HOMEBREW Digest #2417 Tue 13 May 1997
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FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Digest Janitor: janitor@ brew.oeonline.com
Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of
Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
URL: http://www.oeonline.com
Contents:
Plate Heat Exchanger (mbarquin)
Re: Hops....Pellets or leaf (DGofus)
finings ("Raymond Estrella")
honey malt, PETs ("Raymond Estrella")
GOTT spigot replacement plus a Mild Ale recipe (SANDY COCKERHAM)
Posting Questions vs. Searching HBD Archives (KennyEddy)
ageing ales (michael rose)
inverted fermenting at home (dbrigham)
Big and Huge (Robert Paolino)
old bottles (Brian Amick)
Brewing with fruit (Peter Ellison)
Re: storing hops (DGofus)
re: NA beer (Art Steinmetz)
Mini Kegs (Andrew Quinzani)
Vacuum distillation (Kit Anderson)
Hop Extracts (John Goldthwaite)
Priming Honey, IBUs, coffee ("John Penn")
Sweet Stout Success! (Volt Computer)" <a-branro at MICROSOFT.com>
Drain Sanitizing / Inverted Fermenters / Sparge Speed (RANDY ERICKSON)
Bleach residue, chest freezer temp. (rbarnes)
First Time Priming Cornie Kegs (Eddie Kent)
Announcement -- The Fourth Annual BUZZ Off! (Robert.MATTIE)
Health impacts of drinking homebrew (Bruce Baker)
Stuck Fermentation (nkanous)
Re: Mini-kegs ("Mark S. Johnston")
Mini-Kegs ("Mark S. Johnston")
Upright Freezer ("Eric Schoville")
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 19:18:16 -0400
From: mbarquin at telcel.net.ve (mbarquin)
Subject: Plate Heat Exchanger
Gentlemen:
Some weeks ago I asked about ideas about a stainless steel plate heat
exchanger. I was really looking for one that could be openned for easy
cleaning, but it looks like that for the quantities of fluids we normally
manage in homebrewing, no such unit exits(?). The only lead I had came
from a reply to my request which indicated that someone had seen a unit
made by Alfa Laval. Well, after about a month, I finally got their catalog
for small plate heat exchanger. One major drawback, these units are brazed
and cannot be openned for cleaning. Well, to make a long story short, they
have two versions, one brazed with a copper foil (model CB14) and the other
using nickel(model NB14). They are both made of stainless steel (AISI 316).
Which one would be the best for cooling wort? How about cleaning and
sanitizing?
Also, they indicate that their main purpose is:"HVAC incl District Heating,
Heat Recovery, Ice Storage Systems, Solar Heating, Tap Water Heating". Am
I going to have problems trying to cool wort?
Thanks,
Lorenzo Barquin
PD.: By the way, I regret to say that I have not received any reply on the
characteristics of water to brew a Wit Bier. I appreciate your general
help.
Again, thanks.
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 9 May 1997 23:27:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: DGofus at aol.com
Subject: Re: Hops....Pellets or leaf
A couple questions for the collective. I am a newbie with about 8 brews over
my belt! : ^ ( !!!! What is bettter whole hop leaves or, pellets? My
experience has beeen mostly with pellets, but have recently read that whole
hops give a better aroma factor due to the breakdown of the lupin gland in
the pellets? Also, I have noticed what I consider a yeasty bite to my
homebrews. The taste is hard to describe, maybe Banana like, or fruity. Is
this infection or normal? I have noticed that the taste seems to mellow with
age.( not disappear)? Help! Sorryt if I ramble, I was at a local Cafe?.,,,,
30 taps? I have enjoyed a few favorites... 1.) LEFFE 2.) FLYING FISH ---
DOUBLE ABBEY-EXCELLENT I WANT A RECIPE VERY DELICIOUS! 3.) Young's Ram Rod
Ale, Special Bitter 4.) Stoudt's Honey double MaiBock------Excellent this is
a local(45 min) Would love to duplicate!!!!!! Another Question, what is the
collective using for a sanitizer? I have been using bleach, but want to use
the most effective. I ordered B-0Brite... any comments?.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 10 May 97 03:14:18 UT
From: "Raymond Estrella" <ray-estrella at msn.com>
Subject: finings
Hello to all,
S. Murman says,
>I have to ask, "Why are some of you putting so
>much shit into your beer?". Irish moss, gelatin, chopped fish guts,
>your wifes' panty hose. Have you people no limitations?
It's called simple impatience. Some people don't have room in the
beer fridge to stick the secondary in for a week before bottling, or
some do not have one at all. And when one is still brewing 5 gallon
batches once a month it is hard to wait to try that latest brewing
masterpiece. Or it is just a case of wanting to try all of the things that
one reads about in the many books and magazines that have chapters
and articles devoted to the subject. Yes you are right, these people
have no limitations, but your post suggests that you do.
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 10 May 97 04:34:51 UT
From: "Raymond Estrella" <ray-estrella at msn.com>
Subject: honey malt, PETs
Hello to all,
Steve Johnson asks about Honey malt, I bought 10 lb of it this year and
have used it in 3 brews so far and will again in a Barley Wine next week.
It seems to be a sweet crystal malt of sorts, although they claim that it
can be used at up to 50% of the grain bill. The highest I have used it at
was 10%. It is pretty sweet, and the color is 25 SRM.
and Eamonn asks,
>Pretty soon I'll try "kegging" into a few 2L PET bottles for more
>variety. Pale ale one week, porter the next. I know not to store in PETs
>for months on end for oxidation reasons. But if I make 6 gal, and put ~
>3.5-4 gal in a 5 gal popkeg I can always bottle a few PETs for near term
>use. Anyone tried this?
Yes I did. I also make 6 gallon batches, and for a while put up a couple
of 2 liter bottles, using carbonater caps. But I kept trying the beer to
soon, (yes there is that impatience again Mr. Murman) and would be
disappointed in the beer, only to be surprised when the keg had conditioned
that it was great. (Well, at least pretty good) Now I sanitize three 22 oz
glass
bottles, and fill them with the excess beer. Just enough to take to the next
club
meeting.
and finally Paul reports that,
>Use of common yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for home baking and
>brewing may be contributing to yeast infections in women. One commercial
>strain was isolated from three of 16 patients with vaginitis in a study
>performed at the California Institute of Medical Research
I thought that Candida Albicans (sp?) was responsible for women's yeast
infections. My wife is prone to them, and she will kill me if my beers are the
cause of them. (Of course, then she will have to buy all those tasty English,
Irish, and Belgian ales she loves.) If anyone can reply to his post, would you
please CC to me also. TIA,
Ray Estrella Cottage Grove MN
ray-estrella at msn.com
*******Never relax, constantly worry, have a better homebrew.*******
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 15:03:02 +0000 (GMT)
From: SANDY COCKERHAM <COCKERHAM_SANDRA_L at LILLY.COM>
Subject: GOTT spigot replacement plus a Mild Ale recipe
Hi,
In the last HBD I saw a query and answer about replacing the spigot in a
GOTT with a rubber bung. I replaced mine with a bulkhead fitting that
HopTech sells made especially for this purpose. I took off the old spigot
and tossed it in a drawer (never know when you might need it!) and simply
put in the bulkhead fitting, which has two halves that screw together, one
from the internal surface and one from the outside. I used the provided
short length of tubing (I trimmed it a tad shorter to suit me) and attached
it to the Phil's Phalse bottom. This has worked really well.
Good luck and good beer!
Sandy Cockerham
(standard disclaimer, I have no affiliation with HopTech except being a
satisfied customer who LOVES the free shipping on orders of $40 or more.)
p.s. Here is a very tasty low alcohol beer I brewed using this equipment.
Mild Ale
(5.25 gallons)
5 lb. Mild ale malt
1 lb. Gambrinus honey malt
4 oz. Flaked barley
4 oz. Flaked wheat
4 oz. Crystal malt (Hugh Baird, 13-17 Lv)
4 oz. English brown malt
0.5 cup brown sugar (add near end of boil)
Mash grains in 10 quarts of 158 degree F water pretreated
with 0.5 tsp. of Calcium Chloride for 80 minutes.
Boil for 15 minutes then add-
1.0 oz. Northern Brewer (8.1 %) - 60 minutes
0.5 oz. Oregon Goldings (5.2 %) - 30 minutes
0.5 oz. Oregon Goldings (5.2 %) - 10 minutes
1.0 Qt. YeastLab A04, British Ale
2/9/97 O.G. 1.034
3/16/97 F.G. 1.015
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 18:09:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Subject: Posting Questions vs. Searching HBD Archives
Steve Johson replied to my call to search the archives before posting
questions:
"If, on the otherhand, I didn't care about what anyone else has to say about
brewing and getting it "live", I think just reading the archives would be
fine. It's nice to make contact with other brewers and hear what they have to
say
today, as well as in the past."
Yeah, Steve, you make a good point. People join the HBD every day and to
them, everything is new. One person's question is another's too. But here's
a thought -- search the archives, summarize your research, and post the
results along with the question that brought on the search. If everyone did
that, (1) new HBD'ers would get more information faster and (2) future
archive searches will be more fruitful and efficient, with single posts
summarizing older info.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't think asking questions is at all out of place
here (jeez, that's what it's *about*), and I'm glad to answer whenever I can,
but for certain topics especially, it seems we just discussed that "a month
ago" (usually longer but seems like yesterday). Just a personal bug up my
butt I guess.
Ken Schwartz
El Paso, TX
KennyEddy at aol.com
http://members.aol.com/kennyeddy
Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 15:24:15 -0700
From: michael rose <mrose at ucr.campus.mci.net>
Subject: ageing ales
I have 2 questions regarding ageing ales.
(by ageing, I mean the time after the secondary when there is no yeast
activity)
1. Should ales be aged at ale temp(65F) or at lager temp(32F)?
2. What would be the optimum time ( in months) to age an ale? I know
that the answer to this question is related to gravity. Is there a
simply rule of thumb to follow?
Note, I artifially carbonate so yeast for bottle conditioning is not an
issue. Thanks, Mike Rose E-mail OK
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 11 May 97 09:45:53 EST
From: dbrigham at nsf.gov
Subject: inverted fermenting at home
In regards to the post on making your own inverted carboy
fermenting system:
- you still might want to look at one of the commercial valve
unit thingies (I *am* a professional and I *do* use technical
terms :-) which clamp onto the neck of the carboy - clamping to
the neck (ie: compression using the ridge of the neck) would work
better than wiring your unit to the neck
- I have recently seen a 6 or so gallon inverted fermenting
system made of plastic, which a removable top (ie: large access
hole), small hole for standard air-lock, and a valve system for
the bottom of the unit (stand too) - it would be more expensive
than modifying an existing carboy - but it would give you the
flexibility you are looking for and that the current inverted
carboy methods lack
Dana Brigham
National Science Foundation
dbrigham at nsf.gov
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 20:33:14 -0500 (CDT)
From: Robert Paolino <rpaolino at execpc.com>
Subject: Big and Huge
The 11th Annual Big and Huge was (ironically?) the smallest in recent memory.
Indeed, every competition I've judged this year (and I judge pretty regularly)
has been way down on entries. Are people not brewing anymore, or are they
just burned out on competitions? (I have to admit that it's been a long time
since I've entered a competition, so I suppose I'm guilty, too.)
Anyway, here are the results:
"Big" Beers (Ales and Lagers combined after first round judging): 1.050-1.060
1st Mike Lelivelt, Sun Prairie, WI Rauch (BOS)
2nd Mike Lelivelt, Sun Prairie, WI Dortmunder
3rd Bruce Garner, Madison, WI Weizen
"Huge" Beers (Ales and Lagers combined after first round judging): over 1.060
1st Mike Ball, Cambridge, WI Doppelbock
2nd Robb Harris, Madison, WI Traditional Mead (FH)
3rd Mike Lelivelt, Sun Prairie, WI Barleywine
Thanks to the entrants, judges, stewards, prize sponsors, and the Great Dane
for their participation in the event. And special thanks to John Barbian, who
by taking on co-organiser/registrar duties, gave me the chance (finally) to
judge in a Big and Huge.
Now go have a beer,
Bob Paolino rpaolino at earth.execpc.com
Madison
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 21:04:04 -0700
From: Brian Amick <baamick at seidata.com>
Subject: old bottles
I am very new to brewing so I have a lot to learn. This weekend I was
able to pick up at auction a case of old beer bottles for $1.00. The
state tax stamp was in the bottom of the box. It was dated 8-13-42. The
bottles are very dirty but I found only one with a chip on the bottom.
They are much heavier than new longnecks. Would these be alright to
bottle into, after a thorough cleaning, of course? By the way, the state
tax on a case in 1942 was $.09.
Private e-mail or digest post is fine. Thanks for any help.
Brian Amick
Madison, IN
Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 23:36:17 -0400
From: Peter Ellison <pellison at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Brewing with fruit
Fellow Brewers,
I have been homebrewing for about four months now and am about to
endeavor upon a lemon wheat beer. The recipe (from the Homebrewer's
Recipe Guide) calls for the *Zest* of 1 lemon. I have seen other fruit
recipes in this book calling for the Zest of a fruit. My question is,
what do they mean by the zest? Do I just use the juice of a lemon? Or,
do I use the juice and the pulp? I hope someone can shed some light on
this for me.
Thanks,
Mike
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 07:31:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: DGofus at aol.com
Subject: Re: storing hops
What is the best way to store hops? I buy recipes usually 3 to 4 recipes at a
time. I have been putting the hops in the refridgerator, but have noticed a
definite change in aroma and texture (pellets). Thanks in advance
Bob Fesmire
Dgofus at aol.com
Pottstown, PA
Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 18:29:56 -0400
From: Art Steinmetz <asteinm at nospam.com>
Subject: re: NA beer
On Friday Chas Peterson asks about alcohol content in NA beer.
If you know the OG, FG and therefore the alc. content of the original beer,
can't you measure the gravity of the heat-treated beer to see how much you
took out? You'll have to maket the assumption (wrong, but maybe
immaterial) that nothing but ethanol was driven off.
- -- Art
asteinm at pipeline.com
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 08:28:25 -0400
From: Andrew Quinzani <quinzani at mdc.net>
Subject: Mini Kegs
From: "STARCAT" <starcat at pathwaynet.com>
Subject: Metal "mini-kegs"
Anybody use one of these - and how have you liked it? They want $70 for
the carbonation part alone and $15 for each keg. Is this reasonable or
does someone have a better deal? I kind of like the idea of a mini keg,
but if these things are trama to deal with I don't want to be out of $85
either. Private e-mail OK. Thanks!
I by-passed that step and went to the 1/4 and 1/2 barrel kegs.
you can get setup with a Co2 tank, guages, hose and keg adapter for about
the same money. The keg, well...you can buy a reconditiond one or "rent" it
from your local liquor store (let the reader use discresion here). Natch ,
you will need a refridge to keep the keg in, I got one for nothing from a
work mate and have since aquired a cold plate with 6 passes in it! I can
have up to six kegs hooked up to this cold plate, that sits in the fridge
and the kegs sit outside....cold beer on demand...mmmmmmm.
Hope this helps.
-=Q=-
"Q" Brew Brewery...Home of Hairy Chest Ale
- ------------------------------------------------------------
quinzani at mdc.net
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 08:34:32 -0400
From: Kit Anderson <kit at maine.com>
Subject: Vacuum distillation
More on (moron) vacuum distillation.
Eric Fouch suggested a Buchner flask for vacuum distillation. You have
stoppered mouth on the flask and a spout out the side. Why not just a hose
attached to a hole in the stopper of any glass vessel?
I say glass vessel so you can determine how much liquid is has been
evaporated. Otherwise, you would have to collect the distillate which will
bring Janet Reno and the BATF down on you.
I am sure that all the hop aroma will be gone and hop essence will need to
be added. A hop tea will cause the beer to be cloudy.
Questions:
Will hop flavor be lost as well?
How do you tell what percentage of the distillate is alcohol so that you
know you got it all?
Who is Lucy Lawless and why is she flashing Ducks?
- ---
Kit Anderson "Welcome to Northeast Texas-
Bath, Maine a survival guide for Texans in New England"
http://members.aol.com/garhow1/kit/index.htm
Maine Beer Page http://www.maine.com/brew
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 09:02:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ir358 at cleveland.Freenet.Edu (John Goldthwaite)
Subject: Hop Extracts
William asked about hop extracts. Don't bother. I tried the fuggle
and Hallertau a couple years ago and they didn't do anything.
I'd rather see ya make a hop tea as has been discussed previously
on the digest.
- --
"Gonna drink all day, gonna rock all night,
The law come to getcha if you don't walk right..."[Garcia/Hunter]
Return to table of contents
Date: 12 May 1997 09:17:55 -0400
From: "John Penn" <john_penn at spacemail.jhuapl.edu>
Subject: Priming Honey, IBUs, coffee
Subject: Time:8:47 AM
OFFICE MEMO Priming Honey, IBUs, coffee Date:5/12/97
For my chocolate mocha stout, search previous HBD archive for recipe, I
added 1/4 cup of very coarse ground coffee to the wort just before cooling.
In fact I had one of my last ones last night and it was very good IMHO. As
that recent post mentioned, DON'T BOIL the coffee. The coffee aroma was
wonderful during cooling but dissappated during fermentation. I would suggest
using 1/4 - 1/2 cup of your favorite coffee (5 gallon batch) for some
additional coffee flavor. I think a lot of stouts have a "coffee" like flavor
anyway because of all the roasted grains so don't worry too much about what
kind of coffee to add and experiment with the amounts.
Priming with honey--I made that mistake too! 1 cup of honey is about12 oz
by weight which is about twice what you should be using! By weight, 1 oz of
priming sugar is approx. 1.3 oz of honey. 1oz of honey by volume is about 1.5
oz of honey by weight. So 4 oz of priming sugar is about 5.2 oz of honey by
weight which is about 3.5 oz by volume (4 x 1.3 x 2/3 = 3.47)--ie. a lot less
than the 1 cup you used .
IBUs. Personally I think consistency is more important than which formula
you use. I usually take the HBUs--I find that term useful--in a recipe and
using the boil concentration (extract vs. full boil) I calculate the expected
IBUs using Rager's formula. Then if I modify the boil concentration or batch
volume, I just adjust the HBUs in the boil to get the same bittering. As long
as I use the same yardstick each time and use a consistent boil time I can
compare my recipes and get a feel for the amount of bittering I like. Since
hops vary so much in AA ratings from year to year, I find recipes that give
the HBUs or AAUs of the bittering hops more useful than say 2 oz of hop "X"
with an unknown AA rating.
Just my $0.02.
John Penn
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 09:32:43 -0700
From: "Brander Roullett (Volt Computer)" <a-branro at MICROSOFT.com>
Subject: Sweet Stout Success!
Just wanted to share a recipie that appears to be quite nice. I am not
a major stout fan, (no flames please) but my roomate is, so i have been
tryign to come up with something we can both enjoy.. I think i have
found it. the style was a sweet stout, and its pretty tasty at
bottling. i can't wait for it to age, in face i'll bet i should make
more now, so i can let some age..... :)
Comments will be accepted...
Sweet Darkness
- ---------------------
Category : Sweet Stout
Method : Extract
Starting Gravity : 1.068
Ending Gravity : 1.017
Alcohol content : 6.6%
Recipe Makes : 5.0 gallons
Total Grain : 1.50 lbs.
Color (srm) :152.6
Efficiency : 75%
Hop IBUs : 25.0
Malts/Sugars:
1.00 lb. Brown Sugar
0.25 lb. Chocolate
1.00 lb. Crystal 80L
6.00 lb. Dark Malt Syrup Extract
1.00 lb. Honey
0.25 lb. Roast Barley
Hops:
1.00 oz. Northern Brewer 7.0% 60 min
Notes:
Wyeast Irish Ale Yeast
NB Pellet hops .75 - 1 oz.
Brander (Badger) Roullett badger at nwlink.com a-branro at microsoft.com
Homepage: http://www.nwlink.com/~badger
Brewing: http://www.nwlink.com/~badger/badgbeer.html
Resume: http://www.nwlink.com/~badger/resume.html
- ----------------------In The SCA----------------------
Lord Frederick Badger of Amberhaven, TWIT, Squire to Sir Nicholaus
Red Tree Pursuivant-Madrone, An Tir Marshal-College of St Bunstable
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline--it
helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons,
but at the very least you need a beer."
-- Frank Zappa
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 11:12:07 -0700
From: RANDY ERICKSON <RANDYE at mid.org>
Subject: Drain Sanitizing / Inverted Fermenters / Sparge Speed
Jeff McNally asks about sanitizing his kettle drain outlet:
Jeff, I use JSP's Easymasher in my converted keg cooker too, and use
the same drain setup you describe. What I do is simply hit the outlet
valve with the flame from my barbeque lighter for a few seconds
immediately before attaching the hose. A propane torch would work
better (hotter) but I haven't had any problems yet with my method. I
would suspect that an alcohol wipe would work as well too.
***********
Kim Lux asks about a homemade Brewcap with a drilled carboy:
The longer I work as an engineer, the more I realize that the key to being
a good one is knowing when not to reinvent the wheel.
Kim, have you seen the Fermentap (TM)? It's made out here in central
California and sounds a lot like what you describe. It has a pretty
elaborate drain/valve setup, and I _think_ the dip tube runs all the way to
the (inverted) top of the carboy to vent the fermentation gasses out the
bottom (i.e. no airlock, no drilling). The setup also comes with a
plastic-coated wire frame which supports the carboy safely. I've only
seen a picture, but as I recall they're about 35 USD, you supply the
carboy. If you can't find an add in a brewing mag, I can look up the
phone number.
Kim says he got the idea from a Unitank he saw on a micro tour a while
back. In recent mags (BYO, BT, maybe the Z one) I've seen adds for a
plastic 5 gallon unitank for 30 USD. It has a drain at the bottom, and a
cap fitted for an airlock at the top. With valve and stand, the price goes
to about 60 USD. Looks like a great system.
Kim also states that he has been ensured that concerns about
over-heating and cracking a carboy while washing it with hot tap water
was unfounded. Perhaps so, unless you set the still-steaming carboy on
a cold concrete floor, or immediately rack cold beer into it (Voice of
experience here).
**********
Graham Stone wonders how to keep his sparge rate up as his hot water
tank loses head pressure. Graham says that the initial flow rate is good,
but as it slows he has to throttle back on his run-off, causing particles
and a stuck sparge.
Think upstream! I would suggest either raising the height of the hot
water tank (higher head) or increasing flow rate through a larger
diameter valve and hose. You could use a clamp to restrict the inflow
_initially_ then open it up as the tank level drops.
Randy Erickson
Modesto Irrigation District
Modesto, California
randye at mid.org (Business)
randye at worldnet.att.net (Home)
"Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer." -- Henry
Lawson
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 97 11:10:56 -0800
From: rbarnes at sdccd.cc.ca.us
Subject: Bleach residue, chest freezer temp.
Any ideas on how to remove the white bleach residue from my glass
carboys and plastic buckets? I left bleach (1/2 cup in 5 gal) in these
containers for approx one week, now have this white and rather rough
surface.
Also, I purchased a chest freezer last weekend and I am using a
Penn-Johnson Controls external thermostat set at 40 df. What setting
should I use on the original freezer thermostat? It's currently on 3
(on a scale of 9 = coldest), I would set it on the coldest setting
except that if the external thermostat fails and the freezer stays on
I would rather it not get down to the coldest freezer setting. Is this
a valid concern?
Thanks - Randy in San Diego
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 14:38:11 -0500
From: Eddie Kent <ebk1 at earthlink.net>
Subject: First Time Priming Cornie Kegs
I've just recently bought a cornelius keg setup and have an all-grain
batch of pale ale dry-hopping in the secondary waiting to be kegged. I
want to prime the keg to get natural carbonation rather than force
carbonate it. I don't use corn sugar for priming any more - I like the
finer head that priming with a wort made from dry LME. I normally use 1
1/4 cups of dry LME boiled in 1 qt of water when bottling. I'm guessing
that I should use somewhere around 3/4 of a cup of dry LME for kegging.
I'm not sure if I have a seal problem with my cornie keg. When filled
with Iodopher solution and 40 Lbs pressure, it has very little pressure
on it when I check it the next morning- is this a result of carbonating
the iodopher solution? When I fill it with just CO2, it doesn't lose
pressure over night. Stupid question maybe, but I just need some
feedback. Also, what pressure should I put the keg under while allowing
it to condition (I'm guessing around 10 Lbs. of CO2 pressure)and what
pressure should it be stored at to retain the same level of carbonation
after tapping (assuming storing at room temperature 70 to 72 and 5
gallon cornelius keg- I'm chilling 2 liters at a time for drinking with
a carbonator to hold pressure).
Thanks in advance for any help! Reply by private e-mail at:
ebk1 at earthlink.com or post it if you have some insight that you think
will help everybody.
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Date: 12 May 97 16:55:25 -0400
From: Robert.MATTIE at sb.com
Subject: Announcement -- The Fourth Annual BUZZ Off!
=
1997 BUZZ Off
June 22, 1997
=
The Fourth Annual BUZZ Off will be held at Victory Brewing Company i=
n =
Downingtown, PA. We will be judging all homebrewed Beer, Mead, and=
=
Cider as defined in the 1997 AHA Style Guidelines. This competition =
is =
sanctioned by the AHA and the BJCP. =
=
The 1997 Delaware Valley Homebrewer of the Year will be announced at=
=
the BUZZ Off. New to the BUZZ Off this year is the Pennsylvania Clu=
b =
Challenge -- the highest scoring PA Homebrew Club in the BUZZ Off wi=
ll =
be awarded the 1997 PA Challenge Cup!
=
The BUZZ Off will also be hosting a full day of Beer related events =
for Beer Enthusiasts! =
=
Information about the BUZZ Off is available at the BUZZ Off Web Page=
=
at: =
http://www.voicenet.com/=AFrpmattie/buzzoff
=
note: the character in front of rpmattie is the tilde character (not=
=
an underscore, some mailers convert argh!!!!!)
=
If you are interested in receiving a competition entry packet via US=
=
Mail, please contact us via phone, e-mail, or the Web. The deadline=
=
for entries is June 15th.
=
Judges/Stewards -- If you are interested in Judging or Stewarding, w=
e =
want to hear from you! =
=
For more information check the Web Page or contact: =
=
Robert Mattie, Comp Organizer, (610) 873-6607 rpmattie at voicenet.com=
=
David Houseman, Judge Co-ord, (610) 458-0743 david.houseman at unisys.c=
om
Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 10:05:35 +1200
From: Bruce Baker <Bruce.E.Baker at tsy.treasury.govt.nz>
Subject: Health impacts of drinking homebrew
G'day y'all,
In a recent discussion of why homebrew seems to produce more of a buzz
than commercial brew, one respondent said that homebrew contains more
"higher alcohols" which are "more toxic, therefore more intoxicating". I
wonder
if there is cause for concern about ingesting these higher alcohols over long
periods of time. Should this be a cause for concern?
Bruce
Wellington, New Zealand
So many beers, so little time.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 18:53:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: nkanous at tir.com (nkanous)
Subject: Stuck Fermentation
Help! Made a belgian ale on May 3rd. 7LBS belgian pils, 1LB biscuit, 1/2LB
malted wheat. Mash 15 min 122F, 25 min 135F, 60 min 152F, 15 min 168F,
sparged with acidified water. Boiled 75 minutes, chilled to 64F with
counterflow chiller. Pitched with 1/2 gallon starter of Wyeast Belgian Wit.
Started very slow (12 hours). Fermented O.K. for two days, then krausen
fell. Racked to sencondary. O.G. 1.048, gravity at racking 1.034. Thought
that 64F may be too cool for this yeast. Brought upstairs to 72F and added
"yeast energizer" in an attempt to help this. Each time I go to the
fermenter, I shake it and get TONS of CO2 produced. Been in secondary 6
days. Current gravity 1.030. What should I do. I have heard of CO2
toxicity, does this exist? Would aeration with O2 be too detrimental to try
to get this going? HELP!
Nathan in Frankenmuth, MI
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Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 18:27:59 -0400
From: "Mark S. Johnston" <msjohnst at talon.net>
Subject: Re: Mini-kegs
"Starcat" writes:
> A store in my area carries metal "mini-kegs" for homebrewers,
>along with a separate carbon dioxide device that adds carbonation
>(supposedly this is adjustible). The kegs are the "party size" (about a
>gal and a half) ones similar those that come pressurized in the stores.
>Anybody use one of these - and how have you liked it? They want $70 for
>the carbonation part alone and $15 for each keg. Is this reasonable or
>does someone have a better deal? I kind of like the idea of a mini keg,
>but if these things are trama to deal with I don't want to be out of $85
>either. Private e-mail OK. Thanks
First off, $15 seems a bit high for one of these kegs. $8 to $10 is
probably at the higher end of what I'd accept. (Two years ago I could get
them for $7.
As to the "kegging": You probably can force carbonate using the CO2
capsules, but it will take a lot of them. This can be a bit expensive. If
you prime these kegs, use only about 2 tbsp of corn sugar per keg.
Overpriming will cause the kegs to buckle, making them useless.
DO NOT USE CHLORINE TO CLEAN THE MINI-KEGS! Chlorine will eat away at the
plastic coating inside (such as it is).
I used these for a little while, but they fell from my favor. Some proved
weaker than others as far as withstanding pressure, and after about 2 to 3
uses, the beer started tasting metallic. (Remember, they were initially
designed manufactured as one-use disposables.)
As an inexpensive draft system, or for those without the facilities for
acorny keg system, Mini Kegs can be a good substitute. But my overall
recomendation would be to go ahead and spring for a corny keg system if
feasable. The ROI is much better, and the O&M costs are lower.
Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 19:33:23 -0400
From: "Mark S. Johnston" <msjohnst at talon.net>
Subject: Mini-Kegs
On HBD 2416 Ralph Mansfield wrote:
>Instead of mixing 1 cup of sugar in about a
>quart of water and boiling it, I used a cup of honey instead. This was
>then added to the final brew, put in 5 Liter kegs and bottles and put
>away to ferment. About a week later both kegs were bulging out at the
>top and bottom.
Whoa! If you're using mini-kegs, you only need about 2 tbsp of sugar per
keg. If you have been routinely using this much sugar (1 cup), you're
lucky the kegs lasted this long.
>Can I substitute an equal amount of honey for sugar
>or should I cut back on the amount. Did this cause the pressure to build
>up in the kegs?
>Second.. How can I eliminate the excessive foaming from the kegs? The
>bottled beer was fine. I used Grolsch bottles with the rubber gasket and
>did not have any problems with foaming. Any solutions you have will be
>appreciated.
When I use honey, I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of the amount of corn sugar that
I would normally use. I find that honey tends to ferment out much easier
than corn sugar. (I have no science to back up that claim -- merely "gut
feel" and some sucessful/unsuccessful batch experience.)
For a 5 gallon batch, mixing mini's and bottles, I'd use 1/2 cup of honey.
Boil the honey in a cup or so of water for 15 - 20 minutes, cool, then
pitch.
As to the keg foaming: Obviously overpriming will cause some of that. Some
of it may be due to your tap. Some of the all-plastic versions shoot foam
all of the time. I'm not sure if the same problem occurs with the metal
tap, but I haven't heard too much negative said about it. Another possible
source of foaming could be if your CO2 pressure is set too high. Try
shutting it off, bleeding off the pressure, then just cracking it open
until the beer starts to flow.
TIP: If you're tired of using the CO2 cylinders, remove the cylinder
holder from your Mini-keg tap, and screw on a Carbonator (That device for
pressurizing 2L pop bottles.). The threads are a good fit (on most taps)
and you can regulate mini-keg pressure via your CO2 bottle regulator.
(Keep it low!)
- --
"If a man is not a liberal at eighteen, he has no heart. If he is not a
conservative by the time he is thirty, he has no mind." - Winston
Churchill
Return to table of contents
Date: 12 May 97 13:55:00 -0700
From: "Eric Schoville" <ESCHOVIL at us.oracle.com>
Subject: Upright Freezer
I have an opportunity to buy an upright freezer
for pretty cheap. Can the brewers thermostats that
I have heard of work with freezers as well as refrigerators?
Is an upright Freezer desirable? I would like to use this
for lagering/keg storage. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Eric
eschovil at us.oracle.com
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