HOMEBREW Digest #536 Tue 13 November 1990

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Coordinator


Contents:
  Pounds (Pierre-Yves Thoulon)
  Irish moss and head retention (Ted Manahan)
  RE>Homebrew Digest #535 (No (Rad Equipment)
  Boiled Grains! (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Nothing Exceeds Like Excess (Martin A. Lodahl)
  Mead Recipes (jamesb)
  GABF Barfs Again (florianb)
  Spent Grain (Spam!)"        (Spam!)        (Spam!)        (Spam!)        (Spam!)        (Spam!)
  5 Gallon Fermenters;Boiling Grains (BAUGHMANKR)
  state limits on alcohol content in beer. (John E. Greene)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 09:41:36 MET >From: Pierre-Yves Thoulon <pyt at hpgneds1.grenoble.hp.com> Subject: Pounds Full-Name: Pierre-Yves THOULON > How much is 3 1/2 pounds? One pound is 454 grams. An easy way to convert pounds into kilograms is to divide by two then substract 10%, e.g.: 3.5/2 is 1.75, minus 10% comes down to 1.75-.17=1.58kg. Note that this approximates 1lb to .45 kg... Pyt. PS: Ever wondered wonder why most malt cans are 3.3lbs ? Because it comes down to 1.5kg (make more sense, hey ? :-) Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 08:08:54 pst >From: Ted Manahan <tedm at hpcvcbp.cv.hp.com> Subject: Irish moss and head retention Full-Name: Ted Manahan Mike Charlton writes: > irish moss not only attacks large protein > molecules, but medium sized ones as well. George Fix warns never > to exceed to maximum reccomended use of any clarifying agent. This got me thinking; my last two batches have had very little head formation and no retention. They are adequately carbonated, very clear and clean tasting. I try to pass them off as "English Ales", but even English Ales have better heads than these batches! These two batches are the only two for which I have used Irish moss! Now I like a clear beer, but the loss of head retention is too high a price to pay! I'm going to make my next beer with no Irish moss, and the one after that with about 1/2 the recommended dosage. Maybe I can find a good compromise. Ted Manahan tedm at hpcvca.cv.hp.com Return to table of contents
Date: 12 Nov 90 08:44:44 >From: Rad Equipment <Rad_Equipment at rad-mac1.ucsf.EDU> Subject: RE>Homebrew Digest #535 (No Reply to: RE>Homebrew Digest #535 (Novem I seem to be missing the last four entries from HBD #535. Generally in the past Digests which are too large for my message system become "encapsulated" as an individual file. This was not the case with this issue. Is it my system at fault or did the contents list exceede the actual contents? Russ Wigglesworth <Rad Equipment at RadMac1.ucsf.edu> Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 8:29:43 PST >From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!malodah at PacBell.COM> Subject: Boiled Grains! In HOMEBREW Digest #535, Dan Needham talked to a feller in Berkeley (never the home of slavish orthodoxy), who said: > to throw the grain in the last 5 minutes of the boil for the same result. > He also said don't worry about a grinder to crack the grain -- just quick > pulse it in my blender about 5 times. The following must be classified as hearsay, as I have never done either of the above, but: Boiling the grains for 5 minutes could quite conceivably give you the worst of both worlds: some tannin extraction, and incomplete malt sugar extraction. The method you've been using may be more work, but it sounds much safer to me. The problem with cracking grains in the blender has usually been that some are reduced to powder while others are untouched. A more reliable method is to put the grains in a sturdy plastic bag, and crush them with a rolling pin. = Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff = = malodah at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 916.972.4821 = = If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, = = Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) = Return to table of contents
to deliberately look for the astringency, etc., I'd been promised was there. My present hypothesis is that the blowoff method may have had some real value when the available yeast & hops were of less exacting quality than some present products. For example, I haven't tried a non-blowoff batch with Red Star ale yeast ... = Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff = = malodah at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 916.972.4821 = = If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, = = Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) = Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 9:14:06 PST >From: Martin A. Lodahl <pbmoss!malodah at PacBell.COM> Subject: Nothing Exceeds Like Excess At the beginning of last month, I reported in these pages that I was planning to use Wyeast "Vintner's Choice" Champagne yeast for a barleywine, that it appeared to be packaged in a grape must, and that I'd report on the results. I bottled it yesterday, prematurely, and may well be looking at the most expensive failure of my brewing career. Or then again, maybe not. The recipe was a product of my personal credo ("anything worth doing is worth doing to excess"): For a 5 gallon batch - 12 lbs 2-row pale malt 2 lbs Munich malt 2 lbs crystal malt 4 lbs Edme light malt extract 4 lbs Alexander's light malt extract 4 oz dark molasses 1/4 cup corn sugar (priming) Bittering hops: 0.5 oz Northern Brewer at 8%, 2 oz same at 6.9% Flavor hops: 1.5 oz Kent Goldings at 5.2% Finish hops: 0.5 oz Hallertauer pellets at 2.8%, 0.5 oz Cascade at 5.2% Mash in: 18 qts well water at 140F, pH 5.3 (0.5 tsp gypsum) Protein rest: none Starch conversion: 2 hrs at 150-141F Mash out: 5 min at 168F Sparge: 5 gal at 168F, pH 5.7 (0.5 tsp gypsum) Boil: 2.5 hours Adds: Extracts, molasses, & bittering hops at 90 min Flavor hops at 120 min Finish hops at 140 min As you can see, if I'd omitted the extracts and cut the pale malt back to 10 lbs, I'd have the makings of a pretty fair ESB, but noooo ... I won't bore you with the trials of making this thing. It was not an easy batch. Of more interest is the fact that the original gravity was a whopping 1.126!!! I pitched the yeast (which I'd cultured through two successive DME-based starters), and the ensuing fermentation was, well, volcanic. The yeasties looked around, chorused "All this, for ME??", and fell to. I think I heard a cheer. Fully 1.5 of the 5 gallons in the carboy departed hastily through the blowoff tube. When it slowed to a gradual stop and showed no activity at all for more than a week, I gave up and bottled. In retrospect, I should have taken a sample and measured the gravity, then pitched the Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast I keep in the freezer for emergencies. That stuff will eat anything in sight! The Wyeast had attenuated only down to 1.091, still heavier than most of my starting gravities. The flavor is impossibly "syrupy", but with no (other) obvious flaws. I put it in the cellar, and I think I'll just sort of forget about it for a few months. It has been a learning experience, though! I learned: 1. Wyeast Champagne yeast is not as attenuative as Red Star; 2. A batch this size strains the capacities of my equipment, even the 33 qt kettle; 3. Enough is enough, and 1.126 is too much; 4. When in doubt, risk infection and sample. Maybe I can pour it over ice cream ... = Martin A. Lodahl Pac*Bell Minicomputer Operations Support Staff = = malodah at pbmoss.Pacbell.COM Sacramento, CA 916.972.4821 = = If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, = = Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! 8-) = Return to table of contents
Date: Mon Nov 12 06:39:02 1990 >From: microsoft!jamesb at uunet.UU.NET Subject: Mead Recipes Does anybody out there make Mead? I have just been fortunate enough to aquire 24# of Honey and would like to try a couple of meads. Please send any advice and/or horror stories you may have. Any Recipes would be great also. Thanx in advance Jim Broglio Microsoft Return to table of contents
Date: 12 Nov 90 12:57:37 PST (Mon) >From: florianb at tekred.cna.tek.com Subject: GABF Barfs Again I suspected it was bogus, but this takes the cake: > Brown Ale > >GOLD - Pacific Crest Ale, Hart Brewing Company, Kalama, WA >SILVER - Tied House Dark, Tied House (Palo Alto Brewing) >BRONZE - Bond Street Ale, Deschutes Brewery and Public House, Bend, OR > > Pale Ale > >GOLD - Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company/Sierra Nevada T, Chico, CA >SILVER - Liberty Ale, Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, Ca >BRONZE - Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Deschutes Brewery and Public House, Bend, OR This is absolutely ridiculous. The Deschutes Brewery has won an award for its hop-flavored goat urine. Now, they're going to advertise the award... "Oh, we're so great, we won an award for our hop-flavored goat urine at the Great American Swill Contest. Now all you yuppie ski bums can cruise right down and feel justified in letting us rip you off! Now we are excused for helping turn Bend, Oregon into another little Aspen. Yes! we can bring in our slimy developers and raise the price of local real estate and when they get thirsty and need a real good headache, they can come right down and guzzle down this award winning swill!" But it comforts me to know that just five miles up the road, off old Deschutes Market Road, in a little log home with a cozy wood fire I sit and sip pretty good home brew with my friends. Those same friends who agree with me that the Deschutes Brewery Swill is, indeed, the worst beer they have ever tasted. I think I'm going to go home tonight and make an apple pie. Florian Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 16:03:50 EST >From: hplabs!lotus!"LDBVAX!DLANE (Spam!)" (Spam!) (Spam!) (Spam!) (Spam!) (Spam!) Subject: Spent Grain Ken Buswell <kenb at hpsmeng1.rose.hp.com> wrote: > I would like to know what other grain brewers do with there spent grain. > I've been brewing all grain beers for around 10 years now and have > experimented with using the spent grain in things like muffins and bread. Hmm. I never thought of that. What I've been doing is setting it outside to dry, and then when it's dry, putting it in the bird feeder. They love it. Sometimes it's gone before I ever get a chance to put it in the feeder. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Lane Lotus Development Corp. dlane at ldbvax.lotus.COM Return to table of contents
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 90 18:25 EST >From: BAUGHMANKR at CONRAD.APPSTATE.EDU Subject: 5 Gallon Fermenters;Boiling Grains RE: HBD #535: Kevin Carpenter wonders about using 5 or 7 gallon carboys for primary fermentation. I strongly recommend using 5 gallon carboys so that you get some blow-off. I think you'll find that some of the residual astringency that lingers in the aftertaste of some homebrews will disappear with the blow-off system. If you have any doubts--as I've mentioned before--just scrape some of the brown crud that is left around the top of the primary fermenter and taste it. Hey! Green persimmons do not hold a candle to the bitter, astringency you will taste. We spend a lot of time *AND MONEY* buying the best ingredients, equipment, etc., etc. trying to hone in on the world's perfect beer. Would you buy a couple of Tablespoons of that stuff and add it to your beer if you had the choice? No way!! That's why I've always told new brewers that the age-old debate as to whether one should skim or not is just a pseudo issue. The real question is whether one should skim or use the blow-off method. Personally,I think the blow-off method is both safer (in terms of avoiding the risks of contamination) and more efficient. About a hundred batches ago I tried it and I've never skimmed again. As for the beer or two that you might lose during the blow-off, who cares? I give well over a quarter of my beer away anyway. I don't begrudge a couple of more. Just call it a libation to the gods of beer! They'll appreciate it and imbue you with a sense of relaxing, not worrying... Dan Needham, in the same issue, wondered about boiling blender buzzed grains the last five minutes of the boil. It's my understanding that boiling grains extracts tannins. Tannins are bitter and don't promote smooth beers. I'd advise against it. Boiling grains may also promote the development of phenols. I'm not sure about that one. I'll have to check Malting and Brewing Science and get back to you. Unless, of course, someone else out there in Netland can enlighten us. All this talk of beer has gotten me thirsty...let's see...will it be an ale tonight? Yeah..... Sante' ! Kinney Baughman baughmankr at appstate.bitnet Return to table of contents
Date: 12 Nov 90 08:44:07 PST (Mon) >From: jeg at desktalkdesktalk.com (John E. Greene) Subject: state limits on alcohol content in beer. Dennis Henderson writes: >In California "beer" must be less than 4%. If the alcohol >content is higher then it is either labelled as Malt Liquor >*or* you must have a 'wine/liquor license' to sell it. >Don't know which it is as I have drank/drunk/previously >consumed beer here in California that seemed over 4%. An interesting note here is that "beer" is defined as a lager and that California does not have a limit on the alcohol content of Ale. >Most nationally distributed beers are less than 4% as this >is the level that most states use to define beer. Based on the latest data compliled by the Beer Institute (formerly the United States Brewers Association), the maximum permissible alcoholic contents for beverages sold in the various states is as follows: STATE MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE ALCOHOLIC CONTENT Alabama 4% by weight, 5% by volume Alaska No limit Arizona No limit Arkansas 5% by weight for most malt beverages California 4% by weight for beer;no limit for ale, etc. Colorado 3.2% by weight except for malt liquor Connecticut No limit Delaware No limit District of Columbia No limit Florida 3.2% in dry counties; no limit elsewhere Georgia 6% by volume Hawaii No limit Idaho 4% by weight in nonstate stores Illinois No limit in most areas Indiana No limit Iowa 5% by weight in nonstate stores Kansas 3.2% by weight except for liquor store package sales Kentucky No limit in most areas Louisiana 6% by volume in most areas;3.2% by weight in dry areas Maine No limit Maryland No limit Massachusetts 12% by weight Michigan No limit Minnesota 3.2% by weight for most malt beverages Mississippi 4% by weight Missouri 3.2% by weight. Exception: 5% or "malt liquor" Montana 7% by weight Nebraska No limit Nevada No limit New Hampshire 6% by volume in nonstate stores New Jersey No limit New Mexico No limit New York No limit North Carolina 6% by volume North Dakota No limit Ohio 6% by weight Oklahoma 3.2% by weight except for liquor store package sales Oregon 4% by weight for beer; 8% by weight for other malt beverages Pennsylvania No limit Rhode Island No limit South Carolina 5% by weight South Dakota 3.2% by weight for "low point beer"; 6% by weight for "high point" Tennessee 5% by weight for most malt beverages Texas 4% by weight for "beer"; no limit for others Utah 3.2% by weight in nonstate stores Vermont 6% by volume in nonstate stores Virginia No limit Washington 8% by weight in nonstate stores and unlicensed establishments West Virginia 4.2% by weight; 6% by volume Wisconsin 5% by weight for most malt beverages Wyoming No limit In order to accommodate the differences in state regulations, most national brands are brewed in two strengths, one at 3.2%, the other as high as 5.0% alcohol by weight. >Bonus Question: How does 'light beer' differ from the 3.2% >beer? Light beers range from 2.4 to 3.2% by weight. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John E. Greene Sr. Staff Engineer Desktalk Systems Inc. uucp: ..uunet!desktalk!jeg internet: jeg%desktalk.desktalk.com at uunet.uu.net Return to table of contents
End of HOMEBREW Digest #536, 11/13/90 ************************************* -------
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