HOMEBREW Digest #3442 Sat 30 September 2000

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org



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Contents:
  Session Beers, Publicity Campaigns, & Evap Rates (Christopher Farley)
  The Jethro Gump Report ("Rob Moline")
  Yeast Culture Questions... (Ant Hayes)
  Dr. Smith - Yeast culturing questions ("pksmith_morin")
  yeast plates ("Graham Sanders")
  Homebrew Publicity Campaign (Dan Listermann)
  Out of the closet ??? ("Peter J. Calinski")
  Frozen keg woes and fridge problems (Carmen Salvatore)
  Little Shop of Hops in NYC (John Cooper)
  session beer (Vachom)
  Upside Down Plates ("Paul Niebergall")
  Protecting us from ourselves... (macher)
  HBD and AHA (Alan McKay)
  Re: Beer defects (Spencer W Thomas)
  mash hopping (mike karnowski)
  censorship (Jim Liddil)
  pumpking ale advice? ("Jensen, Craig")
  Miracles & culturing ("Glen Pannicke")
  Yeast culturing ("Alan Meeker")
  AHA Sponsorship ("Paul Gatza")
  Hacker-Pschorr ("Jeff Beinhaur")
  RE: covered boils ("Brian Lundeen")
  SoFB I and III ("Jim Busch")
  Re: mash hopping clarification (Marc Sedam)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 00:25:33 -0500 (CDT) From: Christopher Farley <chris at northernbrewer.com> Subject: Session Beers, Publicity Campaigns, & Evap Rates > From: Doug Hurst <DougH at theshowdept.com> > Subject: Session Beer > > Could someone please enlighten me as to the meaning of "Session" as in the > phrase "... makes a good session beer"? sess'ion beer, n. (orig: England) A good beer for consumption during a long session of drinking. This usually refers to English beers of about SG 1035-1040. > And secondly, is there anyone who has any information about the Homebrew > Publicity Campaign that was organized by the late Brewing Techniques people? > I sent email to the listed address but it was returned undeliverable. I > know that BT is gone but the web site states the following: As I understand, the Homebrew Publicity Campaign's lasting achievement was the production of a 30-second long commercial that homebrew shops could air on television. It was a reasonably well-done ad, and I would have considered using it were it not for the unfortunate sound of a woman's voice cooing with pleasure (a very unusual amount of pleasure) after a glass of homemade wine was poured. The devil is in the details... You might want to try contacting F.H. Steinbart; I think someone there was involved. > From: Al Korzonas > > Actually, I'm surprised that anyone would suggest a gentle boil or to > keep the lid on during the boil. Both are great ways to increase > dimethyl sulphide (DMS), which lends a cooked corn aroma, in your > finished beer. Professional texts are quite clear on this and I have > references if you really don't believe me, but the Reader's Digest > version is this: [snipped] I asked Dave Miller about this once because I was concerned that I could be getting DMS due to my not-so-powerful stove. His only question to me was 'What is your total evaporation rate?' When I told him it was about 20% over 90 minutes, he quite definitively stated that my boiling practices were not an issue. (Anything over 10% evaporation was good, I believe.) Is an evaporation-rate rule too simplistic? - ---- Christopher Farley Northern Brewer / 1150 Grand Avenue / St. Paul, MN 55105 www.northernbrewer.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 01:31:41 -0500 From: "Rob Moline" <brewer at isunet.net> Subject: The Jethro Gump Report The Jethro Gump Report So much to say..... ProMash.. The only brewing software I use...or recommend.. to my mates ..... AHA Sponsor of HBD.. As a brewer, I was delighted when the AHA took the helm of the HBD, way back when it was needed... And disgusted when they 'screwed the pooch' and dropped the ball.... As a brewer, I felt that this was a natural marriage between the arts, science, and net....."Who else?" Obviously, someone......the AHA couldn't carry the ball... Now...as a member of the Board of AHA, when questions of sponsorship evolve, I go back...when it was recommended that the AHA sponsor the HBD.... at that time, it couldn't be done...not for a lack of desire..... Now, it is again needed...and many of the Board have recommended that the AHA indeed sponsor the HBD.....I agree.... But, I put it further..... The AHA should be the natural home of the HBD......carrying all the costs...... With the leadership of folks like Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen maanaging the effort....why would one care where it lives? After all, the address is just a few digits...and financial support. I think we could do that. And with the new structure of the AHA/AOB.....and the current strata of the Board....I believe that the AHA is now ready to embrace the HBD..... After all, it remains a natural marriage....of the arts, science, and the net. I believe it should be done.... Cheers! Jethro Gump "The More I Know About Beer, The More I Realize I Need To Know More About Beer!" Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:24:40 +0200 From: Ant Hayes <Ant.Hayes at FifthQuadrant.co.za> Subject: Yeast Culture Questions... Dr Smith asked some questions regarding culturing yeast. Be warned that the answers come from someone who dropped biology in the equivalent of the 9th Grade. 1. "culturing plates upside down?" - I don't bother leaving the plates upside down. But I do seal the edges with electrician's tape. Glass on glass makes a poor seal, and fur can develop on the outside of the plate quite quickly. 2. "Do any of you get break material in your plates?" - Yes - they don't look pretty - but are functional. 3. "what do you use for a flame source?" - I use a methylated spirits burner from a fondue set. No soot but certainly enough heat. A mate of mine uses a plumber's blow torch - which works very well. My contribution to our club's yeast handling was the use of in-flight jam jars. (They are the ones about 30 mm high with a similar diameter) I prefer them to plates as they are small, seal and can be boiled. I mix a little DME; water and agar in each jar, seal and then put them in boiling water for 20 minutes. Once cool, you have a relatively sterile container which can be easily stored until you need to streak your yeast. I store my backup yeasts in these jars, tucked away in the back of the fridge. Because they are sealed, the agar does not dry out as quickly. Ant Hayes Gauteng; South Africa Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 04:49:06 -0500 From: "pksmith_morin" <pksmith_morin at email.msn.com> Subject: Dr. Smith - Yeast culturing questions Dr. Smith brings up some good points about yeast culturing. Short of a sterile hood, in my experience it is difficult to ensure plates are not contaminated by sampling or transfer error-microbes. Especially in the summer, when, as in the brewery, nasties swirl and swim about the atmosphere with clear abandon. One thing you can do is keep everything within the perimeter of the flame heat "hood," the theory being that everything underneath this "hood" is protected due to the fact heat rises - arguably carrying with it nasties (away from your work). "Arguably" because cross-currents may penetrate this hood anyway, especially with a low energy source, such as an alcohol lamp. I have found a propane torch to be much better. Secondly, you can bathe the entire area in alcohol mist. USE 70% ALCOHOL, preferably ethanol, NOT 90%. For alcohol to work (without flaming microbial critters to death, as in a 90% solution that is then flamed on hard surfaces, e.g., stainless sample ports), it has to have enough water content to allow cell-wall penetration, where the alcohol can then do its deadly work. Too high an alcohol content and the cell just "lyophilizes," essentially "freeze dries" and remains in a state of suspended animation, where it can later reanimate (and give your beer nasty flavors). But I digress. Additionally, using alcohol near a flame is always dangerous, I am not responsible for your use of it, and I do not want you to become a molotov cocktail. Use 70%. Regarding break material in plates, I do not think it's a big deal. You may also be seeing impurities from the agar - if you use agar from an asian grocery store, it will put out a lot of break itself. For the money, it's great stuff. As you know, medical- or scientific grade agar is really expensive and for our purposes I do not see the utility of its use (expect special media, as in differential medias). Finally, the alcohol lamp will flame the loop to a glowing red - it just takes longer. If you are concerned about time, get a propane torch. Cheers, Paul Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 20:41:09 +1000 From: "Graham Sanders" <craftbrewer at cisnet.COM.AU> Subject: yeast plates G'day All Since I opened my big gob about running a yeast station, I suspose I'll have to chuck in my stuff on the subject. I'm sure other will cover this better than me, but I give it my usual down to earth approach. So, it was truely written >>>>Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 16:09:16 GMT From: "dr smith" <drsmithhm at hotmail.com> Subject: Yeast Culture Questions... Ok - I've been reading some yeast culturing documents and some of the facts seem unsanitary. One of the biggest offenders is culturing plates upside down. It seems to me that the open lip of the upturned cover would be constantly collecting nasties around the edge of the culture and contamination inevitable since glass-glass isn't a great seal.<<<<< Yeh, at first logic would say you are right. And right you are if its only this point you have to consider. but there are other points that make plates being stored and used upside down compusory. >>> Also, after the plate comes out of a pressure cooker/autoclave, it would seem that the route nasties would have to take to contaminate the plate would be much more torturous since they would have to travel both up under the lip, horizontally for some distance and then down onto the media(if the plate is not inverted). Add to that that any condensation on the cover is also sterile, and I can't fathom why we'd want to invert them.<<<< Right again about the path the beasties will take. But (yes you all knew this was coming) there are also some other rules to consider here. And it all has to do with the condensation angle. When the plates come out of the pressure cooker/autoclav, oh yes its all sterile. And we want to keep it that way. True the water is sterile, but you dont RISK it by letting anything drop onto the clean media. And you have said youself its not a perfect seal. So if one bug gets in you dont want to give it an easy ride to the media. No, upside down, in an environment of relatively still air, well it has to fight against gravity to get there, doesn't it. My beer belly cant do it, the one eyed trouser snake is losing it, and bugs just can't do it. There is also another reason. You want the plates to firm up nice. If you allow condensation to fall on the surface it doesn't allow it to slowly evaporate and firm up. There always seems to be some excess water after making the plates. storing upside dwon allows a nice equilibrium to be maintained. >>>Further, when streaking the plate and working in the flame zone, the cover is apparently left wide open on the table to collect dust and other contaminates while we're busy streaking the plate I know the instructions say to work fast, but my amazing talent for growing mold on agar plates in combination with this opportunity for contamination doesn't make me relax and have a craft/home brew.<<<<<< Yes right again, But (I.m starting to love that word) ther are other things to consider. If you put the plate need the flame, when you expose the lid it should be in an updraft. Now this makes its more difficult for stuff to fall in. And yes there is every likely hood some thing may fall in. Big deal (now who's going to guess what I'm going to say next ) it still has to fight against gravity to get back to the plate. Last time I looked, most haven't grown legs, although with GM anything is possible. >>>Do any of you get break material in your plates<<<< OF course, but your point is??????????? Big deal, yeast don't have any eyes, and still will grow quite happily in the plate.. >>>Also(last one, then I'll shut up and wait for the debate, I promise), what do you use for a flame source<<< Just use anything thats bloody hot. Lighters, Alcohol flames (they do work) etc. I use a simple LPG camp burner. want a good test, put your finger in it, if it burns you straight away, its hot enough. But as you said stay away from soot producing heat sources. True they will work, but the buggers are very messy. Finally, yes they are not airtight, but they are designed for propogation of yeast, and others. They are not designed for long term storage. Remember that and yes there use is fine. >>>we should put together a aussie/english dictionary I think, <<< No way, got to be able to continue to string you woosers along the beaten track. Always keep them wanting (and guessing). Shout Graham Sanders Oh, to all those out there complaining about the the HUGH number of Aussies taking up the digest. To me it seems there is a definite lack of them at the moment. True if Brad does shut-up about his trip OS, I'll cross the border and sort him out, and like a fart, Warrin chimes in at the most inapropriate time. But after that its a true australian drought. But watch out America, for when the drought breaks over here, it just doesn't rain>>>>>>>>>>>>>................... Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:34:25 -0400 From: Dan Listermann <72723.1707 at compuserve.com> Subject: Homebrew Publicity Campaign Doug Hurst ( DougH at theshowdept.com) asked about the Homebrew Publicity Campaign. I saw the commercial at the Home Wine and Beer Associtation |Conferance at Niagria Falls this spring. The consensus was that it suffered from a fatal flaw. The commercial was meant to reach out to the public and create interest in homebrewing. The beer bottle in the picture was labled "Bitter." When we live in our own little world we should not forget that there are other worlds out there. Dan Listermann Check out our new E-tail site at listermann.com Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:36:54 -0400 From: "Peter J. Calinski" <PCalinski at iname.com> Subject: Out of the closet ??? Marc Sedam requests: You suggest that people say they didn't notice much with respect to mash hopping...they should post to the HBD! Tell the world what you think, people. Nothing behind the scenes...come out of the closet. Well, yesterday, I bottled a pale ale that was mash hopped with 3 oz. of cascades ( for 5 gal.). It was the best tasting beer I ever bottled. I can't wait to taste the final product. Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 10:09:29 -0400 From: Carmen Salvatore <carmen.salvatore at lmco.com> Subject: Frozen keg woes and fridge problems Hi All, I recently kegged the best batch of Hefe-Weizen I've ever brewed. My wife and I did some informal side by side comparisons with Paulaner, H-P, and a 3rd that I can't remember at the moment. Wow - what I had was very comparable, a tweak here or there maybe and by our judgement it'd be spot on w/H-P which was our favorite. Well, the other night I went to draw a pint and found that the power strip the fridge was plugged into was turned off. Damn!! The fridge was about room temp - turned the power strip back on. The next night my wife goes to get a couple of pints and she says "Carmen how come this is coming out all slushy - it looks like it's frozen." WHAT!!! Well the temp in the fridge was about 20 degrees!! I took the keg out, let it thaw, fussed with the temp dial (which had not been touched in over a month), and was able to barely get the fridge up to 40 degrees. I put the keg back in, cooled it down, drew a couple of pints . . . . we looked at each other and at the same time said "Something's changed - it's not as good as before." Another DAMN!!! So 2 questions for the collective. First, what would happen to the beer due the cool/frozen/warm/cool cycle it went through. Apparenly something 'cause it's certainly not the same. It appeared to loose some carbonation, and developed a flatness ( in taste), as well as thinness. And second - I know FridgeGuy has been around these parts recently - what would cause the temp to plumet like that - I was thinking maybe the thermostat?? Any help would be much appreciated. Carm Salvatore Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 10:07:46 -0400 From: John Cooper <rjcooper at unix.amherst.edu> Subject: Little Shop of Hops in NYC does anybody know if "Little Shop of Hops" in New York City is still around (it used to be in midtown). if so, anyone have a phone number? Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:37:02 -0500 From: Vachom <MVachow at newman.k12.la.us> Subject: session beer Doug Hurst asks for a definition of a session beer. A session beer is a beer fit for a drinking session of several hours where 4 to, say, 8 pints/person are consumed. Implicit in such a definition are the following qualities: relatively low original gravity, light to medium body, "mild" taste (that is, not super-hopped, nor spiced, nor smoky, etc.). Guinness, as its brewed for its home audience (1.038 O.G.), is a good example. Unfortunately, American craft session beers are hard to come by. If you were "one over the eight" with Goose Island Honker's Ale or Deschutes Obsidian Stout, you'd rue the session the next day. The increasingly prevalent "American wheat" seasonal would probably fall into the category or the mega-brewers' light beers would certainly fit. The term is also often synonymous with what many homebrewers refer to as their "house beers"--those simple beers that we brew in bulk for home consumption. Mike New Orleans, LA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:59:14 -0500 From: "Paul Niebergall" <pnieb at burnsmcd.com> Subject: Upside Down Plates dr smith writes: >Ok - I've been reading some yeast culturing documents and some of >the facts seem unsanitary. One of the biggest offenders is >culturing plates upside down. <<Big Snip>> When you invert the plate and open the cover, any "nasties" that fall on (or in) the open cover tend to stay on the open cover. If you open a plate right-side up, the nasties fall directly onto the agar surface. It is much better to have the nasties fall on (in) the cover than onto the surface of the agar. You may be tempted to turn the plate cover back over so that nothing falls into it after you open a plate. There two reasons not to do this. First off, this will increase the handling time which is directly proportional to the contamination threat. I am not trying to split hairs but, the extra few seconds that you use to flip the cover over, and then back again after streaking, could actually double or triple the amount of time the plate is open to the atmosphere. Secondly, most contamination in a home lab environment is on surfaces and not floating around in the air. If you turn the cover "right side up" you still have to set it down somewhere. This puts the inside of the cover (at least the edge anyway) in contact with a potentially contaminated surface. >Do any of you get break material in your plates? I then >poured a plate, and pressure cooked for 25 minutes. >The surface of the plate is smooth, but the material >itself looks crappy because of suspended break material >that was generated in the pressure cooker. Somebody else was writing about sterilizing the agar plates WITH AGAR in a pressure cooker. At first it may sound like a good idea, but if you have ever actually tried it, it is a major PITA. The agar boils over, the plates spill, you get tons of condensation, and you can only fit a few plates at a time in your cooker. Way to much pain and effort, and for what benefit? Buy pre-sterialized plastic plates in a sleeve and sterilize your agar in a glass jar in the pressure cooker. I use a 16-ounce beer bottle and cover the opening with aluminum foil. Leave the sterilized agar bottle in the pressure cooker until it has cooled enough to handle with a latex-gloved hand and yet the agar is still liquid. Then fill your plates. You can easily fill a dozen or so plates in no time at all. (This also takes care of the break problem because all the break material falls to the bottom and you dont pour it out into the plates) Quit worrying about contamination. As long as you use reasonable sanitation practices in you work area, the just aint that much contamination floating around to worry about. If you use a home-made glove box (cardboard box, plastic sheeting for a lid, lined with aluminum foil, sprayed with Lysol) you will virtually eliminate most forms of contamination. >Now, I haven't measured the temperature of an >alcohol flame, but I have sure doubts that alcohol burns hot >enough to do this. You obviously havent tried this. An alcohol flame is plenty hot enough to get an inoculation hoop glowing red. It happens almost instantly. >Further, a candle gives off a ton of soot Dont use a candle (even if you did, the soot if fairly sterile). >Would a Bunsen burner not make more sense......... Only if you like melting your inoculation hoops. Not that that cost a whole lot of money, but it is not something that you can run down to the corner store to replace at a moments notice. Paul Niebergall Burns & McDonnell pnieb at burnsmcd.com "Illegitimis non carborundum" Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 11:19:48 -0400 (EDT) From: macher at telerama.com Subject: Protecting us from ourselves... Hi all, I applaud the Janitors for their interest in trying to protect those who suffer deficiencies in judgement. However, if "many corporations are now using "content filters" on incoming mail" it should be the responsibility of the subscriber, NOT the janitors, to determine if the content of any mailing list is appropriate for his/her specific situation. I personally have not found recent postings to be overly offensive. [pehhaps I have using the page down key more frequently recently] However, I do support the janitors in whatever they may wish to do to limit "violations of good taste." >If subscribing to the HBD is a violation of your >corporate internet usage policy, I advise you not >to. I don't wish the HBD to be responsible for >anyone receiving disciplinary action; however, if >such action precipitates, it is your own >responsibility.) You hit the nail on the head. Mr. Janitor, please don't put a bigger load on your own shoulders to protect us from ourselves. You guys do enough already. >If we aren't successful, the rush of corporations >incorporating content filters in their inbound >email systems will force us to incorporate similar >to automatically scan and refuse any post >containing such terms. I hope you only do so because YOU want to do so, not because you are trying to protect us from ourselves. Remember it won't be long before the word BEER triggers those corporate filters. Filter BEER out of the HBD and what do you have? You see my point... A realistic perspective, I hope... Bill Macher macher at telerama.lm.com Pittsburgh, Pa USA Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 11:25:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Alan McKay <amckay at ottawa.com> Subject: HBD and AHA Folks, Since the AHA already screwed up the HBD once, and almost saw to its demise, I say we stay as far away from them as possible. cheers, -Alan - -- "Brewers make wort. Yeast Makes Beer." - Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide http://www.bodensatz.com/ What's a Bodensatz? http://www.bodensatz.com/bodensatz.html Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 11:27:41 -0400 From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu> Subject: Re: Beer defects Hi, Jake. Two of the easiest, and most common, beer "defects" are diacetyl and DMS. Both are easy to find in the supermarket. For diacetyl, you should buy a bottle of imitation butter flavor. Look at the ingredients list. The first (flavor) ingredient should be diacetyl (water and alcohol will probably rank higher). If you have a choice, pick the one with the fewest other ingredients. For DMS, buy a can of corn. Now, go out and buy some "neutral" beer. American mega-swill usually works pretty well for this. Maybe something like Miller Light (no taste, less filling). Add a drop of the butter flavoring to one bottle of beer. Mix thoroughly. Have someone else pour a small glass from the doctored bottle and one from an undoctored bottle, and a third glass from either, without you seeing which is which. The glasses will need to be labelled so that the pourer can know which is which (marking 1, 2, 3 works pretty well). Your job is to sniff and taste all 3. Try to figure out which is the "odd one out." (This is called a "triangle test.") If you can't tell the difference, go back and add another drop to the doctored bottle, pour 3 glasses, etc. When you can smell and/or taste a difference, *and you get it right* (gotta ask the pourer at this point), then you will have determined 2 things -- one is your threshold for tasting or smelling diacetyl (at least in terms of "drops per bottle") -- the second is what a threshold level of diacetyl smells and tastes like *to you*. You should then continue to add drops, pour, sniff, taste (probably no need for further "triangulation" at this point) so that you can see how the aroma and flavor change as the concentration increases. Once you've trained yourself to recognize diacetyl, you can work on DMS. Drain the juice from the can of corn. Add a small amount to a new bottle of beer (1/4 tsp???) and repeat the triangle-tasting process until you can recognize the DMS smell and flavor. The canned corn juice is not exactly DMS, but it'll get you in the ballpark. Diacetyl and DMS in your beer commonly result from process and ingredients, but can also arise from bacterial infections. Diacetyl is produced by the yeast, and is later "removed" by the yeast. Some yeast leave more diacetyl in the beer than others. But you can also and a host of other things. Diacetyl can also be produced by a chemical reaction in the bottle. DMS mostly comes from the grain, and is left in the beer because it wasn't boiled hard or long enough, or because it was cooled too slowly, or was covered while cooling. A common defect resulting from infection is the family of "phenolic" aromas. These range from "smoky" to "plastic" to "spicy" to "medicinal" or "band aid". Phenol itself is a not-uncommon ingredient in sore throat lozenges, because it has a numbing and antibacterial effect. Check out the shelf in the drug store (or pharmacy in some variants of the English language) for sore throat lozenges containing phenol. That will get you one variant of "phenolic." You can use clove flavored extract to get the "spicy" variant. The others are harder. Well, that's probably enough for now... =Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI (spencer at umich.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 08:39:22 -0700 (PDT) From: mike karnowski <djpotpie at yahoo.com> Subject: mash hopping Well, here's my 2 cents worth, I made a pale ale (10 gallons) with just pale ale malt and 6 oz. of cascades (pellets) in the mash. No other hops were added. I know I shouldn't expect any bitterness out of this addition but I didn't want future additions to add any hop aroma which would screw up the results. Result: nothing! No hop aroma or flavor whatsoever, also no hop bitterness. Methinks you all are trying to reinvent the wheel, or else a "better" hop aroma is indicative that you don't like a hop aroma. The real KING of beers, -Elvis __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! http://photos.yahoo.com/ Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 08:57:47 -0700 (MST) From: Jim Liddil <jliddil at VMS.ARIZONA.EDU> Subject: censorship OK so now the HBD is going to come under the same censorship that the FCC rams donw our throats. We are going to let a bunch of corporate bean counters dictate the content? For one thing if you are reading the hbd you should be 21 years old since to drink legally in the US this is the rule. I know in the rest of the world it is different. At that age one should be able to make decisions as to what is or is not appropriate. If people wan the hbd have it delivered to an alternative account. I don't use my company e-mail account for none work related stuff. If want to use words like penis, computer network attack, crack, cracking, cryptography, darpa, DII, electronic warfare, mockingbird, phreaking, tiger team, howard stern, dilbert etc. then I am going to and I guess none of my posts will ever appear here again if this policy is put in place. Take freedom away and you won't get it back Jim Liddil North Haven, CT Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:24:17 -0700 From: "Jensen, Craig" <cjensen at toraycompam.com> Subject: pumpking ale advice? I am considering brewing a pumpkin ale. Most recipes I've seen call varying quantities of pumpkin pie type spices (cinnamon, ginger, all spice, vanilla, nutmeg, etc.), and for 7 to 10 lbs of pumpkin, baked for an hour or so at 350, then crushed and added to the mash). I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for making this type of beer? While I've brewed many all-grain batches (55 - 60?), and tried many different styles, using pumpkin will be a first for me. I'm particularly interested in any "watch outs" or hot tips for using pumpkin. If my system details matter to anyone, it's your basic, garden variety Gott cooler setup with a false bottom, and utilizing a grant and pump system to recirculate and transfer from mash tun to the kettle. Any suggestions would be appreciated! (Post to the HBD, or personal Emails are fine too.) Craig Jensen Wa. St. Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 13:18:15 -0400 From: "Glen Pannicke" <glen at pannicke.net> Subject: Miracles & culturing Jim wrote: >The apparition of the Virgin Mary has appeared in the fallen krausen foam >of my recent batch of trappist ale! Ahhh... The Virgin thing is gettin' old. Now I've got an image of St. Arnold, patron saint of brewers, who appeared on agar plate of cultured Weinstephan yeast. I know I streaked pit roperly, but the little colonies formed a bas relief of the saint - bishop's hat & all! Dr. Smith wrote: >Ok - I've been reading some yeast culturing documents and some of >the facts seem unsanitary. One of the biggest offenders is >culturing plates upside down. No one really knows why we do this but it wouldn't be culturing if you didn't do it! Kidding. The plate is turned upside-down to prevent condensation from falling onto your colonies and bsically, 'messing them up'. The main point of using a plate is to grow seperate colonies which (you hope) grew from a single cell for the purposes of isolation, counting, morphology, etc. You are right with the bottom/cover interface as not being a good seal. That is why the plates should not be kept for long periods oftime and that they should be kept wrapped or sealed during storage. >Do any of you get break material in your plates? Yep! It's expected. Even when you pressure can media for storage and then filter it before pouring a plate, you'll *still* get it again after you autoclave the plates. I can never win.... >Also(last one, then I'll shut up and wait for the debate, I >promise), what do you use for a flame source? There will be no debate. Ask my wife: "Glen is always right - even when he is very wrong." See. Told ya. An alcohol flame or candle will not get a nichrome or platinum loop hot enough to glow. Butane lighters barely only get the portion within the flame to glow. Your best bet is to get one of those mini butane torches (the kind that use the refillable lighter inside) OR to get a propane tank and brass sweat soldering nozzle. I use the latter since it it an adjustable flame, and I already had the pieces for other purposes. I also believe that it is a bit safer than an alcohol lamp because I just don't like liquid fuels in glass containers. An alcohol lamp will work fine though, glowing hot is only an indication that it's been in the flame "long enough". The amount of heat from an alcohol flame is enough to kill your bugs. Just leave it inthe flame a few seconds more. =================================================== Glen A. Pannicke glen at pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net Check http://pgpkeys.mit.edu/ for PGP public key 75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD ================================================== Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 13:49:12 -0400 From: "Alan Meeker" <ameeker at mail.jhmi.edu> Subject: Yeast culturing Concerning yeast culturing, "Dr. Smith" asks: >...culturing plates upside down. It seems to me that the open lip >of the upturned cover would be constantly collecting nasties >around the edge of the culture and contamination inevitable since >glass-glass isn't a great seal.... Add to that that any >condensation on the cover is also sterile, and I can't fathom >why we'd want to invert them." The condensation is the reason you culture plates are inverted. If you incubate your plates upright then condensation forming on the inside of the lid can drip or run down onto the surface of the media. This can then make a mess out of the area where you are trying to grow the organisms. It is not so much of a problem if the plates have dried fairly well, or if the incubation takes place at room temp, but if you are incubating at warm temps it becomes more of a concern. If you are worried about airborne contaminants you can stow the plates in an enclosed space like a drawer or cabinet. You can also lightly cover the plates with foil in such a way that you allow airflow but limit any dust. >Further, when streaking the plate and working in the flame zone, >the cover is apparently left wide open on the table to collect >dust and other contaminates while we're busy streaking the plate. >I know the instructions say to work fast, but my amazing talent >for growing mold on agar plates in combination with this >opportunity for contamination doesn't make me relax and have a >craft/home brew." You can hold the lid instead of setting it down while streaking or you can set the lid down on a clean surface. Again, you can pretty much consider foil or plastic wrap coming right off the roll as sanitary for all homebrewing intents and purposes. >Do any of you get break material in your plates? I put 1oz DME, >1 cup water, and 1 tsp of agar in a pot an boiled for 10 minutes >to combine. I then poured a plate, and pressure cooked for 25 >minutes. The surface of the plate is smooth, but the material >itself looks crappy because of suspended break material that was >generated in the pressure cooker. I know I could pressure can >the wort before pouring plates to get the trub out, but it >seems like one heck of a lot of work just to make slants/plates. This material won't cause you any trouble. Ignore it. >Also(last one, then I'll shut up and wait for the debate, I >promise), what do you use for a flame source? An alcohol lamp or >candle is called for in some of the web resources I've seen, but >they also indicate that the inoculation loop is heated until >glowing red. Now, I haven't measured the temperature of an >alcohol flame, but I have sure doubts that alcohol burns hot >enough to do this... An alcohol flame is fine and does indeed get hot enough to get the loop glowing if that's what you're looking for. Bunsen burners are great but not necessary. Those little acetylene torches that hardware stores sell are quite nifty too. I don't know how true it is but a microbiologist I trained under once told me that the goal wasn't actually to get the loop glowing hot but rather to pass it through the reducing portion of the flame - that this was sufficient. He even said that Pasteur used to have his students _flame their hands_ ! (still, I do get my loop glowing just to be on the safe side). -Alan Meeker Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 12:19:55 -0600 From: "Paul Gatza" <Paulg at aob.org> Subject: AHA Sponsorship Hi everyone. Thanks for all of the private and public discussion regarding AHA sponsorship of the HBD. I am in complete agreement that AHA sponsorship of the HBD does fit our mission. Financially we are unable to fund much research, and many HBDers are doing the cutting edge work at home. The HBD is the forum for the dissemination and discussion of much of the advances in homebrewing. The topic of AHA sponsorship of the HBD has received significant discussion among the AHA Board of Advisors. One thought is to hold a special fundraising event at the next AHA national homebrewers conference (which will be in Los Angeles June 21-23, a press release will be out soon). Another thought is to promote an extension of the benefits of sponsors to the AHA by spreading some exposure for the sponsor across to the HBD. However we figure it out, the AHA Board has shown a commitment to doing what we can. We are currently in the preliminary budgeting stage for 2001 here at the Association of Brewers. I will be including a $1200 AHA sponsorship of the HBD in that budget, and hopefully we can fund the rest of the needed dollars through some of the creative ideas the board and membership comes up with. For those coming to the Great American Beer Festival next week, please stop by the Association of Brewers booth. Paul Gatza Director-American Homebrewers Association Association of Brewers 736 Pearl St. (303) 447-0816 ext. 122 Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 447-2825 fax mailto:paulg at aob.org You may join the AHA at www.beertown.org Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 14:23:11 -0400 From: "Jeff Beinhaur" <beinhaur at email.msn.com> Subject: Hacker-Pschorr Excuse the somewhat non-related post, but, it is about beer. As much as I complain about my job there are two good things. One, I'm paid quite well and two, on Friday's we get a case of beer and consume it whilst we work (or at least try to work, cause sometimes the dart game gets in the way). So hear I sit at my desk enjoying a Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest when I notice on the label it says "ALE". Wait a minute, I thought a marzen or Oktoberfest was a lager. What gives? I seem to remember a discussion about this somewhere before but a search of archives as well as the Paulener website revealed nothing. Actually the website I was directed to was Paulener and stated the Hacker-Pschorr brewery in Munich was closed. Does anyone have any info. on the brewery and the beer? Jeff Beinhaur, Camp Hill, PA Home of the "Award Winning" Yellow Breeches Brewery Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 09:25:07 -0500 From: "Brian Lundeen" <blundeen at rrc.mb.ca> Subject: RE: covered boils Al Korzonas sneaks into the HBD under cover of darkness long enough to write: > Actually, I'm surprised that anyone would suggest a gentle boil or to > keep the lid on during the boil. Both are great ways to increase > dimethyl sulphide (DMS), which lends a cooked corn aroma, in your > finished beer. Now, I'm sure that even as I'm typing this, Dave Burley has already responded that his beers don't have DMS. But I will add my own thoughts on this. I did not interpret anything that was posted as suggesting that a gentle boil should be conducted. What I got was that a rolling boil could be maintained with less application of heat by partially covering the kettle. I don't consider the two to be the same thing. It was also emphasized that this was a partially covered boil. The steam carrying the DMS is still leaving the kettle, albeit at a reduced rate. If you're worried about condensation returning it to the wort, simply removing the lid for the last few minutes of the boil should solve that problem, shouldn't it? If people were having a DMS problem from partially covered boils, wouldn't someone have written in to tell us of that earlier in this debate? Anyway, I'm taking Dave's recommendations to heart, and with my newly purchased lid, will be doing a partially covered boil this weekend. If my dunkleweizen tastes like a dunklemaizen then I'll be the first to harangue Mr Burley for his "bad" advice. ;-) Cheers, Brian Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 14:33:20 +0000 From: "Jim Busch" <jim at victorybeer.com> Subject: SoFB I and III I was amused when the first version of this was rejected because I used German umlats! (Your article sent to homebrew is being rejected. The reason: -- Contains non-ascii characters --) Al Korzonas mentions the original Spirit of Belgium conference that BURP hosted many years ago (and dont forget SoFB III is Jan 13/14 2001 in Northern Va. See: http://www.burp.org/SoB2001) < This all comes from a talk given by a brewmaster <from an Austrian (formerly from a Belgian) brewery at the first <Spirit of Belgium conference near Washington, D.C. Al is referring to Diplom Braumeister Eric Toft, Weihenstephen grad who did work in Belgium during his schooling but has since worked in Bavaria. Eric is actually one of the few (only?) US born brewers to be a head brewer in Bavaria. At the time of the SoFB I, Eric was number 2 brewer at Schlossbrauerei Steiner, near Traunstein, Bayern. He is now number one brewmaster at Schoenram and resides above the BrauStuberl. Liz and I will be visiting Eric and his family next month and Im excited to tour this rare fast growing brewery in OberBayern. I say rare since these days it much more common for small (less than 50K Hectolitres/yr) breweries to be losing market share rather than gaining. BTW, I think Eric told me that all of his beers are decocted and open fermented as well. Many lagers actually taste smoother when open fermented, I know our Brandywine Valley Lager has improved with open fermentation. Regarding the transcripts for SoFB I, I know BT was working on these and I know that Eric provided his inputs several years ago. The lecture given by Phillipe Perpette from the University of Leuven alone would be well worth seeing in print. Perhaps if Steven is reading this he can let us know if it could be released on hbd.org or even the Realbeer page? Decoction does make a difference even if the protein matrix is more degraded in most modern malts. Also, if you buy enough malt you can order up your Kolbach index to meet your desires but at a cost. One style I saw overlooked in Al's excellent post was Festbier/Ur Maerzen which even though it is Munich malt based can really benefit from a decoction or two. Prost! Jim Busch Return to table of contents
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 16:24:40 -0400 From: Marc Sedam <marc_sedam at unc.edu> Subject: Re: mash hopping clarification Sure. I consider a thick mash ratio to be 1qt/lb or less. As for gravity, I've started to observe less hop flavor and aroma above 1.090. BUT, I did mash hop a Samichlaus clone with an OG of 1.115, and the hop aroma is in there. -Marc Martin_Brungard at urscorp.com wrote: > Marc, > > You mentioned that you think mash hopping is effected by thick mashes and > high gravity in your recent HBD post. Could you quantify what you consider > a thick mash or high gravity with respect to mash hopping? Maybe you should > post this to HBD? > > I just bottled an american brown ale that I mash hopped with a combo of old > hops I had in the freezer. I think it was about 0.25 oz of hallertaurer, > 0.5 oz saaz, and 0.5 oz cascade. I get the impression that its the > essential oil quantity that is more important for mash hopping ( higher is > better for this use, right?) The beer was quite tasty out of the bottling > bucket, so I'm looking forward to it. Return to table of contents
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