HOMEBREW Digest #3277 Tue 21 March 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:
  New Belgium Brewery ("Robert A. Uhl")
  Brew-pubs ("Stephen Jordan")
  Macintosh Calculators ("Fred L. Johnson")
  Lynne's yeast counts ("Alan Meeker")
  GM Foods (Again) (LLOM)" <LLOM at chevron.com>
  Re: Sight Glass (tube) Components/Sources ("Philip J Wilcox")
  Puffy yeast packs + mash out ("Nathaniel P. Lansing")
  hard/ soft water?? (Mark Zadvinskis)
  Fermenting Temp. ("John Todd Larson")
  Big Brew Recipe - SNPA Clone (Nearly Nirvana) (Chris Frey)
  Immersion Cooling In The 21st Century ("Houseman, David L")
  Outdoor cookers, hop discussions ("Ken Miller")
  Re: Lovibond Ratings and Recipe (Spencer W Thomas)
  Re:cell counts (Jim Liddil)
  Good old Ballard Bitter Recipe? (Chris Ivanovich)
  Updated Homebrew website ("scott")
  hard cider won't clarify ("Andrew Krein")
  Davison Color Guide (Mark Tumarkin)
  Rice Beer And Other Matters ("Phil & Jill Yates")
  Share a room in St. Louis this weekend? ("Bruce Garner")
  Survey (David Cords)
  Water Filtration (Jaxson28)
  Freezing LME? ("Troy Hager")
  pH and me (or where is my hot break!) (dstedman)
  Big Brew Recipe Adjustment ("Paul Gatza")
  saving yeast (Warandle1)
  Unitank Ale Conditioning ("Troy Hager")
  keg conversion FAQ (Thomas A Gardner)
  What We Have Here Is A Failure To Read ("Phil & Jill Yates")

* Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * Entries for the 18th Annual HOPS competition are due 3/24-4/2/00 * See http://www.netaxs.com/~shady/hops/ for more information * 18th Annual Oregon Homebrew Festival - entry deadline May 15th * More info at: http://www.hotv.org/fest2000 Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to the digest as we canoot reach you. We will not correct your address for the automation - that's your job. The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit. More information is available by sending the word "info" to req at hbd.org. JANITORS on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 00:47:32 -0600 (CST) From: "Robert A. Uhl" <ruhl at austinc.edu> Subject: New Belgium Brewery This last Monday (13 March 2000) my best friend and I visited the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colo. A very neat place indeed--if any of you ever see their beers (they are in ten states now), by all means try them out. I'm actually not so fond of their flagship Fat Tire Ale; almost every one of their other beers is excellent, though. I even like their Blue Paddle Pilsener, which is strange, because I generally hate lagers. Go figure... Anyway, they have an interesting new technique which I thought that I would share with you all. It's called, I believe, `wet mashing' (yes, I know that _all_ mashing is wet; I din't invent the name). What it involves is `mashing' the _uncracked_ grains in a seperate mash tun for a lenght of time, then grinding them and mashing them for good. The idea is apparently that the post-soak grinding process yields a more intact husk which in turn leads to better sparging. This, at least, was the explanation the girl giving the tour gave us. I imagine that what happens is that the cracking process becomes more of a squeezong process and the husk simply ruptures at one point, squeezing out the kernel without shredding to pieces. Just a guess, though. Has anyone heard of this? Is it worth attempting on a homebrewing scale? Robert Uhl Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 04:28:46 -0500 From: "Stephen Jordan" <Carrotbay at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Brew-pubs I'm traveling to the Mystic, New London, CT area this week and would like to know if there are any good brew-pubs in the area. Thanks Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 06:59:02 -0500 From: "Fred L. Johnson" <FLJohnson at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Macintosh Calculators Simon asked for information on Macintosh brewing calculators. I forwarded to him the Brewer's Worksheet and the necessary brewer's macros (Excel) which I found helpful a few years ago. I downloaded this from one of the popular homebrewer's websites out there a few years ago. (Forget where now.) I got tired of having to open the macros worksheet at the same time as the worksheet template and have since added MANY other features to the original version for my own purposes. (Lot's of calculations on theoretical gravity, expected post-boil gravity, boiling time variables, more accurate calculator for IBUs, color caluclator for SRM and Lovibond, attenuation, fermentation section, calculation alcohol content, revised grain specs, allowance for adjuncts, etc. and a new format.) It really is very different, but I have not been able to find Darryl Richman, the originator and owner of the copyright, to perfect it and to make available to others. Does anyone out there know how to find Mr. Richman? I think he would appreciate some of the changes I've made to his original version. - -- Fred L. Johnson Apex, North Carolina USA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 07:54:39 -0500 From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at welchlink.welch.jhu.edu> Subject: Lynne's yeast counts First, a big note of thanks to Lynne O'Conner for posting her results of lab tests done on commercial yeasts! Some comments and some questions: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wyeast XL cell counts varied from 15-70 billion in the fresh packs. Pitched directly in 5 gallon batch this yields about .5-4 million/mL. In short, about 2- 10 times below commerical pitching rates (for ale). I should add that only two small Wyeast packs were tested and the results were consistent with large packs, i.e. less yeast proportional to volume ratio. The self-contained starter in Wyeast packs, even 6 months old, works. Cell counts in 6 month old packs risen to 1" were within a factor of two of fresh packs. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynne, were these /viable/ cell counts and do you know if they were direct counts (using a microscope) or were they from dilution plates? There has been some discussion recently on the microbial purity of commercial yeast cultures, was any contamination testing done with your samples? - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- White Labs yeasts had total cell counts which were a little less than Wyeast XL. White Labs cell counts were essentially unchanged after 1 month. At 2 months, cell counts had fallen nearly an order of magnitude. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouch! That order of magnitude hurts! Your White Labs results indicate that one should keep the age of the commercial yeast starter firmly in mind! These White Labs results aren't too surprising as yeast viability typically drops off sharply with storage time. What is interesting is that similar large decreases didn't occur in the 6 month old Wyeast samples (again, assuming the counts reported were for viable cells). Yeast viability during storage is dependent upon a number of factors including; temperature, yeast energy reserve stores (glycogen, trehalose), and the presence of oxygen to name a few. At a glance, it looks like Wyeast may have a better handle on optimizing these parameters for long term storage of their cultures. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that It's best to pitch Wyeast when pack is 1" thick, not when it's fully risen. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Why at 1" rather than fully risen? The differences between the results of your tests and those reported in the '98 Zymurgy are indeed intriguing. Anyone else have any independent data to share?? -Alan Meeker Lazy Eight Brewery Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 07:40:33 -0600 From: "O'mahoney, Larry (LLOM)" <LLOM at chevron.com> Subject: GM Foods (Again) In the recent past, there was debate (and acrimony) over genetically modified grains/foodstuffs on the HBD. I present this note from the "National Center for Policy Analysis" to the HBD not as endorsement or rejection of GM foods, but your reading enjoyment (and to stir the pot again). Larry New Orleans (by job, not choice) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ EUROPE AND AMERICA GO SEPARATE WAYS ON BIOTECH FOODS It is somewhat symbolic of the international debate over genetically modified seeds that U.S. executives of the Swiss company Novartis are stumping the country to assure nervous farmers that big grain companies will buy crops grown from their modified seeds. Yet executives of the Gerber Products Company -- which is owned by Novartis -- have announced that they will not use biotech crops in their baby food. Not that the products are unsafe, just that baby food "is a very sensitive area." It now appears that American farmers are not backing away from genetically modified seeds. In fact, executives at some of the nation's largest agricultural companies say it may be too late to turn back the clock on GM crops. The problem is that it is costly and cumbersome to separate GM from non-GM produce -- meaning that the likelihood of commingling the two is very high. o In Europe, the trade in GM seeds and foods has virtually stopped -- while in the U.S. the growth of GM corn and soybeans has exploded. o Almost one-third of the U.S. corn crop and about half of soybeans are produced from GM seeds. o Biotechnology plantings here increased from 16 million acres in 1997 to 62 million last year. o This year, the amount is expected to stay mostly flat, with more than 60 million acres of GM corn and soybeans planted. About 80 percent of the corn and 60 percent of the soybeans harvested here are used for domestic consumption and animal feed. In 1996, when American farms began shipping biotechnology crops to Europe, exports of corn and soybeans -- both modified and conventional -- amounted to nearly $3 billion. But as of last year, such shipments had declined to $1 billion. Source: David Barboza, "In the Heartland, Genetic Promises," New York Times, March 17, 2000. For text http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/031700sci-gm-farmers.html For more on Trade Issues http://www.ncpa.org/pd/trade/trade1.html For more on Global Population and Resources http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/intdex11.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Industry and self-reliance are moral virtues, just as much as honesty and fidelity. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 09:21:22 -0500 From: "Philip J Wilcox" <pjwilcox at cmsenergy.com> Subject: Re: Sight Glass (tube) Components/Sources Herald asks about sight glass tubes Mine is made of glass. Though some have built them out of all kinds of stuff. Teflon tube, Silicon tube, any thing that is semi clear and will tolerate the heat. I got my assembly for a 6-pack and a smile from my local plumber. Open your phone book and look in the yellow pages under plumbers and find a really old plumbing Co. (Something & Son and & Grandson...) Specifically look for one that is still working on Boilers. My sight glass is a commercial sight glass off an old boiler. They did ask me to purchase new glass (for safety reasons), which they cut to size for me. Also see if they have the brass safety rods. These have a gravity fit and run through holes either side of the fittings parallel to the sight glass. This way you can swing a cat* or a brew paddle around and if you were perchance hit your sight glass with it, the safety bar will absorb the shock, and you wouldn't have emptied 12 gallons of 180F spargewater on the floor of your brewery. The latter occurrence is also prevented (on my system) by the fact that my sight glass fittings are also valves, so in case of breakage I could turn them off and prevent spillage. I could also replace the glass during a brew session if I wanted too. My welder had a hard time figuring out how to install it though. Apparently he had never worked with a sight glass before, and since neither had I, we kinda went down a more expensive path than we needed too. His theory on how to install the sight glass was that after it was assembled, you couldn't screw both the top and the bottom in, without removing the glass. And if you did remove it and screwed them both in and tried to slip it in, it would leak because the fitting would have to be too loose. Or if you tightened it up, you would break the glass. So according to his theory, what you needed to do was to install a pair of unions that you could tighten down independently. So my system has this beautiful pair of Stainless Steel Unions on it that are totally unnecessary Why? Because you can in fact remove the glass, install the fittings independently and then insert the glass between them. That is how they are designed to work. The glass is attached to the fitting with a rubber gasket compression fitting. First you have your glass and you insert the brass collars, then you put on a tight fitting rubber gasket, and install the glass in place. The collars are threaded on the inside and come down over top of the gasket and are tightened onto the fitting. This pulls the gasket down against the fitting and then compresses it against the glass providing a water-tight fit. So don't over tighten! 8$ for the new glass and a 6-pack, for the device and some more coin for the unnecessary welding. I could have drilled the holes out, expanded them and built a bulkhead fitting for the inside of the keg, but that is too much work, and my welder enjoys my beer... I hope to see you all at the MCAB!!!!! And be sure to identify yourself as an HBD'er by putting HBD on your name tag It was really cool last year too get to know so many of the faces of the personality's I'd been reading over the last few years. Phil Wilcox Poison Frog Home Brewery Jackson MI Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 09:50:22 -0500 From: "Nathaniel P. Lansing" <delbrew at compuserve.com> Subject: Puffy yeast packs + mash out Dave Burley asked...>>I was puzzled by the comment to pitch (presumably to a starter) the Wyeast when the packet ( regular or XL?) is only expanded to 1" high and not to wait until it is fully expanded. It seems to me that it would be better to have yeast fully developed to minimize contamination. Please expand your discussion. Why?<< I think a one word answer would be because of glycogen levels. Glycogen being beneficial to the reproductive phase of yeast's life cycle it is best to pitch a little bit after high kreusen when glycogen levels are highest. Granted it is impossible to peek into a smack pack and know exactly when fermentation has slowed slightly; but if you wait til it stops you are ensuring lower glycogen levels. right, more than one word ..................................... S.A. in #3273 recommends not wasting time with a mash-out temperature boost. If efficiency was the only factor maybe it would be a waste of time, but there are at least a couple of reasons to raise the grain bed to 170 at mash out. The primary reason would be to denature the enzyme system and fix the Real Degree of Fermentation where you want it. The anecdotal evidence of only a few points of efficiency variation points to this, compare 1 lb dextrose in a gallon of water =1.036 vs. 1 lb sucrose in 1 gallon=1.044, same percent solution, lower specific gravity with shorter chain sugars. Not a problem if you brewed light bodied beers but for a beer with some body you want to keep the temperature up to prevent reentering the beta amylase range of activity. B amylase does remain active long past "laboratory findings" oft cited. Read about the effects of calcium on enzyme stability. Secondly: mash out, for some as yet undefined reason, enhances head retention. Possibilities are suggested of the formation of glyco-protein complexes that are foam positive. Thirdly: there are the time and energy factors, after finishing a mash I'd like to save time and get up to a boil as quick as possible, it is much quicker getting to a boil from 170 than 140, and it saves gas, about 40%. Caution should be used of course to not exceed 170 to avoid tannin extraction, a real case of more is not better. So do a mash out at 170, it will stabilize the results of your mash temperature program and probably improve foam stability. Happy first day of spring, Del Lansing Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 10:03:11 -0500 From: Mark Zadvinskis <mark at sjdesign.com> Subject: hard/ soft water?? I am quite new to the wonderful world of homebrew, and am quite eager learn as much as I can. I have purchase several books, but can find no mention of using water that has been treated by a water softener. I have hard water with a lot of iron, and need the softener to remove the iron. I then use a post carbon filter, followed by another filter to remove chemicals and smell. Is this acceptable? Even though the sodium level is raised? (though this could add to flavor couldn't it?) I have considered a reverse osmosis system, but most only output a trickle of water that would take half a day to fill a 5 gallon container, not to mention the cost of the system. Please advise to any options that I should consider. . .beyond going to the grocery store for water! If anyone in Ann Arbor is brewing this week, I would love to help! Thank you, Mark Shaun Jackson Design Inc. PO BOX 130500 Ann Arbor MI 48113-0500 734.975.7500 734.975.7501 fax Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 07:12:57 -0800 From: "John Todd Larson" <larson at amazon.com> Subject: Fermenting Temp. I would like to find a way to ferment during the mild winters here in Seattle in my garage. I need a way to warm things up a little (maybe from 40 to 65 or so). Any thoughts? My first idea is some type of warming box I could put my carboy in with a standard temp controller like most people use to lager in their fridge and a lightbulb as a heat source. Anybody have any experience with such a device? I have limited electrical skills (and don't want to burn my house down), but can handle basic carpentry. TIA. Todd J. Todd Larson Treasury Manager Amazon.com larson at amazon.com (206) 266-4367 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 10:19:56 -0500 From: Chris Frey <cfrey at ford.com> Subject: Big Brew Recipe - SNPA Clone (Nearly Nirvana) OK; a couple of questions have come up regarding my submission of the Big Brew recipe and I would like to comment on them. First, a disclaimer. I LOVE THIS BEER! OK, now on to the reply's.... While I have brewed this all-grain recipe 18 times, each time I have taken an element of this and modified it. The recipe I shared with Paul is the closest I have gotten to achieving that SNPA flavor as it comes out of the bottle. One thing that Paul suggested that we drop out is the one pound of wheat that I normally add to ensure good head retention. He was correct in mentioning that SNPA does not use wheat in their grain bill for SNPA. I will contact him to see if it is not too late to add back that pound as part of the pale ale grain malt (bump it from 7 to 8 lb..). Someone mentioned that my efficiency must be pretty good to get to 1.060 range on just 7 lb.. Half of the reason is above (add the one pound of pale ale malt or wheat), and the other half is that I do typically get efficiencies in the high 80% range. Adjust as you see fit. Nine pounds of base malt will get you there if you get low 70's. Someone asked about the range that they have seen for Alpha Acid for the Perle hop. Using my ProMash recipe formulator, I get 39.4 IBU's FWH with 8.0% aa Perle hops (for just the Perle addition). The total IBU's for this recipe (assuming Cascades of the 5-5.1%aa) is about 46 ibu's, a tad high for the style, but to my liking. I have used whatever aa% Cascades and Perles are available, on the market, at the time of my brew. Your result's may vary... Someone else asked if I didn't cut down on the Cascades. I did. This particular recipe closely approximates the actual flavor of SNPA. However, I have found it to be increasingly yummy and to my liking (gads, I am stating that I have improved on the SNPA formula TO MY LIKING!) by using a full ounce of Cascades at 15 minutes, a full ounce at 30 minutes (not in the recipe I supplied Paul) a full ounce near knockout and a FULL ounce dry hopping during the last week of secondary fermentation, for a total of 1/4 pound of Cascade in the process. To some this may seem excessive, to the members of the brew clubs I frequent (i.e., hop heads), this appears to not be overkill. Paul, if it's not too late, let's add back the pound (7 to 8 lb.) with the caveat that I achieve mid-80's efficiency. Wyeast 1056 is definitely the recognized yeast for this brew, but i have been assured that White labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast is virtually identical (and I have used both side by side with no noticeable differences). Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 10:51:29 -0500 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: Immersion Cooling In The 21st Century Ah, but is the cooling performance due to the parallel coils or the higher flow rate or both? How about running an experiment with the higher flow rate for just one set of coils and the lower flow rate for both and provide a comparison of all this data? Dave Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 12:25:19 -0500 From: "Ken Miller" <kgmiller at oberon.com> Subject: Outdoor cookers, hop discussions I just bought my first house complete with a new deck. Given that the stove is a brand radiant top models, I'm thinking the deck is a good place to move the brewery. Besides, I need a house warming present. I'm looking for advice on a good general purpose outdoor cooker. Something that balances ease of use, efficiency, initial cost. Basically, if you could only buy one, which one would it be. Also, as this is the first time I'll actually own the land I'm living on, I'm enjoying the discussions on hop growing. Please keep as much info hear for those of us who lurk. Just waiting for HopTech to release this years rhizomes!! Ken Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 13:05:42 -0500 From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu> Subject: Re: Lovibond Ratings and Recipe Alan is concerned that he cannot accurately judge beer color because he is color blind. I'd say "don't sweat it." Most of the "color" difference in beers is really in the "lightness" or "darkness" anyway. Obviously you won't be able to use (easily, anyway) words like "straw", "amber," "copper," "brown" and so on, but as you gain experience, you will know what a beer of a particular type is *supposed* to look like to *your eyes*. This is the most important thing. Color is very unimportant in the grand scheme of beer judging (2 points, more or less out of 50.) Let your partner judges comment on the color. You concentrate on flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, all of which are more important to bhe overall enjoyment of the beer anyway. During your practice sessions, you might want to keep on hand some glasses of beer of known "color". As I recall, Bass is about 10 SRM, Michelob Dark is about 17, Budweiser is about 2 or 3. You should be able to judge beer color "closely enough" for judging by quickly comparing the beer sample to the "reference samples." =Spencer Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 11:21:40 -0700 (MST) From: Jim Liddil <jliddil at VMS.ARIZONA.EDU> Subject: Re:cell counts First there has been some discussion here of genetically engineered crops etc. You may want to look at : http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/botanies_pr.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html > From: "St. Patrick's" <stpats at bga.com> > Subject: cell counts > > In #3268 Alan Meeker asks "Has anyone actually counted the > number of cells in one of these XL packs?" > > In 1998 I had both Wyeast and White Labs tested at Analytical Food > Laboratories in Dallas. The lab routinely makes tests of this sort. Tests > were conducted by a Ph.D. microbiologist. As I recall most of the guys who built the Mars lunar lander and dsigned the hubble were "PhD's". :-) > > Additional tests were done on yeasts stored for 1, 2 months (White Labs and > Wyeast) and 4 and 6 months (Wyeast only). Wyeast were checked immediately > after breaking inner pouch, at 1" thick pouch, 2 " thick pouch, and 1 day > after reaching 2" thick. > > Only ale yeasts were checked. No lager yeasts. > > Here's a summary of the what I consider the most important points of the > tests. I would be nice to see all the data so we can draw our own conclusions about waht is or is not important. > > Wyeast XL cell counts varied from 15-70 billion in the fresh packs. Pitched > directly in 5 gallon batch this yields about .5-4 million/mL. In short, > about 2- 10 times below commerical pitching rates (for ale). I should add > that only two small Wyeast packs were tested and the results were > consistent with large packs, i.e. less yeast proportional to volume ratio. > > The self-contained starter in Wyeast packs, even 6 months old, works. Cell > counts in 6 month old packs risen to 1" were within a factor of two of > fresh packs. > > White Labs yeasts had total cell counts which were a little less than > Wyeast XL. White Labs cell counts were essentially unchanged after 1 > month. At 2 months, cell counts had fallen nearly an order of magnitude. > > Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that > > It's best to pitch Wyeast when pack is 1" thick, not when it's fully risen. Can you provide inofrmation on the protocols used for this analysis? Was counting done via microscope or coulter counter? If using a microscope was it with methylene blue? Are the cell counts given "total" or "vialbe" cells?. If "viable" how was viability determined? Determining viability on samples of les than 90% viability wiht methylen blue is problematic. Ideally one should use th elside culturee method. > > Finally, some posts have made mention of cell counts that have been > reported elsewhere. I would like to draw attention to one report--the > special issue of Zymurgy in 1998. The numbers in Zymurgy disagree with the > independent tests at the Dallas lab by as much as 10X. To be blunt, > virtually every piece of data in the table including shelf life, price, > cell counts is dubious in light of the tests done at the Dallas lab at > virtually the same time the article appeared. How can you call into question this data when you yourself say that your sample size was small? How is it that your testing is anymore or less valid than that in zymrugy? One can find the counts I got on white labs at: : http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Beer/Threads/Threads/thread.953387966.html > > The total costs for all the tests I had done at the Dallas lab was a few > hundred bucks but the cost for cell counts in fresh packs was only $100. > This would seem to be a rather small investment to ensure accuracy. I think you need to take a refresher course in precision and accuracy. In no way does such a small sample size "ensure accuracy" One could probaly get a Ph'd post doc to this for free. :-) Jim Liddil North Haven ,CT Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 14:32:05 -0600 From: Chris Ivanovich <creature at blacklagoon.org> Subject: Good old Ballard Bitter Recipe? I have a tale of woe... I lived in Colorado for a decade and a half, and, somewhere in there, I discovered what I considered to be the finest beer in America - Redhook's Ballard Bitter. What a nose! Great hop bite! And just the right hint of diacetyl to make it one of the most wonderful of drinking experiences (especially when drinking it on tap at the West But the pressures of society crashed down upon me, and six years ago I was forced to move to the Washington, D.C. area, where Ballard Bitter requests were met with a glazed, inbred look and pithy comeback of, "Wha?" I've since moved to Chicago, where beer flows a-plenty, and was finally (after three years of searching here) I finally found...BALLARD BITTER! But, alas, 'tis not the same. The label now says "IPA" and the taste is all wrong. So I did a bit of net research, and found that Redhook has, in fact, changed the recipe. Too bad. It now blows dead farm animals. So I was wondering if anyone out there had a respectible clone recipe (preferably all grain) for the OLD Ballard Bitter. I sure would appreciate it... Thanks for lending an ear...er, I mean _eye_, Chris Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 12:48:51 -0800 From: "scott" <Cuckold at cornerpub.com> Subject: Updated Homebrew website I have updated my homebrew website. I have a 2-tier system, with HERM's recirculator, been using it for a year or so now. I enjoy the HBD, and it has been invaluable in helping me make truly great beer. http://homebrewery.homestead.com/homebrewery.html Thanks! Scott and Karin Richland, Wa. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 15:15:15 CST From: "Andrew Krein" <akrein62 at hotmail.com> Subject: hard cider won't clarify I've had 5 gallons of apple cider in a glass carboy for about 3 weeks now and it doesn't show much sign of clearing. The cider was fresh pressed and then frozen with no preservatives or pasturization. The cider was thawed and the only thing added was 4 lbs of brown sugar and some pectic enzyme. I used a dry ale yeast to ferment. Can something like bentonite or isenglass be used to help clarify? I'd like to make this a sparkling cider, bottle conditioned. Would this be affected by some clearing additive? I'd really appreciate any ideas. Andy Krein ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 16:36:40 -0500 From: Mark Tumarkin <mark_t at ix.netcom.com> Subject: Davison Color Guide About a week ago I posted asking if anyone knew of a source for the Davison Color Guides. AJ found a site, Cascade Brewing, that listed the color guides in their catalog. I emailed them but unfortunately they no longer have any. I'd really like to get one of the Color Guides. Has Dennis Davison stopped making them? Does anyone have a current email address for Dennis Davison? Mark Tumarkin Gainesville, Fl Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 09:22:18 +1100 From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au> Subject: Rice Beer And Other Matters Darrell Leavitt asks if anyone has experimented with rice for the production of light summer beers. I have been mucking about with rice for some time and my conclusion is that it makes an excellent "ladies" beer. I don't intend this as a sexist comment. I don't suggest that all ladies must be "ladies". I once knocked about with a girl around the wilds of Boggabilla who fancied stout with a drop of sump oil in it. Well that was about how it came in Boggabilla. I wouldn't want to go to the other extreme either by suggesting that Eric Fouch is a "man's man", though he has been spotted drinking rice beers in Atlanta bars. Didn't see you at the Mardi Gras this year Eric, are you slipping? The first rice beer I ever made was a Czech style pilsner ( now calm down Doc Pivo, get off that keyboard and let me finish) where I substituted just under a quarter of the barley in the grain bill with rice. It was an experiment. I cooked the rice and added it to the mash. I had pots and pans and boiling water and mash all going at once and it was a hell of a business. All too hard I concluded. But the end result was a light bodied, very light coloured crisp beer which Jill and her girlfriends went ape over. And I do mean ape, Doc Pivo - you might like to experiment with this yourself! The scenes in the billiard room were extraordinary. Six scantily dressed women leaning precariously over the billiard table, taking shots and hoofing into my rice beer. I've been making rice beer ever since! The second time I tried getting crafty by cooking the rice the day before brewing. But this turned into a congealed glob which gave me a dreadful time during lautering - I would have gladly aborted this one for the trouble it caused me - but I was determined to get another rice beer out on line, and the girls were banging at the door! Another success resulted. Third time round I switched to flaked rice and the process became infinitely easier. I wouldn't bother trying to cook the rice again. So Darrell to answer your question, I have experimented with rice beers and have been forced to keep making them. Be a bit careful not to over hop as you are dealing with less malt for balance. And lock yourself in the billiard room!! On the other matter, I see Steve Alexander asking for more than 8kb writing space in the HBD. Come on Steve, you can't be serious? I think Pat and Karl have done a great job getting the HBD to run just the way it is. Steve, if you can't get it out in 8kb perhaps you will need to write a book, or maybe you will have to shorten that signature of yours, every byte helps. Cheers P Baron Of The Billiard Room Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 17:02:13 -0600 From: "Bruce Garner" <bpgarner at mailbag.com> Subject: Share a room in St. Louis this weekend? Hello, I am looking for anyone who might want to share a room this weekend in St. Louis. I may not be able to go but hope to make it. Bruce Garner Madison, WI Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 18:32:46 -0500 From: David Cords <dcords at engin.umd.umich.edu> Subject: Survey I am doing this survey for my final project for my safety engineering class at U-M. Please respond by 3/25/00. Thanks David Cords Hello my name is David Cords and I am presently in a Safety Engineering class at The University of Michigan. The purpose of these questions is to find out what causes accidents to happen while homebrewing. I also would like to find out their frequency and ways that accidents can be avoided while home brewing. Please answer the following questions and mail back the responses to dcords at engin.umd.umich.edu. Please use any text editor and save the file as text. All answers will be confidential. 1) How many years have you been a homebrewer? 2) Have you personally had any accidents while homebrewing? 3) If so please describe. 4) Did this accident(s) cause any loss of time from work? If so how many days? 5) In what stage of the home brewing process do you feel that accidents are likely to occur? 6) What do you feel can be done to make homebrewing, as a hobby, safer? 7) Would you like to see more about safety and homebrewing in articles or publications? Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey. As stated above all answers will remain confidential. Please return to me no later than 3/25/00. Thanks again, David Cords Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 18:32:36 EST From: Jaxson28 at aol.com Subject: Water Filtration Can anyone point me in the direction of a fast and efficient way to filter my tap water? I brew outside mostly, but I have to fill my mash/lauter tun by carrying my sterile 5 gal carboys from inside. Is there a way to hook-up a filter to my outside hose so I can easily fill my mash tun when brewing. please help I'm getting to healthy carrying those ! at #$ carboys! Feel free to e-mail me Jaxson28 at aol.com (Brian C. Jackson) T.C.B. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 15:46:50 +0000 From: "Troy Hager" <thager at hcsd.k12.ca.us> Subject: Freezing LME? Has anyone ever tried freezing liquid malt extract? I have had problems with it molding if kept for more than 3-4 weeks or so in the refridgerator. Any thoughts on this? Thanks, Troy Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 18:21:11 -0600 From: dstedman at csc.com Subject: pH and me (or where is my hot break!) Hi - So I need some information. Clear. Distinct. Just the sweet stuff. What is my pH supposed to be, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, at the following stages of my brew day - Mash-in (i.e. I've combined my malt and water and it has been thoroughly mixed): <answer here> Wort just before starting to boil: <answer here> Wort at end of boil: <answer here> The reason I ask is that I just brewed a 1.066 IPA that had virtually no hot break. I figured it was because my wort pH was too low (5.0 at 70F). But when I started reviewing my numerous brewing texts and online resources to learn more about what went wrong, I noticed that there is seldom EVER a reference to what temperature the pH they are referring to is being taken. And what with the difference in pH between 70F, 155F (-.3?), and 212F (-.?), I have to say that I don't know what to believe. I use the expensive pH papers, and I assume (?) that I have little choice but to let my samples cool to room temperature before taking a measurement. So that is why I would appreciate a simple, straightforward, "this is what your pH is supposed to read at room temperature"-type answer. And could you just humor me and state your responses in the following format: pH at temperature (i.e. a pH of 5.0 at 70F)? Thanks. Oh, yeah - and please excuse my tone. Not only did I not have any hot break, but I had a stuck mash using Beeston's Maris Otter for the first time, I ran out of propane part way through the boil, and my PSB chiller turned my boiling-hot last-rinse-before-knockout water an interesting yellow color. It will probably be my best beer ever. You all are the greatest - Dan in Minnetonka, MN Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 17:39:00 -0700 From: "Paul Gatza" <paulg at aob.org> Subject: Big Brew Recipe Adjustment Thanks to all who pointed out the gravity deficiency. I believe Crispy has already posted a correction but here it is again if he did not. When we discussed the recipe, I removed the 1 pound of wheat Chris uses, since Sierra Nevada claims not to use any. The brain freeze from the porter milkshake I was working on left me numb, and I forgot to add back those lost gravity points in the form of two row. Duh. Crispy's system gets huge efficiency, so we have added a ninth pound for those of us who are less efficient brewers or have less efficient systems. Adjust the amount of two row based on your system efficiency, so that your target o.g. is 13 Plato. The target f.g. is 2.8 Plato. The target IBU is 46; feel free to adjust your hop rate based on alpha. As we are in the second half of the hop year, expect the alpha to have dropped slightly from the alpha listed at packaging. Anyway, before Crispy and I worked out the correction he went back to his notes and liked some of his hoppier variations. He recommends we go hoppier at the flavor and dry aroma stages with an extra half-ounce at each point. SN does not claim to dry hop the PA as they do Bigfoot, but we have left this as a part of the recipe as a means to achieve that great cascade aroma. For you hopheads who wish to deviate further, Crispy has suggested an additional half-ounce of cascade at thirty minutes, with the understanding that you are going above and beyond the SNPA clone. Here is the adjusted recipe: Big Brew 2000, Nearly Nirvana Pale Ale All Grain Recipe for 5 gallons: 6.5 gallons water (2.5 mash, 4 sparge) 1 T gypsum (unless using hard water) 9 lb U.S. two row malt 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 60 L 1/2 lb U.S. dextrin malt 1 oz Perle hops (bittering or first wort hop) 1 oz Cascade hops (flavor) 1/2 t Irish moss 1/2 oz Cascade hops (aroma) 1 oz Cascade hops (dry hop) Wyeast 1056 liquid ale yeast Extract with grain recipe for 5 gallons: 5 gallons water (1 1/2 steep and boil, 3 1/2 added) 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 40 L 1/2 lb U.S. crystal malt 20 L 1 T Gypsum (unless using hard water) 6 3/4 lb Alexanders Pale Malt Extract Syrup 1 1/2 oz Perle hops (bittering) 1 oz Cascade hops (flavor) 1/2 t Irish Moss 1/2 oz Cascade hops (aroma) 1 oz Cascade hops (dry hop) Wyeast 1056 liquid ale yeast Paul Gatza (mailto:/paulg at aob.org) Director, American Homebrewers Association 736 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302 voice(303)447-0816 x 122 fax (303) 447-2825 Join the AHA at http://www.beertown.org Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 20:02:46 EST From: Warandle1 at aol.com Subject: saving yeast Hi all, For the first time I have saved the yeast from a finished beer. I collected it (March 16) from a secondary carboy that sat for 4 weeks at 40 F. I have the yeast in flask at 40 F in a little bit of the beer that I bottled. Its a lager yeast. How long will it be good/viable stored as it is? What can I do to keep it longer? I do not expect to brew another batch till 1st or 2nd weekend in April. If I can use it to pitch, what should I do to *prepare* it for pitching? Thank you for your responses, Will Randle Ashland, MO Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 17:02:50 +0000 From: "Troy Hager" <thager at hcsd.k12.ca.us> Subject: Unitank Ale Conditioning I have brewed lagers and know that there seems to be a fairly defined protocal for the secondary fermentation timing and temperatures, ie. after the primary fermentation has subsided to either do a dyacital (sp?) rest or to just bring it down slowly a few degrees per day until you get down to lagering temps and hold for X amount of weeks. For ale conditioning it seems much more vague. I have heard everything from letting it sit in the primary (on the yeast) for as much as 3-4 weeks at fermentation temperatures, to "crash cooling" it (mostly in brewpubs) to 32F soon after primary fermentation has stopped. I have even heard of brewpubs monitoring FG and crashing the beer to stop fermentation when it gets to where they want it. Doesn't ale also have to go through a secondary fermentation so the yeast eat up all of the nasties and clean up the beer? How long does this take? I ferment in a SS conical and am able accurately control temperature and also to pull trub and yeast from the bottom. I am wondering how the brewpubs do this. I had a great email from Charles Hudak a couple years ago about how he did this but I lost when I moved computers. So, here are some questions for those of you who know about what they do in brewpubs. Note, this pertains only to ales: When do you pull off the trub? When do you pull off the yeast? You can't see the krausen in a unitank so do you just go by bubbling activity? Do you let the beer sit and condition before taking it down to 32F or so? Why have I heard 32F? What about lower temps? Do you actually "crash cool" it as they say or do you step it down slowly? Do you control FG in this way? How long do you hold it at this very cold temp before transfering it to the bright beer tanks or kegs? Does the beer then need to condition more in the BB tanks at serving temps? I know that with different yeasts you will want to do different things and will get different results.... What I am looking for here is some general post-primary techiniques used by those who ferment in conicals with the ability to accurately control the temps. Thanks! Troy Return to table of contents
Date: 20 Mar 2000 16:18:38 -0800 From: Thomas A Gardner <Thomas.A.Gardner at kp.org> Subject: keg conversion FAQ I have been trying to locate a copy of the Keg Conversion FAQ written by Teddy Winstead, but the link in The Brewery Library gets forwarded to a site that "times out", and I can't figure out how to "gunzip" the file at stanford.edu. Does anyone have a copy or information that would lead me to it? TIA Tom Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 15:28:07 +1100 From: "Phil & Jill Yates" <yates at acenet.com.au> Subject: What We Have Here Is A Failure To Read I can see Steve Alexander is going to tell me that Doc Pivo and I obviously went to the same reading school. I have accused Steve of asking for something he didn't, naughty me. Steve wasn't asking for more than 8kb for himself, just overall volume. The whole problem Steve, comes about because the recalcitrant USA refuses to operate to Australian time zones. This means that unlike you I don't get to peruse the HBD over a bowl of weeties at breakfast. It arrives for us in the late afternoon. The girls and I have usually knocked back a few rice beers by then and things are getting pretty lively in the billiard room. Suffice to say when I get up next morning I have a very distorted view of what I thought I read the night before on HBD. And I refuse to read it twice! As for Doc Pivo, as he advised, it is hard reading anything whilst squaffing down an ash tray full of cigarette butts - you really have to get onto this rice beer Doc, it'll keep your hands off butts forever!! Sorry to misquote you Steve, can't promise I won't do it in the future. I mean to say, the real truth is I slipped it in at the end of my last post without alluding to it in the subject title just to be sure you really are reading my posts. If I ever catch you doing otherwise that invite of a night with the folks in the Burradoo Billiard Room will be off!! Cheers Phil Baron Of Misquotes Return to table of contents
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