HOMEBREW Digest #1786 Thu 20 July 1995

Digest #1785 Digest #1787


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


Contents:
  Re: Welding Gases. (David and Carol Smucker)
  Decompressing HBD files (Philip Gravel)
  Orberdorfer Weiss ("Milton John Hodgson")
  God (sorry) bless the collective (TRoat)
  Challnger/foamy bottling/ChemPro (TRoat)
  Dirty Demi-John (DocsBrew)
  Does Cara-Pils Contribute to High FG? (Steven W. Schultz )
  Liquid gauge on corny keg (Matt_K)
  Cloudy Icky Beer (James Brill)
  Posting (Dan.D.Murphy)
  homebrew on campus (FLATTER)
  us open (WOLFF)
  Airlocks/Gott false bottoms (Sandy Cockerham__Mc625__6-0412)
  Increasing Alcohol Content (Drago James MAJ)
  RE:  homebrew on campus (Jay Weissler)
  Maltmill RPM? (Jeffrey B. Bonner)
  Judging - Addendum (Ray Daniels)
  Wort Dilution (Don Rudolph)
  Great Brit Beer Fest (Ray Daniels)
  London water (Algis R Korzonas)
  Using the HBD Archives ("Stephen E. Hansen")
  RE: Wheat and Wyeast 3944 (Randy M. Davis)
  Beer in Space (Mark Parshall)
  Reusing trub from first generation... ("Bessette, Bob")
  Mycobrewery FungiCider (krkoupa)
  Re: #1(2) Homebrew Digest #1783 (July 17, 1995) (GeepMaley)
  Aeration and religeon (PERSAND)
  Munich 1 (A. J. deLange)
  re: 100% unmalted grains (Andrew J Donohue)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 20:53:11 -0400 From: smucker at use.usit.net (David and Carol Smucker) Subject: Re: Welding Gases. >Watch out, I am about to spout heresy. I oxygenate with oxygen from >my cutting torch and NO filter. I have not had any sort of infections >or off flavors. > >dion > >Dion Hollenbeck I am with Dion, here too. I have been using welding oxygen for several years with very good results. In fact going to pure O2 rather than air has been the single most important improvement I made in my brewing. It really helps that yeast get growing. I using welding CO2 also for what it is worth. I have a 50 pound tank, lasts about a year and I use it for lots of things. For oxygen, in general, there are three grades, Industrial, USP, and Aviator's breathing. All three grades are 99.5% minimum purity with the Industrial and the USP being the same gas with a maximum moisture of 50 ppm. and a dewpoint of -54 F. The aviator's breathing O2 has a maximum moisture of 6 ppm and a dewpoint of -83 F. So what is the difference between the Industrial (welding) and the USP. Nothing except that by law the cylinder that contains the O2 can never have been used for anything except O2. Since the other possible welding gases that use the same type of cylinders are argon, helium and nitrogen I don't worry very much. Almost the same story for CO2 but that is for another tread. David E. Smucker, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA <smucker at use.usit.net> Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 95 20:51 CDT From: pgravel at mcs.com (Philip Gravel) Subject: Decompressing HBD files ===> TRoat at aol.com asks about decompressing HBD archive files: >Q1: I can not seem to successfully decompress the HBD archive files. They >have .z extensions (Lempel-Ziv encoding) but the ZOO program I was told to >use keeps telling me ALL the HBD asrchive files are corrupted (fatal error). When you do the FTP get from the archives, leave off the .Z from the file name and the FTP server will automatically decompress the file before sending it. Thus if the file is named "my_file.txt.Z", use the following command: ftp> get my_file.txt - -- Phil _____________________________________________________________ Philip Gravel Lisle, Illinois pgravel at mcs.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 22:46:00 -0400 (EDT) From: "Milton John Hodgson" <hodgsonm at pilot.msu.edu> Subject: Orberdorfer Weiss Orberdorfer Dark Weiss: I'm looking for a recipe for this beer. I think it is great stuff but the price is outragious. If anyone has a recipe I would in in your dept if you could send me a copy via privat e-mail. If anybody is interested in my results drop me a line and I'll send along any resopnces I get. Thanks in advance. Milt Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 07:56:13 -0400 From: TRoat at aol.com Subject: God (sorry) bless the collective No religious thread support intended. Thanks for all the "Trouble decompressing HBD Archive file" responses. I got alot. Will try each suggestion in order and go with the first one that works. Also, alot of support for my moldy beer situation. I was encouraged. Several e-mails asked that I keep them posted. So....while generating positve thoughts, I popped off the airlock to bottle the beer and, despite the thin top layer of mold (or possible yeast stuff as one suggested), the beer smelled GREAT! Even tasted like beer. Final proof to come in 2 weeks at tasting. Who said a little mold was a bad thing (smile). As usual, patience and a worry-free attitude prevail. Thanks all Todd (Cincinnati) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 08:11:11 -0400 From: TRoat at aol.com Subject: Challnger/foamy bottling/ChemPro Each question answered seems to generate three new ones: Q1: used Challenger hop plugs for a Bass bastardization (thanks Pumazed!) but could only order 7 oz from Williams Brewing. Now I have 5 oz left over with no idea what recipe to use them in. Anyone have a good ale recipe that uses Challenger? Q2: "A run for cover ferment" caused me to lose almost one gallon of beer to blowoff. Woke up in the A.M. to find the kitchen counter covered in blowoff beer. Ouch! Gestimated priming sugar for the now only about 4 gallons at 1 cup DME (since 5 gal gets 1 1/4). However, at bottling each bottle was topped by a head; no matter how carefully I filled. Never had this happen before using a filler. Anticipate problems or just good beer? Q3: Am I the only one in the world to use Chem-Pro cleaner/sanitizer. Its what my local store carries (also Williams Brewing) but I never hear of anyone else using/referencing it. Anyone have an opinion (silly question asking homebrewers if they have an opinion). Is it an effective sanitization choice? P.S. In response to the blowoff liquid thread, I was told to use, and so do use, Potassium or Sodium metabisulfide in my blowoff vessel water. It "inhibits" bacterial growth. Anyone use this? And why should I continue or discontinue using it? If you all come over, I've got a good Bass Bastardization for you to try - not enough chairs though. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 08:22:05 -0400 From: DocsBrew at aol.com Subject: Dirty Demi-John In the July 17 hbd, harry bush asked how to clean up this glass: >I have a 15? gal. glass Demi-John that will not come clean. It has >milky-white (mineral?) stains on (or in, I can't tell) it. I haven't tried Well, caustic soda is a good thing to try, but if yo don't have any, or don't want to lose a part, try this: Sprinkle in some ajax (no affiliation, blah) and a little water, then add a handful of BBs, and swirl it 'round. They provide enuf grit, and enuf control, to help scrub it away. Good luck - and let us know how you handled it. Doc. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 8:37:42 EDT From: Steven W. Schultz <swschult at cbda9.apgea.army.mil> Subject: Does Cara-Pils Contribute to High FG? I recently made a batch of brew involving two 3.75 lb. cans of Cooper's Real Ale, and two packets of the dry kit yeast, re-hydrated. Had vigorous fermentation for 2-3 days, then it stopped at 1.024. I have re-aerated the wort (probably to the point of terminal oxidation), but still-- 1.024. I've also added more dry yeast. Tonight I'm adding a 1.5 qt. yeast starter, made from Wyeast Ale Blend (1087?). This is my final attempt. After this I will just bottle it, irrespective of FG, and take my chances. In a recent edition of Zymurgy, someone tested this recipe and had, if I remember correctly, an FG of 1.012. My only deviations from the recipe were adding 4 oz. of wheat malt (my standard addition to every recipe, for head retention), a pound of crystal malt, and about one-half pound of cara-pils. I know cara-pils adds body - that's why I tried using it for the first time - but does it make for a high FG? One more question-- what, exactly is in the Wyeast Ale blend? Steve Schultz Aberdeen, MD P.J. O'Rourke was right... Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 09:46:26 est From: Matt_K at ceo.sts-systems.ca Subject: Liquid gauge on corny keg Greetings! A friend asked me the other day is there is a gadget which would tell him how much beer is left in his keg. I usually tell either by weight or by the condensation that forms when you take the keg out of the fridge for a while but he still wants some kind of gizmo. So, gadget-heads, anyone know of anything? TIA Matt in Montreal Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 09:06:48 -0500 (CDT) From: jbrill at unlinfo.unl.edu (James Brill) Subject: Cloudy Icky Beer The subject describes it. I recently made a Cream Ale with Wyeast, etc. It has not settled out in about four days now. It remains orangish and cloudy. It has a heavy taste that is a little bitter to the smell and taste. You would not want to drink the stuff, it is that bad. This is about the 15th brewing attempt and only the very first one and this one have had this problem. The first one I drank because I didn't know any better but this one I will not. It was suspected that the problem with the first batch was the yeast. Can we say this for sure, given the sketchy description? I don't have any reading on the beer. It fermented for 10 days in glass at about 69 degrees. I waited until the bubbles in the airlock were more than one minute apart. As I said, this method worked flawlessly on 13 previous batches so I am hoping it isnt something I did. If it is I would sure like to know. I hate pouring beer down the drain. Thanks, Jim - -- James A. Brill Jr. \\ // jbrill at unlinfo.unl.edu \\ \\// // If you're not outraged University of Nebraska \\//\\// you're not paying attention. free-lance homo sapien \/ \/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 15:27:05 +0100 From: Dan.D.Murphy at itb2.itb.itb.eirmail400.ie Subject: Posting See attached Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 10:17:13 -0640 From: FLATTER%MHS at mhs.rose-hulman.edu Subject: homebrew on campus Greg Shannon writes: What is far worse is that a college campus is a huge pit of IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR! The most likely suspects for homebrewing IMO would be the Frats which would greatly worry me. The equal toleration of all religions...is the same as atheism. Leo XIV ++++++++++++++ One of the fraternities came into the brew shop, looking for supplies for a party they were having next weekend; but left when they found it wouldn't be ready in a week. There are four colleges close to Terre Haute. One had members that brewed, but I don't know it was ever served for a party. From the limited view I have, it seems to be more effort than any of them are willing to put forth just to save a few dollars. If there's a resource more limited than money for college student, it's free time. - -------------- Neil Flatter Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Chemistry - Math Chemistry Facilities Technician Novell Supervisor 5500 Wabash Avenue 73 (812) 877 - 8316 Terre Haute, IN 47803-3999 FAX: 877 - 3198 Flatter at Rose-Hulman.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 11:22:00 -0400 (EDT) From: WOLFF at eclus.bwi.wec.com Subject: us open I wish to publicly thank the Carolina Homebrewers, who sponsored the US OPEN held 29 April 1995,for making a concerted effort in sending me my ribbon and award for their competition. The original was lost somewhere in transit and the president of the club ( Bruno W.) went to great lengths to re-order my ribbon, etc. It is very satisfying know that this competition was professionally managed and I would recommend it highly to all brewers. Thanks again. Bob Wolff wolff at eclus.bwi.wec.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 1995 08:38:14 -0500 (EST) From: Sandy Cockerham__Mc625__6-0412 <COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L at Lilly.com> Subject: Airlocks/Gott false bottoms Hi brewers, I also use cheap vodka in all my airlocks. When placing one in a 'fermenting' fridge or in a water bath where it is likely to "suck back", a good tip is to fill your airlock with sterile cotton. (We use a sterile cotton plug in laboratory settings for growing cultures.) Later you can change it over to cheap vodka (or bleach if thats your choice.) I use a plastic colander that I trimmed to fit inside my 5 gal. Gott for a false bottom. Not a perfect fit (read- I don't whittle well.) but it works for me. Cheap, too! I just finished my summer school Criminal Law final. I am ready to brew!! I will probably be making my first mead as my house is around 75 degrees F. Hope to be able to set up a water bath, towel, fan evaporation bath and do a pale ale yet this summer. I am really excited to have some brewing time!! Good luck and good beer, Sandy C. From: COCKERHAM SANDRA L (MCVAX0::RX31852) To: VMS MAIL ADDRESSEE (IN::"homebrew at hpfcmi.fc.hp.com") Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 12:44:44 EDT From: tj2996 at WESTPOINT-EMH2.USMA.ARMY.MIL (Drago James MAJ) Subject: Increasing Alcohol Content I am a relatively new extract brewer. I received an extract kit through the mail for a wheat beer, and the instructions point out that it should yield a beer with about a 3.5% A/C. It uses about 5# of liquid malt extract. I would like to boost the alcohol content somewhat (maybe to 4.5% or so) without significantly altering the flavor the recipe is designed to attain. Some reading I have done has lead me to believe the easiest and most inexpensive way to do this is to add corn sugar. I have about 1# available and I am considering doing this. Do I need to add extra hops to keep the brew balanced? Is this enough corn sugar to make a difference? Any other thoughts? Thanks. JAMES P. DRAGO MAJ, FA ADMISSIONS MEDIA OFFICER X5701 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 11:54:26 -0500 From: jay_weissler at il.us.swissbank.com (Jay Weissler) Subject: RE: homebrew on campus Greg Shannon said >I felt that as a long-time college student (10 years worth) I >needed to respond to Harry Bush's recent post. In fact, IMO, a >college campus IS a breeding ground for communism, atheism, etc. I guess that's a good a reason to hang around college for 10 years as any. Really though, was this flamebait, tongue-in-cheek or what? I can see the HBD getting spammed with this thread. (It pulled me out of the wood work). jayw College motto: He came for the books but stayed for the beer. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 10:05:29 PDT From: Jeffrey B. Bonner <t3345 at fel1.nfuel.com> Subject: Maltmill RPM? I am considering motorizing my Maltmill. Does anyone know the ideal speed (RPM) should be? The mill in the Special 1992 issue of Zymurgy (Vol. 15, No.4) is 100 RPM. Is this the speed in general which the rollers rotate independent of roller diameter (length, etc.)? Any all help would be appreciated. Private email is ok. If I get a concenus, I will post the results. Thanks! - -- Jeffrey B. Bonner - BWR Nuclear Engineering SIEMENS POWER CORPORATION-NUCLEAR DIVISION Engineering and Manufacturing Facility 2101 Horn Rapids Road, PO Box 130 Richland, WA 99352-0130 Office: (509)375-8741 Fax: (509)375-8006/8402 email: jbb at fred.nfuel.com (work) nukebrewer at aol.com (home) Current Project: KS1 Spent Fuel Pool Criticality Analysis It often shows a fine command of language to say nothing. Return to table of contents
Date: 18 Jul 95 13:38:14 EDT From: Ray Daniels <71261.705 at compuserve.com> Subject: Judging - Addendum Rick Garvin points out that scores should not be cast in stone before the judges' discussion begins and I agree. In my original post, I didn't mean to imply that the scores written down before the discussion begins can't be changed - -- after all pencils are the weapon of choice when judging. Scores can and should be changed on the basis of the discussion when wide variances exist. I just believe that judges should go through their complete evaluation process before the discussion begins. Seems like Rick and I are both on the same wavelength here. Regards, Ray Return to table of contents
Date: 18 Jul 95 13:51:12 EDT From: Don Rudolph <DON at nova.mhs.compuserve.com> Subject: Wort Dilution Friends, I am brewing an English Mild for a friend's wedding. I have a 5 gallon brewery, but needed to brew a larger batch to get at least eight gallons. My recipe yielded (after racking losses) about 6 gallons of 1.056 wort. My first question is, how much water do I add to get a wort of final gravity 1.035? Second, if I add 2.5 gallons of water, what would be my starting gravity? Third, should I dilute before or after fermentation, and why? For those of you attempting to scale up to larger batches with the same equipment, be VERY conservative in your estimate of extract efficiency. Mine went WAY down when using my mash/lauter tun to full capacity. I didn't have enough room in kettle to adequately sparge. Also, when racking a high gravity wort, you leave behind a lot more extract than a more dilute wort. Thanks for your help! Don Rudolph Seattle, WA don at nova.mhs.compuserve.com Return to table of contents
Date: 18 Jul 95 13:49:30 EDT From: Ray Daniels <71261.705 at compuserve.com> Subject: Great Brit Beer Fest Five or six folks from the Chicago Beer Society are headed to this year's GBBF in London. (Aug 1 - 5.) Anyone else going? Anyone have sites, pubs, breweries, etc. to recommend for our agenda? Also, if you have any recommendations regarding accomodations, please contact me. Thanks, Ray Daniels 71261.705 at compuserve.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 12:56:50 CDT From: korz at pubs.ih.att.com (Algis R Korzonas) Subject: London water AJ writes (I edited a bit): London City Desired ION WT DESIRED Ca 1.00 90.000 Mg 1.00 6.000 Na 1.00 22.000 K 1.00 0.000 CO3 0.00 82.000 SO4 1.00 24.000 Cl 1.00 10.000 H 1.00 2.831 But I think that the CO3 is far too low. I'll tell you my reasoning. London was famous for its dark beers and this was because they had trouble making pale beers. The CO3 was presumably too high (at least I believe that's why -- does someone have other data?). Now, I have about 105ppm of CO3 in my water, less Ca than the listed London City water and can make perfectly good pale ales without any additions of any brewing salts or acids. Great conversion with nothing but water and Pale Ale malt and 30+ ppg. So what gives? Al. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 13:02:39 -0700 From: "Stephen E. Hansen" <hansen at hops.Stanford.EDU> Subject: Using the HBD Archives Almost every ftp site of any size has a README file. The HBD archives at ftp.stanford.edu has one (actually it has several, but that's another story). If you do what it asks (i.e. download and read it), it will tell you about the compression techniques used and how to go about getting the ftp server to decompress some of them for you. It also lists the available files. Get /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer/README. [ The only thing that annoys us software types more than having to write documentation is questions from users who won't read the documentation. :-) ] Stephen Hansen homebrewer, archivist =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Stephen Hansen, homebrewer | The church is near, but the road is icy. Stanford University | The bar is far away, but I will walk carefully. hansen at Hops.Stanford.EDU | -- Russian Proverb http://www.stanford.edu/~hansen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 14:44:25 MDT From: Randy M. Davis <rmdavis at mocan.mobil.com> Subject: RE: Wheat and Wyeast 3944 The other day Mark Kirby asked a couple of questions about the use of unmalted wheat and wyeast 3944 in Witbier. I have very limited experience with the use of unmalted wheat (two batches so far) but I have learned a bit along the way. I aquired about 30 pounds of wheat direct from a prairie farm and that is what I used n my first attempt. I can only assume that this will be a very hard variety as that is what we grow here. I crushed the wheat about the same as I do malt and soaked it for an hour in hot water prior to mashing with Canadian 2-row 40%/60% along with some flaked oats as per most recipes. The result was a trouble free sparge but very poor extraction, almost no contribution from the wheat. I used rests at95, 120, 126, 130, 154 and 168 deg.F. My usual yields are very respectable but I just could not seem to convert the wheat. On the second try I used wheat from a Health Food store and not only crushed it but boiled the 5 pounds for 15 minutes in 8 quarts of water prior to mashing in. This time I simplified the mash schedule with rests at 128, 140, 158 and 168. For the extra trouble of boiling I achieved a fractional improvement in yeild but the result was still dissapointing. In both cases, an iodine test indicated complete conversion. (??) The first batch was fermented with Wyeast 3944 which does Not contribute any "tanginess" as you suspected Mark, but has the usual clove etc. of wheat beer yeasts. I am sure that there is no lactcobacillus present in this product. The second batch was fermented with Blanche de Bruges yeast that I grew from a bottle. This yeast behaves exactly the same as Wyeast 3944 which is to say very actively with a large crop of yeast on the surface that lasts for days and days. I would say that there is a good chance that they are the same. I am still experimenting at this point but I would say that the wheat should not be crushed to flour or sparge problems might result. I would also say that to come up with an authentic tasting Witbier some lactic acid should be added (pick your own method) or the result will not be sufficiently tart. If anyone has any ideas on the poor yield I am experiencing with the wheat I would be grateful for suggestions. - -- +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Randy M. Davis rmdavis at mocan.mobil.com Calgary Canada (403)260-4184 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 13:44:16 -0700 From: markus at pyramid.com (Mark Parshall) Subject: Beer in Space Truth is funnier than fiction... To boldly drink what no man has drunk before... This week, a million fraternity brothers rushed to join NASA. The reason: scientists have discovered beer in space. Well, not beer exactly. But they did find alcohol: ethyl alcohol, to be precise, the active ingredient in all major alcoholic drinks (antifreeze Jell-O shots, quite obviously, are exempted from this category). Three British scientists, Drs. Tom Millar, Geoffrey MacDonald and Rolf Habing, discovered this interstellar Everclear floating in a gas cloud in the constellation of Aquila (sign of the Eagle, the mascot of Anheuser-Busch! Hmmmmm). Millar and his compatriots have estimated the size of this gas cloud at approximately 1,000 times the diameter of our own solar system; there's enough alcohol out there, they say, to make 400 trillion trillion pints of beer. These guys are British, mind you; if you were to translate this in terms of American beer (which the British, with some justification, regard as fermented club soda), the amount of potential brewski just about doubles. In human terms: remember that double-keg party you threw at the end of your Junior year in college (the second Junior year)? Imagine throwing that same party, every eight hours, for the next 30 billion years. You'd STILL have beer left over. And boy, would YOUR bathroom be a mess! Simply put, no one could ever drink 400 trillion trillion pints of beer, except maybe L.A. Raiders fans. The sheer volume of all this alcohol begs the question of how it managed to get out there in the first place. Despite the simplifying effect it has on the human brain, ethyl alcohol is a reasonably complex molecule: two carbon atoms, five hydrogen atoms, and a hydroxyl radical, all cavorting togetherin beery camaraderie. It's not a compund that is going to spontaneously arise out of the cold depths of space. It can lead to speculation: What is this cloud? 1. It's God's beer. After all, He worked for six days creating the universe, and on the seventh day, He rested. And after you've had a hard week at the office, don't YOU grab a beer? Since man is made in God's image, it could be that this cloud is the remaining evidence of the first, best Miller Time. 2. It's Purgatory ("400 trillion trillion bottles of beer on the wall, 400 trillion trillion bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 399,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 bottles of beer on the wall!") 3. Proof of an undeniably highly advanced but chronically dipsomaniac alien society. This particular theory is shaky, however: it's reasonable to assume that if the aliens were going to construct a nebula of alcohol, they'd also have large clouds of Beer Nuts and pretzels nearby for snacking. Advanced spectral analysis has yet to locate them. The truth of the matter, however, is far more prosaic. In the middle of this gas cloud is a young and no doubt quite inebriated star. As the star heats up and contracts, sucking the dust and gas of the cloud into a smaller area, complex molecules form as a result of greater intereaction between the elements. Ethyl alcohol forms on small motes of dust in the cloud, and then, as the motes angle in closer towards the star and heat up, the alcohol is released from the motes in gaseous form. And there you have it: an alcohol cloud. Or, as Dave Bowman might say, "My God! It's full of booze!" Enough with the science lesson, you say. Just tell me how to GET there! Sorry, Chuckles. You can't get there from here. The gas cloud (which, by the way, has the utterly romantic name of "G34.3") is 10,000 light years away: 58 quadrillion miles. Even if you hijacked the shuttle and headed out with thrusters on full, by the time you got there, the guy in Purgatory would be done with his tune. You'd have had time to work up a powerful thirst, but you'd also be, in a word, dead. No, the Space Beer Cloud will have to wait for the far future, when men can leap through the universe at warp speed. One can only imagine what they will do when they get there: Captain Kirk: My....GOD! Sulu! What....is....THAT? Sulu: It's a free floating cloud of alcohol, sir. Kirk: And we've just run out of Romulan Ale! Could it be a trap, Bones? Bones: Damn it, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a distiller of fine spirits! Kirk: We need that booze! But if we fly through that cloud, we'll be too drunk to drive! Spock: May I remind you, Jim, that I am a Vulcan. We are a race of designated drivers. Kirk: Well, all righty, then. Spock, drive us through! Bones and I will be out on the hull. With our mouths... open! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 16:54:00 PDT From: "Bessette, Bob" <bessette at msmailgw.uicc.com> Subject: Reusing trub from first generation... Fellow HBDers, I recently made a batch of all-grain Pale Ale and I used the yeast dregs from an old bottle that I had which I had started a few days prior to pitching. Now what I would like to do is brew again in about a week and just pour my cooled wort over my trub after I rack to my secondary. I understand that this is a common practice. Should I expect a krausen to form fairly quickly after pouring the cooled wort onto the trub? I usually get a fairly quick krausen to form within 5-8 hours of pitching from the started dregs. Is it worthwhile to do it this way? I guess I'm saving the time it takes to make a starter and the cleaning of my carboy. Is the general concensus that I should just use another bottle of yeast dregs and start it as I did before? By pouring on top of the trub I would be using another generation of yeast as well. I would appreciate experienced replies to this post. Please send me private email and I will post results. TIA... Bob Bessette Unitrode I.C. Corporation Systems Analyst 7 Continental Blvd Information Systems Dept Merrimack, NH 03054 Email Address: bessette at uicc.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 14:52:24 PST From: krkoupa at ccmail2.srv.PacBell.COM Subject: Mycobrewery FungiCider This thread is from another part of the web, but I hope HBD can address the brewing aspect. What if ... mushrooms (ordinary edibles, nothing more) in beer? What we know: > You concluded that mushrooms have no sugars because they don't photosynthesize. It's true that they don't photosynthesize, but many mushrooms are in a symbiotic relationship (called "mycorhizae") with host plants nearby in which they receive photosynthetic sugars from the sap of the plant and bring water, phosphorus and minerals to the plant in exchange. Also, mushrooms grow through their food source and dissolve it with enzymes which break down the source into components such as sugars and amino acids. Most mushrooms break down cellulose into sugars and re-assemble those sugars into long sugar chains (polysaccharides) that form chitin, which is the main ingredient of a fungus. All this is to say that mushrooms are constructed out of sugar! But until the polysaccharides are broken down to mono or disaccharides, they don't taste sweet, nor do they feed your yeast extra fermentation food. So in considering a sweet flavoring from a mushroom, it just won't happen. But aroma ... Since my experience with mushrooms is mainly from eating them, not from just sniffing them, I'll have to conjecture an answer for you. It seems that dried mushrooms yield the most abundant aroma, and they'd be easy to cook up/reconstitute in a more condensed form. So here's my list of possible (but to me, mostly unlikely) candidates: > Boletus edulis (cepes or porcini) - meaty aroma > Polyporus sulphureus (chicken of the woods) - lemony/true > chicken-like flavor, but also carries eucalyptus oils which > are toxic to some people. > oyster mushroom - fishy > chanterelle - mild fruity/pumpkin-like Shitake (slightly > seafoody > Matsutake - a cross between red hots (candy) and sweaty socks - > very prized by many mushroom hunters. (use w/ brettanomyces?) > Lepiota rachodes - very distinctly beef-like smell > Lactarius fragilis (candy cap) - maple syrup With the above list, you can make your own decisions. Personally, I'd only suggest the last mushroom, the candy cap. Remember that it doesn't taste sweet, it only smells sweet, and it does truly smell like maple syrup! What we don't know: 1. How to convert mushroom polysaccharides into fermentable sugars. If so, then treat mushrooms as a GRAIN in the mash/boil. If not, then treat mushrooms as a FRUIT/HERB for aroma in the post-primary fermenter. 2. WHY we want to attempt this experiment in the first place. (I'm not trying to create a "style" by any means.) Ken Koupal krkoupa at PacBell.COM DIRECT flames accepted if this thread is inappropriate for HBD. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 19:59:40 -0400 From: GeepMaley at aol.com Subject: Re: #1(2) Homebrew Digest #1783 (July 17, 1995) In HBD 1783, Patrick Higgins wrote (regarding a steam beer): "My question is, if I rack to the secondary and continue fermenting at 70 degrees, will this greatly effect the flavor? Or, immediately after bottling if I were to place the bottles in the fridge and condition at 45 degrees, would this work?" I have made two seperate batches of steam beer now using extracts and various types of hops (Northern Brewer - boil/Cascade - finish in first; Nugget/Nugget in second). The first batch was made last summer here in Texas and was fermented a room temp (75-80) all the way through, while the second was fermented in my brew fridge at 60-65. First batch came out with a definite fruity quality instead of the expected bitterness, primarily due to the temperatures. Second batch came out nicely bitter, no fruit taste. Could be a factor of the Cascade finishing hops in the first batch, but I think it was probably the fermenting temps that caused the fruity flavors in batch one. Still a drinkable brew, however... Geep Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 20:14:11 -0400 From: PERSAND at aol.com Subject: Aeration and religeon Hi, all A question about aeriation (sp?): I syphon my chilled wort from a height of about three feet above my 6 gallon plastic fermentor. I get a huge crop of foam which I stir in throughout the syphoning. I pitch my yeast starter about half way into the process and usually have about a 10 to 12 hour lag time at 80f starting temp. I'll admit that occasionally the lag time is about 24 hours but in general is reasonable. Any comments on this method? I've got a plug for Dave Drapers' yeast culturing instructions. It could not be easier or more self-explainetory. I used it last week with very good results. I had one problem which I asked Dave about and received a VERY prompt reply-Thanks again, Dave! Regarding the religeon thread: It died on its own-Any topic of interest will be continued until redundant. Let's keep this forum open to any topic which may relate to brew & brewing; any that are not appropriate will and should be ignored. Brewing in Morris since 1990 Paul Rybak Morris, IL Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 20:39:07 -0500 From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange) Subject: Munich 1 Munich 1 This is the fourteenth in a series of posts on the formulation of waters similar to those of famous brewing cities of the world. They are based on ion concentration profiles given by Dave Draper in his post in #1704 (10 April 95). See my post "Water Series" (#1763) for explanatory material (correction: in the Line 3 explanation read 1.8 ml of 1 N sulfuric acid, not 18 ml). Quick reminders: all ion concentrations and salt quantities are in ppm which is the same as mg/l. The water to which the salts are added is assumed to be ION FREE (i.e. it is DISTILLED WATER or REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER). This profile is attributed to Noonan in "Brewing Lager Beer" and is also given by Richman in "Bock". As Richman points out this water is essentially a solution of chalk with small amounts of other ions. He points out that Munich Helles Bock brewers precipitate the chalk (with lime) after which the water is comparable to that of Plzen. Leaving the question as to whether it is foolish to put something into the water which is only later to be removed to the individual brewer we offer the following formulation: Formulation I n: 1050000 Temp: 0.002941 Energy (rms %): 0.717163 Munich Desired Cations: 5.310 Anions: 2.254 mEq/L Ratio: 0.425 ION WT DESIRED REALIZED ERR, % SALTS AMOUNT Ca 1.00 75.000 73.992 -1.34 NaCl 0.569 Mg 1.00 18.000 17.888 -0.62 Na2CO3.10H2O 4.158 Na 1.00 2.000 2.002 0.12 CaCL2 0.421 K 1.00 0.000 0.000 0.00 CaSO4.2H2O 6.285 CO3 1.00 148.000 149.667 1.13 CaCO3 180.742 SO4 1.00 10.000 9.979 -0.21 MgCL2 1.854 Cl 1.00 2.000 1.994 -0.28 MgCO3 56.744 H 1.00 2.974 0.000 -100.00 KCl 0.000 Na2SO4 3.431 MgSO4.7H2O 10.650 H2SO4 0.000 NaHCO3 0.000 HCl 0.000 Carbonic: 0.4822 Bicarbonate: 2.0101 Carbonate: 0.000962 mM Total Required Hydronium: 2.9744 Sulfuric Hydronium: 0.0000 mEq Hydrochloric Hydronium: 0.0000 mEq 2.9744 mEq additional hydronium required to maintain pH 7.00 Solubility Products - CaCO3: 8.70E-09 MgCO3: 2.60E-05 Ion Products - CaCO3: 1.78E-09 MgCO3: 7.08E-10 Alkalinity: 1.99 mEq; 99.31 ppm as CaCO3. Temporary hardness: 4.99 mEq; 249.32 ppm as CaCO3 Permanent hardness: 0.18 mEq; 8.84 ppm as CaCO3 This formulation is quite accurate but requires a fair amount (3 mEq) of external acid to bring the pH of the chalk to 7. This cannot be done without external acid because the low allowable chloride and sulfate specifications preclude the use of much hydrochloric or sulfuric acids (Formulation I, given that external acid is allowed, choses to use neither of these acids preferring to get sulfate and chloride from salts). We don't like formulations which require more than the most readily available salts and so do not recommend this one. As is usually the case in these circumstances we have an alternative (from Hardwick - to be posted next) but the alternative is substantially higher in chloride and in sulfate to the point where we fear hops harshness. Therefore we offer the simple salts formulation: Formulation II n: 1120000 Temp: 0.000958 Energy (rms %): 32.758305 Munich Desired Cations: 5.310 Anions: 2.254 mEq/L Ratio: 0.425 ION WT DESIRED REALIZED ERR, % SALTS AMOUNT Ca 1.00 75.000 82.047 9.40 NaCl 0.000 Mg 1.00 18.000 2.819 -84.34 Na2CO3.10H2O 0.000 Na 1.00 2.000 2.003 0.13 CaCL2 0.000 K 1.00 0.000 0.692 0.69 CaSO4.2H2O 0.000 CO3 1.00 148.000 128.116 -13.44 CaCO3 204.893 SO4 1.00 10.000 11.139 11.39 MgCL2 0.000 Cl 1.00 2.000 1.992 -0.40 MgCO3 0.000 H 1.00 2.459 0.038 -98.43 KCl 1.320 Na2SO4 0.000 MgSO4.7H2O 28.577 H2SO4 0.000 NaHCO3 7.318 HCl 1.404 Carbonic: 0.4127 Bicarbonate: 1.7206 Carbonate: 0.000824 mM Total Required Hydronium: 2.4590 Sulfuric Hydronium: 0.0000 mEq Hydrochloric Hydronium: 0.0385 mEq 2.4205 mEq additional hydronium required to maintain pH 7.00 Solubility Products - CaCO3: 8.70E-09 MgCO3: 2.60E-05 Ion Products - CaCO3: 1.69E-09 MgCO3: 9.55E-11 Alkalinity: 1.70 mEq; 85.01 ppm as CaCO3. Temporary hardness: 4.27 mEq; 213.42 ppm as CaCO3 Permanent hardness: 0.06 mEq; 2.88 ppm as CaCO3 We immediately see that the reason the full salt set was required was to keep magnesium in spec and that by using the simple salt set we sacrifice magnesium accuracy but maintain all the other ions pretty close to their desired levels. As this formulation supplies plenty of magnesium from the point of view of yeast requirements and keeping Richman's remark about Plzen water in mind we feel that this formulation is probably a pretty good one for the brewing of Munich lagers. We expect that the 2.4 mEq additional hydronium requirement could be met by the malt in most cases. A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore! ajdel at interramp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 17:51:45 EDT From: andy2 at hogpa.ho.att.com (Andrew J Donohue) Subject: re: 100% unmalted grains In HBD #1781, I wrote: >It seems that in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular quality >malted barley is both rare and expensive due to the climate. To >overcome this problem they have been experimenting with 100% unmalted >grains such as sorghum corn & cassava and comercially produced >auxiliary enzymes. Then Bill wrote: This is not entirely true. The grain sorghum used to brew African opaque beer is malted. The adjuncts used in the brewing process (corn grits and millet primarily) are indeed unmalted. Bill Ridgely (Brewer, Patriot, Bicyclist) __o I'm not an expert on this, but the whole subject of the cited article is how they are now brewing with 100% unmalted grains including sourghum. In 1988 the Nigerian government banned the import of malt and apparently grain suitable for malting will not grow in their climate. I have no interest in brewing with sourghum. I posted this in response to several requests for info about malting barley. With auxiliary enzymes, available in your local homebrew store maybe malting your own barley is unnecessary. Andy Donohue andy2 at hogpe.ho.att.com Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1786, 07/20/95