HOMEBREW Digest #3226 Wed 19 January 2000

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org
		Many thanks to the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers of 
		Livonia, Michigan for sponsoring the Homebrew Digest.
				URL: http://www.oeonline.com


Contents:
  parenthal guidance ("Sean Richens")
  sour mash and saison (smorgan)
  Keeping a Phalse Bottom down (Ant Hayes)
  re: propane to natural gas (Susan/Bill Freeman)
  e-profits (Ray Kruse)
  Secrets of Fermentation (Mark Tumarkin)
  Saison Recipe (KMacneal)
  re: bottling just a few... ("Curt Speaker")
  Malt Storage, Siebel closure ("Sieben, Richard")
  Burst Sparging? (John_L._Sullivan)
  arrogant bastard ale ("Czerpak, Pete")
  UK Iodophor (andrew.ryan-smith)
  Burst Sparging, RO water pH, Sour beer (Dave Burley)
  Dairy-use iodophor (andrew.ryan-smith)
  brewing chem texts, Kunze ToM&B (steve-alexander)
  Re: leap years and beers (Mark Bunster)
  Guinness souring (Marc Sedam)
  Re: Leap Years (Jeff Renner)
  Best non-auto sparging technique? (Demonick)
  Shipping, motorizing, and drilling (Edward Seymour)
  Re: Best non-auto sparging technique? ("Charles T. Major")
  pH questions with RO water (Demonick)
  Re: Spruce Beer/Brewing Techniques Vol. 4, No. 2 (Spencer W Thomas)
  RE: Best non-auto sparging technique? (Jonathan Peakall)
  Samichlaus (Marc Sedam)
  RE: Measuring SG (Jonathan Peakall)
  munich thanks and hefeweizen/irish moss question and CP fillers ("Czerpak, Pete")
  Re: Jack's mill ("Jack Schmidling")
  Re: Converting Propane Cooker to Gas ("Randy Hall")
  Re: brewing texts ("Randy Hall")
  colanders... (Guy Burgess)
  Keg Q: Converting Pin lock to Ball lock (Badger Roullett)
  RE: Stout/Sour Mash ("Houseman, David L")
  RE: starters--reason for 10X limit?/ new wyeast package (Brian Pickerill)
  Best non-auto sparging technique? ("Paul Campbell")
  Wyeast 1338 (Scott Zimmerle)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 22:46:49 -0600 From: "Sean Richens" <srichens at mail.sprint.ca> Subject: parenthal guidance Pat, you can't have something "in parenthesis" [sic]. To be "in" requires a pair of parentheses. Semantically yours, Sean Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 16:52:32 +1000 From: smorgan at expressdata.com.au Subject: sour mash and saison afternoon a zymurgy or two ago had a feature article on saison. read that one. I did a similar thing with sour mashing- 500gms of pale grain and crystal in a 4 litre small picnic cooler. 65 C was the strike temp and we left it for 48hrs. It was pretty sour to taste neat and when added to the other 17 litres added and fermented there was a slight sort of mellow tang. the beer is still in the rack but on transfer was fantastic (we also had peach's in there- a peache attempt of sorts) I wish we could drink this now...who needs bottling...... subtlety is may be the way to go. scotty ====================================================================== Visit the Express Data Web Site - http://www.expressdata.com.au for pricing, product information and order status information. This email is confidential. If it includes quoted prices, unless otherwise stated, validity is 14 days from the date of this message. Sales tax, GST and delivery charges are excluded unless noted. Acceptance of any quotation or order is subject to Express Data's usual terms and conditions of sale. Express Data has implemented anti-virus software, and whilst all care is taken, it is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that any attachments are scanned for viruses prior to use. This email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper. ====================================================================== Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 08:47:34 +0200 From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes at FifthQuadrant.co.za> Subject: Keeping a Phalse Bottom down I have been using Phil's Phalse Bottom since 97, very happily, except for its desire to float. This was not a problem until I started using the floating mash approach in a combined mash/lauter tun. Doughing in is tricky when the bottom floats, and I struggle to get a clear run off. I have tried a few things (apart from the obvious of gluing the thing down). At the moment, I put a tea strainer on top of it - which works okay - although I keep having to retrieve the strainer from the dustbin after turfing the spent grains. Does anyone have any ideas? Ant Hayes Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 01:55:55 -0600 From: Susan/Bill Freeman <potsus at bellsouth.net> Subject: re: propane to natural gas The things needed to make the transition from propane to natural gas are four fold. First you need a natural gas orfice for the burner. This is a small brass insert in the burner with a tiny hole in it. One can be made by drilling the propane orfice out to a larger size. 7/64 inch is a good place to start but certainly not over 5/32 inch . The second item needed is a flexible hose WITHOUT a regulator on it that runs from the gas line to the burner. The existing propane hose should be fine for this but if you must buy one get at least 3/8 internal diameter. Thirdly is a "needle" type gas valve. This allows fine control of the gas flow. These should be available from the local gas grill store. By the same token, all this stuff is available from them in the first place. The final piece of the equation is a main shutoff at the gas line. This is a master cutoff to be used when the burner is not being fired and as an emergency cut off if needed for the unexpected and such. As usual, all connections should be checked for leaks with soapy water (bubbles mean leaks) and if you are using the thing inside your house, adequate ventilation is provided. Be aware that a high BTU burner output will be seriously reduced if that burner is converted to natural from propane. Cheeers, Bill Freeman aka Elder Rat, Birmingham, AL Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 05:43:31 -0500 From: Ray Kruse <rkruse at krusecontrols.com> Subject: e-profits > Make up your costs with volume. > That sounds like an old joke. You can not make up in volume what you lose in >profit. Actually, most non-e-businesses have learned that if you are making no profit, then lowering your price and increasing your sales just means that you close up sooner rather than later. > The "smart" e-sellers are making zero profit or losing money. They also > manufactur nothing, have no investement in engineering or design and are simply > service business. Different program entirely. Let's see. Buy a widget at $5.00, sell a widget at $5.50 (10% markup to cover all costs of [re]sale), and then pay $3.00 shipping, plus labor, building, heat, light, phone, etc. Sounds pretty good to me. Anyone want to invest? >It's insulting to me that stores add a >handling cost. I know the boxes cost more-- but this is the way that >e-business is going to be..... Has that been legislated nationally, or just in your area? And just to keep this OT, I brewed a pilsner semi-outdoors on Saturday in 20F temperatures. Had a terrible time keeping my mash temperature up, but the cleanup was even more fun. Ray Kruse Glen Burnie, PRMd rkruse at bigfoot.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 06:39:21 -0500 From: Mark Tumarkin <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Secrets of Fermentation Damn, did you know that? I had no idea ....... SOLUTION OF THE SECRET OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION "Beer yeast, when dispersed in water, breaks down into an infinite number of small spheres. If these spheres are transferred to an aqueous solution of sugar they develop into small animals. They are endowed with a sort of suction trunk with which they gulp up the sugar from the solution. Digestion is immediately and clearly recognizable because of the discharge if excrements. These animals evacuate ethyl alcohol from their bowels and carbon dioxide from their urinary organs. Thus one can observe how a specifically lighter fluid is exuded from the anus and rises vertically whereas a stream of carbon dioxide is ejected at very short intervals from their enormously large genitals." by Fredrich Woehier and Justus Von Liebig Published in the annals of Chemistry Volume 29, 1839 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 06:42:17 EST From: KMacneal at aol.com Subject: Saison Recipe Brad Leak is looking for a Saison recipe. Here's my stab at it. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it was tasty. Mac's Saison Category : Belgian Ale Method : Full Mash Starting Gravity : 1.054 Ending Gravity : 1.014 Alcohol content : 5.2% Recipe Makes : 5.0 gallons Total Grain : 10.21 lbs. Color (srm) : 8.4 Efficiency : 75% Hop IBUs : 20.0 Malts/Sugars: 9.50 lb. Belgian Pale Ale 0.30 oz. Chocolate 3.00 oz. Crystal 20L 0.50 lb. Wheat Hops: 1.50 oz. Hallertau Hersb 2.9% 60 min 0.30 oz. Saaz 3.3% 10 min Boil temperature of water: 212F Grain Starting Temperature: 68F Desired Grain/Water Ratio: 1 quarts/pound Strike Water: 2.55 gallons of water at 155F First Mash Temperature: 136F Water Absorbed by Grain: 1.02 gal Water Evaporated during boil: 1.50 gal Wort Left in Brewpot: 0.33 gal Add 5.30 gal of water to yield 5.0 gal of wort Notes: 0.5 oz. coriander at knockout Wyeast Belgian Abbey II Keith MacNeal Worcester, MA Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:13:09 +0500 From: "Curt Speaker" <SPEAKER at SAFETY-1.SAFETY.PSU.EDU> Subject: re: bottling just a few... Since everyone else is chiming in on this one, I will too... One of the greatest tools that I have found for bottling just a few bottles is the Listerman Counter Phil (no affiliation or kickbacks from Dan, just a happy customer, yadda yadda...). It is a counterpressure bottle filler that you don't have to be a nuclear engineer to operate. You need only two hands (duh!), and it works well. You need to follow the directions almost exactly about the length of time that you force carbonate and chilling the beer very well before filling makes the process MUCH easier (and less foamy). With the exception of barleywines and meads, I keg almost everything I make anymore, and if I want to pull off a six- pack of bottles for competitions purposes, the Counter Phil does the job very well. A satisfied owner of a bunch of Listermann products... Curt Treasurer, State College Underground Maltsters (SCUM) Curt Speaker Biosafety Officer Penn State University Environmental Health and Safety speaker at ehs.psu.edu http://www.ehs.psu.edu ^...^ (O_O) =(Y)= """ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 08:18:02 -0600 From: "Sieben, Richard" <SIER1 at Aerial1.com> Subject: Malt Storage, Siebel closure Sorry for the slow response as I am still catching up on HBD's, (currently very busy in the hunt for a new job). Roger Whyman asked how to handle malt on 1/13: You would like to see it in sealed bags at your HB shop so it doesn't pick up moisture from the air. The malt goes 'slack' when it picks up moisture and you will not get the extraction efficiency you expect. I keep my malt in airtight containers at home and I also have a vacum sealer to reseal the smaller bags of specialty malts. (malt is very hydroscopic - is that the right word?- and 'loves' to take up water). It is indeed very sad to hear of the closure of the Sieben Institute. I do hope they can reorganize for all our benefit. I would love to be able to take classes from them, but they only have day classes, or did anyway....maybe there are quite a few of us that could work with night classes or even correspondence courses. It might be helpful if a lot of us voiced this opinion to them now that they don't seem to be able to get enough enrollment to continute operations. ( I had proposed these ideas before to Bill Siebel, but he was not receptive to the idea, siting teacher scheduling as the problem) back to the job hunt... Rich Sieben Island Lake, IL Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 08:20:18 -0600 From: John_L._Sullivan at NOTES.UP.COM Subject: Burst Sparging? Are we all starting to make up terms to suit us? Paul wrote: burst sparging entails a recirculation and runoff as per normal. The only difference is that you allow the runoff to proceed until the sparge water column on top of the grain bed gets close to the top of the grain bed (don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!), then dump another 2-3 inches on top. Continuous sparge obviously differs here in that a constant 1.5-2" water column is maintained above the grain bed. Paul then goes on to mention how this method has increased his efficiency to 85% - 95%. With exception to the amount of sparge water that lies above the grain bed, this is no different than regular old "continuous" sparging. Seems to me that the only difference would be the weight of the sparge water on the grain bed. The relative weight of the additional two inches of water as opposed to 1/4" (I assume that's when you see the whites of their eyes"), is not significant in a small batch. However, the sparge rate (i.e. a lengthy sparge) would have an effect. Even though I find the 95% hard to believe, I believe Paul would have to have a long slow sparge to have this kind of effect on his efficiency rate. If someone can clearly tell me how "burst sparging" is different from "continuous sparging", perhaps I can be swayed. I don't think we need new terms such as this to confuse the issue for newbies however. John Sullivan St. Louis, MO Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:21:07 -0500 From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com> Subject: arrogant bastard ale I just tried my first 22 oz. bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale by Stone Brewing out near San Diego. Too bad this had to be imported from CA by my SO. What a big IPA!! All I know is that its (I think I remember this, 6.9 or 7.2% ABV). So thats all I know. Big hop bitterness. NOt as much hop flavor or aroma as some others like HopDevil, etc. Very deep garnet red color and seemingly lots of crystal malt to give the color and balance the bitterness with some sweetness. Anybody ever had this brew or tried to replicate it. Any help or thoughts are appreciated with malt %, hops, or yeast. Thanks. The hoppier, the better..... Pete Czerpak Albany, NY Private reply is okay as well Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 14:33:20 +0000 From: andrew.ryan-smith at ind.alstom.com Subject: UK Iodophor Catching up . . .. Adam Funk asks if there is an outlet for Iodophor in the UK. None that I know of - I have asked colleagues of mine visiting the US to bring some back for me. There is a forum for UK based homebrewers - send an e-mail to list at ale.co.uk, with no subject header, and join uk-homebrew in the body of the mesage. Articles/comments etc should then be sent to uk-homebrew at ale.co.uk Cheers Rhyno Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:40:56 -0500 From: Dave Burley <Dave_Burley at compuserve.com> Subject: Burst Sparging, RO water pH, Sour beer Brewsters: >From Paul's definition of "burst" sparging ( a new one on me) , I've always been doing it that way to maximize the plug flow characteristics, but don't understand how it can inprove the effciency of the sparge from 85% to 95%. - --------------------------------- Chris Beadle's RO water has a low pH on the order of 4.5-5. If this is from a well, likely this is dissolved CO2. Try boiling some water and measuring the pH. Or maybe you can pour the water through the air to decarbonate it. An air pump with an aquarium aerator while heating would probably automate this task. I definately wouldn't add calcium carbonate to this unless you are using a very high concentration of roasted malts. I also wonder if you are measuring the pH of the mash using a cooled to RT sample. I don't know how accurate the pH paper would read at a higher temperature. - -------------------------------- Rich, I suggest you check out the archives for information on how to prepare a sour beer for Guinness. Charlie's method is fine,but I just mash a small amount of malt in a pot on the stove, cool to 100-110F and add some dry malt as a starter. Use a thermos bottle to keep the temperature up. Also my electric oven with the light on and door closed is about this temp. I put the thermo in there. I also did a titration and seem to recall it will produce about 0.1% lactic acid, but check the archives. - -------------------------- Keep on Brewin' Dave Burley Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 14:34:48 +0000 From: andrew.ryan-smith at ind.alstom.com Subject: Dairy-use iodophor Still catching up . . . . . Dairy use iodophor (in the UK anyway) has lanolin in it, apparently, to stop the cows' teats getting sore from the milking machines. Cheers Rhyno Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 14:56:08 +0000 From: steve-alexander at att.net Subject: brewing chem texts, Kunze ToM&B I discussed this issue in some depth a couple years back as I'm sure Alan Meeker remembers ;^). [Older but no wiser Alan ?] My only added comment re the current discussion is that I think Paul Smith mischaracterizes Kunze > Wolfgang Kunze's "Technology Malting and Brewing" >is also excellent, but I would hold off if all you >wanted was chemistry. While chemistry and >biochemistry and thoroughly discussed, W.Kunze's book is an English translation of a highly re- editted undergrad textbook. It covers practical aspects of brewing in great detail BUT it does not provide the background info, just the practical results. Chemistry and biochemistry are not thoroughly discussed in Kunze - just a very light pass at the major issues. In all it is a great book, and condenses the practical results of much important research but it is flawed in several ways. The English translation is marginal and includes several errors that I suspect are directly due to translation, the index is very lacking by modern standards (my copy is full of yellow stickies since the index is so useless), and the references to advanced literature are very limited in number. If you can get a copy of PoBS on the cheap - use the excellent reference citations to track down the original books and journal papers. Even if your library doesn't contain brewing journals - check outtexts on flavor chemistry, food science, fermentation science, etc. - even ag journals! -S Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:01:28 -0500 From: Mark Bunster <mbunster at saturn.vcu.edu> Subject: Re: leap years and beers Thanks to all who replied publically and privately. Yes, I misspoke--first leap year in a year with TWO zeros. We knew that. Also, when I asked for beers "brewed essentially as they were 400 years ago," I neglected to consider the specific gravity (pun intended) of that statement. Since I knew it was unlikely to find a keg of framboise sitting on the shelf at Total Beverage, I meant more simply "what are some beers from breweries more than 400 years old, that can be found with some effort in the Mid-Atlantic? Are any of them available by the keg?" And perhaps I've answered my friend's question for him: go to Total Bev and see what you find. Thanks, M Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:14:03 -0500 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: Guinness souring There's an easier way. 20oz is approximately 3% of a 5 gallon batch. I buy a couple of cans of Guinness Pub Draught a few days before brew day. Place 1.5 cans in a pyrex measuring cup, throw a handful of grain in the bottom, and cover the top with cheesecloth. In a few days you'll get a nasty funk on the top. Strain the sour beer through a coffee filter and boil for 20 minutes to sterilize (I pressure-can it, YMMV). Add to the boil (or secondary, whichever you prefer). This gives a great "twang" and helps approach the real thing. I've done it Charlie's way. It works but is way too much of a hassle for me. Cheers! Marc Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:20:53 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu> Subject: Re: Leap Years "Paul Ward" <paulw at doc.state.vt.us> asked about skipping leap years every 400 years: >O.K. - I guess I was skipped school that day. >Who made up these goofy rules. This old history teacher (and science and English - watch those question marks, Paul) will now give a make-up lesson. Pope Gregory XII in 1582 did it (actually, I'm sure it was his advisors, but he had the clout), to make up for the 11 minute per year error of the Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar), which had accumulated to ten days by that time. To make a one-time correction, Gregory ordered ten days eliminated from the calendar that year, so October 4 was followed by October 15 in Catholic countries. Apparently there was great distress in 1582 as people thought they were being robbed of ten days of their lives. Various German countries waited until 1700 to adopt the Gregorian calendar. England and America waited until 1752 [George Washington was not born on Feb. 22, but rather Feb. 11, 1732 [George brewed porter - now we're on-topic!]). Russia adopted it in 1918 and Turkey in 1927, but the Eastern Orthodox churches never have, which is why they just celebrated Christmas. This tweak of the calendar makes a calendar year accurate to with 26 seconds of the solar year, an error which is decreasing 0.53 seconds per century as the solar year gradually shortens. You're now excused from missing that day of school. But there will be a quiz! Jeff -=-=-=-=- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, c/o nerenner at umich.edu "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 07:37:24 -0800 From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com> Subject: Best non-auto sparging technique? "Brian D." <briandixon at home.com> asks: > Q) I pour hot sparge water through a SS colander with a 2-cup > Pyrex measuring cup so that the sparge water forms little streams > and drops and doesn't cause channeling ... what's the best > non-hand-holding answer to the colander? I don't mind pouring > water in to keep the sparge water from 0" to 1 1/2" deep on the > grain bed, but I hate holding the colander Just lay a soup bowl, non-perforated, on top of the grain bed. Pour the sparge water into the soup bowl and let it overflow onto the grain bed. You may get some local scouring of the top of the grain bed near the bowl, but it's irrelevant. Keep a few inches of water on top of the grain bed. Also, buy yourself a 5 gallon Gott cooler. Use it as your sparge water reservoir and adjust for continuous sparge. After holding the colander by hand for a few years you deserve to get yourself a present! Domenick Venezia Venezia & Company, LLC Maker of PrimeTab (206) 782-1152 phone (206) 782-6766 fax orders demonick at zgi dot com FREE PrimeTab SAMPLES! Enough for three 5 gallon batches. Fax, phone, or email: name, shipping address (no P.O.B.) and phone number. (I won't call. It's for UPS in case of delivery problems). Sorry, lower 48 only. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 07:47:17 -0800 (PST) From: Edward Seymour <eseymour at yahoo.com> Subject: Shipping, motorizing, and drilling Hay, I know this one. Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 10:33:06 -0500 "Matthew A. Cosenza" MCosenza at KAPLAW.com wrote the following on the subject of Shipping and Handling "All this Shipping and Handling stuff has gotten me irritated." I think it's gotten a lot of us irritated, Specially those of us who majored in business and know a little about the costs of buying and selling products. "I realize that there is extra cost in "handling" an item to be shipped-- " And Jack is nice enough to let you know the price of this cost. He could have burred this cost into the price of the product, but then he would be accused of price gouging his customers. "But there's an added benefit in that you are increasing your target customer base by millions!" HELLO, reality check here. I don't think that there are millions of homebrewers out there, let alone ones that are all grain brewers and do not already have a way of milling their grains. It would be nice for all of us if there were though. "It's the Wal Mart theory-- sell more stuff at cheaper prices. Every cent does not need to be passed on. The smart e-sellers will offer NO shipping or handling costs for sales over a certain price limit in an effort to gain a larger customer base. It's insulting to me that stores add a handling cost. I know the boxes cost more-- but this is the way that e-business is going to be. Make up your costs with volume." Ouch, shouldn't of used Wal-Mart in this argument. A simple trip to Wal-Mart's web site http://www.wal-mart.com shows that 'yes' they do charge shipping and handling on their products. They either charge you a "fixed shipping" price, or they charge a set price and a price per item such as " Standard (5-8 business days) $4.00 + $0.97 per item, Premium (3-5 business days) $6.00 + $2.47 per item, Express (2-3 business days) $12.00 + $5.97 per item" (pulled from their web site). One way to get around this is to purchase your MALTMILL from your local retailer. I did this and paid the same price as most of the mail order houses were charging BEFORE shipping and handling (even $4.00 cheaper than Jack sells them for on his web site). I hope this doesn't void my lifetime warrantee. Supporting your local retailer will help to ensure that they are still there when you need them. I had a homebrew shop that was 10 minutes away close its doors this summer. Now I have to drive 45 minutes to visit the closest one. Let's stop flaming someone who had the vision to see a need for a product and be innovative enough to make a product to fill that void. I thought about making my own mill, but after some thoughtful consideration (cost, time, machinery to produce one of a kind) I decided that is was cheaper to purchase one already made. Jack makes an excellent product at a reasonable price. It seems that the old proverb is true, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, whine about those who do". What we need are more visionaries and less moaners. * * * * * * * * * * Sometimes we overlook the obvious. I was looking for a way to motorize my MALTMILL this past weekend and was disturbed about the 3/8 shaft on the end. I had the meat slicer motor in my hand and was trying to figure a way to mount it on the mill. My wife looks, and said "Why don't you just use your drill to motorize that thingie? While you're at it, drill a hole in the base and hang it on the wall when your done. Jack, Can I drill a hole in the base, or will this void my warrantee? Edward Seymour Sr. Procurement Analyst Sikorsky A/C Hamden CT. "At -23 deg.(with windchill) outside I feel that I'm in Jeff's back yard" www.geocities.com/eseymour/brewery __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:53:32 -0600 (Central Standard Time) From: "Charles T. Major" <ctmajor at samford.edu> Subject: Re: Best non-auto sparging technique? Brian Dixon asks about sparging gadgets. I wnaully sparge (w/ 2-liter Pyrex measuring cup) my 5-gal Igollo cylindrical cooler. I used to use a colander until I found that the stainless steamer basket insert for our 1-gal stockpot fit just inside the coller with a lip that rests on the rim off the cooler to hold it in place. I add water until the cooler's full and then put the lid back on upside down and let it drain for awhile (sound like burst sparging to me) before refilling. Tidmarsh Major Birmingham, Alabama Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 07:53:32 -0800 From: Demonick <demonick at zgi.com> Subject: pH questions with RO water "Chris Beadle" <cbeadle at fischerUS.com> asks why his RO water has such a low pH (4.7). Carbonic acid. Water has air dissolved in it. Air has CO2 in it. CO2 plus water equals carbonic acid. I'm not sure that you need to worry too much about the pH of your RO water. pH per se is not the issue, but buffering ability is. pH is just a measure of hydrogen ion concentration and in pure water a little excess H+ can greatly effect the pH yet has very little buffering potential. Buffering potential is the ability of the solution to resist changes in pH. This means that your RO water at pH 4.7 will have very little effect on the actual mash pH. Calcium carbonate is a salt and as such added to the water alone is not basic and will do little to adjust pH. Added to the mash it will increase the buffering potential and help keep the pH in the right range. I suggest ignoring pH for a batch or two and just brew with your RO water and NO water treatment at all. See what happens and adjust accordingly. I've brewed with filtered Seattle water which is pretty close to RO water and found no problems whatsoever. I do generally use 1 gram/gallon of gypsum (calcium sulfate) in my mash water. You may also try boiling your RO water to drive out all the air, then cooling it to mash and sparge temperatures. Domenick Venezia Venezia & Company, LLC Maker of PrimeTab (206) 782-1152 phone (206) 782-6766 fax orders demonick at zgi dot com FREE PrimeTab SAMPLES! Enough for three 5 gallon batches. Fax, phone, or email: name, shipping address (no P.O.B.) and phone number. (I won't call. It's for UPS in case of delivery problems). Sorry, lower 48 only. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:55:49 -0500 From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu> Subject: Re: Spruce Beer/Brewing Techniques Vol. 4, No. 2 Not the BT article, but a friend recently made spruce beer during a local "heritage festival". Mashed in a half-barrel and the works. The beer was awful (because of lots of nasty wild yeast and who knows what getting into it) but he did learn something from it. For the spruce beer, they used spruce branches (maybe just the tips) as the *filter bed* in the mash tun. He showed up at the brewclub on Friday with a new spruce beer, made using modern sanitation practices, but with the spruce added *in the mash* instead of in the boil. Wonderful! It had a subtle spruce flavor, not at all overwhelming. And it's probably much closer to the way such beers were made "in the old days." Even now, farmhouse brewers in Norway (and other countries, I'm sure -- no flames please) use juniper branches to help filter the mash, following an age-old tradition. I'm not sure how much he used, but his wife complained about the "naked" spruce trees in their front yard. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you details. I don't think he's on the HBD, but I can pass on requests to him if he's not. =Spencer Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 08:23:27 -0800 From: Jonathan Peakall <jpeakall at mcn.org> Subject: RE: Best non-auto sparging technique? >I most of all want to hear from those who have come up with something that >you can pour in to and are now currently using that method ... and love it. I mash in a 10 gal. Gott coooler, and use the lid eof a 5 gal. bucket with holes drilled in it. Upped my efficiacy by 3-5% over pouring. Not as good as the spinning arm sprinkler I made (copied from Phil's design), but now I use a RIMS and the bits of grain in the wort clogged it up all the time. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 11:44:28 -0500 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: Samichlaus Has anyone successfully cultured yeast from a bottle of Samichlaus? I have a few bottles (among the last, it turns out) and want to culture up the yeast to brew a strong lager. I just plan to drain the bottle, pour some wort in it, cap with an airlock, and hope for the best. Even though Hurliman don't make this anymore, can anyone recall whether the yeast in the bottle is the fermenting yeast? I'll guess that it is. Cheers! Marc Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 08:42:16 -0800 From: Jonathan Peakall <jpeakall at mcn.org> Subject: RE: Measuring SG >Some folks seem to go to take some very elaborate steps to measure SG of >final runnings or hot wort. >I take a sample, measure its temperature, and add the appropriate amount of >orrection from a table I have photocopied and keep in my brewing space. >No snow banks, water baths or mini chillers. I'm even less elaborate. I just taste the runnings, and if they ain't sweet no more, I'ze cuts em off. Mind you, I'm so lazy I rarely caculate my efficiency (only if I have added new equip. or technique) and often dont even take a SG. If I need to know the alcohol content, I drink a few ;-P!! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 11:51:15 -0500 From: "Czerpak, Pete" <Pete.Czerpak at siigroup.com> Subject: munich thanks and hefeweizen/irish moss question and CP fillers Thanks for all the info related to my Munich malt and low extraction question of about a week ago. It sounds like dark Weyermanns munich malt has the potential for lowered OG and higher FG. It also sounds like decoction mashing can help with low extractions. Increasing temperature of fermentation may help also if the gravity is stuck high. When infusion mashing, I'll just have to buy a pound or 2 extra I guess. Now for a new question. I pretty much always use irish moss in all my beers as force of habit. Should this help or hinder the cloudy heifeweizen look? Has anybody done a control experiment with looking at this idea? I am not opposed to a weizen eventually dropping clear especially since some German ones are clear but prefer the hazy look for some reason. For CP fillers (I only use this for competition bottling and not to bring growlers to parties), I use a Phils filler. It works very good and only foams a tiny bit (maybe 1/4" to 1/2" once the beer is up to the neck area of the bottle). The foam amount can be limited by how slow you fill the bottle - mine tend to take about 30 - 45 seconds each). I have noticed the beer is less oxidized tasting after multiple months with this type of treatment as opposed to the normal bottling bucket method we all used early in our homebrewing days or the homemade tube and cobra handle. This filler is easy to use by yourself. I tend to wash and sanitize my bottles and throw them in the freezer for atleast an hour to chill them. I also tend to throw the filler also in the freezer to chill it also to help in the antifoaming efforts. The beer is carbonated to its normal level at about 12 -15 psi in the keg and I fill using the same pressure or maybe slightly less. I blow out the bottles with CO2 using the filler for maybe 10 seconds and then seat the stopper on the bottle and fill it pretty slowly. Usually a minimal amount of mess unless I manage to turn the beer flow on rather than the purge CO2. By the way, its nice to see the flame level at a low setting this week. Post your thoughts, Pete Czerpak Albany, NY Ps. As to brewing music, I tend to listen to alot of progrssive rock - mainly Rush. A bit of Phish, Midnight Oil, and some other pretty varied stuff gets thrown in the disk changer as well. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:44:33 -0600 From: "Jack Schmidling" <arf at mc.net> Subject: Re: Jack's mill From: ALABREW <alabrew at mindspring.com> >My malt mill did self-destruct (personal use only). The (small) hopper came apart and the base broke. It does make a nice, though expensive door stop. That's why we have used a PhilMill here at the shop for the past three years. I have been driving a VW for 3 years because every time I let my 3 year old grandson drive my Rolls Royce, he made a mess of it. The (small) ash try got filled with mashed Twinkies, all the cocktail glasses broke when he hammered on them, and the Grey Pupon was smeared all over the windows. BTW, my old PM does not even make a good doorstop; it's not heavy enough. js PHOTO OF THE WEEK http://user.mc.net/arf/weekly.htm HOME: Beer, Cheese, Astronomy, Videos http://user.mc.net/arf Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 09:42:04 -0800 From: "Randy Hall" <rhall at corpdemo.com> Subject: Re: Converting Propane Cooker to Gas Frank Timmons wrote: I have a Cache Cooker (high pressure jet-type propane cooker made in Utah) that I want to convert to Natural Gas. <snip> Has anyone ever successfully converted one of these things? Or does anybody have a contact at the company that made it? I have done a web search with no success, and can't find a phone listing either. - ---- I found the following while poking around looking for Camp Chef stuff: http://wwv.budbaily.com/cc/ If you look under the "Contact Us" button, you find the following contact info: Phone: 1-800-650-CHEF (CHEF=2433) Email: info at campchef.com Fax: 1-435-752-1592 Mail: Camp Chef P.O. Box 4057 Logan, UT 84323-4057 As to whether they have info on adapting the stove for natural gas, I have no idea. Good luck, Randy Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 10:48:50 -0800 From: "Randy Hall" <randy_hall at earthling.net> Subject: Re: brewing texts Am I missing something regarding "The Practical Brewer"? I hear that it is available for download (free) from MBAA, but when I go to www.mbaa.com, I am unable to find a link to the pdf file. Is this a membership issue? If it is, I don't meet the qualifications for any level of membership (i.e. I am a freakin' newbie at this, and it's a hobby for me, but I'm educated enough to appreciate the organic chemistry involved in brewing). Is there any way to have someone post a link to the PDF? Cheers, Randy Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 14:08:46 -0500 From: Guy Burgess <orientalwok at fuse.net> Subject: colanders... "Brian D." <briandixon at home.com> asks: "what's the best non-hand-holding answer to the colander?" Why over-engineer a suspended wire wrapped colander, drilled cake pan, or floating gizmo? Save yourself some time and hassle & look at Listermann's Sparge Arm. It's inexpensive and with a simple hose clamp you can adjust the flow rate such that you can cook dinner while you sparge, really! Sometimes I use it, and sometimes I just dump the water right on the grains. I feel that my time is worth more the cost of the sparge arm. Guy Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 11:11:28 -0800 From: Badger Roullett <branderr at microsoft.com> Subject: Keg Q: Converting Pin lock to Ball lock I have a simple question I could not find an answer on the net for... I found a 10 gallon keg for a pretty good price, but it is PIN lock. I have a setup that is all BALL lock. How can I convert the PIN lock to Ball lock? is it easy? is it a matter of switching the fittings, or do they not interchange? I have a couple of pin lock couplings that I can use if I have to, but I would prefer to use all the same rather than having to switch out my hoses on the regulator every time. badger Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 15:23:15 -0500 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: RE: Stout/Sour Mash Does Guinness in fact own up and describe the use of soured beer in their stouts? While I have heard this as a momily for a long time, I've never actually seen this documented. Rather, Jackson and others have stated that Guinness draught has three grain components, pale malt, roasted barley and flaked barley. I've been to Dublin and had many pints of Guinness there in pubs and at the brewery and frankly do not taste any "tang" as Rich and others have described it. I have had Guinness in the USA that was off and it was in fact soured so I wonder if what is being described is really a representation of beer that hasn't traveled or been handled well and not an intended aspect of the beer? I've found that recipes using just the three grains, mashed at 150oF with sufficient boiling hops to hit about 40 IBU is pretty much dead on draught Guinness. I'd appreciate specific references to sources for this soured beer addition other than the "he said" momily. David Houseman Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 15:38:59 -0500 From: Brian Pickerill <bpickerill at mac.com> Subject: RE: starters--reason for 10X limit?/ new wyeast package >George, > > Why "should you never increase the volume of wort the yeast are in by more > than a factor of ten?" I've seen this advice elsewhere and have never > understood why you can't just pitch the Wyeast package into 1000 mL of >wort. > Thanks. OK, I'm not George, but since there was nothing in #3225, let try my luck at this one. I have seen this advice many times and was surprised when the subject of making starters came up recently and nobody mentioned it. Everybody who posted at the time said they they just do one large starter. I think the reasoning for 10x step up is that even after boiling there are going to be some bacteria present, but if the wort volume is small enough, relative to the population of yeast you are pitching, then they will be able to take hold quickly enough to outpace the growth of the bacteria. This then creates conditions that make bacterial growth difficult (or eat up most of the sugars that make the wort so attractive.) After recently suffering my first bad batch, I feel there could be a bigger threat of infection in stepping up many times. My SOP is now to pitch a wyeast pack into 800ml in an erlenmyer flask. I'm going to go with this for awhile and see how it works out. I personaly think that pitching a smack pack into a liter is pretty safe. I certainly would not want to try to pitch a slant scraping into that much wort though! - ---- Have you noticed the new wyeast packages? Do they hold more, or is the packaging just different? (There is now a foil bottom built in.) They can be stood up on the counter when they are swelled. This is not the "xl" pack is it? (I didn't see that on the label--mine was WY1056--not an XL yeast I don't believe... - --Brian Pickerill, Muncie, Indiana Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 20:48:45 +0800 From: "Paul Campbell" <p.r.campbell at tesco.net> Subject: Best non-auto sparging technique? In HBD #3225 Brian asks about pragmatic kitchen equipment brewing techniques: I'm currently using a (thick) squat plastic bucket with custom insulation added to retain an approximate mashing temperature (single infusion ale brewing mostly). I've installed a slotted 15mm copper square manifold with a washing machine tap through the side as close to the bottom as possible. I to use a colander to distribute sparge water (large stainless steel version with holes in the bottom, solid sides). Mine rests happily on the edges of the bucket allowing me to scoop sparge water in at whatever rate I desire. I find that if I keep the water level in the mash tun deep i.e. around 2" (added in mini-batches at approximately 10 minute intervals), splashing is minimised; although I do usually move the colander around a bit as it doesn't sit exactly centered. The colander is shaped like a small pan, about 1.5" deep. I overshoot my pre-boil target gravity slightly (by 3-4 points), based on the default 75% efficiency in ProMash; taking around 45 minutes to collect 27 litres. I'm not too concerned with the small amount (1" drop) of splashing sparge water causing HSA; I'm fairly careful otherwise and always wear rubber gloves to go pee-pee after handling hot chillies :^) If you have a tall mash/lauter tun, the large droplets of water may have a bit too far to travel and cause quite a bit of splashing..... I figure that as long as I'm not hammering away at the top of the grain bed I should be OK. The one extra thing I do from habit is cut the grain bed (both directions) with a knife during the sparge by an inch or so; which *I* think wards off the channeling pixies... but then, what do I know. It's simple and works for me; I'm not sure about its claim as the best though... As with everything, YMMV. Paul. Edzell, Scotland. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 15:23:55 -0600 From: Scott Zimmerle <szimmerle at mediaone.net> Subject: Wyeast 1338 hbd, Has anyone in this group ever done a pseudo-dopplebock with Wyeast 1338? The primary ferment would be at ale temps and I could cold condition it at about 50F for a few months. If so, how did it turn out? I will have a yeast-cake of 1338 and am considering various uses for it. Also, what would be the best temperature to attempt this at (I'm assuming 60 F)? The primary ferment would be at ale temps and I could cold condition it at about 50F for a few months. TIA, scott zimmerle Return to table of contents
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