HOMEBREW Digest #4145 Tue 14 January 2003


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Cappers (Hayes Antony)
  Re: LBHS Chatter ("Gavin Scarman")
  Re: beer labels ("Shaun and Sarah")
  dusty malt (Alan McKay)
  lager yeast at ale temps (Randy Ricchi)
  DCL Yeast Strains ("Dan Listermann")
  Removing beer labels ("Andrew Moore")
  Dusty Malt ("Dan Listermann")
  removing beer labels (Randy Ricchi)
  dusty base malt (Randy Ricchi)
  RE: Boulevard wheat (Michael Hartsock)
  Removing Beer Labels ("Eric R. Theiner")
  Re:  New Brewery ("Dennis Collins")
  RE: Removing beer Labels (Michael Hartsock)
  Beer lines through a refrigerator (william.m.menzl)
  Re:  Removing beer Labels (Bill Tobler)
  Re: Removing beer Labels (Jeff Renner)
  Gott cooler questions ("Kotowski, Tom")
  RE: kit wines (Brian Lundeen)
  Removing labels (Michael Grice)
  Boulevard Wheat (LJ Vitt)
  Thanks to all who replied ("Jason")
  RE: Cappers (Volt)" <a-msharp at microsoft.com>
  Re: Removing beer Labels ("Kent Fletcher")
  RE:  Removing beer Labels (Volt)" <a-msharp at microsoft.com>
  Berliner Weisse (Richard Foote)
  Label removal ("Chris Eidson")
  Parti-gyle batch produces two different clarity levels(?) (RiedelD)
  Subject: Re: LBHS Chatter; Dry yeast is a joke (Ronald La Borde)
  Removing Beer Labels (Thomas Rohner)
  Lable Removal Lament (Richard Foote)
  Re: RO Water (jal7)
  Re: Hella-packed yeast in the Unitank! (David Towson)
  No protein rest Wit - any data out there? (RiedelD)
  Re: dusty malt (Fred L Johnson)
  Re: Filling CO2 tanks (David Towson)
  Re: Removing labels from bottles ("Chris M")
  RE: Cappers (Donald and Melissa Hellen)
  Homebrew Competition Announcements (Donald and Melissa Hellen)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 08:58:59 +0200 From: Hayes Antony <HayesA at aforbes.co.za> Subject: Cappers I test drove my new bench capper this weekend. What a pleasure, no skew caps, and easy action. I should have bought one of these years ago. Interestingly, I noted that both my wing capper and my bench capper were made in Italy. I dug out my old ones, and they were also made in Italy. Looking at online stores, I see that cappers all seem to be made in Italy. Does anyone have any idea why? Italy does not have a big homebrew community as far as I know. Ant Hayes Johannesburg; South Africa Confidentiality Warning ======================= The contents of this e-mail and any accompanying documentation are confidential and any use thereof, in what ever form, by anyone other than the addressee is strictly prohibited. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 18:19:27 +1030 From: "Gavin Scarman" <suba2 at bigpond.net.au> Subject: Re: LBHS Chatter > time to themselves. It's a recurring theme that people > constantly complain about the time it takes to brew. I > know when I do an extract batch batch of beer, it's about > 3 to 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. All grain, jeez, > I've spent 11 or 12 hours. Hmm, if I do a full triple decoction with complete rests and a 45-55-64-71 schedule I could maybe draw it out to 12 hours. A normal mash is 3-4 hours, of which maybe 30 mins is actually required to be in front of the mash/boiler. I have 2 kids under 6 and plenty of other hobbies, and can't understand someone saying they don't have time for brewing, desire yes, time no. Perhaps they aren't 'doing it right'. If you have time to watch a movie, then you have time to brew. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 19:08:12 +1100 From: "Shaun and Sarah" <polidori at bigpond.com> Subject: Re: beer labels The solution is simple - dont bother.... After two or three cycles you will find the labels will have come off as a result of the wash/sterilise process - anything that involves less bottle handling is a plus in my book Shaun Gambrill Canberra Brewers Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 07:33:02 -0500 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: dusty malt Fred talks about dusty malt. Fred, I had that once in a sack of malt that I bought, only in my case the malt looked almost like it had been pre-crushed as well, though the shop owner assured me this was not the case. This is when I came to realise that some of the 'conspiracy' stuff I'd heard brewers talk about really was true. What is likely happening is that somewhere along the chain a supplier is sending substandard malt because they know it is 'only' for homebrewers. In some cases what you get has been literally swept up off the floor after all the other bags have been filled. I'd bet you dollars to donuts this is it. cheers, -Alan - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 08:13:43 -0500 From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> Subject: lager yeast at ale temps Has anyone fermented an ale-style beer (for example, american pale ale) using Wyeast 2278 Czech Pils yeast? I know some brewers use lager yeasts for ale styles at ale temperatures, and I know about the "steam" beer yeast, but I don't much care for that yeast. Wyeast 2308 (Munich) has been used and is recommended by some for saison style ales. I figure I'll get esters fermenting Y2278 in the sixties (F), but will I get overpowering esters? Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 08:42:31 -0500 From: "Dan Listermann" <dan at listermann.com> Subject: DCL Yeast Strains When I read about K-97 and S-189, I had our buyer look into seeing what it would take to get some in here. The DCL strains are working out great. He called Crosby & Baker, our usual supplier of these products, who told him that K-97 and S-189 were the 500g brick forms of S-04 and S-23 respectively. >From this information, it would seem, there is no need to break down bricks to smaller quantities beyond, perhaps, a cost perspective. Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Free shipping for orders greater than $35 and East of the Mighty Miss. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 08:50:41 -0500 From: "Andrew Moore" <abmjunk at hotmail.com> Subject: Removing beer labels Jason: I feel your pain. All of the bottles I use have come from commercial beers with commercial labels needing removal. My technique is to soak overnight in a hot water (which cools rapidly) and ammonia solution. I then scrub/scrape using a variety of implements, depending on the tenacity of the label. I have found, however, that some labels are easier to remove than others. Susequently, I tend to save the bottles that I know to be easily de-labeled and recycle the rest. For example, most European beers seems to have easily removed labels; perhaps it is due to the tradition of reusing bottles at the brewery. For many of these, the label will float off by itself. Samuel Adams, on the other hand, has labels that seem nearly impossible to get off cleanly. I have also run across some bottles that seem to have thermoset glues, which will only come off when peeled under very hot water. These labels tend to be glossy, BTW. Andrew Moore Richmond, Virgina Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:07:14 -0500 From: "Dan Listermann" <dan at listermann.com> Subject: Dusty Malt Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com> <I recently purchased 55 pounds of Munton's "American Style Pale" malt and <have brewed two 5+ gallon batches with it. On the first batch I discovered <that it was extremely dusty malt. There is a fine powder which constitutes <at least 8% of the total weight of the malt (from sifting a kilogram of the <stuff). I was able to sift off most of this powder at my local homebrew <store which has dealt with this type of problem before and regularly sifts <all of their bulk grains before repackaging these in one-pound quantities. It sounds like the store is buying precrushed malt. The "powder" is probably flour and should not be a problem if the percentage is not too high. The problem with precrushed malt is that it has a strong tendency to stratify in the bag. The hulls go up and the dust goes down. The ratio of dust to hulls varies a lot with where in the bag a sample is taken. It is difficult to know where "up" or "down" were when the bags were handled. These bags should only be used all at once and not scooped out into smaller quantities. If a bag of malt is to be broken down into smaller quantities, it is far better to buy whole malt and crush it as it is bagged. If you want to buy whole bags of malt, consider buying a mill and crushing it yourself. <I felt like both of these batches have had a coarse bitterness that I'm not <accustomed to having--not a mouth-puckering astringency--more of a <bitterness. Can anyone explain what this dust is, does it indicate a <defective product, and if it is likely to be causing my brews to be less <than they could be? I don't know what your bitterness problem is, but it is probably not related to the flour. - -- Dan Listermann Check out our E-tail site at www.listermann.com Free shipping for orders greater than $35 and East of the Mighty Miss. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:24:47 -0500 From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> Subject: removing beer labels Soak them in bleach water overnight. 1oz bleach per gallon of water. They'll slide right off, unless they are metallic labels. If they are metallic labels, ammonia in hot water will loosen them, and you'll still have to do a little work to get them off. Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 22:06:57 -0600 From: "Jason" <jhayes75 at cox.net> Subject: Removing beer Labels I currently soak commercial beer bottles it hot water and then have to scrub all the glue off. This is a timely process when you are doing about thirty bottles. I was wondering if someone has a easier way of removing those glued on labels. Alot of work to save 10 bucks. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:29:12 -0500 From: Randy Ricchi <rricchi at houghton.k12.mi.us> Subject: dusty base malt Fred Johnson asked about dusty base malt. Fred, I don't really have an answer to your question, but I wanted to point out that if you're sifting the malt through a screen you WILL get a lot of dust, probably from any malt. Sometimes when I get to the bottom of a 55# sack of grain I will dump the last pound or two into a screen colander I have in order to seperate the malt from the accumulated dust at the bottom of the bag. I am always amazed at how much dust comes off. Seems like the more you shake the colander the more that comes off. Could it be that you're "sanding" the dry outsides of the malt? Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 06:47:48 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Hartsock <xd_haze at yahoo.com> Subject: RE: Boulevard wheat Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 18:31:05 -0800 (PST) August F. Altenbaumer asked about bouli wheat I think it is an american "traditional wheat" not a heffeweisen. I isolated the bottling strain, does anyone know if this is the same yeast used to ferment it? I've never used the strain, its in storage though. mike Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:03:47 -0500 From: "Eric R. Theiner" <rickdude02 at earthlink.net> Subject: Removing Beer Labels Jason asks about removing beer labels. This is actually what Straight-A was made for. When I lived in Memphis, I could head down to the A-B distributor and buy a case of bar bottles (returnable long-necks) for $3 or $4. They were nasty-- these are bottles that were on the line to go through the bottle washer, so there was old moldy beer in the bottles, sometimes they were half full and sometimes they had cigarette butts, and sometimes (shudder) they had been used as receptacles for guys who had been dipping. Needless to say, I didn't want to touch those bottles too much. Using my 15 gal. capacity sink in the lab, I could put two cases of bottles in, fill, and dissolve a concoction that I had come up with specifically to clean those bottles up. In the space of 5 to 10 minutes the water would have a layer of paper labels floating on the top. Note that these were not the aluminum labels or plastic labels-- those took extra time, and sometimes I'd need to start a corner so that the solution could get under them, but those harder ones would be off in another 30 minutes to 2 hours (with no other elbow grease). So try some Straight-A out at a ratio of 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. And that solution can be re-used, too. It won't be as strong the second or third time through, but it'll keep taking the labels off. Rick Theiner LOGIC, Inc. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:19:45 -0500 From: "Dennis Collins" <dcollins at drain-all.com> Subject: Re: New Brewery Regarding Bill Shockley's inquiry about what to do with all his equipment: "I have converted kegs as the hlt, mash tun and boil pot. I also have purchased a good mag drive pump. My question is... Where do I go from here?" I have to echo Bill Tobler's sentiment on the benefits of the "soft" heating of a HERMS over a direct heated RIMS. I gave this a lot of thought before I built the HERMIT and settled on the HERMS approach. BUT, there are too many brewers out there making great beer with a traditional RIMS approach to say one method is better than another. Just too many opinions and testimonials to back up both sides. My suggestion here is to go to http://www.barleys.nl/index.htm?thuisbrouwerijen where this guy has listed over 100 home breweries on the web in every configuration you can think of (the HERMIT is #088). Look at as many as you can, contact the brewer, ask questions, and make your own decision. I've found that the brewers who put up these sites love to talk about their systems (I do), and would gladly offer any assistance or advice. Regarding hard plumbing, I have to stick my neck out and say I think this is a mistake. Hard plumbing does have some advantages, but I have found that homebrewers are rarely satisfied with the status quo and always looking to change things up and move things around. Very difficult to do when everything is hard piped. At least until you've brewed with your system a few times, refrain from the permanency of hard piping. Dennis Collins Knoxville, TN http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com "In theory, theory and practice are the same, but not in practice". Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 07:19:57 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Hartsock <xd_haze at yahoo.com> Subject: RE: Removing beer Labels Jason asked about removing glue: New Belgium bottles have labels that come off cleanly in hot tap water after a 20 min soak. They are also realively heavy. More importantly, the beer that comes in them is very good! Many of my home brews go in New Belgium bottles. Heineken and Paulaner labels also come off easy in tap water. Sam adams labels, while the bottles are high quality, are a pain in the ass!!!! Corona bottles don't have paper labels so there is nothing to remove. But they are clear and I hate the beer, they are quite heavy though. mike Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:11:39 -0500 From: william.m.menzl at dowcorning.com Subject: Beer lines through a refrigerator My colleague has been building his bar in the basement and has installed a couple of taps through the wall behind the bar which leads to the work/brew room. He has found a refrigerator for the brew room and is pondering the best way to get the beer through the refrigerator wall and to the taps. Current thought is to drill a 7/16" hole through the refrigerator and feed the beer line directly through the refrigerator wall and to the back end of the shank feeding through the wall to the bar. The major reason for direct feed is cleaning but he is concerned about damage to the beer line by the hole in the refrigerator. Anyone have any better ideas? Any help is appreciated! William Menzl Midland, Michigan [99.8, 344.8] Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:29:19 -0600 From: Bill Tobler <wctobler at sbcglobal.net> Subject: Re: Removing beer Labels Jason asks about getting the labels off of bottles. That is, by far, the one job I don't like doing. If you soak the bottles in a solution of Electric Dishwashing detergent like Cascade and ammonia for a few hours, the labels come right off, unless they are the foil kind. Nothing penetrates the foil. I think if the world ended in an atomic blast tomorrow, the only things left on the planet would be cockroaches and beer bottles with foil labels. I peel the foil off first, which leaves the paper backing, then soak. But sometimes I still have to scrape the heck out of it. Most of the time, I throw them out. Bill Tobler Lake Jackson, TX (1129.7, 219.9) Apparent Rennerian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:28:58 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Removing beer Labels "Jason" <jhayes75 at cox.net> asks >I was wondering if someone has a easier way of removing >those glued on labels. Ammonia in hot water makes a big difference. Of course, some labels never come off easily. Jeff - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:38:29 -0600 From: "Kotowski, Tom" <Thomas.Kotowski at bestbuy.com> Subject: Gott cooler questions I've recently decided it's time to step up to all-grain. I'd like to purchase a Gott cooler as a mash/lauter tun. I'm having difficulty finding Rubbermaid's "Gott" line anywhere. I'm not sure if the "Victory" line can withstand the high temperatures. Has anybody had any luck with other lines or brands? Also, I primarily make 5 gallon batches. Would it behoove me to purchase the 10 gallon cooler or will it make my grain bed too shallow on 5 gallon batches? Tom Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:42:12 -0600 From: Brian Lundeen <BLundeen at rrc.mb.ca> Subject: RE: kit wines Bill Wible wrote: > I know exactly how you feel on this. Unfortunately, the > 'wine side' of the homebrew business is where all the > business is now. 4 or 5 years ago, it might have been > all beer. Not now. I probably have 8 or 9 wine guys > for every beer guy here, and from what I hear, this is > pretty much a national trend. Since wine is where the money is, I think every LHBS should gouge their kit wine customers for as much profit as they can squeeze out of them, so they can afford to sell brew supplies at cost. ;-) > And not to talk up wine or winemakers on this big beer > forum, ;) but the kits do make great wine, and are pretty > much idiot-proof. Although I've been making wines from grapes (or juices for some whites) for many years now, I've gotten back into kits just to see how they've changed over the years. I buy only the premium kits, such as RJ Spagnol's Gold and Platinum series Cru Selects, and even there, I'm reluctant to do anything but whites. Reds need the skins. Period. I have noticed the kits still produce what I call "kit wine taste". I am told this is due to higher levels of hydroxymethylfurfural in wines made from concentrates. This compound is produced from sugars in the presence of acids, but the reaction is increased in the presence of heat, as you would find in the production of concentrates. It is hard to describe, sort of an unpleasant sweet undertone, and maybe some people just aren't sensitive to it. I seem to be. I can generally pick out a kit wine when it is made "dry" (or as dry as you can get with a kit). Residual sugar seems to mask it, but I don't really care for off-dry wines, so I don't regard that as a solution. On a related note, one of my MoB compatriots swears there is a "BrewHouse kit taste". Possibly this is from their process of adding phosphoric acid for better storage, then neutralizing it at fermentation time with their little packet of "wonder powder" (my name, not theirs). He says he notices this flavour in every kit, whether he made it or someone else did. It's been awhile since I made a BrewHouse beer, I can't say I recall there being anything unusual, but I wasn't really looking for it back then either. The only thing I remember thinking was how great these kits tasted compared to the dreadful thin, sour, tangy concoctions I had been exposed to by some co-workers over the years. Cheers Brian Lundeen Brewing at [819 miles, 313.8 deg] aka Winnipeg Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:03:30 -0600 From: Michael Grice <grice at binc.net> Subject: Removing labels Jason wrote: > I currently soak commercial beer bottles it hot water and then >have to scrub all the glue off. This is a timely process when you are >doing about thirty bottles. I was wondering if someone has a easier way You can make it easier by adding a cleanser to your hot water. For instance, I have been adding one or two tablespoons of Straight A cleanser per gallon of soaking water, and the labels come right off. I have a bucket full of bottles now. You could also use bleach. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 09:03:02 -0800 (PST) From: LJ Vitt <lvitt4 at yahoo.com> Subject: Boulevard Wheat August asked about making Boulevard Wheat >Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 18:31:05 -0800 (PST) >From: "August F. Altenbaumer" <afalten at yahoo.com> >Subject: Boulevard Wheat >I was wondering if anybody has a good recipe to >duplicate this beer. I've looked around the archives >and the internet, but haven't had any luck. This was >the beer that originally set me on the path to >homebrewing, so I would like to try my hand at making >it. I am familiar with Boulevard's Wheat beer. It is an American style wheat beer. This style uses a clean ale yeast not the wezen yeast like German wheat beer. You need to find a recipe for American wheat beer. I have never made one, because when I make a wheat beer, it is a weizen. You don't way if your looking for an extract or all grain recipe. For extract, you can get wheat extracts that are 67% wheat - Briess makes one. Blend that with 100% barley light extract. If you use equal amounts, you will have 33% wheat extract. That may be about right for the style. For grain, it is easy to blend any ratio you want. Data from the BJCP guidelines for category 3C Am Wheat OG 1.035 - 1.055 FG 1.008 - 1.015 IBU 10-30 SRM 2-8 ABV 3.7 - 5.5% It states under ingredients - Often 50% wheat or more. ===== Leo Vitt Rochester MN Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 11:31:16 -0600 From: "Jason" <jhayes75 at cox.net> Subject: Thanks to all who replied I would like to thank all who gave great advise on removing beer labels. I will try these techniques on my next swarm of bottles. You know how it is when your friends know you make beer. They stock pile there bottle for you, Hopefully you will give them back full. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:11:59 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp (Volt)" <a-msharp at microsoft.com> Subject: RE: Cappers David talks about: Emily Cappers Get a good bench capper, and keep the Emily as a backup. Even the modern bench cappers will fail eventually. Now, if you have a prohibition capper like I do (two, actually), it will _never_ break. Hardened machined steel dies, not spun sheetmetal. Machined rack and pinon gear, not a metal on plastic lever. Oh yeah! Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:15:15 -0800 From: "Kent Fletcher" <kfletcher at socal.rr.com> Subject: Re: Removing beer Labels Jason asked about > I currently soak commercial beer bottles it hot water and then have to > scrub all the glue off. This is a timely process when you are doing about > thirty bottles. I was wondering if someone has a easier way of removing > those glued on labels. Alot of work to save 10 bucks. I took a tip from Charlie Papazian on this, it was in "Homebrewer's Companion," IIRC: Use a large plastic trash barrel. Fill it with water and add bleach, then pitch in the bottles as you empty them. After sufficient soaking (a week, maybe more? minimum), most labels will slide right off. I use about a half cup of bleach in 35-40 gallons of water. I have had as many as 50-60 or more bottles in it. When I need bottles I pull them out, rinse and then give them a no-detergent run in the dishwasher. Hope that helps, Kent Fletcher brewing in So Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 10:18:59 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp (Volt)" <a-msharp at microsoft.com> Subject: RE: Removing beer Labels "Jason" asks about: Removing beer Labels I use very hot water, and a nice strong solution of TSP (nowadays, it's usually sodium metasilicate) from the harware store paint department. Fill a bucket, mix in the TSP. Poke the bottles down in there one at a time with a dowel rod, until you can't get any more in (a single layer, standing vertically). Green gunk floats out of the bottle, and the labels float off. Wear rubber gloves. I use a green scrubbie to wipe the bottle as I remove it. Remove a bottle, a quick once-over with the scrubbie, and put another bottle in to replace it. Work your way around the bucket, one at a time. By the time you get back to that first bottle, it's ready. This works on even foil labels. At most, you need to scrub a bit. Rinse them well. If you use too strong of a solution, it will etch the bottles slightly (you'll see a sort of colored sheen on them in the light), in the same way that dishwasher detergent will eventually etch your glasses. But since you only need to do the TSP soak once, I don't worry about it. I usually sort the bottles by height, to make capping easier. Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 13:35:22 -0500 From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com> Subject: Berliner Weisse Steve Leonard writes with questions about brewing Berliner Weisse... >Questions: >1) Am I correct in assuming the pitching ratio in the Siebel refers to cell >counts? >2) Should I do a starter (per the same Siebel post) to step up the cell >count? I'm unfamiliar with the critter here, but would a 1 liter 10P >starter wort be enough? >3) How the heck to you harvest lactobacillus? >Curious to find out what everyone thinks. Some of my experience... I have brewed a Berliner Weisse twice in the recent past. Each time I have used tidbits of information gleaned from an article on the topic that appeared in Brew Your Own. I don't remember which issue, but it had to be in the last couple years. In it the author recommends a two hour advance pitching of Lactobacillus followed by Wyeast Kolsch. I followed the article pretty much to the letter. The result was a second place wheat beer in a state competition last year. This year I have again brewed the same beer. This time I allowed a 4-5 hour lead time on the Lactobacillus. I also grew the culture up over a longer period of time--couple weeks? I thought I had the culture sticking around a bit too long when I noticed a few green colonies of "I don't know what" floating around on the surface like the Tidy-Bowl Man. Having given the culture the "sniff test" and having invested so much time and money already, I skimmed the colonies off the top and went ahead undeterred (more or less). The result this time around is far closer to style, IMHO. The refreshing acidity really leaps out at you. Now, you don't find many commercial examples of this style for comparison. However, I was fortunate a few years back to sample a Berliner Weisse that was imported to this country (by a private individual) direct from the Motherland. My second attempt was definitely closer to what I remember from this experience. I grew both cultures up in a 1/2 gal. starter each. I used my normal starter ratio of 1/3 c DME to 3 c. water as per Mary Beth Raines (I think), who worked either with YCKC or Brewers Resource? I pitched the whole starter of Lactobacillus. For the yeast, I decanted first and pitched the slurry. My two cents. Hope this helps. Rick Foote Whistle Pig Brewing Murrayville, GA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 18:44:58 +0000 From: "Chris Eidson" <eidsonc at hotmail.com> Subject: Label removal Jason-- Try an ammonia and hot water soak, overnight if possible. Labels will fall right off. Hope this helps. Chris Eidson Birmingham, AL Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 14:03:22 -0500 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: Parti-gyle batch produces two different clarity levels(?) Thought I'd pass on a somewhat unusual experience... I formulated a double-batch yesterday on the basis of a 12 gallon 1.050, post-boil wort. I ran off 3.3 gallons of first-runnings, diluted and boiled to get 6 gallons of 1.052. I then added 350g of crystal malt, sparged and boiled to get 6.5 gallons of 1.048. The two hydrometer samples left sitting on the counter after the boil did something unusual. The 1st wort sample cleared remarkably. The 2nd remained hazy. The only differences between the two are: #1 was chilled to ~54F #2 had the added crystal, had more finishing hops and was chillled to ~66F. Did I just get such a tremendous cold break on the first wort that it dropped very clear or is something else going on that made the second wort cloudy? Any thoughts? Dave Riedel Victoria, BC, Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 11:08:38 -0800 (PST) From: Ronald La Borde <pivoron at yahoo.com> Subject: Subject: Re: LBHS Chatter; Dry yeast is a joke >From: mailto:bill at brewbyyou.net > >..I hate to admit it, but I've gotten more into wine >myself >since taking over the store. I have 3 batches of kit >wine >working right now... Hey Bill, what kinda yeast are you making all that wine with? ;>) ===== Ron Ronald J. La Borde -- Metairie, LA New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie, LA www.hbd.org/rlaborde Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 20:01:50 +0100 From: Thomas Rohner <t.rohner at bluewin.ch> Subject: Removing Beer Labels Hi Jason We brew 12 gal+ (50l), so that means 100 bottles to clean. At least when we bottle them all. In the beginning there was just bottling. It proved to work out very well, soaking the bottles in hot water with dishwasher-detergent added. It cleans the bottle on the inside, as well as on the outside. The labels swim off without mechanical action like scrubbing and so on. But it depends on the glue. Some glue has to be removed with a sponge. The yellow soft side from a 3M green/yellow sponges one is enough. If you can choose, stay away from Wheat/Weizen bottles with dried up yeast (and other goo) inside. These are next to impossible to clean on the inside. happy brewing Thomas Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 15:28:48 -0500 From: Richard Foote <rfoote at mindspring.com> Subject: Lable Removal Lament Brewerz, Jason laments about lable removal: >I currently soak commercial beer bottles it hot water and then have to >scrub all the glue off. This is a timely process when you are doing about >thirty bottles. I was wondering if someone has a easier way of removing >those glued on labels. Alot of work to save 10 bucks. Everyone has their own "pet" method when it comes to label removal. I have noticed, as I'm sure have others, that some labels come off easier than others. I received a mixed six of Magic Hat (S. Burlington, VT) beers for Christmas. Soak 'em a bit and man do they just slide right off--totally intact! With this talk of data bases for this and that, I'm wondering if anyone has ever compiled a data base ranking, by brewery, the ease with which labels can be removed. With this information, you could go to your neighborhood bar, restaurant or recycling center and key-in on the low hanging fruit, as it were. Rick Foote Whistle Pig Brewing Murrayville, GA Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 15:37:30 -0500 From: jal7 at cox.net Subject: Re: RO Water Mike Sharp provides a fascinating and detailed description of RO systems, then ends with: > > By the way, personally, I neither treat my water (Puget Sound water is > pretty decent by itself, and I think it makes excellent beer by itself), nor > do I generally bother with adjusting the mineral content to match a specific > style...but then my wall isn't littered with ribbons and gold > medals, either! ;^) > Mike, this may be due to the salinity of water taken from the Puget Sound ;-) Are you still biohazard brewing? Jim Larsen Former leftcoaster stranded in Omaha, NE (I haven't even SEEN seawater in years) jal at novia.net jal7 at cox.net Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 16:50:18 -0500 From: David Towson <dtowson at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Hella-packed yeast in the Unitank! In HBD 4144, Nate Hall asks about problems getting sedimented yeast out of a unitank. I have come to expect this problem, especially after the beer has been cooled to drop the yeast. My dump valve is a half-inch full-port, and if I wait long enough (sometimes 15 minutes or more), the yeast will usually start to ooze out VERY slowly. If I don't resort to poking, or other means of coercion, it will easily take a half-hour or so to dump a quart of heavy slurry. I just find something else to do nearby while I wait. The process has a decidedly scatological appearance - great for grossing-out unprepared bystanders :-) Dave in Bel Air, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 17:44:43 -0500 From: RiedelD at pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Subject: No protein rest Wit - any data out there? The last wit I made was almost exactly what I wanted flavour-wise, but I'd like to increase the body and retain the haziness it had in the fermenter. I rested only briefly at 50C/122F (15', I believe), so I'm considering dropping the protein rest altogether. Has anyone tried this? Did you have any problems doing a single-infusion mash with 45% raw white wheat, 5% flaked oats and, 50% N. American Pale 2-row? If I don't use a single-infusion, my next try would be mashing in at 50C then ramping up to 67C (for sacc. rest) immediately. Thanks, Dave Riedel Victoria, BC, Canada Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 19:00:15 -0500 From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com> Subject: Re: dusty malt Regarding the very dusty Munton's malt I just purchased, Alan is pretty sure that this is what was swept from the floor after all the other bags had been filled and that this is sold to the unsuspecting homebrewer community. I, too, suspect that this bag represents the "dregs" from the packaging floor, but I do wonder if the professional brewer doesn't also get such a bag mixed in with his pallet of base malt. It would be hard to know you've got a bad bag among the several good bags your dumping bags into the hopper, unless, of course, you know this can happen and you are looking for it. Any pro brewers out there run across bags of dusty malt? - -- Fred L. Johnson Apex, North Carolina, USA > From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> > Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 07:33:02 -0500 > To: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson at portbridge.com> > Cc: post@hbd.org > Subject: dusty malt > > > Fred talks about dusty malt. > > Fred, I had that once in a sack of malt that I bought, only in my > case the malt looked almost like it had been pre-crushed as well, > though the shop owner assured me this was not the case. > > This is when I came to realise that some of the 'conspiracy' stuff > I'd heard brewers talk about really was true. What is likely > happening is that somewhere along the chain a supplier is sending > substandard malt because they know it is 'only' for homebrewers. > In some cases what you get has been literally swept up off the > floor after all the other bags have been filled. > > I'd bet you dollars to donuts this is it. > > cheers, > -Alan > > -- > http://www.bodensatz.com/ > The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 19:32:10 -0500 From: David Towson <dtowson at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Filling CO2 tanks In HBD 4140, Jay Pfaffman asks about filling CO2 tanks. I have watched this process, and discussed it with the person doing it. The first thing to never forget is that this involves pressures in excess of 800 PSI, and can be quite dangerous if one doesn't exercise due caution. For example, if a hose comes loose while under pressure, you'll be lucky if it doesn't beat you to death, and I'm not joking. That said, here is what I witnessed. The operator first made sure the tank to be filled was empty by very slightly opening the valve. Next, he weighed the empty tank so he'd know how much to subtract from the total weight to determine the weight of CO2 he would be putting in. Then he connected a special high pressure hose between the source tank and the tank to be filled. This hose, of course, had tank fittings on both ends. The source tank was mounted in a holding fixture so that the valve-end was down. This was so liquid CO2 was discharged, and not gas. To start the filling process, he put my 5 pound tank on a scale, and then let about a half pound of CO2 into it. He then closed both valves and disconnected my tank. Then, holding my tank very firmly, he opened the valve and let the half pound of gas out pretty fast. It made quite a blast of sound. This was done to get my tank very cold, due to the rapid expansion of the gas. (You want to be real careful doing this, as a loose gas bottle rocketing around the room can do a lot of damage, including to you.) Once the tank was cold, he reconnected it to the filling hose and opened both valves to let it fill. He said a full charge would not fit in the tank unless it was good and cold, but if it was cold enough, he could get 6 pounds into a 5 pound tank. (I'm not saying this is a good idea.) After the filling was complete, he shut off both valves, disconnected the special hose, wiped the condensate off my tank, and gave it back to me. So there you have it. Aside from the obvious risk involved, I expect your biggest problem would be finding the special high pressure hose with appropriate fittings. Were I to try this, I'd be darned sure to get a properly credentialed transfer hose, and not try to fake it. 800-plus PSI is nothing to play around with. Dave in Bel Air, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 11:35:50 +1100 From: "Chris M" <chrismac_aus at hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Removing labels from bottles Replying to Post. Hi, I fill up a black plastic garbage bin with wasing and sterlising powder outside and let them soak for a few days in the water, labels come off fairly easily on their own. I also throw in a bit of dishwashing powder, i get a lot of bottles from friends and they are never clean, this also gaurantees to remove yucky organisms growing inside the bottles. I then throw the stubby bottles into the dishwasher - come out fine. Ive stopped worrying about labels as i tend to pour the beer into a glass for friends, i re-use the bottles and the labels will come off over time any way. As long as the bottles are clean then you will be fine, leaves you more time to concentrate on the final product - your beer. Chris Mac - Oz. Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 22:33:30 -0500 From: Donald and Melissa Hellen <donhellen at horizonview.net> Subject: RE: Cappers David asked if anyone has had trouble with their cappers . . . I have an old, 4-handled cast-iron capper that the handles rotate around (like spokes in a wheel) so you always have one where you need it to apply pressure to cap a bottle. I have one handle that was cracked when I bought it and I've replaced it with a modified file handle. It just broke on me and I had to tape it back together (like the original one was) to finish my bottling session. Other than that somewhat minor inconvenience, since it is made of cast iron and steel, no plastic, I don't think it will ever fall apart. I think it could survive a Kenworth truck running over it (I would not allow another brand of truck to run over it since I work for Kenworth) and still cap bottles perfectly. If yours is made of plastic and steel, examine how well it is made to figure out if it may wear out someday. If it is one of the older stamped steel cappers like people who used to make their own soda pop or even prohibition era homebrew, it probably will not wear out. You may need to replace the pad below the bottle or the cushion inside the capper itself, but other than that, it will probably last you years. I made my own pad for below the bottle out of a rubber gripper to open jars with, and I replaced the cushion in the capper that crimps the cap with a garden hose washer glued in with silicone sealer. Don Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2003 22:42:03 -0500 From: Donald and Melissa Hellen <donhellen at horizonview.net> Subject: Homebrew Competition Announcements I don't know about most of you but I would like to see homebrew competition announcements made here to be made at least 2 months before the competition. That's cutting it close if someone were to make a barleywine or imperial stout, but it would give someone who is making a lighter ale or lager enough time to brew especially for that competition. A week or two just isn't enough time for me to get things together to brew and enter a competition. It's pushing it for me to pack up and enter a competition with beer that's ready since I have to find time after work sometime to get to the UPS office in time to ship the brew. I know that HBD doesn't have rules about many things, but for the courtesy of us brewers, could the people who wish to announce their competitions give us some more notice, please? If we had more notice, perhaps more of us would spend the money to enter these things and we could help finance the competition and club. Of course, maybe I'm the only one who doesn't keep beer around just waiting for a competition announcement. This is just a suggestion that might make some of the smaller competitions more successful. Don Return to table of contents
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