HOMEBREW Digest #3658 Wed 13 June 2001

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Contents:
  Divergan F is PVPP (JohanNico)" <JohanNico.Aikema at akzonobel.com>
  Re: Casking Real Ale (Dan Temple)
  Marty Tippin's temp measurement page ("Braam Greyling")
  Re: Oxygenation ("RJ")
  return to Babel ("Stephen Alexander")
  Cider taste from cheap kits. ("Stephen Alexander")
  RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading (Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger)
  role call--where in the world are you? ("Larry Maxwell")
  RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading ("Jim Clement")
  Ultimate mall crawl ("steve lane")
  RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading ("Jim Clement")
  Brett, and Ped. (Keith Busby)
  Finnish Sahti Recipe ("Jay Wirsig")
  Ball Valve Cleaning/sanitizing ("Jay Wirsig")
  Brewing Flags ("David Craft")
  in SF ("Spencer W. Thomas")
  Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading ("Pannicke, Glen A.")
  RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading (LaBorde, Ronald)
  Grimness, Grahamness, Buradooians, Nortons, and elbow carpets ("Dr. Pivo")
  odd books (might be off topic) ("Dr. Pivo")
  HERMS system tryout ("Mike Pensinger")
  2001 Buzz Off Homebrew Competition Results ("Houseman, David L")
  Re: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading (Steve Scott)
  Re: another good book (Jeff Renner)

* * 2001 AHA NHC - 2001: A Beer Odyssey, Los Angeles, CA * June 20th-23rd See http://www.beerodyssey.com for more * information. Wear an HBD ID Badge to wear to the gig! * http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping * * Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * 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. JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 06:48:06 +0200 From: "Aikema, J.N. (JohanNico)" <JohanNico.Aikema at akzonobel.com> Subject: Divergan F is PVPP Hello, Jake wrote in HBD 3654:>I have got hold of some of BASF's Divergan F to treat chill haze. I can't seem to figure out where in the brewing process one adds it. I am supposing it's added at bottling, but not at all sure. Can anyone give me some help on this? Jake> Jake, What I heard was that Divergan F is polyvinylpolypyrrolidon (PVPP) and it forms precipitates with polyphenol (from hops and barley). It is mixed with the finished beer and after some time removed by filtration. This way it prevents forming of (chill) haze. An average dosing is 20 g/hl (0.7 oz/26 gallon). I wouldn't use it. Speaking of "Plastic discrimination" PVPP is a kind of plastic :-) Greetings from Holland (Europe), Hans Aikema http://www.hopbier.myweb.nl/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 01:04:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Dan Temple <danatemple at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Casking Real Ale Thanks for all the replies on my Real Ale post. On the "allow headspace or not" question, I got 2 'yes's (Mike Bardallis and Steve Parkes) and 2 'no's, (Ray Daniels and my local cellarman). I can see that CO2 pressure buildup is not a problem (just dissolves, assuming there's not too much) but the temperature-related expansion of the liquid worries me, so, given that it can't hurt to have headspace, I think I'll play safe and leave some. Dan Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:05:16 +0200 From: "Braam Greyling" <braam.greyling at azoteq.com> Subject: Marty Tippin's temp measurement page Hi, Does anybody know where Marty Tippins temperature measurement page moved to ? I cant find it anywhere. Or if someone has a copy, please send it to me. Regards Braam Greyling Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 07:13:03 -0400 From: "RJ" <wortsbrewing at cyberportal.net> Subject: Re: Oxygenation Marc Hawley wrote: "Anybody ever try putting hydrogen peroxide into the fresh wort when pitching the yeast? This would release oxygen directly to the wort. Just an idea." Personally, I've never tried this, but I have had pretty good success with the method, I do use.... I have a 2100cc/min aquarium pump that I attach to a cotton fiber filter doused in hydrogen peroxide that is then forced thru a carbonation stone... I DO NOT use this in my wort, because it causes much too much foaming, in a five gallon carboy... Instead, I usually start injecting my yeast starter (now in the carboy) with the filtered air about an hour before I counterflow to it... when I counterflow, the end going to the carboy has a simple lab "Y" connector that allows the wort to pickup air as it travels to the carboy (without excessive foaming). I find that this sufficiently oxygenates everything and lag times are rarely more than 8 hours. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 06:57:24 -0400 From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: return to Babel Nathaniel P. Lansing writes ... Del I'm so weary of you changing topics every time .... What's this got to do with aspect ratios and yeast performance ? >Steve says: >>>have no lust for oxygen and even as a strategic advantage can >>>accomplish most of their life cycle without any O2 !! << > >After previously saying in 3618: [...] >This seems to imply a serious need for oxygen Yeast have an absolute req for O2 as I've posted a zillion times, see AlanM's comments.. Yeast don't "lust after" O2, and regularly ignore a fundamental use for respiration despite the great energetic advantage it would give. If you don't understand it I'll explain it to you offline - but read Tracy Aquilla's HBD posts in the archives and AJ deLange's explanatory notes and Tracy's BT article first. If yeast lusted for O2 there would be a lot less ethanol in your beer. >>>But unlike most yeasts our brewing S.cerevisiae ferment sugars >>>never found in fruit,<< > >Again quite specious. After Del wrote ... >The shallow depth of grapes and >other fruits fed their lust for oxygen and help release the CO2 >that so impedes their growth. There is nothing specious about my comment. Your assertion was that our brewing yeasts developed metabolizing simple sugars from fruits surface and this to support your assertion about their performance re O2. Your ''surface of fruit' fermentation environment cannot explain their ability to handle maltose and maltotriose and their ready adaption to anaerobic conditions. Adding barley starch (not surface present nor a fruit) as an afterthought didn't erase the original error. >>>No and stop making up things I supposedly said<< > after you saying in #3614: [...] >When the real quote was [...] I gave an exact and REAL quote from #3611 Del and to state otherwise is a lie. Adding context material that this "invention" was presented this at a particular conference, the quality of the conference and source of the other posters reference is irrelevant to the claim of invention which was the only point I was discussing. That is entirely different from your attempts to twist my words when you are losing a point. There is no contradiction in statements that yeast need tiny amounts of O2 for lipids yet don't lust after O2. I have NEVER stated commercial fermenters fail due to H:W as you falsely claim I said. You still haven't explained why volume is now a H:W constraint when you yourself posted that DeClerck's experiments covered a large range of fermenter volumes. ==== Mr.Harsh suggested that I examine a book on transport phenomena and I have. I find no models that would help us decide if the shear forces in a tall H:W fermenter are in fact greater than a low H:W one. Particularly since the actual convention is (as far as I know) not determinable. I do have several papers on yeast flocculation related to shear forces. There is nothing remarkable there. Modest shear forces can cause the agglomerations of FLOCCULENT yeast. Not so non-flocculent yeast which experience repulsive forces and don't flocculate. Decreasing shear can be effective in agglomerating yet larger flocs. Sorry - I still don't see your point Dave, but I'm willing to listen to a rational discussion of why you believe shear forces in a 5g cornie are higher than in a 5g carboy. Let's start with your derivation for convection. It would seem to me that in a uniform height fermenter (non-CC) the macro circulation forces are primarily due to thermals and these would be difficult to compare between cornies and carboys for a lot of reasons. Several books on bioreactor design state unequivocally that increased shear (to a fairly high figure) can improve growth in yeast tho' this in high aeration conditions atypical of brewing. Similar comments are made about forced fermentation tests on Rose's "The Yeasts" tho' they stop far short of attributing the improved performance to shear, O2 inclusion or any other factor. This tends to weigh in the opposite direction from Dave's argument. -Steve Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 07:06:12 -0400 From: "Stephen Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Cider taste from cheap kits. Ages ago, before Dr.Pivo developed his talent for rudeness he asked my if I had a clue as to why beers with a lot of added "table sugar" tasted cidery. I may have stumbled across part of the story in Rose's "The Yeasts" just this week. Yeast grown in low amino acid environments produce very significantly higher amounts of organic acids and also release a significantly higher amount of glycerin into the 'wort/beer. For that winey-cidery flavor exclude the amino acids ?!!? -S Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 07:52:12 -0400 From: Rob Hanson and Kate Keplinger <katerob at erols.com> Subject: RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading Nils Hedglin asks about reading the temperature in the middle of his carboy. Well, I've been coveting the Carboy Thermowell from Beer, Beer and More Beer (NoAffiliationBlahBlahBlah). It's a stainless steel hollow rod with a rubber stopper on top with another hole for an airlock. I imagine you could use it in combination with any thermometer or temperature controller with a long probe on a wire lead. That is, if you really want to know what the temperature is in the middle of the beer. I've convinced myself to buy more ingredients instead for the time-being. - --Rob Hanson the Closet Brewery 'post tenebras lux' Washington, DC - ---------------- Man's way to God is with beer in hand. --Saying of the Koffyar tribe of Nigeria Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:04:03 -0400 From: "Larry Maxwell" <larrymax at bellsouth.net> Subject: role call--where in the world are you? I'm fascinated by the reach of the HBD--we have people from not only the U.S.A., Canada and Australia but Japan, the UK, Europe and South America. Since the digests are rather small lately, it seems like a good time to ask if people living in other than North America would mind telling us where they are? (And if you're an expatriate, what is your nationality?) Larry Maxwell Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:25:04 -0700 From: "Jim Clement" <JClement at silverbacktech.com> Subject: RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading Nils Hedglin mentions using the thermometer with the long lead used for cooking. I have used this type of thermometer several times and loved it. The really neat part, is you can set an alarm for temp. I was setting the alarm for 160, so I could get to the stove in time to slow the heating around 168. I read the package, and the thing is supposed to be accurate between 0 and [something like] 300 deg (F) -- I don't remember the number, but much hotter than you need to brew. I also sanitized the thing and dangled it through the airlock on my carboy to get a reading there. Now for the bad news: I have gone through three of the things. They start blinking nonsense numbers and wont work again. The first one, I returned and they gave me a new one. I thought it was defective. The next one lasted a couple years (didn't do much brewing after the new house and new kid), and then I promptly wrecked another one. I was using the "Polder" brand one. The only thing I can figure, is the probe is not water/wort/beer proof. When I get another one, I will dangle the tip of the thing in w/o getting liquid above the top of the probe. The thermistor is in the tip of the probe anyway, and you should be able to get it about 5" under the surface. That and a little stirring should get an accurate reading. I am currently using a handheld digital thermometer, but it has several drawbacks. It is very invonvenient to keep popping the lid during the mash to get a reading, and my hands get hot and the thing fogs up when trying to read steaming liquid, and it's done if you drop it in. I also have a "Fermometer", but I use that more for a sanity check when I shine my flashlight in to see how the beer's doing. I wouldn't count on it. The way I see it, is a rapid change in ambient air temp (like leaving the thing in a room that the sun warms up during the day) *must* effect the reading of that thing, since it is not immersed in the liquid it is trying to read. It would seem to me that the more constant the temp of the room, the closer the carboy would approach that temp making the fermometer more accurate. Same goes for a fridge thermostat with a tight tolerance for temp. range. I am really interested to hear other's experiences with this (or some other type) of "remote" thermometer. (By the way -- the thing works *great* for cooking -- even on the grill. I gave a lot of them as presents.) Long time lurker, 1st time poster. Jim C. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 08:25:02 -0500 From: "steve lane" <tbirdusa at hotmail.com> Subject: Ultimate mall crawl My wife has really done it this time. I am now the not so happy owner of a round trip ticket to the Mall of America... just how I wanted to spend one of my precious days off. To top it off, we are staying 3 nights at an Indian reservation / casino that doesn't allow any adult beverages on the premises. Could the geographically informed let me in on the beer scene in the area? Thanks for your help on the "vacation". Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:37:33 -0700 From: "Jim Clement" <JClement at silverbacktech.com> Subject: RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading Whoops... just saw http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/2847.html#2847-17 and http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/2395.html#2395-1 -JimC Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 09:32:12 -0500 From: Keith Busby <kbusby at facstaff.wisc.edu> Subject: Brett, and Ped. Anybody know where I can get Brettanomyces and Pedioccocus currently? I don't mean the Wyeast Lambic blend. YCKC no longer supplies and Brewer's Resource is having trouble getting one of the two. I can culture from slant. Thanks, Keith Keith Busby Professor of French University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of French and Italian 618 Van Hise Hall Madison, WI 53706 (608) 262-3941 (608) 265-3892 (fax) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 10:47:05 -0400 From: "Jay Wirsig" <Jay.Wirsig at can.dupont.com> Subject: Finnish Sahti Recipe I had the good fortune of visiting Finland recently. I spent a few days with some Finnish friends in Susma, a small town in the country 2 hours North of Helsinki. Apart from enjoying many great sauna's I tried some traditional Finnish Sahti (an alcoholic "beer" brewed in the countryside). I took the opportunity to visit a small brewery in the town of Susma (a research assignment for the HBD). The brewery is located in part of a former dairy. Sahti is sold in 4 Litre plastic jugs (same container that windshield washer antifreeze comes in (in Canada)) that people re-use. Sahti is stored in the refrigerator and is consumed in a week as it has a very short self life. One just brings their container by the brewery for a refill. It is possible to buy the unfermented wort as this is also a traditional drink. The following is their recipe for Traditional Finnish Sahti: Ingredients: 160 kg Precrushed mix of 85% Pilsner, 10% pale caramel & 5 % enzyme malt 5 kg Rye Malt (optional) Regular baking yeast soft like cheese Vs dried yeast Mash Specifics: 450 L water 35 deg C for 30 min 53-54 deg C for 30 min 65 deg C for 60 min 75 deg C for 2.5-3 hours Sparge with 150 L at 75 deg C Ferment at 20 deg C for 2-3 days Then 10-15 deg C for 2-3 days Final gravity 20% Alc approx 8-10% No hops, no boil My tasting notes: Sour, dry, very alcoholic, phenolics, cloudy with some brown sediment at the bottom of the glass One glass after Sauna is nice, two are okay and three objectionable After writing this I found this web site. http://beer.tcm.hut.fi/Sahti/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:02:11 -0400 From: "Jay Wirsig" <Jay.Wirsig at can.dupont.com> Subject: Ball Valve Cleaning/sanitizing A recent post posed a question about ball valve cleaning (on the bottom of a conical fermenter) for yeast harvesting. One way of doing this is drilling a hole in the ball on the downstream side so that the contents trapped inside the ball may drain and a special cleaning lance could be made to insert into the ball cavity for cleaning & sanitizing. Perhaps the conical fermenter manufactures will give me a free fermentor for my suggestion if they choose to modify their offering - It is only fair - George got a free one for experimenting with fermentations maybe I ought to get a free one for developing sanitation/cleaning designs/procedures for the cheaper valve option. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:14:57 -0400 From: "David Craft" <David-Craft at craftinsurance.com> Subject: Brewing Flags Greetings, I have received a good response for the 3' x 5' polyester brewing flags and just placed the order. They are screen printed with a nice full beer mug and would look great flying at your home on brew day. I have ordered in bulk and can offer them for $10 each with no shipping charge. Those that have already responded will be contacted when they arrive. If you would like one, respond now so I can hold one. Don't pay until I receive the flags and contact everyone. I don't want to have to refund money in case something goes wrong. I can be paid via Paypal at Chsyhkr at aol.com and Craft as the last name or send me a check. Thanks for responding and good brewing. David B. Craft PS- Thank God for refrigeration, summer is a great time to brew! Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:35:43 -0400 From: "Spencer W. Thomas" <spencer at umich.edu> Subject: in SF I'll be in San Francisco Friday - Sunday (Marriot Union Square, I think). I'm not sure exactly what my schedule will be (I know that one of the 3 evenings, probably Friday, will be taken up with a work event), but I am interested in getting together with fellow HBDers to hoist a few local beers. I'm leaving here Thursday night, so if you're interested, please reply before then. I will probably be able to get into my email while I'm there, but I can't count on it. I might be able to bring along a couple bottles of homebrew (barleywine). Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor (spencer at umich.edu) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:48:54 -0400 From: "Pannicke, Glen A." <glen_pannicke at merck.com> Subject: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 10:35:47 -0700 From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> >my problem >is getting an accurate reading of the wort temperature when it's in a >carboy. I've got the Fermometer strips on the side of the carboy, but I've >begun to doubt their accuracy. Don't worry so much and have a cold one from your last batch ;-) I've found that the best way to maintain those temps is to immerse the temperature controller's probe, as well as a small bimetal thermometer, in an olive jar full glycerine, glycol or mineral oil. You could use water too, but water eventually gets nasty and it can evaporate, contributing to condesation problems in my chest freezer. BTW, nothing special about the olive jar except that it's tall and I like olives ;-) The liquid acts as a buffer to smooth out those changing temps in your fridge from opening and closing the door and will mock the temps in your fermenter. Now while I'm waiting to be flamed for the last statement, let me elaborate that the temperature measured in the olive jar is not exactly the same as what is really in your fermenter, but it is close enough for homebrew. I keep the bimetal thermometer in there just to provide an easy verification. I also have an electronic indoor/outdoor theromometer from Radio Shack which has the display outside of the fridge and the probe on the inside. This lets me verify that the fridge is working properly without opening the top and letting warm air & moisture inside. >The 2-3 times I've checked the wort, >the Fermometer strip on the carboy has read about 20 degrees lower than the >floating thermometer in the water. This is a BIG difference. But as far as the crystal thermometers are concerned, they're only good if you want to know that your fermenter is "in the ballpark". Sometimes they respond to environmental conditions outside of the fermenter. Remember, they measure the temperature of the fermenter walls, not the fermenter contents directly. I do not trust them entirely. Carpe cerevisiae! Glen A. Pannicke glen at pannicke.net http://www.pannicke.net 75CE 0DED 59E1 55AB 830F 214D 17D7 192D 8384 00DD "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." - Blaise Pascal Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:16:12 -0500 From: rlabor at lsuhsc.edu (LaBorde, Ronald) Subject: RE: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading >From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> >...I've got the Fermometer strips on the side of the carboy, but I've begun to doubt their accuracy... I have several, and I was impressed with the accuracy, within one or two degrees F of other instruments. >...I put a floating thermometer in a big glass of water in the >frig too to use as a secondary check. The 2-3 times I've checked the wort, >the Fermometer strip on the carboy has read about 20 degrees lower than the >loating thermometer in the water... In my chest freezers the height can make a difference, a lot of difference in the temps measured. >..So, any suggestions on what I can do >differently... I once had the thermometer probe dangling against the fridge wall, and I moved it more to the center of the compartment and it made a big difference in the temp accuracy. Now I bunge cord it to the glass carboy or metal keg fermenter. This way I can get the best reading and control of temperature. Fermentations when active can be 10 or so degrees above ambient. Until I started taking the actual temp of the fermenter instead of the ambient, my actual temps were much higher than I thought they were. A great little thermometer is available from Radio Shack stores - it sells for around $15, has a remote plastic covered probe. I have been using this to measure temps in various ways. I attach it to the fermenters, or the yeast flask, and anything else I want to know the temperature of. I do not immerse it in liquid as I do not think it is waterproof. You could try using a small fan to circulate air inside the fridge, this should greatly even out the temperature throughout the compartment. If you are using a refrigerator, then there may already be a fan pulling air in from the freezer, in fact, it could be causing the cold air to concentrate in one location. I know I can freeze lettuce if I place it too high up and close to the back of my fridge. Adding another circulating fan may help. Ron La Borde Ronald La Borde - Metairie, Louisiana - rlabor at lsuhsc.edu http://hbd.org/rlaborde Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 20:38:12 +0200 From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se> Subject: Grimness, Grahamness, Buradooians, Nortons, and elbow carpets Wes gives a pecante reminder that "the times they are a changin'", with the remodeling, upgrading and uptowning of yet another place that if it did nothing else, allowed people to celebrate beer as a lubricant to camaraderie. Wes writes: > And what about the carpet "experience" - you could actually see > the "juice" ooze as you walked across the bar. > This, as I recall, was not a problem for me when I visited that fine establishment., as I believe I had at least a pair of "Blunnies" on my feet, if not some thongs borrowed from the Colonel (If "Phil" can be appointed "Baron" arbitrarily, I think it only fair that we have our own "Colonel", in "Sanders") . The bar itself, however, had little "carpet mats" with megaswill advertising on them spread around the serving area, and as per usual, I was the first to the bar, "stooled up" by the taps, and waited for the first serve. The carpets ON the bar, were equally filled with slosh, as I noticed when the first glass "plopped" in place, and being a notorious "elbow leaner" at bars, I had to constantly remind myself to keep my arms away, lest I when turning to comment (probably about some of the more notorious librarians at HBD central under discussion), I might get carried away and start gesturing..... giving Sirs Lamotte and Yates an eyeful tossed from the dripping points of my arm. Yes, a fine establishment indeed. I would like to correct Wes on one point: > Actually I was pretty sure the Baron was back as I thought I heard the > "tack tack" of the Norton Twin as he did an early morning run around > Burradoo, but I wasn't quick enough to see if he was in his usual state of > (un)dress > It is pretty common knowledge that Phil has mostly forgone the Norton in favour of his 125 cc "Postman's bike", and the current dress standard for the afternoon out on the bike is Helen's black fishnet stockings. Last seen; Phil was being seen chased by a Croatian carrying a gate, and shouting: "I'LL GIVE YOU BLOODY SEVEN METERS, AND YOU KNOW WHERE!!" I hope this is not considered "off- topic".... I just truly do think it is my duty to correct incomplete or less than absolutely correct information. Dr. Pivo Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 20:41:08 +0200 From: "Dr. Pivo" <dp at pivo.w.se> Subject: odd books (might be off topic) Very interesting to read peoples comments who have parralleled my interest for "seeing what the next guy has to say" regarding brewing throught the decades. It just occurred to me that some of you may also be able to find a book I have been longing to take a look at again. I think it was called "country wines" or some such, was a British author, and late 60's early 70's. If you HAVE read it, I'm sure you would remember it, because this guy made and collected recipes for making wine from EVERYTHING. You would certainly recall his "oak leaf" wine, and the fact that he had nearly given over every other source, after finding that "pea-pod" wine was the most excellent of all (?!) I followed this guy's guidelines on a few odd ones like "Rhubarb" and it certainly was some interesting stuff. Should anyone know the "real title" and where I could get hold of a copy, I'd certainly appreciate it. Dr. Pivo Private email would be just fine. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 15:00:31 -0700 From: "Mike Pensinger" <beermkr at bellatlantic.net> Subject: HERMS system tryout Well I brewed in the new system and had a few problems. The pump I am using compacted the mash almost instantly . I am curious if a larger false bottom with more open area would make a difference. I am curenlty using a 9 inch disk of perforated stainless. The holes a pretty small and I have access to a piece with 1/8 inch holes. Would these be too big? I have also coltemplated a speed control for the pump. I figured I could get decent control with just a dimmer switch. Has anyone else done this (I know it is not the correct way)? Mike Pensinger beermkr at bellatlantic.net http://members.bellatlantic.net/~beermkr/ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 16:13:04 -0400 From: "Houseman, David L" <David.Houseman at unisys.com> Subject: 2001 Buzz Off Homebrew Competition Results The results for the 2001 Buzz Off Homebrew Competition have been posted to our web site and can be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~housemanfam/2001BuzzOff/ . I'd like to thank all the Buzz members who worked hard to pull off another successful competition, the judges who put in a long day judging 192 entries, and Mike and the staff of the General Lafayette Inn and Brewery who hosted us (do stop in and have some excellent beer and food and spend the night in a historic Inn). Congratulations to all those that excelled against formidable competition this year. For those that entered, all the judge score sheets and ribbons have been mailed; expect them in a few days. David Houseman Competition Organizer Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 17:29:13 -0400 From: Steve Scott <sscott1 at twcny.rr.com> Subject: Re: Accurate Carboy Temperature Reading On Tue, 12 Jun 2001 00:29:29 -0400, you wrote: >thermometer & 48 for the Fermometer strip. At this point, I don't know >which to trust, or if I should toss the whole batch since it looked to get >up to 84 degrees at one point. I NEVER toss a batch without trying it first. You'd be surprised what you can choke down. ) >So, any suggestions on what I can do >differently, or if I'm doing something wrong? My wife has a nifty cooking >thermometer on the end of a flexible lead. It has a digital readout with at >the other end of the lead, so you can see the temp without opening the oven. I use a Radio Shack digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. I think I got it on sale for about $20. I tape the lead end to the carboy. It works quite well. On another note have you ever seen Ken Schwartz's fermentation chiller? The URL is http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/chiller/chiller.html. It let's me devote my refrigerator to the finished product. I can drop about 30F with it (75 down to 45). Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 18:03:43 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at mediaone.net> Subject: Re: another good book Jeff Gladish <JeffNGladish at ij.net> in Tampa writes: >I've been waiting for anyone else to mention "Making Beer" by Mares, but I >guess I may be one of very few who read it. I'm sorry not to know the >author's first name, but I lent out the book several years ago and it was >never returned. This book was the first and perhaps only book that I found >that was written by someone more skilled as a writer than as a brewing >scientist. I had been struggling with David Miller's text and in 92 it was >the first book that made sense of sparging for me. I recommend it, not as >a textbook, but as an overall view of all-grain brewing. I'll second that. It's William Mares. I got it 2/26/86 (I sometimes remember to write the date on the flyleaf, along with my name, in case someone who borrows it thinks to wonder whose it is). Mares is a journalist and a fine writer, and his style is more story telling, and inspiring. He tells of his journey in homebrewing, and makes brewing seem very unintimidating. Entertaining reading as well. I thought so much of it that I bought the second edition (1994) when it showed up on the bargain shelf. Here are some other books I have on my shelf that haven't been mentioned: Charlie's 2nd Edition, called "The New Revised and More Joy of Homebrewing," 1980. This is a staple bound, 6"x8.5" 88 page typewritten booklet. It has more quaint errors than later (he claims (p. 11) that there is a million-fold increase of yeast in the wort. Good thing there isn't. If you pitched a 5 gram packet of yeast, you'd have 5,000 keg of yeast! Where would you put it? But Charlie's style, while frustrating to geeks like me, was and remains encouraging to those who are scared off by science. (I just found my 1983 AHA membership card in the pages). Fred Eckhardt's 5th edition "Treatise on lager Beer." (1979) Even thinner (52 pages) than Charlie's, but typeset. I also subscribed to Fred's irregular newsletter, "Amateur Brewer," but he discontinued it before I got all my issues. Kind of like Brewing Techniques. Again, it looks quaint after all these years. I had typed up comments about a number of other books, but the computer locked up, and I don't feel reentering it all. Maybe another time. Jeff - -- ***Please note new address*** (old one will still work) Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at mediaone.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
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