HOMEBREW Digest #1980 Sat 09 March 1996

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


Contents:
  Yeast Mutation (Lorne P. Franklin)
  phenolic (Jerry Lee)
  copyright (Robert Rogers)
  MacTarnahan's Ale ("Dave Hinkle")
  stuck porter sparge (Peter D Breil)
  Diacetyl is a chemical (Steve Adams)
  channeling, why not? (Kelly Heflin)
  at least it's short... (Andy Walsh)
   ("n43a")
  first wort hopping (Jim Dipalma)
  subscription (SSparks204)
  Elrician help needed! (The Old Fogy)
  Splitting the Process (Chuck)
  phosporic & lactic acids (Dave Whitman)
  Recipe Scaling (Tim Laatsch)
  IR/Pumps/H3PO4/N2/C./Stout/Ion Xchange (A. J. deLange)
  Black Mac (Eugene Sonn)
  Flaked barley/stuck mash (Jim Busch)
  Iodophor (Michael T. Bell)
  Recipes, recipes ("Taber, Bruce")
  HBD on Solaris (guym)
  Re: Cheap Bottles (Michael K. Cinibulk)
  Hart Brewing Wheat Beers (Michael K. Cinibulk)
  104F Rest (Rob Reed)
  Addendum to Solvent stuff (Zucchini Dave)
  mini-keg questions (Julio Canseco)
  Wyeast 1272 (WattsBrew)
  Really Dirty Carboys (Jeff Smith)
  Foam control (Paul.Lambie)

****************************************************************** * 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. ****************************************************************** ################################################################# # # YET ANOTHER NEW FEDERAL REGULATION: if you are UNSUBSCRIBING from the # digest, please make sure you send your request to the same service # provider that you sent your subscription request!!! I am now receiving # many unsubscribe requests that do not match any address on my mailing # list, and effective immediately I will be silently deleting such # requests. # ################################################################# NOTE NEW HOMEBREW ADDRESS hpfcmgw! Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew at hpfcmgw.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@ hpfcmgw.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 alpha.rollanet.org 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, 6 Mar 1996 12:31:28 -0400 From: lachina at interramp.com (Lorne P. Franklin) Subject: Yeast Mutation Tam Thompson writes, ". . . You can usually re-use that slurry about three times before it starts to mutate too far into the unusable range. . . ." I've read this assertion in many places and am wondering if anyone can profile the flavor, bahvior, or appearance of "mutated" brewers yeast. I've never used yeast beyond the third generation, but am curious of the potential problems involved with "inbred" yeast. Thanks a lot. L o r n e F r a n k l i n Lachina Publishing Services t. 216.292.7959 - f. 216.292.3639 lachina at interramp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 09:52:03 -0800 From: jlee at esd.ray.com (Jerry Lee) Subject: phenolic Well the beer from hell has given it's last act of defiance...It has developed a definite phenolic aroma & flavor....could the contamination occured during the foaming filter I brought up just a few files back...or is this more of case of sanitation error during fermentation? Could open fermentation been the cause? After all the claims that this wasn't a problem in open fermentation... So much for following the consensus...On top of the phenolic (bandaid like) aroma & underlying flavor, I pick up a hint of rubber too...arrrrgh.... A.J. a little help....this was supposed to be an ESB and I got the malt profile and color right on... the hop was just a touch too low but it was definitely too low on the minerals.... My water is run through a water softner, then a reverse osmosis, then a charcoal filter....ph around 7. I add latic acid and calcium carbonate to balance the sparge water and mash around 5.3. Like I said, the attenuated hop and the initial front end flavor was lacking the mineral effects...but how much mineral and type do I add? You've lost me on several of your threads and I need a reference that I can take my time studying... any suggestions? What type of water test kits do you recommend if I want to take complete control of the situation without the approximations of just add a little of this or that. I intend to try it again, with closed fermentation, on the 17th. TIA ===================================================== ~~~~~ / \ //\\\\\ / Jerry D. Lee, Jr. | SEPG Methods & Tools Chairman / {| ~ ~ |} / E-Systems /Raytheon | E-Mail : jlee at eng.esd.ray.com \ | ^ | / One So. Los Carneros | Tel : 805-967-5511 ext2306 \ \ = / \ Goleta, CA 93117-5597 | Fax : 805-964-9185 _/ --/\-/\-- \ \ \/^\/ \+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=| Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 13:02:56 -0500 From: bob at carol.net (Robert Rogers) Subject: copyright there has been some recent discussion of copyright, but here is a summary: if you write something, you have a copyright on it. you cannot copyright facts thus, if someone were to take HBD and put it on a cd and sell it, they would be violating all of our copyrights (even if we don't care). OTOH: if they take all the facts presented here and publish them, there would be no problem. there are a wealth of copyright resources on the net if you want more details. bob rogers, bob at carol.net Return to table of contents
Date: 06 Mar 1996 10:22:16 -0700 From: "Dave Hinkle" <Dave.Hinkle at aexp.com> Subject: MacTarnahan's Ale Glenn wrote: >Here is the info I have been able to collect on Portland Brewing's >MacTarnahan's Ale (without actually venturing up there.) > <snip> > IBU: 40 <snip> > >From the IBU measurement (thank you Portland Brewing), we can compute the >hop additions based on each person's favorite utilization numbers and >formula. >Obviously, a guess will have to be made on the grist ratios and probably >use Wyeast's Scotch Ale strain for a lack of any other info/source. > >Sources: Martin Wilde (thanks), and Portland Brewing's Web Page. I'm a bit skeptical about the IBU measurement you were given. It seems way too high to me. Did Portland actually measure it, or just estimate it? I would have guessed it to be around 20-25 at most. But then again, there is a lot of sweetness that would offset the reported high IBUs, and I am not an "expert" at beer judging, but I'm in heavy training ;-). Also, for the yeast, MacT's, IMO, is on the "clean" side as far as Scottish goes, so I'd venture a guess they use something similar to Wyeast British (or even Chico Ale?). The Wyeast Scottish Ale yeast is on the more "complex" side of the scale so I don't think you'd get the same effect as MacT's. I also would guess American 2-row as the base rather than English pale, maybe 6-7 lbs, plus about 2 lbs of fairly light crystal malts for a 5 gallon batch. Like I said, I don't find it to be a very complex taste, so I would expect a fairly simple list of ingredients. Dave H. Phoenix, AZ Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 14:22:13 -0500 (EST) From: Peter D Breil <breil+ at pitt.edu> Subject: stuck porter sparge In HBD #1977, James Glenn writes that the fermentation of his modified porter stuck after 1.5 days, after dropping from about 1.070 to 1.032. Unfortunately I don't have an answer to why it stuck, but find a couple of _remarkable_ parallels. Two weekends ago I brewed an all-grain porter with an S.G. of 1.060 and got it going in the primary with Wyeast 1098, London Ale, pitched from a 1 quart starter after aerating as usual with an aquarium pump. The fermentation was very vigorous for about 2 days, then COMPLETELY stopped. Gravity is 1.024. The grain bill is not such that there should be that many unfermentable sugars. I've tried rousing the yeast repeatedly - no effect. I tried adding a rehydated pack of Edme yeast - no effect. I tried racking to a secondary last night, re-aerating (whimper) and adding a 1/2 cup of corn sugar dissolved in boiling water - no effect. What is going on here? In 30 batches, I've never had a really stuck sparge before. But wait, it gets more weird. A friend brewed the _same_ recipe from Terry foster's Porter book 2 days later. He has had sucess with the recipe before. He pitched a Brewtek Ale yeast directly from a stout that he was finishing up. His S.G. = 1.070 (his system is more efficient). He had a VERY vigorous fermentation for 2-3 days, then his slowed to almost a standstill and a gravity of of 1.035. Coincidence? Oddly enough, we are in Pittsburgh and James is not too far away. Have we experienced a tear in the time-yeast continuum? Do we have lemming yeast? Any suggestions as to the cause of these mass die-outs of porter yeasties would be appreciated. TIA, Pete Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 96 16:09:09 est From: paa3765 at dpsc.dla.mil (Steve Adams) Subject: Diacetyl is a chemical Guys: While there is no obvious route for converting (no puns intended) diacetyl (diacetylic?) from a noun to an adjective, one of the great strengths of English is its flexibility. Words that start out as one part of speech are often adapted to function as others. Remember, language is a living, evolving thing. Many English nouns can be used as adjectives without changing form at all. Sometimes a new noun becomes a verb. (For instance, you may write a critique on a particular beer; critique, strictly speaking, is a noun, but only the stodgiest of grammarians would even know to object to the sentence, "You critiqued the beer." ) You can't stop this process. So if enough brewers and beer judges say that a beer has a "diacetyl flavor," who is to say that the word isn't an adjective? Moreover, I know that I've personally diacetyled (diacetylled for you Brits) several of my ales by fermenting them at 75 F. For those of you who object to this thread as being off topic, knowing the jargon of any trade is important in its practice. Sometimes we hombrewers operate in a language vacuum, and it's hard to figure out the lingo. I wonder how many new words have entered the language as a result of homebrewing? Back to the kettle; I'm about to boil over with all of this excitement. Later, Stein Subject: Diacetyl - it is really a noun! OOH! OOH! I know this one! Bob McCowan <bob.mccowan at cfrp.varian.com> wrote: >We brewers tend to use the term diacetyl as a noun, but from the structure >of the word it looks like an adjective. Is it really a noun, or are we just >trashing ( turning a noun into a verb) the language? If it's an adjective, >then diacetyl what? Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 17:43:02 -0500 From: Kelly Heflin <kheflin at monmouth.com> Subject: channeling, why not? All right, whats wrong with just stopping the flow for a second, mixing the grain bed ...real well... and then proceeding, knowing you are getting a consistent and well mixed sample. Please excuse me for sounding abrupt. What is a "clear runoff"? clear of what. I hope we're not talking about clear color, and then what would be wrong with some grains mixed into your boilpot? Go easy, I'm only 3 batches into this all grain thing. Oh. will my bock beer 1.07 og. be any good if it stops at 1.025? If not what can I do. I wanted a sweet malty beer but its real sweet. thanks Kelly C. Heflin kheflin at monmouth.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 10:01:16 +1000 From: Andy Walsh <awalsh at crl.com.au> Subject: at least it's short... Al K. writes, >I've always wanted to be quoted by an Australian, and I think that >this may be my chance... There now, aren't I a considerate person? - -- Andrew Walsh CHAD Research Laboratories Phone (61 2) 212 6333 5/57 Foveaux Street Fax (61 2) 212 1336 Surry Hills. NSW. 2010 email awalsh at crl.com.au Australia. Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 96 15:12:41 PST From: "n43a" <n43a at cnsp-emh.san.mrms.navy.mil> Subject: On: Date: Sat, 2 Mar 1996 23:26:39 -0500 From: GSHUTELOCK at aol.com Subject: Boston Beer Bottles I know were not supposed to use "non-returnable" bottles for our homebrews <snip>... used to buy my 12 oz bottles from my local brew store (about $ 9.95 and tax for a case of new empties)...<snip> My question is does anyone know any reason I couldn't or shouldn't reuse these "Sam Adams" bottles. Granted they are not the extra tough reusable bottles the commercial breweries use, but they've got as much glass (and I figure strength) as the empty bottles I'd been paying good money for. Stacked up with the new bottles I can't even tell the two apart (shape or weight). <snip> Under no circumstances should non-returnable bottles be used by homebrewers. This prohibition is found in the same volume of laws which includes the prohibition on the removal of manufacturers tags from furniture and mattresses. You may avoid prosecution by shipping full bottles, via UPS, to me. Actually, where do you think that most of us homebrewers get our bottles...by commercial beer (quality stuff) drink the beer and use the bottle for even better stuff. Collecting bottle in this manner provides the drinker/homebrewer with an opportunity to evaluate if a craft brewer has sold out to crass commercial interests...i.e., Pete's Wicked products used to be available in NON-twist off caps. Pacifico bottles are really nice, too. John Kneipp Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 96 10:26:45 EST From: dipalma at sky.com (Jim Dipalma) Subject: first wort hopping Hi All, A few months back, George Fix posted here regarding a procedure called first wort hopping. I don't recall the digest# in which his post appeared, but the gist of it was that superior hop flavor and aroma could be achieved by adding a small quantity of hops to the kettle during sparging. The aromatic compounds in the hops bind with wort constituents, survive the boil, and result in cleaner hop flavor and aroma than that obtained with late hop additions. As I recall, Dr. Fix's data was preliminary, and he did not offer much in the way of practical suggestions as to how to do this on a homebrewing scale. About 2 months ago, I brewed an altbier with one of my brewing buddies (hi Scott!). I had just read Dr. Fix's post, and was interested in this procedure. We added 1/4 ounce of fresh German Hallertaur leaf to the kettle at the beginning of the sparge, and left it in for the duration of the sparge, about 90 minutes (this was a 10 gallon batch). As the sparge progressed, we could smell the hop aroma coming out of the kettle. Once the boil was started, I figured out the IBU contribution from the 1/4 oz of hops, and subtracted that from the total IBU target. My reasoning was that the iso-alpha acids that contribute hop bitterness are extracted by boiling, so the 90 minute steeping should have no impact on iso-alpha acids contribution - it was essentially the same as adding the 1/4 oz at the beginning of the boil. I added enough additional German Hallertaur to get to the target of 40 IBUs, but did no late additions at all. According to conventional brewing wisdom, the beer should have ended up with little or no hop flavor. This past weekend, I tapped the alt after a period of several weeks of cold conditioning. The beer is not going to win any prizes, it's a little estery, not a good thing at all for an alt. This was the result of letting the fermentation temperature creep into the high 60s with a strain of yeast I was using for the first time, and now realize is somewhat thermophobic. The hop flavor, however, is absolutely wonderful!! Pronounced, but exceedingly clean, none of the harsh, resinous notes I generally find with high levels of hop flavor produced by late additions. Also this past weekend, I brewed an IPA, this time adding 1/4 oz of Fuggles to the kettle at the beginning of the sparge. I won't know for a couple of weeks how this will turn out, but based on my experience with the alt, I have high expectations for this batch. I'll post the results in a couple weeks time. I urge other homebrewers to try this procedure the next time you're brewing a beer that calls for a lot of hop flavor. Use a small amount of hops - I got a lot of hop flavor in the alt with just 1/4 oz. When calculating hop bitterness, treat the amount of hops used for first wort hopping as an addition at 60 minutes - the alt's bitterness level was pretty much on target. Cheers, Jim dipalma at sky.com Return to table of contents
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 21:26:26 -0500 From: SSparks204 at aol.com Subject: subscription Please Suscribe me to your list. Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 01:11:08 -0800 (PST) From: The Old Fogy <mimosa19 at idt.liberty.com> Subject: Elrician help needed! Here is a problem that if solved will make someone a hero to electric stove top brewers. Thanks to installation ideas from Ron LaBorde (rlabor at lsumc.edu) It's a simple matter to fit a 3000w 220V water heater element ($8.00) into a 6 gallon plastic brew kettle ($8.50) attach a 220V capacity electric cord ($4.95) and then plug it in. One problem ... There are some apartment 220V stoves that are so snug in their installation that there is no access to the 220V outlet. I looked at mine and there is a heavy duty panel covering up the access to the 220V plug. After realizing how easy it is to slip one of the coiled burners in and out of the stovetop for cleaning purposes, it dawned on me there must be a way to make a plug to fit into the same receptacle. This would give you access to a 220V line. In addition, you would have complete boiling control from the temperature controls on the front of the stove! This would give a brewer forced to do electric stovetop brewing, a less than $25 6 gallon brew pot or for a little more money a 33 quart ceramic on steel electric cooker! This is a less than 30 minutes for a full 5 gallon boil with temperature control!!! Is my lack of electrical knowledge making me miss something here ... or is my idea workable? Please e-mail any ideas and/or suggestions and I will compile all suggestions. \\\/// / _ _ \ (| (.)(.) |) |------oOOo--()--oOOo------| | | | The Old Fogy! | Bob "The Frantic Fermenter" | mimosa19 at idt.liberty.com | | | Keeper of the sacred cultures | still trying to | | hang in there | | 5 gallons at | | a time | | | |--------.oooO-------------| ( ) Oooo. \ ( ( ) \_) ) / (_/ Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 07:49:52 -0500 From: pittprog at usaor.net (Chuck) Subject: Splitting the Process Esteemed collegues, Due to the length of time it takes me to perform the entire brewing process (from mashing to pitching), I am considering breaking the process into 2 steps. Mashing on one day, and boiling the next. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with such a procedure andwhat (if any) problems should I watch out for. TIA. Bob. - -- Registered ICC User check out http://www.usefulware.com/~jfoltz Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 08:06:55 -0500 From: dwhitman at rohmhaas.com (Dave Whitman) Subject: phosporic & lactic acids In HBD #1977, Jay Reeves (jay at ro.com) asks: >Can the HBD resident chemist (or any one else) tell me why >you should use lactic acid to drop the mash pH as opposed >to using phosphoric acid? I know about using salts for >mash adjustments. I currently use phosphoric acid to >acidify the sparge water, but why only lactic in the mash? I see no special reason to prefer one of these acids over the other for simple acidification purposes. Both are safe as food additives, and at low use levels, neither will impart a significant flavor. FWIW, I use lactic acid to acidify my SPARGE water. (I end up using 1/8 tsp of 85% lactic acid per 5 gallon batch). If you need to adjust the pH of your mash, I'd consider adding calcium ions to your water. The buffer capacity of your grains is high enough that I'd worry about needing to add so much mineral acid that the flavor would become perceptable. - --- Dave Whitman Rohm and Haas Specialty Materials dwhitman at rohmhaas.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 08:33:00 -0500 (EST) From: Tim Laatsch <LAATSCH at kbs.msu.edu> Subject: Recipe Scaling Hello Everyone, I would like to hear from those brewers who have made the jump to the professional ranks. (I know, they're probably all too busy to read the HBD anymore!---Kinney, are you out there lurking? Anybody else?) Specifically, I'm interested in the dynamics of recipe scaling. I've often heard that recipes do not scale-up linearly. Is this the case, and if so, what considerations must be made when scaling up a recipe from 5 gallons to 10 gal to 1/2 bbl to bbl to 10 bbl to 25 bbl? Where along the curve does linearity break down? Are lower proportions of caramel and roasted malts required for the same flavor and color effects? Are hop utilization rates affected at all by batch size? What about hop flavor and aroma characteristics? This may not be of interest to the list at large, so private email is welcome and I will post a summary if interest warrants. Thanks in advance for any insights. Tim ************************************************************************ | Timothy P. Laatsch | laatsch at kbs.msu.edu | | Microbial Ecology Grad | Head Brewer, Spruce Grove Nanobrewery | | Michigan State Univ/KBS | Check out my homebrewing page on the Web! | | Kalamazoo, MI | http://kbs.msu.edu/~laatsch/beerhome.html | ************************************************************************* Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 09:50:47 -0500 From: ajdel at interramp.com (A. J. deLange) Subject: IR/Pumps/H3PO4/N2/C./Stout/Ion Xchange In #1977 Tom Penn asked about applications for IR technology in brewing. None come to mind. At slightly shorter wavelengths, i.e. the visible, there are lots of applications in colorimetric analyses of things like beer color (which includes a turbidity check at 700 some nm) and brewing water ion content. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Terence Tegner asked about pumps (also in #1977). Heat, resistance to corrosion sanitation and the ability to exclude air are the big three in brewing. Which from this set are required depends on the application. Pumping hot wort requires the first two and pumping fermented beer the latter two. Widest application is realized with the ceramic impeller magnetically coupled pumps as these have all the desired properties. They tend, of course, to be expensive (around $125 US for 1/25 HP units). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jay Reeves wants to know (#1977) why no one uses phosphoric acid for mash pH adjustment. Well some people do and there really isn't any reason not to except that it is nasty stuff to handle (relative to lactic acid) and a little more difficult to come by. The hazardous nature of it means you pay an extra $7 to the shipper. There is the possibility that a small amount of calcium will be precipitated as the phosphate but at proper mash pH this shouldn't be noticeable and this is going on anyway due to phosphate in the malt. Phosphate should be more flavor neutral than lactate. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * David Raitt (#1977) proposes cooling wort with liquid nitrogen. The problem is that the nitogen will be immediately vaporized and this will not remove much heat. The enthalpy of vaporization for nitrogen is 47 calories per killogram. To cool 1 killogram of water from boiling to room temperature requires 80 calories so that cooling 5 gallons of wort would take 32 kg of liquid nitrogen. In doing this rough calculation I assume that the gas phase would be pretty useless at removing heat. A lot of gas would be produced (25600 litres or 14 litres per second if the cooling took place over half an hour). How is the liquid to be delivered to the brewery. In a Dewar flask? Who is paying for this? Seems to me that plain old water is a much better choice. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As two people have commented on the nature of radicals I figure I had better acknowledge that I was sloppy about CH3CO-. It is sometimes written this way where the - really symolizes the bond (i.e. a pair of electrons) as in H O | || H-C-C-OH | H Even so the radical does not have a net negative charge. (Rather to the contrary in acetyl chloride it looks more like a cation than an anion.) The "proper" way to write the radical is with a small dot next to the carbon ( CH3OC.) with the dot representing the unpaired electron which will participate in bond formation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mike Dowd asked about the latest Classic Beer Styles offering. "Stout" by Michae Lewis is in the catalog insert in the latest Zymurgy. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The total ion exchange approach is not out of the question for home brewers. Cole Parmer sells ion exchange cartridges intended for laboratory use for (I'm guessing) around $45. A pair of these is typically put into tandem with the first depending on the properties of your tap water and the second being a final cleanup. A mounting bracket is available for $50-60 which includes a valve and some tubing so you are pretty much set up for about $150. The amount of water you can process through these cartridges before they are exhausted depends on the mineral content of your water and the resin turns color as the exchange takes place. When the cartride color is competely changed, swap it out. The flow rate is modest but much faster than a Brita so you will need something to collect water in (carboys?) over a period of time before you brew.I own stock in Cole-Parmer and make money on every cartrige they sell so I would encourage all readers of this digest to go out and buy as many cartridges as they can possibly afford to enrichen me further. As the water from these cartriges will put a spring in your step and lead in your pencil (plus growing hair on bald heads) I'm sure that you will want to make all kinds of sacrifices in order to obtain these cartriges. Write to your senator and tell him that they will remove lead from ghetto water. This aside, David Muzidal and Ian Smiley are innocent of the stain of sin which sullies me. I've been corrsesponding with Dave (and others) on this subject since, I think, November. (Appologies to Cole Parmer. The product does produce water with resistivities in the megohms). A.J. deLange Numquam in dubio, saepe in errore! ajdel at interramp.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 08:40:36 -0500 (EST) From: Eugene Sonn <eugene at future.dreamscape.com> Subject: Black Mac Greetings HBDers and especially those in New Zealand, My father just returned from a vacation in New Zealand and was talking about a dark ale called Black Mac. He liked it quite a bit and I'm interested in cloning it. Anyone out there...especially those in New Zealand.....have a clone of this beer. I've never tasted it, but since I'm trying to encourage a taste for good beer in my dad, it would be appreciated. Eugene Sonn eugene at future.dreamscape.com Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 09:47:45 -0500 (EST) From: Jim Busch <busch at eosdev2.gsfc.nasa.gov> Subject: Flaked barley/stuck mash Mike reports about using flaked barley: <I made another stout recently in which I used flaked barley, as I did with <the RIS. I also used the George Fix mashing schedule (as I did with the <RIS), mashing in at 104 F, then skipping the protein rest. Once again, my <sparge stuck like molasses. <My theory, then, <(admittedly, based on a pretty small N) is that the 104 F rest is not good <for grain bills containing flaked barley. Perhaps resting at this temp <gelatinizes the flaked barley, turning it into a gooey, gummy mess that <increases wort viscosity, making sparging difficult. Well, I have not brewed my 25% flaked barley stout yet but Ive been looking into this and getting a lot of feedback from others who have done this. Some report no problems with a single infusion mash while others have had serious lautering problems. Some report that the beta glucan rest at 104F plus protein rests are mandatory but I suspect this is not done at Guinness (the pale ale malt would have little beta glucanase left). Since one of my goals is maximum attenuation, and I would like to be able to lauter this stuff, Im going to use a 40/50/60/70C mash program. Ill let you know how it works. Jim Busch A Victory For Your Taste! Festbier, Lager and IPA and Pils, and Mild, and Doppelbock Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 09:20:14 -0500 From: mikeb at flash.net (Michael T. Bell) Subject: Iodophor Howdy, One quick question. What is the proper dilution rate of Iodophor? I have read that the optimum is 25ppm. That works out roughly to 1oz per 6 gal. In this concentration, it stains my hoses a nice shade of light brown, lovely but annoying. Is this to high? If it is, what is the proper ppm? -mtb beer is good food Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 96 10:17:00 EST From: "Taber, Bruce" <BRUCE.TABER at NRC.CA> Subject: Recipes, recipes Here's my contribution to the "more recipes on the HBD" thread. I've never posted a recipe before. Hey, maybe I'll make it into Cat's Meow 4. I'll give two recipes I use. One is all-grain, the other is extract. #1 Oatmeal Stout (all-grain) This is one of my favorites. It is very dark and rich with a beautiful brown head. If you like dark beers but aren't too fussy on the harsh flavors of some stouts, then this is for you. The oatmeal adds a smooth richness to the stout making it taste like one more. 5 gal. US (19 liters) 5.5 lbs 2 row malted barely (2.5 kg) 1.0 lbs 1 minute oatmeal (500g) 1.0 lbs roasted barely (500g) 1.0 lbs chocolate malt (500g) 1.0 oz Fuggle hops - 60 min. (30g) 1.0 oz Golding hops - 30 min (30g) Wyeast # 1098 British Ale OG 1.048 FG 1.018 I used a 50-65-70 (122-150-158) mash schedule and added the chocolate and roast barely at the 70 degree step and held until conversion (about 20 min.). I won't go into my full procedure because everyone has their own methods that they prefer. #2 Honey Bitter (extract) 5 gal US (19 liters) This is a real easy way to make an outstanding brew. I never thought to combine honey with a bitter until I tasted one that a buddy made. Where the idea came from I don't know. If you don't drink bitters, that's OK. The residual sweetness of the honey blends beautifully with the bitterness resulting in a rich, amber ale the goes down real easy. I've made ales with honey before and didn't like the aftertaste, but this one has none of that. 4 lb Brewmaker Victorian Bitter kit (1.8 kg) 2.2 lbs clover honey (1.0 kg) yeast as supplied in kit. half of supplied yeast nutrient in primary, other half goes in secondary 15 min. boil OG 1.030 FG 1.005 I have only used this particular bitter kit but if it isn't available to you then just try another brand and let me know what you think. Bruce outside Ottawa taber at irc.lan.nrc.ca Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 96 11:29:05 MDT From: guym at Exabyte.COM Subject: HBD on Solaris Al sez: > Regarding what percentage of HBD readers use Mac and which use PC's, > count me into those that read it on a Sun SPARCstation 4 running Solaris > (although I do own a Pentium laptop). BRF for Solaris anyone? Well, there you go Al. You and the Mac users will be united with the upcoming SPARCintosh product. A bit of Apple in your Java, sir? Maybe this should be on the Cider digest rather than the HBD. Oh, beer reference? I just brewed an Irish stout Sunday, Guynness Stout III, which should be kegged and ready for St. Patrick's Day. Green beer indeed!! Humbug! -- Guy McConnell /// Exabyte Corp. /// Huntersville, NC /// guym at exabyte.com "And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one for dessert." Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 12:45:13 -0500 From: Michael K. Cinibulk <cinibumk at ml.wpafb.af.mil> Subject: Re: Cheap Bottles The cheapest way to aquire any type of beer bottle is to either buy it containing its original product, or, for returnable bottles, simply stop by a distributor (or local store) and pay a deposit for the returned empties. You'll of course be faced with some pretty dirty bottles to clean out if you take the latter route, but it is the cheapest way to get the heavy-duty returnables. Mike Cinibulk Bellbrook, Ohio Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 13:03:04 -0500 From: Michael K. Cinibulk <cinibumk at ml.wpafb.af.mil> Subject: Hart Brewing Wheat Beers R. Smith ....would like to know if anyone has any insight as to the particulars of those northwest wheat beers or any recipes for clones. I have the list of beers available from Hart Brewing and they list as ingredients for Pyramid Wheaten Ale, Hefeweizen, and Apricot Ale: Malts: Two-Row, Wheat, Caramel Hops: Nugget and Perle OG: 1.042(Wheaten), 1.045(Hefe-, Apricot) Alcohol: 4.0 vol% They also list Thomas Kemper Hefeweizen and Weizen Berry Lagers as having: Malt: Two-row, Wheat Hops: Nugget and Liberty OG: 1.050 Alcohol: 5.0 vol% Hope this helps Mike Cinibulk Bellbrook, Ohio Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 13:15:52 -0500 (EST) From: Rob Reed <rhreed at icdc.delcoelect.com> Subject: 104F Rest Mike Dowd wrote: (re: flaked barley sticks sparge) > My theory, then, > (admittedly, based on a pretty small N) is that the 104 F rest is not > good for grain bills containing flaked barley. Perhaps resting at this > temp gelatinizes the flaked barley, turning it into a gooey, gummy mess > that increases wort viscosity, making sparging difficult. My understanding of the purpose of the 104F rest is to facilitate the breakdown of B-glucans and other gummy carbohydrates via B-glucanase and to liquify enzymes that will be used during later mash rests. It seems each author suggests a different temperature ranges for optimum B-glucanase activity. I don't have any scientific comparison on the effectiveness of the 104F rest, but I have found that pre-boiling flaked barley and oatmeal for about 10-15 minutes aids conversion of these grains. Pre-boiling these grains make them swell up BIG and when added to the mash, they seem to disappear. I typically do a high (131F) protein rest when using substantial amounts of these grains. Cheers, Rob Reed Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 11:40:34 -0700 (MST) From: Zucchini Dave <woodstok at rupert.oscs.montana.edu> Subject: Addendum to Solvent stuff In HBD #1978 A.J. deLange (hope i got that right) said that a 1 molar solution in 95% alcohol would be really nasy stuff - it is, thank goodness, because i've never seen anything nastier on the inside of my carboy ever before. That's why you for sure need protection (rubber gloves and good eye protection and some cloths you don't care about). It's sure not to be taken lightly. Speaking of which, i may not have made it clear, but i ONLY used this for glassware. A strongly basic solution (commercial oven cleaner or otherwise) will do bad things to aluminum and brass (Zymurgy ,Fall '95). And even though it's "safe" for glass, i store my NaOH in a good, thick, leakproof plastic bottle (Nalgene (sp?) makes great wide-mouthed bottles for this). If you let it sit in glass for long enough it WILL start to pit the glass and slowly dissolve it. Sorry if all this sounds scary, but my carboy looked even scarier for a while, and it feels real good to finally get rid of the nasty stuff that eluded me for so long using other cleaners. One last thing: If any gets on you by accident, just rinse real well with warm water - just like if you spill bleach on yourself by accident. "And that's all I have to say about that..." Dave PS - thanks for the tip on 40 g of lye in a liter of alcohol, for some reason it never came to mind.... Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 96 14:51:06 EST From: Julio Canseco <JCANSECO at UGA.CC.UGA.EDU> Subject: mini-keg questions I have used my set of mini-kegs for the first time and I have some questions for the cyberbrew community. I used 1/3 cup of priming sugar and left 1 inch space at the top when filling them up. Served the first one or two glasses with only the pressure from carbonation. Beer seemed a little flat (it was a killian red clone). Applied some CO2 just enough to continue dispensing. Beer had little carbonation. When I put the mini-keg in the fridge I closed the CO2 valve. Questions: 1) Should I have opened the valve all the way at serving? 2) Should I have applied more pressure before putting keg away? 3) Should I have used more priming sugar? I have read the technical info on the web regarding mini-kegs, but I feel I may be missing something. Would appreciate any advice before deciding against the use of mini-kegs. They sure are handy. Posting would benefit others. TIA julio canseco jcanseco at uga.cc.uga.edu Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:23:24 -0500 From: WattsBrew at aol.com Subject: Wyeast 1272 Has anyone used or heard about the new strains from Wyeast? I am about to try #1272 American Ale II. I was wondering if anybody knows whose yeast strain this is and any info about it. My homebrew shop has not yet received any info on the new Wyeast strains called Brewer's Choice. TIA , Wattsbrew (Bill Watt in Clarence Center) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:03:21 -0600 (CST) From: snsi at win.bright.net (Jeff Smith) Subject: Really Dirty Carboys Over last weekend I borrowed one of my father old carboys that he used for wine making back in the '70's. Since he gave up wine making twenty some years ago it was just a bit dusty. In fact it was so dusty that I didn't really take note of what condition it was in. I started my cleaning by washing the out side off with some water and Clorox. When the carboy was clean enough to see the bottom I noticed some smut on the bottom which I though was the lees of the last batch of wine. I added some Clorox and started to fill up the carboy with water to soak out what ever the smut was. Of coarse bits of smut started floating to the top. I skimmed of flies, beetles, some bug type things wouldn't want to guess at and something that looked like little pieces of black feathers. Anyway I let the carboy soak for about three hours than dumped half of it out to get my carboy brush in and scrub. As I was dumping in a spare 5 gallon bucket I missed and splashed some in tub. I stopped to clean up the bug bodies and whatever and noticed a small off white shell. It turned out take it wasn't exactly a shell as much as a skull. It seem that at least one mouse maybe more finished there last days in the carboy (depositing smut where ever they decomposed). Any way thanks for the waste of width and remember never look in mouth of a gift carboy. PS I plan on soaking that puppy for while. Jeff Smith '71 HD Sprint 350SX snsi at win.bright.net Barnes, WI Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 14:01 -0800 (PST) From: Paul.Lambie at ncal.kaiperm.org Subject: Foam control A query for the collective: I have been doing my primary fermentations in plastic and would like to switch to glass. I have a five gallon carboy and have recently seen a product called Foam Control advertised which is said to minimize the amount of krauesen so that nearly five gallons of beer can be fermented in a five gallon carboy without a blow-off tube. This would eliminate loss of beer through the blow-off and also the possibility of a blocked tube. Foam Control is said to be non-toxic (reassuring) and to actually increase head retention of the finished beer. Has anyone used this or know anything about it? I have no financial interest in this product. TIA Paul Lambie Return to table of contents