and have not had much luck either. One batch ago I made a bitter using M&F DME, 40L crystal malt, Goldings hop plugs as well as the usual 1 tbs. of irish moss for 15 min. I whirlpooled and used a hop bag around my racking cane and was able to get most of the wort before the break plugged the system up (I have a 20 qt. SS pot and use an immersion chiller). I got out my sauce pan and got as much wort as possible without pulling too much break material into the carboy but I left too much wort behind IMHO :-(. The beer was very clear so I was encouraged. My last batch was a porter using M&F DME, 60L crystal, roasted and chocolate malts, N. Brewer whole and Goldings plugs and 1 tbs. irish moss the last 15 min. This time I whirlpooled with a block of wood under the corner of the kettle and this time used a copper scrubby along with the hop sack. This time I only got half way through before the whole mess plugged up and I was forced to do the rest of the batch with the sauce pan and strainer (ala Papazian). It was bottled this past weekend so I don't know what the haze status is on this one. I don't know if I get more break than the average guy but I can't imagine an EASYMASHER (tm) type device would work any better. I was going to make a siphon ring (ala Jeff Frane and Spencer Thomas) but have decided to wait until I get a 7 or 10 gal SS pot (any good sources out there?) and go all-grain (soon hopefully) before investing the time and effort in drilling a zillion holes in the copper 3/8" copper tubing. I have been thinking of alternative and thought I'd throw it out for comment/criticism. Iteration 1: (sorry, no ascii art). Cut the top and bottom from a large soup can. Cut it length wise and open it up to a half circle. Bend the ends to the same radius as the pot and drill a bunch of 1/16" holes in to facilitate seepage. Whirlpool as before with a block of wood under the side and put this in on the high side, (already sanitized) just before racking and lower the pot to rack. This would make a pocket for the racking cane and copper scrubby and hopefully keep the majority of break material out and therefore not clog up the cane. Iteration 2: If it works, find some SS screen or perforated SS sheet metal and use it instead of the can. ** Local Interest Warning ** I'd like to hear from some of the Ann Arbor brewers to find out where they get their supplies. I've tried mailing Spencer but my mailer won't accept "."'s in the name. My folks and in-laws live there so am in there quite often and am always looking for good sources of brewing materials (I already know about Merchant of Vino at the Plymouth mall). Cheers, Joe Clayton Farmington Hills, MI Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 95 13:25:24 EST From: "Crake_Kurtis_LT" <Crake_Kurtis_LT at hq.navsea.navy.mil> Subject: Ingredients for Belgian White My wife wants to brew an all-grain Belgian White, and she's having some difficulty finding a source for bitter orange peel. She has tried contacting a company that frequently advertises in _Brewing Techniques_ (Frozen Wort), but has only managed to reach their answering machine. Could those of you who have attempted this style provide any information on sources for bitter (or Curacao) orange peel, or use of alternates (I've heard use of tangerine peel mentioned)? Any sources local to Northern VA/MD/DC would be most helpful. Private e-mail would be fine, or post to the digest if you feel that this is of sufficient interest. I'll post a summary if response warrants. TIA, Kurt Crake Crake_Kurtis_LT at hq.navsea.navy.mil -or- KCrake at aol.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 14:03:52 -0400 From: cerevis at panix.com (Christopher P. Weirup) Subject: Indoor cookers & broken e-mail A few quick things: There has been much bandwidth of late about OUTDOOR propane cookers and the like. My question is, is there any INDOOR cookers that are available. I live in an apartment, and finding space outside to do full boils is just not feasible. I don't think that my gas range in the kitchen is quite up to the job. If anyone has any info about this, e-mail me, or post it in the digest if you think that there is enough interest. Thanks in advance! Thanks for everyone's patience with the Gott digest, as well. I hope that everyone who requested a copy did indeed get it. My set-up is just about ready now. As soon as I can figure out how to do full boils, I'll be ready to take a stab at all-grain. Apologies to everyone else but if L. Claypool is reading this, could you please send me a new e-mail address? I've tried to send you the Gott digest to the address you sent me (the citynet.net address I believe) and they all come back. Sorry for the inconvenience. Chris Weirup cerevis at panix.com Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1700, 04/07/95