HOMEBREW Digest #4214 Mon 07 April 2003


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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Re: Quick Disconnects (Warren Place)
  Glacier Hops again (Bill Wible)
  Re: Fermentation Agitation ("Doug Hurst")
  Fermenter recirculation - feedback (David Towson)
  re: ultimate attenuation ("Steve Alexander")
  Fly sparging (Jeff Renner)
  protein rest in a hefe ("Frank Tutzauer")
  Re: Fixing excess iron problems ("Mike Sharp")
  Re: the classic old Hamm's tapper keg ("Mike Sharp")
  Another 1st batch (Steve Hanlon)
  Re: Hefeweizen Question (Teresa Knezek)
  Hefeweizen Question (Eric Jacobs)
  Re: HERMS question (Kent Fletcher)
  Chest Freezer mods (Eric Jacobs)
  Hugely improved BrewMaster 1.2 software now available (DSSS\)" <dsss at havochill.com>
  new well iron, ("Dave Burley")
  Advice on Mocha Java Stout (darrell.leavitt)
  Mocha Java Stout (darrell.leavitt)
  Indoor Boiling ("Mike Kessenich")
  confusion over Campdens ("Peter Wadey")
  Repackaging hops ("Doug Moyer")

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 07:13:49 -0800 (PST) From: Warren Place <wrplace at ucdavis.edu> Subject: Re: Quick Disconnects >From: "Hedglin, Nils A" <nils.a.hedglin at intel.com> >Subject: Quick Disconnects >Hi, > I'm thinking of upgrading to SnapFlex QDs, but choked at the price. I >saw on there are both Polypropylene and Polysulfone. I've seen the >Polysulfone on sale at homebrew websites. The Polypropylene have almost >the same specs for pressure & temp. Are these food grade too? Nils, I just bought some of those a short while ago and am planning to to get more. They are very expensive, but I don't see another alternative other than brass. The polpropylene qd's are food grade but not rated for boiling temps. If you plan to transfer boiling wort, it would probably be best to get the polysulfone qd's. I've seen some polypropylene fail at high temps in the lab and it isn't pretty. Warren Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 10:33:57 -0500 From: Bill Wible <bill at brewbyyou.net> Subject: Glacier Hops again I asked this in the past, and I'm sorry to have to ask it again. I recently was able to acquire 2 hop rhizomes for a variety called Glacier. This is not a well known, or as far as I can tell, a commercially available hop. Anybody know what it is, what its characteristics are, typical alpha, what kinds of beers it would be appropriate in, etc? Thanks! Bill Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 10:44:03 -0600 From: "Doug Hurst" <DougH at theshowdept.com> Subject: Re: Fermentation Agitation Speaking of agitation during fermentation, check out Al Korzonas' photos and description of Samuel Smiths: http://www.brewinfo.com/samsmiths/samsmth5.html They use open fermenters and a very floculent yeast strain. During fermentation the yeast is pumped from the bottom of the fermenter up to the top and sprayed out through the air onto the top of the fermenting beer. Most of us would be horrified if our beer was subjected to this kind of aeration and agitation, but it works for their beer. Al claims that the process is responsible for creating a good bit of diacetyl. I would certainly label this process "agitation during fermentation". It seems to work well for Samuel Smiths. Obviously their system is much larger and pehaps worlds different from the typical homebrewer, but I'm guessing that a mixing system in a closed fermenter isn't going to cause too many problems. Doug Hurst Chicago, IL Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 12:14:23 -0500 From: David Towson <dtowson at comcast.net> Subject: Fermenter recirculation - feedback Since posting my article describing severe damage to my Little Giant magnetically coupled pump that resulted from continuously recirculating the contents of my fermenter, I have received some very useful feedback. Some of this has been posted to the digest, and some sent to me privately. I very much appreciate these responses, and in this post I will briefly summarize them. Both Jonathan Royce and Doug Moller suggested that the abrasive substance that chewed-up my pump was precipitated salt from my brewing water. That does indeed match my situation. The water here in Bel Air has a good deal of what I believe is dissolved Calcium salt. It forms a rock-hard deposit in the plastic foam evaporator pads of my furnace humidifier, and leaves a scum on the side of any vessel in which it is boiled. Doug described a problem in the greenhouse industry wherein acid fertilizer dissolved in high-pH water caused a precipitate that clogged injector nozzles. Pete Czerpak said, "...my guess is that your pump impellor is destroying itself by cavitation from the constanly produced and dissolved CO2 due to the pressure changes seen within the pump causing the CO2 to rapidly come out of solution. Special pumps are required for pumping liquids with solubilized gases." And that too matches my situation. My pump is certainly not built for heavy duty. Although the impeller shaft if made of Titanium, the rotor itself is made of plastic, and I could hear some chatter as it was pumping the fermenting beer. Dennis Lewis suggested using a Powerhead undergravel filter aquarium pump, and posted a link to a Google search that provides several links concerning the product. But if cavitation due to released CO2 is the problem ... And finally, Fred Scheer posted a story about Schlitz Brewing being killed-off by bad beer that resulted from fermenter recirculation. I am pleased to report that most definitely does not match my situation! I have made a porter, a biere de garde and a witbier using recirculation, and they have all been excellent. So based on my experience and on the suggestions I have received, I think I will give some thought to building a magnetically coupled mechanical stirrer, so I don't have to put a hole in the lid of my fermenter. Thanks to all for your helpful feedback. Dave in Bel Air, Maryland Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 12:35:29 -0500 From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: re: ultimate attenuation J.N.Aikema tries to get a handle on what is meant by the attenuation of yeast. Unfortunately attenuation is determined by the yeast, wort properties and the details of how the fermentation is conducted. Until you spec the wort and fermentation process he figure is meaningless. >If so, I assume the rest is maltotriose ? "Typical" wort extract is about 8%to 10% non-carbohydrate. That fraction is never fermented. A very small amount of the non-carbo extract (around 0.1% of total) is FAN and other vitamin content that is partly consumed. Around 58-65% of extract is fermentable sugars - maltose, glucose, maltotriose and a tiny bit of fructose. If this was all fermented the *apparent* attenuation would be around 71-79%. The other carbohydrate (26-34% of total extract) are mostly dextrins, but also glucans, alpha-linked glucans and a lot of other minor non-fermentables. Note: multiply apparent attenuation by 0.81 to estimate real attenuation. *Most* brewing yeast will nearly fully ferment glucose, maltose and fructose, with more variable results on maltotriose. *SOME* unattenuative yeast do not even fully ferment maltose according to a recent JIB study. The NCYC categorizes yeast based on the final gravity (SG 1.006 through 1.016) of some standardized wort after 6 days. They use EBC standard "tall tube" fermentation - often used for forced fermentation tests. I don't have the paper but the method is described in: R J Walkey, & B H Kirsop, 1969, J.Inst.Brew., 75, 393. -S Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 13:35:17 -0500 From: Jeff Renner <jeffrenner at comcast.net> Subject: Fly sparging In HBD 4197, March 17, 2003, "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net> wrote: >To my knowledge, the term "fly sparging" is a mistake and came into the HBD >lingo as a result of Al Korzonas' visit to a British brewery. Possibly he was >having trouble understanding his guide or the guide was mistaken. He even >commented on the peculiar term, as I recall. > >Likely the term is really "on the fly" sparging. Brits use this expression to >describe any continuous process. > >Any British brewer have the answer for sure? It took a little time, but I am able to rescue Al K's reputation ;-) In H. S. Corran's 1975 classic _A History of Brewing_ (p.191), he quotes J. Levesque's 1853 _The Art of Brewing_: "Fly Mashing, which is modernly termed Sparging, is to pass the succeeding liquors over the goods while the tap is spending." It seems that sparging as we know it came into practice in Great Britain in the mid 19th century. before that, successive mashes were used, even though they weren't actually accomplishing any further conversion after the first mash. 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: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 14:34:17 -0500 From: "Frank Tutzauer" <comfrank at acsu.buffalo.edu> Subject: protein rest in a hefe Dave L. wants to do a single-step infusion hefe, but is worried about skipping the protein rest. Dave, my man, I was afraid of the same problem with my first all-grain hefeweizen. I had just finished reading Eric Warner's book, and he's pretty adamant about needing the protein rest. I said screw it and did a single-step infusion anyway. No probs. My grain bills will include 45-55% malted wheat, the rest barley, and a few handfuls of rice hulls. No problems whatsoever. I've made 10 or so that way (and in fact have one kegged now), sometimes 5 gallon batches, sometimes 15 gallon batches. They've all turned out delicious. I say, full speed ahead! --frank in Buffalo Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 13:15:17 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com> Subject: Re: Fixing excess iron problems Doug Moyer mentioned: "I recently had a new well drilled. I don't know anything about the makeup, but I can tell that the water is high in iron. (Strong iron aroma.)" Yuck. A manganese green sand filter will remove your iron. Usually, it's an old steel well casing that's responsible for excess iron, but yours is new...unless you have iron pipe in your house distribution. That might be worth looking into... Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 13:32:26 -0800 From: "Mike Sharp" <rdcpro at hotmail.com> Subject: Re: the classic old Hamm's tapper keg scott thompson talked about the classic old Hamm's tapper keg "Has anyone out there been able to re-use one of these?" Wow, I loved those things...I had a couple, and tried to get them to work for homebrewing, but that was YEARS ago. They're really cool, because they have a tiny CO2 bottle in the keg bung. I figured I could get the CO2 bottle so I could refill it from my 10 lb bottle, but the problem is that when you pull the seal from the keg bung,it loosens up, and I was never able to get it to seal right again. If I still had my old kegs, I'd try it again, because since then I've found some thin split rings, that might do the trick. If you get one of those Sankey split rings from your LHBS, it might be the right size...Or maybe a thicker O-ring in there. If you try it out, be sure to let me (us) know how it works. BTW, one of mine had pretty bad corrosion in it when I opened it up, but the other was fine. I wish you could still get them. Regards, Mike Sharp Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 16:58:25 -0500 From: Steve Hanlon <asciibaron at comcast.net> Subject: Another 1st batch I brewed up my first batch yesterday. Took 2.5 hours from start to finish and it was a great time. I made MidWest's Autumn Amber Ale which is a mix of extract and grains. This seems more like making something than boiling some water and dumping in a syrup. I learned a few things from my readings and only made 1 error - I measured the OG of the 2 gallons in the brewpot, not the 5 gallons in the fermentor. Other than that, I soaked everything in One-Step and kept the equipment clean from start to finish. Hopefully I sanitized everything enough for the batch to not be spoiled. I'll drink it if it's not too funky :) My wife was surprised that I left the kitchen cleaner than when I started. Bonus points for me. Steve Hanlon Severn, MD Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 13:13:11 -0900 From: Teresa Knezek <teresa at mivox.com> Subject: Re: Hefeweizen Question On or thereabout 4/5/03, Dave Larsen spoke thusly: >I'm trying to figure out what kind of all-grain batch to do next. I was >thinking about a Hefeweizen, which I've never done before. However, every >all-grain wheat beer recipe I find recommends doing a protein rest. My third batch of hefe should be done this weekend (hm, maybe I should go check now...) and I've done single-infusion mashes every time. And the beer is good. So I'd have to say the fancy multi-step mash is optional. Maybe there's something missing because I'm not doing a protein rest, but there's not anything noticeable lacking between my beer and my favorite commercial hefe's. - -- ::Teresa : Two Rivers, Alaska:: [2849, 325] Apparent Rennerian "It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -- Abraham Lincoln Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 18:33:49 -0500 From: Eric Jacobs <eljacobs at bellsouth.net> Subject: Hefeweizen Question Dave is thinking about brewing a hefeweizen, and is wondering how to raise from a protein rest, to sacc temps, with his equipment... Or is the protein rest really even necessary? You could either add boiling water, exactly as you described, or do a decoction. But if you're in the habit of just doing single infusions, I'd stick with that. I've made a lot of good hefeweizen with single infusions. Eric Jacobs Atlanta, GA Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2003 15:38:25 -0800 (PST) From: Kent Fletcher <fletcherhomebrew at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: HERMS question Joel Gallihue wants to HERMS with a cooler for an HLT: (snip) >I will have one burner w/ two cooler set up. The top >cooler, and highest of all is the mashtun. Below it >a cooler hot liquor tank. To the right of sparge >water is boilding pot w/ pump below all. >Question: If I locate a HERMS exchange coil in the >liquor tank and fill the tank w/ 185 - 190 deg. F >water and pump wort through the coil I should not >have any problem running through various steps will >I. Is not having bottom heat a serious flaw (snip)? Joel, it would be pretty tight to make that work the way you've postulated, with any reasonably sized cooler/HLT. The HE in HERMS is short for Heat Exchange, but more specifically it is Heat Extraction. When you circulate wort through the coil in the HLT you are extracting heat from your hot liquor. To put it simply, as you raise the mash temp, you lower the liqour temp. Depending on the size (mass) of the mash and quantity of hot liqour, you probably would not have sparge temperature liquor when you needed it. However - it CAN be done. When I first started HERMSing I was in the same boat, equipment-wise. What you need to do is use your kettle for the HLT while you are HERMSing, so you can keep the burner on to replace the heat removed by the HERMS. This can be done as simply as using an immersion chiller for a HERMS coil, dropped in the kettle. After whatever mash rests, HERMS to mash-out. Then pump your 175ish liqour (you'll lose heat as you fill the ambient-temp cooler) to your cooler/HLT, and start run-off and sparge. Hope that helps, Kent Fletcher HERMSbrewing in So Cal Return to table of contents
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 19:03:58 -0500 From: Eric Jacobs <eljacobs at bellsouth.net> Subject: Chest Freezer mods I've just been making some modifications to a couple chest freezers to add faucets, and wanted to offer a tip I don't remember being posted before... I went the "collar" route, building a frame that rests on top of the freezer, and re-mounting the lid to it. But for constructing the collar, I used vinyl trim boards. I bought a few 1x4 boards at the local home-improvement mega-mart, cut them to size, and glued them together with PVC cement. The PVC cement solvent-welds these vinyl boards, so the joints are *very* strong. I doubled up the boards, so the collar is actually 1.5" thick, 3.5" tall. It's waterproof, a pretty good thermal insulator, and seems to be strong enough. And the natural color of the vinyl (white) matches my freezer. ;) The only drawback I can see is that the boards seem a bit "soft"- their interior is sort of foamy, not completely solid. So when mounting the lid, I drilled all the way through the collar, and used a long screw/nut, with a washer on the inside to distribute the force. Eric Jacobs Atlanta,GA Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 17:30:06 +1000 From: "Scott Marshall \(DSSS\)" <dsss at havochill.com> Subject: Hugely improved BrewMaster 1.2 software now available Hi everyone, I've just made the new release (1.2.0) of BrewMaster available. This version is hugely improved over previous ones, with redesigned main form and recipe lists, online recipe imports, calculations, conversions, ingredient and brew costs, etc. Please check it out at http://www.HavocHill.com/downloads/bm12tr.zip or from the overview page at http://www.HavocHill.com/bmoverview.htm Scott. Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 06:29:20 -0400 From: "Dave Burley" <Dave_Burley at charter.net> Subject: new well iron, Doug, As far as iron in your water goes, many guys cannot take high iron. Unlike the ladies, we have no way of getting rid of it. Friend of mine goes in every month or two ( when he starts feeling lethargic) to get his blood drained to reduce the iron content in his body. Even though it sounds medieval, it is supervised by medical doctors in a hospital. His case is apparently not that unusual, so he says. I'd check with your local health authorities. Get a sample of your water analysed. Sounds like you're in for a lot of trouble plumbing wise ( ferric iron dissolves copper containing metal ), clean clothes wise - iron stains, bathroom porcelain and kitchen sink stains, etc. if your water has that much iron. Second place I'd go to is the well driller. he guarantees drinkable water, or is supposed to. Failing all that, talk to your water treating company. Sometimes, however, it is not the well water, but the in-the-well jet pump rusting. In any event and what is of real importance is you can't really make good beer with high iron water. Go to Home Depot or wherever and get a little under the sink RO water treatment for drinking water and making beer. BTW if you or your family drink RO water, be sure to periodically sanitize the system with a little bleach per instructions, change the carbon filter and include trace mineral tablets in their and your diet. RO will make great lagers! Keep on Brewin' Dave Burley Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2003 07:46:38 -0400 From: darrell.leavitt at plattsburgh.edu Subject: Advice on Mocha Java Stout I have a Mocha Java Stout in secondary, and am in need of some of the collective wisdom as to how to get the java in, and how much to use. The recipe is as such: 5 lb Maris Otter Pale malt 2 lb Wheat malt 3 lb Munich malt 1 lb Special B 1/4 lb Black Patent .75 lb Carapils 1/2 lb Roasted Barley (in the sparge) og was 1.06 grav going into secondary was 1.022 What I intend to do is to brew a REAL strong 1/2 pot of coffee, using freshly ground Mocha Java beans, but I am unsure as to how much to use. I intend to fill the coffee maker's basket with the ground coffee, and wonder is this too much? By the way, he flavor as it went into the secondary was wonderful, and almost tasted like it didn't need the coffee, but I am going to do it anyway, in an attempt to make something close to the old Double Black Stout that seem to no longer be on the market. Does this method make sense? ..Darrell Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 06 Apr 2003 08:00:39 -0400 From: darrell.leavitt at plattsburgh.edu Subject: Mocha Java Stout I think that I forgot to say in the previous post that I intend to add the very strong coffee to the bottling bucket. ..Darrell Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 11:23:31 -0500 From: "Mike Kessenich" <mkessenich at charter.net> Subject: Indoor Boiling What is the best method for boiling wort indoors in a basement? I want to go to 12 gallon batches and move to all grain brewing, but boiling outside in the winter won't be pretty in Wisconsin. Mike in Madison Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 09:37:28 +1000 From: "Peter Wadey" <pwadey at mimixbroadband.com.au> Subject: confusion over Campdens G'day All, My local (Sydney) supply uses chloramine. I have been checking out the chlorine/ chloramine removal thread on the HBD and thinking that I'd rather add Campden tablets instead of boiling for a few hrs (despite the person at Sydney Water saying 5 mins would do!) I promptly bought some, but on inspection of the packet I notice the contents listed as Sodium Metabisulphite. I thought Campden tablets contained Potassium Metabisulphite. Could somebody clarify this for me, please? The local water has 11-16 ppm of sodium already. I don't know to what extent these tablets will increase this, and so don't know whether I should use them or not. If somebody could offer some advice, it'd be greatly appreciated. Regards, Peter Wadey Mashing away in Eastwood, Australia Return to table of contents
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2003 22:13:16 -0400 From: "Doug Moyer" <shyzaboy at yahoo.com> Subject: Repackaging hops Our club (see tag-line below) is considering bulk buys of whole hops. As such, we would like to have a way to effectively repackage the hops so they keep fresh, especially aroma retention. I've tried "basic" vacuum sealers, and am not at all impressed. The hop "dust" gets all over the inside of the bag and prevents a good seal. The vacuum is largely ineffective, leaving a lot of air in the bag. So, for those of you that repackage hops (homebrew shops, clubs, or individuals), how do you do it? What equipment? Cost (upfront and per package)? How long do the hops retain their aroma with your method? Caveats? And, by the way, for those thinking, "support your local homebrew supplier", I respond, "It is a wine shop with a tiny homebrew corner, and he has no interest in carrying whole hops..." Many thanks, in advance... Brew on! Doug Moyer Salem, VA Star City Brewers Guild: http://hbd.org/starcity "There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness.'" ~ Dave Barry "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." ~ Galileo Galilei Return to table of contents
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